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Utah post-game
Negatives:
Man that was a tough game to watch. Execution was just awful. The offense was not executable with the personnel playing. There was literally no offense being played, and our lack of point guard play was absolutely glaring. 4 assists is an amazing statistic and 19 turnovers isn't exactly a good number. For the first time in a while, I couldn't get "up" for the last few minutes of the game, even when BU brought it kind of close (I did stick it out though-- no early exit for me).
Positives:
Andrew Warren was essentially incredible, and not only that but sometimes his body language made me think he's about to step into the vacant role of emotional leader that our team really needs. I also thought that for the most part, the effort and desire was there even if the execution wasn't.
Duke pre-game
Outlook: There's pretty much no way I can see Bradley winning this game. Anything is always possible with good luck, but Duke is obviously talented, well coached, and the few times I've seen them play this season, executing at a high level. Before Maniscalco went down I was going to be advocating playing small (4 guards) against Duke-- Playing Duke's game against Duke wouldn't give us as much chance as I thought a gimmicky offense and some good luck shooting might give us. That's impossible now though, as decimated as the roster is.
What to get out of this game: Outside of the 0.01% chance we have at winning, gut out best play you can manage with an eye to working out the kinks in what has to be Bradley's new offensive and defensive schemes. That means lots of minutes with DSE at point and two "bigs" on the floor at once, and in my opinion lots of deliberate half court offense. Defensively, continue to try to make that transition to a gutty, gritty defensive squad intent on scrambling for the ball. Floor Burn U and what not.
Beyond Duke
After the Duke game BU has an extended time off period. It's the first real breather of the season and the coaching staff must use it to remake this team given our new constraints. The Valley appears to be in disarray, and below are what I think is required for Bradley to turn this ship around. I think if you succeed in most of these, you stand a chance at doing some damage in conference play.
1. Get away from "crutch" of 4-guard play. You no longer have the personnel for this to work at any level (let alone the levels we managed to get out of it in the last couple of seasons). This requires a plan that sees two of our post players on the court at all times. Jake Eastman just cannot contribute at the 4 position, especially when the other big is probably undersized. Get away from "four out" offense into a high-low post scheme dependent on two bigs controlling the paint with screens away from the ball. This is necessary because you no longer have the manpower (with 5 scholarship guards) for 4-guard play-- and I also don't think your remaining talent at guard is sufficient for any sort of convincing 4-guard play.
2. Find an answer at Point guard. This is absolutely critical. I'm a believer in DSE as your best chance here, but so far he hasn't been convincing in that role. Other options probably include DD and JE, and maybe even WLJr. I still think DSE gives you your best option here, as a combination of handling, strength, and passing. He's playing WAY too fast, but that's what you have to figure out between Duke and Dec 20. If DSE can't handle it, then you have to find someone else.
3. Find a leader. The team is clearly foundering a bit with two of their best three players out with injuries and one of them the clear heart of the team. Someone else has to stand up and take that mantle, and it has to be one of the starters... AW is my best bet.
4. Jake Eastman (or other). We need another scoring threat, particularly on the outside. DSE and DD aren't confident in their outside shot (and neither has JE appeared to be). Jake came to Bradley as a prolific HS scorer, who I believe was a very good outside shooter (and with an NBA assistant for a father known for teaching shooting). He is NOT going to ever be a serviceable PF, so quit wasting time with that. If Jake can help us bust a zone, some of those drives from DSE and DD won't look so bad. We keep running screens for Jake but he never puts the ball up, that's got to change if he's going to be a contributor.
5. Andrew Davis? It looks like they're trying to redshirt him... With the hits to the roster and the fact that MK appears like he's never going to get it, you need to think about putting this guy on the floor. I would rather see a poor performing AD (or AT for that matter) playing in the post than JE being completely overmatched at the position.
Outlook: I think if you get these things done, you might position yourself well for good play in the MVC. I can forgive our current state of disarray if our coach shows he can adapt his schemes to our personnel, rather than the other way around. The Duke game probably won't look good, so I'm going to pre-forgive whatever that performance looks like, but I need to see a better looking Bradley team come Dec 20. GO BRAVES!
Negatives:
Man that was a tough game to watch. Execution was just awful. The offense was not executable with the personnel playing. There was literally no offense being played, and our lack of point guard play was absolutely glaring. 4 assists is an amazing statistic and 19 turnovers isn't exactly a good number. For the first time in a while, I couldn't get "up" for the last few minutes of the game, even when BU brought it kind of close (I did stick it out though-- no early exit for me).
Positives:
Andrew Warren was essentially incredible, and not only that but sometimes his body language made me think he's about to step into the vacant role of emotional leader that our team really needs. I also thought that for the most part, the effort and desire was there even if the execution wasn't.
Duke pre-game
Outlook: There's pretty much no way I can see Bradley winning this game. Anything is always possible with good luck, but Duke is obviously talented, well coached, and the few times I've seen them play this season, executing at a high level. Before Maniscalco went down I was going to be advocating playing small (4 guards) against Duke-- Playing Duke's game against Duke wouldn't give us as much chance as I thought a gimmicky offense and some good luck shooting might give us. That's impossible now though, as decimated as the roster is.
What to get out of this game: Outside of the 0.01% chance we have at winning, gut out best play you can manage with an eye to working out the kinks in what has to be Bradley's new offensive and defensive schemes. That means lots of minutes with DSE at point and two "bigs" on the floor at once, and in my opinion lots of deliberate half court offense. Defensively, continue to try to make that transition to a gutty, gritty defensive squad intent on scrambling for the ball. Floor Burn U and what not.
Beyond Duke
After the Duke game BU has an extended time off period. It's the first real breather of the season and the coaching staff must use it to remake this team given our new constraints. The Valley appears to be in disarray, and below are what I think is required for Bradley to turn this ship around. I think if you succeed in most of these, you stand a chance at doing some damage in conference play.
1. Get away from "crutch" of 4-guard play. You no longer have the personnel for this to work at any level (let alone the levels we managed to get out of it in the last couple of seasons). This requires a plan that sees two of our post players on the court at all times. Jake Eastman just cannot contribute at the 4 position, especially when the other big is probably undersized. Get away from "four out" offense into a high-low post scheme dependent on two bigs controlling the paint with screens away from the ball. This is necessary because you no longer have the manpower (with 5 scholarship guards) for 4-guard play-- and I also don't think your remaining talent at guard is sufficient for any sort of convincing 4-guard play.
2. Find an answer at Point guard. This is absolutely critical. I'm a believer in DSE as your best chance here, but so far he hasn't been convincing in that role. Other options probably include DD and JE, and maybe even WLJr. I still think DSE gives you your best option here, as a combination of handling, strength, and passing. He's playing WAY too fast, but that's what you have to figure out between Duke and Dec 20. If DSE can't handle it, then you have to find someone else.
3. Find a leader. The team is clearly foundering a bit with two of their best three players out with injuries and one of them the clear heart of the team. Someone else has to stand up and take that mantle, and it has to be one of the starters... AW is my best bet.
4. Jake Eastman (or other). We need another scoring threat, particularly on the outside. DSE and DD aren't confident in their outside shot (and neither has JE appeared to be). Jake came to Bradley as a prolific HS scorer, who I believe was a very good outside shooter (and with an NBA assistant for a father known for teaching shooting). He is NOT going to ever be a serviceable PF, so quit wasting time with that. If Jake can help us bust a zone, some of those drives from DSE and DD won't look so bad. We keep running screens for Jake but he never puts the ball up, that's got to change if he's going to be a contributor.
5. Andrew Davis? It looks like they're trying to redshirt him... With the hits to the roster and the fact that MK appears like he's never going to get it, you need to think about putting this guy on the floor. I would rather see a poor performing AD (or AT for that matter) playing in the post than JE being completely overmatched at the position.
Outlook: I think if you get these things done, you might position yourself well for good play in the MVC. I can forgive our current state of disarray if our coach shows he can adapt his schemes to our personnel, rather than the other way around. The Duke game probably won't look good, so I'm going to pre-forgive whatever that performance looks like, but I need to see a better looking Bradley team come Dec 20. GO BRAVES!
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