basketballjones

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to say I know more than anyone or saying I could do better with my "4th grade squad" -- just my observations. 1. No transition flow -- Transition offense is not just about getting easy lay-ups or fast break lay-ups. It's also about getting the ball pushed and ahead of the defense, keeping them off guard, being on the attack, and forcing the defense to be one step behind (constantly rotating and closing out). We have no flow or early action -- the ball just ends up getting walked up forcing us to always be in a set or some sort of continuous action. Get the ball pushed ahead, attack the paint, swing the ball, get people moving and flowing. 2. Went away from our strengths for quite some time. Once we finally got stuff going in the first half it was because we got the ball inside -- that doesn't necessarily mean we got scores right off that, but we got paint touches which created other things. Then we got cute and went away from that, went continuous hand-offs and ball screens... Took away most post play. 3. Gave up taking good shots to shoot.... terrible shots. We would have guys get looks at kick-out 3's (now, I know some of them were a bit early), but guys would instead decide to drive (which is fine), and drop-off passes to guys like Almeida or Rivers who would eventually just settle for a 15' jumper. That's a terrible alternative in my opinion. Mid-range game is best off the bounce -- very few players are capable mid-range shooters off a kick-out. Why not shoot kick-out 3's? Best shot in basketball outside of a lay-up in my opinion. A positive though -- Shavon Shields is a heck of a player. He's also huge and looks like he's still growing. He's the type of player that just makes plays, looks to have great fundamentals, and will play an excellent role in this program as we become a better team.

Hmmmm.... A few observations: 1. Can a brotha get a pair of shorts that fit? Catholic schools really taking the "above the knee" approach a little too far. 2. Looks pretty raw offensively. Doesn't seem to catch it well or have a ton of moves. Liked his stroke from the FT Line. 3. Rebounder and shot blocker, obviously. And heck, we've missed a 4-man like that for a long time. A guy who can just change the game from an athletic stand-point. 4. My Lord... Are we sure we're recruiting him for basketball? Looks like he needs to be running the 100m or 200m. He's barely getting to top speed by half-court and he's got to bog it down. Looks like he has another gear or two. I'd be really surprised is Duke is really after him. But hey, it sure helps. I'd be lying if I didn't say that he was probably 5 or 6 on the guys I noticed while watching that film.

Just gonna throw this out there -- but I don't think some of you realize how competitive Deverell Biggs is. He will be right there to start at point. And this is coming from someone who is not a big fan of Biggs as a person.

Worst arena?

We are 6-1, not 5-1. Fix it before I throw a fit!

Ubel vs. McDermott is getting. Bird vs. Magic 2.0 if you ask me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oShf9yw7leg Can't you see Brandon and Doug sitting down with a talk show host in 30 years to recap this monumental game? Wait... You telling me this game isn't even on TV????

Great post and clarification. I agree -- we might not win too many games this year but it sure is fun to watch some "actual" basketball this year. Our players are

1. Andre needs to get better shots. His hook is going to be so inconsistent all year -- guarantee it. He needs to use his big body, soft hands, and skill to shot fake, pivot, shot fake, get guys up in the air and either get easy lay-ups or get to free throw line. That hook is going to fail him too often. We absolutely need Big-Andre to be a 12 and 8 player for us. 2. Dylan Talley cannot have nights like that. End of discussion. 3. Poor execution (in my opinion), on the free throw at the end of the game. You have to have a couple people up on the paint to get in front of people and make that 3 harder. He got a free release and free look at the hoop -- that goes in, and a lot of people are very pissed right now at that execution, guarantee it. That's all I got... Didn't get to see a ton of the game -- but, one other thing... We might not be that bad this year. Maybe. Possibly. Heck, who knows.

My really well thought out, detailed, specific opinion: "He looked pretty bad."

Hope you don't get too big headed with those seats, Norm! Still spend some time with us little people, please.

I can say, without any shade of a doubt, that we won it in OT last year. I wish I could post a picture of the evidence that I have of this, but I cannot. This will never be put to bed though, and it's hilarious. I cannot wait til the ESPN 30 for 30 comes out on the Husker/ISU scrimmage of 2011.

I'm cool with a PF named Duncan.

It's a defensive line -- some sort of pack line tool. Jump to the ball, sink to the level of that line to stop the drive.

Seriously?

It means I have posted and my self-portrait is accompanied in the post.

Hear hear!

I should be able to provide some possible practice nuggets every once-in-a-while. I'll try my hardest, but no guarantees.

Transferring my post count over won't have any effect on the already poor quality of my posts anyways