The adjustments by Pike and staff may be viewed as taking too long, but I believe they're tied to when a team gets to see them and then doesn't have a chance to adjust again.
When Reiber came in, it was clearly because Cliff was screening and then waiting for a handoff/pass to our guards, to minimize the amount if dribbling. BUT it was the same Purdue defensive gameplan, which is leave Cliff open at the foul line or top of the key/3 point line.
You either live with Cliff taking a wide open 3 or long 2, which is a win for the opponent......OR we continue to run the offense and hope Cam, Caleb, etc get a better shot.
By putting Reiber in, he is your Stretch 4/5 and prevents teams from sagging off.....if he can make a pass, then the offense reopens, lanes become open again and things look better.
So Reiber at this stage is a better situational fit, when teams decide to have their 5, stand in the middle of the lane, 5 feet off of Cliff. If and when Woolfolk play in that scenario and prove they can hit that 15/18 footer AND can then score in the post and rebound......that's when RU goes from Round of 32 to Sweet 16/Elite 8 territory, whether this season or beyond.
The tradeoff of looking for offense from Reiber is he has to play like last night on the glass and be a step faster on defense when the guards get beat on the perimeter and drive and kick. The guard defense with the perimeter is masked by Cliff, Caleb, Mag and taking 10 seconds off the shot clock, by pressing 3/4 court after baskets.
I think Iowa presents major issues on some levels, because Kris Murray looks healthy and in sync.....and they don't have any reasons to do anything other than launch 3s, which takes away our rebounding advantages.
We will need to score and set up the 3/4 court for sure and make Iowa knows they're in for a hornets nest early. I think we might see more of Reiber vs Iowa, it's probably a better matchup for him to score inside AND at the 3 point line.....Rebraca from Iowa is going to score so we have to make him play defense and defend Cliff and Reiber.
And I need to emphasize, how confident Cam Spencer is looking and sounding. Sitting downstairs and very close to the action last night isn't where I usually sit. But Spencer and the Maryland guards were chatting a LOT and maybe thats because he's from Maryland and has played against some of their DMV guards before. But the Spencer we are seeing in the last 4 to 5 games is a more aggressive and looking for his offense guy......and it's a must have. Mix that with a more aggressive and looking to score Mulcahy and a lot of pieces are falling into place.
