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I sincerely hope Wichita State gets through that bracket and wins the whole thing. And *NC gets absolutely worked by Providence tonight
Duke has shot nearly 40 3’s in that game. Why any post player even considers going there amazes me. I’m not sure why, but Coach K really moved away from using his post guys on offense. The ball simply doesn’t go into the post enough with that team. When they’ve flamed out of the tourney, that’s been the big problem for them. Solid defensive teams who don’t turn over the ball and aren’t really bothered by their pressure can get high percentage shots. But Duke lives and dies by the 3.
^Good thoughts DSD..Some really good coaches out there at mid-majors. The Manhattan guy can flat out coach. High energy, Petino protege. Did you see how hard those kids played the entire game? The way they played defense and attacked on offense.
My biggest fear now is that *NC makes a run in the tourney and I have to endure it after last night’s dissappointment. Got a good friend who’s a huge Providence fan. They’re a solid defensive club, but I don’t think they can score enough to stay with the blues. They’re long, I think they play some zone, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea against light blue
I don’t watch NBA basketball, so I have no idea what the draft projections are, who’s expected to come out, team needs, etc., but for those of you that pay attention to “the league,” where is Warren projected if he came out? What other players his size is he competing with on the board? Does his lack of range from 3 hurt him? Is there any chance he comes back?…
If you’d have asked me before the season if I’d have been happy at .500 in conference and a tourney ticket, I’d have said hell yeah. But after seeing our parts, and seeing the rest of the league, I still think we underachieved. For me, that’s 2 out of 3 years of underachieving under Gott. The measurables and trajectory concern me. Little improvement from year-to-year on the defensive end. I’m with BJD, that was the back breaker to me. Giving up the wide open looks from 3, letting them roll the ball down the court, it just can’t happen. We had WBS and Vandy in to defend late when stoppages allowed you to sub is inexcusable. Every possession counts. I’ll give credit when its due, and I think Gott made some really good calls during that game, took some really good timeouts, used his subs pretty damn good throughout the first 37, but he also made some downright boneheaded decisions.
^Agree about PG and floor general absence late. I think that’s still a problem for Gott. It’s the QB on the court. Nice to have two but how well does it work to shuffle?
Based on my observation, early in the year, teams saw that we struggled to shoot it from outside (prior to Turner’s insertion in lineup). Lewis didn’t make many either, but he wasn’t able to penetrate the zone. Cat was a better defender, better at beating his man or penetrating the zone, and he got more PT. But his decision making also was that of a FR and he turned it over too much. Insert Lewis, who, along with the better play of the bigs and improved shooting of Turner, helped us crack the zone.
But the basic problem against solid man-to-man teams was still evident. Lewis, imo, struggled against really good man teams. He’s a facilitator, great passer, good ball handler, but he’s susceptible to traps and pressure. When the shot clock is winding down, the better creator is Cat.
btw, if you were like me and couldn’t sleep after that one, that Louisville-Manhattan game was a heck of a game. If I’m a program lookign for a coach, I give that Manhattan coach a serious look.
Poor Warren looked visibly devastated last night. In shock. I wish him the best. Heck of a season. Kids like that don’t come along often.
I’d vote for youth and inexperience over fatigue as the big factor late. The signs of fatigue there the entire game. Warren and Turner looked a step slow to me all night, and yet we still had them outgunned. 5 games in 8 days, with a flight in the wee hours, ain’t no joke. Ball handling against pressure has been a problem all year. Defensive lapses have been a problem all year. Free throw shooting has been average to below-average all year.
I normally don’t agree with Rick, but I think there are definitely concerns about the trajectory of the program. Warren hid a lot of deficiencies this year. Some of said we’ll be more balanced next year. Well, we were balanced two years ago, and how well did that go?
Bottom line, when you’re not fundamentally sound, those weaknesses show. When you’re fatigued and young, they show even more. We were clearly the more talented team last night. Best player in the building, maybe that entire bracket. The number of free throw misses, inexcusable as they are, didn’t surprise me. The other elements did. Gottfried managed that game really well up to the last 3 and OT. Huge defensive lapses late. Letting them repeatedly roll the ball up the court, which probably saved them 30 seconds at least. As BJD95 points out, he got away from rotating the bigs. Mistake. He also didn’t have the best ball handling, press breaking squad in there. Some kids bat .300 with nobody on base, but can’t hit a lick with runners in scoring position. In the clutch, you want the thoroughbreds out there. I said after the stoppage, he shouldn’t have Warren out there hoping for a steal with four fouls but he’ll keep hmi in. Before the game, Bill and I commented that he tends to ride the wrong ponies a little too long. Things have to go really bad before he makes a decision.
The inability to break the press, the mental lapses leaving 3-pt shooters open, and the delay getting some of the bigs out when the hack strategy began was mind blowing to me. Sure, make free throws and you’re in the drivers seat, but it was oh so clear we were rattled. Looked like hot potato out there. The only guy who wanted the ball was Warren.
Gottfried didn’t make smart decisions down the stretch. THat’s not said in hindsight. I yelled at him the entire last 4, and OT. My wife and neighbors will attest. Team loss, total meltdown, but the coach has to be better. He’s not 18-20, he’s been in that situation, he’s supposed to be able to anticipate strategy and counter with proper personnel, not just hope for the best.
When you can’t celebrate your own success, at least rejoice at the failure of others. Barnes and the Hornes are dispatching the Fighting Sendeks. At least we don’t have to endure that.
^Nobody questioning that fatigue wasn’t a factor. But some of the misses were by horrendous shooters who should’ve never been in the game once the strategy was clear. And secondly, the mental lapses–losing three point shooters late–are anything but physical. Total loss of composure..youth, fatigue, and coaches as well. You have to make it a point of emphasis that you cannot allow shooters open looks from 3. If they get the 2, so be it. We have the personnel to attack a press. We just didn’t see it in there as often as needed late.
I thought Gott did a solid job substituting most of the night. He rotated the bigs in and out, got TJ and Turner some rest, and got contributions from Dez, Anya, Lenard, and Cat. But late, his sub patterns were way off the mark. To point them out is to place unnecessary criticism on players, and I won’t do it, but whatever hunches he was playing late, weren’t the same ones he played for 35 minutes. We were clearly outcoached down the stretch.
Was anyone else scratching their heads about the personnel we had in there down the stretch in regulation and in OT?
Kids were dead legged late. But we not only outplayed that bunch for most of the game, we flat out dominated them for about 37-38 minutes. Just flat out lost composure. It happens. I just don’t recall it ever happening in so many different ways during such a short stretch.
