The Next 5 Games...

[quote="weathermannyc" post=369478]I think at least part of the Arizona result can be attributed to them taking us lightly and not being prepared for our intensity to start the game. We caught them on their heels early and took advantage.

They made their run when they stopped turning the ball over. We were not going to have consistent offense with out Heron if we don't get live ball turnovers that create the opportunity for fast break opportunities and easy buckets. Hustle and hard work don't allow you to go toe to toe with a more skilled and athletic team in a half court setting. We have to dictate tempo AND convert the opportunities we get in order to be successful.

Also, you are going to miss "bunnies" when the other team is more athletic. Just because a shot is close to the basket does not make it an easy shot. If your runner is fading away or high off the glass to avoid a shot block the degree of difficulty goes way up even though it may only be a three foot shot. We saw that a lot with LoVett, Simon and Ponds in years past where they attempted an off balance runner and missed because they were off-balance.[/quote]

Energy and 50/50 balls. We have won them all season except for one game. I didn’t expect anything different in this game. Rarely does any team come out and play their best every game. But our guys will always be the aggressor. The games we aren’t, we’ll lose. But these guys have brought their hard hats every game. They had lost 2 out of 3 before getting to us. No way they took us lightly. They wanted it. Our guys wanted it more.

I have no reason to think this will change come conference. These guys are embracing the little things now. And they are super scrappy. Dangerous team, especially if they hit shots.
 
Talk about a perfect marriage-Coach Anderson's style of play and a team full of coachable young men filled with desire, athleticism and energy is an amazing fit. I do not think there are more than a handful of coaches that would have this team at 11-2. Everyone has not just accepted their role, they thrive in it. That's what makes this team fun to watch. Everyone has a chance to contribute since they are given a role that allows them to showcase their best skills. Rutherford has surprised me with his quick hands and his ability to play the passing lanes. Earlington went from benchwarmer to a guy that Spanarkel said is tough to take out of his game. Roberts is playing with confidence and under control. I could go on with each player, since everyone has contributed. This is more exciting than anything I could have hoped for.
 
I’ll add, I don’t think these teams are ready for us in terms of how well we defend, rebound, turn them over and take care of the ball as well. They expect an 8th or 9th ranked Big East team that has won against cupcakes. When the game is on, and we are running circles it becomes too late. Case in point, I was reading one of the Butler threads on their boards and one guy posted something to the effect that “I think we will turn them over enough to win the game”. Not sure they realize that we are 19th nationally in turnovers forced, 20th nationally In Turnover margin, 5th in total rebounds and 4th in total rebounds per game. We do quite a few things really, really well even at the national level.

I don’t think teams will continue to take us lightly but the problem really becomes, what can they do to negate our strengths? The answer is, not all that much. You can stop a team from scoring, but we suck at that already and are winning despite not being extremely adept offensively. You can’t just stop a team in all those hustle stats that easily.
 
Last edited:
The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.
 
[quote="Duke of Earlington" post=369500]The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.[/quote]

This has always been a concern but we have been defending the perimeter relatively well. There will be teams that hit their stride shooting-wise and those are gonna be tough games to pull out if we don’t shoot well. That said, we need to continue turning teams over, forcing bad shots, taking them out of their tempo.
 
[quote="MCNPA" post=369505][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=369500]The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.[/quote]

This has always been a concern but we have been defending the perimeter relatively well. There will be teams that hit their stride shooting-wise and those are gonna be tough games to pull out if we don’t shoot well. That said, we need to continue turning teams over, forcing bad shots, taking them out of their tempo.[/quote]

Plus, every once in a while a team is gonna be feeling it. You’ll run into a buzzsaw. That’s the nature of the beast. Especially in a wide open year like this. This team has been tested in just about every way. Gonna be a fun Jan-March.
 
[quote="CMA TIME" post=369481][quote="weathermannyc" post=369478]I think at least part of the Arizona result can be attributed to them taking us lightly and not being prepared for our intensity to start the game. We caught them on their heels early and took advantage.

They made their run when they stopped turning the ball over. We were not going to have consistent offense with out Heron if we don't get live ball turnovers that create the opportunity for fast break opportunities and easy buckets. Hustle and hard work don't allow you to go toe to toe with a more skilled and athletic team in a half court setting. We have to dictate tempo AND convert the opportunities we get in order to be successful.

Also, you are going to miss "bunnies" when the other team is more athletic. Just because a shot is close to the basket does not make it an easy shot. If your runner is fading away or high off the glass to avoid a shot block the degree of difficulty goes way up even though it may only be a three foot shot. We saw that a lot with LoVett, Simon and Ponds in years past where they attempted an off balance runner and missed because they were off-balance.[/quote]

"Also, you are going to miss "bunnies" when the other team is more athletic. Just because a shot is close to the basket does not make it an easy shot."
True, but I also saw a few uncontested shot that were just missed.[/quote]

See Charles Smith, NY Knicks
 
[quote="Ray Morgan" post=369491]Before the season started, just about every poster was expecting a rebuilding year. A few optimists were hoping for escaping the Big East cellar. There was no talk of the NIT, let alone the NCAA. Now there are arguments over how much we should have beaten the 15th ranked team by. [/quote]

To quote the infamous Lee Corso; "Not so fast my friend..."

https://redmen.com/forum/redmentalk/274719-roster.html?start=60
 
[quote="Duke of Earlington" post=369500]The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.[/quote]

Agreed Duke, teams that are very proficient and shooting the three will be a tough match up for us. Every three they hit we have to score twice to beat them. Can we create enough Turnovers to do that? We are really going to have to concentrate on running them off the three point line and force them into taking shots inside the arc.
 
[quote="Big Red" post=369507][quote="MCNPA" post=369505][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=369500]The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.[/quote]

This has always been a concern but we have been defending the perimeter relatively well. There will be teams that hit their stride shooting-wise and those are gonna be tough games to pull out if we don’t shoot well. That said, we need to continue turning teams over, forcing bad shots, taking them out of their tempo.[/quote]

Plus, every once in a while a team is gonna be feeling it. You’ll run into a buzzsaw. [/quote]

I was gonna say the same thing.

This team has been tested in just about every way. Gonna be a fun Jan-March.
Click to expand...

Agree.
 
[quote="SJUFAN2" post=369522][quote="Ray Morgan" post=369491]Before the season started, just about every poster was expecting a rebuilding year. A few optimists were hoping for escaping the Big East cellar. There was no talk of the NIT, let alone the NCAA. Now there are arguments over how much we should have beaten the 15th ranked team by. [/quote]

To quote the infamous Lee Corso; "Not so fast my friend..."

[URL]https://redmen.com/forum/redmentalk/274719-roster.html?start[/URL]=60[/quote]

I'll piggy back on that

[URL]https://www.redmen.com/forum/redmentalk/274291-welcome-back-lj-figueroa.html?start[/URL]=428
 
[quote="Mean Gene" post=369524][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=369500]The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.[/quote]

Agreed Duke, teams that are very proficient and shooting the three will be a tough match up for us. Every three they hit we have to score twice to beat them. Can we create enough Turnovers to do that? We are really going to have to concentrate on running them off the three point line and force them into taking shots inside the arc.[/quote]

I agree with this concern, but I’m also waiting to see what adjustments offensively Coach makes here, especially with driving and kicking. Late in some of these games, we’ve gotten into a mode of passing around the perimeter and settling for jump shots, with many of them contested and often off balance. Even good shooting teams don’t make a high percentage of those. When Dunn or Nick or LJ drive the ball, another option besides crashing the net or shooting a floater, needs to be a kick out to an open man. We haven’t done much of this, especially in the last 5-10 minutes (although we did vs, UMass). And as Logan has pointed out, it doesn’t hurt to set a pick once in awhile, especially for LJ and Heron just to give them some space. Point is, our defense is way ahead of our offense, but we can make adjustments too that will help our shooting %. We won’t be an offensive juggernaut, but I do think our O will improve over the coming weeks.
 
[quote="Jnaw17" post=369552][quote="Mean Gene" post=369524][quote="Duke of Earlington" post=369500]The one thing that is concerning is our lack of 3 point shooting. When we play a team like Creighton, how can we keep up?

Big teams like WVU, we can bang with. But I am very concerned about games against teams that can hit the 3.[/quote]

Agreed Duke, teams that are very proficient and shooting the three will be a tough match up for us. Every three they hit we have to score twice to beat them. Can we create enough Turnovers to do that? We are really going to have to concentrate on running them off the three point line and force them into taking shots inside the arc.[/quote]

I agree with this concern, but I’m also waiting to see what adjustments offensively Coach makes here, especially with driving and kicking. Late in some of these games, we’ve gotten into a mode of passing around the perimeter and settling for jump shots, with many of them contested and often off balance. Even good shooting teams don’t make a high percentage of those. When Dunn or Nick or LJ drive the ball, another option besides crashing the net or shooting a floater, needs to be a kick out to an open man. We haven’t done much of this, especially in the last 5-10 minutes (although we did vs, UMass). And as Logan has pointed out, it doesn’t hurt to set a pick once in awhile, especially for LJ and Heron just to give them some space. Point is, our defense is way ahead of our offense, but we can make adjustments too that will help our shooting %. We won’t be an offensive juggernaut, but I do think our O will improve over the coming weeks.[/quote]

FWIW, I don’t think where or how you get your points matters a bit as long as you score and so far for the most part we are scoring. I agree completely that our success or failure will rely very much on tempo, on our ability to speed up other teams.
One of the things coaches grapple with is how does the team get “easy” points; we get them so far from turnovers and follow ups and if we continue to get a couple or three of each of those a game we will at least be in games. I don’t see how shooting the ball will be a strength unless either or both Figueroa and Heron can do a 180. Other than those guys we have scorers not shooters.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top