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We will have to defend and rebound better that is certain.
However, the desire seems to be there with this team and that’s a large part of the battle. And I do think Kapita will help our rebounding. Be interesting to see what happens with Mav.
Very glad we played it safe with GFK. You don’t screw around with head injuries, especially with kids. And good for us to learn some lessons about playing through adversity.
Good point chop re desire. That is very key in hoops, with so much reliant on loose balls, beating your man to defensive position in the lane, etc. Very valuable, and only adds to the team’s likeability.
Tex – I think the rebounding problem follows every zone other than Syracuse’s and yeah, I think Cat was maybe the best on-ball defender in the entire nation. He was criminally underrated because what he did wasn’t flashy, but if you just focused on that element of the game, it was amazing.
And of course, he got absolutely zero help.
I would agree that rebounding and second chance points are the weakness of zones, particularly ones that collapse. I will still take a second chance opportunity over a wide open first shot or an uncontested drive to the lane that results in an “and 1.” Make no mistake, that is the reality of our man to man defense under Gott.
Kapita and Yurt are rebounding machines. Dorn also has a nose for ball and isn’t afraid to mix it up. Smith rebounds well for a perimeter player. Pair them with Abu and I have zero concerns about us getting our share.
I love BJ, but he’s a bit slow of foot. We played most of the game against St. Joes with one big man on the court. We also looked like we had some tired legs (most clearly evident with our big men and MJ). I’m not an excuse making apologist, but that was the reality of last night’s game.
I would agree with the statement that this St. Joe’s team is young. Martinelli has had some issues in recent years, and it’s not just on the court results. This isn’t a great win, but we need every win available in the non-conference given the way the schedule is structured.
I’m reserving judgment until we have the full complement of players available. But anyway you slice it, we’re going to be average to bad on defense unless the following happen:
1. The nastiness witnessed against Creighton translates to grit and determination and commitment to defend
2. Schroyer is allowed to call the defenses and the head man reinforces that poor effort/execution on that end results in pine time.I’m with Chop, our zones have been terrible under Gott, even worse than man, because they encourage standing around. We excel in standing around, not having active hands, not moving our feet, not boxing out, not helping on defense. Rather than masking these deficiencies, the zone encourages them.
Now if we were to mix in some quarter court, full or half court trap and press, with regularity, I like the idea of going more zone. Anything to stymie the offense before it gets past half court is a good thing. The longer we have to play defense, the worse off we are.
Our on ball defense was fine last night. Our defensive rebounding was poor. But when you play 4 guards more than 1/2 the game along with zone defense where box out responsibilities are more difficult to define, that is what happens. All in all the hybrid zone defense shut down saint Joe’s. When we get depth and more size our defense will be well suited for our offense.
But against our good opponent’s – they will move the ball better and be more skilled.
St Joe’s missed some wide open looks last night. Good teams will usually make those.
A wide open look isn’t always a good shot, particularly a shot from the perimeter. I’ll give up way more open looks from the perimeter, particularly to certain players than giving up lay ups to every position.
Oh, well. I’m just glad they gave me a brief respite from 2016, the year that shat in my mouth. YMMV, I guess.
I think it is time to put a Parental LOCK on the TV’s in the BB Players rooms and ban them from Sports Bars. I have been chilling out from the election….as best I can. Watching (surfing) mindlessly the sports channels for some background….and also an insomnia treatment.
Decided NOT to watch the DePaul game due to their recent “censorship” of certain speakers….for NO STATED opinion….
Watched a smidge of the Maui Carnage…..and watched for the scenery….of the Hotel that we stayed in on a trip there.
UNC is FUGLY with a Capital F. They went in like Goliath and David had to surrender his sling due to the recent Homeland Security NO WEAPONS policy. Creighton got bumped up after our defeat. Wisconsin is #16. They did NOT score in the first 7:30 or so at the beginning. Went 0 for 11….UNC was not that much better, they were 4 for 10. THEN it went DOWNHILL.
UNC came out and did their “Machine Gun Kelly” Sweep in the second half and all Wisconsin could do was cower in the bunker. It was UGLY….UGLY. UNC, I think, decided to “get some press” as they hit the century mark and their average Points Per Game was 94. Their margin of victory (average of 3 games) was 30. OUCH….and ONE was a ranked team.
ORW is making a statement…..
NOW, this is just an observation….but unless Duke and UNC annihilate each other or melt into a pool of butter, it is going to be a TOUCH league this year….as of THIS week, the ACC has 6 ranked teams…
UNC; Duke; Virginia, Louisville, Syracuse & FSU….
We will really get to see “WHAT we are MADE of and WHAT we GOTT to DO”
Wait isn’t UNC going to sanction themselves before the NCAA does? Haha. Maybe that’s not funny anymore. But duke and unc are on a different level this year. We are right there after those 2 this year, so this is our year to be a high seed and make a run. The future looks bright too as we signed the Allen kid and will have 6-7 good players coming back next year.
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