Quick stuff (Cuse game)...

[gary-7]

...and it's just never easy with this bunch, huh? 😏

Look, this won't take long, because truth be known, there was basically a tough issue on each end, both of which took longer than thay shouid've getting resolved.

- Defense: As frusrating as it was to watch. we played decent D for most of the evening. Problem was, thse f***ers just made seemingly everything they threw up --- sometimes almost literally. And look, I've watched this Cuse team at least 5 times this season and generally they couldn't buy half the buckets they knocked down tonight. In fact, last time I watched them was vs dook, and they got WAYYYY better looks in that game, but couldn't throw it in the ocean... and at their place, no less. Sheesh.

- With that said, they did present a match-up problem on that end as far as size-v-size goes. And with #21 seemingly having sold his soul for one unconscious game, and with Leaky on Buddy, that left 21 with a size advantage. Now, normally you could leave him alone in a gym and he couldn't shoot like that, but just wow tonight. That's one reason we saw Puff and Leaky on the floor together at times. Puff held up admirably, all things considered, BTW. I'm sure you also noticed that Bacot was often the odd-Big-out guarding the other Boeheim. Jimmy tried to take advantage of that mismatch by running Junior at point, but Mando held up admirably without fouling.

- Offense: Go back to my post earlier today in the Leaky thread describing our Zone Offense. And while nobody would confuse tonight's execution with the Berry/Pinson teams, we didn't do an awful job overall running it, especially for not having seen much Zone this season. The issues however, were two-fold. 1) The Guards often didn't move their front enough to make the pivot entry, but MOST importantly, 2) We hesitated once we got it in there. Both Brady and Leaky were guilty of waiting too long to act.

- Expanding on that last point, once you catch the ball in the pivot (middle), for a split second --- and a split second ONLY --- you're gonna have a de facto 2-on-1, i.e., if the Center comes up to challenge you, there will almost always be a dump to the block and/or short-corner guy available, but you MUST anticipate that before the other baseline defender recovers to the paint. OR... if they leave you alone, you MUST attack --- by (ideally) attacking the rim or at least a little 8-footer --- without hesitation. And if they start collapsing from the perimeter, well, then there WILL be a rhythm-3 available on a kick-out. The coach buddy I watched with and I probably were a spectacle, coaching the damn TV screen, as we were imploring out loud in near unison, 'GET IT TO HIM!" or "ATTACK!"... 😬

- Finally, random points: I actually felt good for the first time all night when we went to OT. There was no just way Cuse was gonna sustain what they'd been doing. and somehow the staff finally got our guys executing our Zone-O. In fact, the best sequences of doing it right were in OT, and we thus pulled away. Also, for those wondering why we only played 6 guys, fact is we never got any room to take a breath, and with the way they were shooting?... who were you gonna have the subs guarding?... and with the pace of the game, fatiigue was less of a factor than it has been. Honestly (other than the offensive heistation), my biggest negative from our end was getting outfought for 50/50 balls and securing defensive rebounds. They reach on every one, but you can't rely on getting a call. SNATCH the dadgummed rock!!!

Anyway, it's another win that I'll take. Truth is, Cuse would've been a problem for ANYONE tonight, the way they shot it. And as frustrated I got with Caleb at times, damned if that kid doesn't have the alpha in him, enough at least to have a short memory and make big shots. So, let's get rested up, have a good week of practice and go spoil ESPN's Rat-fest Saturday.........

 

[dtodd4475]

That was a last gasp, see who has the onions to salvage the season win. I was very disheartened with how everyone except Caleb seemed to shy away from "a big shot" even when given room.

I thought Brady could thrive in the high post zone catches, he did not. Was hesitant, almost refused to take the 13-15 footer. Was thinking not playing. RJ went AWOL late, Mando lost aggression. Caleb said eff that! Still that is a long 3 by Mr. Love that saves us, never should of came to that.

With that said, that was as exciting a win in a long while, a do or die stretch in basically a win or go home game where Mr. Love carried us home. VERY IMPRESSIVE!!! Alpha Dog sheit!!!

 

[gary-7]

I thought Brady could thrive in the high post zone catches, he did not. Was hesitant, almost refused to take the 13-15 footer. Was thinking not playing.

True, but in fairness, it was Brady's first extended run in our Zone-O, and he still put up a great stat line, even with the hesitation. I suspect if we see another Zone team he may well go off.

 

[dtodd4475]

True, but in fairness, it was Brady's first extended run in our Zone-O, and he still put up a great stat line, even with the hesitation. I suspect if we see another Zone team he may well go off.

Agree totally! He just was new to that spot, and it showed.

 

[alabamaheel]

Agree totally! He just was new to that spot, and it showed.

Lol he went 9-18 for 22 points had 5 boards and 3 assists with zero tos. You say hesitant I say smart.

 

[gary-7]

Lol he went 9-18 for 22 points had 5 boards and 3 assists with zero tos. You say hesitant I say smart.

@dtodd4475 was correct. Those two things are not a dichotomy. Brady could've easily gone for 30 with 10 dimes, as this year's Cuse team is uncharacteristically weak on the baseline on defense.

He played well --- best of anyone on the team in many ways --- but more was there for the taking without the hesitation.

 

[gthreadgill7929]

Man we really needed someone to shoot that shot at the free throw line.

A few times I thought Leaky or Brady might pull the trigger but no dice. They either elected to drive and finish through contact or dump to either the block or a cutting short corner.

But I will say; with Puff running a majority his time up top with the guards in the zone offense, I thought for sure we’d see a Styles sighting early. I haven’t seen a dude with that type of athleticism that can shoot that short jumper in a while.

Figured it would’ve been a good time to see if he couldn’t get a few shots at that spot while putting some length and athleticism on Swider, Jimmy, or Buddy.

 

[gary-7]

Man we really needed someone to shoot that shot in the paint.

A few times I thought Leaky or Brady might pull the trigger but no dice. They either elected to drive and finish through contact or dump to either the block or cutting short corner.

But I will say; with Puff running a majority his time up top with the guards in the zone offense, I thought for sure we’d see a Styles sighting early. I haven’t seen a dude with that type of athleticism that can shoot that short jumper in a while.

Figured it would’ve been a good time to see if he couldn’t get a few shots at that spot while putting some length and athleticism on Swider, Jimmy, or Buddy.

He's the one other bench guy I thought could help, for exactly those reasons. Just wish he was more trustworthy with the ball and less foul-prone.

 

[dtodd4475]

No, @dtodd4475 was correct. Those two things are not a dichotomy. Brady could've easily gone for 30 with 10 dimes, as this year's Cuse team is uncharacteristically weak on the baseline on defense.

He played well --- best of anyone on the team in many ways --- but more was there for the taking without the hesitation.

I also agree that it was the lack of him being in that position basically ever that had him hesitating. A couple times getting acclimated in that spot against their zone he absolutely torches them, and the game is not close.

 

[gthreadgill7929]

He's the one other bench guy I thought could help, for exactly those reasons. Just wish he was more trustworthy with the ball and less foul-prone.

I honestly think it comes down to decision making with the ball. Anyone can hover the free throw line, untouched, waiting for the ball. But being patient enough to take what the defense gives you when the ball comes to you is the real test.

 

[gary-7]

I also agree that it was the lack of being in that position that had him hesitating. A couple times getting acclimated in that spot against their zone he absolutely torches them, and the game is not close.

Yep, and in OT he went to work in there. Either one of the coaches and/or he himself got Brady to see what was there in front of him. BIg fella was a difference-maker.

 

[gary-7]

I honestly think it comes down to decision making with the ball. Anyone can hover the free throw line, untouched, waiting for the ball. But being patient enough to take what the defense gives you when the ball comes to you is the real test.

Yep, folks underestimate the power of confidence. That as much as anything makes the game "slow down".

 

[gthreadgill7929]

Yep, folks underestimate the power of confidence. That as much as anything makes the game "slow down".

And that simply comes with time. Only an elite few have that ability to come on campus and can immediately just slow the game down for themselves day one.

 

[gary-7]

And that simply comes with time. Only an elite few have that ability to come on campus and can immediately just slow the game down for themselves day one.

Amen to that. Phil Ford and Tyler Hansbrough were two of those rare guys, and hell, Psycho was too intense to know any better .

For those who remember MJ's freshman year, even he went thru a confidence crisis in mid-season. But then that GTown game was like friggin Tony Stark suitin' up in the Mark VII. In other words, Duck!

But in all seriousness, and making no comparisons, I see big things for Dontrez once the light goes on.

 

[gthreadgill7929]

Amen to that. Phil Ford and Tyler Hansbrough were two of those rare guys, and hell, Psycho was too intense to know any better .

For those who remember MJ's freshman year, even he went thru a confidence crisis in mid-season. But then that GTown game was like friggin Tony Stark suitin' up in the Mark VII. In other words, Duck!

But in all seriousness, I see big things for Dontrez once the light goes on.

For real, same here. He has all the tools to be a real contributor for years to come. But again, it all comes down to confidence. Once it clicks for him…look out 👀

 

[Indy_Heel]

It just looked odd tonight on offense when the ball went into the ACC logo/FT line. They just seemed shocked to be that wide open. I thought Manek would kill them in that space. But like you said Gary the hesitation/lack of experience against that zone got to Manek a maybe a little. Did we even take one 10-12 ft shot in that area. I’m just used to seeing 5+ shots from that range against Cuse. I will say this though Manek might of had the quietest 22 pts I’ve seen. I guess just because I remember him facilitating more than shooting. Lol.

Leaky… gutty performance tonight! You could see him during dead balls limping or just fighting the pain. Played good D on both guys tonight. I give credit to HD for sitting Love for a good stretch in the 2nd while Puff played against Swider. Leaky and Puffs length got to him a little bit and was giving the ball up more. Swider scored 36 and I think 30 of those points he threw his arms up bitching he didn’t get the and 1. Must of learned that from his coach bitching all the time.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

I know you can't base a game from another game, however Duke stomped a mud hole in Syracuse and we barely beat them. I hope that's not a sign for Saturday 😕😟

 

[FlaTarHeel]

...and it's just never easy with this bunch, huh? 😏

Anyway, it's another win that I'll take. Truth is, Cuse would've been a problem for ANYONE tonight, the way they shot it. And as frustrated I got with Caleb at times, damned if that kid doesn't have the alpha in him, enough at least to have a short memory and make big shots. So, let's get rested up, have a good week of practice and go spoil ESPN's Rat-fest Saturday.........

That kid is a winner and should be a really good pro in 3-4 years.
His three pointer that put us in OT was the biggest shot by a Tar Heel this season. ✍️

 

[gary-7]

I know you can't base a game from another game, however Duke stomped a mud hole in Syracuse and we barely beat them. I hope that's not a sign for Saturday 😕😟

Two differences:
1) Cuse couldn't buy a shot (against not especially good D) vs dook, and
2) dook attacked their baseline weakness without hesitation

 

[Ozheelfan]

More frustrating than seeing Manek and Bacot go deer in the headlights when they were alone at the free throw line was their decision to drop down low and drive into traffic. It's a free throw - take, make and force the defense to react. Maybe it was fatigue and the break into OT gave the staff enough time to change the game plan.

Gary, I like all of your write-up but it's way short on the praise Leaky deserves....

Senior night, jarred knee from two days prior and he plays 44min - 8pts, 7 reb, 7ast, 1 stl, 3 blocks and smothering, absolutely smothering defense. He and Brady showed true senior leadership.

Now for a miracle in Derm to spoil the Rat's last home game.

 

[Tarheel75]

Excellent write up Gary.

I particularly agree with your entire 3rd paragraph.

Lots of observant posts above this one, so I don't think that I can add much to the discussion that would not be redundant. I do want to point out to all what our group was really impressed with.

Puff Johnson's play...., his overall play was very impressive last night. Did you guys notice that he had his hands on multiple rebound opportunities? While he did not end up with the rebounds (he was credited with just 2- both offensive), he was constantly in the mix on both boards. His offensive rebound in traffic and soft put back early in the game was impressive and I believe was a foregleam of what's coming from him in the future. He has a great nose for finding and being around the ball. And his length sure is an advantage when playing defense.

As I have said several times already, both Bacot & Love are the 2 players that polarize this team. When both are playing their best, we look unbeatable at times, and when they are not playing well, we get what we saw against a Pitt. While we saw the "bad" Caleb for around 36 minutes last night, we also saw him go alpha, as Gary mentioned and take the game over and into OT. From there he just put the team on his back and shot us to victory. I applaud his brass in this game to get this win that was very much in doubt at one point.

We only had 8 TO's in this game, with RJ getting 4 of them. Ball security is a must
if you are going to win more games than you lose. While I have anointed Caleb as
"TO Jesus" for our team, RJ is closely following suit and we have to constantly be aware of ball security and will be a critical factor this Saturday in Durham.

I don't think we will win Saturday; however, I certainly want to see a better showing than what we saw in our home game. The atmosphere will be as intense as it can get and I will be watching to see how they react to playing in that cramped and glorified excuse for a college gymnasium.

Whether or not we still believe we are on the bubble (personally, I still do), you have to be concerned with the straightforward fact that we flash brilliant play at times and follow those up with some really futile and braindead play. The constant inconsistency of play is maddening to me. Along with this, we have the really bad tendency to play to the level or below the level of our competition too often and have too many dry spells on offense that would make games easier to manage and are constantly getting up by 6-8 points then losing that lead and going down 6-8 points and having to work really hard to get back in games.

You have to look at what happened to Syracuse in their game against dook. They lost-at home by 25 points and they are a .500 team, while we have to pull out the heroics to win AT HOME. I understand that you cannot use transitive properties with teams' game to game, however, the eye test is unmistakable given the season's history with this team.

Not being a "Debbie Downer" here, just pointing out that this team has self-inflicted limits that most likely will derail advancement in the ACCT and NCAAT. I believe that we need 1 more win between now and selection day to get us off the bubble and hopefully a 10 seed. If we make a better run in the ACCT, we most likely will fall to the 8-9 game. If we would by some miracle win the ACCT we could wind up around a 7 seed. Just have to wait and see.

 

[alabamaheel]

I also agree that it was the lack of him being in that position basically ever that had him hesitating. A couple times getting acclimated in that spot against their zone he absolutely torches them, and the game is not close.

I agree and I guess that’s my point. He played within his means and did really well.

 

[Grover Thomas]

Excellent write up Gary.

I particularly agree with your entire 3rd paragraph.

Lots of observant posts above this one, so I don't think that I can add much to the discussion that would not be redundant. I do want to point out to all what our group was really impressed with.

Puff Johnson's play...., his overall play was very impressive last night. Did you guys notice that he had his hands on multiple rebound opportunities? While he did not end up with the rebounds (he was credited with just 2- both offensive), he was constantly in the mix on both boards. His offensive rebound in traffic and soft put back early in the game was impressive and I believe was a foregleam of what's coming from him in the future. He has a great nose for finding and being around the ball. And his length sure is an advantage when playing defense.

As I have said several times already, both Bacot & Love are the 2 players that polarize this team. When both are playing their best, we look unbeatable at times, and when they are not playing well, we get what we saw against a Pitt. While we saw the "bad" Caleb for around 36 minutes last night, we also saw him go alpha, as Gary mentioned and take the game over and into OT. From there he just put the team on his back and shot us to victory. I applaud his brass in this game to get this win that was very much in doubt at one point.

We only had 8 TO's in this game, with RJ getting 4 of them. Ball security is a must
if you are going to win more games than you lose. While I have anointed Caleb as
"TO Jesus" for our team, RJ is closely following suit and we have to constantly be aware of ball security and will be a critical factor this Saturday in Durham.

I don't think we will win Saturday; however, I certainly want to see a better showing than what we saw in our home game. The atmosphere will be as intense as it can get and I will be watching to see how they react to playing in that cramped and glorified excuse for a college gymnasium.

Whether or not we still believe we are on the bubble (personally, I still do), you have to be concerned with the straightforward fact that we flash brilliant play at times and follow those up with some really futile and braindead play. The constant inconsistency of play is maddening to me. Along with this, we have the really bad tendency to play to the level or below the level of our competition too often and have too many dry spells on offense that would make games easier to manage and are constantly getting up by 6-8 points then losing that lead and going down 6-8 points and having to work really hard to get back in games.

You have to look at what happened to Syracuse in their game against dook. They lost-at home by 25 points and they are a .500 team, while we have to pull out the heroics to win AT HOME. I understand that you cannot use transitive properties with teams' game to game, however, the eye test is unmistakable given the season's history with this team.

Not being a "Debbie Downer" here, just pointing out that this team has self-inflicted limits that most likely will derail advancement in the ACCT and NCAAT. I believe that we need 1 more win between now and selection day to get us off the bubble and hopefully a 10 seed. If we make a better run in the ACCT, we most likely will fall to the 8-9 game. If we would by some miracle win the ACCT we could wind up around a 7 seed. Just have to wait and see.

We will beat Duke….just believe in the power of Love!

 

[DSouthr]

I think we can say that this UNC team is entertaining edge of your seat thrilling, may not always have the ending you want but the plot twists keep you on edge.

What can you say about the way Leaky Black played last night, just start with the defense he played all night to contain Buddy and especially defending that inbounds pass that got us the ball back down 1 with what 15sec or so left on the game clock. That was kind of legendary type stuff there, for 3yrs of hard fought struggle to find his place on this team, this season has been redemption for Leaky! For him to play like that on senior night on a knee he hyper-extended just 2 days before? CRAZY!

Bacot what 17-18, for him, another day at the office, ties Brice for the double double crown, great work by Bacot. Manek, Mr dependable, I do not recall UNC EVER having a guy transfer in to the program and have such a positive effect for our program, it is like he has been a Tar Heel for his entire career, he feels to me more like a Tar Heel for life than many of our 1&D players (oooops, there was 1 other, so I have him right there with Bob McAdoo). RJ had a solid game outside of the TOs, been a few games since his TO numbers ended this high but has to watch that.

Love, how is it possible to hate watching Caleb play for such large portions of the game and then with the game on the line late he has ice water in his veins because he delivered that cold blooded, just Icey cold blooded. As much as I LOVED his late game theatrics, I do have to ask had it not been for around 37mins of bed wetting from Caleb would the late game drama have been necessary? My gut tells me it may not have been. It is the good and bad of Caleb Love, how he can be so bad for the majority of the game and so darn cold blooded late and has done it more than just last night? While we scream for a majority of the game for Hubert to sit Caleb and decry Hubert when he doesn't, the answer to why Hubert does not sit bad Caleb when he shows up is what we saw in those last 3mins and OT last night.

IN the end, WoW what a win, we moved a lot of our season chips in on this hand and cashed out the win giving us the first round Bye in the ACCT and helping our NCAAT hopes. Now we are not under as much pressure to beat duke because that is going to be a extra tall order. K's last game at Cameron, they blew us out last game we played, lot of front court length and strength that we struggle with, and all on top of it being a UNC vs duke game to end the season. Our stakes now in this duke game are not really high, we want to spoil the party but the pressure in this game should be on the dukies. I am not expecting us to win that game but I do hope we can keep it close late and from there, maybe some more Caleb thriller endings stuff? Who ever knows when UNC and duke meet up? LOL

 

[djones1975]

Cuse had 40% from 3 and 49.2% FG. We had 38.9% and 40.8%. What a way to win. Love plays so much bigger at the end of a game. So far, Love is money on the FT line; which is huge. He has not missed. Compare that to a year or two ago and UNC misses FT in the end. We are a different team. Guaranteed top 4 in the ACC. If you said that at the beginning of the year I would have been happy. If you said that in the middle of the year, I would have been ecstatic.

 

[gobblercalls]

I don't like that Love was 2/14 before his late game redemption but that's just basketball. What I hate was that nearly 50% of the points Syracuse scored last night were by players being defended by Caleb Love. Swider did what he did against Love for the most part, and then after the switch with Leaky, Boeheim warmed up. So almost 1/2 of their points were scored against Caleb. Big shout out to Coach Davis for switching Leaky back to Boeheim for the in bounds play with 15 seconds left, that led to the Syracuse turnover. That was the play that saved the game in my opinion.

 

[Grover Thomas]

I think we can say that this UNC team is entertaining edge of your seat thrilling, may not always have the ending you want but the plot twists keep you on edge.

What can you say about the way Leaky Black played last night, just start with the defense he played all night to contain Buddy and especially defending that inbounds pass that got us the ball back down 1 with what 15sec or so left on the game clock. That was kind of legendary type stuff there, for 3yrs of hard fought struggle to find his place on this team, this season has been redemption for Leaky! For him to play like that on senior night on a knee he hyper-extended just 2 days before? CRAZY!

Bacot what 17-18, for him, another day at the office, ties Brice for the double double crown, great work by Bacot. Manek, Mr dependable, I do not recall UNC EVER having a guy transfer in to the program and have such a positive effect for our program, it is like he has been a Tar Heel for his entire career, he feels to me more like a Tar Heel for life than many of our 1&D players (oooops, there was 1 other, so I have him right there with Bob McAdoo). RJ had a solid game outside of the TOs, been a few games since his TO numbers ended this high but has to watch that.

Love, how is it possible to hate watching Caleb play for such large portions of the game and then with the game on the line late he has ice water in his veins because he delivered that cold blooded, just Icey cold blooded. As much as I LOVED his late game theatrics, I do have to ask had it not been for around 37mins of bed wetting from Caleb would the late game drama have been necessary? My gut tells me it may not have been. It is the good and bad of Caleb Love, how he can be so bad for the majority of the game and so darn cold blooded late and has done it more than just last night? While we scream for a majority of the game for Hubert to sit Caleb and decry Hubert when he doesn't, the answer to why Hubert does not sit bad Caleb when he shows up is what we saw in those last 3mins and OT last night.

IN the end, WoW what a win, we moved a lot of our season chips in on this hand and cashed out the win giving us the first round Bye in the ACCT and helping our NCAAT hopes. Now we are not under as much pressure to beat duke because that is going to be a extra tall order. K's last game at Cameron, they blew us out last game we played, lot of front court length and strength that we struggle with, and all on top of it being a UNC vs duke game to end the season. Our stakes now in this duke game are not really high, we want to spoil the party but the pressure in this game should be on the dukies. I am not expecting us to win that game but I do hope we can keep it close late and from there, maybe some more Caleb thriller endings stuff? Who ever knows when UNC and duke meet up? LOL

You are feeling the Love finally.

Now on to Dook. Here are some things we can do to help our team.

1. We need someone with access to Dook to go in there and make sure they don’t tamper with the rims.

2. We need a cyber expert to check the bank accounts of the refs and make sure no large deposits have been made

3. We need a mechanic to make sure the team bus has not been tampered with

I’m telling you the Evil One and ESPN will stop at nothing to get Dook a win. Mount up Tar Heels ….this is war!

 

[Grover Thomas]

I don't like that Love was 2/14 before his late game redemption but that's just basketball. What I hate was that nearly 50% of the points Syracuse scored last night were by players being defended by Caleb Love. Swider did what he did against Love for the most part, and then after the switch with Leaky, Boeheim warmed up. So almost 1/2 of their points were scored against Caleb. Big shout out to Coach Davis for switching Leaky back to Boeheim for the in bounds play with 15 seconds left, that led to the Syracuse turnover. That was the play that saved the game in my opinion.

Just feel the Love…..let it flow like a river in your heart!

 

[ACokeForRoy]

Puff gets my defensive player of the game.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

My faves:

1. Leaky missed a shot badly and....nothing just calmly went back, played stellar D, and knocked down the next opportunity!
2. Puff showing that he is the heir apparent to Leaky as our top dog on D AND providing energy AND knocking down shots when needed.
3. Hubs' brilliance: switching Leaky to Cole; Switching him back to Buddy; playing Leaky and Puff together; sitting Caleb even though he knew how dangerous that was; calm during OT.
4. Crowd being off the chain all game!
5. Manek & Bacot clearly have a symbiotic relationship
6. Our guards are getting tougher and tougher and will no longer wilt against physicality!

 

[gary-7]

We only had 8 TO's in this game, with RJ getting 4 of them. Ball security is a must if you are going to win more games than you lose. While I have anointed Caleb as "TO Jesus" for our team, RJ is closely following suit and we have to constantly be aware of ball security and will be a critical factor this Saturday in Durham.

One of the realities we face (and unfortunately are likely to in the forseeable future) is that we are functioning with Combo Guards trading off at Point, and it shows in how we commit so many TOs on what should be BASIC plays. Caleb might lead the world in what tennis commentators call "unforced errors", and as you point out, RJ gave them away last night.

RJ's first TO came just trying to make a simple pivot entry from the top of the Zone. Sure, he's a little guy battling length, but we've had several little guys that made that sort of pass with ease --- Ray/Ty/Joel --- because they were natural PGs who instinctively knew how to "move" defenders to open up lanes. As you know, in our Zone Offense most of the Assists are gonna come from the pivot guy in the middle, but first ya gotta get it to him.

And IIRC, 2 of RJ's TOs came on attempted lob passes. It continues to pain me that we don't have anyone on the roster who is at all adept at that --- something that has become a fairly basic skill in modern baasketball. I've seen Leaky pull it off occasionally in the past, and Platek could do it but he's gone. And thing is, the lob is a terror weapon vs Zones, attacking a spot where Cuse is particulalrly vulnerable --- but we didn't complete a single one.

 

[Grover Thomas]

One of the realities we face (and unfortunately are likely to in the forseeable future) is that we are functioning with Combo Guards trading off at Point, and it shows in how we commit so many TOs on what should be BASIC plays. Caleb might lead the world in what tennis commentators call "unforced errors", and as you point out, RJ gave them away last night.

RJ's first TO came just trying to make a simple pivot entry from the top of the Zone. Sure, he's a little guy battling length, but we've had several little guys that made that sort of pass with ease --- Ray/Ty/Joel --- because they were natural PGs who instinctively knew how to "move" defenders to open up lanes. As you know, in our Zone Offense most of the Assists are gonna come from the pivot guy in the middle, but first ya gotta get it to him.

And IIRC, 2 of RJ's TOs came on attempted lob passes. It continues to pain me that we don't have anyone on the roster who is at all adept at that --- something that has become a fairly basic skill in modern baasketball. I've seen Leaky pull it off occasionally in the past, and Platek could do it but he's gone. And thing is, the lob is a terror weapon vs Zones, attacking a spot where Cuse is particulalrly vulnerable --- but we didn't complete a single one.

Agreed. We use to kill zones with the lob.

Also I agree that Manek seemed like he never been in the pivot for the zone attack. Seemed like he couldn’t decide to shoot the little floater or pass…..so he kept pausing.

 

[gary-7]

Agreed. We use to kill zones with the lob.

Also I agree that Manek seemed like he never been in the pivot for the zone attack. Seemed like he couldn’t decide to shoot the little floater or pass…..so he kept pausing.

The good news is he finally caught on and went to work in there in OT.

 

[Grover Thomas]

The good news is he finally bcaught on and went to work in there in OT.

Yeap. Now let’s go get them Dookies

 

[Archer2]

The good news is he finally caught on and went to work in there in OT.

Brady has good basketball IQ. It’s amazing how well he’s integrated himself into the team In one season. Maximizes his somewhat limited physical abilities, plays hard, is unselfish, and makes plays. My second favorite player behind Leaky. Wish we had him for a couple more years.

 

[Grover Thomas]

Brady has good basketball IQ. It’s amazing how well he’s integrated himself into the team In one season. Maximizes his somewhat limited physical abilities, plays hard, is unselfish, and makes plays. My second favorite player behind Leaky. Wish we had him for a couple more years.

We need the “good Brady” today. He needs to adapt the Love attitude and not wilt under the atmosphere at Duke. He can’t let his man back him down and get out muscled by Duke today. Got to match Duke’s physicality today and don’t be a target for them.