50/50 Balls - huge improvement

[Yeah Baby]

This is an area of the game that means so much and very few talk about it. It means everything in every team action sport.

We are getting killed in this area. Loose balls, long rebounds, tipped rebounds are all going the wrong way right now leading to our slow starts, second chance points for the other team and just wearing our guys out.

RHJ and Caleb probably got 99% of those when they were here. Geo, Cam, Paul, Mag and Hyatt were / are all good in this area. We need others to get that mentality and not wait for it to happen. Strength and size of course help. Mag’s return will be a huge lift in this area.

 

[cm_13]

This is an area of the game that means so much and very few talk about it. It means everything in every team action sport.

We are getting killed in this area. Loose balls, long rebounds, tipped rebounds are all going the wrong way right now leading to our slow starts, second chance points for the other team and just wearing our guys out.

RHJ probably got 99% of those when he was here. Geo, Cam, Paul, Mag and Hyatt were / are all good in this area. We need others to get that mentality and not wait for it to happen. Strength and size of course help. Mag’s return will be a huge lift in this area.

Caleb was a magnet for 50/50 balls

 

[Yeah Baby]

Caleb was a magnet for 50/50 balls

Absolutely. He’s up there with RHJ.

 

[BillyC80]

Also have to have good hands, which most of our guys don’t have (especially Cliff) and right now we see too many missed opportunities to hold onto loose balls and 50/50 balls.

 

[Yeah Baby]

Also have to have good hands, which most of our guys don’t have (especially Cliff) and right now we see too many missed opportunities to hold onto loose balls and 50/50 balls.

I’ve seen games in the past where Cliff owned the paint. Right now he has 2 bodies and a lot of arms on him for every rebound. He can be and has definitely been better but it’s mental as much or more than it is physical. Some of it is just the way the ball bounces or rolls but effort can tip this in our favor. Again, Mag will help because he’s also right up there with Caleb and RHJ in. This area IMO.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Absolutely. He’s up there with RHJ.

what?!?

not fair to Caleb

 

[ImBadRU]

We are slow and physically weak

 

[Yeah Baby]

what?!?

not fair to Caleb

yeah Caleb was probably our best all around 50/50 guy. But we saw what happens when a guy like Mag gets hurt. It can’t be one guy is the point. We lost 2 guys who got after the ball two years ago and others stepped up last year. That’s the point. Guys need to get after it. Mag will help a lot both physically and mentally.

 

[Unionst]

Oskar is the only guy consistently diving for loose balls.

 

[Scangg]

Oskar is the only guy consistently diving for loose balls.

Oskar is the heart and grit of the team and that's a giant red flag

At times I'm trying to decide if Oskar got that much better or everyone else is that much worse. He's probably been our best and most consistent player somehow which is mind blowing that he is even under consideration

Who has played better overall so far? Maybe Hyatt? Literally no one is having a good season

 

[Unionst]

Oskar is the heart and grit of the team and that's a giant red flag

At times I'm trying to decide if Oskar got that much better or everyone else is that much worse. He's probably been our best and most consistent player somehow which is mind blowing that he is even under consideration

Who has played better overall so far? Maybe Hyatt? Literally no one is having a good season

Agree. As crazy as it sounds I think he should start, get more minutes, and be told to look for his shot. Don’t pass them up.

 

[BillyC80]

Agree. As crazy as it sounds I think he should start, get more minutes, and be told to look for his shot. Don’t pass them up.

Oskar’s biggest leap is in his confidence this year. He looks completely poised and not intimidated in the least.

In fact he’s showing veteran leadership by the way he handles himself out there. He’s attacking the glass (4 ORebs at WF) and even dunking now.

Kudos to him and to Pike for bringing him back.

 

[koleszar]

The guards are afraid of contact. They're constantly hesitating to go get it or back off. The big men just watch the ball and don't find a man to put a body on. It's a complete mess.

 

[Scangg]

Oskar’s biggest leap is in his confidence this year. He looks completely poised and not intimidated in the least.

In fact he’s showing veteran leadership by the way he handles himself out there. He’s attacking the glass (4 ORebs at WF) and even dunking now.

Kudos to him and to Pike for bringing him back.

The only one showing leadership out there. Maybe he can help the team prevent these slow starts every single game

 

[Rutgers25]

On more than one occasion there were downright concerning plays where Noah was basically sleeping in a loose ball situation. He seems wildly inconsistent out there in terms of both effort and production

 

[Yeah Baby]

Much better last night. To a man I saw an uptick in effort to get to these 50/50 balls and it paid off.

Rebounding also improved with Mag back. And yeah it helps when we hit a lot of 3’s too. But don’t sleep on team energy. We need it.