uneblinstu's postgame chatter : vol 17; ed 11- Hawai'i

With the way the game started, I was a little nervous.

Hawai'i was hitting everything and we couldn't make anything. 

Give credit to the guys for bucking down and playing some serious defense.

Hawai'i only scored 35 points in the final 30 minutes of game time. 

It's crazy to think our two leading scorers against Murray State combined for two points and we still won by 14.

It just speaks to the depth this team has.

9 minutes ago, AGHANSEN said:

 

It's crazy to think our two leading scorers against Murray State combined for two points and we still won by 14.

It just speaks to the depth this team has.

 

This — I believe Morgan, Connor, Bryce, Gary, and Berke can all be the “guy” on any given night.

3 hours ago, Jeff Browne said:

Capable? 

 

Sounds like faint praise. 

 

We've always been "capable." The question is "Capable of what?"

I believe he meant to say "cromulent".

At least we won and had no coach ejections ((cough2006cough).

1 minute ago, hskr4life said:

This — I believe Morgan, Connor, Bryce, Gary, and Berke can all be the “guy” on any given night.

I definitely think Rollie can be the guy as well

Last year, we had 11 guys who averaged at least 30% from beyond the arc. That's right, 11.

Right now, we only have 3 guys with at least 7 attempts who are shooting over 30% from 3 (granted, two of them are well into the 40s).

But, after those 3, of all the guys with at least 7 attempts, nobody else is shooting better than 22.2% from beyond the arc.

On six attempts, Andrew Morgan has hit two (33.3%) so I'm not counting him. But other than Morgan, the only three guys on the team shooting better than 22.2% from beyond the arc right now are Bryce, Connor and Juwan.

That is shocking.

Hawaii was daring Rollie to jack up a 3. Daring him. We'll leave you alone back there, dude, go ahead and take that shot. Nope, we're not gonna let you drive. But we'll leave you wide open to miss that 3-pointer. Him and Berke both.

Chase Bryce, Connor and Juwan off the 3-point line and we might have trouble scoring.

31 minutes ago, big red22 said:

I definitely think Rollie can be the guy as well

To quote Everett Flatch in Hoosiers....."I'm not seeing it".

9 hours ago, B-town hoopsfan said:

When Uhlis gets back he helps but just feels like we are 1 creator or shooter short off the bench.

 

defensive effort of the entire team has been fantastic, Berke has been so much better defensively than advertised. 

I have been impressed as well with Berke and his rebounding as well as his defense.  His shot though is bad right now.  Im trying to think back when I watched him this summer when he played for his country and it seemed like his shot was a lot better then.  We need him to start hitting a few.  With Worster struggling shooting as well that could be a problem when we get into conference play.

46 minutes ago, HB said:

 

To quote Everett Flatch in Hoosiers....."I'm not seeing it".

Ya I was expecting a lot more from Worster.  He does a good job running the show and getting us into our offense but has struggled shooting and with turnovers a both more than I expected.

21 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

Last year, we had 11 guys who averaged at least 30% from beyond the arc. That's right, 11.

 

Right now, we only have 3 guys with at least 7 attempts who are shooting over 30% from 3 (granted, two of them are well into the 40s).

 

But, after those 3, of all the guys with at least 7 attempts, nobody else is shooting better than 22.2% from beyond the arc.

 

On six attempts, Andrew Morgan has hit two (33.3%) so I'm not counting him. But other than Morgan, the only three guys on the team shooting better than 22.2% from beyond the arc right now are Bryce, Connor and Juwan.

 

That is shocking.

 

Hawaii was daring Rollie to jack up a 3. Daring him. We'll leave you alone back there, dude, go ahead and take that shot. Nope, we're not gonna let you drive. But we'll leave you wide open to miss that 3-pointer. Him and Berke both.

 

Chase Bryce, Connor and Juwan off the 3-point line and we might have trouble scoring.

I constantly go back and forth on if this team is better this year than last year because of this. I think we’re really going to struggle to score in the Big Ten because we are not a very good shooting team. I think we are a much better defensive and rebounding team but offensively we miss the role players who could shoot the ball like Wilcher and Lawrence. Hoiberg needs to at least be a threat to shoot the ball in the half court. I have no stats to back this up but it feels like our starting lineup is one of our worst offensive lineups, which makes me very nervous to start games. Meah is getting better, but he could be a force if he was a little tougher. 
 

Neither of these games this tournament have been all that encouraging but we’ll take the wins. I wish Janowski was a little further along because he fills it up in warmups 

1 minute ago, TourneyBound said:

 

Ya I was expecting a lot more from Worster.  He does a good job running the show and getting us into our offense but has struggled shooting and with turnovers a bot more than I expected.

Said it after the Bethune Cookman game. Rollie is way more loose with the ball than I expected him to be. I hoped/thought it would change by now, but it hasn’t yet. He’s really not turning it over at a high rate, but in conference play we need him to be more solid than he’s been. 

1 minute ago, millerhusker said:

Said it after the Bethune Cookman game. Rollie is way more loose with the ball than I expected him to be. I hoped/thought it would change by now, but it hasn’t yet. He’s really not turning it over at a high rate, but in conference play we need him to be more solid than he’s been. 

Are we better with Worster or would we be better if we still had J Law playing PG?  I lean J Law just because of his shooting.  

3 minutes ago, doc1394 said:

I constantly go back and forth on if this team is better this year than last year because of this. I think we’re really going to struggle to score in the Big Ten because we are not a very good shooting team. I think we are a much better defensive and rebounding team but offensively we miss the role players who could shoot the ball like Wilcher and Lawrence. Hoiberg needs to at least be a threat to shoot the ball in the half court. I have no stats to back this up but it feels like our starting lineup is one of our worst offensive lineups, which makes me very nervous to start games. Meah is getting better, but he could be a force if he was a little tougher. 
 

Neither of these games this tournament have been all that encouraging but we’ll take the wins. I wish Janowski was a little further along because he fills it up in warmups 

Last year I thought we were a top 25 quality team based on the eye test. This year’s team might win as many games as we did last year, but the eye test won’t look near as good. But, so far we have a top 15 defense nationally, and defense travels…

1 minute ago, TourneyBound said:

Are we better with Worster or would we be better if we still had J Law playing PG?  I lean J Law just because of his shooting.  

I think I agree, at least for now. Lawrence wasn’t great at creating for others, but Rollie hasn’t been yet this year either. Not having shooters around him certainly doesn’t help. Kind of surprisingly, I thought Lawrence was just more solid and fundamental with the ball in his hands than Rollie. 

9 hours ago, B-town hoopsfan said:

When Uhlis gets back he helps but just feels like we are 1 creator or shooter short off the bench.

 

defensive effort of the entire team has been fantastic, Berke has been so much better defensively than advertised. 

I'm unsure how it is measured; but the ESPN announcers referenced Berke as our #2 rated defender.  I wonder who the top defender is (Juwan???) Or where others fall into place?

Berke is a very good rebounder as well.

Dimes slacking on the Meah dunk infographic is not the championship-level performance I expect from this program.

10 hours ago, B-town hoopsfan said:

When Uhlis gets back he helps but just feels like we are 1 creator or shooter short off the bench.

 

defensive effort of the entire team has been fantastic, Berke has been so much better defensively than advertised. 

If Rollie could only make a shot from beyond the restricted zone.... (I hadn't yet noticed millerhusker's comment above)

1 hour ago, Norm Peterson said:

Last year, we had 11 guys who averaged at least 30% from beyond the arc. That's right, 11.

 

Right now, we only have 3 guys with at least 7 attempts who are shooting over 30% from 3 (granted, two of them are well into the 40s).

 

But, after those 3, of all the guys with at least 7 attempts, nobody else is shooting better than 22.2% from beyond the arc.

 

On six attempts, Andrew Morgan has hit two (33.3%) so I'm not counting him. But other than Morgan, the only three guys on the team shooting better than 22.2% from beyond the arc right now are Bryce, Connor and Juwan.

 

That is shocking.

 

Hawaii was daring Rollie to jack up a 3. Daring him. We'll leave you alone back there, dude, go ahead and take that shot. Nope, we're not gonna let you drive. But we'll leave you wide open to miss that 3-pointer. Him and Berke both.

 

Chase Bryce, Connor and Juwan off the 3-point line and we might have trouble scoring.

Good points Norm.   This is not a good shooting team and I think that is really going to haunt us at times.   Not even close to the shooting ability we had last year.   The only 3 point shooters we have are Connor and Brice.   No one else seems to be any kind of threat from the perimeter.   Teams are noticing that - as you said Hawaii was daring Worster to shoot 3's knowing he can't make them.   As bad as he has looked at times I think we need to find a way to get Griffiths back into the rotation so we can put another shooter in the game.

On the other hand this team does play really good defense - and and times we do a good job rebounding at least when Berke is in the game.   

Those things will likely lead to alot of ugly games.   We may win some ugly ones - but I think we will get boat raced at times too by teams that have good ball movement and can shoot well.

It looks to me as though Rollie has nice form on his jump shot. Makes you wonder whether he is having the same problem as Gavin, trying way too hard and not just letting it go. On a positive note, if these guys can find their stroke (and confidence) we're gonna be a tough team for anyone to handle.

Not sure whether we are better this year than last.  Time will provide the clear answer.   

Last year we seemed more reliant on the perimeter game; this year we seem to enjoy scoring in the paint (when we are not missing bunnies).  Last year we seemed to be a finesse team; this year we seem to be more physical.  Last year we seemed to struggle at time gathering rebounds; this year we seem more consistent going after the ball.  Last year we seemed to have many more defensive lapses; this year we seem to like our defensive identity. 

Yes our three point shooting is (at times) missing in action; but our shot selection seems solid and the form of the shooters appear solid.  I like the odds that our over all percentage will improve as the season wears on.  We shall see, I guess.

The guys are not getting as many reps from three.  Last year everyone let it fly.  This year we are pounding it inside more or driving it. We are selective with our three's, CE or Brice and occasionally Gary.  I also think we are shooter short right now.  Hoped GG would be the guy as I don't think coach will burn Jano's red shirt.

1 hour ago, doc1394 said:

I constantly go back and forth on if this team is better this year than last year because of this. I think we’re really going to struggle to score in the Big Ten because we are not a very good shooting team. I think we are a much better defensive and rebounding team but offensively we miss the role players who could shoot the ball like Wilcher and Lawrence. Hoiberg needs to at least be a threat to shoot the ball in the half court. I have no stats to back this up but it feels like our starting lineup is one of our worst offensive lineups, which makes me very nervous to start games. Meah is getting better, but he could be a force if he was a little tougher. 
 

Neither of these games this tournament have been all that encouraging but we’ll take the wins. I wish Janowski was a little further along because he fills it up in warmups 

Michigan State is 300+ in 3-pt percentage and they didn’t have trouble scoring. We’re also due for some positive shooting regression from a couple guys, Worster and Berke. Also could create a couple more looks for Morgan since he’s capable and just isn’t taking a lot. 
 

I’m still in the camp that we’re better than last year. I don’t feel like we’re screwed if one or two guys are off like I did at times last season. We more diverse in how we can attack, it’s just how quick do we find what’s working each night.

I have been surprised with Rollie’s turnovers, but I can’t deny that his size has been an advantage that helped against Creighton and other teams with smaller guards. A true 6’5” 215 pound point guard isn’t something we’ve had often. 
 

Juwan hitting 3 threes last night was encouraging. GG doesn’t have the confidence right now. He’s a great shooter in practice and was one of the best over the summer. But he’s a liability defensively. And turns it over. I’m afraid he will be on the bench for a while 

1 minute ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

I have been surprised with Rollie’s turnovers, but I can’t deny that his size has been an advantage that helped against Creighton and other teams with smaller guards. A true 6’5” 215 pound point guard isn’t something we’ve had often. 
 

Juwan hitting 3 threes last night was encouraging. GG doesn’t have the confidence right now. He’s a great shooter in practice and was one of the best over the summer. But he’s a liability defensively. And turns it over. I’m afraid he will be on the bench for a while 

Yes.  Our length on the perimeter is insane when Rollie and Brice are guarding the 1-2 at 6’5 (with weight) and 6’7”.  Add Juwan who can also guard 1-5 and is a bully with 1-2 physical trees helping and cleaning up the glass and they are really tough. Rollie also rebounds well and puts a ton of pressure on defenses in transition as a result.  He hasn’t had elite TO:A but it’s still decent.  Having kids like him is sort of like having a power running game in FB.  It doesn’t show up in the stats but it tends to wear down opponents.  
 

Our team has been elite at getting to the line and making FTs.  Their defense is as good as any NU team I’ve ever seen to this point in a season.  MSU is a very similar team to us with a little more in the front court.  Terrible matchup.  But we’re definitely going to be a team no one wants to play because it will be ugly so often.  Fine by me.