Next Up: NAU

[GrizBall]

What happened to Whitney?

Was wondering the same thing. Don't remember seeing him much after halftime.

I didn’t notice anything. Seems like all last year he was the proclaimed “Cone-Stopper”. I checked the Play by Play and it looked like he didn’t play the final 22 mins of the 2nd half + OT. I hope he is not hurt. If not, this was a highly unusual situation, particularly against Cone.

 

[LivingstonNative]

I thought Travis believed in getting the ball to player with the hot hand. Bannon, In my opinion, was on a cold streak. He played well at the beginning of the game.
OH WELL!

Vasquez kept UM in this game but when he should have gotten the ball, it went to Bannon..go figure.

You’re right! Vasquez WAS the guy to go in this game.

 

[RoseyMustGo]

Was wondering the same thing. Don't remember seeing him much after halftime.

I didn’t notice anything. Seems like all last year he was the proclaimed “Cone-Stopper”. I checked the Play by Play and it looked like he didn’t play the final 22 mins of the 2nd half + OT. I hope he is not hurt. If not, this was a highly unusual situation, particularly against Cone.

Cone needed to be double-teamed in OT. He took every shot for NAU, as he should have

 

[Sport]

No question NAU is really bad. So what does that place us? No offensive rhythm whatsoever. Guys were just standing around waiting for someone else to take charge. Early in the game it was Bannon but you can’t ride that horse every game every night.
And what happened to Whitney? Did he get injured? I don’t remember seeing him at all in the 2nd half? Moody is no point guard as was evidenced during the final 5 minutes. Moody came off the bench at SUU and that’s what his role should be. The gun slinger when the Griz need a quick picker upper.
If I was Travis I’d move Vasquez to point and I’d go with Jaxson Nap in place of Martin. I’d split the point between Whitney and Josh. Josh had several steals and or blocks and we’re not using his strengths. I think Whitney is 6’ on a good day and Josh is 6’3”. He’s a very savvy player and he can shoot the 3 so they would not be able to pack the inside against Bannon and Thomas. Nap at 6’7” gives the Griz a good number 3 who has an uncanny ability to pass the ball to open men. I’d like to see them run some plays through him. He’ll make mistakes but that’s part of maturity and the only way he’s going to get better and learn the speed of the college game.
I told Travis that one complaint I have with his staff and coaching style is he doesn’t allow or coach the young players to get better. And the way you do that is let them learn from their mistakes on the court. My high school coach was famous for that. If you made a mistake you went to the bench. So you tried not to make mistakes which limited Your creative ability on the court. You were always looking to the coach’s approval.
I was really thinking this at worst would be a split on the road trip. After the cats manhandled NC they are going to be one pissed basketball team.
We can only hope.

 

[GrizBall]

The thing about Bannan is that he is the team’s best passer and scorer, he also has the best chance to get fouled. It gives you tons on flexibility to make a variety of plays as the situation dictates. Vasquez doesn’t get a lot of assists or gets to foul line. Driving to the basket is also not a strength of his. You need to draw a play to get him open. The downside is if the play doesn’t result in an open shot, the odds are you don’t end up with a good shot.

 

[Hoops watcher]

Judging from this game, Bannon is not a go to guy when the game is on the line. Maybe, it's the altitude.

Or just possibly playing 44 out of 45 minutes at altitude.......

 

[Hoops watcher]

Bannan played his heart out for 44 minutes. They need a rest plan for him.

A peek at the box says he wasn't alone needing a breather down the stretch. Talk about a short bench.......
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401469658

 

[Hoops watcher]

The thing about Bannan is that he is the team’s best passer and scorer, he also has the best chance to get fouled. It gives you tons on flexibility to make a variety of plays as the situation dictates. Vasquez doesn’t get a lot of assists or gets to foul line. Driving to the basket is also not a strength of his. You need to draw a play to get him open. The downside is if the play doesn’t result in an open shot, the odds are you don’t end up with a good shot.

Bannan would be much more effective if we had a Rorie in the backcourt to share the load consistently scoring wise. He has to do far more than other bigs like Belo ball handling and rebounding and he has no one that can pick him up and give him a few plays off the ball. He has no consistent help.

 

[GrizBall]

What happened to Whitney?

At altitude, playing without starting guard Brandon Whitney for much of the game with a non-COVID illness.

 

[Callithowiseeit]

The thing about Bannan is that he is the team’s best passer and scorer, he also has the best chance to get fouled. It gives you tons on flexibility to make a variety of plays as the situation dictates. Vasquez doesn’t get a lot of assists or gets to foul line. Driving to the basket is also not a strength of his. You need to draw a play to get him open. The downside is if the play doesn’t result in an open shot, the odds are you don’t end up with a good shot.

I'm not sure we have ever seen that kid really play his game, not doing because one is not allowed to is much different than not being able to. This kid may finally be finding his groove and this could be a difference maker if they recognize what's happening. Efficiency and flow are a big deal, I don't think his recent production is an accident. He needs to play period and should probably Crack the starting lineup if he hasn't already!!!! Happy for Vasquez and glad to see him looking more like himself.

 

[GrizBall]

The thing about Bannan is that he is the team’s best passer and scorer, he also has the best chance to get fouled. It gives you tons on flexibility to make a variety of plays as the situation dictates. Vasquez doesn’t get a lot of assists or gets to foul line. Driving to the basket is also not a strength of his. You need to draw a play to get him open. The downside is if the play doesn’t result in an open shot, the odds are you don’t end up with a good shot.

I'm not sure we have ever seen that kid really play his game, not doing because one is not allowed to is much different than not being able to. This kid may finally be finding his groove and this could be a difference maker if they recognize what's happening. Efficiency and flow are a big deal, I don't think his recent production is an accident. He needs to play period and should probably Crack the starting lineup if he hasn't already!!!! Happy for Vasquez and glad to see him looking more like himself.

Could not agree more!

 

[RoseyMustGo]

I'm not sure we have ever seen that kid really play his game, not doing because one is not allowed to is much different than not being able to. This kid may finally be finding his groove and this could be a difference maker if they recognize what's happening. Efficiency and flow are a big deal, I don't think his recent production is an accident. He needs to play period and should probably Crack the starting lineup if he hasn't already!!!! Happy for Vasquez and glad to see him looking more like himself.

Could not agree more!

Totally agree. How does Martin get so many minutes? I have never been impressed with him.

 

[Griz til I die]

Now again, I didn’t get to watch the game last night, but after reading the post game write-up, it appears Whitney hardly played in the game with a non-Covid related illness. Feel free to stop me if I’m completely wrong, but I wonder if we missed Whitney’s defense last night as it appears Cone finished with 26 points last night. 20 of which came in the second half and OT. Looks like we scored enough points to win the game, but we just didn’t do a good enough job defensively on Cone. Would I be right about that?

 

[westsider]

One guys opinion....the over-all talent level, bench strength, and moxie of these 2022-23 Grizzlies has plummeted since 2018-2019. Home attendance looks like it is doing the same.

 

[Grizfan-24]

Now again, I didn’t get to watch the game last night, but after reading the post game write-up, it appears Whitney hardly played in the game with a non-Covid related illness. Feel free to stop me if I’m completely wrong, but I wonder if we missed Whitney’s defense last night as it appears Cone finished with 26 points last night. 20 of which came in the second half and OT. Looks like we scored enough points to win the game, but we just didn’t do a good enough job defensively on Cone. Would I be right about that?

Travis said as much in the post game interview. Vasquez plays hard on defense, but isn't the same type of on ball defender Whitney is when it comes to defending dynamic ballhandlers like Cone.

Travis was obviously a bit ticked with himself about how they played defensively down the stretch. Not on Vasquez at all, but cone got a lot clean looks late when they adjusted where he was getting the ball in their offense. He said it was on him and not necessarily how the players executed from what I was able to discern.

 

[Big Sage]

According to the ESPN Box Score, announced attendance last night was 363! 5% of capacity. WTF
We need a new conference

 

[GrizBall]

Now again, I didn’t get to watch the game last night, but after reading the post game write-up, it appears Whitney hardly played in the game with a non-Covid related illness. Feel free to stop me if I’m completely wrong, but I wonder if we missed Whitney’s defense last night as it appears Cone finished with 26 points last night. 20 of which came in the second half and OT. Looks like we scored enough points to win the game, but we just didn’t do a good enough job defensively on Cone. Would I be right about that?

I would say that is a fair statement, but you also would not have gotten a 17 point (33 min, 3-5 from three, 5 steals, 2 block, 0TO) performance from Vazquez. Then you just have to speculate on the net difference (Whitney's career high in steals is 3 and blocks is 2, which he has only done 1 time). 5 steals and 2 blocks by Vazquez pretty much single-handedly eliminates 7 possessions.

 

[AllWeatherFan]

We need both Whitney and Vazquez. It’s a different offense when both Whitney and Moody are in there. Much more and quicker ball movement, which frees up Bannan and Thomas. Bannan is having to handle the ball way too much.

Get healthy, Mr. Whitney! :thumb:

 

[grizonbob]

I watched a good part of the game and I couldn't understand why Whitney wasn't playing the second half. Things make more sense now that I know he was ill.

Outcome likely would have been different if he had been there to guard Cone, who was basically unstoppable at the end.

That said, I thought Vazquez looked great on defense with 5 steals and 2 blocks (I honestly don't remember if he was guarding Cone or if someone else was) and he was really efficient on offense with 17 points on 5-8 FGs and 4-4 FTs.

Martin didn't do anything in particular to impress.

Griz, as many have pointed out, have a thin bench. Doesn't give someone like Bannan much of a chance to rest.

 

[RoseyMustGo]

I watched a good part of the game and I couldn't understand why Whitney wasn't playing the second half. Things make more sense now that I know he was ill.

Outcome likely would have been different if he had been there to guard Cone, who was basically unstoppable at the end.

That said, I thought Vazquez looked great on defense with 5 steals and 2 blocks (I honestly don't remember if he was guarding Cone or if someone else was) and he was really efficient on offense with 17 points on 5-8 FGs and 4-4 FTs.

Martin didn't do anything in particular to impress.

Griz, as many have pointed out, have a thin bench. Doesn't give someone like Bannan much of a chance to rest.

If we have such a thin bench, why aren't we playing some of these red-shirted players? If they are going to be solid players in the future, as hoped, and we need them now, they should play now. In today's college world, good players are asked to contribute as freshmen, if not as starters, certainly as bench contributors. It bothers me that Travis feels that these red-shirts are incapable if helping a thin bench now. If not, are they really going to be that good next season???