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Some thoughts after the Maine game
BroadcastingDawg
Member Posts: 1,245
Offense improved quite a bit and the catalyst was a much better Quade Green. He seemed extremely hesitant in his first 3 games as a Dawg... but you could definitely see more intent in pretty much everything he did.
The offense changed a lot in the half-court set, which is good, cause frankly it was terrible... even in the Baylor win. First 3 games the Dawgs were sloppy with their dribble, sloppy with their passing, slow to recognize defensive shifts, and mostly just softly passed it around the perimeter until 5 seconds left on the shot clock and someone had to huck up a prayer. I thought Green once again set the tone against Maine here... he was very intent on driving the lane and hit some nice touch layups. Jaden, Naz, Bey and even Hamir took the ball to the hoop for more than we'd seen.
^ This is especially important because an effective offense can't start 10 feet past the 3pt line... defenses were pressuring our guards well behind the 3-point stripe and it pushed everyone up... including Stewart who was catching passes that were meant for the block 10-15 feet from the hoop. That's not his game... we need to drive, drive, drive and drive some more so we can get Stewart the ball deep or kick it out and hit some 3's.
I thought our passing was much, much crisper this game. So much more intent with the ball, passing out of dangerous situations quickly to give us an advantage. Good passing is intentful and deceptive... it keeps the other team off balance and puts your guy in an improved position... before we were passing just to pass... nothing behind it... as lame as that sounds.
As crazy is it sounds... I think this basketball team is better with Sam Timmins on the court instead of Hameir Wright. Stewart draws so much attention out there and Sam showed me that he's a great finisher when it's right in front of him to do so. Sam looks much improved in my eyes... it seems like he spent the off-season in the weight room gaining muscle and getting leaner. The post move he put on his guy last night showed a marked improvement in his body control... before he didn't have much control in his footwork and would either travel or barrel into the opponent... in his one solid finish he backed his man down with a jolt into the opponents hip... squared his hips... and finished with a soft baby hook a foot from the basket. I also saw a marked improvement w/ his hands... they threw some tough passes to him that he corralled for a couple dunks and an easy layup. You also don't lose anything on the defensive end... he's actually a good close out perimeter defender... and he blocks just as well as Hameir on the interior + has the bulk and size to make guys nervous driving on him.
This is a better basketball team when Naz is focused on creating turnovers and converting on runouts. Naz was 4-6 for 8 pts... 6 pts for dunks in transition. At this juncture, even though he's made a few, the offense is better off when he's not hucking up a bunch of 3's... we need him to drive... he's easily our best finisher at the rim and has a killer step-back mid-range game.
I don't quite understand why Raequan Battle hasn't seen any time out there. Yeah he's a freshman, so what? He's about the only guy on this team you could depend on to light it up from 3 and he'd relieve quite a bit of pressure doing so/allow guys like Green and Naz to take on roles the Huskies desperately need on O.
I like Nate Roberts' energy... he should get 10 minutes a game just to come in a deliver a jolt when it's needed. That lefty dunk he threw down last night was super athletic... he's an athletic big body that could do wonders in a limited bench role this year.
Jaden... hmmm... 4-17... I like that he was less bashful... but man, hit some shots. I feel like his KD comparison was maybe a bit of a stretch. He's got the same kind of cross-over, step-back KD type shot that's tough to defend because he's 6'10... but he doesn't convert nearly as well as KD ever did. Lotta klanks. His ball handling is also a bit of a liability... like KD... the ball has so much distance to cover when it bounces and comes back to his hand... that it's easy to strip. He's had issues with guys getting a quick hand in there and either disrupting his dribble or knocking it away. KD was an advanced ball handler and shooter for his size when he was Jaden's age... Jaden has to try to match that ability if he dreams of going places... it starts with learning how to use his body to shield the ball or use the direction of the dribble effectively to make it so guys can't poke at it... he's also gotta be a lot more aggressive with his dribble... his handle looks lax. I remember KD fondly during his time with the Sonics... the one area he really struggled as a rookie was driving to the hoop... he didn't have the muscle to bang around in there... but man, his ability to cross over and shoot was magnificent and Jaden isn't close in that department... at least not yet.
I liked the more aggressive style of zone we played. There was far less standing around and showing our arms... we were far more aggressive in the passing lanes... got pressure on the ball handler and recovered well when we took chances on passes and missed. The energy of our defense is going to dictate a lot of our scoring and it needs to remain as active as it was against Maine. We had 11 steals forced Maine into 20 turnovers... most of which were because the ball handler was flustered and threw frantic, ill-thought passes.
The offense changed a lot in the half-court set, which is good, cause frankly it was terrible... even in the Baylor win. First 3 games the Dawgs were sloppy with their dribble, sloppy with their passing, slow to recognize defensive shifts, and mostly just softly passed it around the perimeter until 5 seconds left on the shot clock and someone had to huck up a prayer. I thought Green once again set the tone against Maine here... he was very intent on driving the lane and hit some nice touch layups. Jaden, Naz, Bey and even Hamir took the ball to the hoop for more than we'd seen.
^ This is especially important because an effective offense can't start 10 feet past the 3pt line... defenses were pressuring our guards well behind the 3-point stripe and it pushed everyone up... including Stewart who was catching passes that were meant for the block 10-15 feet from the hoop. That's not his game... we need to drive, drive, drive and drive some more so we can get Stewart the ball deep or kick it out and hit some 3's.
I thought our passing was much, much crisper this game. So much more intent with the ball, passing out of dangerous situations quickly to give us an advantage. Good passing is intentful and deceptive... it keeps the other team off balance and puts your guy in an improved position... before we were passing just to pass... nothing behind it... as lame as that sounds.
As crazy is it sounds... I think this basketball team is better with Sam Timmins on the court instead of Hameir Wright. Stewart draws so much attention out there and Sam showed me that he's a great finisher when it's right in front of him to do so. Sam looks much improved in my eyes... it seems like he spent the off-season in the weight room gaining muscle and getting leaner. The post move he put on his guy last night showed a marked improvement in his body control... before he didn't have much control in his footwork and would either travel or barrel into the opponent... in his one solid finish he backed his man down with a jolt into the opponents hip... squared his hips... and finished with a soft baby hook a foot from the basket. I also saw a marked improvement w/ his hands... they threw some tough passes to him that he corralled for a couple dunks and an easy layup. You also don't lose anything on the defensive end... he's actually a good close out perimeter defender... and he blocks just as well as Hameir on the interior + has the bulk and size to make guys nervous driving on him.
This is a better basketball team when Naz is focused on creating turnovers and converting on runouts. Naz was 4-6 for 8 pts... 6 pts for dunks in transition. At this juncture, even though he's made a few, the offense is better off when he's not hucking up a bunch of 3's... we need him to drive... he's easily our best finisher at the rim and has a killer step-back mid-range game.
I don't quite understand why Raequan Battle hasn't seen any time out there. Yeah he's a freshman, so what? He's about the only guy on this team you could depend on to light it up from 3 and he'd relieve quite a bit of pressure doing so/allow guys like Green and Naz to take on roles the Huskies desperately need on O.
I like Nate Roberts' energy... he should get 10 minutes a game just to come in a deliver a jolt when it's needed. That lefty dunk he threw down last night was super athletic... he's an athletic big body that could do wonders in a limited bench role this year.
Jaden... hmmm... 4-17... I like that he was less bashful... but man, hit some shots. I feel like his KD comparison was maybe a bit of a stretch. He's got the same kind of cross-over, step-back KD type shot that's tough to defend because he's 6'10... but he doesn't convert nearly as well as KD ever did. Lotta klanks. His ball handling is also a bit of a liability... like KD... the ball has so much distance to cover when it bounces and comes back to his hand... that it's easy to strip. He's had issues with guys getting a quick hand in there and either disrupting his dribble or knocking it away. KD was an advanced ball handler and shooter for his size when he was Jaden's age... Jaden has to try to match that ability if he dreams of going places... it starts with learning how to use his body to shield the ball or use the direction of the dribble effectively to make it so guys can't poke at it... he's also gotta be a lot more aggressive with his dribble... his handle looks lax. I remember KD fondly during his time with the Sonics... the one area he really struggled as a rookie was driving to the hoop... he didn't have the muscle to bang around in there... but man, his ability to cross over and shoot was magnificent and Jaden isn't close in that department... at least not yet.
I liked the more aggressive style of zone we played. There was far less standing around and showing our arms... we were far more aggressive in the passing lanes... got pressure on the ball handler and recovered well when we took chances on passes and missed. The energy of our defense is going to dictate a lot of our scoring and it needs to remain as active as it was against Maine. We had 11 steals forced Maine into 20 turnovers... most of which were because the ball handler was flustered and threw frantic, ill-thought passes.
Comments
DNR, FO
He’s an example of a coach that would probably do worse with 5 star talent. I think he will win another title before he’s done too.