uneblinstu's post game chatter: ed 6, vol 10: Creighton

OK, there were some positives from last night.  Not many, but some.

 

We shot over 59% from the floor in the 2nd half and over 57% from 3 in the 2nd half while only taking 7 three-pointers in the last 20 minutes.  That suggests to me that they didn't just cash in their chips but still kept playing hard to the very end.  Good for them.

 

OK, that's what I got.  Anyone else?

Shavon went for over 20.  Maybe he's starting to pull out of his funk?

Terran had a couple of the most filthy dunks we've seen since Caleb Walker.

Wow. 

He's not mincing any words, is he?

Has anyone been able to find the audio from the teleconference?

So does that mean in practice or on the court?

Because if it means on the court it is hard to show anything if you ain't on it.

Another positive: the fan supporters (in at least some cases) are able to find positives in even a horrific beat down.

Has anyone been able to find the audio from the teleconference?

I'll post when it's available

 

Has anyone been able to find the audio from the teleconference?

 

I'll post when it's available

 

C'mon, Dimes.  Players make plays.  Are you going to wait around for someone else to make it available or are you going to "available" it!  Go make a play! 

 

Wow. 

 

He's not mincing any words, is he?

 

The thing i don't understand is how he went from starting 5 games to not playing at all. I didn't feel like he played bad in the games he started.

 

 

Wow. 

 

He's not mincing any words, is he?

 

The thing i don't understand is how he went from starting 5 games to not playing at all. I didn't feel like he played bad in the games he started.

 

He had 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 15 minutes against a bad Northern Illinois team.

I'm guessing Miles watched that film and said that's not gonna cut it.

I suspect we're going to have a lot more open scholarships for next year than we currently anticipate.

Yeah thanks for three years playing for a crappy team, but your senior year when we could be okay don't let the doer hit you in the butt, and so what if you don't get a degree.

If this happens my "support" of this program will need to be looked at long and hard.

Yeah thanks for three years playing for a crappy team, but your senior year when we could be okay don't let the doer hit you in the butt, and so what if you don't get a degree.

If this happens my "support" of this program will need to be looked at long and hard.

For the record, I think Rivers is the least likely of the 3 in question to leave. For the reasons you give. But, you only get 13 scholarships to try and build a winning team. We need to utilize every last one of them on players who are going to add something of value.

Yeah thanks for three years playing for a crappy team, but your senior year when we could be okay don't let the doer hit you in the butt, and so what if you don't get a degree.

If this happens my "support" of this program will need to be looked at long and hard.

No one wants to see Rivers transfer...they want to see him play better.  

The next time he enters a game he should battle out there like it could be his last...that will get you minutes.

I agree I wish he would have just started out where he left off last year.

Oh well I wish for many things that don't always pan out.

I rewatched the first 10 minutes and was even more dismayed than watching the first time.  So many fundamental breakdowns and downright pathetic effort.  Upon first watch, I was at least trying to convince myself that CU was just playing out of its mind and we were fighting some nerves.  But upon 2nd watch, it was so much deeper than that.  A few (of the many, many, thoughts):

1.  Miles said before the game that the offense is only clicking at about 35%.  Wow!  Why is this.  I realize a lot of the guys are playing for NU first the first time this year, but Shields and Gallegos played huge minutes last year, and Pitchford, Petteway, and Biggs all were on the team all of last year and practiced with the team all of last year.  That is 5 out of a rotation of 7 or 8.  Did they not learn any of the offense while practicing?  Did Miles only allow them to run scout?  I just don't understand why these guys aren't a little further along in their knowledge and ability to run the offense since you 5 of out of 7 were on the team last year.

2.  Pitchford is just atrocious at defense.  He jumps on pump fakes from Gibbs 25 feet from the basket and then just watches him go by.  He has no court awareness.  When he is in the post, he is ball watching and has no idea when players are cutting right underneath him.  Very poor in almost every facet of defense.  The only question is whether these are things he can learn and get better.  I guess it can't get any worse.

3.  The entire team played stuipid and lethargic.  This includes EVERYONE that stepped on the floor.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw Wragge's man drift all the way into the paint on multiple occasions (including Shields).  Huh?  Was there not a scouting report?  Did anyone pay any atention.  Everyone on our team bites on ball fakes.  What is this, junior high?  Transition defense was a complete travesty.  Nobody knew how to help and recover.  Manigot had about 15 seconds after he caught the ball and nobody still nobody bothered to rotate or contest the shot.  NU players did NOT fight through screens.  They did not communicate.  No intensity on defense.  They did not box out.  lazy, lazy, lazy.

4.  Lazy and lethargic.  The energy level was completely uncacceptable.  Leslee Smith played did more jogging in that game than a 100 year old marathon runner.  While Mc D, Gibbs,, Brooks, etc were sprinting down the court, Leslee was content to slowly jog.  When he finally did arrive down to the defensive end, he parked himself in the middle of the paint and just watched as a CU player shot from the corner--meanwhile, a CU guard crashes the boards and gets the rebound in the middle of 4 (yes 4) NU players who are all just watching the ball rather than putting a body on him.

5.  Terran - Terran played an unbelievable 2nd hald and may have even won me over with his 2nd half effort.  But with that said, his first 10 minutes were equally bad.  He failed to block out on multiple occasions.  Its as if this team has never heard the term box out.  Terran would be right under the basket when the shot went up and a CU player would slip right in front of him while Terran is still just watching the ball in the air.  TP, as so many NU players, was completely unaware of what was going on around him (then TP compounds it by pushing the CU player in the back and getting a foul).  I also felt that TP first 4 shots were all bad shots (of course, one could say that NU's first 20 shots total were bad, but I am focusing in TP here). 

6.  Biggs looked like a chicken with his head cut off to me. 

7.  Tai - I keep waiting and waiting for him to have a breakout game and it simply has not come.  At some point one begins to wonder if he has it in him.  But this is only game 7 for a very young true freshman who is clearly trying to be a distributor and not "rock the boat" right now.  But he has to find his scoring game soon.  He can't play 30 minutes and only take 2 shots.  And he needs to start hitting a few jumpers or teams are going to play 10 feet off him and dare him to shoot all game long. 

8.  Shields, like TP, had a great 2nd half.  But his first half was equally bad.  He forced multiple shots.  Got lost on defense, didn't fight through screens, lost him man (ie left Wragge WIDE open), etc. 

9.  Discipline - NU got down early and clearly panicked by jacking up 3 after 3 after 3.  And they all took there turns, and nobody ever took leadership to stop it.  NU shot 1-12 on 3s in the first half.  That is Miami bad.  Problem is that CU took away Gallegos and Pitchford was cold from 3 land (had 2 rim out though).  The rest of the guys are not very reliable from downtown, which allowed CU to pack the paint and dare all the rest to shoot from behind the arc.  If NU isn't hitting the 3 point shot, at least enough to keep the opposing defense honest, it is going to struggle.  Man, NU's games seem to go sooo much better when Pitchford hits that first 3 ball.

I am not giving up on these guys.  I realize they are very young and inexperienced.  I am more in a discovery and assessment mode.  My question is more long-term.  I am trying to assess whether these guys can put it all together, whether later this year or even next year or the year after.  I just don't know right now.  For instance, Pitchford plays sooo soft, I am not sure that 20 years of coaching can change that.  The effort and fundamentals should not be this poor for guys who have been playing this long (Pitchford, Petteway and Biggs are in their 3rd year or college ball; Leslee is 23 years old and in his 4th year of college ball; Gallegos is a 5th year senior; Shields played huge minutes last year, etc.).  I realize they don't have a ton of game experience, but geez, I hope they are learning something in practice.  Some guys just never get it.  Let's hope these guys can get it, and the sooner the better.

According to Nick Bahe a big focus of the Creighton team was to focus on Gallegos and fill the lane.

Looks like that worked pretty well.

I rewatched the first 10 minutes and .....

Oy, my kingdom for a Cliff Notes filter.

I'm surprised nobody has brought up the fact that we probably had more dunks against Creighton than we have had in a single game in as long as I can remember

I'm surprised nobody has brought up the fact that we probably had more dunks against Creighton than we have had in a single game in as long as I can remember

Yeah, that was the athleticism advantage we were supposed to utilize but inexplicably waited until the game was over to start doing.

If they would only have amended the rule so that dunks would count for 10 points, we would have won this game handily.