A couple of observations here at the half. We are playing our first talented foe and its been pretty illuminating.
Our team defense especially our play in the passing lanes is great. Our man D isn't nearly as good. The Miami players are getting the first step every time they put the ball down. It is unbelievable that they aren't exploiting this especially when you consider how difficult it has been for them to get open looks moving the ball.
Our no better than average rebounding ability is really hurting us. If we are going to rely on our D we simply cannot allow offensive rebounds after forcing a team to take contested 3's at the shot clock. There are a couple of reasons that we are not performing well in this area. Lighty is not a power forward and he cannot rebound like one. Playing 4 guards and 1 seven footer isn't going to cut it against the top 25. Also, it looks to me as though Mullens has been really surprised going against quality bigs. He was showing me a lack of fundamentals but since about the 5 minute mark it looks as though he has really picked up the intensity so I am going to forgive him that.
This is one of the worst offenses I have ever seen. Period. And we won't get better. For some reason that I can't quite discern our offense involves passing the ball from the point to the sg at the top of the key while each of them are 10 feet from the 3 point line. At this point the sg might dribble it a few times possibly trying to wish away the defender in front of him or waiting for one of his team mates to get so open that he can zip a pass into him from that far away. In general neither of these things happen so he passes it back to the point who has maybe shuffled his feet a bit but for all intensive purposes is still 10 feet from the 3. Another couple of passes around the perimeter and a contested 3!
A couple of things go through my mind at this point. Number one, what should I smack my head against next. Number two, if we aren't going to play offense why don't we just get our best 3 point shooter to dribble out the shot clock at the top of the key and take a contested 3. This would limit the possessions in the game and not hurt our offensive efficiency in the least.
Finally a couple of notes about the individual players.
Crater: The kid is my one hope. He is very quick with his dribble and can penetrate at will. He seems to be the only player we have that can create for others.
Lighty: He is a very good player. But it is never going to turn into production in this system. He is a midrange kind of player and unfortunately we don't put the ball inside the 3 point arc unless a guard is running to the basket, leaping into the air, and throwing a pass to the opposition because the offense doesn't react.
Diebler: His defense is unbelievably bad which isn't too surprising considering his frame. He overplays the passing lanes I expect to compensate and this frequently gets him out of position. It doesn't look to me as though he can create for himself which is puzzling considering his high school career. His 3 pointer is sound fundamentally but it isn't falling consistently. I suspect it is because he needs to go inside before he heats up outside. Unfortunately again that means we won't be seeing him play well or score consistently this year.
Buford: I don't know if it is because he refuses to play within the system or he simply hasn't learned enough of it to have stunted himself but he seems to be the only player who is a real threat to take take it to the basket. Unfortunately he seems to use the space to take jumpers more than move inside which is what our offense desperately needs. Haven't seen much of him probably because he doesn't know the system which again is probably why he is using his athleticism unlike the rest of the team.
BTW, that Miami player showed absolutely no remorse after blatantly bear clawing Crater. If I were making the decisions he wouldn't be playing the rest of the season. Also found the crowds reaction interesting. You stay classy Miami.
