the Refs were pretty good last night - I hope we can get good ones for our games at home, I am glad Coach is willing to make some changes and we are a better team with Bay at the point, but it wont matter who we start or who plays major minutes if we DO NOT begin setting screens and playing BIG in the post, I mean JAR YOUR TEETH screens, not the soft ass screens the defender just runs through.
here is what eats at me, we are not the Lakers, we don't have "Row" at all 5 spots we are more like the Jazz, we have good players at each position and a great one in Row, yet the expectations are everyone should be doing what “Row” is doing or they ARE NOT contributing, that’s lame.
If we set screens ANYWHERE on the floor it would open up opportunities for EVERY player we have and as a result EVERY player would be a threat. we are very good defensively, but we need help on offense, we need to run screens, high pick and roll, High Low, etc...that takes the pressure off the PG and allows for a mis match, a space for penetration, space for a shot or a double team that will allow players like Stucki, Row to "get off" within the offense, this is basic stuff, why aren’t we doing it?
"Row" is just taking what the coaches are giving him, I don’t blame him a bit, in fact I am thankful he is playing this well! I am sure he would like to "share" the load, but my guess is, because our team has not prepared well for the offense side of things, our huddles are simply the coaches telling the players to "get the ball to Row" that is not conducive to team play.
then you hear post game the tired old cliché of NO ONE ELSE STEPPED UP, that’s the cop out used by coaches, we NEED an offense otherwise we are simply an AAU team and whichever athlete out athletes the other will win.
because we substitute so often and in many cases for simple mistakes, BASKETBALL MISTAKES, players become frustrated and in some cases lose confidence, this may explain why several players who should be doing better are not, they are being yanked as PUNISHMENT, this hurts the team, there is NO reason to yank a kid after a mistake UNLESS you plan to discuss it with him immediately and put him back in the game, when the player makes the mistake HE KNOWS it! The players know it, the announcers know it, the fans know it, taking him out and making him sit HURTS the team and the player, watch good coaches immediately address their players should they yank him over a basketball mistake, its called coaching.
basketball is a game of rhythm, instincts, momentum and skill, you need all of those parts working to get the most out of your players, if you yank players for turnovers that came out of playing the game, that might not do anything but tell that player never to try that again, unless the coach illustrates a better approach to get the desired result, if you yank a player for missing 2 shots in a row, that will simply have him nervous about shooting, because he wants more than anything to stay on the floor and so he will not shoot some shots in fear of being yanked, that means he is NO threat on the floor, now the defense can play 5 on 4.
I believe this is happening now, in watching the players, they are not in rhythm at all, there are 2-3 players that are playing well together but we should be much further along than this, I am not throwing in the towel, I believe in these players, I am reserved on the staff, but have confidence "THE PAST DOES NOT EQUAL THE FUTURE" and therefore old dogs can learn new tricks.
Our bigs need to play at a much higher level, I remember RR post some time ago that said Busma tries to block too many shots, now I see others stating the same, I would agree, we are a D1 basketball team and have ZERO dunks by our bigs 4 games into the season, not that dunking is special, its still only 2 points, but MOST big guys around the country are VERY aggressive in the paint and want to shake the rim on their opponent, we haven’t seen that “yet” and we are constantly PUSHED out of position by smaller guys, last night Boise State bigs punched our guys in the mouth and we NEVER fought back!
I will say it again, the Hawaii game we DID NOT run a single screen on the perimeter until 17 minutes into the game, NO CHANCE we compete against good teams playing that way.
John Thompson the world class basketball coach and human being once stated during a debate on the state of the minority athlete in college athletics and beyond, in a Town Hall with Bill Clinton, and several other bright individuals, that kids need opportunity - one of the folks on the platform made the tired old statement about what we need is more education, these kids need MORE education, knowledge is power, Mr Thompson threw his towel over his shoulder and interrupted the individual to say; these kids have had 12-15 years of education, what they need is OPPORTUNITY! Knowledge without application is NOTHING and education without opportunity is the same.
my point is, these kids KNOW how to play, our coach has FORGOTTEN more about basketball than we will probably ever know, THEY BOTH HAVE BEEN EDUCATED, yet we have not provided opportunity to succeed, the staff needs to take this time right now and put in a basic offense scheme - these are college basketball players that have played their whole life, show them what you want, BASIC stuff, the Utah JAZZ built a franchise on BASIC basketball, we can do the same.
Take advantage of the “skill set” each player brings and TRUST them, allow them to RISK more because you trust that they are working in the teams best interest, if you don’t trust them you will get ROBOTS, players afraid to PLAY!
as I ate breakfast this morning getting caught up on scores and transactions around the country I came across a story about the turnaround taking place at schools everywhere in terms of better basketball, they were discussing the same old stuff that comes out every year about age limits, how long to stay in school the parity amongst teams and lastly the mid major high major comparisons, one team that jumped out at me was Arizona State and how coach Sendek had taken some players who by most experts account, were NOT PAC10 material (other than Pendergragh and Harden) and turned them into a top 25 team, it got me thinking of their players and our team, the similarities the skill sets they possess etc. yes they have a NBA bound player in Harden, but lets say he is our Amorrow their PG Glasser = Bay, Pendergragh = Stein, Kuksiks = Stucki, Boateng = Meech
These guys are NOT any better than our players – Harden could be singled out, but Row is incredibly gifted and playing VERY well – so why do they win? this article says its because they have a “system” that fits their players, Coach Sendek said they DESIGNED offense and defense schemes to get the most out of their players, after all the starting 5 for the Lakers weren’t walking through the door to replace who they had, they needed to work with what they had.
sure they have been at it longer, the first year wasn’t the best year, but the players are not asked to do more than their skill set suggests they can and the staff TRUSTS the players, we could learn a lot from their offense, our defense is every bit as good, but their offense moves the ball with screens, motion and bigs that COMPETE every possession, allowing for the BEST shot each time down, they like us are a ½ court team, they run when it makes sense but most of the time it’s a ½ court game for them, that’s what THEIR players give them, so they MAXIMIZE it
I believe we CAN have similar success, but we must start NOW! We do not need to play 9-12 players ever, we need to run 8-9 and make them PROFICIENT, lock them in the gym together for every hour of every day mastering a NEW offense, then trust them (it will not be easy, they will let us down, but 1 day in a game it will all come together and we will witness the introduction of one winning season after another) I know it can happen, WITH THIS GROUP!
enough from me, sorry to have rambled, way too much coffee
