Pilots @ San Diego Thursday @ 8 pm on TV

oh brody wrote:Surgery?!? Any idea when he's estimated to return? I hope he is doing okay and its nothing too serious.

We knew there would come a time when the swelling in KB's broken nose would go down enough to have it "rearranged".....and I've been told that's what was done. Generally, the biggest problem post-op is the bleeding, swelling, and affects of the anesthesia.

KB should be back for LMU, put is not planning on PU.

dholcombe wrote:He played almost half the game tonight. His foot condition is really one of those things where it's probably up to him about how it feels any given day. My mom has the same condition if what I heard is correct and it's something that really only goes away with rest. Wearing the boot around all day should help and he can take it off at game time...playing won't help, but it's a choice. Surgery for such a condition is rare.

You are correct in all respects.

Playing is a choice at this point....because the only real cure is long-term rest. I too have had this condition and finally had to quit running for six months and the condition went away not to return. I'm guessing with the short bench the Pilots are playing, Oskars' six months will begin in early March.

Yes, we lost, but I really liked the effort.

To win the Pilots need to go inside/outside, but there's no outside!

I've seen Oskars in practice...he can flat out shoot. But as we've learned, it seems to take UP's players a year or two get the confidence and experience to shoot with consistency.

Bryce also can shoot, but until his confidence gets a boost, he will continue to be a slasher.....but an effective one.

Derrick and Korey are defensive players. David is just holding his own at the PG. Tanner looks like a whipped dog.

So what does that leave? The inside game; Ryan, Riley, and Thomas.

KB's return will certainly help...if he'll dribble drive and draw fouls, but I think the Pilots may have to rely more and more on Oskars and Bryce from the outside....that's a lot to ask of the freshmen, but at this point what have they got to lose.

Former teammates (Canarius), but friends forever. Oskars and Jito Kok (now with USD) at last night’s game.

Late game execution really hurt us, just like it did in the UNLV game.

The game was tied at 43-43 at the 6:13 mark, at which point... we turned it over three times, shot 3-12, went 1-3 from the line, and commited seven fouls.

Especially brutal was that stretch during the two-minute mark, when we were down by three, Derrick missed two shots, and USD made two buckets (one an "and 1"). Game went from within reach to out of reach in the blink of an eye.

I hate to second-guess the coaches who know a ton more about basketball than I ever will, but I'm not sure why 1) Derrick is even in the game at the end when we need points (I respect his effort, but it's 4-5 on offense when he's out there) and 2) Derrick is the guy who is taking our shots. I know our offense isn't great, but you'd think it would make sense to not have our worst offensive player taking our shots in the deciding moments of the game.

Here's our total late-game play-by-play, if you can stomach it:

6:14 - Game tied 43-43
6:13 - Foul on Korey, USD 2-2 on FT (USD by 2)
5:47 - Turnover by Ryan
5:38 - Foul on Korey, USD 2-2 on FT (USD by 4)
5:15 - Foul on USD, Derrick 1-2 on FT (USD by 3)
4:35 - Turnover by Thomas
4:05 - David missed three
3:44 - Turnover by Thomas
2:57 - Derrick missed jumper
2:50 - Foul on David, USD "and 1" (USD by 6)
2:24 - Derrick missed layup
2:28 - USD made layup (USD by
2:03 - Ryan missed layup
2:00 - Ryan made layup, fouled, missed FT (USD by 6)
1:29 - USD made three (USD by 9)
1:17 - Ryan made jumper (USD by 7)
1:05 - Foul on Tanner, USD 2-2 FT (USD by 9)
0:54 - Tanner missed layup, blocked
0:48 - Tanner missed three
0:46 - Foul on David, USD 1-2 FT (USD by 10)
0:38 - David missed layup, blocked
0:37 - Foul on Ryan, USD 2-2 FT (USD by 12)
0:31 - Ryan missed three
0:28 - Thomas made layup (USD by 10)
0:27 - Foul on David, USD 1-2 FT (USD by 11)
0:20 - Ryan missed three

Agreed on the pain, Stonehouse... ughhh. There were a couple possessions last night where both Rogers and Carr had decent open looks, and didnt take the shot--they weren't even looking for a chance. It was disappointing. Finishing at / near the rim continued to be a problem, too.

I would like to see a lot more Oskars (health dependent) and Bryce on the floor all game, actually. We need some degree of outside threat...