Like his defense but it seems like he's hesitant offensively. We're kinda going around and around today looking for that spark. Seem like lots of valuable parts but can't get a well oiled machine working efficiently.
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Like his defense but it seems like he's hesitant offensively. We're kinda going around and around today looking for that spark. Seem like lots of valuable parts but can't get a well oiled machine working efficiently.
Naz just needs to stop taking threes from the logo. He didn't forget how to shoot, he's just not using very good shot selection lately.
I think our best lineup right now is probably...
Morris
Thomas
Weiler-Babb
Burton
Bowie
...though not saying we need to start it (yet).
+better size and perimeter defense
+more offense down low with Bowie over Holden
+Burton can guard a wing/abuse him on offense
+pretty good rebounding too, by our standards
+Thomas will kill most 2-guards rebounding
+Holden is probably a better post defender than Bowie, though
+assuming he can stay out of foul trouble
+better slash to the basket, too
Naz might benefit from being a bench scorer, right...?
Morris
Thomas
Weiler-Babb
Burton
Bowie
...though not saying we need to start it (yet).
+better size and perimeter defense
+more offense down low with Bowie over Holden
+Burton can guard a wing/abuse him on offense
+pretty good rebounding too, by our standards
+Thomas will kill most 2-guards rebounding
+Holden is probably a better post defender than Bowie, though
+assuming he can stay out of foul trouble
+better slash to the basket, too
Naz might benefit from being a bench scorer, right...?
It seems Naz has been hesitant too lately. In the Cincy game, he appeared open in a few situations, only to pump fake. I wasn't overly impressed with Cincy's D the other day, however they did a great job closing out and staying on their feet. With that kind of close out, the pump fake just brings what was an out of position defender back into position. Once there, any shot after that is going to be contested.
I still have the game on DVR, and will probably rewatch today at some point to look for this specifically. Sometimes things look a whole lot different on TV.
Anyone else, who did watch on TV, notice the same?
Bowie needs to be starting along side Holden or Young when he returns. We're giving up way too much size. Play big at the beginning of the game til the post players start getting gassed. Go small ball after their legs are gone.
The Iowa game is a big one for ISU. Come NCAA Tournament time, if we finish 4-6th in the conference standings- non-conference wins against Top 50/P5 opponents will be important. Right now we are 1-2 against Miami, Gonazaga and Cincy. The Iowa and Vandy games will be noticed by the selection committee. If not to get ISU into the tournament, but for seeding purposes.
Our struggle this year rests in our post play. I think Holden, Bowie, Burton and Young can work. But the coaching staff has to design an offense that utilizes some post-up offense. Otherwise defenders will sit on the 3 point line. We also need more motion and incorporate screens and backcuts.
The tough question is Deonte Burton. He is a streaky offensive player and a mediocre defender. He is an OK defender when playing the 3 position, but he is lost as a post defender. There were times in the first half against Gonzaga where he got very frustrated, his effort and body language was poor. IMO in Big12 play, we need to start Holden, Bowie or Young at the two post positions.
That means Naz or Deonte becomes the 6th man. That is a tough thing to move a senior out of the starting lineup. But both have the skill-set to play the 2 or 3 positions. Deonte can play the 4, but I think it is limited based on the opponent or bad foul trouble.
IMO to expect Burton to be the next coming of Niang is completely unrealistic. Niang was a great facilitator and passer in a structured halfcourt offense. Deonte is a great passer in transition or quick, spontaneous passes in the paint.
The other area the coaches need to address is end-game execution. I believe we were 0-4 shooting (all 3s) against Gonzaga. We also struggled against Cincy. We need to get away from Monte pounding the ball for 20 seconds at the top of the key and then driving to the bucket. We need more passing, screens and dribble penetration from the wings. We need to get defenders moving.
There's a very good chance that neither Iowa or Vandy will finish as top 50 wins, Iowa maybe not even a top 100 win. Our non conference resume is pretty much going to be a nuetral site win over Miami, and with how tough the ACC is, there's a decent chance Miami will be below .500 in that league. We're going to have a real empty resume going into B12 play. The past few years we've been top 20-30 in the RPI going into B12 play, this year we're going to most likely be 75 or higher. To have any shot at a high seed we need a real good conference record this year.
His shooting percentage prior to surgery is irrelevant since the injury has to be factored into why his shooting was off. However, .265 3-point shooting this season from .291 last year is cause for concern. He started off playing really well last year as well and went downhill after the first few games. Hopefully, this is not due to any physical issues.
In comparing 3-pt shooting of returning seniors this year with 2016, Monte of the returning seniors has improved his 3-pt % from last year, from .358 to .375. But, Deonte: .474 to .375; Matt: .432 to .368.
Some of this is undoubtedly due to adjusting to playing without Niang. As I've posted in other threads, Niang's ability to pass to shooters who were open due to his ability to penetrate or being double teamed is missed as shooters are not open as much. However, I'm sure there are other reason why the shooting percentage is down, especially with an additional year to work on their shot.
I agree with this and for the fact that I think Bowie creates some nice matchup problems. It might also get a smaller guy on Burton and maybe he could do a little more work on the back downs or post ups.
Monte needs to take over and start driving to basket and shooting or dishing..Seems like entire off season was all defense which is great..
Keep in mind as well that the last 2 games we've played vs two pretty good defensive teams especially Cincinnati who is a great defensive team..
Keep in mind as well that the last 2 games we've played vs two pretty good defensive teams especially Cincinnati who is a great defensive team..
I agree with everything except Naz would slide to my eighth man in the rotation (I don't believe "because you're a senior" is how I want playing time distributed). Babb would be my 6th man.
If you mean Naz's lower shooting % can be traced to lack of ball movement, I wholeheartedly agree. He's not getting as many open, high quality looks this year. Still doesn't explain his penchant for shooting from 27 ft, however.
The chances for easy ball movement just aren't there as readily this year, and we're going to have to adjust. We've never been some super passing team, where we're hitting cutters and then snapping it to the corner. We've been lucky enough to have guys who can collapse a defense, Royce, Kane, Niang, off the dribble and then spread out three or four guys on the perimeter. Once you've got the defense rotating and scrambling back out, it's easy to move the ball and make the extra pass. Monte doesn't have the same ability to totally collapse the defense and there's also more guys who defenses can safely help off in the lineup with him.
I think the starting lineup/rotation is OK. Minor variance could help, but I don't see obvious alternatives.
Late-game half-court strategy could use some focus.
Late-game half-court strategy could use some focus.
Lard and Malou might have been our two best posts.
I'm sure Jackson is not 100% either.
Prohm and TJ had quite the nice plan, it seems.
The injury bug and the NCAA got in the way.
Gives me trust/hope for the future, however.
I somewhat disagree, though I do agree that we don't have quite the capability that we did with Georges in the lineup. What we've seen is primarily spreading the floor and operating either one on one or two man game with the high pick and roll. It looks like that is good enough against average defensive teams, but doesn't quite do it against the better ones. We'll have to change it up a bit.