Thoughts and areas for improvement

[ZenConn]

No violation here. It was a nonchalant arm across the body box out. It works most of the time because the foul shooter rarely follows his own miss. Marquette's coaching staff must have or should have caught this on video from the previous games. In the end, it's a learning lesson - put a hip into the shooter and drive him off of the straight line path to the rim.

 

[dennismenace]

I thought the second half was just fantastic. Going from a deficit of 18 pts to a victory on the road by 11?
That hasn't happened in a long, long time. While there are many areas to improve and work on, I think the depth of this team and it's intensity as the game went on showed how they can wear an opponent down. When I looked at the game stats on ESPN the number of minutes played by the respective benches was impressive. Before the season I was hoping that we would play very aggressive defense and run and let the pace wear down the opponent as the game wore on. The rebounding has been phenomenal. Josh has surprised me in the paint. Whaley learning from his mistakes with fouls and high energy is constant. I think the announcer said we were leading the nation in offensive rebounding. When was the last time that happened? Overall I could not be happier with this effort. I feel very, very good about them and my hope is this bolsters their confidence to play hard for 40 mins knowing it will pay off with victories.

 

[Palatine]

Played it at 0.25x speed so I could freeze it at the second the ball touched the rim, no violation

View attachment 63285

Thanks for posting this. Whaley is perfect, between his man and the basket, his butt is into his man, both arms look to be out. Polley is between his man and the basket, pushing his butt into his man, only one arm up, but good position. Have no idea what Adams is doing. Bouk looks to be off to the side of the shooter, he is standing straight up and down, neither is good.

 

[calluke]

Area for improvement...free throws.

 

[HuskyCLT]

I thought the run while Bouk was out of the game was huge for this team's confidence. Excellent to see.

 

[SubbaBub]

I wish more guys could create their own shoot, and drive to the hoop and score (tough outside of Bouk).

Defense was good, except for post D, but I did like the adjustment at the end when we doubled.

We have to find a way to score easier buckets on O.

We don't have that kind of talent. Many of the guys have a repertoire of shots they can make. Our offense and ball movement need to create those opportunities.

 

[Chin Diesel]

#1 is being consistent on the defensive end and keep that energy on the defensive end.
#2 is realize that other the Bouk, you can't just throw someone the ball just anywhere on the floor and expect them to make a play. Everyone has their spots where they are most effective. Learn them, work to get them, the ball, and some space to work in these areas. Pass out of everything else.
#3 Someone needs to step up to support Bouk as the second option and that will be different for every game and matchup. Recognize who has the hot hand as soon as you can.
#4, the core of this team is Bouk, Whaley, Cole, Polley, Martin, Gaff, Adams. They other guys should not be relied on for longs stretches. Akok, Carlton, Sanogo will have a role and get opportunities, but they are mostly frontcourt depth at the moment. Expectations should be managed.
#5 We are better when we are scoring inside, which is a tricky problem as our best lineup talent wise is small.

Good stuff in here.

#2-4 kinda go together. Hurley often uses the first half to figure out the game, personnel and stuff. Makes it difficult for the secondary players to find a rhythm as they get yo yo'd in and out.

#4. I consider Carlton as part of the core group. He has shown this year he's a better version of sophomore Josh and nothing like junior Josh. If nothing else he knows what Hurley wants and is in position defensively. The defense has to at least respect him or he will get some offensive rebounds and get the put backs. Putting Carlton in the core group, gives you a solid 8-man rotation which is a good nucleus and still adaptive.

 

[mauconnfan]

You should NOT just stick out an arm. You step in front of the foul shooter and stick your butt into him. Yes, you also extend your arms. No excuse for that play.

Yes it was lazy and assuming but Whaley also didn’t go hard after the rebound highs unusual for him.

 

[back2BE4us]

Always wondered why Clear Pepsi came back out for a second run. Also, I could be a better husband.

 

[Umami Zen]

Good stuff in here.

#2-4 kinda go together. Hurley often uses the first half to figure out the game, personnel and stuff. Makes it difficult for the secondary players to find a rhythm as they get yo yo'd in and out.

#4. I consider Carlton as part of the core group. He has shown this year he's a better version of sophomore Josh and nothing like junior Josh. If nothing else he knows what Hurley wants and is in position defensively. The defense has to at least respect him or he will get some offensive rebounds and get the put backs. Putting Carlton in the core group, gives you a solid 8-man rotation which is a good nucleus and still adaptive.

IW/JC/AS provide a good core at the 5..Minutes dependent on fouls/game situation.. Have not been overwhelmed with BA offensively but contributes with energy and toughness on D.. Younger guys will be playing their way into more PT as year goes on if given the opportunity to be on the floor to develop.

 

[bendm]

the fanbase has quit on Wojo and that almost always is in the back of the players minds

off topic, but really? they think they can get a better coach/recruiter than wojo? doc rivers isnt walking through the door anytime soon. i always figured wojo would be the one to leave, not be forced out.

 

[auror]

off topic, but really? they think they can get a better coach/recruiter than wojo? doc rivers isnt walking through the door anytime soon. i always figured wojo would be the one to leave, not be forced out.

This is year 7 and they have 0 NCAA tournament wins under him. They made 8 straight NCAAs under Crean/Buzz (before not making in Buzz's last year) with 9 tourny wins in those 9 years.

They think he does get decent talent, but doesn't do anything with it. They lost by 20 in round of 64 with Markus Howard... twice. And last year lost 6 of 7 down the stretch with a senior Howard and possibly weren't going to make the tournament.

 

[bendm]

This is year 7 and they have 0 NCAA tournament wins under him. They made 8 straight NCAAs under Crean/Buzz (before not making in Buzz's last year) with 9 tourny wins in those 9 years.

They think he does get decent talent, but doesn't do anything with it. They lost by 20 in round of 64 with Markus Howard... twice. And last year lost 6 of 7 down the stretch with a senior Howard and possibly weren't going to make the tournament.

tough crowd. i think he's now landed 2 of his highest ranked classes in 2020 and 2021, both right around the top 20. hope he gets a couple more seasons to get those bids/wins but pressure on this year for sure.

 

[Chin Diesel]

tough crowd. i think he's now landed 2 of his highest ranked classes in 2020 and 2021, both right around the top 20. hope he gets a couple more seasons to get those bids/wins but pressure on this year for sure.

His teams have fizzled out each of the past few years. Start strong and finish weak. One more year of this and it becomes a trend.

 

[RichZ]

Sanogo has to stay low and stop leaving his freaking feet. John could back him down because Sanogo was always in the air. He doesn't need to sell out to defend a 15 foot turn around from the opposing forward, because most of the time it is just a shot fake anyway.

Garcia backed him up 5 or 6 feet before he ever moved his pivot foot or put the ball on the floor at one point.

 

[warbler1055]

IMHO, area of improvement : Stop allowing teams to run up 18 points advantage in the second half!!!

 

[David 76]

As Bouk draws more and more attention from the other team's defense, we need some new plays for him. The last two games did not look like the first games for James.

 

[calluke]

Area for improvement...free throws.

I'll say it again...free throws.

 

[calluke]

I'll say it a 3rd time...free throws.

 

[Gutter King]

View attachment 63726

I'll say it a 3rd time...free throws.

-Fastbreak/man advantage is brutal
-Finishing inside
-Entries to post. I think the best entry passes of the year came from Andre. In his limited time he had 3 that lead to easy buckets. Otherwise, with our big rotation we should be feeding it earlier...and our guards struggle so bad with it.
-Coach realizing he has a severe advantage, and capitalizing on it.

 

[calluke]

-Fastbreak/man advantage is brutal
-Finishing inside
-Entries to post. I think the best entry passes of the year came from Andre. In his limited time he had 3 that lead to easy buckets. Otherwise, with our big rotation we should be feeding it earlier...and our guards struggle so bad with it.
-Coach realizing he has a severe advantage, and capitalizing on it.

We would be undefeated if we made our free throws.

 

[Gutter King]

We would be undefeated if we made our free throws.

Fine. But we would also be undefeated if we didn't air mail our outlet passes at every single opportunity on the break.