Quick stuff (Cuse game)...
- Thread starter gary-7
- Start date
Agree with most of this. Dunn did not play well though.
Two things most people miss IMO is off-ball D and lack of ability to get enough usage to keep your defender from helping. Neither show up in the box score so it makes sense. Both are critical though.
Dunn came in to relieve Leaky with one assignment: don't give Girard open threes. He promptly blew it and give up two easy threes, so Hubert took him out and basically didn't play him in the 2nd half. We had to have Leaky in there.
Most of the guys getting less minutes than people expect are guilty of one of these two issues. Nickel (except today) has been lost off-ball, giving up a lot of open shots. Trimble has no offensive gravity and is fatal to play with Leaky, cannot have two guys who command no defensive respect playing at the same time bc then everyone else gets doubled. Styles unfortunately is guilty of both. Gets lost on D and has no skill set for half court offense other than putbacks. Hence he doesn't play at all.
At this point last season we were 15-6, had gotten crushed in the conference by Miami and Wake.
Many issues were subject to concern.
This season, the fool’s gold of RUN IT BACK, # 1 preseason caught up to us quickly and we had to stack some
wins and slow down the blending chemistry of our freshmen and sophomores.
I believe we will get it right. 👍🏽
Many issues were subject to concern.
This season, the fool’s gold of RUN IT BACK, # 1 preseason caught up to us quickly and we had to stack some
wins and slow down the blending chemistry of our freshmen and sophomores.
I believe we will get it right. 👍🏽
Basically right on with everthing you say here.😗
I wasn't kidding about us getting close. The next hurdle is chemistry, and that has to account for two factors:
Pete fitting in and giving us what we need from his position, and figuring out a consistent usage of a 10-deep roster.
I think substitution patterns are a going to continue to be a hybrid for Coach Davis. It appears in recent games he has more of a plan or script for the first half and the second half is more situational or match up oriented. Maybe completely off but that is that is what it looks like in the more recent games.
We’ve talked about this and I feel like that’s where the rotation is going to end up. Scheduled in the first for burn or blows and completely situational in the 2nd based on what the game needs.
Say less 😉 nah but I do feel like they’re starting to turn the corner.
In November/December, they would’ve lost that game (ISU, ALA, PITT). Those are all games, with Bacot, that we had in control and let them hang around too long, unable to find a way to win.
Here, we still let them hang around too long…BUT found a way to win. Nance and RJ having subpar games but making winning plays for a TEAM win.
I’ll take that all day long and that growth is exciting to see in conference play!
The Nance varience on how he played is interesting, I personally think he was solid, not great, but very solid. A key to the victory.
What concerned me more was the awful showing of Dunn and Trimble, Dunn especially, he looked like last year, tenative, and Girard used him like a JV kid guarding him, not a good matchup for him, I thought his shooting could fit against the zone, but he was not ready. Washington was OK, was kinda slow and seemed unsure though, maybe a bit more time. Nickle was good. Kudos to Hubert for finding the bench guy who did not lock up with the high zone look, if the bench wants Hubert's trust they cannot seize up when subbed in.
What concerned me more was the awful showing of Dunn and Trimble, Dunn especially, he looked like last year, tenative, and Girard used him like a JV kid guarding him, not a good matchup for him, I thought his shooting could fit against the zone, but he was not ready. Washington was OK, was kinda slow and seemed unsure though, maybe a bit more time. Nickle was good. Kudos to Hubert for finding the bench guy who did not lock up with the high zone look, if the bench wants Hubert's trust they cannot seize up when subbed in.
Lol you did see how he treated Black also I hope. Dunn did look out matched but when he makes your best defensive player look weak at times then you live with what you can get.
Girard is very crafty, but I was more taken by how quickly Dunn was shed, or drove past. He seemed passive. Just a tough matchup, was thinking Dunn may of provided a nice inside out option against their zone, but those couple possessions screamed he would be on the sideline.
It is taking some getting use to for me. Davis and Williams are very different in how they approach use of subs. I can only guess that Davis is using the bench based on who they are playing. Nickel gets minutes against Cuse because of his shooting for example. It seems like bench players can do well and still not get permanently added to the rotation. Washington for example. I can't help feeling like our core four will have injury problems again come tournament time playing has much and as hard as they are playing. That being said, this team needs to gel quickly. If they do they will be fun to watch. If they don't, we may have a lot of close games in the future.
I’m going to hope and pray no one from that main 4 don’t get hobbled come March/April. It happened with KU and they weren’t able to close. It seems this team is starting to figure it out and I’d be lying if I told you I thought they could still close without one of them.
OK, I'll play SDung! Which player that I named do you think played poorly? Maybe this is hard to understand, but we were slotted as a 4.5 point favorite! I agree that we expect more from our team, but I think we are starting to see it! I see us trending upwards and I see improvement from multiple peeps! I got exactly what I wanted, a hard fought win! I have loved the stretch we are on and I love that we are trending up exactly when we need to. I don't understand why winning isn't enough, but I sure hope it continues!
As I tried to explain in the OP, much of the real issue was with our players off-ball. In the first half Leaky and Dunn's teammates were doing a lousy job of seeing man-and-ball, thus instead of opening to the gap when Girard was driving and/or being forced, they becaame de facto screeners. Contrary to the common simplification, good on-ball defense is not as much about "staying in front of the ball" as it is about forcing the ball at correct angles, the efficacy of which is dependent on proper team reactions and rotations.
