Ron Harper is shooting 6-16 on three-pointers over the last three games, but he's not getting the points inside (just 3-12 over the last five games, though he did get five free throws against OSU). You like to see the three start to come around but he can't settle in as a jump shooter.
Peter Kiss is getting a bit of a bad rap IMO. No, it doesn't look like he'll be able to shoulder a huge load offensively. But in the four Big Ten games he's played in, he's shot 6-17 (35%) from 3 and 6-14 inside. It's not a lot but it's something. He also doesn't turn it over much... Obviously with the kind of game he plays he SHOULDN'T be turning it over, but neither should Issa and Kiss has a better TO rate than Thiam.
Caleb McConnell has been impressive and has definitely earned more playing time. His ability to put the ball in the basket is something we need. But like Geo he's not really a true PG. 4 assists to 6 turnovers in five conference games. At this point it seems like we're just going to need to wait for Mulcahy (and Young, although I have questions about him at PG) to run the show. However, the experience that Caleb (and Geo) are getting this year will turn out to be important. Offenses just run better when multiple players on the floor can handle the ball.
Shaq Carter has been our MVP in conference play, which is not a sentence I expected to type. But he converts at the basket, shoots free throws reasonably well for a big man, and is a force on the offensive boards. Aside from the Minnesota game he hasn't really been too foul-prone, and he's already dealt with Happ, Wesson, Murphy, and Maryland's big guys. When we play teams like Illinois and Penn State, who are both very poor at defending the rim, we need to be giving Carter a lot of touches.
One trend that I like is that guys are getting better. McConnell and Carter along with Montez Mathis and Myles Johnson have all played better against better competition. I like that guys are rising to the occasion and I think it speaks well to our coaching staff. On the flip side, Baker and (before he got hurt) Omoruyi were playing significantly worse in conference play than they had in the non-conference, that's kind of an enigma. And considering that they use up the bulk of our possessions, it's something that needs to be figured out.
Last year in conference play we scored an abysmal .87 points per possession, worst in the conference by a mile (Minnesota at .98 was next-worse). We allowed 1.05 points per possession, 9th in the conference.
So far this year our offense is up to .98 points per possession, while our defense is at the bottom of the league at 1.12 points allowed. This kind of change is almost exactly what I thought would happen, though it doesn't always "feel" like this is the case. But it's happening. Our offense is looking better while the defense is worse, not unexpected with a bunch of youngsters playing. Mixing in zone helps but there needs to be some more adjustments made defensively.
Peter Kiss is getting a bit of a bad rap IMO. No, it doesn't look like he'll be able to shoulder a huge load offensively. But in the four Big Ten games he's played in, he's shot 6-17 (35%) from 3 and 6-14 inside. It's not a lot but it's something. He also doesn't turn it over much... Obviously with the kind of game he plays he SHOULDN'T be turning it over, but neither should Issa and Kiss has a better TO rate than Thiam.
Caleb McConnell has been impressive and has definitely earned more playing time. His ability to put the ball in the basket is something we need. But like Geo he's not really a true PG. 4 assists to 6 turnovers in five conference games. At this point it seems like we're just going to need to wait for Mulcahy (and Young, although I have questions about him at PG) to run the show. However, the experience that Caleb (and Geo) are getting this year will turn out to be important. Offenses just run better when multiple players on the floor can handle the ball.
Shaq Carter has been our MVP in conference play, which is not a sentence I expected to type. But he converts at the basket, shoots free throws reasonably well for a big man, and is a force on the offensive boards. Aside from the Minnesota game he hasn't really been too foul-prone, and he's already dealt with Happ, Wesson, Murphy, and Maryland's big guys. When we play teams like Illinois and Penn State, who are both very poor at defending the rim, we need to be giving Carter a lot of touches.
One trend that I like is that guys are getting better. McConnell and Carter along with Montez Mathis and Myles Johnson have all played better against better competition. I like that guys are rising to the occasion and I think it speaks well to our coaching staff. On the flip side, Baker and (before he got hurt) Omoruyi were playing significantly worse in conference play than they had in the non-conference, that's kind of an enigma. And considering that they use up the bulk of our possessions, it's something that needs to be figured out.
Last year in conference play we scored an abysmal .87 points per possession, worst in the conference by a mile (Minnesota at .98 was next-worse). We allowed 1.05 points per possession, 9th in the conference.
So far this year our offense is up to .98 points per possession, while our defense is at the bottom of the league at 1.12 points allowed. This kind of change is almost exactly what I thought would happen, though it doesn't always "feel" like this is the case. But it's happening. Our offense is looking better while the defense is worse, not unexpected with a bunch of youngsters playing. Mixing in zone helps but there needs to be some more adjustments made defensively.
