Hitting the wall

[bigdaddystuck]

As much as I don't want to say it....but it seems like we are hitting the wall. We have not been able to execute down the stretch in games lately. We have to learn to put teams away at the end of games. IMO the biggest problem is we truly do not have that go to guy who is going to take the game by the throat and finish it for us. Until we step up and shut teams down while continuing to score in crunch time, we are going to be in a world of hurt.

That said, I still like the future of this team. We are playing a number of underclassman and they are getting valuable minutes that may not pay off this year but down the road. I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS YEAR!! This team has talent and if they can pull it together can still do some damage in the conference and the tourney....but time is running short.


GO BU!!!

[bu fan 9]

I think the biggest problem is we don't have an outside shooter at all.

[ER3]

And we evidently don't have any play that we can run on offense in the guts of a game other than the same tired old NBA isolation play.Isn't there some other offensive set we can run?

[bu fan 9]

There's not a lot you can do when know one can make a outside shot.

[ER3]

There's not a lot you can do when know one can make a outside shot.

That's simply not true...every week, hundreds of college basketball teams successfully run offensive sets that end up getting them backdoor layups, wide open 12 foot jump shots, alley oop dunks, etc...you can actually score in this game without making a 25 footer.

I just can't stand the passive way that we continually approach end of the game possessions...Dribble out the shot clock and do absolutely nothing for 28 seconds and then rely on the individual effort of one player to somehow break down an entire defense and save the day. I just don't like the fact that we seem to run that same set 90% of the time in the last 2 minutes of a close game. It's a boring, unimaginative NBA play...one that works splendidly if you have Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant with the ball as the shot clock is expiring...but one that doesn't have the same impact when you have Sam consistently trying to break down a defense in that spot. Do something different...run motion, run Sam off of a double screen to get him a shot, run a set play alley oop to Theron or Roberts, something, anything but the same predictable 'butter' nonsense...I just don't understand how that can possibly be the best option for us to run every single time in those situations...

[bu fan 9]

We got good looks each time we just didn't make the lay up not much more you can ask for.

[ER3]

We got good looks each time we just didn't make the lay up not much more you can ask for.

Sam's attempted layup tonight on the last possession was not a good look.
And the possession before it when Sam drove and (figuratively) kicked it to Dodie and then Dodie (literally) kicked it to UNI, I don't think we got a look at all in that possession.

It's a low percentage offensive play in my mind. If you want to run it as the last play in a tied game or something, that's fine I guess...But we ran that same play tonight in each of the last 3 or 4 possessions...We don't have an electric 1-on-1 player that can consistently break down any defender, so I don't see why that is the play that we decide on in those spots over and over...That's not a knock on Sam because he does as much as he can in those situations...I just wish there was a way to be a little more creative and run something that could get Sam an open jump shot rather than a single desperation run at the hoop with the shot clock running down...

I don't know. I know we are offensively challenged as a team overall, but I just don't like being passive and limiting our options like that possession after possession.

[thefish7]

I'd like to join in the chorus of posters talking about playing not to lose. Bradley seems to need to run a slower deliberate offense this year, and that's one thing, as long as you stay aggressive. At the end of the game last night, it really did seem like the team was really worried about not messing up. I never played basketball, but when I played baseball the surest way for me to strike out was worrying about striking out. I had to want to hit all the time.

[TNel]

yep

Three-point shots ... slashing, reverse layups! Pretty spectacular, but low percentage for this team. Whatever happened to the 10 -15 foot jumper? It seems to be a lost art, not only for this team but throughout college basketball. Players seem more reluctant to take it than a 30 footer. How many did we miss against ISU? I'd love to see some season stats on this, but they probably don't exist. I know I'm going to be labeled a dinosaur, but I wish today's players could look at film of Oscar, Chet, Elgin Baylor, etc. They made their living on those 10 - 15 foot BANKED jumpers.