I am wondering why we didn’t go offense/defense in the final 90 seconds to get Gelo and Clayton off the floor in obvious foul situations… we left our two worst fouls shooters in and they took every free throw in that span, missing a bunch. Sub in Reid and Green? So many head scratchers this season.
Strategy?
- Thread starter SouthportCat
- Start date
I forgot Green was on the team. Is he hurt or just sharing space in the doghouse with KJ?
They both were in the locker room playing cards with Mullins.
The options on this team are so limited. Green hasn’t played in 3 games, so it’s hard to just throw him out there in that situation. Reid was surprising.
CCC has shown this year that he is going to play who gets hot. At much as substitutions can be puzzling, the players are painfully inconsistent. Yesterday, we got very little from 3 staters. Every single player has flashed on occasion and we think a breakout is in the horizon. Reid, Page, West, Tre, Gelo, and now Clayton have had monster games and then seem to disappear. KJ, Green, and Mullins are in fact in the NU witness protection program. CCC said he believes the basketball Gods reward those that put in the work. We don’t know what happens in practice.
I agree that CCC has shown that he is always going to ride the hot hand. Reid sat most of the second half because he was turning the ball over and shooting poorly. Page apparently banged up his knee in the first half and CCC said in his press conference that he didn't think he was moving well during 2nd half warmups, so he sat him.
While I understand his philosophy of staying with the players who doing well in the game (can you imagine the comments on the board if he sat Clayton in the middle of his hot shooting?), I do see a few downsides. First, I think it doesn't help foster chemistry. Especially with a young team, not having consistent lineups and predictable substitutions makes it hard for the team to gel. I can't remember seeing this many errant passes this late in the season, where teammates are clearly not on the same page on where on the court they expect each other to be.
Second, even the hot hands need a breather now and then, but I think this philosophy ends up costing us in fatigue down the stretch. CCC even mentioned that that the team has struggled to hold leads right around the under 12 timeout in the 2nd half - I would assert that this is partially due to inexperience in responding the opposing teams making a run, but also just simply due to tired legs. which impacts both ends of the court.
Finally, while I don't think this has actually happened this much this season, when players know they are on a short leash, I can't help but think they will play "tighter" and end up making more mistakes and shooting poorly. I imagine that most players probably perform better when they can play "loose" and not be worried about getting benched for their first mistake and not seeing the court again the rest of the game.
Reid had a terrible game. Understandable why he was not in there, Green, hard to put him in there cold. Paige is only about a 65% FT shooter.
Green has clearly lost his confidence. He showed early on that he can make threes but he has to believe. He was continually unable or unwilling to get open shots up. He who hesitates is lost. Clayton got the ball against their zone ready to shoot and fired with confidence. I think Green has it in him but he's got to get his belief back.
That goes for the whole team. Most of these guys don’t seem to have that confidence right now.
It's interesting... I was cringing at our free throw shooting last night. But watching Gelo and Clayton take their free throws, I noticed that they both rushed their first attempts and their shot form and shot result looked off. Then, they seemed to gather themselves and slow down and their form looked rather different on the second attempt, which went in. This is a small sample size, but I really think these guys are still not calm and confident out there and it's causing our shooting to be so poor. Collins alluded to this a little in his press conference in saying that he is surprised at how bad our shooting has been this year because they are not bad shooters. This leads me to believe our guys make shots in practice when the pressure if off, so they mechanically can shoot well. But then the mental aspect grabs them in the game and throws everything off.
Yes, agree completely... except he is an 85% shooter at the line and I am talking about the final 90 seconds. Obviously he shouldn't have replaced the guys making shots, but he does one thing better than every other guy on the team and it was the one thing that was about to happen. This isn't a statement about overall playing time.
If you woke Green up in the middle of the night and put him on the FT line, he’d be a better option than half the guys on our roster.
It’s easier to hit the second free throw. That’s a real thing. The first one is the adjustment. A free throw does not feel like a catch and shoot three or a pull up in rhythm. You’re coming from game speed, contact, reads, noise, and then everything just stops. Different tempo. Different feel.
That first one lets you settle in. You get the ball, you feel the depth, you see how it’s coming off your hand in that moment. Good free throw shooters are already composed when they step up there, so the drop off isn’t as drastic, if at all. For a lot of guys, though, the first rep is what gets them steady. It’s hard to replicate that shift in energy and pressure in a gym. That’s why a lot of players shoot it better in workouts.
Same with jumpers. It’s tough to simulate the pressure of not just fans but of you only get about X amount of shots a game to make your impact.
There’s more to late-game rotations than just offense/defense substitutions.
In those moments you have to trust your guy to execute the details. Can he get open against denial? Can he meet the pass instead of waiting on it? Can he chin it, pivot through pressure, and make the right read without panicking? Late game is about ball security and poise just as much as shot making. If you don’t trust a player to get open, get secure the ball, and get fouled, you’re shrinking your own options.
There’s also a culture component. When players see that strong practice habits and two-way consistency translate to real minutes, especially in leverage situations, that matters. The message can’t just be “produce offensively.” It has to be “defend, value the ball, execute, and you’ll be trusted.” That carries into the offseason.
This group has real work ahead. If you want internal development to close the gap in the Big Ten, guys have to believe there’s a pathway. Late game trust isn’t just about that possession. It’s about setting a standard for what earns the floor.
The win is what matters and they got it.
In those moments you have to trust your guy to execute the details. Can he get open against denial? Can he meet the pass instead of waiting on it? Can he chin it, pivot through pressure, and make the right read without panicking? Late game is about ball security and poise just as much as shot making. If you don’t trust a player to get open, get secure the ball, and get fouled, you’re shrinking your own options.
There’s also a culture component. When players see that strong practice habits and two-way consistency translate to real minutes, especially in leverage situations, that matters. The message can’t just be “produce offensively.” It has to be “defend, value the ball, execute, and you’ll be trusted.” That carries into the offseason.
This group has real work ahead. If you want internal development to close the gap in the Big Ten, guys have to believe there’s a pathway. Late game trust isn’t just about that possession. It’s about setting a standard for what earns the floor.
The win is what matters and they got it.
I guess I understand your logic, but most D1 players shoot well over 50%. So, most guys are making that first free throw most of the time. I think practice, consistency and mental focus can overcome a lot of what you are saying. Gelo is at 55% and Jordan is at 54%. Clearly, that isn't good enough for key rotation guards on a BIG team.
(In fairness, Jordan only has 13 attempts, so if he makes his next 4 free throws, his numbers look a whole lot better.)
Ya, these guys work very hard to overcome what I said. Also you can shoot any percentage short of 100% and still be better on your second free throw than your first. I didn’t say you always miss it. Just it’s a more difficult free throw. Good players make shots.
Well reasoned. I still push back that obviously Reid has done all the cultural and work ethic things you note as evidenced by his starting role and stable playing time. He’s also an upperclassman and our lead guard, so I have no concerns that he might make a boner on an inbounds in a late game protect the lead scenario. We have seen Nick do that with lousy entry passes multiple times, so it is hardly something only young or poor players do. My point still stands - Reid should be in that game on our possessions to catch the pass and take the foul shots over Clayton all day.
I like Reid a lot. He was uncharacteristically turning the ball over a ton that game. Clayton couldn’t miss from 3. Clayton resembles the culture Collins wants in his program as well as anyone. Despite his limitations.
Play who gets hot? He played Clayton every game and at one point this season he was 1-21 from 3…
But he kept playing him and EVENTUALLY he got hot.
Kept playing him is the key.
When kids know the coach has their back, they eventually start performing…
I’m not commenting on who should be playing, I’m commenting on the comment that said he plays the hot hand.
6 man rotation in the 2nd half worked tonight. I don’t hear clamoring for bench guys tonight.
You know my views, so I won’t keep going to the well. But if development is the end game, Max Green should be getting run.
Isn’t it obvious. Clayton and Kropp played 6 minutes today. The problem is we don’t typically have 5 guys playing well. AP and Reid rode the pine when they weren’t doing anything. The worked their way back, the others had extended periods of bad.