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Topic: Maurice

Topic: Maurice

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SBH
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Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 10:22:31 AM

The first time I saw Maurice play I was enthralled. But in each subsequent game I have attended, I've notice more and more holes in his game. Not sure I believe he is the difference maker I thought he'd be.

bobcat695
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 10:38:00 AM

I see what you're saying, but my opinion is a little bit different. I think his teammates believe he can be the savior of the season, so they depend on him too much. By doing that, he feels pressure to do too much. Last night was a perfect example of him pressing. His interior passing was really poorly executed. I wish he would just be a powerful scorer in those situations first, and pass second. When he looks to score aggressively, good things happen. Jon has committed some stupid fould lately and had to sit on the bench at key moments, which puts more defensive pressure on Maurice at times because he has to guard a bigger guy. He is better guarding the other team's 4, and helping out on the 5. Instead he is stuck guarding the 5 often, which is not his strength.

I think he has the skill set to be really, really good. He runs the floor so well, is a great rebounder and is athletic. His shot is pretty good, including the mid-range jumper which has become a lost art. I wish he was better with his back to the basket, but part of that is created by the guards not being able to get him the ball effectively. Again, last night is an example of that. Several times, he was posted up in good position, yet the pass from the wing was tipped. When a big man is forced to catch a ball 5' further away from where they really wanted the ball, it's tough to make that move.

I really think Maurice is the least of Ohio's problems right now. I'm a lot more worried about the guard play. Once the guards start making good passes, eliminating stupid turnovers and knocking down more perimiter shots, that will free up the bigs to score inside.

"You can't un-fist a fist pump." - Saul Phillips 1/24/15

SBH
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 11:01:34 AM

I agree with many of your points, but strongly disagree on his defense and rebounding. He is far from a great rebounder…not even competent given his size. Some of John Smith's foul issues can be attributed to Maurice's defensive weaknesses. I agree completely with your assessment of his offensive skills and his need to be more aggressive.

perimeterpost
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 2:31:34 PM

the biggest criticisms of the previous #5 always seemed to come when the rest of the team bogged down and looked to #5 to do everything. I see a pattern.

I'm not saying Maurice doesn't have room for improvement but when the rest of the team is stinking it up as bad as we did last night and #5 is the only one calling for the ball its not hard for the other team to see what is happening and react accordingly.

MY STATE. MY TEAM.

Pete Chouteau
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 2:44:33 PM

Maurice probably benefited from being an absolutely unknown quantity early in the season.

Now there is film on him, and he's the only player on the floor right now that 11 other MAC programs didn't know much about.

Even given this, I don't know if there's a whole lot of players I'd trade him for in this conference.

Casper71
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 3:01:39 PM

I think he has a valuable skill set but I am not sure mentally he is there yet. He has not taken over a game like a Trent or Hunter. I think he could but I haven't seen that yet. Then again, his skill set may not be in a league with the aforementioned.

And, the reason our bigs get in trouble? Can you say PGs who do not know how to keep the opposing player in front of them?

Last Edited: 1/23/2014 3:02:22 PM by Casper71

bshot44
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 5:26:04 PM

I agree Maurice has been hot-n-cold....but he is the least of our worries.

Don't get me wrong...I love a lot of things about Stevie Taylor....but holy hell....he has been in a funk for a while now.

I thought the guy we saw play against Ohio State was who we would get all year.....he's regressed so much since that game.

Horrific passes...just stupid ones. No confidence in his offensive game. Bad shot selection.....and his defense at times has been bad to say the least. just watching guys blow by him.

Bean's struggles have been well documented....but wow. What I thought was a sure strength this year has been a glaring weakness at the point. We can't even get off uncontested 3ptrs from our guards at times.....out of a timeout!

They've got to do a better job directing this offense or we'll be lucky to earn a bye in the MAC tourney period...forget about a #1 or #2 seed.

When we're good...we can beat anyone in the league. But if we play like last night, we'll be done in Cleveland before we even get to Friday.

Lots of question marks going forward.......just a head-scratching effort last night and not being able to close out Akron was equally frustrating to watch

Jeff McKinney
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 9:05:50 PM

I have a high opinion of Maurice's game. The only criticism I would have is that I'd like to see him play with more consistent intensity.

He gets burned defensively occasionally but he's learning.

As for rebounding, he got schooled some last night, but overall he's averaging almost 8 a game. I don't think that's incompetent.

cathead
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 10:56:54 PM

We are missing Rico...we are fortunate to have Nature Boy.., a truly unique talented player,tell me where we are without him,,and Jon Smith,.Im behind this team... plenty of critics, talk to me in March

OhioCatFan
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 11:13:14 PM

Jeff McKinney wrote:

I have a high opinion of Maurice's game. The only criticism I would have is that I'd like to see him play with more consistent intensity.

He gets burned defensively occasionally but he's learning.

As for rebounding, he got schooled some last night, but overall he's averaging almost 8 a game. I don't think that's incompetent.

+1 I sometimes agree with the FakeJeff, but this time I agree with the Real McCoy . . . errr McKinney!

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Chicken George
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 11:17:03 PM

While I hated to lose Ricardo, I honestly didn't think it would hurt us as much as it apparantly has primarily because we're an offensively deficient team and Ric wasn't exactly instant offense. In hindsight, the offensive he did bring along with the intangibles are missed more than I anticipated.

I also thought Maurice would've gone off for like 40 or 50 points in some game by now. I thought if we could get to the MAC Championship, or even the NCAA's, he was a guy that could go-off under the bright lights and carry a team for a week or two. While he's an incredible talent, I now am not sure he's that kind of guy. Waited to see if he had that "it factor" in games like @OSU and vs. Akron--but he did not.

RSBobcat
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/23/2014 11:58:42 PM

OhioCatFan wrote:

Jeff McKinney wrote:

I have a high opinion of Maurice's game. The only criticism I would have is that I'd like to see him play with more consistent intensity.

He gets burned defensively occasionally but he's learning.

As for rebounding, he got schooled some last night, but overall he's averaging almost 8 a game. I don't think that's incompetent.

+1 I sometimes agree with the FakeJeff, but this time I agree with the Real McCoy . . . errr McKinney!

Same here. This missing "it factor" is guards to get "it" to him quicker. Someone criticized his interior passing - the issue is the "interior pass catching". If Mo is in the paint and gets the ball, and you are below him close to the baseline near/in the paint, then you gotta be ready. Those passes are gonna be low 90% of the time, under/around the defender on Mo's back - don't be surprised......

He does get backed down by heftier bigs and is then apt to not get up on the hook shot - agree he is better vs 4's vs 5's. Smith, though couple inches shorter than Mo, is quicker up, gets higher up for more pressure and blocks on those shots.

RS Bobcat

Jeff McKinney
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/24/2014 12:20:24 AM

Chicken George wrote:

Waited to see if he had that "it factor" in games like @OSU and vs. Akron--but he did not.

Didn't he put up 25 and 6 vs. Akron?

Chicken George
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/24/2014 1:06:20 AM

"On paper" I agree Jeff and I agree that you could argue what more can you ask for than 25 points/ However that was almost a game and a half with the OT; he spent most of the 1H on the bench with foul trouble; the Treadwell vs. Mo battle was bust in that Treadwell was too physical for him; he disappeared in late game plays and bottom line--we lost. But as I stated, I agree, I just think the sky's the limit for this guy and that may be too unfair an expectation. Honestly, my arguement is weak as I'm expecting too much.

Just kind of expect him to come up big in big moments, but instead we appear to go to Nick for bombs on last plays vs being committed to going to him (though I'm sure the defense has something to do with that).

SBH
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/24/2014 9:33:03 AM

Chicken George wrote:

"On paper" I agree Jeff and I agree that you could argue what more can you ask for than 25 points/ However that was almost a game and a half with the OT; he spent most of the 1H on the bench with foul trouble; the Treadwell vs. Mo battle was bust in that Treadwell was too physical for him; he disappeared in late game plays and bottom line--we lost. But as I stated, I agree, I just think the sky's the limit for this guy and that may be too unfair an expectation. Honestly, my arguement is weak as I'm expecting too much.

Just kind of expect him to come up big in big moments, but instead we appear to go to Nick for bombs on last plays vs being committed to going to him (though I'm sure the defense has something to do with that).

Sky's the limit on Maurice, but we only have him for another year and a half, right?

Jeff McKinney
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/24/2014 9:43:20 AM

I agree that we need more aggression from Mo. I'd almost use the word "selfish". We need him to be more selfish offensively. Not literally, but you know what I mean. And also look for him at crunch time. He may not be thick like Tree, but he's good in the low post and draws fouls. I say he should get the ball in position to take a shot on each possession. His range goes out to three. The other night against BG, after Mo hit the two early threes, he didn't score again for a long time. Didn't see him taking advantage of those threes by pump faking and driving to hoop. We need to make a concerted effort to get him the ball. I'm talking Andrew Nicholson type stuff. He should be putting up a LOT of shots each game. Should be going to the FT line 10 times a game.

We are LUCKY to have this guy on our roster. I expect him to get better and better because he wants to.

GoCats105
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/24/2014 11:33:03 AM

For a guy who is averaging 14.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, and 1.9 spg in his first season in MAC play and major college ball, I'm pretty damn pleased. If anything, the guards and wings need to get the ball to him quicker and more often.

It would be interesting to see him in a point-forward situation in the high post. Give it to him and let him create.

Also, not sure if anyone else has noticed this, but he's scored in double figures in every game this season except three (Heidelberg, Evansville, Kent State).

Last Edited: 1/24/2014 11:35:19 AM by GoCats105

Chicken George
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/25/2014 12:01:45 AM

One common theme I believe I'm seeing here is that we all can agree we want to see even more of Maurice. Maybe he needs to be a bit more selfish and yes, take more shots, especially on a team that is void of multiple scoring options. Also as mentioned, it's probably unfair that we expect a first year Bobcat to carry more of a load than he's already carrying (ie: he already has a solid stat line). Pretty clear he would be even more effective if the defense had a few more guys to be concerned about, especially post players. My guess is that the scouting report says Kellog is a shooter, then Maurice, then, well....probably not a ton more to be overly concerned about--a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Unfair or not, if we make any kind of run down the stretch I think Maurice probably needs to average closer to 18.0-22.0+ ppg.

crackerbaby00
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/25/2014 6:02:05 PM

Where Maurice ranks on our team this year:

Points - 1st
Rebounds - 1st
Assists - 4th
Steals - 5th
Blocks - 2nd
FG % - 2nd
3-Point % - 2nd
FT % - 4th (Behind 3 guards that are all shooting over 80%)

Anyone that is disappointed by his season so far had expectations that were way too high. This is his first season at the D1 level and he has played very well. I hope he continues to improve over the last 1.5 years that we have him, but if we only get this level of production from him, I would not be disappointed.

Danny's Knee
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/25/2014 6:33:21 PM

check out my avatar, it's "REALLY DO ORIGINAL" !!!!

RSBobcat
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/25/2014 8:58:18 PM

ron harper wrote:

bang - 14 rebounds!

RS Bobcat

OUVan
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/27/2014 12:18:45 PM

I think we need Mo and Nick both to be a little more selfish. I think we are really feeling the loss of Ric at this point because his "I need to make a play" personality is really missing. Letting the game come to you has it's merits but there are times when you really need your better players to take the team on their shoulders. I think this falls more on Nick than it does Mo since he handles the ball so much more.

71 BOBCAT
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/27/2014 7:04:17 PM

Maurice is far better than I thought he would be. If he is struggling scoring he gets rebounds. He is now in D1 which is certainly a higher caliber from JR. College. He has made a very good transition.
Let's see if he can continue to sharpen his game and become a consistent double double guy every night.

GO BOBCATS

OUVan
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/28/2014 8:18:58 AM

71 BOBCAT wrote:

Maurice is far better than I thought he would be. If he is struggling scoring he gets rebounds. He is now in D1 which is certainly a higher caliber from JR. College. He has made a very good transition.
Let's see if he can continue to sharpen his game and become a consistent double double guy every night.

I'd agree with this. I also think other teams are doing their best to take him away and daring us beat them with someone else.

Bobcat1998
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RE: Maurice

Posted: 1/28/2014 5:51:04 PM

Disagree about missing Rico's punch. He was our third leading scorer at 9 ppg when he got injured. He was becoming a solid third option and it allowed TJ the opportunity to come off the bench and make a play or two as a 4. Now Campbell is seeing more time and Travis, while stepping up, is not Ric's athleticism. We miss him dearly and this team would have beaten BG for sure and probably Kron with him.

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