My belated fiver on Saturday's annual loss to the Cowboys at the Coliseum:
1. Our defense just doesn't make logical sense. The game has changed. No longer are teams pounding the ball down low, trying to maximize a size advantage, foul the other "bigs" out, play inside-out. Instead, teams - like Oklahoma State - want to live on the perimeter, or live on easy takes and poster-worthy dunks. There is no mid-range game, and there is no low-post game. However, we're willing to give as many open looks from three-point range as it takes, to ensure that the low post is covered. We willingly guard, and sometimes double-team, midrange jumpers, while leaving wings and forwards wide open for looks from beyond the arc. We can't guard drivers, but we don't crowd the lane. The entirety of everything we're doing defensively is an anathema to logical forethought. Why not play a 3-2 matchup zone, vigorously guard the three-point line, and dare teams to jump-shoot us to death? It can't be worse than what we're seeing now....
2. Isaac Likekele just abused our guards - 23 points, 9 rebounds, one posterization. We don't need to be playing man-to-man against that dude. If he's in the game, just go zone. Let's not even mess around with it. he just ate our guards alive. That was embarrassing.
3. Trey Doomes. First, Doomes looks the part - as it's nice having a guard out there who is an athletic 6'3", similar to Daxter Miles Jr. Secondly, Doomes showed some nice aggressiveness, with 2 boards in his 8 minutes, and a couple drives to the rim. It's well known that the kid can't shoot, but he could be helpful - if he can defend. And, that last part is still yet to be determined. Like to know his +/- for his 8 minutes Saturday.
4. No Esa Ahmad, No Wesley Harris. No Esa = We end up with our lowest turnover output of the season with 7. That's not a coincidence, although Beetle Bolden had just one turnover, and he is usually a bit loose with the ball. (Great game by Beetle with his 31 points and inspired play) No Wesley Harris = our poorest defensive performance of the season, at least to my untrained eye - it felt like we gave up 2ppp (or more). We did win the rebounding battle by 7, as Derek Culver was doing MANChild things, making up for Harris's absence (tip of the cap to Jermaine Haley's 7 boards too). But, we could've used Harris's presence on "D". I'm hoping he's back in the lineup tomorrow.
5. The one thing that gives me a bit of hope. Here's what gives me some semblance of hope that we can turn this thing around - if Sags returns this year, we could boast a starting lineup of 6'7" Jermaine Haley, Beetle Bolden, 6'9" Wesley Harris, 6'8" Sagaba Konate, 6'10" Derek Culver. That lineup, in and of itself, would be something to watch. If we would just try a 3-2 matchup zone with that lineup - having Sags and Culver hang in back as rim protectors - we would frustrate the living hell out of our opposition. Until then, I'm just hoping for more of the continued progression of Haley, more effort like this from Beetle, more impressive performances from Culver, and hopefully a few of the random 20+ point games from Lamont West.
1. Our defense just doesn't make logical sense. The game has changed. No longer are teams pounding the ball down low, trying to maximize a size advantage, foul the other "bigs" out, play inside-out. Instead, teams - like Oklahoma State - want to live on the perimeter, or live on easy takes and poster-worthy dunks. There is no mid-range game, and there is no low-post game. However, we're willing to give as many open looks from three-point range as it takes, to ensure that the low post is covered. We willingly guard, and sometimes double-team, midrange jumpers, while leaving wings and forwards wide open for looks from beyond the arc. We can't guard drivers, but we don't crowd the lane. The entirety of everything we're doing defensively is an anathema to logical forethought. Why not play a 3-2 matchup zone, vigorously guard the three-point line, and dare teams to jump-shoot us to death? It can't be worse than what we're seeing now....
2. Isaac Likekele just abused our guards - 23 points, 9 rebounds, one posterization. We don't need to be playing man-to-man against that dude. If he's in the game, just go zone. Let's not even mess around with it. he just ate our guards alive. That was embarrassing.
3. Trey Doomes. First, Doomes looks the part - as it's nice having a guard out there who is an athletic 6'3", similar to Daxter Miles Jr. Secondly, Doomes showed some nice aggressiveness, with 2 boards in his 8 minutes, and a couple drives to the rim. It's well known that the kid can't shoot, but he could be helpful - if he can defend. And, that last part is still yet to be determined. Like to know his +/- for his 8 minutes Saturday.
4. No Esa Ahmad, No Wesley Harris. No Esa = We end up with our lowest turnover output of the season with 7. That's not a coincidence, although Beetle Bolden had just one turnover, and he is usually a bit loose with the ball. (Great game by Beetle with his 31 points and inspired play) No Wesley Harris = our poorest defensive performance of the season, at least to my untrained eye - it felt like we gave up 2ppp (or more). We did win the rebounding battle by 7, as Derek Culver was doing MANChild things, making up for Harris's absence (tip of the cap to Jermaine Haley's 7 boards too). But, we could've used Harris's presence on "D". I'm hoping he's back in the lineup tomorrow.
5. The one thing that gives me a bit of hope. Here's what gives me some semblance of hope that we can turn this thing around - if Sags returns this year, we could boast a starting lineup of 6'7" Jermaine Haley, Beetle Bolden, 6'9" Wesley Harris, 6'8" Sagaba Konate, 6'10" Derek Culver. That lineup, in and of itself, would be something to watch. If we would just try a 3-2 matchup zone with that lineup - having Sags and Culver hang in back as rim protectors - we would frustrate the living hell out of our opposition. Until then, I'm just hoping for more of the continued progression of Haley, more effort like this from Beetle, more impressive performances from Culver, and hopefully a few of the random 20+ point games from Lamont West.
