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A lot of grumbling going on and negativity from what I've read after the last 2 games. On the same token, I have seen a lot of comments of staying positive and not getting too down. I can't blame anyone for being negative after what I saw on the court the last 2 games.
Here's what I attribute to why we played poorly (in order of impact)
1) Lack of true PG - the difference was noticeable when matched up against the PG play of ISU-blue and UNI. The PG dictated the rhythm on offense, and we had very little. Not bashing Walt, but we have all seen he is much more efficient as a 2.
2a) Over-committing on help defense - could it be the absence of WE has forced us to play more help defense? This led to easy 3-pointers...or at least really good looks.
2b) Interior defense - with a porous defense in the paint and playing a bit soft, the opposition had little trouble working the inside-out game, which was pretty much non-existent for BU.
3) Stand-still offense - I can't remember us looking so dead on offense this year, but I noticed a lot of standing around by those who didn't have the ball. When our assist totals dip below 10, this team doesn't look good...nor is the outcome good. We are most efficient either in transition, or passing around until we get a quality shot between 10-15 seconds left on the shot clock.
4) Offense in post game - we just couldn't finish in the paint like the other teams. We need to slow it down and take our time. We didn't score much at all in the paint with our bigs. Way too wild on the shots, which has been a pattern for several years now. If it's not there, kick it back out or look for a cutter!!
5) Defensive tenacity - yes, we played hard, but the energy level was lacking to some degree after we played the Shockers...maybe due to heavy legs. When we went on mini-runs in both games, our defensive intensity picked up. Whoever the coach has been the past few seasons, it is so true that we need to be the scrappier team each time we hit the court!
What went well???
I thought our perimeter shooting was decent. We have not forced too many 3's this year and we have surprisingly been one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the Valley!!! We may be able to count on Jake to hit some critical 3's, and maybe even Jalen.
Jalen Crawford has come back to life a bit, and is showing that he can give us some offensive firepower and that X-factor for the team. Unfortunately, he has been the bright spot in games when his contributions really didn't matter in the end.
What can we do going forward?
I don't want to put emphasis on Will's return, but he does give us so much more and makes our team on offense and defense better. We have had to work that much harder to score and defend without him. Just having him on the court will be a big help.
Better movement on offense - pass-first mentality instead of create-your-own play mentality. We are not a team comprised of selfish guys, so look for your teammates to get involved on every possession - that's why there's 5 guys.
We failed to make adjustments on defense in the 2 games. We need to let our bigs defend and if they get beat, so be it! We must deny easy looks from the perimeter caused mostly by overplay, or we'll get beat in the 3-point shootout. I think we look to steal the ball on defense more than just making it hard for the opposition to score, and then rebounding strong.
Sorry for the length of this - just had to get it out, and hoping Geno and staff will read this...as long as my points are legit!
Here's what I attribute to why we played poorly (in order of impact)
1) Lack of true PG - the difference was noticeable when matched up against the PG play of ISU-blue and UNI. The PG dictated the rhythm on offense, and we had very little. Not bashing Walt, but we have all seen he is much more efficient as a 2.
2a) Over-committing on help defense - could it be the absence of WE has forced us to play more help defense? This led to easy 3-pointers...or at least really good looks.
2b) Interior defense - with a porous defense in the paint and playing a bit soft, the opposition had little trouble working the inside-out game, which was pretty much non-existent for BU.
3) Stand-still offense - I can't remember us looking so dead on offense this year, but I noticed a lot of standing around by those who didn't have the ball. When our assist totals dip below 10, this team doesn't look good...nor is the outcome good. We are most efficient either in transition, or passing around until we get a quality shot between 10-15 seconds left on the shot clock.
4) Offense in post game - we just couldn't finish in the paint like the other teams. We need to slow it down and take our time. We didn't score much at all in the paint with our bigs. Way too wild on the shots, which has been a pattern for several years now. If it's not there, kick it back out or look for a cutter!!
5) Defensive tenacity - yes, we played hard, but the energy level was lacking to some degree after we played the Shockers...maybe due to heavy legs. When we went on mini-runs in both games, our defensive intensity picked up. Whoever the coach has been the past few seasons, it is so true that we need to be the scrappier team each time we hit the court!
What went well???
I thought our perimeter shooting was decent. We have not forced too many 3's this year and we have surprisingly been one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the Valley!!! We may be able to count on Jake to hit some critical 3's, and maybe even Jalen.
Jalen Crawford has come back to life a bit, and is showing that he can give us some offensive firepower and that X-factor for the team. Unfortunately, he has been the bright spot in games when his contributions really didn't matter in the end.
What can we do going forward?
I don't want to put emphasis on Will's return, but he does give us so much more and makes our team on offense and defense better. We have had to work that much harder to score and defend without him. Just having him on the court will be a big help.
Better movement on offense - pass-first mentality instead of create-your-own play mentality. We are not a team comprised of selfish guys, so look for your teammates to get involved on every possession - that's why there's 5 guys.
We failed to make adjustments on defense in the 2 games. We need to let our bigs defend and if they get beat, so be it! We must deny easy looks from the perimeter caused mostly by overplay, or we'll get beat in the 3-point shootout. I think we look to steal the ball on defense more than just making it hard for the opposition to score, and then rebounding strong.
Sorry for the length of this - just had to get it out, and hoping Geno and staff will read this...as long as my points are legit!
I love Jalen's effort and he does help at times...but we certainly have to get more from our first guy off the bench if we're gonna be competitive...
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