I brought this up earlier. I was joking, of course. Now I'm not.
Our offense is terrible. Let me offer some specifics.
--Three-point shooting: We have five kids on our team shooting 40% or better from three-point range, and one more, Brandon Whitney, shooting 37.5%. Do you know how good that is? That is terrific! As a team we are shooting 39% from downtown versus roughly 31% for our opponents. This should give us a huge edge against any opponent, right?
Nope! We shoot way fewer three's than our opponents, and something on the order of 100 fewer three's than most other teams in the country. Today, early in the game against Portland State, I saw one of our guards pass up a wide-open warm-up three, instead drive in for a "better" shot and lose the ball. I'm screaming, "Shoot the damned ball!!!!!"
I put this squarely on DeCuire. He's a Mike Montgomery acolyte. Monty never liked the three-ball. Neither does DeCuire. The culture starts at the top. And when you have 40% shooters passing up wide-open warm-up three's, that is almost a criminal offense in today's basketball.
There. Is. No. Better. Shot.
--Post Touches: Over the entire season our three bigs---Owens, Bannan and Steadman--have a COMBINED 15 assists. That is terrible. This tells me two things in flashing red neon lights: Our bigs are not getting enough touches; and we sure as hell don't respect the three-point shot because our bigs should have way more assists simply passing the ball back out for wide-open three's.
We go possession after possession without any of our bigs touching the damned ball. When you have four kids 6'8" or taller on your team in the notoriously undersized Big Sky Conference, they should be integral parts of your offense. And if you try to tell me that post players don't have assists, I would direct you to Nikola Jokic, one the NBA's leaders in assists. It can be done! And crisp post passing is a thing of beauty in basketball.
--Movement off the ball. Almost non-existent. When's the last time you saw a player cut to the basket for a backdoor layup? Or get a layup from a feed along the baseline? If you ever watch a Warriors game, watch Steph Curry. CONSTANT movement off the ball. And not just Curry. The entire team is passing, cutting, curling, slicing, moving. Guarding the Warriors is a nightmare. Guarding the Griz is like guarding a Brinks truck. Next time we play, just watch the players watching the guards who are dribbling back and forth at the top of the key, waiting for Whitney to find an opening for a drive to the basket.
Jeez, I love this team. Our players are terrific--wonderful, high-character kids. They play tough tenacious defense. DeCuire is a rising star in the college ranks, and it has not escaped my attention that two jobs he'd take in a heartbeat--Cal and Washington--are both looking mighty shaky at this time. DeCuire has ties to both programs--and beat Washington this year. He has to be among the candidates mentioned if those jobs open up.
But he's got to juice up this offense. Or find an assistant who can. With our talent, in this conference, even with our youth--we should not be where we are right now.
Our offense is terrible. Let me offer some specifics.
--Three-point shooting: We have five kids on our team shooting 40% or better from three-point range, and one more, Brandon Whitney, shooting 37.5%. Do you know how good that is? That is terrific! As a team we are shooting 39% from downtown versus roughly 31% for our opponents. This should give us a huge edge against any opponent, right?
Nope! We shoot way fewer three's than our opponents, and something on the order of 100 fewer three's than most other teams in the country. Today, early in the game against Portland State, I saw one of our guards pass up a wide-open warm-up three, instead drive in for a "better" shot and lose the ball. I'm screaming, "Shoot the damned ball!!!!!"
I put this squarely on DeCuire. He's a Mike Montgomery acolyte. Monty never liked the three-ball. Neither does DeCuire. The culture starts at the top. And when you have 40% shooters passing up wide-open warm-up three's, that is almost a criminal offense in today's basketball.
There. Is. No. Better. Shot.
--Post Touches: Over the entire season our three bigs---Owens, Bannan and Steadman--have a COMBINED 15 assists. That is terrible. This tells me two things in flashing red neon lights: Our bigs are not getting enough touches; and we sure as hell don't respect the three-point shot because our bigs should have way more assists simply passing the ball back out for wide-open three's.
We go possession after possession without any of our bigs touching the damned ball. When you have four kids 6'8" or taller on your team in the notoriously undersized Big Sky Conference, they should be integral parts of your offense. And if you try to tell me that post players don't have assists, I would direct you to Nikola Jokic, one the NBA's leaders in assists. It can be done! And crisp post passing is a thing of beauty in basketball.
--Movement off the ball. Almost non-existent. When's the last time you saw a player cut to the basket for a backdoor layup? Or get a layup from a feed along the baseline? If you ever watch a Warriors game, watch Steph Curry. CONSTANT movement off the ball. And not just Curry. The entire team is passing, cutting, curling, slicing, moving. Guarding the Warriors is a nightmare. Guarding the Griz is like guarding a Brinks truck. Next time we play, just watch the players watching the guards who are dribbling back and forth at the top of the key, waiting for Whitney to find an opening for a drive to the basket.
Jeez, I love this team. Our players are terrific--wonderful, high-character kids. They play tough tenacious defense. DeCuire is a rising star in the college ranks, and it has not escaped my attention that two jobs he'd take in a heartbeat--Cal and Washington--are both looking mighty shaky at this time. DeCuire has ties to both programs--and beat Washington this year. He has to be among the candidates mentioned if those jobs open up.
But he's got to juice up this offense. Or find an assistant who can. With our talent, in this conference, even with our youth--we should not be where we are right now.
