Is 5 games enough to assess if there has been regression? Also 4 out of 5 games have been opponents that are atypical to what we see in B1G. We will see 90% man in B1G play, (don't tell me teams will play zone...take the 90% to the bank). Also B1G play will require our players to stop a better player so I'd think the premium for defense is more.
Things will get worse
- Thread starter zappaa
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I have to admit I did say the Paul Mulcahy is my point guard was coach speak. So far it kind of hasn't been.
Geo needs to be the point guard. In a way it is an indictment on Geo because he doesn't do enough off the ball to get looks as a 2 guard. Paul as a 2 or 3 is in a scoring slot on the court, isn't a scorer, and is a MINUS defender. However he has intangibles and hustles. Intangilbles PLUS something wins in B1G, not intanglibles alone.
I said coming in to the season the amount of minutes Paul plays will tell us where we are at. If Paul played 15-20 minutes it would be a good sign. If Paul plays more it is because there aren't better options.
Against the teams they have played, you would expect to not see regression or too much struggle.
What sticks out most is Caleb and the free style/iso play he has. If he was told to rebound,defend, and get his shots in the paint, he would do better.
Pikiell has decisions that must be made to see if the season can be righted. One of those is sticking with a lineup that works and is disciplined.
The team would probably be better. Paul has been doing better. The struggles are pretty large around the team.
I do not think Miller is the answer. If he was good, Pikiell would have no chance not to play him. A lot of people have talked about recruiting and I would agree, we are struggling right now with the most recent class. Will Pikiell have another rebuild next year? Too early to tell and not going to give up yet.
earlier, possibly in a different thread.. I suggested the three paths we have regardless of what personnel starts..
1- continue as we are.. lots of standing around in half-court O
2- go to a real motion offense.. back door cuts etc.. screens for threes, etc.
3- go back to transition offense game and ISO stuff
If I were Pike I think I'd eliminate option 1... might be too soon to do so.. but I'd cross that out
for 2 and 3.. I might want to give both options to the team as a whole.. tell the captains to run a meeting and get a vote and decide among themselves and that Pike would coach according to that vote.
The idea is not to abandon being the leader.. the head coach.. but to guarantee buy-in from the players. The players choose what they will commit to and tells the story that the season is entirely in their hands. Is it? Well, if they make the easy choice.. to go back to last years plan.. they will soon see if it works or not.. and that would mean switching to option2, the motion offense.. and the buy-in for that should be automatic.. unless certain players just want to pad stats the rest of the way (which I think was the real issue with JY and MM and might be why Caleb forces shots too.).
1- continue as we are.. lots of standing around in half-court O
2- go to a real motion offense.. back door cuts etc.. screens for threes, etc.
3- go back to transition offense game and ISO stuff
If I were Pike I think I'd eliminate option 1... might be too soon to do so.. but I'd cross that out
for 2 and 3.. I might want to give both options to the team as a whole.. tell the captains to run a meeting and get a vote and decide among themselves and that Pike would coach according to that vote.
The idea is not to abandon being the leader.. the head coach.. but to guarantee buy-in from the players. The players choose what they will commit to and tells the story that the season is entirely in their hands. Is it? Well, if they make the easy choice.. to go back to last years plan.. they will soon see if it works or not.. and that would mean switching to option2, the motion offense.. and the buy-in for that should be automatic.. unless certain players just want to pad stats the rest of the way (which I think was the real issue with JY and MM and might be why Caleb forces shots too.).
1. Let’s please differentiate offense between man and zone. We are seeing a lot of zone so far. If we are seeing backdoor cuts Pike should be fired
2. Using an offensive set is a waste of time if we aren’t making hard cuts or setting proper screens and correctly using them. Running the offense like zombies gets bad looks
2. Using an offensive set is a waste of time if we aren’t making hard cuts or setting proper screens and correctly using them. Running the offense like zombies gets bad looks
With the possible assumption of Caleb McConnell, I think the baseline assumption should be that players have not regressed. It has only been 5 games.
Changed or regressed physically because of injury or training regimen?
All I know is Harper was a high flying freshman who flew up the court on a fast break, and Geo was significantly quicker.
Caleb had a sweet stroke and everyone watching him salivated at the thought of where he’d be with normal improvement every year.
i have no idea what happened, but quite clearly the players mentioned no longer bring what they once brought.
You can argue their evolution is a plus if you like…
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Interesting conversation Flux!
Can your PPG and shooting percentage improve, while you evolve into a less impactful player?
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Yes, our last 2 losses raises all the red flags and cause for concern. I can't give up on the team, there is talent on the team, we still have more than 20 games to play. Yes, we lost Myles & Young, 2 key contributors from the team but it's not like the team didn't come close to beating Houston who made the final Four.
We have strong coaching staff, let's see if they can make the appropriate changes and get back on course. I'm not giving up on this team YET.
We have strong coaching staff, let's see if they can make the appropriate changes and get back on course. I'm not giving up on this team YET.