SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 32,709
- Like
- 62,982
This team is more fun to watch than our recent teams, even in defeat at Rutgers. It leads to optimism that this is the team that will break us out of the funk we've been in since 2015, get us into the rankings and allow us to compete for the conference title in a down year. We've had talented players on those other teams and we don't have any Mickey Dees or AA candidates on this one, so what's the difference?
The two great strengths of our team this year fit together beautifully: we can put five guys out there who can pass and who can shoot and they look for each other constantly. As Harry Truman said, "It's amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit." Among our weaknesses is that we don't have a lot of guys who can dribble their way to the basket. For that reason JB has shelved the "Isolation" offense where the players 'socially distance' to spread the defense and have on guy try to beat his man on the drive, which often resulted in defenders coming off their man to close on the drive and snuff it out. That can be effective if you have the right personnel, (remember MCW and Triche destroying Indiana in the NCAAs?), but when it fails to dazzle it produces ugly basketball. Our current attack gets everyone moving, including the defenders and keeps the ball in the air, which makes for much more attractive and, I think more successful basketball.
We'll have to see how pretty it gets against the best defenses in the conference and our own defensive lapses and rebounding problems will be factors but for now, we are having more fun watching these games. And we deserve all the fun we can get.
The two great strengths of our team this year fit together beautifully: we can put five guys out there who can pass and who can shoot and they look for each other constantly. As Harry Truman said, "It's amazing what you can accomplish when no one cares who gets the credit." Among our weaknesses is that we don't have a lot of guys who can dribble their way to the basket. For that reason JB has shelved the "Isolation" offense where the players 'socially distance' to spread the defense and have on guy try to beat his man on the drive, which often resulted in defenders coming off their man to close on the drive and snuff it out. That can be effective if you have the right personnel, (remember MCW and Triche destroying Indiana in the NCAAs?), but when it fails to dazzle it produces ugly basketball. Our current attack gets everyone moving, including the defenders and keeps the ball in the air, which makes for much more attractive and, I think more successful basketball.
We'll have to see how pretty it gets against the best defenses in the conference and our own defensive lapses and rebounding problems will be factors but for now, we are having more fun watching these games. And we deserve all the fun we can get.