Its simple – Moore looking for Scots to just get better
brian questel
December 28, 2011
327
010112 Scots
Promo: Scots hoping strong showing in Mose Hole Tournament will give them strong push into NCAC play
Could we throw this on the web for Thursday?
Its simple – Moore looking for Scots to just get better
By Brian Questel
On paper, The College of Woosters mens basketball is having another strong season. It is 7-2 on the year as it headed into the Mose Hole Classic, the 49th edition of the tournament that honors the former Scot coach who guided the program to 412 wins from 1926-1958.
There are some obvious chinks, though. Wooster is in the rare position of being sub-.500 with a pair of North Coast Athletic Conference losses already (1-2 NCAC), albeit to Wittenberg (3-0 NCAC, 5-3 overall) and nationally ranked Wabash (14th, 2-0 NCAC, 9-1 overall). The number two also factored into the Scots Puerto Rico trip over the holidays where Wooster won twice, but only after rallying from a 20-point deficit against St. Marys (Md.) before emerging with a 63-61 victory.
The Scots are back home for the first of five straight home games. That began with the Mose Hole Tournament Dec. 29-30 with Wooster scheduled to Thiel (7-2) and then Heidelberg (3-6) on successive nights. Wooster will play Geneva Jan. 4 in its final non-league game before kicking off the NCAC portion of its schedule with games against Oberlin (Jan. 7) and Hiram (Jan. 11).
Wooster coach Steve Moore is looking for his team to make the major improvements its needs in this span, especially since classes wont resume at Wooster until Jan. 16.
Since we returned from our trip the players had five days off, said Moore. Were just trying to improve right now. These two games (in the Mose Hole) are important games. We need to play well and start putting things together.
Even though we won two games in Puerto Rico, we didnt play well offensively. We need to be more efficient.
There are two pressing needs in Moores eyes, but the biggest is turnovers. That has been a critical issue even in Wooster wins as the Scots are averaging over 15 turnovers a game this season.
Weve had entirely too many unforced errors, said Moore. Weve had turnovers when teams arent pressuring us and were turning it over because were in a hurry. We want to be aggressive, but not force things and rush.
Thats one. The other is shot selection. Once again, guys are getting into too much of a hurry. We want that fine line between being aggressive and not hurrying and forcing things.
Its a fixable mental issue, added Moore.
We have to settle down and slow down, he said. I think were capable of executing the way we want. We have some new guys in the mix with our returning players and its a mater of coming together and jelling.
The Mose Hole Tournament will take on a classic format as opposed to a tournament championship because Hiram (the fourth team) is coming in as a conference opponent, said Moore. It will still be two good games for the fans each night with a tournament feel.
Our two opponents are very similar in style, he added. Both like to play fast and a transition game. Theyll pressure and be very up-tempo. Well have to do a good job against the fastbreak. Thiel especially is very aggressive and fast. If we let them get into the open court, well have a hard time. We have to work on getting back and making good transition. That starts with good offense – not forcing shots and not turning it over and just getting back.
Heidelberg is a lot that way, too. That will be a big key, trying to slow the transition game.
Moore hoped to add a couple of wins and build some momentum heading into the conference portion of the schedule.
Were certainly not in a great position in the conference with two losses, said Moore. The way were approaching it is we have a long way to go. Weve only played three conference games and well see what happens. All we can do is try to get better as a team so we when we get back into playing conference games were playing better basketball.
Our main goal is to improve and be playing our best basketball late in the season. Over the years, most of the time the winner of our league has only one or two losses, but there are some good teams in the league and it could be different this year.
