Bazz

[BigErnMcCracken]

I'm amazed that anyone can watch this team lately and conclude that the problem is Shabazz.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Im amazed people can watch this team and conclude Shabazz isn't part of the problem.

 

[James]

he's the only one doing anything. You're claiming he is a 'ball stopper'. I've seen many fastbreaks where the ball doesn't touch the ground, where shabazz gets the hockey assist or the assist. What do you expect him to do? he aint steve nash

 

[huskymagic]

No disrespect towards AO intended. He is who he is and although he is flawed on the offensive end, and he has some weakness on the defensive end, I agree that he is the best option in the lineup and I like him paired with AD. The one disagreement I have is that TO is needed in certain match ups for offense even if he isn't as good as Alex on the defensive end. RS and DD should be role players imo.

I agree with this post and am glad some people are waking up to the fact Alex is needed on this team as a starter and if needed in some matchups Olander will play limited minutes.

 

[caw]

Im amazed people can watch this team and conclude Shabazz isn't part of the problem.

How to respond?

I hate making excuses but this season has just been a really weird one from a personnel perspective. Not having Boatright for 6 games (plus 2 exhibition games), then getting him back but losing Calhoun for 3 games, then getting him back but losing Boatright for 3+ games has really thrown off the progression of this team. I think this more than anything else has contributed to the Jekll-Hyde feel for this very young team.

Look at how Pitt, UL and Cuse have reacted to losses of key players (with more veteran lineups) and it's easy to see why this lack of cohesion is a problem.

This applies not only to Napier but also to Lamb and even Oriakhi/Drummond/Giffey/etc.

That said, Napier has been a ball-stopper the past 3 games. I think this is partially by design. If you watch the games prior to Boatright showing up (against decent teams) and the way the team is playing right now. It's very similar.

Napier and Lamb are exhausted during games and playing a much more deliberate (slow) pace in order to shorten the game and make it easier for them. This is obviously not how this team would like to play (or at least how the fans would like it to play).

It's not only about having another player to "break down the defense" but simply about having a decent backup for the 1-2 position so Napier and Lamb can feel comfortable playing aggressive on offense and on defense.

Lamb at least has a somewhat suitable backup in Giffey/Daniels (high D-1 recruits who can play defense at the 2, if not offense).

Napier has Lamb (who is not a D-1 PG) and a walk-on freshman as his backups. This has to be in his mind during the first half. Can you imagine what the team would look like if Napier got in foul trouble or fouled out?

Almost every player has suffered by missing Boatright, excluding Giffey who is seeing more time with less of a 3 guard option available.

To the initial question: should Boatright start over Napier? I don't think so, simply because the offense was actually decent with all 3 guards available. I also thought when all 3 were available, Napier ran the offense the best.

I do think that having Napier play the 2 on occasion to give Lamb a breather would be great or having Napier on the bench for a breather would be great. Boatright, for how good he is, does not run the team as well as Napier (yet).

 

[Excalibur]

Shabazz is a ball stopper. When the ball gets in his hand he dribbles or holds it ruins offensive movement. Did the big man play well no not at all. But they didnt get the ball in good positions. I just dont like the way Shabazz runs a team. Didnt think he played well vs cincy didnt think he played well today. Team wont go far with Shabazz as the leading scorer or second leading scorer. We have too much talent and need a PG to get everyone else involved first then worry about his scoring. If people disagree I totally can understand.

Try watching something other than the ball.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

No kidding, the kid can't run the point and run them through their sets and finish for them too. He looks for his offense because he usually has to. Some of you sound like we've got really potent low post scoring threats that just aren't getting a chance to do their thing because shabazz isn't looking for them. That's absurd.

 

[sparky]

Bazz and Boat are 1a and 1b. Boat can play point and both can play the 2. The problem with both starting is that we give away too much in size. That being said, we are not getting enough out of the bigs. AO's footwork on D is a jumble and AD is still learning how to play at this level. DD has been a disapointment and AO seems to just miss on the timing of his jumps.My line up is : Bazz, Lamb, AD, Giff, and TO/AO. Boat spells Bazz at point and moves him to the 2 and move Lamb to the 3. When giff comes back in Spell Lamb, Lamb comes back in spell Bazz. We have AD who can fly but we don't use him Boat speeds up the play and we play 96ft instead of 1/2 court. The offense we are running does not fit the guys running it. JC Let my people go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Burnsbros23]

You have seen many fast breaks where Bazz gets the hockey assist? I cant recall many all year. Huge part of the problem is he never pushes the ball up the court. I just cant recall a time where Bazz gets the ball and makes a quick decision.

Bazz last 8 games he is shooting 35% from the field and 29% from three.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

[ Huge part of the problem is he never pushes the ball up the court. I just cant recall a time where Bazz gets the ball and makes a quick decision.
[/quote]

Answer is (a) you're not paying attention; (b) you dont know what you should be looking for, or (c) you're saying something you know is garbage. There's really no other explanation.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Ya I know what to look for but thanks though. I think you dont kno what your talking about so obviously we are on different pages.

So I'm just curious people think Bazz has been playing well?

 

[Walker11]

No kidding, the kid can't run the point and run them through their sets and finish for them too. He looks for his offense because he usually has to. Some of you sound like we've got really potent low post scoring threats that just aren't getting a chance to do their thing because shabazz isn't looking for them. That's absurd.

Bazz could always throw it to Giffey on the perimeter so he can jab step twice and send it right back, or to AD, who is posting up 15 feet from the basket so that he can attempt a turnaround jumper, or maybe force a pass to Lamb while he is being draped by a defender after he cruised around a few screens where neither AO or AD even make contact with the defender. The options are limitless.

 

[Excalibur]

Ya I know what to look for but thanks though. I think you dont kno what your talking about so obviously we are on different pages.

So I'm just curious people think Bazz has been playing well?

Actually, I took the time to break down what's happening with the offense. You just took the simple approach and said all Shabazz does is pound the ball into the ground for 30 seconds. That shows me you're not watching what's going on.

Shabazz has been OK. He's been loose with the ball and is missing guys coming off screens on the rare occasion that they are actually open. Nobody's really been playing well, but the problems with the offense go way beyond his shortcomings.

 

[huskymagic]

You have seen many fast breaks where Bazz gets the hockey assist? I cant recall many all year. Huge part of the problem is he never pushes the ball up the court. I just cant recall a time where Bazz gets the ball and makes a quick decision.

Bazz last 8 games he is shooting 35% from the field and 29% from three.

Burnsbro you already know the answer to your own statement. Bazz is a chris duhon type guard who is slow and methodical. He doesnt have the quickness or athleticism to get by anyone off the dribble which is why he holds the ball on the perimter making horizontal passes while the bigs dont get any decent looks unless its a lob for Drummond when hes open. After 15 seconds the shot clock winds down and Napier or Lamb take contested deep threes. We need Boatright to speed up the game and penetrate at will to open up lanes for our guys on the wing to score like Lamb and Napier. Also, Boatright will free up our bigs and get them easy looks at the basket. Oriakhi definitely wants Boatright back to play the point as he plays better with him running the point and has acknowledged himself that he wants Boat back as soon as possible because he gets him the ball.

 

[husky711]

If/when Boatright comes back he should be our point guard. I've thought this for awhile, Shabazz just is not a good point guard. He pounds the ball all game long and never gets us into any sort of offense. He simply can't draw and kick and lacks the lateral quickness. I'm not saying he's a bad player he just shouldn't be our pointguard. He is a really good shooter when he has his feet set and he would get planty of open looks with Boatright's ability to break his man down draw and kick. Bazz's body language and overall court presence stinks right now and there needs to be a change. I'm by no means putting all our struggles on Bazz, our frontcourt has been horrendous, Niels is the only small forward giving us anything and Lamb clearly isn't comfortable. I'll probably get flamed for this but I really feel strongly that if we want to get the most out of this group Bazz can't be the point guard going forward. Now will the NCAA please stop ducking around and clear Boatright.

I completely agree and have felt this way for a number of games now. I've essentially felt this way since before the WVU game, and then the WVU game cemented my feelings on this topic as we saw Boat running the point more than he had in the past. He does a very good job of getting EVERYONE involved (particularly rewarding the big men when they fight for good position, whereas Shabazz looks the other way or gets the ball to them too late where the position isn't as optimal). I don't feel that Shabazz should play off the ball ENTIRELY, as Boatright can certainly shoot the lights out as well from what I've seen (thus he'd be effective at the 2 as well)... but they should definitely switch on and off, with Boat getting more time at the 1. Switching them on and off at the 1 will also help conserve the energy of both of them... running the point for an entire game is an exhausting thing to ask of ANY player. That is a big reason why Shabazz and Kemba switched on/off all last season... it kept Kemba more fresh and also gave them both the opportunity to score. The less fatigued the PG is, the more likely he is to not have tunnel vision and to get his team involved more (hence why I felt that Shabazz also distributed the ball much better against WVU than in past games, he wasn't at the 1 the ENTIRE game and likely was a bit more clear headed).

 

[husky711]

Burnsbro you already know the answer to your own statement. Bazz is a chris duhon type guard who is slow and methodical. He doesnt have the quickness or athleticism to get by anyone off the dribble which is why he holds the ball on the perimter making horizontal passes while the bigs dont get any decent looks unless its a lob for Drummond when hes open. After 15 seconds the shot clock winds down and Napier or Lamb take contested deep threes. We need Boatright to speed up the game and penetrate at will to open up lanes for our guys on the wing to score like Lamb and Napier. Also, Boatright will free up our bigs and get them easy looks at the basket. Oriakhi definitely wants Boatright back to play the point as he plays better with him running the point and has acknowledged himself that he wants Boat back as soon as possible because he gets him the ball.

Bingo... to both huskymaniac and Burnsbro. Shabazz just doesn't seem to make quick decisions very often... at all. Don't get me wrong.. I really like the kid and think he is a great baller. He has hit many clutch shots (even though many of them haven't gotten us a W, they are still in crunch time which would be considered a clutch shot IMHO)... but it just seems like the game moves by him too quickly. Everyone is giving our big men such a hard time for not producing, but honestly one of the biggest factors in this is that they aren't getting the ball when they work for position down low and GET the position. By the time they get the position the defender has already adjusted into a better spot to interrupt the pass or force our bigs into a more difficult shot. Bottom line... I'm praying Boat is cleared in the next day or two, comes back with a SERIOUS chip on his shoulder, and is given a good amount of time at the 1. I think that will make a world of a difference in itself. If Lamb could learn to be a bit less predictable in the patterns he's running to try and get open it'd make a world of a difference too I think. It is just very easy to predict where Lamb is going to end looking for the ball on each play... not enough misdirection/cuts/etc in my opinion. Many may disagree with me, but it just seems like he is too predictable and never tries to juke the defender off his heels to get an open look.

Then again, perhaps he's also realized it isn't worth tiring himself out so much (leaving him less effective at the end of the game when we have needed him most this season due to close games from behind) as he probably won't get the ball fed to him by Bazz until the defender has finally caught up and has him covered again anyways.

 

[Walker11]

I just rewatched the first half of the Tenn. game and you guys are so far off its ....well...predictable, considering some of the sources.

There was 1 single possession where Bazz pounded the ball, otherwise, he played very well. The offense actually looked pretty decent but no one could buy a bucket. It would have helped if Drummond made his moves 5 feet out, instead of 10, and if AO and Roscoe finished easy buckets. JL additionally missed some shots he should make.

There were a couple of well runs sets where a big ducked in and should have passed the ball, but Roscoe and NG missed them. There was a total of one possession when Shabazz didnt' pass the ball and thats because no one was open. He did take one horrendous 3 on a fast break. If you wanted to see some ugly offense, the two sets when Bazz was on the bench were just horrendous.

I made clips of every single offensive possession and am attempting to upload them to youtube. If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know. I am also going to try to rewatch the offensive possessions from the second half tomorrow.

 

[61cygni]

At this point, people are seriously entrenched in their views of who the team scapegoat is. I doubt seeing those clips are going to change anyone's minds.

 

[mauconnfan]

I guess my biggest question for this thread is "Where would we be without Shabazz?"....................

 

[Huskybass]

I guess my biggest question for this thread is "Where would we be without Shabazz?"....................

Yikes!!!

 

[huskymagic]

Bingo... to both huskymaniac and Burnsbro. Shabazz just doesn't seem to make quick decisions very often... at all. Don't get me wrong.. I really like the kid and think he is a great baller. He has hit many clutch shots (even though many of them haven't gotten us a W, they are still in crunch time which would be considered a clutch shot IMHO)... but it just seems like the game moves by him too quickly. Everyone is giving our big men such a hard time for not producing, but honestly one of the biggest factors in this is that they aren't getting the ball when they work for position down low and GET the position. By the time they get the position the defender has already adjusted into a better spot to interrupt the pass or force our bigs into a more difficult shot. Bottom line... I'm praying Boat is cleared in the next day or two, comes back with a SERIOUS chip on his shoulder, and is given a good amount of time at the 1. I think that will make a world of a difference in itself. If Lamb could learn to be a bit less predictable in the patterns he's running to try and get open it'd make a world of a difference too I think. It is just very easy to predict where Lamb is going to end looking for the ball on each play... not enough misdirection/cuts/etc in my opinion. Many may disagree with me, but it just seems like he is too predictable and never tries to juke the defender off his heels to get an open look.

Then again, perhaps he's also realized it isn't worth tiring himself out so much (leaving him less effective at the end of the game when we have needed him most this season due to close games from behind) as he probably won't get the ball fed to him by Bazz until the defender has finally caught up and has him covered again anyways.

I don't think many people would disagree with your assessment as it is correct and astute. I obviously wholeheartedly agree with you, but its up to Calhoun to decide what to do and hopefully he makes the changes that I and burnsbro have already mentioned. The NCAA is clearly hurting us by having Boatright out and if we don't get him back soon like before the ND game then this season wont turn out like most of us had envisioned which was competing for number 4. Lamb is looking very lethargic and slugglish but that has to do with him being asked to create his own shot far more than he would like or is accustomed to. Lamb is an assassin when he plays more off the ball and shots are created for him like last year where the full repertoire is displayed. He looked great against Tennessee especially driving the ball which I feel he should do more of because he is a great player. We will see on Sunday against ND what this team is made of. Its time to put up or shut up as expression goes.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I don't think many people would disagree with your assessment as it is correct and astute. I obviously wholeheartedly agree with you, but its up to Calhoun to decide what to do and hopefully he makes the changes that I and burnsbro have already mentioned. The NCAA is clearly hurting us by having Boatright out and if we don't get him back soon like before the ND game then this season wont turn out like most of us had envisioned which was competing for number 4. Lamb is looking very lethargic and slugglish but that has to do with him being asked to create his own shot far more than he would like or is accustomed to. Lamb is an assassin when he plays more off the ball and shots are created for him like last year where the full repertoire is displayed. He looked great against Tennessee especially driving the ball which I feel he should do more of because he is a great player. We will see on Sunday against ND what this team is made of. Its time to put up or shut up as expression goes.

What would Jim Calhoun do if he couldn't come to the Boneyard and read Huskymagic's posts that call out he and his players, giving them the guidance that they so clearly lack?

 

[Burnsbros23]

Well we only have three guards on the whole roster so you could say where would we be without any one of them.

I will try to rewatch the game at some point. There are just so many little things that a point guard should do that Shabazz does not do.

 

[Burnsbros23]

I'm not trying to just knock a kid, Shabazz has skills that we need to find a way to use but I just think him being at PG all the time is not the right choice. Obviously if Boat doesnt come back we are in big trouble. We just have zero backcourt depth.

And you really added the point of if you wanna see some ugly sets watch when Bazz wasnt in? I mean yah well we have a Freshmen walkon at PG who hasnt played all year, and isnt really a PG.

 

[hungry husky]

Was Bazz a PG coming out of high school? Calhoun needs to stop overloading the 3 and recruit legit PGs and C's (sorry Wolf/Bradley).