Jump to content

Five positives from the Troy game


Sheltiedave

Recommended Posts

While this game was odoriferous for much of the first half, there are some significant positives that stand out.

1. Overall team defense was good, especially forcing driving guards/forwards into help, and jumping the passing lanes to tip/intercept overhead passes while playing zone.

2. We made four threes in a row in the final quarter. Most hot three binges occur in the first half, when everyone has strong legs. Doing it in the last quarter speaks well of our conditioning level.

3. Both Gordon and Thatch got significant minutes and looked comfortable. Getting the freshmen up to speed is critical; having two who are in the rotation with double digit minutes is huge.

4. In the second half, French showed he would listen to coaching, and he stopped forcing drives while double/triple teamed. He allowed the help double to commit, and then made the dime pass to the open man multiple times.

5. Gordon did not miss a shot, and every shot in the paint was contested. Finishing through body contact often is the difference between a one point, or a three point possession.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought Travis called a good game. He inserted Wiley at just the right time and went 4 guard because he saw we'd lose w/ 2 bigs who can't hit the ocean from the dock so they had the inside packed in tighter than a can of Spam. Besides we've got big guards that can board in Bess and Goodwin. The 2-3 Zone was a good move as well. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I expect we'll see more kick outs from our bigs going once our guards get their outside game on track. Second half was a start last night. I think Travis must have told Wiley that if you're open shoot it I don't care how many u might miss. Shooters gotta shoot! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we continue to defend and rebound as we have and shoot like the 2nd half then our season will go as we hope.  If not meltdown.

To counteract our bad shooting we need to get better with finishing in transition.  The guy leading the break often has no one in position to pass to.  I've also seen that they pass too late (TI in game 1). 

I want them to push the tempo get down fast score in transition.  We have a deeper team than most so we can keep guys fresh.  That plus our big men beating down the other team in the paint will wear down other teams. 

If shooting stays below average but we do the above we'll win most games.  We don't do the above we barely win or lose.  We do the above and shoot better we blow teams out.

 

Oh and keep TOs to about 12/game.  Only 2 in the 2nd half last night that led to the win.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, slu72 said:

I thought Travis called a good game. He inserted Wiley at just the right time and went 4 guard because he saw we'd lose w/ 2 bigs who can't hit the ocean from the dock so they had the inside packed in tighter than a can of Spam. Besides we've got big guards that can board in Bess and Goodwin. The 2-3 Zone was a good move as well. 

i disagree.   we played way too slow and a lot of our shortcomings in the game were probably the result of such.   we are deeper, faster, stronger, bigger and we walk the ball down the floor everytime everyone stands around and we pass the ball very methodically with ever pass receiver standing with the ball over his head looking at french, gordon or foreman to be open in the middle while the best they do to be in a position to get the balll is try to make themselves bigger with a hand in the air.  meanwhile the shot clock is running down and eventually someone has to try to make some sort of one on one move or throw up a contested three.   and we wonder why our three point shooting isnt better?

i am sure the plan was to get the ball inside but honestly that has to come natural.   and there needs to be movement all over the floor or it is just too easy to defend.   i wont blame the players because if it was a player fault, there would have been benchings (or at least should have been) so imo this one is all on coach ford.   

the best we have looked thus far was the quincy game.   now granted that was just quincy.   but if you recall we had run outs the whole game, we pushed the tempo and got easy shots.  as long as we play norman dale ball this team will not be the jauggernaut we all expected.   

GoSluBills likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, TheA_Bomb said:

If we continue to defend and rebound as we have and shoot like the 2nd half then our season will go as we hope.  If not meltdown.

To counteract our bad shooting we need to get better with finishing in transition.  The guy leading the break often has no one in position to pass to.  I've also seen that they pass too late (TI in game 1). 

I want them to push the tempo get down fast score in transition.  We have a deeper team than most so we can keep guys fresh.  That plus our big men beating down the other team in the paint will wear down other teams. 

If shooting stays below average but we do the above we'll win most games.  We don't do the above we barely win or lose.  We do the above and shoot better we blow teams out.

 

Oh and keep TOs to about 12/game.  Only 2 in the 2nd half last night that led to the win.

Spoken like a coach who has lead his team to a championship or two. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, moytoy12 said:

Spoken like a coach who has lead his team to a championship or two. 

Exactly,  especially since our PG is Goodwin or TI so they aren't traditional passing PGs so running sets won't be their strong suit.  This plays to our strengths.

 

Yes I know what I'm talking about,  I'm basically known as the Steve Kerr of Kuwait.

IMG-20180315-WA0003.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, billikenfan05 said:

Random observation: I really thought our bigs got hammered underneath the basket. 

I was saying this to @RiseOfTheBillikens. It seemed like Troy was getting away with murder in the paint. 

Now whether we actually wanted our bigs at the line is an entirely different question. 

ARon likes this
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, billiken_roy said:

i disagree.   we played way too slow and a lot of our shortcomings in the game were probably the result of such.   we are deeper, faster, stronger, bigger and we walk the ball down the floor everytime everyone stands around and we pass the ball very methodically with ever pass receiver standing with the ball over his head looking at french, gordon or foreman to be open in the middle while the best they do to be in a position to get the balll is try to make themselves bigger with a hand in the air.  meanwhile the shot clock is running down and eventually someone has to try to make some sort of one on one move or throw up a contested three.   and we wonder why our three point shooting isnt better?

i am sure the plan was to get the ball inside but honestly that has to come natural.   and there needs to be movement all over the floor or it is just too easy to defend.   i wont blame the players because if it was a player fault, there would have been benchings (or at least should have been) so imo this one is all on coach ford.   

the best we have looked thus far was the quincy game.   now granted that was just quincy.   but if you recall we had run outs the whole game, we pushed the tempo and got easy shots.  as long as we play norman dale ball this team will not be the jauggernaut we all expected.   

I feel like when we get out in transition we are always pushing unfavorable numbers like 2 on 3 or 2 on 4. I agree that I would like to see more of a transition game but I don't want them to attack when there's not an opening.

 Maybe we could do better about getting numbers to run out when shots go up. We will have to run a half court offense though so getting work in early against these teams is probably a good thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, RiseOfTheBillikens said:

I feel like when we get out in transition we are always pushing unfavorable numbers like 2 on 3 or 2 on 4. I agree that I would like to see more of a transition game but I don't want them to attack when there's not an opening.

 Maybe we could do better about getting numbers to run out when shots go up. We will have to run a half court offense though so getting work in early against these teams is probably a good thing.

A good lead guard on the break will pull up if no advantage (think H wakdman) but they come up the floor looking first for the quick strike opportunity.  Last night except for a couple of outfront steals we never looked to get down the floor first

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, RiseAndGrind said:

Varnardo was very good. Just looked it up and he's a freshman. impressive. 

You must have slipped a line.  He is a Senior, and most important, was a 2* in HS.  I don't have his AAU stats handy. But, yeah, I wouldn't mind him in Blue and White.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sheltiedave said:

While this game was odoriferous for much of the first half, there are some significant positives that stand out.

1. Overall team defense was good, especially forcing driving guards/forwards into help, and jumping the passing lanes to tip/intercept overhead passes while playing zone.

2. We made four threes in a row in the final quarter. Most hot three binges occur in the first half, when everyone has strong legs. Doing it in the last quarter speaks well of our conditioning level.

3. Both Gordon and Thatch got significant minutes and looked comfortable. Getting the freshmen up to speed is critical; having two who are in the rotation with double digit minutes is huge.

4. In the second half, French showed he would listen to coaching, and he stopped forcing drives while double/triple teamed. He allowed the help double to commit, and then made the dime pass to the open man multiple times.

5. Gordon did not miss a shot, and every shot in the paint was contested. Finishing through body contact often is the difference between a one point, or a three point possession.

Overall,  a good game to win, in the last four years we probably would have lost this game.

Troy is a solid team, #23 is very good, experienced recognized double teams quickly, attacks when he has the angle.  He was reacting and not thinking....our guys are still thinking quite a bit.  They forced us into a half court game, got enough players back to prevent easy layups.  We are just learning and thinking too much.  The “rain” of threes was interesting, 3 of the four were players reacting to a shot clock winding down, TI, JG and JB ‘s.  Perhaps that relaxed then a bit so they were not thickening, and just shot in rythmn.  

 

What is Hankton’s injury?  Welmer cast and none weight bearing is down right sad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, gobillsgo said:

Worth mentioning that Troy plays at Pitt tomorrow night. Yeah, we played awful for three quarters of the game, but it should give us a slight idea of how we match up. I think Troy is a decent team, but if Pitt wins by 30 that would be a bit disheartening. 

That will be interesting. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just did some cursory research on Pitt. Lot of similarities between the Panthers and where we were 3 years ago. Stallings somehow led them down the same rabbit hole as Crews took us down. When Capel showed up last spring 8 guys were looking to transfer and their top recruit opted out of his LOI. Capel was able to convince 5 of them to stay and landed some good recruits. 

Another similarity is Capel and Travis' backgrounds. Both played for Royalty programs and were stars. Capel did a brief stint as an AC but then got the VCU job and took them to the dance. Was the hired by Oklahoma, and with Blake Griffin took them dancing. But whe Griffin left he couldn't maintain and was fired. Sounds a lot like Travis at OKS with Smart. Both are in their 40s w/ major rebuilds on their hands to re establish their cred. 

In their first two games Pitt appears to have had no problems beating Youngstown St and VMI. They scored 95 v VMI. We haven't even sniffed the 90's. But who knows how good those two squads are. I'll leave it to the Wiz to do the matchups the day before the game. 

It will interesting to see how we compare after they play Troy. Especially because Pitt plays them in 2 days. 

My point in this is I think we all kind of looked at the Pitt game as not being that difficult a contest. I'm not so sure after our two recent outings, and that's why their game against Troy should tell us a lot about how we might fare against them in NYC. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...