I, like the rest of you read this board everyday. And after reading the posts after the game yesterday the main topic seems to be BP. Got me to thinking when teams scout us they start with BP as well. In the eighteen games since Indiana game Plavich has led us in scoring against one team…Cincy. I think Huggy bear knows us well enough to know you have to stop the main threats not just Plav. We are clicking now because Mitch is taking it to the hoop strong, Eddie has become a true MVP at every aspect of the game, and Curt has finally become Curt. If teams continue to start their game plans with stopping BP the other guys will continue to shine, and we will continue to win.
Look at the games we have had against what I consider the top three coaches we have played for BP stats.
M fg 3’s ft r a pf b s to points
12/4 Alabama L 102-101 51 5-14 5-14 1-4 3 1 3 0 3 1 16
12/22 @Indiana W 74-73 29 6-18 6-17 3-4 4 0 0 0 0 1 21
1/19 @Cincy L 80-58 33 6-15 6-14 4-4 1 1 4 0 2 1 22
2/5 Cincy W 91-90 37 8-19 8-17 2-2 4 0 0 0 0 0 26
The best coaches we have played let him get his shots. These four games are his 4 highest games for 3 point attempts for the year. Talk about his struggles all you want but he is taking the bullet for us when it comes to teams game plans. As long as the other guys take advantage of the one on one match ups we will be just fine. Bobby has know this all along…keep the heat off Curt and Eddie and we will punish the favorable matchups. Go Niners.
Yeah, having a deep threat like Plav who can shoot from anywhere in the gym (and possibly outside) definitely frees up pressure on the rest. I wonder how good the rest of the guys will be when BP graduates?
Thats why I think Bobby does what he does. I think he knows how sexy the 3 is…especially the way BP shoots the long range ones. The good coaches don’t bite…the others do. Its got to be tough to game plan for a team in two days. Hopefully this work for us big time in the big dance.
I’m not sure I agree. In the Texas Tech game last year priority #1 for Bobby Knight (a great coach) was to take away the three. Plav was extremely frustrated and our whole offense was out of synch.
Fortunately, we are a much better team this year with many, many more weapons.
BP has been doing a god job as a decoy except, he still throws up too many shots when covered. Against depaul, several of his shots were attempted with two men on him when he would have done better to swing the ball. I also like what he is doing with the runner. They have not been falling for him since last years tournamant since Texas Tech, but they are close.
Also, even through he takes most of our 3s, he isnlt the only one. Curt is hitting 45% from behind the arc (better when he is selective) and eddie and Goldie both through them up on occassion.