Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Shot selection, throughout the second half, and especially at the end of the game. And some of these were definitely set plays. The offense was abysmal in the second half, and many of those weren’t good looks that just didn’t fall. Add that to my list of complaints.
Given Gottfried has teams that generally rank very high in offensive efficiency, and are noted for getting good looks, it’s baffling how frequently his teams (not just this squad) exercise poor judgment and have poor shot selection, something that’s occasionally more glaring in close contests, or in the final minutes of close games.
Pair that with poor defense, so-so free throw shooting, unforced turnovers, this suggests to me a general lack of discipline. That’s my core complaint. I think excellent coaches demand it and pay attention to the details. But I commend the players for fighting and competing. Hats off.
My newborn will get his first dose of this rivalry. If his mother has him dressed in baby blue tonight, I’ll be making a trip to the GoPack store. He’s brought good luck so far. Wore his Pack hat for the football beatdown.
<Moreover there does not seem to be any strategic synergies in Gott’s paradigm. He simply tries to recruit talented folks and have them run a relatively complex offense. Execution is not there…that’s his excuse. They are too young etc… I buy that its a great system if executed properly but that’s the rub…he can’t teach it effectively to college teams with churn. Moreover he doesn’t have mitigating talents to bring into the mix.
Defense is not corrected by hiring an assistant coach…defensive teams spend hours in practice…ya know…practicing defense – until it becomes second nature…or HABIT>
^That’s it in a nutshell. Complex offense, requires highly skilled players, especially big men, that was perfected in a time when the game–particularly on defense–was played and officiated quite differently. Couple that with the challenges of player retention these days, inadequate attention to detail and fundamentals, his teams will frequently play on the margins, and occasionally lay some eggs.
Bama’, part deux.
For those who identified Bennett, you nailed it. I was a more of a Greg Marshall fan, even dating back to his Winthrop days. Comparable teacher of the pack line defense, and imo, better on the offensive end. Recruiting is so overrated these days. Sure, top tier talent is irreplaceable, but motivation and teaching can and will beat talent, when the gap isn’t that wide.
Cat needs to shoot more, not less. He’s one of our better options if he’s utilized effectively. This team is Gottfried’s worst offensively, and he appears to be unwilling to tweak things, insisting instead on putting a square peg in a round hole. One projected strength of this team going into the season was depth. None of the bigs stand out as significantly better than the others, each has strengths and weaknesses. Run them in and out, speed up the dang game, press, trap, push tempo.
Zone defense wasn’t half bad last year, but it wasn’t good either. We may not be equipped to play suffocating man d, but that’s not really the issue. The problem is that we consistently underachieve on that end. We’re below average, in man or zone
Observations on the gott era: we’re always better in transition, typically get mired in half court games against top-64 defenses. We’re better with some token half or 3/4 court pressure, or full court press.
For all gott’s talk about what he learned while on sabbatical from the coaching ranks, I’ve yet to see it. Same question marks year after year. The league and coaches are collectively better than 3 years ago. This ain’t bama or LA.
I’ll take a teacher, not a salesman
I think think we’re seeing the ucla high post principles at work, albeit it with some different starting points and action. The problem is the lack of skilled interior players with high bball iqs.
Therein is the rub. There are relatively few bigs with the skills to pull this off and fewer players with bball iqs in rhis age. Add in the physicality of defenses, which makes it more challenging.
In years 1-2, gott had extremely skilled offensive players at every position, good size at guards, and mismatches all over the court. Sure, each player had weaknesses, but among college teams, it doesn’t get much better.
Last year, we had buckets whose skill and iq we haven’t seen the likes of in decades.
We have neither now. Lacy is stellar but he won’t get the same easy baskets warren got on offensive put backs, back cuts, or post ups.
This team has to speed up the game, press, trap, and run, goad opponents into taking early shots in transition, or they’ll be in for a long year. We’re simply not good enough in the half court on offense or defense.
Everybody on here knows I hate complaining about officiating. I also find it hard to stomach watching college basketball because of the way it’s officiated, and the overall decline in quality of play. But you have to adapt, as coaches and players. Grow a sack, buy a mouth guard, and throw some elbows. You foul out, so be it. WE have plenty of depth to throw guys into a meat grinder game. We’ve got some guys with some toughness factor. I guarantee you some of those kids have played in rougher games than the WVU game.
I was in the minority here after Gottfried’s first two seasons who said it was unlikely that he’d ever improve much over what was accomplished those two years. I still sit in that uncomfortable chair of pessimism. You are what you are. We aren’t very good. We haven’t improved notably on defense, and we’re lagging behind where we’ve been in years past on offense. Throw in 20+ turnovers, and you get a stinker performance.
Grey, after I’d been in Raleigh a few months, I asked a black friend of mine who’s a Raleigh native if he could recommend any basic meat and three type joints. I asked him about Watkins. He laughed at me. The Confederate flag memorabilia scares some folks away..Speaking of meat and 3’s, anybody know any Raleigh joints that serve up some good down home food? And you youngsters, don’t go telling me the Pit.
^I wouldn’t have pegged Cowdog for a martini drinker. What do I know! Must’ve been tracking tail in the lounge
These things always baffle me. Glad Raleigh is getting some recognition, but it’s not exactly a food mecca, and its sister cities of Durham and Chapel Hill usually have us outgunned in the food world. I’m not sure I’d even rank Second Empire in the top 10 in the Triangle. I like it, just don’t love it, and have eaten there many a time. Now Bida Mada is pretty authentic, and that lofty ranking may just be spot on. Never tried the Copper Door in Hayesville. St. Jacques is top notch even thought it’s in a strip mall. Fearrington House, Heron’s, meh, meh.
A little off topic, but we need to get in early on Cam Harris from Northern Guilford. A soph who’s never played QB before, and didn’t really want to initially, he’s returned Northern to yet another state championship game. Kenan Allen’s cousin, he can flat out play. Has an arm and can run the spread.
What you saw last night were really two pretty evenly matched teams at this point in the season, and the game was close throughout. About what I expected.
Barber was 2 for 6 from the field. IMO, he needs to be shooting more, not less. We need Barber to not only facilitate better, we need him to score 15 a night.
The problems are always the same with Gottfried coached teams. From the beginning, the question marks are defense and bench utilization. AT the pace he plays at, he relies on being very efficient on offense because his teams are always mediocre to less than average on defense. It’s the same this year. But as we’ve played better teams, out offensive efficiency has dipped.
The strength of this team will never be its offensive sets versus zone defenses. We may improve but the jury is out. Nor is a strength playing set defense in the half court. We may end up being slightly better than previous Gottfried Wolfpack teams, but even a marginally better defense isn’t much to boast about. Yet, even with a larger bench to utilize, we insist on not pushing tempo, pressing, trying to speed the game up, force quicker shots and turnovers. Instead, we bank on outscoring opponents, with average defense, and a better halfcourt offense. AS another poster remarked, you’re always going to see a lot of 20-10 type seasons with this staff, regardless of talent. That’s not really an indictment, it’s just what I’ve come to expect.
Alternatively, if teams are going to zone us, I’d like to see Gottfried try to speed up the tempo even more by throwing in a little press. We’ve only seen this once this season that I recall. When better on offense than defense, speed it up.
FT shooting can improve with hard work but more problematic imo is shot selection and defense. Our adjusted defensive efficiency is still not very good so far. It’s about par for the course for Gottfried’s teams. I think we rank in the 80s nationally. Our RPI is good, so maybe that number improves as the season progresses.
Shot selection, however, has really got to improve if this team is going to be as efficient as Gottfried’s past teams. I think we’re in the 50s right now, and we’re not turning it over much, just shooting a much lower percentage. There has to better role recognition among the guys on the court, a more concerted effort to get the ball inside, and better all around shot selection. We have 2-3 guys who generally don’t force the issue, but there are some others with a quick trigger. I think we’ll see more and more of Twin 1 at the 3 as the season progresses.
We have a few lunch pail guys who are really unselfish, and the team as whole appears to be having a good time and rooting for one another. It will be interesting to see how that evolves over the season, and if others recognize their roles and/or accept roles, perhaps as they change.
The backcourt is set. But 3-5 could very well change a good deal, game to game, or over the course of the season. I don’t think we’ll be a defensive juggernaut based on what I’ve seen and Gottfried’s past record, but a team with a defensive efficiency in the top 30-40 is possible if we stay healthy. Shot selection, ball movement against the zone, and turnovers will determine how well we perform on the other end. We go as Cat goes.
Agree with most of the above observations. Game 1 told us little, they were horrible. Game 2, I think, tells us far more. Like last year early in the season, we struggle with the zone. If Barber can make the 3, penetrate and dish without turning it over, we’ll be much better. Having a capable SG, and a SF who can stretch the floor helps.
Areas for improvement. Same old. Free throws, defense, shot selection, ball movement with a purpose against the zone.
Defensive intensity and focus still inconsistent. Still not convinced of substantial improvement in that area. The UCLA high post may offer the opportunity for everybody to get shots, but that doesn’t mean you should shoot, or you should hoist early in the shot clock. We have a few folks too eager to put it up. Move the friggin ball.
4, 4, and 4. Historically, NC is fairly unique in that there was always room for local and state politicians to distance themselves from unattractive or unpopular national candidates/officials or policies. Heck, for a long time, there were even regional variations within the state parties, candidates, and electorate. That’s increasingly changing. In part, it reflects demographic changes in the state. The bulk of voters are single or double issue voters at most, and typically just voting for a team. Fodder for the discussion around the coffee or dinner table. Hofstadter’s classic, The Paranoid Style, is still as insightful as ever nearly a half century after it was written. Lots of fear mongering going on both sides of the aisle, just different fears. Typically, the national election can be cast into a simple question: what party or person can best manipulate those fears and manufacture votes? Identifying the fears of voters and driving those home is far more important than actually governing and advocating reform. That will virtually guarantee a loss.
Lots of talk about improved defense and commitment to improvement on that end. There may be more pieces in place, but I need to see it to believe it. Don’t have to be spectacular but a top 50 defense could really help Gott and crew over the hump if they can maintain their consistent play on offense.
There’s plenty to admire about Doeren. Personally, I think he’s sharp and admire that he’s committed to playing the style of offense that he and Canada want to play. He began last year even when we didn’t have the horses. To me, that speaks to commitment and philosophy. I also recognize that this staff is committed to recruiting, and they’re doing a far better job in NC than any staff since Sheridan. How far there reach is out-of-state, I don’t know, but they definitely had a huge hill to climb in state and they’ve made big strides.
Defensively, it’s clear the talent is behind the offensive side of the ball. Speed is lacking, there’s no doubt. Notwithstanding a few positions, it was lacking with the previous regime as well. I don’t know the defensive philosophy of this staff. If it’s apparent on the field, I don’t like it.
Gameday coaching I’d give a C so far. Preparation and coaching at the amateur level is all about maximizing talent, minimizing mistakes, and exploiting weaknesses. I’m just not convinced our staff does all of those very well. On the offensive side of the ball, there’s a little too much tecmo bowl crap going on for my taste. Wisconsin fans complained of the same. Canada has a history of going away from what works, at times, in favor of mixing it up even when the defense isn’t forcing adjustments.
Everybody knew Herring’s reputation when he came here. Like Foster at VTU, those coordinators will periodically give up big plays because they’re going to play press coverage, they’re going to go after the QB, they’re going to attack from different spots on the field. I admittedly don’t know Huxtable’s philosophy on defense. We’re not getting toasted because we play press coverare or blitz a ton. We’re getting toasted because we’re out of position, don’t tackle well, and don’t communicate well, and we get very little pressure on the QB. I still don’t buy the fact that talent and depth alone explains performance on that side. Factors in the equation maybe, but I suspect there are plenty of coordinators out there who could get more out of that roster. We’re flat awful.
Here’s your SEC culture at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/10-states-worst-quality-life-164909712.html. I, for one, have no problem criticizing and loathing John Swofford, but remain grateful that we aren’t a part of the SEC. I don’t care how many dollars those sports programs generate.
I’m with 44 and a few others. SEC and culture shouldn’t be used positively in the same sentence. Having gone to undergrad in SEC country, attended a game everywhere but Starkville, I’d say the gameday experience isn’t all that different. SEC culture ranks atop the redneck meter. Some great places, including Oxford, but the football is in many ways typical of those areas biggest problems.
I understand the limitations of speed and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball, as well as the youth, and the decision to shift to a 4-2-5. Where we disagree is the application of the 4-2-5. The corners may not be NFL caliber, but it’s the safeties and LB’s in coverage who are weak links. There was talk early in the season about how vanilla the base defense looked, and that there would be more and more wrinkles to come. My complaint is just that, that we’re still pretty vanilla. Last year, we were also vanilla. I’d prefer to attack a little more, especially on 3rd downs. I think it boils to philosophy. Last year, on offense, we didn’t have the horses but we still tried to run the spread. Are you going to sit back with lots of cushion and rely on the front 4, or are you going to go after the quarterback? The safeties and LB’s aren’t great in coverage. Let them come after the QB a little more, that’s all I’m saying. If you get beat, so be it. You’re already getting carved up.
To me, the glaring defensive stat is the 3rd down defense. We simply have too many times where we’re in a position to get off the field, and we don’t. I’m not talking 3rd and short, but whether it’s 3rd and 5 or 3rd and 15, we struggle to get off the field. In those scenarios, we need to dig a little deeper in the bag of tricks. Not buying the blame on youth and inexperience.
I’m not convinced zone coverage is suited for this group. Corners are respectable but safeties and rover or nickle back don’t seem to have the recovery speed and seem confused. if it were me, I’d risk giving up big ones–we already give up plenty of 20+ plays–and put our big corners up close, bump, and bring more pressure. Force them the QB’s to make quick decisions. Don’t think we’d do any worse, and possibly better.
