A Nice Road Win!

Hi everyone, Coach Moore here with an update from on the road, now in Mankato. Our bus got in last night right around 12:30 or so. It took a little longer then it should have taken as the roads at times were snow packed in some spots along the way but we are glad we made it here. So far this morning were got our guys up around 10 for breakfast over a local spot that was okay. Now we are just waiting for our 2 o'clock shoot around time over at the Taylor Center.

Well last nights game was the usual battle you would expect for a NSIC game. We played an outstanding first half as we attacked their press and knocked down a ton open shots. Our guys did a great job of not letting the press slow us down as they found open guys for shots or we converted a lay-up for most of the half. Defensively in the first half we played okay as we were active but we left way to many shooters open, luckily they did not knock down too many of the open shots. We were getting beat of the dribble too much causing others to help and then we did not recover very well. We also didn't rebound the ball all that great either as SMUS also had 8 offensive rebounds in the half. But we were happy as we shot the ball well and were up by 18 going into halftime.

The second half on defense was pretty much the same type of story as we gave up too much dribble penetration to them. This half they knocked down some outside shots or got to the free throw line, thus allowing them to get back into the game. We also were giving up a ton of offensive boards again until the last couple of possessions where we were able to get a couple of stops and huge defensive rebounds to close out the game. Offensivley we struggled at times to take care of the ball and we had some mental mistakes that lead to turnovers. We also started to rush some shots and take some bad shots that were not needed. This was also another reason why they were able to get back into the game. But in the end our guys stepped up, hit a couple of huge shots and then made free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

Moving on to tonight contest. This again is going to be a fun game to be a part of. We are playing a team that is very deep and has many guys capable of going off for huge nights. We will again need to have a great effort on the defensvie end if we want to be in this game at the end. Mankato is a team that has some outstanding players as they are lead by senior Jake Marrow. Marrow leading the Mavericks in scoring as well as being the top three point shooter on the team. Another great player who does not get much attention but should is fellow senior, Mitch Gosson, Gosson is a tremendous defensive player and is capable of having a big night on the offensive end as well. A couple of other players to watch out for are post player, Travis Nelson, gurads Jadee Jones, Jesse Clark and Marcus Hill, each one of these players have the capabilities of having a huge game on any given night.

As for some keys to the game for us. Our first key is going to be handling the pressure that they will apply to us when we are on the offensive end. They really get after teams on defense with a ton of overplaying and denial defense. To counter this we are going to need to be strong with the ball, we will need to take the ball to the basket and we will need to use the back door cut maybe more then we have in previous games. The key is to be just as aggessive on offense as they are on defense and not let them dictate where we go with the ball. The next key will be rebounding. They are a great rebounding team, second in the NSIC. We will again need to be at our best on the boards, holding them to one shot on defense and getting second chances on our offensive end. The final key will be how well we contian them on the defensive end. They have many players who like to take the ball to the basket so we will need to contain them as best we can. We cannot allow them to break us down to get other guys wide open looks, we need to help and recover faster then last night as well.

Overall I think this game could be a great game for fans to watch. Their is a ton of talent that will be out on that floor tonight. Both teams should put forth a great effort and it should be a battle to the end. Hopefully in the end we can come out on top but it will take another team effort to get this done.

Until next time, Go Warriors!!!

Warriors Hit the Road in NSIC Play

Hey everyone, Coach Moore here from out in windy Marshall, MN, home of the Southwest Minnesota State University with an update on our travels and our game for tonight.

This weekend we get to share a bus with our women's team so to say the least it was packed traveling over here but it was a good time with the movies we had to watch. So far on this trip we have watched the New Indiana Jones Movie and Step Brother. Both were okay in my eyes but some people I know really enjoyed both of them. I have never been a huge Indiana Jones fan so this I didn't really get into this one much but I was kind of confused by the whole parent thing. I didn't really care for it and I don't think of Indy as having parents so for me it didn't really fit in with the movie, he is like a super hero in my eyes. Step Brothers was a funny movie but at times a little long, don't get me wrong I love watching Will Ferrell but after a while the same lines kept coming up which seemed to drag the movie out. But it still was a good movie if you like a comedy with good one liners that you can use later on your friends.

Anyway onto basketball and our game tonight against the Mustangs. This will once again be a battle between two great teams. SMSU is a team that does not have one or two guys to key on, they are a team that plays great team basketball and have seven or eight guys capable of having a big night. Currently the Mustangs are leading in scoring by bench player Jon DeRock (10 ppg) and senior Ross DeMasi (9 ppg and 10.9 rpg), DeMasi is currently the leading rebounder in the NSIC. Other players to keep an eye for the Mustangs are Andrew Peschong (8 ppg) and Kevin Andrews (9 ppg). Peschong is leading the team in field goal attempts, while Andrews is one of the top three point shooters, behind DeRock for the Mustangs. As a team the Mustangs are leading the NSIC in rebounding as they have out rebounded opponents by 11 rpg on the season.

Keys for the Warriors for tonight's game will start with rebounding the basketball. Currently we have been rebounding the basketball much better since the start of the season but we will be facing our toughest challenge tonight. We need to limit SMSU to one shot every time down the floor as they are a great offensive rebounding team and we need to make them work on the defensive end by crashing the boards attempting to get second change points. Another key will be our hustle. SMSU is a team that is always hustling after loose balls, getting on the floor for balls and doing whatever it takes to get the ball. We must out hustle them tonight to every loose ball. Finally we have to be fundamentally sound as SMSU is going to pick up full court the entire game. We must use pass fakes, jump stops, back dribbles and all of those things needed to handle the pressure. This pressure is not a trapping type of pressure but the type to attempt to slow down the pace of the game and to make our guys tired as the game goes on. So we need to attack them, get easy buckets off the press and make them work to the point they get tired while pressing.

Overall this game should be fun to play tonight. Our guys had a great shoot around this morning and they seemed ready to play. If we can knock down our outside shots and control them on the boards we should have a excellent opportunity to win this game.

Go Warriors!!!

For more info on SMSU you can follow this link: http://www.smsumustangs.com/index.aspx?tab=mensbasketball&path=mbball

Get to Know - Matt Smith

In this edition of "Get to Know Your Warriors" we get to learn a little bit more about sophomore, Matt Smith. Matt like many guys on our team is a huge video game fan and is considered to be one of the better players on the team. I even think he dominates the likes of Ryan Gargaro almost every time they play. But you might have to ask Matt and Ryan who is better.

What is your full name?
Matthew Scott Smith
What are your parent(s) names?
Steve and Sara Smith
Do you have any brothers/sisters?
NO
Do you have any pets?
NO
What is your major here at WSU?
Accounting
Why did you select WSU?
I liked the campus and the people
What is your favorite color?
Orange
What is your favorite food?
Gushers
What is your favorite TV/Show?
Burn Notice, Family Guy, Scrubs, 70’s Show
What is your favorite movie?
Any good Action Flick
What is your favorite type of music?
Hip/Hop : Rap
What is currently playing in your Ipod/cd player?
REO Speedwagon, Queen, any new Rap/ HipHop
What is one interesting talent you have that people might not know?
I can recite all fifty states in less than a second
What is your dream job?
Astronaut/Spy
What is your greatest sports achievement?
Winning state/national championship
What is your favorite type of basketball shoe?
Adidas Pro Models…or Any Nike Shocks…not the lebrons
If you could select 3 people in the world do have dinner with who would they be? Why?
Brett Favre, MJ, and Brady Moore
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?
Bahamas again!
If you could go to a major sporting event, which one would it be?
Packer Playoff/Superbowl game
Who have you looked up to the most in your life?
God
Who is your favorite actor/actress?
Mel Gibson
Who is your favorite singer/artist?
Shaq…his album is the bomb
Who is your favorite professional sports team?
Without a doubt the PACK!!!
Who is your favorite basketball player?
Pistol Pete
Who is the best person you have ever played basketball against?
Greg Oden
Who is the cleanest person on our team?
Mikey, Matt Smith
Who is the messiest person on our team?
Gar/Clayton
Who is the best dunker on the team?
Whip
Who is the best video game player on the team?
DJ
Who on our team would you choose to be the President of the US? Why?
Bryce…he’d keep things interesting
Who on our team is most likely to be famous? Why?
Bryce
If you had one word of advice for people what would it be?
Don’t listen to Gar, or befriend Jeremy Johnson, or get into a battle of wits with Bry

WSU Wins 7th Straight

Hey everyone, Coach Moore here with an update on our last game and an update on a couple of our guys who have been injured.

Once again our guys came out to play right away in our game against Mary. We jumped out to a double digit lead in the first four minutes of the game and never really looked back. It was great to see that our guys were ready to go after playing a big game the night before. Their was not let down from our guys and the energy level was close to the level it was against Northern. This is great to see as it shows our guys are understanding how important it is to come out ready for every game. They could have easily looked past Mary but they did not and I give our guys all the credit for that as they were prepared for the game.

We once again shot the ball very well from the outside. DJ came out on fire and everyone kind of went off of him. One interesting stat we saw at half was DJ being 5-5 from 3 but 0-5 from the rest of the field, it is not too often you see a guy with a stat line like that but that is DJ and when he gets going from the outside he is tough to stop. DJ also did a nice job of attempting to get to the basket as well. We want him to be aggressive like he was on Saturday and even though he missed some shots going to the basket we liked seeing what he was doing. The rest of our guys also did a nice job of attacking the basket. When we do that I think everyone sees how we usually get a great shot out of attacking the basket. I hope our guys continue to attack the rim and continue to make the defense attempt to contain them. We played some great team basketball on offense and it was nice to see the ball movement and the extra passes to get guys a wide open shot.

Defensively I think we played another solid game. We did a nice job of getting out on their shooters and we contested a lot of shots they took. I also liked how well we contained them one on one during most of the game. The way they were set up on offense they we leaving the baseline open for a drive with everyone else up high opposite the ball, this put our guys on defense kind of on a island at times as they did not have much help or any help baseline. Our guys did a nice job not letting them get baseline too often and if they did get baseline our rotation were quick enough to cut off the ball before it was too deep. It was an excellent defensive effort from everyone who stepped on the floor.

Overall I think we took some nice steps forward over the weekend. We still need to score more with our big guys down low but that will come if we continue to shoot the ball so well from the outside. Our rebounding is continuing to improve each game as we continue to be aggressive in going and getting the ball. As a staff I think we are happy to be where we are in conference standings given the start to the year but we cannot feel too comfortable. The conference season is still so young and so much can happen before it is all said and done. I think our guys do realize this though and they will continue to battle each weekend as they are not satisfied with where we are in the standings. This weekend will be a good weekend to get out on the road once again and bond as a team. It will also let us see how far we have come as a team as it will be two difficult games.

A quick update on a couple of our injured guys. Bryce Welch is close to being ready to go. He can run some and has been shooting for the last five days or so. I would think he might be ready for this weekend if everything this week goes well. C-Rob is still nursing his sore ankle. He actually rolled his ankle the opposite way of which it was done last time, so now the swelling is in the inside and not on the outside. We will work on getting him back but ankles are so hard to figure out sometime that he will be day to day for a while.

Go Warriors!!!

Warriors Battle for Win

Hi everybody Coach Moore here with to give you an update on tonight's game and feelings on last nights contest.

Well for starters we will go over last nights game. Obviously as a team we were very happy with last nights outcome. We played a solid game from start to finish and our intensity was finally there for an entire game. Offensively I felt for most of the game we did a good job of moving the ball and getting a great look at the basket. The only time we were not really in sync on offense was the middle part of the first half when we seemed to stop moving the ball and started to settle for difficult shots. Otherwise I felt we did a excellent job of break them down off the dribble and creating shots for others. It was nice to see DJ and Whip finally knock down a ton of 3's in the same game together as well. When those two get going they are tough to stop and when they are going off together we can really be tough to stop as a team. Defensively we played another solid game overall. For the most part we rebounded the ball well, other then a little spurt in the second half when they seemed to get a couple of second chance points. The best part about our defensive effort I felt was that we made Ratzsch take a tough shot almost every time down. We knew he was going to score but we wanted to make him work for it and I felt we did most of the game. Also our rotations on defense we awesome. We did a great job of doubling in the post, rotating on the backside and then finally recovering to the open guy once the ball was passed out of the post. The reason we won that game was not because of our offense it was because our defense was pretty darn good for most of the game.

Moving on to today's contest with Mary. Mary is a dangerous team. They actually are a lot like us as they have a lot of guys who can fill it up from the outside. Expect them to run an offense similar to the "Swing" offense that Coach Bo Ryan at Wisconsin has ran so well. Mary does not have one guy we can focus on as well, so we will need to respect everyone who steps on the floor. A couple of players to keep an eye on for them is point guard, Geoff West, who is leading the team in scoring at 15 ppg, guard Jordan Engelhardt is second in scoring at 10 ppg.

Now for some keys to the game. I think the first key to this game for us is to come out with a high energy level. After playing in a big game last night we need to recover quickly and have high energy again tonight. Sometimes you will see after a big game a team come out flat the next night. We cannot have that happen to us tonight otherwise it will be a long night for us. The second key will be staying solid on defense for the entire possession. With Mary running the type of offense that they run, they will run the shot clock down on us some and make us play defense for longer then some other teams will. We need to stay solid throughout the entire possession and make them take a contested shot every time down the floor. If we are not solid or do not play the entire possession out we will be in trouble as they are very good at getting that one great shot they need every time down the floor. The final key to this game will be once again getting some great penetration on the offensive end of the floor. We need to continue to get to the basket as it opens up opportunities for others. If we are able to do what we did last night then we should have another game with great looks from the outside and inside.

Overall this is just another important game during our season. I hope we come out ready to go from the start and we play with the same intensity that we had for the entire game last night. This is going to be another great NSIC battle as Mary is a solid team capable of beating anyone on any given night. Let's just hope tonight is not the night for them.

Go Warriors!!

Conference Play Resumes

I hope everyone is having a great start to the beginning of 2009. The Warriors are also looking for a great start to the new year as they open up play in 2009 by hosting Northern St tonight at 8 pm. The Warriors enter tonight's game with a 9-4 record but only 2-2 in NSIC play. The Wolves enter tonight's game 10-1 overall and a 3-1 record in NSIC play. This is the first meeting of the teams this season after last years domination by the Warriors who gave the Wolves all 4 of their losses on the season, the final loss a 68-60 game sent the Warriors to the Elite 8 and onto a second NCAA National Championship in three seasons.

Both squads have lost a ton of talent from last years team but both return many players who played a huge role in both teams successes last year. For Northern St. they return their top player from last season in 6'7 forward, Kevin Ratzsch, who is averaging a NSIC high 23 ppg and 6 rebounds per contest. In addition to Ratzsch NSU has formed another nice supporting cast around him lead by 6'10 post, Robert Thomas, 13 ppg and 6'5 guard, Mitch Boeck, 12 ppg. To go along with the double figure scoring, Thomas averages a team high 8 rebounds per game, while Boeck is off to an outstanding start from behind the 3 pt line hitting 45% of his shots from there. These three have been the main threats for the Wolves this season but many others are capable of having big games for them as they play very well as a team.

Now for some keys to the game. Obviously one of the biggest keys of the game many people will be looking at is how WSU is going to stop Kevin Ratzch. Well I don't think we will be able to stop him but our hope is to contain him. He is just too good of a player to be stopped and in all honesty the only one to stop him is probably going to be himself. Our goal as a team is to just be solid on him and not let him get any easy looks, we want to make him work for everything he gets and hopefully wear him out over the course of the game. But he is so good that shutting him totally down is probably not a realistic goal. Another key as most games will be rebounding. We need to rebound the ball and hold them to only one shot. They like to run the shot clock down and get the ball to Ratzch up top for him to go one on one or use a ball screen for that one great shot. We must hold them to that one shot and not let them get a lot of extra possessions to do this we will need to be very physical. The next key to the game will be getting our guys on the inside going right away. We need to get the ball inside and we need to finish inside when we do get the ball in there. While we will be smaller at almost every position inside we will be quicker and more athletic. We will need to use those advantages to us to score. Finally the last key will be hitting some outside shots early. If we can drill some 3's right away we become so much harder to defend and it gives us some great driving lanes to the basket. So knocking down some 3's right away will put a ton of pressure on them to contain us as we will be quicker and have the ability to go by them.

Overall this should be another great NSU-WSU match-up. The only difference between the past couple of years and this year is we are now the under-dog in this game. We are not expected to win and many people pick NSU to win our league this year so all of the pressure of this game is on them. I think our guys love being in this new role and they have done very well in the past games when we are the under-dogs. This game should be a close game and one that should come down to the wire. If it comes down to the end, it will be the team that executes better down the stretch that will win. I know our guys are ready to go and tonight should be another fun night of NSIC basketball. If you would like more info on NSU you can go to the following link: http://nsuwolvesathletics.com/index.aspx?path=mbball&tab=basketball

On another note I have had many people asking how our recruits for next year have been doing. Well so far they are all off to great start on their seasons. Zander Culver is the leading scorer for his Champaign Central team. Zander is a very quick guard who has a great stroke from the outside and is capable of going off for big games as he did against Verona Area up in Milwaukee right before Christmas when he had 30 points. If you wish to follow Zander most closely you can do so by going to the following link: http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/prep/
Once on the site you will just have to find Zanders Champaign Central squad to get updates on his team.

Our other recruit from Illinois, Xavier Humphrey, has his Fenwick squad playing well in the Chicago area. Xavier is another player who can do a little bit of everything on the floor and he is a very fun player to watch. He brings a defensive mindset to the table every night but is very capable of having big nights as he also had 30 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals in a game right after Christmas. Xavier is not known so much for his scoring but his ability to do it all and we love what he brings to the table. If you want to follow him and his Fenwick team a little closer you can go to the following link: http://yourseason.suntimes.com/schools/fenwick/index.html
After most games the site usually has a little article on the game to go along with some stats.

The final recruit of the 09 year is our 6'7 do it all guy Kellen Taylor from Wayzata, MN. Kellen's team is off to the best start of all three teams as his squad is currently 7-1 on the year. Kellen is again versatile just like the other two and has the ability to play multiple positions on the floor for us. He greatest attribute for us is his ability to guard a variety of players on the floor for his size and his ability to knock down the 3 pt shot. Kellen is not a scorer per say but he can fill it up when give the opportunity. His best basketball days are ahead of him as he is going to be a beast someday with his size and basketball abilities. In Kellen's last game he put up 13 points in a win over Anoka at a holiday tournament. You can follow Kellen and his teams progress by going to the following link: http://preps.startribune.com/teamschedule.php?yid=0809&sport=101&tid=2921

We wish all three of our guys the best of luck on the rest of their seasons and look forward to following them along the way.

Go Warriors!!!!

Get to Know - Max Hintz

In this edition of "Get to Know Your Warriors" we get to know Max Hintz of Woodbury, MN. Max is in his second season with the Warriors after red-shirting during his first season. Many people do not know this but Max loves to play video games, especially NBA 2K 09 versus fellow teammate Ryan Gargaro. While no one knows what the record is between the two from the sounds of it, Max, has been definately winning more games then losing.

What is your full name? Maximilian Paul Hintz

What are your parent(s) names? Ron & June Hintz

Do you have any brothers/sisters? Brother- Alex ( 23), sister- Sarah (17)

Do you have any pets? Dog - Chesapeake Bay Retriever- Name: Perdi

What is your major here at WSU? Finance w/ accounting minor

Why did you select WSU? To play basketball

What is your favorite color? All shades of blue

What is your favorite food? Hamburgers and steak

What is your favorite TV/Show? Entourage

What is your favorite movie? All comedies, Forrest Gump, Gladiator and Troy

What is your favorite type of music? Alternative rock or rap

What is currently playing in your Ipod/cd player? Kanye West

What is one interesting talent you have that people might not know? I like to cook

What is your dream job? To own my own business

What is your greatest sports achievement? Back to back state tournament appearances junior and senior year of high school

What is your favorite type of basketball shoe? Nike huarache or adidas pro models

If you could select 3 people in the world to have dinner with who would they be? Why? Tiger Woods, Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill. First Tiger Woods to talk to him about his achievements and get words of advice from him. The next two because they are really funny and i think it would be a great time hanging out with them.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Germany or Greece

If you could go to a major sporting event, which one would it be? Final Four

Who have you looked up to the most in your life? My dad

Who is your favorite actor/actress? Will Ferrel

Who is your favorite singer/artist? Dave Matthews

Who is your favorite professional sports team? Minnesota Twins

Who is the one person in life you would like to meet? Michael Jordan

Who is your favorite basketball player? Kevin Garnett

Who is the best person you have ever played basketball against? Derrick Rose

Who is the cleanest person on our team? Mikey

Who is the messiest person on our team? Kratz

Who is the best dunker on the team? C-Rob

Who is the best video game player on the team? Gar

Who on our team would you choose to be the President of the US? Why? Travis Whipple- handle a lot of tasks at once

Who on our team is most likely to be famous? Why? Clayton Vette- Country Singer

If you had one word of advice for people what would it be? Stay positive