My thoughts after the Hartford game
First: a few more insults to injury - Hartford tied a school record with its 12 three-pointers in its win and senior Bo Taylor's 21 points and soph Michael Turner's 18 points were both career highs ...this from the HU web site...
I have a few thoughts and observations. As a sports writer I do not profess to be a coach or have a Ron Krayl-like knowledge of X's and O's or Dave's expertise of the motion offense.....
Having said that.....
1. John Bunch - On defense I have a hard time figuring why he is flying out, well lunging, out on the perimeter attempting to swat away 3's. My take is he may be covering for gaps left by others. That can't be the defense MU has drawn up.
Also: At least tonight on defense, John seemed to be lurking too far out in the middle of the lane, guarding their center near or below the foul line. Thus the guy was driving past him. In my opinion he has to remain much closer to the basket..let the guy shoot 10-15 footers and see if he can make them.
On offense..John played 20 minutes and took two..TWO... shots. Ridiculous. Yeh
they (Hartford) were all over him, but he was getting the ball on the baseline, where's he going to go with it?
What happened to the high-low post, and lobbing it to him right in front of the hoop? Then he can turn any which way and shoot, pass it back out, or deliver the ball to a cutter. John is a very good passer.
The 3-point defense....That is now 25 3's allowed the last two games (MU has hit 22 in answer)...and, I beleive after a quick check, the first time MU has allowed back-to-back games of over 70 points at home since Sacred Heart and Gonzaga (and that was Gonzaga) not LIU and Hartford, pulled it off in 2001-2002.
I wish I could offer some deep..Xs and Os diagram reason for this...maybe you can..
Not all the 3's are unguarded of course, and I don't have a tape to review . Teams are going to make shots and Monmouth also hit a ton tonight. But it seems quite a few may have been open looks on both sides...
Monmouth has played the matchup zone forever, and as we know, has played it well.
But now I've never seen it look so vulnerable, inside, outside, and in between, against such very ordinary opposition...That wasn't Gonzaga out there.
The MU offense: Too many 3's launched by MU. Yeh, I know they have made a bushel but jack it up basketball is not MU basketball.
Where's the post game?
1. If Corey is going to start, than they have to make an effort to throw him the ball in the low post. He's 6-10 vs., for most of the rest of the season, going against 6-8 guys who are not as quick. He's not going to get any better on offense without the ball. If he continues to struggle, well, so be it. But I think they have to make an effort.
1A - When Bunch is in the game...if am Monmouth...I GET HIM THE DAMN BALL!..and maybe consider starting him...
Also..throwing it into the post slows the game down, cuts down on break outs by the opposition...cuts down on the scoring.
2. Yes, in my view it's time for more Jhamar time. He got 20 minutes tonight. Not enough. Needs to be on the floor most of the game. I don't care if he's a freshman.... doesn't matter. He is also fearless, blows by people to the hoop, and dares people to stop him. Since he can also shoot well enough from 3, that has to be honored by the defense as well.
Defensively ..not sure of how he's performing to be honest. Hard to tell without focusing on him, but he can't be a prime reason 3's are dropping on MU like rocks or Dave wouldn't have him in at the end of games...
Meanwhile..the season is far from over. MU has time, the exhibition game, and non-league games with Lehigh and Loyola Marymount to try and figure a few things out regarding players, lineups, rotations, etc. before league play resumes for the remainder of the season Jan. 4 vs. Wagner.
All this is just my opinion..as a sports writer..not a coach.
I could be way off on all of this, and maybe I am.
But the Press pays me to have a blog and offer my opinions and my comments to foster discussion.
This is how I see it.
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
I have a few thoughts and observations. As a sports writer I do not profess to be a coach or have a Ron Krayl-like knowledge of X's and O's or Dave's expertise of the motion offense.....
Having said that.....
1. John Bunch - On defense I have a hard time figuring why he is flying out, well lunging, out on the perimeter attempting to swat away 3's. My take is he may be covering for gaps left by others. That can't be the defense MU has drawn up.
Also: At least tonight on defense, John seemed to be lurking too far out in the middle of the lane, guarding their center near or below the foul line. Thus the guy was driving past him. In my opinion he has to remain much closer to the basket..let the guy shoot 10-15 footers and see if he can make them.
On offense..John played 20 minutes and took two..TWO... shots. Ridiculous. Yeh
they (Hartford) were all over him, but he was getting the ball on the baseline, where's he going to go with it?
What happened to the high-low post, and lobbing it to him right in front of the hoop? Then he can turn any which way and shoot, pass it back out, or deliver the ball to a cutter. John is a very good passer.
The 3-point defense....That is now 25 3's allowed the last two games (MU has hit 22 in answer)...and, I beleive after a quick check, the first time MU has allowed back-to-back games of over 70 points at home since Sacred Heart and Gonzaga (and that was Gonzaga) not LIU and Hartford, pulled it off in 2001-2002.
I wish I could offer some deep..Xs and Os diagram reason for this...maybe you can..
Not all the 3's are unguarded of course, and I don't have a tape to review . Teams are going to make shots and Monmouth also hit a ton tonight. But it seems quite a few may have been open looks on both sides...
Monmouth has played the matchup zone forever, and as we know, has played it well.
But now I've never seen it look so vulnerable, inside, outside, and in between, against such very ordinary opposition...That wasn't Gonzaga out there.
The MU offense: Too many 3's launched by MU. Yeh, I know they have made a bushel but jack it up basketball is not MU basketball.
Where's the post game?
1. If Corey is going to start, than they have to make an effort to throw him the ball in the low post. He's 6-10 vs., for most of the rest of the season, going against 6-8 guys who are not as quick. He's not going to get any better on offense without the ball. If he continues to struggle, well, so be it. But I think they have to make an effort.
1A - When Bunch is in the game...if am Monmouth...I GET HIM THE DAMN BALL!..and maybe consider starting him...
Also..throwing it into the post slows the game down, cuts down on break outs by the opposition...cuts down on the scoring.
2. Yes, in my view it's time for more Jhamar time. He got 20 minutes tonight. Not enough. Needs to be on the floor most of the game. I don't care if he's a freshman.... doesn't matter. He is also fearless, blows by people to the hoop, and dares people to stop him. Since he can also shoot well enough from 3, that has to be honored by the defense as well.
Defensively ..not sure of how he's performing to be honest. Hard to tell without focusing on him, but he can't be a prime reason 3's are dropping on MU like rocks or Dave wouldn't have him in at the end of games...
Meanwhile..the season is far from over. MU has time, the exhibition game, and non-league games with Lehigh and Loyola Marymount to try and figure a few things out regarding players, lineups, rotations, etc. before league play resumes for the remainder of the season Jan. 4 vs. Wagner.
All this is just my opinion..as a sports writer..not a coach.
I could be way off on all of this, and maybe I am.
But the Press pays me to have a blog and offer my opinions and my comments to foster discussion.
This is how I see it.
e-mail tonygsports@aol.com
posted by Tony Graham at 11:33 PM
13 Comments:
One more thing..it's not like MU is being blown out in these games (with teams of MU's level) so it would seem the problems are not impossible to improve upon...at least to some degree.
At the same time..it's my experience that college basketball teams that lose close at home tend to be roughed up on the road...we'll have to see...
And a few more musings and moanings....
Hartford's 76 points were (by 12) it's highest point total all year.
Defensively MU is not drawing offense charging fouls. Any last night? LIU? SHU? If so they are few and far between.
Steve Bridgemohan and Russ Anderson, among others, used to draw so many charges their nicknames should have been MasterCard.
Finally..the schedule. If I have done the math correctly (always an issue for me)....for MU to clinch a seventh consecutive winning season, at least prior to the NEC Tournament, it must go 13-6 the rest of the way.
Hey TG i agree with you on Youngblood, what was that about last night? He was on the bench, no fouls and ready with his cape on. In the end 20 mins, 12 pts, 4 ast, 6 rb. What's up? Defensively - he's doing well, he has lost his man a couple of times but no more than the vets and by no means can the 3's be attributed soley to him. I know we (your bloggers) are not the only ones that see this. Pull Dave's coat tale and tell him to read your blog to get some tips if he has run out of ideas, if they don't work then go back to "The System". It's obvious that the teams have no fear of our big men and that they (opponents) are practicing with that in mind. So shake it up stay small and If it doesn't work then oh well, one more "L" will look no worse than it already does.
I agree with you about Jhamar - he needs more playing time. Overall Mike Shipman has been pretty steady but he's not a big threat to score. There's nothing he can do that Jhamar can't plus Jhamar is a big threat with scoring on penetrations and some three's. And how about some of those passes!
If Dave needs to read my blog for tips....then the Hawks are really in trouble!
In my opinion, Jhamar has to play major minutes..however they work the rotations.
They are not in a position to bring him along slowly or even at a moderate rate.
At halftime last night I was asked who I thought would win. I said, "Hartford."..because I did not care for the offensive approach of MU, so long range as opposed to working the ball and getting good shots, and because I felt their defense was still ineffective.
And, with all that..if they go 10 or 11-for-13 from the line instead of 6-for-13 it could have been a different outcome.
Here is something for MU fans to consider...MU is ninth of 11 teams in the NEC in defense.
Generally - though not always - teams that finish near or at the bottom of the league in defense -
DO NOT EVEN QUALIFY FOR THE NEC TOURNAMENT.
Last night in loss to Harvard..LIU 7-for-20 from 3, James Williams 0-for-8.
Tony,the next 20 days off is a blessing.Dave and his staff will make adjustments and look long and hard at each of the players STATS and come up with a new line up.Mybe Simpson will recover and Corey can forget about the past games and come out ready to play.Tony keep us updated on the next 20 days.
Fear not. I'm going to be in touch with Dave after Tuesday's practice..might stop over there once this week and then will be at the Stockton game..after that I am a taking a few days off but will be keeping in touch and will be back a few days prior to the Lehigh game on Dec. 29.
Tony, it just doesnt look like mu has an offensenive game plan. I mean, Im sure they do, but what the heck is it? I dont even need to mention the defense, the numbers speak for themselves. Coaching Coaching Coaching, and a little bit of laziness on D are my targets of blame. I guess I have to blame the dismal foul shooting also.
Now about Jhamar.... You know what happens when you don't play your star enough? He Leaves.
Listen, I dont know whether Jhamar is enjoying himself or not at MU. He could love it and never think about leaving. The fact is this, he is the most talented player on the court when he's actually on the court. I can see if things are going really well, but we're not playing even close to well in my opinion.
Is it possible he's second guessing his choice of school right now?
Talk about an inferiority complex. MU gets a good player and right away people panic that he's going to leave.
Hey, anything can happen, but he is averaging fifth most minutes on the team right now and, if anything, I think that's going to climb in my opinion.
You're right, in my opinion about the MU offensive game. Looks more like LIU than MU, and it's not supposed to work that way.
Now I, myself, am not opposed to playing up tempo when you're on the break and, at times last night, if MU didn't have anthing in transition Jhamar and others did a good job of pulling it out and setting it up.
But, in my thinking, there wasn't enough drive and kick, or anything resembling a steady feeding of the post.
.
Defensively...it appears MU players are having a hard time keeping the ball in front of them, leading to dribble penetration, too many defensive players then being sucked in..and resulting in kick outs to open shooters.
This could be ...a combination of lack of experience (young guards) with, maybe, not as much defensive individual talent as one might have orginally thought.
Tony MU has 20 days off and 20 games to go. Today a record of 3-8 27% win rate they could end up 9-22, and not make the NEC tournament.They need 13 wins to keep the winning season record going .At best I can only see 10 more wins in the NEC , 13-18 MU will be a 6th-8th seed.I dont see anything right now to change the math. 20 days to figure out a winnig formula.
Post a Comment
<< Home