Mr. Ryan Boatright on Defense (I think KO Will...)

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

school him (hopefully sooner than later). Ryan Boatright has aspirations to play in the league which for him may or may not include being a great college player/teammate. All of us here in UConn country who love the Huskies certainly want this dream to come true for Mr. Boatright. History has shown that there have been undersized guards that made the jump. Boatright needs to tighten the screws mentally (something that a guy who lives in a BLUEDOGHOUSE could tune up on occasion).

There are plenty of imperfections in the games of players all over the America. With Boatright his defense is concerning. The fact that he is undersized is a secondary concern on the defensive end (the potential of being posted up at will).

Against EWU "The BoatShow" made what is now becoming a habitual mistake that is often fatal. In the first half with UConn up 14-11 Drew Brandon hit a three point shot to tie the game. I know Ryan Boatright has the ability to play much better perimeter defense than we witnessed on this possession. Quite frankly it was atrocious defense that would have landed him on the PINE with Calhoun coaching. Maybe Boatright needs that. After all one of his most memorable UConn experiences in retrospect for Boat was Calhoun in his face yelling expletives at him. A pic Ryan shares with the world today.

Kevin Ollie has started to make some GREAT changes to the UConn lineup. Starting Brimah and now Giffey. Bringing in Lasan to start the 2nd half against Washington. KO is really growing as a coach. Boat in my opinion is not playing like an indispensable piece of the UConn puzzle this year. That is disappointing. The standard I use the judge him (albeit only as a fan) is the same standard he tries to hold for himself (to live out his dream of an NBA career).

As frustrated as I am in Boatright he has the potential to be a great college player. I think he could even carve out a niche in the league 1 day. It needs to start on the defensive end of the court where effort and heart take precedent. Otherwise he gives up to much to recognize any offensive efficiency.

If you watch the replay of the game fast forward to the EWU first half possession starting @ min 27:40 that tied the game (on WatchEspn). I have seen this lack of defense quite a bit from Boat over the years.

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index?gameId=400496938&league=ncaam

Disclosure: I love the kid and hope he reaches his full potential. The talent is there. Kevin Ollie I think will bring out the best in him before the year is over.

 

[ctchamps]

school him (hopefully sooner than later). Ryan Boatright has aspirations to play in the league which for him may or may not include being a great college player/teammate. All of us here in UConn country who love the Huskies certainly want this dream to come true for Mr. Boatright. History has shown that there have been undersized guards that made the jump. Boatright needs to tighten the screws mentally (something that a guy who lives in a BLUEDOGHOUSE could tune up on occasion).

There are plenty of imperfections in the games of players all over the America. With Boatright his defense is concerning. The fact that he is undersized is a secondary concern on the defensive end (the potential of being posted up at will).

Against EWU "The BoatShow" made what is now becoming a habitual mistake that is often fatal. In the first half with UConn up 14-11 Drew Brandon hit a three point shot to tie the game. I know Ryan Boatright has the ability to play much better perimeter defense than we witnessed on this possession. Quite frankly it was atrocious defense that would have landed him on the PINE with Calhoun coaching. Maybe Boatright needs that. After all one of his most memorable UConn experiences in retrospect for Boat was Calhoun in his face yelling expletives at him. A pic Ryan shares with the world today.

Kevin Ollie has started to make some GREAT changes to the UConn lineup. Starting Brimah and now Giffey. Bringing in Lasan to start the 2nd half against Washington. KO is really growing as a coach. Boat in my opinion is not playing like an indispensable piece of the UConn puzzle this year. That is disappointing. The standard I use the judge him (albeit only as a fan) is the same standard he tries to hold for himself (to live out his dream of an NBA career).

As frustrated as I am in Boatright he has the potential to be a great college player. I think he could even carve out a niche in the league 1 day. It needs to start on the defensive end of the court where effort and heart take precedent. Otherwise he gives up to much to recognize any offensive efficiency.

If you watch the replay of the game fast forward to the EWU first half possession starting @ min 27:40 that tied the game (on WatchEspn). I have seen this lack of defense quite a bit from Boat over the years.

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index?gameId=400496938&league=ncaam

Disclosure: I love the kid and hope he reaches his full potential. The talent is there. Kevin Ollie I think will bring out the best in him before the year is over.

He was playing with tendinitis on his knee. Probably impacted him a lot in the game.

 

[boog204]

Our guards for years have gone under screens. Not sure why, but it essentially gives the guard a wide open 3. It's interesting. I was looking forward to getting away from JCs quick hook and letting the guys play through mistakes. But at the same time, I find it a little concerning that KO lets the guys make the same mistakes over and over again. DD and Boat would've been benched instantly for a few plays yesterdays by JC but with KO there was no real consequences for dumb play. This wouldn't be a big deal if it was the first time, but we've literally seen Boat blow a 2 on 1 fastbreak at least once a game in every game this year b/c he tries to do much or gets a little selfish. The same with DD getting the ball around the 3 point line and backing his man in for 10 seconds before forcing a fall-away jumpshot. low basketball IQ play but there is nothing done to really correct it. I realize that we don't have great depth behind either player, but I can't stand seeing the same mistakes made over and over again.

 

[Kitaman]

Our guards for years have gone under screens. Not sure why, but it essentially gives the guard a wide open 3. It's interesting. I was looking forward to getting away from JCs quick hook and letting the guys play through mistakes. But at the same time, I find it a little concerning that KO lets the guys make the same mistakes over and over again. DD and Boat would've been benched instantly for a few plays yesterdays by JC but with KO there was no real consequences for dumb play. This wouldn't be a big deal if it was the first time, but we've literally seen Boat blow a 2 on 1 fastbreak at least once a game in every game this year b/c he tries to do much or gets a little selfish. The same with DD getting the ball around the 3 point line and backing his man in for 10 seconds before forcing a fall-away jumpshot. low basketball IQ play but there is nothing done to really correct it. I realize that we don't have great depth behind either player, but I can't stand seeing the same mistakes made over and over again.

Boat, Bazz DD and others aren't Ollie's guys. They are JC's. Not that it should matter but until he coaches 'his players' in 2 years, it will be difficult to ascertain his tolerance with players mistakes. I expect a different coach and style in years to come.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

He was playing with tendinitis on his knee. Probably impacted him a lot in the game.

I would limit the activities that put stress on the knee then. That includes hoops. When he is 100% incorporate him back into the lineup.

 

[Gurleyman]

I must have missed the memo that this was Kick Boatright Around Day. Brandon averages 5.6 assists per game and 1.1 three-pointers a game (making only 33 percent of them). The game plan from Ollie and staff might very well have been to go under that screen and force Brandon to be a shooter and not a driver - at least until he makes one or two of them and then you can switch it up. And even if not, Boat just went under a screen (a moving screen at that - with no hedging help from Nolan, which may have been by design as well) and gave up a three midway through the first half. It happens - there aren't shutouts in basketball. Hardly a mistake warranting a 10 paragraph analysis.

Boat played lockdown D on the game winning stop against Maryland and blocked the last ditch effort from BC, so his D on big possessions has contributed to a couple close wins.

 

[mauconnfan]

I must have missed the memo that this was Kick Boatright Around Day. Brandon averages 5.6 assists per game and 1.1 three-pointers a game (making only 33 percent of them). The game plan from Ollie and staff might very well have been to go under that screen and force Brandon to be a shooter and not a driver - at least until he makes one or two of them and then you can switch it up. And even if not, Boat just went under a screen (a moving screen at that - with no hedging help from Nolan, which may have been by design as well) and gave up a three midway through the first half. It happens - there aren't shutouts in basketball. Hardly a mistake warranting a 10 paragraph analysis.

Boat played lockdown D on the game winning stop against Maryland and blocked the last ditch effort from BC, so his D on big possessions has contributed to a couple close wins.

Yes he did do just that on those occasions Gurley so why can't we expect it to be more? Or does the game have to be on the line…..every possession all 10 toes in!

No one is Kicking him around, just stating some fact and many opinions. He needs to be more consistent, so does Omar and DD. But Ryan has the ball more often than them so expectations are higher for him to be tighter with it and make good decisions. Hell, Bazz could have a little thread on some of his decisions that last couple games because he will need to be a lot better also vs. the conference opponents, especially away when mistakes lead to points and the crowd becoming a factor,…….

 

[Gurleyman]

Yes he did do just that on those occasions Gurley so why can't we expect it to be more? Or does the game have to be on the line…..every possession all 10 toes in!

No one is Kicking him around, just stating some fact and many opinions. He needs to be more consistent, so does Omar and DD. But Ryan has the ball more often than them so expectations are higher for him to be tighter with it and make good decisions. Hell, Bazz could have a little thread on some of his decisions that last couple games because he will need to be a lot better also vs. the conference opponents, especially away when mistakes lead to points and the crowd becoming a factor,…….

But we don't even know if he even made a mistake. The guy taking that shot is their assist guy who doesn't shoot the 3 well. So I'd be willing to imagine that our game plan was to go under screens until he proved we needed to come out and take the three-ball away from him. And frankly most of the time if a player doesn't get a little bit of help on a ball screen, his man is going to be able to get a shot off (especially if it's a moving screen). It's two against one. That's why if you fear the shooter, the screener's man will get out there and hedge and recover. Nolan stayed back in the paint. Either Nolan and Boat both did the wrong thing, or EWU's guy took what we were giving them and made a shot. One shot.

After EWU hit a three to start the second half, Boat disrupted a couple of their possessions in a row to help us get the lead out to 10. He got his hands on the ball to start the fast break that led to the Giffey to Napier layup (they gave Giffey the steal, but Boat knocked it loose first). Next possession, his help defense took away a layup (I thought he was going to get called for a foul for landing on the guy, but he avoided contact). But it goes unnoticed because we all want to look for his mistakes. And he did make some.

 

[RichZ]

Last season, Boat's defense really slipped as the season wore on. But this year, it hasn't been nearly as bad, and at times has actually been outstanding.

I'm far more concerned about his insistence on making 2 on 1 and 3 on 2 breaks into 1 on 1 and 1 on 2 breaks by simply taking the ball to the hole every time. By now, the opposition is being coached to ignore the other guys on the break if Boat has the ball.

 

[Gurleyman]

Watch the possession with the score tied 8-8 with 15:20 left in the half (at the 16:10 mark of the tape). Napier is on Brandon, goes under the screen, Brandon hits a three but they wave it off for a moving screen. Looks very familiar - no hedging help from Nolan, who is back in the paint. Only that time they called the illegal screen.

 

[huskyharry]

It is physically tough and actually hurts for short players with a slight build to do some of the critical things on defense, namely fighting over screens and boxing out bigger players. It takes someone who is mentally very tough to do those things consistently when they are otherwise hurting from an injury. However, these things need to be done if this team is going to take the next step forward.

 

[champs99and04]

The way in which teams guard ball screens is almost always dictated by scouting reports and coaching philosophies. Boatright is still frustratingly imperfect and inconsistent in his fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball, but count me as one who thinks his defense has improved this season. Furthermore, any struggles he encounters on defense have nothing to do with effort. I'm not sure anybody plays with more energy on a game to game basis than Boatright, on either end. He's a lot like Dyson in that regard - he'll make some maddening mistakes, but you can never question his effort. Attention to detail might be another story - as I've said, he has shown progression in the this regard under Ollie's tutelage, and as somebody who overcame some physical limitations of his own to carve out an NBA career, I'm not sure there is a better coach for Ryan.

Also, I'll say one more thing: I'm not accusing any poster of this specifically (and certainly not the OP), but the "Boatright is selfish" undertones on this board get old after a while. It's not explicitly stated most of the time, but reading into some of these posts, I think people under-estimate the sacrifices Boatright has been asked to make this season. Last year, he pretty much had full license to fire away. This year, as we begin to integrate Daniels, Calhoun, and Giffey as focal points of our offense, he's taking over two less shots per game. If anything, I'd like to see Boatright shoot more. It's his first instinct as a player, and I think his desire to become better as a passer has actually been counter-productive in some games. I'd like to see him slashing to the rim with more frequency - in other words, I want him to adopt the role played by Jerome Dyson on the 2009 team. He's been so unselfish at times this season, it's actually been to the detriment of the team to a certain extent. I want the gunslinger Boatright back for conference play.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Also, I'll say one more thing: I'm not accusing any poster of this specifically (and certainly not the OP), but the "Boatright is selfish" undertones on this board get old after a while. It's not explicitly stated most of the time, but reading into some of these posts, I think people under-estimate the sacrifices Boatright has been asked to make this season. Last year, he pretty much had full license to fire away. This year, as we begin to integrate Daniels, Calhoun, and Giffey as focal points of our offense, he's taking over two less shots per game. If anything, I'd like to see Boatright shoot more. It's his first instinct as a player, and I think his desire to become better as a passer has actually been counter-productive in some games. I'd like to see him slashing to the rim with more frequency - in other words, I want him to adopt the role played by Jerome Dyson on the 2009 team. He's been so unselfish at times this season, it's actually been to the detriment of the team to a certain extent. I want the gunslinger Boatright back for conference play.

Agree 100%. The "Boat is selfish" stuff is starting to sound crazy.

 

[aceboon]

The way in which teams guard ball screens is almost always dictated by scouting reports and coaching philosophies. Boatright is still frustratingly imperfect and inconsistent in his fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball, but count me as one who thinks his defense has improved this season. Furthermore, any struggles he encounters on defense have nothing to do with effort. I'm not sure anybody plays with more energy on a game to game basis than Boatright, on either end. He's a lot like Dyson in that regard - he'll make some maddening mistakes, but you can never question his effort. Attention to detail might be another story - as I've said, he has shown progression in the this regard under Ollie's tutelage, and as somebody who overcame some physical limitations of his own to carve out an NBA career, I'm not sure there is a better coach for Ryan.

Also, I'll say one more thing: I'm not accusing any poster of this specifically (and certainly not the OP), but the "Boatright is selfish" undertones on this board get old after a while. It's not explicitly stated most of the time, but reading into some of these posts, I think people under-estimate the sacrifices Boatright has been asked to make this season. Last year, he pretty much had full license to fire away. This year, as we begin to integrate Daniels, Calhoun, and Giffey as focal points of our offense, he's taking over two less shots per game. If anything, I'd like to see Boatright shoot more. It's his first instinct as a player, and I think his desire to become better as a passer has actually been counter-productive in some games. I'd like to see him slashing to the rim with more frequency - in other words, I want him to adopt the role played by Jerome Dyson on the 2009 team. He's been so unselfish at times this season, it's actually been to the detriment of the team to a certain extent. I want the gunslinger Boatright back for conference play.

Completely agree with the latter half, it seems as if Boat trying to pick his spots when to shoot has ruined the flow of his game from a scoring standpoint and he hasn't adjusted yet, I think its a big reason why he's shooting so poorly from within the 3 point arc.

 

[gtcam]

Agree 100%. The "Boat is selfish" stuff is starting to sound crazy.

I never thought boat was/is selfish at all. What I do think affects boat are what goes on in his head. he worries too much about trying to do things that will get him "noticed" by scouts, etc.
he tries to do things that don't come naturally to him, things that kemba and bazz are gifted with certain abilities. he has one thing and only one thing on his mind-make it to the nba. if he does what comes naturally and easy for him he may have a remote chance. I luv the guy but he is his own worst enemy.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Our guards for years have gone under screens. Not sure why, but it essentially gives the guard a wide open 3. It's interesting. I was looking forward to getting away from JCs quick hook and letting the guys play through mistakes. But at the same time, I find it a little concerning that KO lets the guys make the same mistakes over and over again. DD and Boat would've been benched instantly for a few plays yesterdays by JC but with KO there was no real consequences for dumb play. This wouldn't be a big deal if it was the first time, but we've literally seen Boat blow a 2 on 1 fastbreak at least once a game in every game this year b/c he tries to do much or gets a little selfish. The same with DD getting the ball around the 3 point line and backing his man in for 10 seconds before forcing a fall-away jumpshot. low basketball IQ play but there is nothing done to really correct it. I realize that we don't have great depth behind either player, but I can't stand seeing the same mistakes made over and over again.

I am not expecting Boat (as a captain) to be the type of leader that initiates team meetings to watch tape of their opposition before tipoff (like Soph. Marcus Smart). The game plan had to be pretty clear though (defend the 3). EWU attempts 23 per game.

It is physically tough and actually hurts for short players with a slight build to do some of the critical things on defense, namely fighting over screens and boxing out bigger players. It takes someone who is mentally very tough to do those things consistently when they are otherwise hurting from an injury. However, these things need to be done if this team is going to take the next step forward.

The first basket of the game for Florida was just another example of a defender (Boat) struggling on defense. Ironically the last basket of the game for Florida starting at @4:15 brings the Boat defensive liability issue full circle.

To argue these are isolated defensive lapses (Gurleyman) by Boatright as some have tried to do can easily be disproved if you watch the games. I think Boat will work things through on the defensive end and become the defender we know he can be. Boat needs to get his foot and ankle in the gap followed by his full body to get over the pick. Especially against EWU he should be able to have the lateral quickness to defend on ball and not give up the uncontested 3. If the screen is moving DON'T avoid contact. Try not to make the refs job any harder than needs to be.

http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3126529&db_oem_id=6500

 

[Gurleyman]

I am not expecting Boat (as a captain) to be the type of leader that initiates team meetings to watch tape of their opposition before tipoff (like Soph. Marcus Smart). The game plan had to be pretty clear though (defend the 3). EWU attempts 23 per game.

The first basket of the game for Florida was just another example of a defender (Boat) struggling on defense. Ironically the last basket of the game for Florida starting at @4:15 brings the Boat defensive liability issue full circle.

To argue these are isolated defensive lapses (Gurleyman) by Boatright as some have tried to do can easily be disproved if you watch the games. I think Boat will work things through on the defensive end and become the defender we know he can be. Boat needs to get his foot and ankle in the gap followed by his full body to get over the pick. Especially against EWU he should be able to have the lateral quickness to defend on ball and not give up the uncontested 3. If the screen is moving DON'T avoid contact. Try not to make the refs job any harder than needs to be.

http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3126529&db_oem_id=6500

Scouting reports are different for each player. Itisn't the sort of thing where you say, they shoot 23 threes a game, so we defend all their plays the same way, regardless of personnel. Coaches look at each individual's strengths and weaknesses and decide how to defend each guy (the Spurs went under screens for Wade and over screens for Ray, for one obvious example). The EWU guy who made this particular shot is more of a passer than a three-point shooter, so they probably wanted to keep him out of the lane where he could collapse the defense and kick the ball to their better three-point shooters, which means going under the screen. The same play was defended the same way three minutes earlier, only with Bazz defending, which means it looks like that was what we wanted to do, at least to start the game. Sure Boat could have embellished the contact on the moving screen a little better, but that's picking nits for a play that early in the game. Sometimes if you embellish contact, you're the one who gets called for the foul.

The last Florida play - yes, that's worth nit picking, since it was a huge possession. Florida ran a good play and Boat was overaggressive looking to trail a deadly three-point shooter out to the perimeter and got screened on a misdirection curl back in the paint, so he deserves a solid chunk of the blame - I even said as much at the time. But watch it again and explain to me what the hell Giffey is doing? He's covering a man who scored two points all night and he never even saw the play - the Florida guy ran right up his back for a layup as he was staring 180 degrees in the wrong direction. I can understand Daniels not giving help since Young had been killing us and he wanted to keep a body on him, but Yguette was a non-factor. Had Giffey given help and Yguette made a layup - then, hey, not Giffey's fault. But you can't give help defense, or rebound or get a loose ball or much of anything if you're not even watching the play. So while Boat deserves some - if not most - of the blame, that was a team breakdown.

Bottom line is that there are no shutouts in basketball, although it felt like Stanford came close. Screens sometimes work, guys make good moves or good cuts and sometimes make shots. You could find clips of every one of our guys getting burned at one point or another. Kromah has been excellent on defense most of the year, and he lost the UW kid four or five times in a row and we had to pull him off him and put Bazz on him. Boat's effort has been very good on defense this year, but that doesn't mean he won't get burned once in a while or he can't get better. That's the way hoops goes.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

The way in which teams guard ball screens is almost always dictated by scouting reports and coaching philosophies. Boatright is still frustratingly imperfect and inconsistent in his fundamentals on the defensive side of the ball, but count me as one who thinks his defense has improved this season. Furthermore, any struggles he encounters on defense have nothing to do with effort. I'm not sure anybody plays with more energy on a game to game basis than Boatright, on either end. He's a lot like Dyson in that regard - he'll make some maddening mistakes, but you can never question his effort. Attention to detail might be another story - as I've said, he has shown progression in the this regard under Ollie's tutelage, and as somebody who overcame some physical limitations of his own to carve out an NBA career, I'm not sure there is a better coach for Ryan.

Also, I'll say one more thing: I'm not accusing any poster of this specifically (and certainly not the OP), but the "Boatright is selfish" undertones on this board get old after a while. It's not explicitly stated most of the time, but reading into some of these posts, I think people under-estimate the sacrifices Boatright has been asked to make this season. Last year, he pretty much had full license to fire away. This year, as we begin to integrate Daniels, Calhoun, and Giffey as focal points of our offense, he's taking over two less shots per game. If anything, I'd like to see Boatright shoot more. It's his first instinct as a player, and I think his desire to become better as a passer has actually been counter-productive in some games. I'd like to see him slashing to the rim with more frequency - in other words, I want him to adopt the role played by Jerome Dyson on the 2009 team. He's been so unselfish at times this season, it's actually been to the detriment of the team to a certain extent. I want the gunslinger Boatright back for conference play.

Boatright is egocentric. A reasonable person could argue there is a very fine line between selfishness and being egocentric.

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2013/11/balancing-depth-egos-may-be-toughest.html

Personally I would feel more comfortable with Giff becoming the "gunslinger" going forward. There is to much of a disparity in my opinion between the minutes logged by Boatright and those logged by Giff & Kromah. Also Omar has 56 attempts from downtown compared to Giff's 32. UConn has arguably the best three point shooter in America with Neils Giffey. I would designate him the gunslinger and find ways to free him up.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Boatright is egocentric. A reasonable person could argue there is a very fine line between selfishness and being egocentric.

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2013/11/balancing-depth-egos-may-be-toughest.html

Personally I would feel more comfortable with Giff becoming the "gunslinger" going forward. There is to much of a disparity in my opinion between the minutes logged by Boatright and those logged by Giff & Kromah. Also Omar has 56 attempts from downtown compared to Giff's 32. UConn has arguably the best three point shooter in America with Neils Giffey. I would designate him the gunslinger and find ways to free him up.

Giffey is a team first player. If the shot isn't there he makes the extra pass. Its likely the reason he is one of the best shooters in the country by percentage and the reason he has far fewer attempts.

However, one additional reason for Giffey's lack of opportunities could be his inability to put it on the floor and get to the mid range. In the pre season, Ollie talked about having 3 guards that could beat opponents at "all three levels." (from 3, mid range, and at the rim). The system is built in a way to get the defense leaning and if they over challenge the 3, be able to get to the mid range and bucket when necessary. Giff hasn't been particularly strong at shot faking and then attacking. He's shown flashes, but has been turnover prone off the dribble. Eastern Washington had an off ball defender reach into his bread basket and steal it away from him on the only opportunity I can remember him taking.

Omar should be better in this area, but he's struggled too. I think the skillset advantage Omar has though is why Ollie runs more sets for him and has stuck with him through his funk.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Scouting reports are different for each player. Itisn't the sort of thing where you say, they shoot 23 threes a game, so we defend all their plays the same way, regardless of personnel. Coaches look at each individual's strengths and weaknesses and decide how to defend each guy (the Spurs went under screens for Wade and over screens for Ray, for one obvious example). The EWU guy who made this particular shot is more of a passer than a three-point shooter, so they probably wanted to keep him out of the lane where he could collapse the defense and kick the ball to their better three-point shooters, which means going under the screen. The same play was defended the same way three minutes earlier, only with Bazz defending, which means it looks like that was what we wanted to do, at least to start the game. Sure Boat could have embellished the contact on the moving screen a little better, but that's picking nits for a play that early in the game. Sometimes if you embellish contact, you're the one who gets called for the foul.

The last Florida play - yes, that's worth nit picking, since it was a huge possession. Florida ran a good play and Boat was overaggressive looking to trail a deadly three-point shooter out to the perimeter and got screened on a misdirection curl back in the paint, so he deserves a solid chunk of the blame - I even said as much at the time. But watch it again and explain to me what the hell Giffey is doing? He's covering a man who scored two points all night and he never even saw the play - the Florida guy ran right up his back for a layup as he was staring 180 degrees in the wrong direction. I can understand Daniels not giving help since Young had been killing us and he wanted to keep a body on him, but Yguette was a non-factor. Had Giffey given help and Yguette made a layup - then, hey, not Giffey's fault. But you can't give help defense, or rebound or get a loose ball or much of anything if you're not even watching the play. So while Boat deserves some - if not most - of the blame, that was a team breakdown.

Bottom line is that there are no shutouts in basketball, although it felt like Stanford came close. Screens sometimes work, guys make good moves or good cuts and sometimes make shots. You could find clips of every one of our guys getting burned at one point or another. Kromah has been excellent on defense most of the year, and he lost the UW kid four or five times in a row and we had to pull him off him and put Bazz on him. Boat's effort has been very good on defense this year, but that doesn't mean he won't get burned once in a while or he can't get better. That's the way hoops goes.

Thanks for contributing to the thread. I enjoyed reading your analysis.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Giffey is a team first player. If the shot isn't there he makes the extra pass. Its likely the reason he is one of the best shooters in the country by percentage and the reason he has far fewer attempts.

However, one additional reason for Giffey's lack of opportunities could be his inability to put it on the floor and get to the mid range. In the pre season, Ollie talked about having 3 guards that could beat opponents at "all three levels." (from 3, mid range, and at the rim). The system is built in a way to get the defense leaning and if they over challenge the 3, be able to get to the mid range and bucket when necessary. Giff hasn't been particularly strong at shot faking and then attacking. He's shown flashes, but has been turnover prone off the dribble. Eastern Washington had an off ball defender reach into his bread basket and steal it away from him on the only opportunity I can remember him taking.

Omar should be better in this area, but he's struggled too. I think the skillset advantage Omar has though is why Ollie runs more sets for him and has stuck with him through his funk.

Your thoughts are respected and appreciated. Wishing everyone a great 2014.

Hopefully mauconn doesn't drink to much Pernod Ricard Perrier Jouet champagne with Fluedy and the rest of the BY crew on New Years Eve!

I think Giff can gunsling with the best of them. It will take a bit of creativity from KO and a more aggressive Giff.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Your thoughts are respected and appreciated. Wishing everyone a great 2014.

Hopefully mauconn doesn't drink to much Pernod Ricard Perrier Jouet champagne with Fluedy and the rest of the BY crew on New Years Eve!

I think Giff can gunsling with the best of them. It will take a bit of creativity from KO and a more aggressive Giff.

You too BDH! And, for the record, I'd like to see Giff get more looks too. Its a possibility that the pre-conference season was dedicated to attempting to get Omar going but now that were into conference play, we'll see exactly that. Giff has been a known commodity all year.

 

[caw]

I'd just be happy if he hit about 10-15% higher from midrange. I'm good with everything else he does as a whole.

 

[James]

I'd just be happy if he hit about 10-15% higher from midrange. I'm good with everything else he does as a whole.

More floaters, that's what I'm looking for. He's a great offensive talent, I think hell keep getting better .

 

[aceboon]

I'd just be happy if he hit about 10-15% higher from midrange. I'm good with everything else he does as a whole.

Agreed, besides a few bungled fast breaks I've been pleased with his passing for the most part, he needs to start hitting shots from inside the arc again.

 

[Gurleyman]

Thanks for contributing to the thread. I enjoyed reading your analysis.

Actually, I watched the first 10 minutes a little more closely and our game plan was a little more complex.

Early in the game, when EWU would start to initiate their offense, Napier was on Brandon and would actually go over that high screen pretty aggressively. The goal wasn't to take away the three, though, so much as to keep EWU from being able to use the whole width of the floor. They are a team that shoots a lot of threes, but doesn't rely on a lot of off ball screening action, so much as floor spacing and quick ball movement (European style). What they want to do is have Brandon break things down and then they get the defense scrambling and find the open shooter. By hemming them in to just one half of the floor, we were taking them out of what they wanted to do. When you can only use one half of the floor, it's much tougher to get good spacing.

Late in the shot clock, when the offensive set had broken down and Brandon was making a move to the basket off a screen, we had Nolan (who was defending he screener) camped in the paint not worried about hedging, and had first Bazz then Boat go under the screen, as if to force him to beat us with a three-pointer. Once he made one (actually two, the first one was waved off), we adjusted and didn't give him that look. He made one other three but it was on a semi-break on the first possession of the second half before we got set. I think Boat fighting under the screen there was trying to stop Brandon from penetrating into an area where only Nolan was defending. He could have defended it better - you'd like to at least have the guy feel a little bit of defensive pressure when he pulls up, but it looked like he was trying to do what the coaches wanted. It's tough to defend a guy coming off a screen with no help. Even Ricky would get good hedging help from Jake and Free for a couple seconds (Ricky was so good that he recovered quickly and Jake/Free were able to get back to their men in no time). Jake was really good at that hedge, for a guy who wasn't the best athlete.

Haven't re-watched the second half to see what went differently. We held them to only 23 in the first half, but they had more success in the second half with some adjustments. Could just be a matter of making shots that they missed.

 

[Rico444]

I never thought boat was/is selfish at all.

he has one thing and only one thing on his mind-make it to the nba.

Um...what?