Two Things...

[DirtyRU]

First off, for the first time in what seems like FOREVER (maybe ever?) I sat down to watch a conference game last night and not once did I get worked up because I literally felt the entire time like we were gonna win. I just felt so confident that we were the better team, even on the road. Sure maybe I felt that way with some AAC games during that one season, but other than that, I can't remember feeling like that in a loooong time.

Second, I know some others have stated some things this team really needs to work on but I haven't heard much mention throughout the year about entry passes. WTF? Game after game we show we struggle to give solid entry passes to the post. And everyone is guilty of it. Even Eugene, who is awesome at dumping it down low when the double comes etc. And I'm not referring to driving & dishing either. Just specifically entry passes to the post men from the arc and/or outside the paint. Everyone on the team needs work in that department.

With that said, great win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be there at Iowa with my son and father. Good times.

 

[DirtyRU]

Oh and one more thing... I went back to my DVR recording and watched the inbounds play end of game... watched it once and counted in my head and then watched it again and used my Stopwatch app... I hate to break it, but it WAS 5 seconds. Of course the question then is do refs typically count a "true" 5 seconds or do they milk it a bit. In my experience they typically milk it slightly. But if you're going by the books, the ref did not cut Harper short. It was actually a hair OVER 5 seconds from the moment he handed him the ball to the moment he blew the whistle.

 

[kcg88]

The entry pass thing was maddening and has been all year. Stephen Bardo even pointed it out, Kiss simply had to dribble to create a better angle, instead he forced one in there and we turned it over.

I had no beef with the Harper 5-second violation. I was watching it thinking he was taking a while to get it in and my reaction was "just pass it in!" not "that was a quick whistle!"

Speaking of AAC games I was randomly watching a Myles Mack highlight video on Youtube yesterday.... and yeah highlights are highlights they don't show the misses, but it made me remember how FUN it could be to watch our offense. Like, you would see him get open, you'd see the ball passed to him, and you had confidence it was going in, not the "oh god we're gonna miss an open 3" feeling.

That's the type of guy we need next season. Mulcahy will be important as a PG. Young will be important but he's more of a slasher like Mathis. Maybe Geo or Caleb can develop into it off the ball.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Oh and one more thing... I went back to my DVR recording and watched the inbounds play end of game... watched it once and counted in my head and then watched it again and used my Stopwatch app... I hate to break it, but it WAS 5 seconds. Of course the question then is do refs typically count a "true" 5 seconds or do they milk it a bit. In my experience they typically milk it slightly. But if you're going by the books, the ref did not cut Harper short. It was actually a hair OVER 5 seconds from the moment he handed him the ball to the moment he blew the whistle.

Was Mathis not in the game?
Did guys make hard cuts to get open?

Easy to blame Harper, but a lot of the time the onus is on the guys in play making hard cuts.

In that spot Mathis is making hard cuts and really wants the ball.

I'd love to watch that play

 

[SirScarlet]

First off, for the first time in what seems like FOREVER (maybe ever?) I sat down to watch a conference game last night and not once did I get worked up because I literally felt the entire time like we were gonna win. I just felt so confident that we were the better team, even on the road. Sure maybe I felt that way with some AAC games during that one season, but other than that, I can't remember feeling like that in a loooong time.

Second, I know some others have stated some things this team really needs to work on but I haven't heard much mention throughout the year about entry passes. WTF? Game after game we show we struggle to give solid entry passes to the post. And everyone is guilty of it. Even Eugene, who is awesome at dumping it down low when the double comes etc. And I'm not referring to driving & dishing either. Just specifically entry passes to the post men from the arc and/or outside the paint. Everyone on the team needs work in that department.

With that said, great win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be there at Iowa with my son and father. Good times.

Dude, I so envy you that you were able to watch that game and not get worked up.

I feel like I blew some blood vessels in my head yesterday!!!

but yes, it was a HUGE win for us...and the good guys won :)

 

[RUonBrain]

Was Mathis not in the game?
Did guys make hard cuts to get open?

Easy to blame Harper, but a lot of the time the onus is on the guys in play making hard cuts.

In that spot Mathis is making hard cuts and really wants the ball.

I'd love to watch that play

Before the inbounds play, Bardo said the team spent a lot of time working on that exact play during practice that afternoon.

I didn’t like the setup.

Everyone started out in a box near the scorer’s table on one side of the court near the center line.

After the ball was handed to Harper, it seemed like everyone waited about 1 second before starting to move/run into a position to receive the ball.

(So that is 1 wasted second)

And they started out so far away, it took another second to get close enough to receive a pass.

(So that is about 2 wasted seconds)

So I don’t blame Harper.

IMO, they need to design / call better inbound sets.

 

[Scangg]

Harper is good at the entry pass into the post IMO but as a whole the team really does struggle with it for some reason. It is something that should be correctable though like taking a dribble to create an angle like a poster said or just faking up high then reaching around for a bounce pass entry

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I can't remember if that inbounds was after the made basket.....against PSU, they ran one player from out of bounds to allow him to inbound quickly, which is allowed....kinda like running the baseline after a made basket. I think Harper could have moved, but stood still waiting for the play to develop. We have to improve on that aspect, but it wasn't pretty at PSU, where we had the turnover there too (I think) and then switched to the inbounds play.

The majority of our entry passes or turnovers are literally just sloppy play or lack of focus/reps. We should have more success inside, but the key entry passes to Eugene to go up four and the one to Myles Johnson on his layup were executed perfectly.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

My memory is getting spotty....pretty sure it was us.

Love the play where the inbounder passes to another inbounder.

 

[RUChoppin]

Was Mathis not in the game?
Did guys make hard cuts to get open?

Easy to blame Harper, but a lot of the time the onus is on the guys in play making hard cuts.

In that spot Mathis is making hard cuts and really wants the ball.

I'd love to watch that play

So, just watched it again on DVR.

The players in the game were Baker, Mathis, McConnell, Omoruyi. They all lined up by the scorers table in a box. Mathis and Omoruyi nearest the inbounder, with Mathis closest to the sideline. Baker and McConnell further away, with Baker closest to the sideline.

When the ball was handed to Harper, they all broke in different directions.

Omoruyi cut away from the inbounder toward the center circle, and was picked up by a defender.
Baker cut into and through the paint and was picked up.
McConnell cut to the corner and had the passing angle cut off.
Mathis had a delayed cut to the paint and was not picked up.

Harper had taken two sidesteps to his right as he got the ball, which put him under the backboard and basically cut off a deep bomb to Omoruyi. From that position, he didn't have a great angle to hit McConnell on his cut, nor to hit Mathis on his cut. Had he stayed put and not drifted to the right, I think he'd have had a better opportunity to hit Kiss. As it was, he did hit Mathis, but Mathis had to stop and wait a second in the paint for the pass - if it had been passed as he was cutting, it wouldn't have been a 5 second violation.