It's been a while since I have been able to share my sarcastic, passionate, realist view points with this forum. There is a lot to touch on so I apologize as it may appear I am rambling.
**disclaimer**
There will be lots of criticism of coaches and players in this post. This criticism will be based on on court performance. I'm sure our players are fine members of society and I wish nothing but the best for them in life. If you cannot handle this I suggest you stop reading now.
Offense:
Screens -
Most of the screens we set are terrible. Someone mentioned the other day that Keita sets more moving screens than Pitt and they were absolutely correct. Half of the time we try and set a screen there is zero contact made with the defender. There is no excuse for this on a D1 team.
95% of screens for Ennis should be set by CJ or Grant. They are actually capable of doing something with the ball either slashing to the hoop or hitting the mid range jumper. This will either result in many baskets or drawn fouls as teams continue to double Ennis or he will finally get a nice lane to drive to the basket. I do think Rak should continue being a screener but only a couple times a game. This will help his development as a player.
Movement/multiple options -
Watching Arizona last night was an eye opening experience. Their offense is just as bad as ours, but they at least run plays where if option 1 is cut off they have a backup plan which still leads to a good look. They also set multiple picks for multiple guys in the same play. Revolutionary stuff.
Centers -
Keita is not part of the offense and should not be. Credit to JB for this. Now many are upset with Rak's hook shot and that it never seems to go in. You'd be correct but he is our only scoring option from that position this season or next season. We have to keep feeding him and giving him chances to work on his game or else we will be having this same discussion next year.
Cooney -
I think next year will be his breakout year. There's been enough discussion about him so I don't think I need to pile on. He's not going to carry us in the tournament so get that thought out of your head right now.
Ennis -
I really like how he's become more aggressive. Still struggling at the rim but I think he'll get better at that when he gets stronger. Wish he would shoot even more 3s.
Defense:
Our defense this year is not good compared to the past. Ennis, Cooney and Fair multiple times a game will bite on a pump fake from a 3 point shooter. This either leads to a foul or a complete breakdown of the defense as everyone is now out of place trying to recover. CJ really struggles when the opponent gets the ball in the middle and hits a wing cutting underneath. A lot of that is the nature of the 2-3 zone. I also think earlier in the season our opponents missed wide open shots leading us to think the D was better than it really is.
General thoughts:
Roberson -
Many on this board saw Roberson at practice and thought he had potential to be very, very good. Yet these same people now think he's not ready to contribute at all. Really don't understand the hate for this kid. It's not like we have 7 elite guys in front of him. What's the worst that could happen if we played him? We lose to BC? NC St? GT? Please.
Hot start -
25-0 was the worst thing that could happen to us fans. Yeah it was exciting but it gave people a false sense that our team could win it all. A bunch of close wins were met with "a win's a win." Well a loss is a loss and there have been many more of those lately.
However -
Despite looking absolutely terrible this past month we have only been blown out one time. We haven't played very many good teams but I don't think there are a lot of good teams in general in the NCAA. Keep it close, hit a couple shots at the end and advance.
Players going to the NBA -
A player will improve more working with an NBA staff that have invested millions of dollars in their success. Saying a player should come back to college to improve is hilariously wrong.
**disclaimer**
There will be lots of criticism of coaches and players in this post. This criticism will be based on on court performance. I'm sure our players are fine members of society and I wish nothing but the best for them in life. If you cannot handle this I suggest you stop reading now.
Offense:
Screens -
Most of the screens we set are terrible. Someone mentioned the other day that Keita sets more moving screens than Pitt and they were absolutely correct. Half of the time we try and set a screen there is zero contact made with the defender. There is no excuse for this on a D1 team.
95% of screens for Ennis should be set by CJ or Grant. They are actually capable of doing something with the ball either slashing to the hoop or hitting the mid range jumper. This will either result in many baskets or drawn fouls as teams continue to double Ennis or he will finally get a nice lane to drive to the basket. I do think Rak should continue being a screener but only a couple times a game. This will help his development as a player.
Movement/multiple options -
Watching Arizona last night was an eye opening experience. Their offense is just as bad as ours, but they at least run plays where if option 1 is cut off they have a backup plan which still leads to a good look. They also set multiple picks for multiple guys in the same play. Revolutionary stuff.
Centers -
Keita is not part of the offense and should not be. Credit to JB for this. Now many are upset with Rak's hook shot and that it never seems to go in. You'd be correct but he is our only scoring option from that position this season or next season. We have to keep feeding him and giving him chances to work on his game or else we will be having this same discussion next year.
Cooney -
I think next year will be his breakout year. There's been enough discussion about him so I don't think I need to pile on. He's not going to carry us in the tournament so get that thought out of your head right now.
Ennis -
I really like how he's become more aggressive. Still struggling at the rim but I think he'll get better at that when he gets stronger. Wish he would shoot even more 3s.
Defense:
Our defense this year is not good compared to the past. Ennis, Cooney and Fair multiple times a game will bite on a pump fake from a 3 point shooter. This either leads to a foul or a complete breakdown of the defense as everyone is now out of place trying to recover. CJ really struggles when the opponent gets the ball in the middle and hits a wing cutting underneath. A lot of that is the nature of the 2-3 zone. I also think earlier in the season our opponents missed wide open shots leading us to think the D was better than it really is.
General thoughts:
Roberson -
Many on this board saw Roberson at practice and thought he had potential to be very, very good. Yet these same people now think he's not ready to contribute at all. Really don't understand the hate for this kid. It's not like we have 7 elite guys in front of him. What's the worst that could happen if we played him? We lose to BC? NC St? GT? Please.
Hot start -
25-0 was the worst thing that could happen to us fans. Yeah it was exciting but it gave people a false sense that our team could win it all. A bunch of close wins were met with "a win's a win." Well a loss is a loss and there have been many more of those lately.
However -
Despite looking absolutely terrible this past month we have only been blown out one time. We haven't played very many good teams but I don't think there are a lot of good teams in general in the NCAA. Keep it close, hit a couple shots at the end and advance.
Players going to the NBA -
A player will improve more working with an NBA staff that have invested millions of dollars in their success. Saying a player should come back to college to improve is hilariously wrong.