Support for Yvan

[Swan88]

 

[Norm Peterson]

I gotta say that performance last night against Wisconsin was about the best overall performance of Yvan's career that I've seen. Sure, he's had games where he scored more points and grabbed more rebounds. But last night was a complete game of nearly mistake-free basketball from Yvan, against some quality Wisconsin bigs.

 

I wish he wouldn't have missed that bunny, the only shot he missed. I'm convinced the problems he continues to exhibit trying to shoot inside are mechanical issues. But, other than that one missed shot, he played nearly mistake-free ball. He played within himself. He didn't try forcing ANY shots on the offensive end. And he was smart enough to back it out when he got an offensive rebound that he clearly wasn't in position to try to go back up with.

 

And I did not see him dribble in the post once. Maybe I missed it if he did. But I didn't see him take a dribble even on the shot he missed. He's an aggressive rebounder. And he got a couple of blocks.

 

I would have given Yvan a game ball. I thought he and Banton and maybe Trey were the only ones who really showed up last night.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Norm Peterson

[Dean Smith]

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

I gotta say that performance last night against Wisconsin was about the best overall performance of Yvan's career that I've seen. Sure, he's had games where he scored more points and grabbed more rebounds. But last night was a complete game of nearly mistake-free basketball from Yvan, against some quality Wisconsin bigs.

 

I wish he wouldn't have missed that bunny, the only shot he missed. I'm convinced the problems he continues to exhibit trying to shoot inside are mechanical issues. But, other than that one missed shot, he played nearly mistake-free ball. He played within himself. He didn't try forcing ANY shots on the offensive end. And he was smart enough to back it out when he got an offensive rebound that he clearly wasn't in position to try to go back up with.

 

And I did not see him dribble in the post once. Maybe I missed it if he did. But I didn't see him take a dribble even on the shot he missed. He's an aggressive rebounder. And he got a couple of blocks.

 

I would have given Yvan a game ball. I thought he and Banton and maybe Trey were the only ones who really showed up last night.

I remember him putting the ball on the floor one possession. Left block, two power dribbles middle and made a right handed jump hook over one of the two badgers bigs - toughest shot he made on the night. He was under control, didn't seem rushed and I assume that he had finished a couple times earlier in the night gave him the confidence to use the move.

 

Confidence is what Lat and the whole team is missing when it comes to shooting and finishing games respectively. You need to see some success to gain confidence but it's hard to be successful without confidence. 

[BannedAccount]

After doubting Yvan early this season I will say he us now playing like i was expecting him to be in these last 2 games.  Tbe issue now is Lat and what to do with him.  Good to see Fred benched him in the 2nd half and didnt just ride with him due to more options. 

[uneblinstu]

On 12/23/2020 at 10:33 AM, Norm Peterson said:

I wish he wouldn't have missed that bunny, the only shot he missed. I'm convinced the problems he continues to exhibit trying to shoot inside are mechanical issues. But, other than that one missed shot, he played nearly mistake-free ball. He played within himself. He didn't try forcing ANY shots on the offensive end. And he was smart enough to back it out when he got an offensive rebound that he clearly wasn't in position to try to go back up with.

I'm not very good at watching things like this and being able to tell you what's wrong or what needs to be fixed, so I'll relay on what I heard from people who I think do know more about that (I'd credit where I heard the conversation, but I don't remember where it was, it was somewhere on the radio after the Wisconsin game, I think...). They were talking about him largely needing to work on his footwork when he gets the ball on the block. He isn't giving himself a good base to start from, therefore struggles with consistency. If/when that gets figured out, he should find a lot more success down there.

[HB]

5 hours ago, uneblinstu said:

If/when that gets figured out, he should find a lot more success down there.

That’s what she said 

[Norm Peterson]

10 hours ago, uneblinstu said:

I'm not very good at watching things like this and being able to tell you what's wrong or what needs to be fixed, so I'll relay on what I heard from people who I think do know more about that (I'd credit where I heard the conversation, but I don't remember where it was, it was somewhere on the radio after the Wisconsin game, I think...). They were talking about him largely needing to work on his footwork when he gets the ball on the block. He isn't giving himself a good base to start from, therefore struggles with consistency. If/when that gets figured out, he should find a lot more success down there.

 

One of the concerns I have about him has to do with cocking his wrist to shoot. The most obvious illustration is when he shoots free throws. His wrist doesn't cock. The back of his hand is flat in line with his forearm. He has a little bit of extension on his follow-through, but not flexion on his load. Imagine what that does to the trajectory of his shot from the FT line. It's going to make it very flat. It also forces him to use his shoulder a lot.

 

That mechanical issue also doesn't allow him to incorporate at all the muscles of fine motor skill, which is where your touch comes from. It's harder to see, but I believe he has the same problem when he's  down low as he does at the FT line. And what that's going to do is make it very difficult for him to vary and adjust the force that he uses to shoot the ball. All of his shots are going to come off strong. There's no nifty little flick of the wrist, the kind that allows a Teddy Allen to flip the ball backwards as he's flying by the rim and have it fall gently through the hoop.

 

Imagine trying to focus a microscope with only the coarse adjustment knob. That's what Yvan is doing with his shooting.

[Norm Peterson]

Yvan, buddy, you've got some serious work to do. We can't have our starting 5 man be a no-go on pick-and-roll offense. You're wide open on the roll and your teammates don't even bother making the pass because they know you aren't going to convert. That's a problem. You have to fix it. Gathering yourself and elevating for a layup or a dunk shouldn't be that difficult. Not as difficult as you're making it.

 

It's like the announcer said on TV last night: If you're going to try to score inside, you have to go up like a man. Be a damn man. Don't let them deny you. Catch the pass, get your ass off the ground, and score the ball. Period.