Buddy

[hplare]

Yes, it's true his production is down, but it's been well noted that opposing coaches seem to have decided that the best game plan is to assign someone to take him out of the game. If you watch the action away from the ball you can see he's not only being guarded, he's being grabbed held and mugged. Not being a very skilled ballhandler when he does get the ball he has difficulty going one on one. They can't do this to Hughes or Girard because they can create on their own. The move is smart in another way because if JB complains too much it looks like he's being over protective of his son.

Yesterday's first half was particularly brutal for him. Alvarado, the assigned mugger, should have fouled out by the halfway mark. But just before the half ended, He bodied up on Buddy, almost bent him in half backwards and grabbed one of his arms. The ref couldn't ignore it and whistled the play. If you can find the replay, the look on Alvarado's face is priceless. Wide-eyed, Jaw hung open in amazement and disbelief. "What did I do?"

Then as the half ended one of the announcers commented that JB was staying behind and giving the refs an earful. No way of knowing if any of it was about Buddy, but there was a difference in the second half. He wasn't always guarded by Alvarado and was able to contribute. Alvarado also finally fouled out.

Unfortunately, nothing is going to change and we're going to see the same strategy going forward.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Oh good, another Buddy thread. Was concerned we were behind quota.

 

[OrangeDW]

Their used to be an easy and effective remedy for that type of BS. Too bad there’s so many cameras and replays available now where you can get thrown out even when the refs didn’t actually see you do anything in real time.

 

[upperdeck]

pretty much face guarded like they do in Lacrosse. it means others have to do a better job. Really if we had a center with decent low post moves it would really make it hard for teams to do this.. Its what we really lake. edwards with 20-30 lbs would be the answer one day hopefully

 

[OttoMets]

I would want to watch again to pick up more, but I thought his off-ball movement was pretty good throughout. We used screens more effectively (not a coincidence that Hughes and Dolezaj both picked up a foul call) and the result was that Buddy and Hughes could, once Alvarado got caught a step behind, get a clean look at that elbow jumper. And they seem to make that shot like 50% of the time.

Getting the first face-guarding call on Alvarado did seem to help as well.

As for Buddy, that was his most efficient game in memory. I don't remember a single negative out of him yesterday other than the stuff that's kind of out of his control (slow getting to long rebounds, that sort of thing). Looking over the box now, that's a perfect line as far as I'm concerned - 5-8, 13 points, no missed free throws. He'll still struggle against physical defenders, but it's nice to see a) his dad putting him in a position to get good looks and b) him being judicious and taking only what's available without forcing jumpers. He's more or less my MOP for yesterday's game (for SU, obviously...Mr. 14-17 for the other guys was great), though Dolezaj also was very productive and efficient.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I would want to watch again to pick up more, but I thought his off-ball movement was pretty good throughout. We used screens more effectively (not a coincidence that Hughes and Dolezaj both picked up a foul call) and the result was that Buddy and Hughes could, once Alvarado got caught a step behind, get a clean look at that elbow jumper. And they seem to make that shot like 50% of the time.

Getting the first face-guarding call on Alvarado did seem to help as well.

As for Buddy, that was his most efficient game in memory. I don't remember a single negative out of him yesterday other than the stuff that's kind of out of his control (slow getting to long rebounds, that sort of thing). Looking over the box now, that's a perfect line as far as I'm concerned - 5-8, 13 points, no missed free throws. He'll still struggle against physical defenders, but it's nice to see a) his dad putting him in a position to get good looks and b) him being judicious and taking only what's available without forcing jumpers. He's more or less my MOP for yesterday's game (for SU, obviously...Mr. 14-17 for the other guys was great), though Dolezaj also was very productive and efficient.

He forced one three from the top of the key after getting a pick, but other than that, I agree.

I really want to see him move the ball quickly though. Someone else mentioned there's a time lag when Joe passes him the ball until he gets rid of it if he's not shooting.

 

[OrangeAl]

Buddy's so much more versatile this year than last. He drives, he takes contested pull-up jumpers. Maybe his next improvement will be on the defensive end.

 

[xc84]

They allow much more contact to a team playing man than zone

 

[Cusefan0307]

Alvarado fouls every play. Wish someone would have Oakleyed him yesterday. Hate that type of player.

 

[tbonezone]

buddy takes the second most shots on the team (9 behind elijah) can't imagine why opposing coaches are marking him.

 

[OrangeDW]

buddy takes the second most shots on the team (9 behind elijah) can't imagine why opposing coaches are marking him.

You CAN admit he’s an excellent shooter while still keeping your Boeheim-hater card, tbone. Cmon, you can do it.

 

[tbonezone]

buddy's an excellent shooter. which is why i'm surprised anyone wonders why opposing coaches guard him.

 

[xc84]

buddy's an excellent shooter. which is why i'm surprised anyone wonders why opposing coaches guard him.

Who wonders why? I thought we all know why.

 

[HtownOrange]

To the OP, it is on Buddy to work on his ball handling and passing skills, as well as defense. He has improved so I will not complain too much.

Regarding the opposing coaches, too bad they didn't think of this earlier. Glad it took this long. However, sending thugs to mug a player is such a Georgetown thing to do, the refs should have to T up the coach each time it happens and throw out the player. On the realistic side, Alvarado should have been out earlier than the half.

To the poster that pointed out a full size center would help, spot on! An inside game forces a defense, especially a zone defense, to collapse inward to tighten up the passing lanes and refuse the easy two points forcing the longer threes. As much as I enjoy MD and his overall play (still cannot get used to the stupid fouls), the guy needs some mass. He gets worn down because his body cannot take the physical blows all game long, game in and game out. I know he cannot put on weight, he tries, but his metabolism simply burns up what he eats. Hopefully QG and Edwards can pick up that slack a little.

The adjustments to open Buddy up are important. Buddy scoring 10+ makes him a factor that must be reckoned with. It takes pressure off Hughes and the bigs, it also opens up the middle more, making the bigs more valuable. I would like to see the young guys score more but JB's bias against playing 9-10 players will hinder some of the development. Thus, setting picks and helping the muggers foul out early is important.

 

[Newhouser]

I think Alvarado should have been surprised. The problem with college officiating is consistency - he had hands on Buddy the whole first half with no call and then they decide to call one at the end of thehalf. Second half was whistled entirely different - good for JB winning the carping battle, but its the inconsistency of officiating that continues to be college basketball's biggest problem.

 

[kcsu]

To the OP, it is on Buddy to work on his ball handling and passing skills, as well as defense. He has improved so I will not complain too much.

Regarding the opposing coaches, too bad they didn't think of this earlier. Glad it took this long. However, sending thugs to mug a player is such a Georgetown thing to do, the refs should have to T up the coach each time it happens and throw out the player. On the realistic side, Alvarado should have been out earlier than the half.

To the poster that pointed out a full size center would help, spot on! An inside game forces a defense, especially a zone defense, to collapse inward to tighten up the passing lanes and refuse the easy two points forcing the longer threes. As much as I enjoy MD and his overall play (still cannot get used to the stupid fouls), the guy needs some mass. He gets worn down because his body cannot take the physical blows all game long, game in and game out. I know he cannot put on weight, he tries, but his metabolism simply burns up what he eats. Hopefully QG and Edwards can pick up that slack a little.

The adjustments to open Buddy up are important. Buddy scoring 10+ makes him a factor that must be reckoned with. It takes pressure off Hughes and the bigs, it also opens up the middle more, making the bigs more valuable. I would like to see the young guys score more but JB's bias against playing 9-10 players will hinder some of the development. Thus, setting picks and helping the muggers foul out early is important.

Buddy is a big framed kid. He needs to go All Coon Dog, hit the ink parlor and cop a Devo attitude next season.

 

[Briancuse]

Oh good, another Buddy thread. Was concerned we were behind quota.

Trevor Cooney is starting to worry about buddy catching up to him for most posts.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Trevor Cooney is starting to worry about buddy catching up to him for most posts.

There is no question in my mind that Buddy will catch TC before he even starts his junior year.

 

[realorange]

Opposing coaches go after Buddy because he's easier to hold down than Hughes. They go after Hughes and maybe he has four points less than average but meanwhile Buddy with open shots goes for 20.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Buddy is very low key with not an aggressive bone in his body. If things are going his way he can be dominate, but he hasn’t found the knack or ability to counter guys getting in his face. He needs to know how to draw fouls. He shows little regard for drawing contact.

 

[kcsu]

He needs a little more JB a little less Mom.

 

[Red Holzman]

A little more JACK LAMBERT!
dunno, sorry just popped in my head

 

[Jake]

Opposing coaches go after Buddy because he's easier to hold down than Hughes. They go after Hughes and maybe he has four points less than average but meanwhile Buddy with open shots goes for 20.

Yep. They go after Buddy because the defender doesn't need help in most cases. Hughes beats people off the dribble with regularity and requires a help defender. Buddy moved much better in the second half trying to get open - that helped tremendously.

Sat in an unusual seat for this game. Boy, Dolezaj gets away with a ton of "physicality" - it's as if the refs see he is undersized and look the other way. I know he does get called for a lot of fouls, but he commits even more. The exact opposite of Sid. He makes any contact, and the whistle blows. It was pretty interesting how I thought the officials treated those two players completely differently.

 

[two3zone]

Yep. They go after Buddy because the defender doesn't need help in most cases. Hughes beats people off the dribble with regularity and requires a help defender. Buddy moved much better in the second half trying to get open - that helped tremendously.

Sat in an unusual seat for this game. Boy, Dolezaj gets away with a ton of "physicality" - it's as if the refs see he is undersized and look the other way. I know he does get called for a lot of fouls, but he commits even more. The exact opposite of Sid. He makes any contact, and the whistle blows. It was pretty interesting how I thought the officials treated those two players completely differently.

Marek legit pushes off with a forearm every single time he touches the ball.

 

[Newhouser]

Yep. They go after Buddy because the defender doesn't need help in most cases. Hughes beats people off the dribble with regularity and requires a help defender. Buddy moved much better in the second half trying to get open - that helped tremendously.

Sat in an unusual seat for this game. Boy, Dolezaj gets away with a ton of "physicality" - it's as if the refs see he is undersized and look the other way. I know he does get called for a lot of fouls, but he commits even more. The exact opposite of Sid. He makes any contact, and the whistle blows. It was pretty interesting how I thought the officials treated those two players completely differently.

That is an interesting point - I too think Marek gets away with a ton of offensive fouls on the offensive end that make up for whatever he may get on the defensive end. Of course his biggest issue is the 1 or 2 idiotic fouls that he commits each game.