Ollie needs to learn an inbound play

[Dogbreath2U]

I have thought the same thing....we could do better getting the ball in bounds in various situations. Under our own basket is one, but also when we are inbounding against strong defensive pressure. RJ actually did well at getting open to catch the ball a couple of times, probably using his greater size and strength to force his way into an open spot. I has seemed our guys make one move and then just stop if they don't get open right away.

 

[RichCTBB]

The ball was tipped and we were out of timeouts....and players....that said, I was definitely scratching my head when I saw RJ inbounding.

 

[Gurleyman]

What helps with inbounds plays is being good around the rim. If you have a big to throw a quick lob to, or an athletic guard/wing good at finishing in traffic, you can get the defense collapsing and it opens everything else up. A guy like Drummond could set a screen and do a quick duck-in and bring two defenders with him, creating space behind him. Or Rip used to get open a lot because he could pop out for a jumper or flash to the basket, so there was a certain unpredictability when he started to make his cuts. And others could play off that (ie Free ducking to the basket while the defenders had one eye on Rip).

We don't have that, so the easiest way for us to get something off an inbounds is to do something unexpected, like have Napier act as a decoy and/or set a screen to free Giffey or Tyler up for a 15-footer. Nobody is going to allow Bazz to get open on a catch and shoot. When we did get DD open in the corner (and he didn't shoot), Napier screened for him and DD acted like he was going to go to the rim for a possible lob and flared to the corner. The down side to that in crunch time is we end up with the ball in the hands of players we might not want making the big plays.

Ollie has been in the NBA a long time where inbounds plays are a huge part of last-minute offense (timeouts allow you to advance the ball 70 feet). He knows plays, I'll guarantee that. What he needs are the pieces to make them work. Or if you want to be more critical of Ollie, he needs to be able to coach the players he has to be good enough to execute a small Percentage of that playbook. There's an element of truth to that. There's a difference between not getting layups and not getting the ball inbounds at all.

 

[BoatShow]

With Giff out, I hate to say it but TO is a decent passer and a solid 6 inches taller than RJ.

 

[DogMania]

We have a totally undersized team--which impacts inbounds plays

Getting open for inbound plays is a combination of movement, design and strength. As you pointed out, teams don't have a lot of trouble locking our guys down, which is easier to do when starting in close proximity from a standstill. With that said, it is one area that the team needs improvement. Inbound plays tend to be the last thing teams work on, and Ollie has had his hands full just to get this undermanned team to compete, which has been remarkable.

As for that last play, they had a lot of time on the clock and it might have been wise to have a taller guy inbound the ball in that situation and location on the court, plus tell that person, if the opening isn't there in the half-court toss it to the backcourt. It was a dreadful attempt and outcome, not to mention a costly one.

I love how this team never quits and competes till the end. With that said, it sure would have been nice to see them pull off Ws the past couple games. They've come up big during winning time most of this season. These past 2 and the Marquette games are a few that they couldn't close out. Imagine if they had. We'd be atop the Big East and ranked quite high. It's amazing what a bounce here or there can have team. I had hoped we'd win the BE regular season to get our unjust plight into the National spotlight, even though I wasn't expecting it. That's clearly out of reach now, but this team has exceeded my expectations. As bleak as the conference future looks, i think the future for our hoops programs is still strong, albeit challenging.

 

[DogMania]

With Giff out, I hate to say it but TO is a decent passer and a solid 6 inches taller than RJ.

I forgot that Niels was out injured down the stretch in that game. Injuries happen, but I can't help think how close we would be from winning the BE regular season or at least tie for the lead if Bazz and now Niels were healthy. We're just far too undermanned to weather such losses. I hope we can finish strong, but if we don't it's a shame since this season has been such a wonderful ride and the final record might not reflect how special it actually was.