OFFENSE: WHAT HAS CHANGED?

[ajb5856]

This isn't a vent thread, I just want everyone's ideas as to why the offense so far this year has deteriorated into a Doc Sadler-style stagnant pile of crap.

Here's my list of ideas. Let's see what kind of list we can compile.

Craig Smith-gone

Leslee Smith-last year for 15-20 min we had a body on the floor that was a threat to catch the ball in the post and do something with it.

Ray Gallegos-last year we had a spot up shooting threat to spread the floor.

Seeing more defensive pressure??-I thought we saw a fair amount last year but our ball security was outstanding last year. This year we cough it up non-stop.

[huskerbaseball13]

This isn't a vent thread, I just want everyone's ideas as to why the offense so far this year has deteriorated into a Doc Sadler-style stagnant pile of crap.

Here's my list of ideas. Let's see what kind of list we can compile.

Craig Smith-gone

Leslee Smith-last year for 15-20 min we had a body on the floor that was a threat to catch the ball in the post and do something with it.

Ray Gallegos-last year we had a spot up shooting threat to spread the floor.

Seeing more defensive pressure??-I thought we saw a fair amount last year but our ball security was outstanding last year. This year we cough it up non-stop.

 

Maybe I am remembering things wrong, but our offense was pretty brutal last year also.  We won games down the stretch by hitting some big shots and playing very good defense.  Thus far, I've been less than impressed with our defense and we haven't exactly been clutch. 

[HuskerActuary]

 

This isn't a vent thread, I just want everyone's ideas as to why the offense so far this year has deteriorated into a Doc Sadler-style stagnant pile of crap.

Here's my list of ideas. Let's see what kind of list we can compile.

Craig Smith-gone

Leslee Smith-last year for 15-20 min we had a body on the floor that was a threat to catch the ball in the post and do something with it.

Ray Gallegos-last year we had a spot up shooting threat to spread the floor.

Seeing more defensive pressure??-I thought we saw a fair amount last year but our ball security was outstanding last year. This year we cough it up non-stop.

 

Maybe I am remembering things wrong, but our offense was pretty brutal last year also.  We won games down the stretch by hitting some big shots and playing very good defense.  Thus far, I've been less than impressed with our defense and we haven't exactly been clutch. 

 

Most metrics will say that it is worse. Our KenPom offense was ranked #112 last year and is ranked #217 this year.

[huskerbaseball13]

 

 

This isn't a vent thread, I just want everyone's ideas as to why the offense so far this year has deteriorated into a Doc Sadler-style stagnant pile of crap.

Here's my list of ideas. Let's see what kind of list we can compile.

Craig Smith-gone

Leslee Smith-last year for 15-20 min we had a body on the floor that was a threat to catch the ball in the post and do something with it.

Ray Gallegos-last year we had a spot up shooting threat to spread the floor.

Seeing more defensive pressure??-I thought we saw a fair amount last year but our ball security was outstanding last year. This year we cough it up non-stop.

 

Maybe I am remembering things wrong, but our offense was pretty brutal last year also.  We won games down the stretch by hitting some big shots and playing very good defense.  Thus far, I've been less than impressed with our defense and we haven't exactly been clutch. 

 

Most metrics will say that it is worse. Our KenPom offense was ranked #112 last year and is ranked #217 this year.

 

 

Could it be our sloppy play with the ball? We are currently averaged around 5 more turnovers per game.  That's a pretty large number. 

[ajb5856]

I know the offensive wasn't spectacular or anything last year. I dont even neccesarily care what the numbers say. Just the general feel when watching it so far this year is complete stagnancy. Last year, while still somewhat limited, the offense included way more movement, better passing, better spacing, more cutting, and better flow.

[bigred4]

Miles had 9 days to work on offense after the Cincinnati game and the offense looked terrible again.  I really have no idea what we are trying to do on offense. 

[kldm64]

This isn't a vent thread, I just want everyone's ideas as to why the offense so far this year has deteriorated into a Doc Sadler-style stagnant pile of crap.

Here's my list of ideas. Let's see what kind of list we can compile.

Craig Smith-gone

Leslee Smith-last year for 15-20 min we had a body on the floor that was a threat to catch the ball in the post and do something with it.

Ray Gallegos-last year we had a spot up shooting threat to spread the floor.

Seeing more defensive pressure??-I thought we saw a fair amount last year but our ball security was outstanding last year. This year we cough it up non-stop.

 

This is one of the biggest issues I think we are struggling with this year.  Miles relied on Coach Smith a lot last year.  You can just sense things are not clicking out on the floor and with the coaching staff.  We bring in Coach Molinari and our defense has been horrible so far.  I'm not pointing the finger directly at him but just shows what Coach Smith did for this program.  The lose of him cannot be stressed enough

 

The other issue it seems is Petteway is trying way to hard to impress NBA scouts.  Based on his play and attitude, I don't see him getting drafted.  The kid is very talented but can't play street ball and expect good results at this level.  He is killing our offensive flow as when he's in the game, he likes to keep the ball in his hands until the shot clock is running down and then may times, takes a bad shot.  Problem is the rest of the players just end up standing around watching instead of running any kind of offense.  So then when they take Petteway out, the players still stand around as they is the mode they have gotten used to. If Petteway would quit trying to play so much one-on-one and played within the offense, he would find that he would still get his points and shoot a higher percentage.  If I was scouting to play NU right now, I would just tell the player guarding him to get in Petteway's face as much as you can as you know he will lose his cool at some point.  I'm guessing Petteway will be back next year which may or may not be a good thing. 

[hhcmatt]

 

 

 

This isn't a vent thread, I just want everyone's ideas as to why the offense so far this year has deteriorated into a Doc Sadler-style stagnant pile of crap.

Here's my list of ideas. Let's see what kind of list we can compile.

Craig Smith-gone

Leslee Smith-last year for 15-20 min we had a body on the floor that was a threat to catch the ball in the post and do something with it.

Ray Gallegos-last year we had a spot up shooting threat to spread the floor.

Seeing more defensive pressure??-I thought we saw a fair amount last year but our ball security was outstanding last year. This year we cough it up non-stop.

 

Maybe I am remembering things wrong, but our offense was pretty brutal last year also.  We won games down the stretch by hitting some big shots and playing very good defense.  Thus far, I've been less than impressed with our defense and we haven't exactly been clutch. 

 

Most metrics will say that it is worse. Our KenPom offense was ranked #112 last year and is ranked #217 this year.

 

 

Could it be our sloppy play with the ball? We are currently averaged around 5 more turnovers per game.  That's a pretty large number. 

 

 

This is exactly it. We're not a good shooting team and all these turnovers mean that the other team takes way more shots than us.  Hawaii had 18 more shots than us last night. You need to do everything else better if you are outshot by 15-20 shots a game.

[KarlHessEatMy....]

Tarin Smith deff needs to play more than Webster. It was crazy that those guys thought just because they got over the half court line that the defense was going to slack off and that was not the case. I have never seen a team so weak about that and being tough with the ball. I think its crazy how we play to the opponents level. If that game was 5 to 10 more minutes longer we probably would of tied the game up again. It seems like we get down and fight our way back to the lead and then we lose it again and do it over. Can never take a big lead. The team that came out of halftime was amazing. The ball was moving around and we were getting any shot they wanted.

 

I don't think I have seen a team struggle against pressure like Nebraska is this year. If I was playing them I would pressure the whole game. Was hard to stay awake for this game.

[GATA]

I want to see more Tarin Smith. He's fearless and athletic and most of the time makes the correct play. If we're going to see mistakes offensively -- and we see a ton -- I want to see them from a freshman.

I'm so sick of seeing sloppy passes, loose dribbling, travels, etc. We have so many careless and unforced turnovers it's maddening. That goes back to last year too, but it's been taken to a whole new level.

I think losing the bigs have hurt us a little offensively. They weren't real post-up threats, at least not enough to help space the floor better, but they can grab a few offensive rebounds. With how we turn the ball over and jack up stupid shots, we need all the extra chances we can get.

Ugh.

[HuskerBB]

I do think quite a bit of it can be attributed to personnel.   The last few games the large number of turnovers have killed us - last year we were generally very good at taking care of the ball.   Gallegos absence takes another ball handler off the court - one who usually made good decisions with the ball.   This year our ball handling is suspect and teams are applying pressure to take advantage of that.  Even though he did not have a good year shooting, Gallegos was also an outside threat defenses had to respect.  We don't have that this year.  The absence of any player who wants to post-up on offense makes a difference as well.  Even Walt would pretend to try to se up in the lane last year.   I can't remember a single post-entry pass last night.  Even if you are not going to score from the post - having the ball go in there can free up other things in the offense.

 

That said we struggled offensively at times last year as well.   I do think too many of our players (and far too many of our fans) bought into the hype created by a great 4-5 week run that we had last season.  There are still alot of holes to fill with this teams.  Last year we won a few games we really had no business winning.  So far that is not happening this year.

[HuskerBB]

Tarin Smith deff needs to play more than Webster.

 

 

You understand they really are playing separate positions this year?  Tai is playing almost exclusively at the wing and Tarrin plays the point for Benny.   I do get that Tai is struggling and Tarrin is probably the only guy who played well last night.  But more Tarrin probably means less Benny, not less Tai.

[HuskerFever]

The other issue it seems is Petteway is trying way to hard to impress NBA scouts.  Based on his play and attitude, I don't see him getting drafted.  The kid is very talented but can't play street ball and expect good results at this level.  He is killing our offensive flow as when he's in the game, he likes to keep the ball in his hands until the shot clock is running down and then may times, takes a bad shot.  Problem is the rest of the players just end up standing around watching instead of running any kind of offense.  So then when they take Petteway out, the players still stand around as they is the mode they have gotten used to. If Petteway would quit trying to play so much one-on-one and played within the offense, he would find that he would still get his points and shoot a higher percentage.  If I was scouting to play NU right now, I would just tell the player guarding him to get in Petteway's face as much as you can as you know he will lose his cool at some point.  I'm guessing Petteway will be back next year which may or may not be a good thing. 

 

So much this.

[HB]

 

The other issue it seems is Petteway is trying way to hard to impress NBA scouts.  Based on his play and attitude, I don't see him getting drafted.  The kid is very talented but can't play street ball and expect good results at this level.  He is killing our offensive flow as when he's in the game, he likes to keep the ball in his hands until the shot clock is running down and then may times, takes a bad shot.  Problem is the rest of the players just end up standing around watching instead of running any kind of offense.  So then when they take Petteway out, the players still stand around as they is the mode they have gotten used to. If Petteway would quit trying to play so much one-on-one and played within the offense, he would find that he would still get his points and shoot a higher percentage.  If I was scouting to play NU right now, I would just tell the player guarding him to get in Petteway's face as much as you can as you know he will lose his cool at some point.  I'm guessing Petteway will be back next year which may or may not be a good thing. 

 

So much this.

 

 

Except the part about wondering whether having him on the team next year would be a good thing.  That part is flat out nuts.

[BenJammin63]

The other issue it seems is Petteway is trying way to hard to impress NBA scouts. Based on his play and attitude, I don't see him getting drafted. The kid is very talented but can't play street ball and expect good results at this level. He is killing our offensive flow as when he's in the game, he likes to keep the ball in his hands until the shot clock is running down and then may times, takes a bad shot. Problem is the rest of the players just end up standing around watching instead of running any kind of offense. So then when they take Petteway out, the players still stand around as they is the mode they have gotten used to. If Petteway would quit trying to play so much one-on-one and played within the offense, he would find that he would still get his points and shoot a higher percentage. If I was scouting to play NU right now, I would just tell the player guarding him to get in Petteway's face as much as you can as you know he will lose his cool at some point. I'm guessing Petteway will be back next year which may or may not be a good thing.

So much this.

Except the part about wondering whether having him on the team next year would be a good thing. That part is flat out nuts.

Is it nuts though? We have Andrew White coming in, and watching him during the preseason game, he's going to want to be the main guy. If Terran stays, some butting of the heads might occur with both trying to be the main guys. But if Terran stays, it's another scorer we have, so really I think it all depends on what their relationship is like and if they know their roles. I also think Andrew is a lot better than Terran. Looks to have his head in check, great great looking shot, and actually has a decent basketball IQ. I'm kind of on the side that I want Terran and Walt gone, and for this team to get a fresh start. But I also understand that these two are huge parts of our game, so if they do leave, we are losing a lot of offense.

[tbowman]

I do not agree whatsoever that Petteway or any of the players are the problem right now.  The players look absolutely lost on offense.  Defensively they seem to understand what they are doing, but it isn't working.  The problems are on the coaching staff and it is on them to right the ship.

[Silverbacked1]

Terran is by far our best player playing or sitting on the bench. He isn't just looking for his and not doing anything that is taking away from the team.

Tim gives him full green light any time he has or gets the ball. Does he screw up sometimes? yes, but he has kept us in games and won more games than lost for us over the last year and a half.

I keep hearing that we are soft, soft,soft yet when Terran plays in a "hard" way, we think it is wrong. We as fans can not have it both ways. In this days and age you win with guys who have a hard edge and things like Technicals and fouling out might come with that package.

Okay end of lack of sleep rant.

[GATA]

Terran is by far our best player playing or sitting on the bench. He isn't just looking for his and not doing anything that is taking away from the team.

Tim gives him full green light any time he has or gets the ball. Does he screw up sometimes? yes, but he has kept us in games and won more games than lost for us over the last year and a half.

I keep hearing that we are soft, soft,soft yet when Terran plays in a "hard" way, we think it is wrong. We as fans can not have it both ways. In this days and age you win with guys who have a hard edge and things like Technicals and fouling out might come with that package.

Okay end of lack of sleep rant.

Soft goes beyond the physical. He's mentally fragile as well.

[Silverbacked1]

See I don't see Terran as mentally fragile at all. I think he is very mentally tough. don't confuse some of the things he does with being mentally fragile. He is very mentally tough, he might be more emotionally soft at times, but not mentally. Or at least what I think the differences are between all three mental, physical and emotional.

[hal9000]

The other issue it seems is Petteway is trying way to hard to impress NBA scouts.

 

I've seen a lot of people say this, and it's a supposition at best, unless you know Terran personally and he's told you as much.  I think to say so suggests Terran is only playing for himself, and that winning or team is secondary to him.  I'm sure that's not that case. 

[Creighton Fan]

Getting Teed up when you alreasy in foul trouble ain't playing hard. Its playing dumb.

[Silverbacked1]

That exchange happen 100 times in every game, the ref thought he had to show who was boss. I had no problem with that tech, showed some fire and that player was jawing all game. Ref thought he heard something and had to be the show.

If the ref was so worried about that little exchange why wasn't their bench t'd when they where falling on the floor after a couple of those calls or on the one dunk. Why was the same guy who got the t when Terran did not getting anything called when he was jawing while we were shooting free throws?

It was a poor call on both players that changed the game for them and hurt us.

And if a guy is jawing at you and you walk away, aren't you soft? At least you are in young athletic men's lives, maybe not ours but in their world yeah.

[Creighton Fan]

If you let a dude jawing at ya get you off your game, you mentally soft. If other coaches see that all it take to mess up you concentration is to get in you face, don't be surprised when everybody start getting in you face. That's what Terran got to worry about going forward cuz every team got a guy who is really good at getting under an opponents skin.

[Silverbacked1]

See that is where I disagree. If a guy is getting under your skin and it hurts your game, that is in the emotional part of the game. at least that is what it means to me.

Played against guys that I was personally knocking the crap out of, but where still dogging me. We would be up like three, four touchdowns and they don't have a tackle and still trying to me how bad I suck. To me that means you are lacking emotional maturity not mental maturity.

Hope this clears up why I think we might be disagreeing but are kind of saying the same thing. I think we are emotional weak at times on this team.

[Wayne Pesek]

I respect Terran for the thousands of shots, tons of weights, and hours of practice he put in during the offseason.  I hope his motivation was to help the TEAM, in addition to his draft stock.  (And don't get me wrong, he should put in hours of hard work to help his draft stock.  That's not a bad thing.)  In my opinion, he has become the life (and death) of this team.  He is the face of the program nationally.  Way too many times, the stagnation of the offense when the ball is in his hands, and the decisions he makes, suck the life out of the team.  This team can't win when Terran plays with the emotional composure of Barney Fife.  I don't know if any amount of hours in the gym, or time sitting on the bench, will change his psychological make-up.  His game is a roller coaster, and we are simply along for the ride.