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Post by friar80 on Nov 23, 2019 22:04:13 GMT -5
Watson is on my all time frustrating to watch list. Doesn’t rebound or defend. The next time Watson kicks it out of the post to an open shooter will be the first!
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Post by friar80 on Nov 23, 2019 22:25:35 GMT -5
It was worse in person. Real snorker here. Decent crowd and yet another stink bomb. Was there ANY game prep here? ANY? There is talent - there really is, but these kids seem lost out there...and the posts here are correct, one after the other. OK lose but not like this. Really thinking it is not fair or better yet, accurate to point fingers at the players with a few exceptions. These kids are not being prepped or game coached properly. It is so, so obvious even to casual observers. Not good. All I could think is it looked like our kids met each other for the first time in the parking lot 10 minutes before the game. We acted like we had never seen what Penn was going to run. Weren't they reminded pre game that Merrimack made us look bad with the same kind of stuff until we overwhelmed them with our press and size? The offense continues to be anemic but our defense should be good every night. Unfortunately both were a no show in that horrendous first half. I would have bet anything that we would not overcome that deficit against that intelligent a team. The only shot we had was the press (Penn scored about 7 points in 10 minutes)but we continued to miss bunnies, then Watson turns a 3 point play into 0 and they hit a 3 then for some reason no more press. I am so tired of seeing us get outplayed and outsmarted game after game and only winning by making the game ugly and relying on our athleticism. A scary thought is this team seems to function better without their senior "leader" on the floor- see Merrimack. If it takes sitting the kid, regardless of the seemingly misplaced preseason hype he's received, then do it and send a message everyone receives loud and clear. Ed tried to recruit and transfer his way out of last season's mess but it's becoming clear it wasn't just the player's fault- the coaches need to get their acts together and COACH these kids. Watching the staff during games now says a lot- they seem disengaged and resigned to the dysfunction they're watching. I agree this team seems to have enough pieces and depth to be good and youth is no longer an excuse so Ed and the staff should get no more passes. They need to coach these kids up and get them to play with purpose. The program they are presenting, the prices they're charging us and the salaries and perq's they are giving the coaches and athletic department make it clear that winning is important Ed. By all accounts you're a good guy who cares about the kids but they pay you the big bucks to win games and coach them up and you're failing there. It is time to right this ship or it's going to sink!
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Post by birdman on Nov 24, 2019 0:37:23 GMT -5
Some thoughts: - I am a huge defender of Cooley and appreciate all that he has done for this program. We all know the backstory , but this is a huge year for him. I felt like last year was an aberration and we were primed to have a big year with virtually the whole team coming back. Unless some drastic changes are made, this year could go that way too.
- There are of course many things wrong with us right now. First and foremost, we are a lousy shooting team. I can't get over how many easy layups and point blank shots we miss, that is something that you can't pin on coaching. We also though are struggling from the outside and I think a lot of that has to do with poor shot selection.
- We run a lot of pro style sets with a primary option and when that gets taken away, we don't typically get a good shot after the play breaks down. We have never had a great offense in the Cooley era, our best team was the 2014 BE championship team and that is largely due to Cotton. So much of our offense is about ball screens, hand-offs and various other action designed to create a mismatch and make room for a playmaker. Even with the addition of Pip, we aren't able to penetrate a defense consistently in the half court.
- I am just baffled about AJ. He came out of the gates last year like gangbusters, was rookie of the week in 3 of the first 4 weeks and has fallen off a cliff since breaking his foot. It is kind of analogous to Fazekas, who was 18-36 from 3 in his freshman year before getting mono and was never the same after it. We desperately need his scoring, especially his shooting.
- I have to think our poor shooting permeates into other aspects of the game. Guys, especially Pip, tend to force the action when things aren't going well and we don't have anyone like Cotton or Bentil or Henton who can go get us a bucket when we need one. We have to generate good looks off of post-ups, ball movement, screening and cutting, and we have to stick with that and not devolve into hero ball because we don't have that kind of player on our roster.
- In addition to that example of us not being fundamentally sound, our help defense is often lousy too and it shouldn't be given our personnel. NW and Penn are both vastly inferior athletically, but they run a disciplined offense and we were not able to consistently stay with our men. This is unacceptable and points to a lack of communication between the players and also not being mentally focused, which is definitely on the staff.
- So what can we do to try and rectify these problems? First and foremost, we have to press and play pressure defense from the outset. We are very athletic and with the exception of AJ and Nate, everyone else is at least a decent defensive player. We need to try and force a lot of turnovers that can lead to easy baskets in transition because there is only so much we can in the half court offensively. We should also utilize a zone defense much more frequently. With the exception of Pip, we have good size at each position and can bother outside shooters while also not conceding offensive boards. We switch a lot of screens, but have to be careful with certain guys, especially Nate. He is OK banging with guys on the block, but is a disaster when he has to step away from the basket.
- Offensively, we have to push the tempo at all times and if we can't get a good look in the first few seconds, we should look to get it inside much more often. Alpha does his best work from the elbows and in, Nate of course can and will do damage on the block and Holt is also effective down there. Heck, we like to post Duke a couple of times a game to take advantage of his length. We will still miss layups, but we aren't really built for a spread pick and roll attack so we might as well pound it inside and put our best players in a position to succeed. Hopefully Nate learns to pass when he's doubled and if we can get guys like AJ, Pip and White open threes where they are spotting up, these are good shots. It goes against the grain of the prevalent style today, but we have a roster designed for inside out play, so we might as well play the hand we are dealt.
- Finally, we need to have some more clearly defined roles and accountability. If Pip is going to jack some contested 3 early in the shot clock, he needs to be pulled. If someone blows an assignment on defense, he needs to be pulled. We have plenty of hungry players who want minutes, so let's make sure they are all earned. There is no excuse whatsoever for us to ever be down 20 points to NW or Penn, so we need something to light a fire under us from the get go. Pushing the tempo, holding players accountable and playing to our strengths will hopefully alleviate those problems.
- We are entering a very hard part of our schedule where only 2 of our next 7 games are at home (and one is Texas), so we are going to have a lot of opportunities to play and hopefully beat some good teams. There is a lot of talent on this roster, and that is what makes these last 4 games so frustrating. It's one thing if we lose because we are outmatched, but when we are just listless and careless, that is just unacceptable. I can't say I am optimistic that we will turn it around, but these are young men we are talking about and anything can happen. Good luck Ed and staff, these next few weeks are going to be critical.
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pcdad
Friar Fanatic
Posts: 3,708
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Post by pcdad on Nov 24, 2019 0:58:46 GMT -5
Birdman, wow, passion, constructive suggestions, close analysis. What a detailed and thoughtful post.
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Post by yankeefriar on Nov 24, 2019 7:10:03 GMT -5
Start Pip, White, Duke, Alpha and Holt. Press from the opening tip.
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Post by wtm97 on Nov 24, 2019 7:21:11 GMT -5
EPIC post Birdman.
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Post by pc1971 on Nov 24, 2019 7:29:19 GMT -5
Some thoughts: - I am a huge defender of Cooley and appreciate all that he has done for this program. We all know the backstory , but this is a huge year for him. I felt like last year was an aberration and we were primed to have a big year with virtually the whole team coming back. Unless some drastic changes are made, this year could go that way too.
- There are of course many things wrong with us right now. First and foremost, we are a lousy shooting team. I can't get over how many easy layups and point blank shots we miss, that is something that you can't pin on coaching. We also though are struggling from the outside and I think a lot of that has to do with poor shot selection.
- We run a lot of pro style sets with a primary option and when that gets taken away, we don't typically get a good shot after the play breaks down. We have never had a great offense in the Cooley era, our best team was the 2014 BE championship team and that is largely due to Cotton. So much of our offense is about ball screens, hand-offs and various other action designed to create a mismatch and make room for a playmaker. Even with the addition of Pip, we aren't able to penetrate a defense consistently in the half court.
- I am just baffled about AJ. He came out of the gates last year like gangbusters, was rookie of the week in 3 of the first 4 weeks and has fallen off a cliff since breaking his foot. It is kind of analogous to Fazekas, who was 18-36 from 3 in his freshman year before getting mono and was never the same after it. We desperately need his scoring, especially his shooting.
- I have to think our poor shooting permeates into other aspects of the game. Guys, especially Pip, tend to force the action when things aren't going well and we don't have anyone like Cotton or Bentil or Henton who can go get us a bucket when we need one. We have to generate good looks off of post-ups, ball movement, screening and cutting, and we have to stick with that and not devolve into hero ball because we don't have that kind of player on our roster.
- In addition to that example of us not being fundamentally sound, our help defense is often lousy too and it shouldn't be given our personnel. NW and Penn are both vastly inferior athletically, but they run a disciplined offense and we were not able to consistently stay with our men. This is unacceptable and points to a lack of communication between the players and also not being mentally focused, which is definitely on the staff.
- So what can we do to try and rectify these problems? First and foremost, we have to press and play pressure defense from the outset. We are very athletic and with the exception of AJ and Nate, everyone else is at least a decent defensive player. We need to try and force a lot of turnovers that can lead to easy baskets in transition because there is only so much we can in the half court offensively. We should also utilize a zone defense much more frequently. With the exception of Pip, we have good size at each position and can bother outside shooters while also not conceding offensive boards. We switch a lot of screens, but have to be careful with certain guys, especially Nate. He is OK banging with guys on the block, but is a disaster when he has to step away from the basket.
- Offensively, we have to push the tempo at all times and if we can't get a good look in the first few seconds, we should look to get it inside much more often. Alpha does his best work from the elbows and in, Nate of course can and will do damage on the block and Holt is also effective down there. Heck, we like to post Duke a couple of times a game to take advantage of his length. We will still miss layups, but we aren't really built for a spread pick and roll attack so we might as well pound it inside and put our best players in a position to succeed. Hopefully Nate learns to pass when he's doubled and if we can get guys like AJ, Pip and White open threes where they are spotting up, these are good shots. It goes against the grain of the prevalent style today, but we have a roster designed for inside out play, so we might as well play the hand we are dealt.
- Finally, we need to have some more clearly defined roles and accountability. If Pip is going to jack some contested 3 early in the shot clock, he needs to be pulled. If someone blows an assignment on defense, he needs to be pulled. We have plenty of hungry players who want minutes, so let's make sure they are all earned. There is no excuse whatsoever for us to ever be down 20 points to NW or Penn, so we need something to light a fire under us from the get go. Pushing the tempo, holding players accountable and playing to our strengths will hopefully alleviate those problems.
- We are entering a very hard part of our schedule where only 2 of our next 7 games are at home (and one is Texas), so we are going to have a lot of opportunities to play and hopefully beat some good teams. There is a lot of talent on this roster, and that is what makes these last 4 games so frustrating. It's one thing if we lose because we are outmatched, but when we are just listless and careless, that is just unacceptable. I can't say I am optimistic that we will turn it around, but these are young men we are talking about and anything can happen. Good luck Ed and staff, these next few weeks are going to be critical.
Well done and thorough birdman. Not a good time in Friartown right now. Expectations are far from being met. I am not saying more right now because I am upset,as many of us are.
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Post by petert on Nov 24, 2019 8:20:12 GMT -5
AJ? looked like the top freshman in the conference earl last year....especially as we need a shooter
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Post by thewalk on Nov 24, 2019 8:37:22 GMT -5
If pips gonna start, pull up jumpers need to stop.
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Post by friar80 on Nov 24, 2019 9:17:28 GMT -5
AJ? looked like the top freshman in the conference earl last year....especially as we need a shooter As Hasset said post game, they don't run anything to get AJ shots anymore. No one's driving and kicking to him. Watson NEVER kicks it out to a shooter. AJ is our only potential sniper and he's being wasted. If he starts the game by making a few 3's the other team has to pay him extra attention and it opens things up for everyone else.
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Post by thewalk on Nov 24, 2019 9:25:03 GMT -5
But Aj looks like he's wearing cement shoes...
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Post by Rock on Nov 24, 2019 11:00:29 GMT -5
Some thoughts: - I am a huge defender of Cooley and appreciate all that he has done for this program. We all know the backstory , but this is a huge year for him. I felt like last year was an aberration and we were primed to have a big year with virtually the whole team coming back. Unless some drastic changes are made, this year could go that way too.
- There are of course many things wrong with us right now. First and foremost, we are a lousy shooting team. I can't get over how many easy layups and point blank shots we miss, that is something that you can't pin on coaching. We also though are struggling from the outside and I think a lot of that has to do with poor shot selection.
- We run a lot of pro style sets with a primary option and when that gets taken away, we don't typically get a good shot after the play breaks down. We have never had a great offense in the Cooley era, our best team was the 2014 BE championship team and that is largely due to Cotton. So much of our offense is about ball screens, hand-offs and various other action designed to create a mismatch and make room for a playmaker. Even with the addition of Pip, we aren't able to penetrate a defense consistently in the half court.
- I am just baffled about AJ. He came out of the gates last year like gangbusters, was rookie of the week in 3 of the first 4 weeks and has fallen off a cliff since breaking his foot. It is kind of analogous to Fazekas, who was 18-36 from 3 in his freshman year before getting mono and was never the same after it. We desperately need his scoring, especially his shooting.
- I have to think our poor shooting permeates into other aspects of the game. Guys, especially Pip, tend to force the action when things aren't going well and we don't have anyone like Cotton or Bentil or Henton who can go get us a bucket when we need one. We have to generate good looks off of post-ups, ball movement, screening and cutting, and we have to stick with that and not devolve into hero ball because we don't have that kind of player on our roster.
- In addition to that example of us not being fundamentally sound, our help defense is often lousy too and it shouldn't be given our personnel. NW and Penn are both vastly inferior athletically, but they run a disciplined offense and we were not able to consistently stay with our men. This is unacceptable and points to a lack of communication between the players and also not being mentally focused, which is definitely on the staff.
- So what can we do to try and rectify these problems? First and foremost, we have to press and play pressure defense from the outset. We are very athletic and with the exception of AJ and Nate, everyone else is at least a decent defensive player. We need to try and force a lot of turnovers that can lead to easy baskets in transition because there is only so much we can in the half court offensively. We should also utilize a zone defense much more frequently. With the exception of Pip, we have good size at each position and can bother outside shooters while also not conceding offensive boards. We switch a lot of screens, but have to be careful with certain guys, especially Nate. He is OK banging with guys on the block, but is a disaster when he has to step away from the basket.
- Offensively, we have to push the tempo at all times and if we can't get a good look in the first few seconds, we should look to get it inside much more often. Alpha does his best work from the elbows and in, Nate of course can and will do damage on the block and Holt is also effective down there. Heck, we like to post Duke a couple of times a game to take advantage of his length. We will still miss layups, but we aren't really built for a spread pick and roll attack so we might as well pound it inside and put our best players in a position to succeed. Hopefully Nate learns to pass when he's doubled and if we can get guys like AJ, Pip and White open threes where they are spotting up, these are good shots. It goes against the grain of the prevalent style today, but we have a roster designed for inside out play, so we might as well play the hand we are dealt.
- Finally, we need to have some more clearly defined roles and accountability. If Pip is going to jack some contested 3 early in the shot clock, he needs to be pulled. If someone blows an assignment on defense, he needs to be pulled. We have plenty of hungry players who want minutes, so let's make sure they are all earned. There is no excuse whatsoever for us to ever be down 20 points to NW or Penn, so we need something to light a fire under us from the get go. Pushing the tempo, holding players accountable and playing to our strengths will hopefully alleviate those problems.
- We are entering a very hard part of our schedule where only 2 of our next 7 games are at home (and one is Texas), so we are going to have a lot of opportunities to play and hopefully beat some good teams. There is a lot of talent on this roster, and that is what makes these last 4 games so frustrating. It's one thing if we lose because we are outmatched, but when we are just listless and careless, that is just unacceptable. I can't say I am optimistic that we will turn it around, but these are young men we are talking about and anything can happen. Good luck Ed and staff, these next few weeks are going to be critical.
Well done. Double spacing next time please. Thank you.
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Post by dex on Nov 24, 2019 14:18:33 GMT -5
Point of personal privilege.
I'm NOT asking, I am BEGGING
Please Birdman and PC71 use double spaces between paragraphs.
Have a heart
Mine eyes have seen the glory of.... and are now quite tired
AND I want to read everything you boys post
Thank You In Advance
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Post by dex on Nov 24, 2019 14:26:38 GMT -5
If pips gonna start, pull up jumpers need to stop. Spot On Walk ... Sonar stated as much
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Post by thewalk on Nov 24, 2019 14:30:27 GMT -5
Like Joe but he hasn't been at his best either...
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