The Creighton game - aberration or not - revealed some weaknesses in our game plan that need immediate adjustment.
Offense:
A transfer point guard from BU - Maurice Watson - singlehandedly dishes 14 assists in the Creighton game and we as a team compile 8. That is a sign that the offense isn't working and needs adjustment - either another shooter on the floor or some new sets to cope with what coaches are throwing at us. The defense is double-teaming Whitehead before he can even set up an offense. Defenses are also doubling on Angel. Someone has to be open and the ball needs to move faster by passing - not always a dribble display. Our guards are skilled at driving, but we need to find some other ways to score besides driving into the teeth of the defense 90 percent of the time. It's too predictable.
Defense:
With only three guards to rely on, man-to-man defense can still be the defense of choice but the coaches are going to have to switch occasionally to a zone to protect the players and to,just switch it up. All good teams do this - we should be no different. Whitehead got his third foul before the first half was over. Mixing up the D and showing some zone occasionally can only help, especially against poor outside shooting teams.
Fundamentals:
Boxing out on defense should not be a lost art. Nor should fronting your man and not letting him get easy inside position. Jerry Walker was a master at denying the ball and fronting his man to make it difficult to score. Jerry worked hard on defense, and it was a joy to watch him out duel taller opponents. Angel too often let his guy score at will in the Creighton game - it was way too easy. Same against Nova. Bentil is super-skilled and will take it to us i. The Providence game unless the coaches zero in on this and fix it and insist on a better defensive scheme inside. How about inviting Jerry Walker in for some specialized big man instruction? Maybe it's been done already - this has got to improve for the team to have a prayer against some of these highly skilled bigs.
Shooting:
In Willard's post game with Popkin, he singled out Khadeen as driving too much and not looking to dish. I'm not sure who Khadeen can dish to for the 3 besides Whitehead and Desi. Willard admitted this team has very few outside scoring threats now that Sina and Gibbs are gone. So the challenge for Willard is to change his lineup so the offense has some sort of balance and the guards aren't forced into kamikaze drives so often. Play Desi and Veer together? Play three guards together more often? Create more movement without the ball so Sonogo and others can get easier looks? Let Gordon run the point more to free up Whitehead and Khadeen for some easier outside looks?
The fans around me were incredibly astute during the Creighton game recognizing poor offense, lack of crisp passing and movement without the basketball, lack of boxing out, and poor foul shooting. It's on the players to execute, but it's on the coaching staff to put together a game plan that these players can execute and win with.
Offense:
A transfer point guard from BU - Maurice Watson - singlehandedly dishes 14 assists in the Creighton game and we as a team compile 8. That is a sign that the offense isn't working and needs adjustment - either another shooter on the floor or some new sets to cope with what coaches are throwing at us. The defense is double-teaming Whitehead before he can even set up an offense. Defenses are also doubling on Angel. Someone has to be open and the ball needs to move faster by passing - not always a dribble display. Our guards are skilled at driving, but we need to find some other ways to score besides driving into the teeth of the defense 90 percent of the time. It's too predictable.
Defense:
With only three guards to rely on, man-to-man defense can still be the defense of choice but the coaches are going to have to switch occasionally to a zone to protect the players and to,just switch it up. All good teams do this - we should be no different. Whitehead got his third foul before the first half was over. Mixing up the D and showing some zone occasionally can only help, especially against poor outside shooting teams.
Fundamentals:
Boxing out on defense should not be a lost art. Nor should fronting your man and not letting him get easy inside position. Jerry Walker was a master at denying the ball and fronting his man to make it difficult to score. Jerry worked hard on defense, and it was a joy to watch him out duel taller opponents. Angel too often let his guy score at will in the Creighton game - it was way too easy. Same against Nova. Bentil is super-skilled and will take it to us i. The Providence game unless the coaches zero in on this and fix it and insist on a better defensive scheme inside. How about inviting Jerry Walker in for some specialized big man instruction? Maybe it's been done already - this has got to improve for the team to have a prayer against some of these highly skilled bigs.
Shooting:
In Willard's post game with Popkin, he singled out Khadeen as driving too much and not looking to dish. I'm not sure who Khadeen can dish to for the 3 besides Whitehead and Desi. Willard admitted this team has very few outside scoring threats now that Sina and Gibbs are gone. So the challenge for Willard is to change his lineup so the offense has some sort of balance and the guards aren't forced into kamikaze drives so often. Play Desi and Veer together? Play three guards together more often? Create more movement without the ball so Sonogo and others can get easier looks? Let Gordon run the point more to free up Whitehead and Khadeen for some easier outside looks?
The fans around me were incredibly astute during the Creighton game recognizing poor offense, lack of crisp passing and movement without the basketball, lack of boxing out, and poor foul shooting. It's on the players to execute, but it's on the coaching staff to put together a game plan that these players can execute and win with.
