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Subject: Is It Too Soon to Talk About Brown and Yale? Author: An Observer [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 01:55:31 03/18/24 Mon First of all, I'd like to reach out and pat on the back our friend ivy guy and all of the other fine Brown fans on this board. I can only imagine the pain you're feeling right now. In time, you'll be able to step back and recognize the last eight games of this season as the epic turnaround and achievement that it was. You'll smile about it someday, but I know it won't be soon. I don't want to sound ungracious and I know that everybody with a rooting interest in today's game either was elated or had a knife stuck in their back. But at some point, I would like to discuss the game solely from a basketball perspective, trying not to pour salt into the fresh wounds. The factor that I would like to analyze is the foul to give which Brown had. Up by one point with Mahoney rebounding a missed Ndur free throw with ten seconds left, that foul to give is a huge asset, possibly the most important thing in Brown's arsenal. Mbeng doesn't cross the center court line until there are only seven seconds left. You can see Mike Martin pointing at him and yelling something to his players. I assume that Martin is yelling, "Foul him! Foul him!" because Cooley immediately fouls Mbeng, even though the dribbler is still 31 feet from the basket, running down the left side line, in no danger whatsoever of shooting the ball. Martin has got to somehow communicate to his players to let the clock run down some more before fouling. Of course, the risk is that Mbeng from a full sprint immediately comes to a complete stop and launches a shot from 26 feet. I'm willing to let him take that kind of shot from that distance with six seconds left. If you can only get the clock down to four or three seconds before fouling, that completely changes what Yale can do on the inbounds play. The difference between six seconds and three seconds is huge. Six seconds allows Yale to run a real play, including two passes and lots of dribbling by Wolf and Mbeng. Three seconds is get the ball, dribble once or twice and shoot. That's the difference between winning and losing. Obviously, it's easy to sit here behind a keyboard and lob criticism at Martin. Keeping one's composure when there are six seconds left in the most important game you've ever coached in your life is different than posting on a message board. I apologize to Brown fans if my comments sound ungracious. But as a basketball fan, I thought it needed to be said that Brown misplayed the Ace in their hand, the foul they had to give. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Subject: Re: Is It Too Soon to Talk About Brown and Yale? Author: ivy guy [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 11:43:38 03/18/24 Mon Thanks for the concern An Observer. I'm fine, and very proud of this Bears team. With the experience and wisdom that comes with advanced age, we know that for ever buzzer-beater, Hail Mary, OT, and walk-off homer there is a euphoric winning team and a heartbroken losing team. Brown's season was a great comeback-story culminating in a seven game conference win streak with victories over the top three teams on-the-road. Yale is a deserving championship team. Both teams played strong defense, with nearly identical FG and 3pt %'s for both teams. The difference (from my now broken chair) was not just the final scoring sequence. It was Yale's sharpshooters making those last two "logo three pointers" when they were down by 7 with under a minute to go. Ice Cold! Like any competitive game, there were missed opportunities and errors on both sides ... but the Bulldogs and Bears left it all on the court. Go Bruno! Ever True! [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> Subject: Mike Martin Author: ivy guy [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:57:46 03/18/24 Mon The Ivy League has some excellent basketball coaches. Mike Martin did an exceptional job coaching a very young team to within two points of an NCAA berth after a rough start to the season. Mike is also a class act. Some comments from the Brown Daily Herald and his postgame press conference: BDH headline: Brutal Buzzer-Beater Keeps Brown from March Madness Coach Martin: “I’m heartbroken for my team, for my my players,” said an emotional Coach Mike Martin ’04 following the loss. “I feel like I let them down in the last minute of the game. After a great win or a hard loss, you’re always thinking about how to respond, what’s next, and obviously there’s a lot in front of our people, but not this team (and) this group." “We grew so much throughout the year,” Coach Martin added. “We fought like crazy all game. We put ourselves in a position (to win).” “I felt so good only being down four at halftime given how we played,” Martin said. “I don’t think it was a huge adjustment (in the second half) other than just guys settling in a little bit, not rushing shots, playing off two feet in the paint, (and) taking what the defense gives them.” “I was confident the entire game. And that didn’t change until the final play,” Martin said. “I didn’t get ahead of myself. None of the players did. But we were confident, and we believed.” Martin said he regretted not having called a timeout to “organize our defense a little better.” “I think what we learned is that when we play to our identity and we believe we’re as cohesive and connected as any group out there, we can do some pretty special things,” “We were pretty darn close to seeing our name on TV (during the) selection show. Going forward, we’ll grow from this and we’ll learn from this experience.” “Even in November and December and January, when we were really struggling, I’ve loved every minute of this team" ## [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> [> Subject: there is always next year .... Author: ivy guy [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 15:05:28 03/18/24 Mon Every season is tough in the Ivy League, and fortunes can change quickly in basketball--it only takes a few stud recruits, injuries, or transfers. Brown’s entire starting five of Erold, Lilly Jr., Anya, Owusu-Anane, and Lesburt should return for 2025. Brown will host next year’s Ivy Madness at the Pizzitola Sports Center, giving the Bears a home-court advantage if they make the tournament for a second straight year. ## [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Is It Too Soon to Talk About Brown and Yale? Author: Eli1143770312 [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 17:08:07 03/18/24 Mon Having watched Brown's two games in person this weekend, my only question is how they started so slowly. Tenacious inside game, good (sometimes great - thinking of the last regular season game against Yale) rebounding and Lilly and the other guards can score. Brown needs to work on breaking the press - they looked awful when Princeton went full court and against Yale it obviously cost Bruno the game that they failed to keep the ball in the hands of their best free throw shooters. With such a young group of starters, Brown should be one of the favorites next year. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> [> Subject: Re: Is It Too Soon to Talk About Brown and Yale? Author: Son of Eli [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 18:52:09 03/18/24 Mon Plus Brown will be hosting the tournament next year so that’s potentially a big advantage for them. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]