A little mind boggling

[jpeakin]

I know the team has MANY areas it can improve upon, but consider this:

Minus the Providence game (a one possession deficit), we have not trailed at the half in ANY of the other 19 games...pretty damn impressive. So I honestly ask you, what makes us a crappy second half team? Are we not physically conditioned (doubt it)? Are we running out there with completely different players (no)? Our bench was damn sure deep enough in the early part of the season where our depth was mentioned among the best in the country.

Do the coaches not see the need to adjust to anything as we are always leading at the half? I don't understand when people always say "well it's the Big East and teams know us better and scout us better, etc. Why aren't WE aware of our opponent's tendencies and how to shut them down and finish off games?

Rant over.

 

[Vancat]

At the half the other teams seem to adjust to us... but not us to them.

 

[jpeakin]

At the half the other teams seem to adjust to us... but not us to them.

Exactly, my question is, why? Who does that fall on...

 

[WestCoastHusky]

It is clear as day the other team figured out pressuring our PG heavily, and we fall apart.

Newton was probably fouled going to the basketball before passing out to Karaban for that missed 3, but it wasn't called.

We are really missing a ball handler that can really protect the ball, and get fouled going to the hole when teams heavily pressure our ball handler.

 

[REB1094]

At the half the other teams seem to adjust to us... but not us to them.

Spot on

 

[60'sfan]

I know the team has MANY areas it can improve upon, but consider this:

Minus the Providence game (a one possession deficit), we have not trailed at the half in ANY of the other 19 games...pretty damn impressive. So I honestly ask you, what makes us a crappy second half team? Are we not physically conditioned (doubt it)? Are we running out there with completely different players (no)? Our bench was damn sure deep enough in the early part of the season where our depth was mentioned among the best in the country.

Do the coaches not see the need to adjust to anything as we are always leading at the half? I don't understand when people always say "well it's the Big East and teams know us better and scout us better, etc. Why aren't WE aware of our opponent's tendencies and how to shut them down and finish off games?

Rant over.

Good point. The other thing that I have noticed recently is that other teams seem to play much harder than we do and seem to want the win more that we do. In terms of talent, we do have some players but are clearly lacking at the guard position. While Hurley has clearly improved the team in his tenure here he doesn't seem to know how to get the team to play hard. With the same team, I think Calhoun and Ollie would have fared better. The future should be better though based on who is coming in next year.

 

[ucp990411]

At the half the other teams seem to adjust to us... but not us to them.

Just what I said this morning in a group text

 

[Richmondhsky]

Lack of guard play is very evident in how far away from the rim we start our offensive sets in the second half. Dribble dribble wasting half of the shot clock resulting in a bad shot or a shot from of the guys you don’t want shooting. Happens almost every second half

 

[tykurez]

In the pre-Big East schedule, we’d seemingly wear teams down with our fresh legs because of the depth. We’d turn 8-12 point leads into those 18-20+ point wins. Now we’re going up 10 on teams in the 1st half and losing the lead and ultimately losing the games.

I think it’s mostly due to the fact that we’ve been scouted and we aren’t adjusting. But I also think Dan has pinched his rotation a bit. Anecdotal but it feels like he’s leaning more heavily on certain guys again this year (as he did last year) and shortening the minutes for others. Two downsides to that: we lose that ability to wear teams down while staying fresh … and the guys who are getting squeezed aren’t getting comfortable enough on the floor to come in and contribute.

 

[Conndog]

What is it about the 2nd half that results in such poor playing? Is it fatigue? The other teams don't seem as tired, so I doubt it.
They couldn't get a basket to fall in last 6-7 minutes. How come, were they good shots and just not falling? If the misses were there, did team get any rebounds? If not, can team practice crashing boards more?
Are there any set plays that could be run to get some points to end scoring droughts? Does team have them, do they need more? Who are team's most aggressive players for those need a basket times?
I know the personnel can't be changed at this point, so what can be done? Can existing personnel learn new tricks? How can you get players to buy into being a different kind of player- for example, someone who drives more aggressively to the hoop? Dangle more playing time for them?
Is it the substitution patterns that kill momentum when it is happening?
The turnovers were killers. How can team improve on them? Are they trying a strategy that isn't good? Or are they just getting tight?
The free throw disparity is another killer. How come we can't get as many foul shots as the other teams? What are they doing to get so many more, can we do the same?
I just don't understand the Jeckell and Hyde quality to this team.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

It is clear as day the other team figured out pressuring our PG heavily, and we fall apart.

Newton was probably fouled going to the basketball before passing out to Karaban for that missed 3, but it wasn't called.

We are really missing a ball handler that can really protect the ball, and get fouled going to the hole when teams heavily pressure our ball handler.

I remember our 2009 team absolutely skewering a very good (regional finals good) Louisville team in Louisville every time they tried to press us.

Intelligent spacing, outlets for the ball handlers to pass, stray picks to allow the ball handlers to dribble out of trouble and basically a well conceived plan to attack the press can leave the opposition vulnerable when they try to press us.

For the life of me I can't understand why every time we are pressed we react like we never expected the possibility.

 

[imno1]

What’s mind boggling is the refusal of Adama to pass the ball back out when he catches it and he not in great scoring position and also forcing it in to Adama when he doesn’t have a clear path to receive the ball. Those 2 issues should be addressed if we want to win another game.

 

[ucp990411]

What’s mind boggling is the refusal of Adama to pass the ball back out when he catches it and he not in great scoring position and also forcing it in to Adama when he doesn’t have a clear path to receive the ball. Those 2 issues should be addressed if we want to win another game.

And every team will double or triple team him because they know they can leave guys wide open because he can't/won't pass

 

[Husky1]

we don't adjust - they do

 

[jpeakin]

we don't adjust - they do

Agreed. So does this mean we don't have the ability to switch it up once the opponent has adjusted to what we were doing in the first half? How the hell did we crush all these teams - even the decent ones, in the beginning of the season?

 

[SwingDog]

I know the team has MANY areas it can improve upon, but consider this:

Minus the Providence game (a one possession deficit), we have not trailed at the half in ANY of the other 19 games...pretty damn impressive. So I honestly ask you, what makes us a crappy second half team? Are we not physically conditioned (doubt it)? Are we running out there with completely different players (no)? Our bench was damn sure deep enough in the early part of the season where our depth was mentioned among the best in the country.

Do the coaches not see the need to adjust to anything as we are always leading at the half? I don't understand when people always say "well it's the Big East and teams know us better and scout us better, etc. Why aren't WE aware of our opponent's tendencies and how to shut them down and finish off games?

Rant over.

I think you sort of answered your own question. Opponents are making halftime adjustments, but we're not making the proper adjustments of our own to counter them.

Coaching has to take at least some of the blame, and the rest is execution, or lack thereof.

 

[Tuna]

Foul trouble has hurt.

 

[Uconn10922]

I think you sort of answered your own question. Opponents are making halftime adjustments, but we're not making the proper adjustments of our own to counter them.

Coaching has to take at least some of the blame, and the rest is execution, or lack thereof.

Honestly, to me something seems off between Andre and Newton. I feel like earlier in the year Dre would bring the ball up more and be more active in the offense. Last couple of games it seems like he's really differing to Newton more. Letting him run more stuff. I am one of the biggest Andre fans out there but sometimes he is unselfish to a fault. He looks to pass so much and looks to set up other players and have them succeed that I feel the other teams are just scheming for it. I think letting Dre set up the offense and Newton playing off ball might be a better option.

 

[aburks41]

Agreed. So does this mean we don't have the ability to switch it up once the opponent has adjusted to what we were doing in the first half? How the hell did we crush all these teams - even the decent ones, in the beginning of the season?

A lot of teams are beatable in November when coaches are still figuring out rotations. Teams had no idea how to scout for us because Newton was playing well, Joey was shooting 60% from 3, and everyone was trying to beat us by taking a ton of 3's. Then the Georgetown game happened and the secret got out that we are putrid at defending everything but the 3 point line...

We would probably get beat by 15+ points right now if we played Bama and Iowa State again lol

 

[Ports21]

What is it about the 2nd half that results in such poor playing? Is it fatigue? The other teams don't seem as tired, so I doubt it.
They couldn't get a basket to fall in last 6-7 minutes. How come, were they good shots and just not falling? If the misses were there, did team get any rebounds? If not, can team practice crashing boards more?
Are there any set plays that could be run to get some points to end scoring droughts? Does team have them, do they need more? Who are team's most aggressive players for those need a basket times?
I know the personnel can't be changed at this point, so what can be done? Can existing personnel learn new tricks? How can you get players to buy into being a different kind of player- for example, someone who drives more aggressively to the hoop? Dangle more playing time for them?
Is it the substitution patterns that kill momentum when it is happening?
The turnovers were killers. How can team improve on them? Are they trying a strategy that isn't good? Or are they just getting tight?
The free throw disparity is another killer. How come we can't get as many foul shots as the other teams? What are they doing to get so many more, can we do the same?
I just don't understand the Jeckell and Hyde quality to this team.

My man, you asked like 32 questions in one post. Slow down

 

[connVA]

Agreed. So does this mean we don't have the ability to switch it up once the opponent has adjusted to what we were doing in the first half? How the hell did we crush all these teams - even the decent ones, in the beginning of the season?

1) Many of those teams hadn't yet gelled into what they are today. Does anybody here think we'd have a snowball's chance in hell of beating Alabama at this point?
2) There wasn't enough game film of us against good teams. I imagine watching video of opponents trouncing cupcakes only does so much in helping a coach prepare for a high-level opponent. Now there's plenty of tape and plenty of examples for BE coaches to be able to identify and best exploit our weaknesses (or do what other teams have done to exploit them).
3) These coaches play each other 2 or 3 times every year. They know Hurley's tendencies and they know what they've done in the past that's worked and hasn't worked and can gameplan accordingly.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

We don't have a clear leader on this team. Combine that with not anticipating an opposing team's second-half adjustments, and it's a recipe for disaster... particularly in conference play.
Sanogo is a great offensive low-post player, but it feels like he's on his own island and the way the offense is set up, we run our offense TO Sanogo, when we really should be running it THROUGH Sanogo. I don't think he has the quick instincts or vision to make that happen unfortunately.
Jackson- love the kid and his motor and defensive prowess- but he's just not savvy enough offensive player at the moment to be the lead guy.
Jordan Hawkins has the skill to be our lead guy, but not sure he has the mentality or personality for it. Or the ball-handling skills.

I think if we can get a healthy Samson Johnson in the mix, he can be a huge game changer. I attended the open practice in October, and he was the most impressive defensive present on the floor IMO. He gives us something we don't have all together in one player- an athletic, long, tall, rim protector who can guard the 4 or 5.

But the coaching staff REALLY needs to find a way to cut down on fouls committed and get a stronger defensive rotation late in the game (Clingan instead of/alongside Sanogo, while Samson is not around). Also they need to light a fire under Newton and convince him to attack the rim at will. We need to find more shots for Newton. Honestly, I think Hawkins should always be taking the most shots, followed by Newton, and then Karaban/Sanogo/Clingan as the 3rd/4th/5th options. I really believe in Newton's offensive abilities, I think he's just been wired to be too much of a facilitator in this offense, which is not really his game. If we're going to have any shot to make a Final Four run, we need elite guard play.

 

[CL82]

I’m just spit balling here, but I think the decision to go with fettuccine Alfredo carbonara as a halftime snack, may be a mistake in retrospect.

 

[jpeakin]

I think you sort of answered your own question. Opponents are making halftime adjustments, but we're not making the proper adjustments of our own to counter them.

Coaching has to take at least some of the blame, and the rest is execution, or lack thereof.

Agree, re: answering my own question. Was wondering if others were thinking along similar lines

 

[jpeakin]

1) Many of those teams hadn't yet gelled into what they are today. Does anybody here think we'd have a snowball's chance in hell of beating Alabama at this point?
2) There wasn't enough game film of us against good teams. I imagine watching video of opponents trouncing cupcakes only does so much in helping a coach prepare for a high-level opponent. Now there's plenty of tape and plenty of examples for BE coaches to be able to identify and best exploit our weaknesses (or do what other teams have done to exploit them).
3) These coaches play each other 2 or 3 times every year. They know Hurley's tendencies and they know what they've done in the past that's worked and hasn't worked and can gameplan accordingly.

I couldn't agree more. My question now is twofold: 1. Don't we have a lot more intel on other teams, like they have on us? 2. When we come out at the half, and the other team has made an adjustment, do we not have another game plan / option B, or are we just a one trick pony? It didn't seem so in the early part of the season.