UChusky916
Making the board a little less insufferable
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2011
- Messages
- 3,286
- Reaction Score
- 17,166
Just re-watched most of last nights game and WOW, DeAndre looked even better than his stat line. I think his game last night was on-par with the Georgetown game last year and maybe even better. He flashed his all-around skills and did great work on both ends of the court.
Daniels is simply a match-up nightmare. Its up to him (and partially Ollie) to exploit those match-ups consistently. CONSISTENCY is the key for double d.
Offensively, Ollie used DD well last night as a mismatch at the top of the key setting screens. When he sets the pick and Bazz works into the lane, that's a tricky situation for the defense. Bazz can easily take it to the hole, pull up, or kick back to Daniels or others. Memphis clearly was trying to take Bazz out of the game so Daniels was left open a lot in those situations, and Bazz found him several times. DD was in rhythm and looked good shooting the 3 ball.
Once the defense started accounting for DeAndre at the top of the key, he had a great understanding of knowing NOT to force the shot. He made great decisions when he was well-defended and kept the ball moving. He also utilized the pump-fake well. No one bit on his pump-fakes because his fake isn't that great, but on one occasion he pump-faked well enough to have the defender off-balance and DeAndre immediately took him off the dribble using his long strides to glide past him to the rim for a lay-up. DD still doesn't have the best handle, but he's definitely made improvement.
Where I think Daniels needs to be utilized more is in the mid-range game. His stroke is a thing of beauty, evidenced by him hitting ~80% of his foul shots (which is low compared to where he was at earlier in the year). His release isn't quick, but it's smooth. He doesn't need a quick trigger because most of the time he can shoot over others with his length. KO needs to find ways to create some jump shots for DD, especially against teams that zone us. He's not the best at backing down his opponent, so the staff need to get him in spots where he can face-up.
What I was most impressed with last night was DD's willingness to mix it up down low. He had 4 offensive rebounds last night, that can't be understated. Early on he battled for rebounds very well despite not physically matching up with Memphis' front court. He also had 3 blocks so he brought it defensively down low. DD is not strong enough to handle many opposing centers or PFs 1 on 1, but he's improved his positioning A LOT over the course of the year. Early on I remember him frequently being out of position defensively and for rebounds, but he's certainly corrected that in a big way and is using his long arms and athleticism to make up for his slight frame (though he still gets pushed around from time to time).
DD finished with 23 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Stl, 3 Blk on 9-15 shooting. His play at both ends of the floor were just as impressive as his stat line and I'm sure we'll see more like it this year. As I said earlier, consistency is the key for Daniels. He needs to utilize his all-around game and see what's working for him on a given night based on match-ups. When he plays well and the team rebounds decent enough, we're a tough team to beat, regardless of opponent.
Daniels is simply a match-up nightmare. Its up to him (and partially Ollie) to exploit those match-ups consistently. CONSISTENCY is the key for double d.
Offensively, Ollie used DD well last night as a mismatch at the top of the key setting screens. When he sets the pick and Bazz works into the lane, that's a tricky situation for the defense. Bazz can easily take it to the hole, pull up, or kick back to Daniels or others. Memphis clearly was trying to take Bazz out of the game so Daniels was left open a lot in those situations, and Bazz found him several times. DD was in rhythm and looked good shooting the 3 ball.
Once the defense started accounting for DeAndre at the top of the key, he had a great understanding of knowing NOT to force the shot. He made great decisions when he was well-defended and kept the ball moving. He also utilized the pump-fake well. No one bit on his pump-fakes because his fake isn't that great, but on one occasion he pump-faked well enough to have the defender off-balance and DeAndre immediately took him off the dribble using his long strides to glide past him to the rim for a lay-up. DD still doesn't have the best handle, but he's definitely made improvement.
Where I think Daniels needs to be utilized more is in the mid-range game. His stroke is a thing of beauty, evidenced by him hitting ~80% of his foul shots (which is low compared to where he was at earlier in the year). His release isn't quick, but it's smooth. He doesn't need a quick trigger because most of the time he can shoot over others with his length. KO needs to find ways to create some jump shots for DD, especially against teams that zone us. He's not the best at backing down his opponent, so the staff need to get him in spots where he can face-up.
What I was most impressed with last night was DD's willingness to mix it up down low. He had 4 offensive rebounds last night, that can't be understated. Early on he battled for rebounds very well despite not physically matching up with Memphis' front court. He also had 3 blocks so he brought it defensively down low. DD is not strong enough to handle many opposing centers or PFs 1 on 1, but he's improved his positioning A LOT over the course of the year. Early on I remember him frequently being out of position defensively and for rebounds, but he's certainly corrected that in a big way and is using his long arms and athleticism to make up for his slight frame (though he still gets pushed around from time to time).
DD finished with 23 Pts, 11 Reb, 2 Stl, 3 Blk on 9-15 shooting. His play at both ends of the floor were just as impressive as his stat line and I'm sure we'll see more like it this year. As I said earlier, consistency is the key for Daniels. He needs to utilize his all-around game and see what's working for him on a given night based on match-ups. When he plays well and the team rebounds decent enough, we're a tough team to beat, regardless of opponent.