Agree that we need work on defense. There were a few 3âs they launched (especially in the 2nd half) where I donât know what else we could have done, beyond double teaming the shooter after a screen, but there were several where we just left the guy wide open.
We arenât the only team that does that, but we need to improve on defense. Between taking bad shots early in the shot clock and getting lacksadaisical (sp?) on D, we blow our leads.
Louisville (beyond the UK game) is one of the best teams at getting a lead and then blowing it open. They do it by getting hot at the right time, playing good defense and a mixture of 3s and driving to the hoop. We just donât have that killer instinct.
Have we run that âspreadâ offense before last night? The sort of 1-3-1 offense where Iti had the nice dish to Eddie underneath that got a couple replays? I think Drayton hit a nice FT-ish jumper during that stretch, too. I havenât seen that many games, but the first time Iâve seen us use thatâŚ
Some of the threes they got came off of missed assignments, but we had a hand in their face on a lot of them and they still made them. Tip your hat. The only ones late that I thought we completely missed assignments on came on the inbounds play from the baseline, and one where Eddie dropped off of Santee when he was in the corner. They have three very legit 3-pt shooters. Prior to last nightâs game, Santee was 36% from three, Murry was 40%, and Shropshire at 42%. All three proved how good they can shoot last night. They move the ball up the court quickly, and around the perimeter well. When we tried putting Eddie on Santee, it caused too many problems in transition trying to switch in the 2nd half and they exposed that finding the open man quickly. Even with our missed assignments and watching them while thinking they couldnât miss, they only shot 42% behind the arc (15-35). Just watching it seemed that they shot 50%-60% or better. The game reminded me very much of the Louisville game at Halton in 02-03 when they were lighting us up from three land. Louisville 80, Niners 59 When a team has three legit three-point shooters on the court at once AND they can drive, thatâs just a tough team to defend. Fortunately, we had enough offensive firepower to overcome it. We didnât two years ago.
TCU plays the Roy Williamsâ style to a tee. They get in their offensive sets quickly before the defense can get set, and whip the ball around until they get a good shot. They are frustrating to guard, but fun to watch.
Eddie, EJ, and the madman with the headband all stepped up big last night. If EJ keeps contributing like that, we will be tough to beat. If the old Curtis comes back to form, we can do damage in March. Eddie continues to amaze me at how much he has improved his offense over the last two years. If he can keep knocking down 3âs like that, he is nearly impossible to guard.
Tough night for Plav. As others mentioned, he knew it wasnât there and quit shooting. Shropshire stuck to him like glue and didnât let him open very much, either. Though he got beat several times on defense by the quicker Shropshire, he had a key steal late in the game and had several nice feeds to the post.
Refs werenât great, but better than weâve been having. The foul on EJ late in the game where the TCU player got continuation was ridiculous. We got away with several fouls in the first half, but at least they were pretty consistant.
The crowd was about what I expected. TV did bring out a few of the soristitutes that otherwise wouldnât have showed.
TCU hit 15 threes, which is the most ever by an opposing team in Halton. Iâd say they were on fireâŚdefense was only partly to blame. Itâs the easy baskets I have a problem with.
I thought we were a little impatient on offense a few times. Guys were open. One more pass would have resulted in dunks. Otherwise, Eddie, EJ, Curtis, Lee were all very good offensively.
Nice entry passes to Curtis and Iti a few times. Plavich made a nice bounce pass to Withers who DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF GETTING POSITION RIGHT UNDER THE BASKET. Iti is open earlyâŚand thatâs when we need to get it to him. Our timing is off on the entry.
[b]that comment reminds me....why does God let psunami's, earthquakes and other natural disasters happen. Why does he let crazy people park their SUV's in front of an approaching train and let them survive while killing passengers on that same train?[/b]
[i]Originally posted by X-49er[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 12:42 PM
[b] - TCU plays the Roy Williams' style to a tee. They get in their offensive sets quickly before the defense can get set, and whip the ball around until they get a good shot. They are frustrating to guard, but fun to watch. [/b]
Just reminded on another site that TCU played without 6-7 junior F Chudi Chinweze, their 3rd leading scorer and top rebounder from 2003-04. He was averaging 11 ppg and 7 rpg this year when he suffered a season-ending injury versus Kansas in December.
That thing got a little tight late in the second half and Iti of all people gave us a great interior pass and the next possesion he hit that quick little jump hook from 13 ft. Kudos to the big fella.
Also when Plav missed those two quick threeâs in the second half, the second being a quick shot from 30 ft, Bobby pulled him. Good to see he didnât stay with his when it was obvious it wasnât his night.
First of all, any win is a good win, but if we want to advance deeper into the tournament we need to recognize the things that at whice we are still subpar. Defense is definitely one of them. At this point in the season, we need to be a little better at defensive execution and not have so many mental breakdowns. During the off-season, one of the coaches (if not all of them) needs to attend clinics on defensive strategies and defensive fundamentals.
I am seeing much better offensive execution. Last night I actually could recognize them running the plays Lutz is calling for, and getting easy baskets from doing it. It also seems as though Plavich is fading away too much on his shots, even when he does not need to. There were a couple of times where he had solid screens set on the sideline, and he came off of them and faded on his shot eventhough the defender was not near him. Also, I donât care what Iti or the coaches say, he needs to gain more bulk so he can work down low. He also needs to work on his hands and footwork. I see flashes of what he could be, but right now his hands are weak and he is uncoordinated with his movement.
This team has a lot of talent, but needs to improve in a few areas to be serious tournament contenders. To be a top program, winning the National Championship needs to be our goal.
[i]Originally posted by LeftyNiner[/i]@Jan 27 2005, 12:42 PM
[b] TCU hit 15 threes, which is the most ever by an opposing team in Halton. I'd say they were on fire...defense was only partly to blame. It's the easy baskets I have a problem with.
I thought we were a little impatient on offense a few times. Guys were open. One more pass would have resulted in dunks. Otherwise, Eddie, EJ, Curtis, Lee were all very good offensively.
Nice entry passes to Curtis and Iti a few times. Plavich made a nice bounce pass to Withers who DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF GETTING POSITION RIGHT UNDER THE BASKET. Iti is open earlyâŚand thatâs when we need to get it to him. Our timing is off on the entry. [/b]
[b]TCU hit 15 threes, which is the most ever by an opposing team in Halton.[/b]
Lefty, didnât Temple hit more than 15 a couple years back?
I almost thought we were not fighting through the screens to protect Withers And Drayton from picking up their 5th fouls.
A few times where they shot the 3 over the screen that the defender went under I couldnât believe it, which is why I thought it may have been a coaching decisionâŚ