Bulldogs edge Catamounts

ASHEVILLE One ill-advised elbow set off a wild, nine-minute finish during which neither team pulled ahead by more than five points - and even that margin lasted just 16 seconds.

[Hoopster]

UNCA has proven to be the better program over the past 10-15 years. Eddie Biedenbach is now 6-4 vs. WCU and the Bulldogs have consistently competed for Big South titles while WCU hasn't had a winning season in 12 years.

[Metoo]

Best game ever.

[G-hogg]

Western's once-proud-athletic programs that produced Henry Logan and Brad Hoover of the Panthers, now produces Keystone Kops highlights. A prime example of what college administrators can do to successful programs.

[ktrain]

Can somebody explain to me why Coach Biedenbach isn't starting his best shooter? Sean Smith hits almost 50% of his 3's. Nobody else on the team is close.

[Rick]

ktrain wrote:

Can somebody explain to me why Coach Biedenbach isn't starting his best shooter? Sean Smith hits almost 50% of his 3's. Nobody else on the team is close.

I think Sean Smith has started almost all of the games this season. I, for one, was glad to see him come off the bench in this game. He is pretty much a one-dimensional player.....a great pure shooter from downtown. Got his pocket picked in the final minute (because he is not a good ball handler) which almost cost us the game. I think he is much more valuable coming off the bench (especially when the other team drops back into a zone defense).

[ktrain]

I'm not sure what you're watching out there. Smith's not one-dimensional, and he's a very good ball handler. When Smith's on the court, the ball moves. He doesn't dribble the air out of the ball. He also has less turnovers than any of the other starters. They need his offense. If he played more minutes and Asheville actually designed a play for him, he'd score 20 a game.

[Rick]

ktrain wrote:

I'm not sure what you're watching out there. Smith's not one-dimensional, and he's a very good ball handler. When Smith's on the court, the ball moves. He doesn't dribble the air out of the ball. He also has less turnovers than any of the other starters. They need his offense. If he played more minutes and Asheville actually designed a play for him, he'd score 20 a game.

It has always interested me how someone who has never seen a UNCA game in person can think he knows more than a guy who goes to several games a year. While you are watching UNCA games online or on TV, you can only see what the cameras show you. I have been following UNCA basketball since I was a student there 40 years ago. I went to Kansas City to watch us play in the NAIA tourney in '71 and went to Dayton and Birmingham when we had our only NCAA tourney games a few years back. I was perhaps oversimplifying a bit when I said Smith is one-dimensional. He did have a good well rounded game at one of the games I went to earlier this season (I think it was the Catawba game) where he had several assists and several rebounds but in that game he scored no points and he played lots of minutes and had several opportunities to score but since the other team was playing man-to-man almost the entire game, he couldn't get off his fabuluous 3-point shot from the corner. This week, he played very few minutes (maybe he was sick) but he started the game and was called for 3 fouls in less than 30 seconds to lead off the 2nd half b/c he was attempting to guard a guy more athletic than he is. High Point was playing mostly zone so I kept wondering why Eddie wasn't playing Smith more against that zone. I don't deny that I also second guess Eddie from time to time, but overall I am very satisfied with his coaching and appreciate all of what he brings to the table. He only has two years left on his contract after this season at which time he will be 65 and will most probably retire. I think you will see then when we had in Eddie b/c it will be very hard to bring in a coach of his caliber to a 3500 student school that has higher academic standards than any other school in the Big South.