In the post game presser, Wilcher claimed he had an open look for that final three. But a camera angle from behind Wilcher showed his upper body was leaning to the right, presumably to avoid the defender, and Wilcher's shot missed badly to the right.
@Villanova, Wed., Feb. 12 , 6p, FS-1
- Thread starter lawmanfan
- Start date
Silly Donovan
Well-known member
Again, I go by the law of averages and percentages not what “feels good” at the time. But heck, if he made it, all would be right with the world.
Treasure Coast Johnny
Active member
The Wonder Five aren’t walking through the door.
Points are more likely to come from Ayo and/or Glover, IMO.
Silly Donovan
Well-known member
Another reason why Luis,Scott or Kadary would have been a better choice for the final shot. Because of their length, (height), they are less likely to have their shot blocked. If in fact Wilcher had to adjust to avoid a defender as you say.
In fact if you look back to the UConn game, whose shot was blocked in the closing seconds?
I assumed this game would be a 2-point loss going in so the result didn't surprise me. But it was interesting how we got there.
As I posted mid-game, we (predictably) came in prepared to take the 3 point line away from Nova and they (predictably) came in prepared to clog the lane and make us shoot from the outside.
Both teams were effective at doing that (Nova being more effective at it than I would have expected). We were surprisingly and pleasantly good at taking and making the 3s that they gave us.
Where we broke down in the first half (especially in the first 10 minutes) was defending the lane out of a spread defense, and the main culprit there was RJ who picked up where he left off last time we played Nova by getting cooked repeatedly by Poplar. When Pitino pulled him the defense improved and we made a game of it at the half.
Unfortunately in the second half Nova improved from 3 (at least twice because RJ failed to close out on the shooter and once because Dixon made one over Scott playing truly heroic defense).
The net result of RJ not producing defensively and getting benched for large stretches was - especially with Smith out - not enough offense to overcome the first 10 minutes. Kadary with 3 consecutive turnovers late and Zuby contributing nothing on offense did not help either.
Overall it was just one of those games, chalk it up and move on the Creighton. Win that and we probably hold in the rankings around 12 or something depending on other games. And truthfully I am not that concerned with the number next to our name, it's just about getting to the tournament with a decent seed and hopefully doing some damage.
As I posted mid-game, we (predictably) came in prepared to take the 3 point line away from Nova and they (predictably) came in prepared to clog the lane and make us shoot from the outside.
Both teams were effective at doing that (Nova being more effective at it than I would have expected). We were surprisingly and pleasantly good at taking and making the 3s that they gave us.
Where we broke down in the first half (especially in the first 10 minutes) was defending the lane out of a spread defense, and the main culprit there was RJ who picked up where he left off last time we played Nova by getting cooked repeatedly by Poplar. When Pitino pulled him the defense improved and we made a game of it at the half.
Unfortunately in the second half Nova improved from 3 (at least twice because RJ failed to close out on the shooter and once because Dixon made one over Scott playing truly heroic defense).
The net result of RJ not producing defensively and getting benched for large stretches was - especially with Smith out - not enough offense to overcome the first 10 minutes. Kadary with 3 consecutive turnovers late and Zuby contributing nothing on offense did not help either.
Overall it was just one of those games, chalk it up and move on the Creighton. Win that and we probably hold in the rankings around 12 or something depending on other games. And truthfully I am not that concerned with the number next to our name, it's just about getting to the tournament with a decent seed and hopefully doing some damage.
I've enjoyed seeing you come full circle back to sanity in your posts on this thread lol
Jims is exciting. Battling his inner demons on full display for us.
What % do you expect for a kid shooting an up and under 3 pointer at the buzzer? That's like 15% shot. Kadary should have at least threatened to drive to create some space. He just dumped it off casually with Dixon right there to deter Sim's first attempt.
37 3s.... Gwow... im gonna go with....- Rick knows Sim/Scott can shoot- he sees them everyday in practice... in order for them to make a run in March... they are gonna have to make shots. He is gonna have them let if fly until they start to see them go in...
Silly Donovan
Well-known member
Agree but according to Pitino, the play all along was to let Wilcher take the shot. As I mentioned in a previous post, a longer (taller) player should have been set up for the three. Less of a chance of it getting blocked like Wilcher’s shot was in the UConn game.
carmineabbatiello
Well-known member
On this particular play RJ's "in position to shut it off" was really an in position to attempt a risky reach in against a good free throw shooting team down 1 and in the bonus.
If I was looking to knock him on this play he did sort of wander in the abyss when the ball went to the corner and could have moved sooner to the game winner shooter as that appeared to be the likely outlet.
Rick also seemed totally happy with it. It’s more than the Marq/Uconn game combined and don’t think it’s a winning strategy, but if this is how we can get them going for the next six weeks, definitely worth it
RJ and Kadary can get a shot anytime they want -- and do just that, often. Why does it matter who is watching them do that? Ayo and Prey both get after the offensive glass at a + level. I lost count of how many plays Ayo affected positively with pure hustle.
This isn't the Butler Final Four teams here. We launch threes, go one-on-one, and just completely wear teams down with defense and rebounding to make winning possible.
If we can stop them on the other end, it shouldn't matter. Prey has exceeded any reasonable expectation defensively this season. We might have the top front court defense in the country next year.
Now the issue of the TIE may be solved if coach Rick shows up for Creighton with the open collar look?????
Sorry, Luis was not triple teaming anyone. He gave Poplar an Ole wave as he went by and then watched him, going out on Perkins only after the ball was rotated via the corner. He was primarily a spectator. For sure generally not his nature but that’s what happened.
He had a rough night. In the first half he couldn't stop the ball and in the second half he couldn't close out on 3 point shooters. Most games he brings you more in rebounding and offense than he costs you with the few mental mistakes, and he also adds a lot defensively. This just wasn't one of those games and especially with Smith out the team just didn't have enough to pull it out on the road.
As noted it isn't all on RJ - Kadary did not bring his A game offensively plus had a few terrible turnovers, Zuby had one of those games where he was either out of position to rebound because he had to chase Dixon and when he was in position the ball bounced the other way, Glover, Liotopoulos, and Vince can't be put into the game for more than 2 minutes (maybe less for Glover).
But the off night from RJ in combination with no Smith, limited bench, and on the road against a Nova team that played hard was not a prescription for success.
You're right. I should have said that RJ was about to triple team Poplar near the foul line where Zuby and Wilcher were but he realized Perkins was open behind the three point line but got to Perkins too late. You yourself said that "He gave Poplar an Ole wave as he went by .... He was primarily a spectator." This indicates that RJ was out of position which was exactly my point.
He should do nothing but drive…he is unorthodox but he seems to make ‘em