The curious case of Mr. Triche

[billsin01]

Awesome game for BT last night. As a poster who is often critical of Triche I want to make sure I make perfectly clear -- the dude had a terrific game last night. But as I say this, I want to point out that I'm talking about more than his simply making shots -- it was more than that. He was strong going to the hoop, decisive in the open floor (even if he's not dynamic in a Dion sort of way ... who is?), took good shots in rhythm and with confidence, handled the ball pretty well, had a bunch of really pretty passes, excellent defensively ... just did everything well.

So what I can't figure with him is where does he go for such long stretches? I mean, I'm not being overly critical when I say he's had a decent but not terribly inspiring year save for last night -- 30% from 3 going into that game, 2.5 TOs/game. He's been fine, but hardly the player we saw last night with regard to decision making, aggressiveness, playmaking, etc.

I don't expect anyone to have the answer on this, but I guess he'll always be sort of a puzzling player to me. More games like last night would go a long way toward curing our offensive ills. Of course another thing that could help is not going 10 minute stretches without feeding the ball to the post.

 

[orangejunkie]

good assessment. The team needs a knock down shooter from 3. MCW doesn't fit the bill. Thought Cooney would be that guy but he is clearly not ready to do it on a consistent basis. That leaves Triche. Early in his career I was hoping he would be comparable to Rautins, don't think so. Games like last night were encouraging though.

 

[OttoMets]

So much more decisive last night. Loved his decision to take it to the rim off the save from South in the first half.

He's an enigma.

 

[orangehomer]

the thing i've noticed about triche is that when he is going good his footwork is excellent, but when he is going bad his footwork stinks. i think he is an excellent athlete that plays basketball, but i think he is somewhat mechanical in that i don't think the footwork and motions come to him as naturally as they do for some other guys. last night, he made some tough threes and it was because his footwork was great and he was very balanced and in rythm.

a second thing that i think affects his consistency is just sort of a pet peeve of mine with this team in general, is that he watches the ball when he shoots. great shooters keep their eyes on the rim until the ball goes through it, they don't watch the ball through the air. it's a concentration thing and a bad habit that should have been coached out by now. it's not just him, you watch these guys shoot free throws and alot of them watch the ball.

 

[armory]

Triche really is an enigma. I think his head gets in the way of his game too much.

 

[Marsh01]

like any player confidence is a big thing with him. Last night he was able to make some shots early and that was a springboard to his success last night (he even said so after being interviewed post game). No different than James.

 

[TinyManInside]

the thing i've noticed about triche is that when he is going good his footwork is excellent, but when he is going bad his footwork stinks. i think he is an excellent athlete that plays basketball, but i think he is somewhat mechanical in that i don't think the footwork and motions come to him as naturally as they do for some other guys. last night, he made some tough threes and it was because his footwork was great and he was very balanced and in rythm.

a second thing that i think affects his consistency is just sort of a pet peeve of mine with this team in general, is that he watches the ball when he shoots. great shooters keep their eyes on the rim until the ball goes through it, they don't watch the ball through the air. it's a concentration thing and a bad habit that should have been coached out by now. it's not just him, you watch these guys shoot free throws and alot of them watch the ball.

This is a great post full of very good observations. Simply put, his footwork is not consistent from game to game, and that is why he's never been a consistent outside shooter. He has games like last night when everything comes together, but he has never been able to sustain that for extended periods. Here's hoping that he has turned the corner. I really thought that this would get sorted out by now... Rautins footwork improved markedly over the course of 4 years and was a main factor in his very strong senior season. Also, good points about watching the ball after the release.

Mason

 

[ClamOtto]

Speaking of his footwork, has anybody else noticed how often he seems to slip and slide, often resulting in a turnover? it looks like the court is slick, but it usually doesn't happen to anyone else (didn't happen to BT last night either). Could this be a footwork issue? it looks like he needs new shoes.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

So much more decisive last night. Loved his decision to take it to the rim off the save from South in the first half.

He's an enigma.

Me too..why does it feel like the first time he ever went decisively to the basket? I watched that play 10 times to make sure it was him.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Speaking of his footwork, has anybody else noticed how often he seems to slip and slide, often resulting in a turnover? it looks like the court is slick, but it usually doesn't happen to anyone else (didn't happen to BT last night either). Could this be a footwork issue? it looks like he needs new shoes.

Many times, he catches the ball in what would be a perfect "catch and shoot" spot...but his feet are turned the wrong way and the defense has time to recover. Footwork certainly does seem to be an issue for BT.

 

[jimsonjunction]

Me too..why does it feel like the first time he ever went decisively to the basket? I watched that play 10 times to make sure it was him.

I really liked that play too. The other play from last night that sticks out to me was his dish to CJ under the basket. He dribbled around for what seemed like an hour, got hand-checked about 5000 times, and finally drove toward the hoop. He then split the double-team with a bounce-pass to CJ who got fouled.

One of those classic "No, no, no, no no...yes!" moments.

 

[billsin01]

I really liked that play too. The other play from last night that sticks out to me was his dish to CJ under the basket. He dribbled around for what seemed like an hour, got hand-checked about 5000 times, and finally drove toward the hoop. He then split the double-team with a bounce-pass to CJ who got fouled.

One of those classic "No, no, no, no no...yes!" moments.

Loved his decision to take it to the rim off the save from South in the first half.

Yup, those two and a couple of the passes in the paint that led to layups/dunks, one to Christmas I believe and another to Fair maybe? He just looked so much more in control and comfortable with the ball making decisions. Not sure I've remember him looking that confident or that good, frankly, in the open floor/driving to the basket.

 

[TinyManInside]

Yup, those two and a couple of the passes in the paint that led to layups/dunks, one to Christmas I believe and another to Fair maybe? He just looked so much more in control and comfortable with the ball making decisions. Not sure I've remember him looking that confident or that good, frankly, in the open floor/driving to the basket.

I thought he played great last night. Let's hope he keeps it up consistently.

 

[triplethrea]

It's all mental with him. I think he doubts himself on the court too much.

What Triche could use is some sort of assistant coach who's sole job while working with him is to pump his confidence up. I think he is the type that visualizes failure, while a player like Waiters only visualizes success. That can easily be fixed with repetition. Unfortunately, intangible coaching is in its infantile stages in sports. There have been thousands of players like Triche who never put it together because their confidence was out of whack (Kwame Brown as an extreme example). Until coaches start treating player's confidence on an individual level (and drop this "he'll toughen up" attitude that might not help certain people) there will always be players like Triche who never achieve their full potential.

 

[CaptainJ]

I remember the shot he made from the top corner last night at first I thought would be a miss because it looked like he had to move his feet awkwardly on my small monitor, and was surprised to see it go in. The replay cleared it up a bit for me.

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it might be about BT reverting to his style of earlier years

 

[armory]

a second thing that i think affects his consistency is just sort of a pet peeve of mine with this team in general, is that he watches the ball when he shoots. great shooters keep their eyes on the rim until the ball goes through it, they don't watch the ball through the air. it's a concentration thing and a bad habit that should have been coached out by now. it's not just him, you watch these guys shoot free throws and alot of them watch the ball.

This is an excellent post, and excellent advice. Lot of theory and psychology behind it, works for baseball pitchers too. Good thing for any parent or coach to teach a youngster learning the game.

I also read something once that training yourself to sort of 'blur' or 'defocus' your vision of a target after starting any motion, kind of briefly & slightly going cross-eyed. It will actually increase accuracy dramatically, supposedly it works by removing counterproductive mechanical corrections mid-motion while still maintaining regional hand-eye coordination (which is lost if you were to close your eyes). It also is supposed to give a psychological confidence effect, because when you defocus you mentally commit to the motion & remove doubt. Sort of along the same lines as the "your initial response is usually the right one" theory.

I've tried it with all kinds of stuff from throwing baseballs, footballs, darts, even my golf swing and was shocked how true and effective that theory is (was most evident when throwing a baseball, specifically how consistently accurate pitches become and how much smaller it makes any deviations) ... but it is incredibly counter-intuitive and unnatural, thus really hard to commit to consistently and even harder to teach to anyone but adults. Recommend trying it sometime for shts & giggles.

 

[Flacusian]

JB emphatically stressed the fact that Brandon is capable of playing like that every night and that is how the team needs him to play EVERY GAME. I recall a game early last year which was being called by Jay Bilas who I think has excellent analytical basketball acumen. Bilas stated that he thought that Brandon Triche was perhaps the best player on the team.
It's been several seasons now in which people have looked to Brandon to achieve some semblance of consistency and be a key player for the team. Some have looked to the fact that he has been asked to play in the capacity of both the 1 and the 2 and that factor may have played a part in restricting his development. If this is suggested to JB he would no doubt say that there really isn't a distinction between the 1 and the 2 to the extent that most people would lead you to believe.

The fact that during the Rutgers game Brandon was so effective in all aspects of his game meant that there was less pressure on MCW and with both guards facilitating on offense the team was really running well. The difference from the previous 2 1/2 games was stunning. This years team should be Brandon Triche's team. The tenor of JB 's comments were such that I got the impression that JB was making it abundantly clear to Brandon that he needs to step it up and be the player he is capable of being... each and every game.

I'm hoping he does because when he plays like he played during the Rutgers game this team takes it up to a whole different level.

 

[tbonezone]

that dog is frankly out of chain.i'd bring him off the bench for a game or two just to break his streak and sound the wakeup alarm.hey it's do or die time. if your saving something brandon...ya better spend it all now! all out of next years.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

the thing i've noticed about triche is that when he is going good his footwork is excellent, but when he is going bad his footwork stinks. i think he is an excellent athlete that plays basketball, but i think he is somewhat mechanical in that i don't think the footwork and motions come to him as naturally as they do for some other guys. last night, he made some tough threes and it was because his footwork was great and he was very balanced and in rythm.

a second thing that i think affects his consistency is just sort of a pet peeve of mine with this team in general, is that he watches the ball when he shoots. great shooters keep their eyes on the rim until the ball goes through it, they don't watch the ball through the air. it's a concentration thing and a bad habit that should have been coached out by now. it's not just him, you watch these guys shoot free throws and alot of them watch the ball.

I would add that he doesn't shoot the ball naturally, so much as he aims it. It almost like he concentrates TOO much on his mechanics, instead of just letting it fly (like, say, Dion).

 

[LennX6]

Awesome game for BT last night.

The inexplicable bobbles out of bounds and the hurried rush to release his free throws last night were conspicuously missing.

 

[LennX6]

that dog is frankly out of chain.i'd bring him off the bench for a game or two just to break his streak and sound the wakeup alarm.hey it's do or die time. if your saving something brandon...ya better spend it all now! all out of next years.

I highly doubt the players think this way , even though from time to time announcers try to convince us anyhow...but......the thought went threw my head BT was just going through the motions during the cupcake part of the schedule, and now we are in the league, he wiped off the windshield turned the throttle up a bit. Could this make sense , but remember he saw how Wes and AO and KJ all were not the same player in March as they were in November. I used to seriously wonder if some day KJ would get paralyzed from some of the hard fouls he took. Again, just wild speculation, but hell, ins't that what these boards are for? (kind of)

 

[orangehomer]

This is an excellent post, and excellent advice. Lot of theory and psychology behind it, works for baseball pitchers too. Good thing for any parent or coach to teach a youngster learning the game.

I also read something once that training yourself to sort of 'blur' or 'defocus' your vision of a target after starting any motion, kind of briefly & slightly going cross-eyed. It will actually increase accuracy dramatically, supposedly it works by removing counterproductive mechanical corrections mid-motion while still maintaining regional hand-eye coordination (which is lost if you were to close your eyes). It also is supposed to give a psychological confidence effect, because when you defocus you mentally commit to the motion & remove doubt. Sort of along the same lines as the "your initial response is usually the right one" theory.

I've tried it with all kinds of stuff from throwing baseballs, footballs, darts, even my golf swing and was shocked how true and effective that theory is (was most evident when throwing a baseball, specifically how consistently accurate pitches become and how much smaller it makes any deviations) ... but it is incredibly counter-intuitive and unnatural, thus really hard to commit to consistently and even harder to teach to anyone but adults. Recommend trying it sometime for shts & giggles.

very interesting post. i need to digest this information, it makes some sense.

 

[orangefan13]

Excellent points.
imo, my favorite play of the year so far was against Rutgers. Mike had the ball on the left side. Triche on the right and James on Mike's left. Mike had the ball and James curled out to his side for a 3 and Mike passed him the ball. James was guarded and made a immediate pass back to Mike. James then ran back inside and curled back outside again. Mike passed the ball to southerland again at the three point line but he was guarded again and gave it back to mike. Mike then threw the ball to Triche on the right side for some isolation ball. James then cut back inside the defender overplayed his cut back outside for a three and james curled around for the crosscourt backdoor oop from Triche instead. Loved that play best of the year! James was laughing after that one for the next few minutes.
couchburn

 

[cusetown1]

I like the fact that JB knows he has shooters on this team and they were just slumping. Lots of upside with this team.