There is a chance that Council will get out of his free-throw and overall shooting slump, that Devo’s set shot will continue to go in at a 40% rate, and that Nick will finally start to play as effectively in the second half of games as he does in the first half. They have some rest now and will not be playing on back to back games. So, we could beat the Illini and then pull the big upset of Kansas and this season would finish up very strong for the third year in a row. It may be a slim hope but it IS possible.
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No technicals needs to be in recipe, too.
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I suspect better rebounding will be mandatory as well against the physical Illini and Jayhawks.
I think free throw shooting will be more important.
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If you don’t turn it over, rebound decently at both ends and make more FTs than your opponent, you don’t have to shoot lights out to win. But a good shooting night would be nice.
Shooting is important for sure but we have not been the same defensive team for quite some time…
we have been very inconsistent on defense and very inconsistent in defensive rebounding…We need to get our intensity back in both of those areas and that will allow us to get out and run and that is when our offense is at it’s best because we have the athletes to strive in the open court.
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Ii think we will continue to be very inconsistent and frustrating to watch. Why change the pattern now?
About the same percentage as me getting Alexandra Daddario to go out on a date with me. Sorry to be the debbie downer here but this team isn’t going to change its DNA (to become a hot shooting team) at the end of a season. Coach said in the summer this wasn’t a great shooting team. The season has born that out.
There’s a better chance this team can put together some good defensive games than get hot offensively.
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Alexandra did mention your name at breakfast this morning.
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Well played!
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You still have a shot. Pretty sure it was just a one time thing with her and I anyway (mad props to Woody Harrelson, btw).
Still can’t get Alba to quit calling though.
Ha ha, I know what you mean. I told Jessica Biel to pack for a short trip and she still keeps bugging me.
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You and Jeremy best leave Jessica alone. I need her rested😜
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Sorry brother, she won’t have a chance at making any free throws.
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Its not likely, but its TOTALLY possible. We have four future NBA players on the court together…quite alot. Now…three are freshmen and green…and Ricky is up and down and unfortunately in a slump.
But if we get into an offensive groove…YES. I am not sure our team defense will suddenly become what it was last year.
In fact, it won’t. BUT we have real talent. If they get hot, yes, we could surprise some people.
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Our defense issues may be caused by fatigue and it makes you look lazy as well. I’m very anxious to see how we play after some rest and time to reflect on the mistakes we are making on both ends of the court which again may be due to fatigue. Good opponents can make you look bad and we have played a tough schedule down the stretch but at short periods of time we have looked good but was unable to sustain that through a complete game especially of late. I hate being out of town at work I’m only 125 from home to Des Moines. WPS
Yeah I got to thinking about that but then I also thought about a lot of the time we’re on offense 3-4 are doing nothing but standing there watching one person dribble so they’re getting plenty of rest on offense.
I just think it’s a mindset we have to come out determine it to totally dismantle their offense with pressure and hopefully we get a game that’s not little crappy pinky fouls being called on us and we can start to get out in transition
Our 2 Elite Eight teams were not good shooting teams either. Last season’s team was our worst 3 point shooting team of the 3 (including this season’s team). Our best 3 pt shooting team (.332) was the first one with Moses. However, they were the worst 3 point defending team (.337).
Surprisingly this years team is the best overall shooting team (47%) of the 3. Some of that is because they don’t shoot nearly as many 3s as the Elite Eight teams. This year’s team is definitely the worst FT shooting team (69%).
The worst statistic between this team and our 2 elite eight teams is the turnover differential between us and our opponents. This year’s team doesn’t have the most TOs of the 3, but they’ve only turned their opponents over 43 more times than they’ve committed TOs. Last season’s team was +97 and our 2020/21 team was +70.
They really don’t have to make a huge improvement in overall shooting to get on another Tourney run. They need to shoot their free throws much better (focus, focus). They need to cut down on the careless TOs. And they need to get more TOs in each game to increase the pace and score on fast breaks.
Since we have the dreaded 8 seed, a run is not probable, but with a little luck while playing our best game against Kansas, is possible.
Hope springs eternal. I agree it’s not likely that we all of a sudden get hot and blow by people, but maybe, just maybe Nick and Council put together great games at the same time and we get to the Sweet 16! There’s always hope…
These are by far not the only things we will need to do to win, but these are the players I will be looking toward for a deep run: Anthony Black and Ricky Council IV.
Can AB be the guy that we need him to be for this particular moment? He needs to dictate the pacing of the offense. I would love to see him actually SLOW the guys down at certain points in the game. We have a problem of standing around at times and watching poorly designed one-on-one matchups, but we also have a problem of running around like chickens with our heads chopped off. Can AB move the guys around a bit and get them into positions that can lead to cuts to the basket? I hope so. Side note: If possible, I would rather not see Nick running the offense with the ball in his hands. Nick seems to me to be better suited as a Reggie Miller type of player. Run around; get open; get the ball; fire it up. It’s not that Nick can’t score with the ball in his hands–and it’s not that he won’t have to do so at times. I just don’t think it suits this particular group as a game plan.
Ricky is the other one who is going to have to show up big but in a different way. We all know that Ricky can score. The problem is he has been telegraphing every move he makes to the basket with his body language and energy. I would love to see Ricky cut to the basket more and stop squaring up one-on-one. Dude, you’re faster than like 90% of the people on the court and stronger than most. Get the ball and instead of squaring up–which has led to either steals or dribbling off your own legs–immediately take it to the rim before the defender can D you up. Whenever he squares up, it’s the same dribbling pattern, and most guys are smart enough to figure it out and know exactly when he’s going to cross over and start his move to the basket. Either change up your pacing or stop squaring up. He needs to stop being Allan Iverson and start thinking like Lebron James. Just go, man. No one is going to get in your way. I promise. And, if they do, they are going to leave with a mark and another foul attached to their name.
Like I said, there is plenty to fix. In fact, all of this is a moot point if we can’t hit free throws. But, this is my little game within a game.
Can we make a run to the Elite Eight? To me, the answer is absolutely. But, so can a lot of other teams. The key is chemistry. Can these guys finally put it all together and play like a team? We’ve seen it off and on. And when it’s on, they are a championship-level team.
I’ll be rooting for them win or lose.
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