HOW WILL THE PILOT'S WIN ON THE ROAD THIS YEAR?????

[b]EXPIERENCE..........POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS........BETTER TEAM CHEMISTRY-ALMOST 2 WEEK BONDING TRIP WITH 4 GAMES ON THE ROAD IN FOREIGN COUNTRY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD....LUCK,LUCK,LUCK,LUCK,LUCK,LUCK, AND A LITTLE SKILL.



cHECK PLEASE WAITRESS......

Agreed, the Australia trip should help with team chemistry and dealing with adversity... I remember Rev stating in at least one of those games that he resisted calling time-outs, specifically to allow the players themselves to "figure out" what needed to happen and make the necessary changes... and he was proud of how they were able to do that--especially in the game where we fell behind by the huge margin right off the bat and then clawed back in and won.

A Senior-laden, confident team should help significantly in this regard (at home and on the road)...

So who steps up as the leader on this team this year? Nik? TJ? Robin? Ethan?

Although it may be optimistic, I am counting on a fully healthy team this year (I mean, although injuries are bound to happen, you can't really anticipate them). As such, it'll be nice to have Ethan back in the game and healthy; I would have to check the numbers, but I believe we lost significantly fewer games last year when he was healthy. He may not put up big numbers but he is a great addition when he is on the court (which leads to the conclusion that he is a great defensive addition as well as, perhaps, a passer and facilitator on offense). I've mentioned it many, many times (for which I apologize) but Luke's healthy summer is bound to have helped greatly. Not much is said about Robin, but he is a constant force.

As far as a leader? I see Nik and TJ continuing to transfer their leadership from the floor to the team as whole. Taishi always seems to be a leader and a guy who can rouse the team. We have many potential leaders. I think a better question is who is the leader from the non-seniors, who will step up next year?

I couldnt agree more on Ethan... he really is the guy on the floor who does all the things that dont necessarily show up on the stat sheet... like diving for loose balls and hitting the "clutch" shot. And yes, I do believe there was a correlation between W's and Ethan's ability to play... I hope he can stay healthy this season!

As for the Juniors, I would love to see Luke step up and lead next year...

I think Luke is the most likely leader of the 4 juniors. I have limited knowledge but his personality seems a much bigger than those of Kramer, Jasonn and Jared.

A little off topic: I'll never forget the thunderous dunk Luke had at the end of the SMC game; it capped off a magical game and set the crowd ablaze. I thirst for more moments like that one.

PilotNut wrote:I couldnt agree more on Ethan... he really is the guy on the floor who does all the things that dont necessarily show up on the stat sheet... like diving for loose balls and hitting the "clutch" shot. And yes, I do believe there was a correlation between W's and Ethan's ability to play... I hope he can stay healthy this season!

Hmmm, seems like I just answered my own question and described a pretty darn good leader, huh?!

ShipstadPilot11 wrote:A little off topic: I'll never forget the thunderous dunk Luke had at the end of the SMC game; it capped off a magical game and set the crowd ablaze. I thirst for more moments like that one.

I was watching some highlights of last year... that dunk was awesome... there was also a huge block Luke made towards the end of the UW game, that really started putting nails in UW's coffin...

UP vs. Concordia: 9 days, 8 hours, 44 minutes. But who is counting?

PilotNut wrote:

PilotNut wrote:I couldnt agree more on Ethan... he really is the guy on the floor who does all the things that dont necessarily show up on the stat sheet... like diving for loose balls and hitting the "clutch" shot. And yes, I do believe there was a correlation between W's and Ethan's ability to play... I hope he can stay healthy this season!

Hmmm, seems like I just answered my own question and described a pretty darn good leader, huh?!

You could even make an argument that Ethan embodies the Pilots: not the flashiest or most well-known yet hard-working and talented. However, I'm not one to make things bigger than they really are and the bottom line is that Ethan is a great player who can help us win, especially when he is healthy!

PS: PilotNut, way to quote yourself! "To quote a very wise man..."

PilotNut wrote:

ShipstadPilot11 wrote:A little off topic: I'll never forget the thunderous dunk Luke had at the end of the SMC game; it capped off a magical game and set the crowd ablaze. I thirst for more moments like that one.

I was watching some highlights of last year... that dunk was awesome... there was also a huge block Luke made towards the end of the UW game, that really started putting nails in UW's coffin...

UP vs. Concordia: 9 days, 8 hours, 44 minutes. But who is counting?

I can't remember why but, for what I'm sure was a very big reason, I wasn't able to be at the UW game...

Next week can't come fast enough. I hope the game will be on GameTracker but I doubt it will be.

As for future leader, it looked like even in his freshman season Luke took on a little bit of a vocal leader role. I remember him being the one saying something in the pre-free throw huddles after UP had fouled someone.

Wait, the Pilots play in 9 days?? Heck yeah! I just had to check the schedule real quick...October 29th it is! I am flying out on the 30th. Perfect!! PilotNut you just made my day, I seriously bet I would have missed that game, not realizing the season started so soon.

How will they win on the road? Perhaps with some zone D!

From Rev's twitter messages:
Embarrassed when retired coaching great Jack Avina watched practice this morning. He caught us working on a 2-3. .
Told him it was for the O