Wisconsin game
- Thread starter tom in salem
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The press assumes you are playing an aggressive man to man. The zone clearly makes our athletes lazy on defense and there seems to be little communication. This same team coached by Coach Cluess would have driven Wisconsin nuts.
Wisconsin shot 23 treys and hit 48%. That is horrendous defense against a good shooting team. Coaches Lavin, Hines, Keady and company need a closed door meeting and figure crap out quickly .
Lavin has never been a strong coach. But he still has as many "Sweet 16's" and "Elite 8's," as Ryan.
Do not give me anything about the players Lavin had at UCLA versus Ryan had at Wisconsin. Regardless, Ryan is probably considered the better coach, and has an established program.
Alot of our issues come with our players collective low IQ. Sanchez, Harrison, and Jordan have basketball smarts. The others do not have it. Pointer will occasionally flash some smarts, but he's still not quite there yet.
I still believe if we'd presed more then things could've been different. It's a new season, and Lavin gets the benefit of the doubt from me.
This SEASON, not this game, will be the judge of this staff.
Thanks for the props! Appreciate it!
I agree with you on both those points, ccnobz. I understand Jordan's just a freshman, and he's trying to be a true point after playing a bit of both guard spots in high school, but right now, I think he defers to his teammates a little TOO much. I view him as the least of our problems.
Always tough to tell on TV, but Harrison passed the test tonight. I don't mean scoring. He was called for a couple of tickey-tack fouls, and didn't go ballistic. Looks like he's getting along well with his teammates and his coaching staff, even when things are not going well. That was not the case last year.
Sampson was a monster out there. Pointer has to adjust to the rules, because we need him out there. Obekpa was a non-factor due to the fact that Wisconsin played so much on the perimeter. Greene and Branch stink, and the scary part is , they do play hard, and are likely getting most out of their abilities.
Overall, a disappointing showing, but I'm not ready to jump ship after just 1 game, against a ranked team no less.
Nobody is suggesting the season is over. We're going to be fine, especially when Jordan and Sanchez, who showed flashes of their upside and inexperience, get going.
That doesn't make the play tonight, regardless of outcome, any less telling about where Wisconsin is and where St. John's is.
It was Wisconsin's first game too. Why is it that they are capable of looking polished, purposeful, sure of what they want to do individually and collectively, particularly on offense? They executed on another planet from us.
We travelled about 5 times in the first half, didn't get an in-offense basket until pointer to Harrison on a flex cut at the 3:03 mark of first half, and were generally disjointed outside of the middle 10 minutes in the second half when we sped the game up. Of course, zero adjustments defensively. We do exactly what the other team wants us to. Overcommit on every drive for wide open 3s and go for every pump fake trying to block shots at rim for easy lay ups. Tons of second chances always available.
Wisconsin doesn't need a first/one game caveat. They were ready to take it to us from minute one. You could feel that disclaimer coming for us before the game even started. We can get there, but that's the difference between a Wisconsin and a St. John's right now. No rationalizations needed.
That doesn't make the play tonight, regardless of outcome, any less telling about where Wisconsin is and where St. John's is.
It was Wisconsin's first game too. Why is it that they are capable of looking polished, purposeful, sure of what they want to do individually and collectively, particularly on offense? They executed on another planet from us.
We travelled about 5 times in the first half, didn't get an in-offense basket until pointer to Harrison on a flex cut at the 3:03 mark of first half, and were generally disjointed outside of the middle 10 minutes in the second half when we sped the game up. Of course, zero adjustments defensively. We do exactly what the other team wants us to. Overcommit on every drive for wide open 3s and go for every pump fake trying to block shots at rim for easy lay ups. Tons of second chances always available.
Wisconsin doesn't need a first/one game caveat. They were ready to take it to us from minute one. You could feel that disclaimer coming for us before the game even started. We can get there, but that's the difference between a Wisconsin and a St. John's right now. No rationalizations needed.
I agree Harrison seemed calm( for him). I actually have more confidence in Greene than Branch- I thought Greene was ok tonight. Jordan looked much more comfortable as the game went on and I really think the sky is the limit for him. We have to sharpen the pencil with these next bunch of games and hopefully beat Ole Miss and Cuse when we face them to get into the top 25.
We have an athletic team that can't shoot but we can't run because we don't press and trap to turn the other team over and we can't run because we are a terrible rebounding team that gets beat om most 50-50 balls. One of the added benifits of trapping is you learn the discipline to not reach and react to ball and shot fakes which just kill us. Meanwhile, the advantages of athleticism are greatly diminished without toughness. Somewhere in this thread Jayson Williams and Dennis Rodman were mentioned in regards to rebounding, neither were even remotely great leapers but both wanted the ball, every ball, every time. Who on this team plays that way? Needless to say, I was very frustrated by tonight's game, not the result at all but the way we approached the game and the effort from the start. Losing is one thing, never really even being in the game is another. Yes, we got it to 4 and then gave up one of the quickest and easiest 6 point runs you'll ever see. You put pressure on another team defensively and Wisconsin played in a rocking chair all night, like most teams last year and that was what I was hoping to see different. So, yes, MJ Dinkins, it was one game but to me it was extremely frustrating because we had to take that next step towards a Wisconsin like discipline and cohesiveness to improve and other than Harrison's court demeanor, which was excellent, I felt like I was watching last year's team. We had an off-season and a European trip to change that and I hope the sightseeing in Europe was educational.
westchesterjoe
Active member
Kudos to you, MJ. Seriously, your post hits the nail on the head about this team's problems. I listen much better when you don't insult people.
This game was lost in the first 10 minutes and Lavin had no adjustments that were going to turn the tide.It's been a recurring theme. That's why so many posters are so frustrated with the same results last year, this game. It's like watching the same movie, over and over again.
We were all looking for a better effort from our guys and if they lost but, looked good we could take a lot from the game.. It didn't happen. I hope you agree we need to run the table now, until the SYRACUSE game in December?
Good analysis. Billy Singleton. Couldn't jump more than a few inches because of blown knees, but good rebounder. He was in the gym all the time. Jayson was in the gym too but the difference was Singleton was on the court practicing. Jayson was always in the stands surrounded by young ladies. I don't think he developed his NBA All Star work ethic until after he left St Johns.
