Ryan Miller had an awful weekend shooting the ball, going 4-25 FG and 1-12 3pt, He also missed a free throw late in the game Saturday that was exceedingly pivotal. It was easily his worst offensive weekend as a Viking. Maybe the he was sorting through his feelings about the , maybe he was not 100%, maybe simple spewing incoherent nonsense about the SCSU program distracted him, who can say?
Having said that he has been arguably the best defender for Augie this season and as mentioned earlier usually does this against the opposing teams best guard. They don't beat Mankato on Friday without the work Ryan did defensively. Sure, Cartwright had a game against him but most of those shots were well defended and we know better than anyone what Matt can do when he's dialed in.
This whole season to me is about being competitive and seeing who can be part of a tournament rotation in the next three seasons. Miller is a critical competitive cog and his former HS teammate Jake Hilmer coming to town this weekend may be the thing that kicks his shooting back into gear.
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Originally posted by Blue Ridge Viking View PostI hate singling out college athletes, so, of course, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I wonder if we're not seeing Division 2 and the NSIC catching up to Ryan Miller.
He was a stud at NAIA Grand View and no doubt has talent. But after a more than respectable start to the season, he has hit a rough patch. In the five conference games so far, Miller is shooting 27 percent from the field (17 of 62). My sources tell me that's not optimal.
I've also seen on more than a couple of occasions opposing coaches try to take advantage of his size, having a larger guard back him down in the paint.
Perhaps he could better be used as a spark off the bench, sort of how Tanner Oedgaard was used during the glory years.
Obviously 27% is less than stellar when he shot 36% from three at Grandview, but from the eye test he seems to be our best on-ball defender from what I can tell. He's also fairly tough/tenacious when it comes for attacking for rebounds, loose balls, etc. I think toughness and grit are invaluable for a team like this that isn't going to win games purely on talent...especially not until they grow and develop more and better understand the offensive flow and defensive schemes.
Also, according to the current stats, he's shooting 36% from the field (43-119) and 31% from three (15-49), so I'm not sure where you were seeing the 27%. Regardless, those numbers still aren't ideal, but not the worst by far. For comparison's sake, Fink is/was only shooting 23% from three (8-35) and 29% from the field (24-82). Some of that could likely be the knee injury, but it's not as if Miller is hurting us any worse than most of the other players on the team—which is a different conversation, because it would be great if the whole team could actually shoot it better all around. Zac Johnson is only shooting 32% from three (9-28) and is shooting better from the field overall (45% on 27-60 shooting), but not much better from deep.
The only players I'd contend are shooting really well are Akoi and Rensch, who are both at/above 50% from three and from the field.
All in all, I personally think it would not be super helpful to relegate Miller to more of a Tanner Odegaard role, particularly from a defensive perspective. Johnson and Rensch aren't ready to hold opposing teams' scorers to lower scores and lower shooting percentages yet, and with our inability to make baskets at times, having weaker defenders out there is probably going to hurt more than help.
At the same time, Augieholic may jump in here and say, "You're absolutely right, Blue Ridge Viking..." and I'd likely defer to him.
Also, I will be curious to see how the Christmas break does/doesn't impact guys as far as getting a chance to rest and recover from injuries. You never know who has lingering issues from rolled ankles, knee tweaks, etc.Last edited by MrAugustana; 12-12-2022, 11:02 AM.
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Originally posted by vikingfaithful View Post
Shows how hard it is going from high school to the NSIC, even if you were a MN. Mr. BB candidate. Hope those guys stay and get better.
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Does anyone know why Vishe Rabb left the women's team (which is off the pretty nice start, by the way)? I just found out yesterday that she transferred to Alaska-Anchorage.
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I hate singling out college athletes, so, of course, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I wonder if we're not seeing Division 2 and the NSIC catching up to Ryan Miller.
He was a stud at NAIA Grand View and no doubt has talent. But after a more than respectable start to the season, he has hit a rough patch. In the five conference games so far, Miller is shooting 27 percent from the field (17 of 62). My sources tell me that's not optimal.
I've also seen on more than a couple of occasions opposing coaches try to take advantage of his size, having a larger guard back him down in the paint.
Perhaps he could better be used as a spark off the bench, sort of how Tanner Oedgaard was used during the glory years.
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Originally posted by Augieholic View Post
It's definitely surprising given his HS career but the few times he has been in have been rough. Hopefully he figures it out.
Rensch and Hinker are carrying this hyped freshmen class right now. Helgren has had brief glimmers but he just isn't strong enough to do much more than that right now.
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Originally posted by vikingfaithful View PostAnyone why Jackson Loge hasn't been playing lately?
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Originally posted by vikingfaithful View PostAnyone why Jackson Loge hasn't been playing lately?
Rensch and Hinker are carrying this hyped freshmen class right now. Helgren has had brief glimmers but he just isn't strong enough to do much more than that right now.
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Augie didn't play great but they played hard and rebounded. Tip of the cap to them
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Originally posted by vikingfaithful View Postsome of these fouls against AU are ridicules.
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Akoi Akoi continues to show new aspects of his game, some really nice dribble drives this evening
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