...and it doesn't have to be this hard.
It really doesn't... but I'll save that for later below. I'll start with how we managed to pull it out:
- despite a couple of frustrating sequences, we out-rebouned them by 6, as there were better efforts at boxing out today
- we actually scrambled fairly often and (mostly) effectively. We had a couple of shaky rotations (and a DA foul by Withers in 32), but UCLA (as with many teams) did not react well to pressure. We utilized 30, 40 and even 50 once, with full, 3/4 and half pickups. We could stand to use even more, and even earlier, to get the juices flowing
- It took a comeback (yet again), as our cacaphony of offensive ineptitutde and defensive wtf-moments not only got us off to another slow start but then ballooned into a 16 point deficit. After being on the verge of being on the wrong end of a blowout, the turnaround started by (being blunt) getting RJ off of the Point, turning up the D and attacking the rim. BTW, a lineup during that sequence of EC/Ian/Seth/Cade/Wash was +7 during a key 2-minute stretch of that flurry
- speaking of attacking the rim, when we actually did that, it also got #34 in foul trouble --- and that was a good thing, considering Lubin and Claude couldn't seem to figure out that it wasn't a good idea to lay back and let him shoot 3s
- We know what Ian is right now --- a cold-blooded scorer. I mean, being real, he's seldom seen a shot he won't take --- and we need that coinfidence --- but he's also seldom seen an easy pass he'll actually make, and (yikes) he's still lost in team-D, but he brought the points today and that is his role.
- Defense in general made a needed appearance down the stretch. Huge plays by Seth and Withers, and JWash (despite the zebras suddenly getting touchy) held his ground and also stoned #34 on a key possession --- and when Cronin decided to go iso on their last possession, EC played it strong and got the winning stop vs a bigger opponent.
- It may not schow up in today's scorebook, but Cade does some really nice things away from the ball, and he's damn good in help-D
- credit to RJ for returning after jamming his thumb and being part of that attacking thing down the stretch
- Speaking of RJ --- arrrghhh, f***ing Roger Ayers (who seems to follow us every time we play a "physical" opponent) damn near cost us this game. Y'all saw it --- after RJ got (properly) called for an obvious offensive foul, he made up for it by stepping in on Help and perfectly drawing a textbook charge on the other end --- well, EXCEPT that Roger (who had characteristically swallowed his whistle all night, leaving his colleagues to call Cronin's mayhem-ball) made the worst block call I've seen in years --- one that flipped the scoreboard (and woulda been easily overturned with the NBA appeal rule).
But again, it shouldn't have come down to individual calls or plays --- it simply shouldn't have been this hard. I'll illustrate with a couple of "moments":
- First moment: With 7:44 to go in the 1st half, we made an actual, legit ENTRY PASS to the post (they DO exist!!!) --- EC to Lubin --- and we drew a foul. Unfortunately, that would be the LAST of the game.
- Second moment: Down 14 with 10:12 to go in the game, Powell knocks down a 3 from the top on a VERTICAL kick-out from the paint --- the easist catch-and-shoot there is, which comes from INSIDE-OUT action. Thing is though, the Assist came from Eliot who had driven from the wing into the lane. OK, that's fine, except that we didn't get any of those from our Bigs. See where I'm going with this? They gotta get the damn rock --- to score, draw fouls and set up catch-and-shoot kick-outs --- in other words, to STRESS THE RIM.
- Look, our down-hill drive actions by our perimeter guys is a fine part of an offense, BUT that cannot be the totallity of our paint game. This is not much of an exaggeration --- if I took my coach's whiteboard with the little court on it, I could damn near diagram our offense by taking my marker and starting in the coach's box on one sidelne and drawing a slight arc outside of the 3 line to the opposite sideline, and do it back and forth. Putting it in football terms, we're doing way too much "East-West" and not nearly enough "North-South". We pulled out the game by getting North-South. So... howz about doing that with the entry PASS too?
- In other words, we are EASY to scout. Opponents mirror our actions and just push us further out to start our offense. Again, y'all had to see this --- I mean, when your dadgummed 5 man is sprinting almost to the half-court line to set a ball-screen, something ain't working. Hell, if they run a double to the Point (as teams often do with RJ) just make the pass to the flash high post instead and you'll have a de facto 4-on-3 break!
Anyway, look, I don't want to down-play a gritty must win. It's just that this shouldn't have been a "must-win". We have our strengths and weaknesses, but our roster is better than UCLA. Fact is, we're mostly better than everyone we've played (with the exception of Auburn) even in this brutal schedule. The staff needs to take a good look at the film and get back to what every one of them was taught as players --- that backetball is Applied Geometry and best played INSIDE-OUT --- and come back out of the gate after Xmas with something everyone can buy in to. We made a nice first step with being more mutilple on D --- now let's rediscover our Post game to complement and take the pressure off our dynamic Guards...
It really doesn't... but I'll save that for later below. I'll start with how we managed to pull it out:
- despite a couple of frustrating sequences, we out-rebouned them by 6, as there were better efforts at boxing out today
- we actually scrambled fairly often and (mostly) effectively. We had a couple of shaky rotations (and a DA foul by Withers in 32), but UCLA (as with many teams) did not react well to pressure. We utilized 30, 40 and even 50 once, with full, 3/4 and half pickups. We could stand to use even more, and even earlier, to get the juices flowing
- It took a comeback (yet again), as our cacaphony of offensive ineptitutde and defensive wtf-moments not only got us off to another slow start but then ballooned into a 16 point deficit. After being on the verge of being on the wrong end of a blowout, the turnaround started by (being blunt) getting RJ off of the Point, turning up the D and attacking the rim. BTW, a lineup during that sequence of EC/Ian/Seth/Cade/Wash was +7 during a key 2-minute stretch of that flurry
- speaking of attacking the rim, when we actually did that, it also got #34 in foul trouble --- and that was a good thing, considering Lubin and Claude couldn't seem to figure out that it wasn't a good idea to lay back and let him shoot 3s
- We know what Ian is right now --- a cold-blooded scorer. I mean, being real, he's seldom seen a shot he won't take --- and we need that coinfidence --- but he's also seldom seen an easy pass he'll actually make, and (yikes) he's still lost in team-D, but he brought the points today and that is his role.
- Defense in general made a needed appearance down the stretch. Huge plays by Seth and Withers, and JWash (despite the zebras suddenly getting touchy) held his ground and also stoned #34 on a key possession --- and when Cronin decided to go iso on their last possession, EC played it strong and got the winning stop vs a bigger opponent.
- It may not schow up in today's scorebook, but Cade does some really nice things away from the ball, and he's damn good in help-D
- credit to RJ for returning after jamming his thumb and being part of that attacking thing down the stretch
- Speaking of RJ --- arrrghhh, f***ing Roger Ayers (who seems to follow us every time we play a "physical" opponent) damn near cost us this game. Y'all saw it --- after RJ got (properly) called for an obvious offensive foul, he made up for it by stepping in on Help and perfectly drawing a textbook charge on the other end --- well, EXCEPT that Roger (who had characteristically swallowed his whistle all night, leaving his colleagues to call Cronin's mayhem-ball) made the worst block call I've seen in years --- one that flipped the scoreboard (and woulda been easily overturned with the NBA appeal rule).
But again, it shouldn't have come down to individual calls or plays --- it simply shouldn't have been this hard. I'll illustrate with a couple of "moments":
- First moment: With 7:44 to go in the 1st half, we made an actual, legit ENTRY PASS to the post (they DO exist!!!) --- EC to Lubin --- and we drew a foul. Unfortunately, that would be the LAST of the game.
- Second moment: Down 14 with 10:12 to go in the game, Powell knocks down a 3 from the top on a VERTICAL kick-out from the paint --- the easist catch-and-shoot there is, which comes from INSIDE-OUT action. Thing is though, the Assist came from Eliot who had driven from the wing into the lane. OK, that's fine, except that we didn't get any of those from our Bigs. See where I'm going with this? They gotta get the damn rock --- to score, draw fouls and set up catch-and-shoot kick-outs --- in other words, to STRESS THE RIM.
- Look, our down-hill drive actions by our perimeter guys is a fine part of an offense, BUT that cannot be the totallity of our paint game. This is not much of an exaggeration --- if I took my coach's whiteboard with the little court on it, I could damn near diagram our offense by taking my marker and starting in the coach's box on one sidelne and drawing a slight arc outside of the 3 line to the opposite sideline, and do it back and forth. Putting it in football terms, we're doing way too much "East-West" and not nearly enough "North-South". We pulled out the game by getting North-South. So... howz about doing that with the entry PASS too?
- In other words, we are EASY to scout. Opponents mirror our actions and just push us further out to start our offense. Again, y'all had to see this --- I mean, when your dadgummed 5 man is sprinting almost to the half-court line to set a ball-screen, something ain't working. Hell, if they run a double to the Point (as teams often do with RJ) just make the pass to the flash high post instead and you'll have a de facto 4-on-3 break!
Anyway, look, I don't want to down-play a gritty must win. It's just that this shouldn't have been a "must-win". We have our strengths and weaknesses, but our roster is better than UCLA. Fact is, we're mostly better than everyone we've played (with the exception of Auburn) even in this brutal schedule. The staff needs to take a good look at the film and get back to what every one of them was taught as players --- that backetball is Applied Geometry and best played INSIDE-OUT --- and come back out of the gate after Xmas with something everyone can buy in to. We made a nice first step with being more mutilple on D --- now let's rediscover our Post game to complement and take the pressure off our dynamic Guards...
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