What's this team missing?
- Thread starter BloodyBuddy
- Start date
I agree that we're never going to be a great defensive team with this group, but it doesn't mean they can't get better...and the fact of the matter is that they need to get better if they want to make any sort of run in March.
At the beginning of the year they were playing pretty darn good on the defensive end of the court. So it's not like they aren't capable. If you watch us against Colorado, Chattanooga, and Chicago State (our first 3 games) and compare it to what we've seen the last few games, it's shocking how much worse we've been. And it's not just because of losing Naz.
However Fred's strength was the rapport and confidence he instilled in the players he did have and that gave his team's the ability to bounce back and lock games like these away. I'm not sure that the players are going to get that this season (not through any of Prohm's fault btw).
If you want to compare what our team can do against the likes of CU, Chattanooga, and Chicago vs. the likes of Iowa, OU, and Baylor then you're going to be chasing your tail for quite a while.
How did you cherry pick those teams? Just picking the best teams we've played?
I'm comparing it to Iowa, UNI, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Coppin State, Texas Tech, and Baylor. Our defense is nowhere near the level it was at the beginning of the year.
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Those are our last 2 losses plus a game that we probably should have lost (Iowa), those aren't cherry-picked at all. We've lost to good teams, we've beaten the teams we're better than, which is usually the case in sports. The UNI game, I'll throw that out because at some point we'll probably win a game we "shouldn't" to balance it out.
...and our defense has gotten worse as the season has moved on...There's no denying our defense has gotten worse. Anybody that has watched us should be able to tell the difference.
At the beginning of the year it was solid...now we're not keeping opposing team's guards out of the paint, which leads to layups or open 3's. We're slow to rotate. And we are getting beaten down the court repeatedly for layups.
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Which games against good teams did we play good defense? He can't cherry-pick from a null set.
So what you're saying is that the talent level/abilities of the opponents have no bearing on defensive efficiency?
How in the world is that what you took out of my comments? We sucked on defense against Arkansas Pine Bluff and Coppin State too...it's not like we've only been playing bad defense against good teams, and at no point is that what I said.
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What I gathered from your posts is that we should be able to defend at the same level against OU, Baylor, etc. as we did against Colorado, Chattanooga, and Chicago St. Correct me if I'm wrong.
We should be able to defend at a better level than we did against Baylor, but the results could still be different than they would against a lesser opponent. Is it that difficult to grasp?
I actually thought we defended alright against OU, aside from some lapses on help defense.
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You forgot something on your list......DEFENSE. Unless they learn what that word means and actually use it in games, we won't finish in the top half of the Big 12. I didn't read the whole thread so maybe it was already mentioned.
Pretty easy to come up with the game plan when playing us. Drive the lane and you'll either get an easy layup or get fouled and get us in foul trouble.
Pretty easy to come up with the game plan when playing us. Drive the lane and you'll either get an easy layup or get fouled and get us in foul trouble.
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Mostly accurate and valid points on aspects of this team that are missing.....much of it is absent personnel that just is not going to change and puts us a top 25 team....not the Final Four we all dream of. The two I will highlight:
I voted for three point shooting....we have had a couple games where we had some pleasant "clutch" three pointers (Iowa) that saved wins....but we are missing the "killer" threes Naz would hit....The shots when we are up by 5 with 7 minutes left and just kill the other team's morale, impose our will, and give the separation so our poor free throw shooting isn't exposed.
Second I will also mention defense , but the tough defense with wise use of fouls that a tough team knows. I know they preach "no fouls" but there is time to whack theyguy. These tough games should end with more of our guys with 4 fouls as they deny the bunnies and take this war seriously. Of course, then we get into the depth problem if some games are officiated where wer get a few key guys to 4 quick. To summarize, wiht 4 minutes left in game and only 2 fouls, I expect Jameel to stop looking surprised about getting whacked and defend tough with concern of fouling as a secondary
I voted for three point shooting....we have had a couple games where we had some pleasant "clutch" three pointers (Iowa) that saved wins....but we are missing the "killer" threes Naz would hit....The shots when we are up by 5 with 7 minutes left and just kill the other team's morale, impose our will, and give the separation so our poor free throw shooting isn't exposed.
Second I will also mention defense , but the tough defense with wise use of fouls that a tough team knows. I know they preach "no fouls" but there is time to whack theyguy. These tough games should end with more of our guys with 4 fouls as they deny the bunnies and take this war seriously. Of course, then we get into the depth problem if some games are officiated where wer get a few key guys to 4 quick. To summarize, wiht 4 minutes left in game and only 2 fouls, I expect Jameel to stop looking surprised about getting whacked and defend tough with concern of fouling as a secondary
He of the 3 pts and 1 TO per game for a worse team in a less competitive conference? I'll take the scholly that opened up and take my chances that we get more production out of that ship.
Yeah, the concern some had about his shoulder surgeries turned out to be valid. Had we a staff to go out and get someone else it could have ended up a blessing. Diallo's younger teammate is the one we really missed out on, but Fred and Co ****ed that up even prior to Matt leaving.
Exactly. Thank you for saying this, so I didn't have to. Some posts here make you scratch your head!
