So a couple musings mostly related to the past couple wins and on the broader season to an extent:
Have to credit this team's resilience
It's been a tough season for a bunch of these guys -- Bourama stuck on the sideline all year, Marek playing out of position all year and then fighting thru a hand injury, JGIII having a tough year all around and spending a lot more time on the bench in the second half, Griffin having an up-and-down year, Bras didn't play forever until all of a sudden he did, Buddy obviously struggled early, Q dealing with his knee stuff, JB feeling some heat for rotation questions ... Just a lot of tough situations and yet this team has been really supportive of one another and continued to battle I think that's pretty cool and says a lot about these kids. Griffin, in particular, has been really supportive and into the game from the sideline and that says a lot. Not sure what, if anything, has happened behind the scenes and I'm sure he's not thrilled with his PT of late, but cool to see he's still engaged with the team.
Girard, quietly, has done a decent job distributing the ball of late
When buddy makes everything he puts up, it's pretty easy to pick up assists, but the fact remains he's had at 7 assists three times in our last five games. Add to that he's shot close to 37% from three in those games and he's at least been a positive contributor for the most part in the last five. That FT at the end of the WVU game leads me to believe he's still struggling with confidence a bit, but nice to see him contributing. Baby steps for a guy who is likely to be in this program at least for the next couple years.
The rotation
Everybody's favorite topic, right? I personally feel like we put a little more emphasis on this than it generally warrants but it's absolutely been something worth discussing. Should Kadary and Joe have swapped minutes distribution a little earlier in the year? Yes. Should Jesse have gotten a chance earlier? Yeah, probably. But I have to wonder how much the two COVID shutdowns messed with things? Edwards got stuck in the Neatherlands and was late arriving, which didn't help a guy who was fighting for a spot. Buddy clearly needed some time to get back to full strength. Not sure if it affected Joe a bit as well. Obviously, whatever went on with Woody wasn't helpful. Just disrupts things which is no bueno.
What is the difference in Buddy's play since the start of March?
There's likely a longer answer here and probably one that someone who knows more about hoops than I do might lay out, but two things jump out from watching the games: 1) We doing a better job creating good looks and 2) Buddy (and Joe for that matter) have been more effective coming off screens and shooting.
There have been plenty of stand-still, shoot over the defender types of threes (more so early against SD State, for example) but despite not running a whole lot of action, a good screen (Guerrier had a few in the last couple games, Dolezaj as well) off-ball has freed Buddy up and he's left stepping into a very clean look. That helps the percentage.
Beyond that, I feel like for a guy who is primarily a shooter to be a great scorer you need to be able to do at least one of two things -- either hit contested shots with a hand in your face OR be able to fly of a screen catch, get organized (as Raf would say) and knock down long jumper. Rautins and Gmac were great at the latter. Guys like White and Devendorf seemed to consistently be able to just drain shots with a hand in their face. Guys like Janulis or Gbinije (who nevertheless was a very good scorer) or Cooney didn't quite do this, IMO.
What makes Buddy's current run unreal, is that he has been doing both for the past several games. He's hitting some long, contested jumpers, but also getting his feet under him and knocking down shots off screens even if he's not perfectly set. It's been an amazing run, obviously, and hope it continues.
Marek continues to do so many little things
Dolezaj won't ever be remembered among the greats here maybe he'll never be exactly the player we all thought there was a chance he could be early on (still kind of surprised he isn't more effective as a shooter, he never added much weight, etc.). But he's such an unselfish, active player. The last four games he's attempted 18 shots total, but still averaged 9 ppg (thanks to 12 of 13 from the line) and dished out 18 assists. And even that doesn't account for all the times he's drawing a charge or making a great slide or saving us a turnover by tapping the ball to a teammate or making sure he's in-bounds vs. WVU when the ball got passed back to him after in-bounding. Just a head's up kid and I have to imagine he's a blast to play with. We'll miss him more than many think when he's gone (presumably after this season). Edit: Just one quick note to add -- Marek's offensive rating is 125.6, far and away the best on the team and his usage rate at ~14% is closer to Jesse Edwards than anyone else on the team. Doesn't hold the ball -- keeps it moving and makes his teammates better. He's got weaknesses but he's such a crucial player for this group.
Have to credit this team's resilience
It's been a tough season for a bunch of these guys -- Bourama stuck on the sideline all year, Marek playing out of position all year and then fighting thru a hand injury, JGIII having a tough year all around and spending a lot more time on the bench in the second half, Griffin having an up-and-down year, Bras didn't play forever until all of a sudden he did, Buddy obviously struggled early, Q dealing with his knee stuff, JB feeling some heat for rotation questions ... Just a lot of tough situations and yet this team has been really supportive of one another and continued to battle I think that's pretty cool and says a lot about these kids. Griffin, in particular, has been really supportive and into the game from the sideline and that says a lot. Not sure what, if anything, has happened behind the scenes and I'm sure he's not thrilled with his PT of late, but cool to see he's still engaged with the team.
Girard, quietly, has done a decent job distributing the ball of late
When buddy makes everything he puts up, it's pretty easy to pick up assists, but the fact remains he's had at 7 assists three times in our last five games. Add to that he's shot close to 37% from three in those games and he's at least been a positive contributor for the most part in the last five. That FT at the end of the WVU game leads me to believe he's still struggling with confidence a bit, but nice to see him contributing. Baby steps for a guy who is likely to be in this program at least for the next couple years.
The rotation
Everybody's favorite topic, right? I personally feel like we put a little more emphasis on this than it generally warrants but it's absolutely been something worth discussing. Should Kadary and Joe have swapped minutes distribution a little earlier in the year? Yes. Should Jesse have gotten a chance earlier? Yeah, probably. But I have to wonder how much the two COVID shutdowns messed with things? Edwards got stuck in the Neatherlands and was late arriving, which didn't help a guy who was fighting for a spot. Buddy clearly needed some time to get back to full strength. Not sure if it affected Joe a bit as well. Obviously, whatever went on with Woody wasn't helpful. Just disrupts things which is no bueno.
What is the difference in Buddy's play since the start of March?
There's likely a longer answer here and probably one that someone who knows more about hoops than I do might lay out, but two things jump out from watching the games: 1) We doing a better job creating good looks and 2) Buddy (and Joe for that matter) have been more effective coming off screens and shooting.
There have been plenty of stand-still, shoot over the defender types of threes (more so early against SD State, for example) but despite not running a whole lot of action, a good screen (Guerrier had a few in the last couple games, Dolezaj as well) off-ball has freed Buddy up and he's left stepping into a very clean look. That helps the percentage.
Beyond that, I feel like for a guy who is primarily a shooter to be a great scorer you need to be able to do at least one of two things -- either hit contested shots with a hand in your face OR be able to fly of a screen catch, get organized (as Raf would say) and knock down long jumper. Rautins and Gmac were great at the latter. Guys like White and Devendorf seemed to consistently be able to just drain shots with a hand in their face. Guys like Janulis or Gbinije (who nevertheless was a very good scorer) or Cooney didn't quite do this, IMO.
What makes Buddy's current run unreal, is that he has been doing both for the past several games. He's hitting some long, contested jumpers, but also getting his feet under him and knocking down shots off screens even if he's not perfectly set. It's been an amazing run, obviously, and hope it continues.
Marek continues to do so many little things
Dolezaj won't ever be remembered among the greats here maybe he'll never be exactly the player we all thought there was a chance he could be early on (still kind of surprised he isn't more effective as a shooter, he never added much weight, etc.). But he's such an unselfish, active player. The last four games he's attempted 18 shots total, but still averaged 9 ppg (thanks to 12 of 13 from the line) and dished out 18 assists. And even that doesn't account for all the times he's drawing a charge or making a great slide or saving us a turnover by tapping the ball to a teammate or making sure he's in-bounds vs. WVU when the ball got passed back to him after in-bounding. Just a head's up kid and I have to imagine he's a blast to play with. We'll miss him more than many think when he's gone (presumably after this season). Edit: Just one quick note to add -- Marek's offensive rating is 125.6, far and away the best on the team and his usage rate at ~14% is closer to Jesse Edwards than anyone else on the team. Doesn't hold the ball -- keeps it moving and makes his teammates better. He's got weaknesses but he's such a crucial player for this group.
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