Youthful UALR struggling to put opponents away

BURN THE HORSE

The bottom line remains that until this young team figures out  a way to put away an opponent, it's going to continue to be a long season. We saw a lot of really good things from young players like Chuck Guy, Will Neighbour, Taggart Lockhart and Ben Dillard today.We also saw each make crucial mistakes at the point in time in which UALR couldn't afford them.

A couple of thoughts from today's game:

• Will Neighbour had 15 points and 9 rebounds on Sunday. He did this while only taking five shots from the field -- three in the first half and two in the second. We love that Neighbour didn't force any shots(although he did have six turnovers), but he's got to get more looks at the basket than that. Neighbour also had a definite missed defensive assignment late that allowed SMU to widen its lead.
• UALR had more offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of Sunday's game (5) than SMU had the entire game (3). That's a definite plus.
• D'Andre Williams had 21 points to lead UALR. But he had eight turnovers. And he was only 1 of 8 from behind the three-point arc. He was seven of 10 inside it. Williams is potent with that pull up 10-15 footer. He's got to do more of that and less driving all the way to the basket Solomon Bozeman style.
• UALR is getting almost nothing out of its newest juco recruits. Reggie Fondren didn't see the court again and Eric Lawton struggled to stay on the court once he got in. That does speak well for the future. The youth movement appears to be the way to go.
• UALR built a 14-point first half lead before SMU went to the press. Turnovers quickly started to add up for the Trojans. Zone offense execution has improved some, but the turnovers have got to become less if UALR is going to contend in the Sun Belt.

More later.