Fronting Azubuike?

[carolinacat]

I thought that was poor strategy. He sealed us off every time and went 5/5 from the field ...all on dunks. Play him from behind and force him to make an offensive move, or double down on him when he catches the ball.

Otherwise, I'm happy with our team. I think our ceiling is higher than last year. I'd say Knox is an upgrade at SF versus Briscoe, and Diallo and SGA are dynamic wings who will just get better and better. My ideal lineup is 1. Green. 2. SGA. 3. Diallo (SF) 4. Knox...5. Sacha. That is as talented a starting 5 as we've had since 2012.

 

[EliteBlue]

Agree. And late in the last 3 minutes of that game we should have put him on the line everytime he touched it.

 

[Drcatfan]

I would play behind him and bear hug him if he caught the ball. When Kansas was in the bonus I would dare them to throw him the ball. I like our odds with a 30% free throw shooter shooting 1 and 1

 

[ManitouDan_anon]

Dude cant score outside a dunk .. NO dont front that Sasquatch . Thats insane , Let him catch .. BEG HIM TO CATCH IT . And let him screw it up . Dude is awful. His only attribute is being large .

 

[Aike]

I thought that was poor strategy. He sealed us off every time and went 5/5 from the field ...all on dunks. Play him from behind and force him to make an offensive move, or double down on him when he catches the ball.

Otherwise, I'm happy with our team. I think our ceiling is higher than last year. I'd say Knox is an upgrade at SF versus Briscoe, and Diallo and SGA are dynamic wings who will just get better and better. My ideal lineup is 1. Green. 2. SGA. 3. Diallo (SF) 4. Knox...5. Sacha. That is as talented a starting 5 as we've had since 2012.

No way on earth that lineup is as talented as any since 2012. It isn't particularly close to that.

 

[ManitouDan_anon]

Those 5 as talented as groups we have had the past 5 years .. son what are you smoking ?

 

[Sithlyone]

Agree. And late in the last 3 minutes of that game we should have put him on the line everytime he touched it.

I thought this would be a good strategy as well, until I thought about our foul trouble. Who would you want fouling him? Most of our team had two fouls if not three or four. Before long we'd be in serious trouble (we kinda were already).

Besides we didn't need to foul him to win. All we needed to do was learn to grab rebounds with two hands and we'd won this game going away. Second chance opportunities provided at least 15-20 points for them (estimating here) and took away opportunities for us. If we'd just grabbed half of those 50/50 balls we'd taken 7-10 points away from them and if we scored on only half of those new opportunities we'd added 3-6 points to our score. That's a 10-16 point swing, we lost by 4. We got better in the 2nd half but we still were playing volleyball out there at times instead of going up and snatching that ball with authority.

In either case I'd rather our team learn fundamentals instead of fouling for gamesmanship at this point in the season. We needed this type of game.

 

[SwampMaster]

Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.

 

[carolinacat]

Those 5 as talented as groups we have had the past 5 years .. son what are you smoking ?

So who's better? Knox and Diallo are as good as ANY players we've had since the AD/MKG team. Sensational, athletic wing players are a prerequisite to NCAA titles. You can look it up. Be thankful.

 

[Sithlyone]

I thought that was poor strategy. He sealed us off every time and went 5/5 from the field ...all on dunks. Play him from behind and force him to make an offensive move, or double down on him when he catches the ball.

Otherwise, I'm happy with our team. I think our ceiling is higher than last year. I'd say Knox is an upgrade at SF versus Briscoe, and Diallo and SGA are dynamic wings who will just get better and better. My ideal lineup is 1. Green. 2. SGA. 3. Diallo (SF) 4. Knox...5. Sacha. That is as talented a starting 5 as we've had since 2012.

38-0 Says Hi! [pfftt]

 

[carolinacat]

38-0 Says Hi! [pfftt]

That team had more depth.....not necessarily a better starting 5.

 

[ManitouDan_anon]

So who's better? Knox and Diallo are as good as ANY players we've had since the AD/MKG team. Sensational, athletic wing players are a prerequisite to NCAA titles. You can look it up. Be thankful.

Ok , I dont agree at all , No need to argue , I think you better go roll in some butter , a roasting is headed your way

 

[Sithlyone]

That team had more depth.....not necessarily a better starting 5.

9 members of that team are in the NBA right now... NINE. Derrick and Dom are the only two not still in college and not in the NBA. Marcus Lee is doing quite well for himself at Cal.

I guarantee that if you took the best 5 players off of that team you'd wipe the floor with this one. Cal didn't play the better starting 5 all together. He spread the wealth of talent across two starting lineups.

 

[ManitouDan_anon]

I'm not 100% certain aikenite4UK was even born before 2012 .. lol

 

[Stonewall12]

Yea should never front a post player.

 

[Big John Stud]

Yea should never front a post player.

Why do you all always speak on absolutes? The OP wasn't saying never front a post player. He was questioning fronting this particular post player who hasn't shown an ability to do anything but dunk.

 

[Big John Stud]

I would play behind him and bear hug him if he caught the ball. When Kansas was in the bonus I would dare them to throw him the ball. I like our odds with a 30% free throw shooter shooting 1 and 1

I'd play behind him and dare him to make a basket that wasn't a dunk.

 

[Stonewall12]

Why do you all always speak on absolutes? The OP wasn't saying never front a post player. He was questioning fronting this particular post player who hasn't shown an ability to do anything but dunk.

Wtf are you talking about? Come at me attacking me?

I was not being sarcastic when I said that. You should never front a player but especially Buike.

 

[carolinacat]

9 members of that team are in the NBA right now... NINE. Derrick and Dom are the only two not still in college and not in the NBA. Marcus Lee is doing quite well for himself at Cal.

I guarantee that if you took the best 5 players off of that team you'd wipe the floor with this one. Cal didn't play the better starting 5 all together. He spread the wealth of talent across two starting lineups.

Well, the season isn't over...this team will be really good by year's end. KAT was the ONLY star quality player on that team. So count those NBA players...are you including D league types like the twins?

 

[CatsFan4Evr]

We should have played Hack-a-Shaq on his *** for the final 4 minutes of the game. We would have won.

 

[Cardsstink]

Those 5 as talented as groups we have had the past 5 years .. son what are you smoking ?

I thought that was crazy, too. Fox, Monk and Bam alone are more talented than Green, SGA, Knox, Diallo and SKJ.

 

[kybassfan]

There was a fat boy that played for Auburn a few years ago. The guy just make our superior talent look pathetic. Basically pushed us around the whole game. Score when he chose. Fans thought our guys weren't trying or playing poorly, including me.

The guy's name was Charles Barkley. Maybe a few of you might recall him. He did same thing to the NBA that he did to us. I'm not saying Azubuike is another Barkley, but the kid played a good game. We have a few that like to downplay raw strength as athleticism. Well, they're wrong. Just try playing with someone that can bench or clean about double what you can.

 

[carolinacat]

I thought that was crazy, too. Fox, Monk and Bam alone are more talented than Green, SGA, Knox, Diallo and SKJ.

So you think Knox isn't the most talented all around forward Cal has recruited at UK? Isn't Diallo the most explosive athlete Cal has recruited at UK? SGA has a huge upside...as does Green. These guys are just getting started. We'll see how good they are by March. I'm not knocking Fox/Monk and Bam...but last year we were playing 4 on 5 because we had a 6-3 forward who couldn't shoot playing heavy minutes, and a 6-9 forward who was a decent player but had his limitations. This team is more well rounded and will be better than last year's team come March.

 

[Cardsstink]

So you think Knox isn't the most talented all around forward Cal has recruited at UK? Isn't Diallo the most explosive athlete Cal has recruited at UK? SGA has a huge upside...as does Green. These guys are just getting started. We'll see how good they are by March. I'm not knocking Fox/Monk and Bam...but last year we were playing 4 on 5 because we had a 6-3 forward who couldn't shoot playing heavy minutes, and a 6-9 forward who was a decent player but had his limitations. This team is more well rounded and will be better than last year's team come March.

I hope you are right. But last years backcourt was lethal and that’s what takes you deep in March.

 

[carolinacat]

I hope you are right. But last years backcourt was lethal and that’s what takes you deep in March.

I agree....part of my thesis is Green and SGA both show significant improvement over the course of the season. I think they're highly skilled players who are winners...both shoot the ball pretty well. SGA is a disruptor on defense...I think he will ultimately be better than either Monk or Fox on D. We shall see.

 

[trinity45_rivals378029]

I thought that was poor strategy. He sealed us off every time and went 5/5 from the field ...all on dunks. Play him from behind and force him to make an offensive move, or double down on him when he catches the ball.

Otherwise, I'm happy with our team. I think our ceiling is higher than last year. I'd say Knox is an upgrade at SF versus Briscoe, and Diallo and SGA are dynamic wings who will just get better and better. My ideal lineup is 1. Green. 2. SGA. 3. Diallo (SF) 4. Knox...5. Sacha. That is as talented a starting 5 as we've had since 2012.

If you are going to front, there has to be some help coming from the weak side, other wise if they make the pass its a cake walk.

 

[Cardsstink]

I agree....part of my thesis is Green and SGA both show significant improvement over the course of the season. I think they're highly skilled players who are winners...both shoot the ball pretty well. SGA is a disruptor on defense...I think he will ultimately be better than either Monk or Fox on D. We shall see.

SGA better than Fox or Monk by the end of the first year? I think that's nuts but we will see. Monk didn't play any defense, so there's a chance you end up correct. IF they can combine for 15 points a game then we may very well be in good shape.

 

[UKxWildcats]

I agree on making him play back to the basket. Stop trying to deny the entry pass and guard the rim.

 

[TheAnonymous13]

Considering his size, how poorly KU was shooting and cats perimeter length - - - Zone seemed like the answer.
But alas ---

 

[TheDonJiggy]

The danger with playing behind him is that his 270 lbs backs you down completely under the basket and he dunks anyway. I think the idea here was to use our length to try and deny entry. Obviously didn't work. This was a terrible matchup no matter whether we fronted or played behind.

 

[sambowieshin_rivals]

I agree....part of my thesis is Green and SGA both show significant improvement over the course of the season. I think they're highly skilled players who are winners...both shoot the ball pretty well. SGA is a disruptor on defense...I think he will ultimately be better than either Monk or Fox on D. We shall see.

Love the optimism but Monk and Fox would slice thru Green and SGA like a hot knife thru butter.

 

[Catzman]

Exact same thing I kept screaming at my tv, but what do I know? He'd either get a charge trying to make a move like Dakari used to get, or he'd fumble it/get stripped. Worst case scenario you foul him and he goes MAYBE 1 for 2 at the line. I thought that was a poor strategy the entire game but Cal must have had a reason.

 

[carolinacat]

SGA better than Fox or Monk by the end of the first year? I think that's nuts but we will see. Monk didn't play any defense, so there's a chance you end up correct. IF they can combine for 15 points a game then we may very well be in good shape.

I was speaking specifically to defense.