Wrangor
Go Deacs
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2011
- Messages
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Finally got a chance to watch a game live. Have been forced to watch the day after for most games this year due to work.
1. For the most part a well played game by the Deacs. We had some mental lapses (especially the 5 minute stretch in the second half) but that happens when you play talented teams, and NC State has some serious talent in their starting 5.
2. Last night's game was a great example of why you need 4 big men that can contribute. State has 3, and it killed them. Their lineup is a more talented version of BZ lineups. They rely upon a single player to create all the offense, and if that person gets hot then they are competitive. In the end they are going to lose more than they win because they can't compete inside if any of their big men have foul trouble.
3. Cat Barber can really play. He is going to lead the conference in scoring by a wide margin. You can't take the ball out of the point guards hands, and he is way too much to handle individually for pretty much anyone in the conference.
4. Our pick and roll defense has really improved over the past month. I thought Manning's decision to trap the pick and roll some of the time and heavy hedge some of the time was a very good strateg. Barber got his points, but his first 9 points were not out of their offense. He hit three three pointers in the first 6 minutes and they were all from the same spot. One was a dribble down, the other two were the results of offensive rebounds I believe. I thought we contained Barber well without giving up to many bunnies under the basket. Can only remember twice that our rotations were REALLY slow. That is a great improvement.
4b. Our half court offense was decent. Goal was to stretch the lumberjacks out on pick and rolls and drive it with CMM or look to get Devin on the backside of the pick and roll in position. I would still like to see CMM be more aggressive on the drive, as I think he can score it or get fouled at a higher clip, but he is attempted to defer to other players right now for the most part which isn't an awful plan either. Our game plan wasn't complex, but State pretty much just matched up man to man with a little 3/4 pressure at times in the second half. We don't have any trouble with the press now which is a nice luxury.
5. Dinos had his best game of the year, and we needed it. He is playing tougher lately (I didn't see the Duke game so I can't comment on that). If he can continue to improve on the defensive end, and provide some sort of rebounding he becomes very valuable.
6. Devin won the game for us with his play and demeanor. You could tell that Manning and he had talked this week and he never came close to acting out the entire game. On the one play where he probably SHOULD have complained a bit, he was stoic and just talking to the other ref as though they were splitting an ice tea on the back porch. Really proud of Devin and I think it speaks highly of Manning that he has made an impact on Devin's demeanor without quenching his fire to play hard.
7. I have been pretty hard on CMM this year, but actually thought he played a solid game last night. For the most part he played to his strengths and even hit a pullup jump shot in the first half. The defense is still going underneath all the screens against him, and he has to do continue to attack the basket, but he was a net positive last night on the court.
8. Game plan by Manning on offense was pretty simple. Beat them down the court, keep the pace high, and go on a run when they get tired. We hit a few threes to start the second half which turned out to be a bit of fools gold as we abandoned the post and allowed State to make a run right back at us. I understand feeding someone that is locked in, but I would love to see us get the ball into Devin even more, ESPECIALLY after we build a lead. We need to make the defense work. You will get some cheap fouls called and those will pay dividends late.
9. I thought Hudson played awful. Hopefully he turns it around. I have noticed that he is leaving every shot short...literally I can't remember a shot he has missed long. His form looks solid, his release is good, so I would suggest he change his aiming point to the back of the rim and see what happens. HUDSON - if you are reading this, focus on the back of the rim instead of the front. Try to miss long next time you shoot. My guess is it would go in.
10. Gottfried is a good recruiter, but he is a mediocre in game coach. As long as he can continue to refill the coffers I think he will do well, but if he ever hits a dry stretch on the recruiting trail State will be AWFUL.
11. I still find it difficult to believe there is a human being named 'BJ ANYA'. Not sure how the announcers don't snort like an 8th grader everytime they announce his name. Brutal birthright buddy.
12. Watson's defense was solid once again. Can't remember when it was (think it was the first half) but he entered the game and immediately stole the ball and assisted to Hudson for a layup on the other end. Those kind of plays stick in a coach's mind. Watson is going to continue to see minutes when we have a difficult guard matchup on defense.
13. Collins was overwhelmed by the size of NC State's frontcourt. He needs to get stronger this offseason.
14. Crawford bounced back and well and was hosed by the refs multiple times. I am so glad that he can shoot the ball effectively from the SG position, otherwise we would be in big trouble.
15. Wilbekin did Wilbekin things. Struggled athletically on defense, but generally was in the right position. Hit an open 3 when he had an opportunity, but was unable to create. If Hudson could hit a shot, I would love to see him in the starting lineup over Wilbekin. But until Hudson starts hitting we can't afford to start him with CMM.
16. Manning is a good coach. Not sure if he is great, but he is good. We are in year 2, and the difference in the level of basketball we are playing now vs. what we played 24 months ago is stark. Some of his substitution patterns are still confusing to me, but coaches have different philosophies. I am more of a 7 guy rotation kind of coach, where Manning is clearly a 9-10 rotation kind of coach. I have seen both work effectively.
17. We need more shooters. This is another example of why I am encouraged with Manning as our coach. We didn't have the banner recruiting class that we were all hoping for, but he addressed our greatest need: shooting. Until we have players that can consistently hit an open three pointer we are going to struggle on offense. This is why we play at such a high pace, and most likely why Manning continues to employ a deep bench (in order to keep our guys fresh to run). We literally have 2.5 players that can hit an open jump shot right now: Crawford, Dinos, and I'll give Wilbekin a half star because he is truly limited to being wide open. Childress and Washington are going to be key players for us down the road simply because they will be above average, and potentially great college shooters.
18. Fun to beat NC State. 1-2 is exactly where we should be after those 3 games. We have to go 1-1, and to be honest if we want to seriously be in the NCAA discussion we need to win the next two games. The next four after that are just brutal. Big stretch here. Need to get to 3-2 before we hit the road.
1. For the most part a well played game by the Deacs. We had some mental lapses (especially the 5 minute stretch in the second half) but that happens when you play talented teams, and NC State has some serious talent in their starting 5.
2. Last night's game was a great example of why you need 4 big men that can contribute. State has 3, and it killed them. Their lineup is a more talented version of BZ lineups. They rely upon a single player to create all the offense, and if that person gets hot then they are competitive. In the end they are going to lose more than they win because they can't compete inside if any of their big men have foul trouble.
3. Cat Barber can really play. He is going to lead the conference in scoring by a wide margin. You can't take the ball out of the point guards hands, and he is way too much to handle individually for pretty much anyone in the conference.
4. Our pick and roll defense has really improved over the past month. I thought Manning's decision to trap the pick and roll some of the time and heavy hedge some of the time was a very good strateg. Barber got his points, but his first 9 points were not out of their offense. He hit three three pointers in the first 6 minutes and they were all from the same spot. One was a dribble down, the other two were the results of offensive rebounds I believe. I thought we contained Barber well without giving up to many bunnies under the basket. Can only remember twice that our rotations were REALLY slow. That is a great improvement.
4b. Our half court offense was decent. Goal was to stretch the lumberjacks out on pick and rolls and drive it with CMM or look to get Devin on the backside of the pick and roll in position. I would still like to see CMM be more aggressive on the drive, as I think he can score it or get fouled at a higher clip, but he is attempted to defer to other players right now for the most part which isn't an awful plan either. Our game plan wasn't complex, but State pretty much just matched up man to man with a little 3/4 pressure at times in the second half. We don't have any trouble with the press now which is a nice luxury.
5. Dinos had his best game of the year, and we needed it. He is playing tougher lately (I didn't see the Duke game so I can't comment on that). If he can continue to improve on the defensive end, and provide some sort of rebounding he becomes very valuable.
6. Devin won the game for us with his play and demeanor. You could tell that Manning and he had talked this week and he never came close to acting out the entire game. On the one play where he probably SHOULD have complained a bit, he was stoic and just talking to the other ref as though they were splitting an ice tea on the back porch. Really proud of Devin and I think it speaks highly of Manning that he has made an impact on Devin's demeanor without quenching his fire to play hard.
7. I have been pretty hard on CMM this year, but actually thought he played a solid game last night. For the most part he played to his strengths and even hit a pullup jump shot in the first half. The defense is still going underneath all the screens against him, and he has to do continue to attack the basket, but he was a net positive last night on the court.
8. Game plan by Manning on offense was pretty simple. Beat them down the court, keep the pace high, and go on a run when they get tired. We hit a few threes to start the second half which turned out to be a bit of fools gold as we abandoned the post and allowed State to make a run right back at us. I understand feeding someone that is locked in, but I would love to see us get the ball into Devin even more, ESPECIALLY after we build a lead. We need to make the defense work. You will get some cheap fouls called and those will pay dividends late.
9. I thought Hudson played awful. Hopefully he turns it around. I have noticed that he is leaving every shot short...literally I can't remember a shot he has missed long. His form looks solid, his release is good, so I would suggest he change his aiming point to the back of the rim and see what happens. HUDSON - if you are reading this, focus on the back of the rim instead of the front. Try to miss long next time you shoot. My guess is it would go in.
10. Gottfried is a good recruiter, but he is a mediocre in game coach. As long as he can continue to refill the coffers I think he will do well, but if he ever hits a dry stretch on the recruiting trail State will be AWFUL.
11. I still find it difficult to believe there is a human being named 'BJ ANYA'. Not sure how the announcers don't snort like an 8th grader everytime they announce his name. Brutal birthright buddy.
12. Watson's defense was solid once again. Can't remember when it was (think it was the first half) but he entered the game and immediately stole the ball and assisted to Hudson for a layup on the other end. Those kind of plays stick in a coach's mind. Watson is going to continue to see minutes when we have a difficult guard matchup on defense.
13. Collins was overwhelmed by the size of NC State's frontcourt. He needs to get stronger this offseason.
14. Crawford bounced back and well and was hosed by the refs multiple times. I am so glad that he can shoot the ball effectively from the SG position, otherwise we would be in big trouble.
15. Wilbekin did Wilbekin things. Struggled athletically on defense, but generally was in the right position. Hit an open 3 when he had an opportunity, but was unable to create. If Hudson could hit a shot, I would love to see him in the starting lineup over Wilbekin. But until Hudson starts hitting we can't afford to start him with CMM.
16. Manning is a good coach. Not sure if he is great, but he is good. We are in year 2, and the difference in the level of basketball we are playing now vs. what we played 24 months ago is stark. Some of his substitution patterns are still confusing to me, but coaches have different philosophies. I am more of a 7 guy rotation kind of coach, where Manning is clearly a 9-10 rotation kind of coach. I have seen both work effectively.
17. We need more shooters. This is another example of why I am encouraged with Manning as our coach. We didn't have the banner recruiting class that we were all hoping for, but he addressed our greatest need: shooting. Until we have players that can consistently hit an open three pointer we are going to struggle on offense. This is why we play at such a high pace, and most likely why Manning continues to employ a deep bench (in order to keep our guys fresh to run). We literally have 2.5 players that can hit an open jump shot right now: Crawford, Dinos, and I'll give Wilbekin a half star because he is truly limited to being wide open. Childress and Washington are going to be key players for us down the road simply because they will be above average, and potentially great college shooters.
18. Fun to beat NC State. 1-2 is exactly where we should be after those 3 games. We have to go 1-1, and to be honest if we want to seriously be in the NCAA discussion we need to win the next two games. The next four after that are just brutal. Big stretch here. Need to get to 3-2 before we hit the road.
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