As bad as the first half against NW was, and as bad as our opening half starts have been (6 of the Big 10 games) , what got lost in the disappointing frustrating loss , was how many great to really good things happened in that second half that showed that this team can be good and stop the inconsistency and play great basketball against the upcoming 8 game Quad 1 gauntlet . I counted at least 10 things I think were significant and hopefully carry forward. Others might have found more and we know a few negatives as well but chime in with any additions. Here goes;
1) Paul was finally the shooting , scoring , passing , no hesitation , point guard that we were clamoring to see for the last 3 years. The triple double machine for those who watched him in high school was finally revealed. Now I am not delusional and know he will not get us 31 again , but hopefully he doesn’t give us 0 like the preceding Maryland game or 7 or 9 like his normal output , but if he can get us 12-15 points that will be huge going forward. Clearly , NW does not have the athletic guards that a lot of the upcoming Big 10 has and he has trouble with , but he can use his height , he can use his craftiness , he can knock down threes without hestitation , he can look to score when in close again without hesitation , and he can continue to pass like a wizard to Cliff and Dean. Confidence has to be at a season high.
2) Cliff- A season high 22 and a lot of it gift wrapped from Paul but less fumbling of the ball and no hesitation shooting a 10-12 foot shot going forward. He defensive and shot blocking is getter better and his offensive rebounding , which had been missing slightly , and explosion into a dunk has returned. He also stayed out of foul trouble which is huge going forward.
3) Defense/ The full court press, the immediate traps as they crossed half court , the double teams when a guard was on the sideline and then stopped the dribble , the use of our length to cause numerous steals and 15-20 deflections , the use of the high zone not letting the guards use their ball screens , pushing the offense further out , eliminating the 3 point makes for the last 16 minutes in the zone with only about 3-4 threes that were slightly open that NW missed because they were stressed or harassed. This is the blueprint to go to for Pike to eliminate our slow first half starts. If the man to man defense is struggling , either because we are not intense , not closing out and on top of shooters early , then switch to the press/ trap/zone. It speeds up a team which benefits us as well. Our defense energizes our offense as well.
4) Dean- He is really coming along nicely and for the first time all year ,I felt their would be no drop off when Cliff was subbed out. He hit that nice baseline jumper from 12 feet on Ron ‘s penetration and dish and got the flush from Paul’s assist. Now I really thought Pike had an opportunity here to play Cliff and Dean together . Understandable he cannot do it early in case Cliff is in foul trouble but this was the second half last 10 minutes and Cliff wasn’t in foul trouble. He kept on subbing Cliff for Dean but bacause we were in the zone and using our length , I thought he was going to leave Dean in and take Oscar out as Dean is superior to Oscar and can shoot and dominant the boards . Cliff and Dean in the zone with their length and shot blocking and quickness on the defensive end and on the offensive glass at that end.
5)Mag- I think it is time to insert him into the starting lineup as his defense and intensity is almost as good as Caleb and his likelihood of scoring 8-10 points increases by starting both halves. Plus we get immediate intensity to combat the slow starts. He also crashes the boards and his offensive tap drill yesterday was unfortunate it didn’t result in points but was a great effort which we need more of on the offensive glass.
6) Offensive crashing of the boards- IT has been noticeably absent the last couple of years but especially this year. The bad news was we did not convert but the great news was Ron off the Paul foul shot miss, Mag and Cliff with the tap drills really was great to see and if it continues it is likely the shots will fall. This will also help when our shots are not falling and we are 1 shot and done in some of our scoring droughts. Cliff, Dean Mag and Ron can impact the offensive glass and should be doing it more down the stretch.
7)Offensively efficiency - I do not have the stat number , chime in guys , but that had to be one of our most efficient halves of the year. Paul pushing the pace and getting into his high ball screen set and a shot going up in 15-20 seconds or less with no wasteful dribbling was a thing of beauty , not a ton of thinking and hesitating which I think led to few turnovers 4-5 at most after 11 in the first half which were almost all unforced. No late shot clocks or forced shots. The empty trips with the taps on the glass will affect the actual efficiency # but I loved the pace we played with and would like it to continue.
8). Fewer turnovers- After 11 in the first half only 4-5 in the second half which helps the offensive efficiency number as well. We have to cut down on the turnovers as most have been unforced and because of charges called and I think the pace helped . Our guys look more comfortable at this pace.
9) Ron- After a difficult first half , he did almost everything we would want in the second half. He hit his jumper , he drove to the basket with some great baseline finishes and got fouled , penetrated 2x deep and dished to Dean for the baseline jumper and to Paul for the corner 3 so he was plenty unselfish but smart. He crashed the offensive glass and how his rebound of Paul’s only miss of the second half on the offensive rebound did not go down with 42 seconds to go is still baffling . Plus he was getting fouled and hitting 100% of his foul shots. He has become almost automatic . Now if he can put 2 halves together like the second half we will have another monster 30 point game. He left a couple of shots short in the OT but they were great shots.
10) Foul shooting - We shot 81% from the line , 21-27 and everyone was good and Paul who was 9-11 had Ron rebound one of his misses . Dean and Cliff are good foul shooters probably the best big men foul shooters we have had in a long time. Mag was 2-2 and solid and we aren’t even mentioning Geo and Caleb who did not score but are good 70% foul shooters. Our problem has been getting to the line but if we can hit 70% or more as a team that will win us games down the stretch.
1) Paul was finally the shooting , scoring , passing , no hesitation , point guard that we were clamoring to see for the last 3 years. The triple double machine for those who watched him in high school was finally revealed. Now I am not delusional and know he will not get us 31 again , but hopefully he doesn’t give us 0 like the preceding Maryland game or 7 or 9 like his normal output , but if he can get us 12-15 points that will be huge going forward. Clearly , NW does not have the athletic guards that a lot of the upcoming Big 10 has and he has trouble with , but he can use his height , he can use his craftiness , he can knock down threes without hestitation , he can look to score when in close again without hesitation , and he can continue to pass like a wizard to Cliff and Dean. Confidence has to be at a season high.
2) Cliff- A season high 22 and a lot of it gift wrapped from Paul but less fumbling of the ball and no hesitation shooting a 10-12 foot shot going forward. He defensive and shot blocking is getter better and his offensive rebounding , which had been missing slightly , and explosion into a dunk has returned. He also stayed out of foul trouble which is huge going forward.
3) Defense/ The full court press, the immediate traps as they crossed half court , the double teams when a guard was on the sideline and then stopped the dribble , the use of our length to cause numerous steals and 15-20 deflections , the use of the high zone not letting the guards use their ball screens , pushing the offense further out , eliminating the 3 point makes for the last 16 minutes in the zone with only about 3-4 threes that were slightly open that NW missed because they were stressed or harassed. This is the blueprint to go to for Pike to eliminate our slow first half starts. If the man to man defense is struggling , either because we are not intense , not closing out and on top of shooters early , then switch to the press/ trap/zone. It speeds up a team which benefits us as well. Our defense energizes our offense as well.
4) Dean- He is really coming along nicely and for the first time all year ,I felt their would be no drop off when Cliff was subbed out. He hit that nice baseline jumper from 12 feet on Ron ‘s penetration and dish and got the flush from Paul’s assist. Now I really thought Pike had an opportunity here to play Cliff and Dean together . Understandable he cannot do it early in case Cliff is in foul trouble but this was the second half last 10 minutes and Cliff wasn’t in foul trouble. He kept on subbing Cliff for Dean but bacause we were in the zone and using our length , I thought he was going to leave Dean in and take Oscar out as Dean is superior to Oscar and can shoot and dominant the boards . Cliff and Dean in the zone with their length and shot blocking and quickness on the defensive end and on the offensive glass at that end.
5)Mag- I think it is time to insert him into the starting lineup as his defense and intensity is almost as good as Caleb and his likelihood of scoring 8-10 points increases by starting both halves. Plus we get immediate intensity to combat the slow starts. He also crashes the boards and his offensive tap drill yesterday was unfortunate it didn’t result in points but was a great effort which we need more of on the offensive glass.
6) Offensive crashing of the boards- IT has been noticeably absent the last couple of years but especially this year. The bad news was we did not convert but the great news was Ron off the Paul foul shot miss, Mag and Cliff with the tap drills really was great to see and if it continues it is likely the shots will fall. This will also help when our shots are not falling and we are 1 shot and done in some of our scoring droughts. Cliff, Dean Mag and Ron can impact the offensive glass and should be doing it more down the stretch.
7)Offensively efficiency - I do not have the stat number , chime in guys , but that had to be one of our most efficient halves of the year. Paul pushing the pace and getting into his high ball screen set and a shot going up in 15-20 seconds or less with no wasteful dribbling was a thing of beauty , not a ton of thinking and hesitating which I think led to few turnovers 4-5 at most after 11 in the first half which were almost all unforced. No late shot clocks or forced shots. The empty trips with the taps on the glass will affect the actual efficiency # but I loved the pace we played with and would like it to continue.
8). Fewer turnovers- After 11 in the first half only 4-5 in the second half which helps the offensive efficiency number as well. We have to cut down on the turnovers as most have been unforced and because of charges called and I think the pace helped . Our guys look more comfortable at this pace.
9) Ron- After a difficult first half , he did almost everything we would want in the second half. He hit his jumper , he drove to the basket with some great baseline finishes and got fouled , penetrated 2x deep and dished to Dean for the baseline jumper and to Paul for the corner 3 so he was plenty unselfish but smart. He crashed the offensive glass and how his rebound of Paul’s only miss of the second half on the offensive rebound did not go down with 42 seconds to go is still baffling . Plus he was getting fouled and hitting 100% of his foul shots. He has become almost automatic . Now if he can put 2 halves together like the second half we will have another monster 30 point game. He left a couple of shots short in the OT but they were great shots.
10) Foul shooting - We shot 81% from the line , 21-27 and everyone was good and Paul who was 9-11 had Ron rebound one of his misses . Dean and Cliff are good foul shooters probably the best big men foul shooters we have had in a long time. Mag was 2-2 and solid and we aren’t even mentioning Geo and Caleb who did not score but are good 70% foul shooters. Our problem has been getting to the line but if we can hit 70% or more as a team that will win us games down the stretch.