UCF at Wichita State Game Thread 1-26-22

[Ashockalypse]

I’m definitely not as cool as 790 friend guy.

Don’t forget backyard lake.

[TrackSuitAndTie]

That was the first complete-ish game the Shocks have played all season. No long scoring droughts, no major defensive lapses.

I really think WSU’s best offense runs through a combination of Ricky Council, Craig Porter, and Mo Udeze. Etienne and Dennis should mainly be getting shots in rhythm, not driving the offense.

Nice to finally get some positive momentum going!

[RoyalShock]

Anyone feel much different about this team after this game?

Marginally, probably due just to the simple fact that a win feels better than a loss.

Good - Seeing RC4 have game like that gives a slight glimmer of hope that he's figuring things out.
Not good - Tyson. In terms of efficiency and shot selection, might be our worst guard outside of Jenkins.
Ok - Dexter appears to be starting his annual late-season surge, 2-5 from 3FG is decent, but 1-5 2FG isn't good. Just not a finisher.
Not good - Not seeing improvement from Pohto as the season goes on. I'm really rooting for this kid to take the next step. Maybe next year.
Not good - Jackson only getting 5 minutes. Either he got hurt or IB is losing more trust in him to play his role effectively.
Ok - Pleasant seems to be getting more comfortable and rounding into the role player he truly is.

[TrackSuitAndTie]

Not good - Not seeing improvement from Pohto as the season goes on. I'm really rooting for this kid to take the next step. Maybe next year.

It is imperative that KP adds ~30 pounds if he is going to play at the 5 moving forward. He is getting bullied right now by bigger players.

Not good - Jackson only getting 5 minutes. Either he got hurt or IB is losing more trust in him to play his role effectively.

Jackson definitely has a short leash with HCIB. However, getting two fouls and a turnover in only five minutes does not help his cause.

[Stickboy46]

no, I would not. The real issue is that he's not good enough to be the centerpiece of a decent college team. He had a fluke season last year and he's playing like he has to be the guy this year. He is, however, a very good shooter on open jump shots. There is a place for a guy like that to play. He needs more college grooming to get there though.

As for last night, he was pretty quiet about 3/4 of the way through the first half. He wasn't forcing shots and the defense was draped all over him. That's exactly what we want and need as a team. Let the other guys do the damage and be the decoy. Tyson can't help himself though, he wants to get his shots off so he starts forcing. That's when IB needs to pull him. Get his head back in the game and tell him he's gonna have to live with being the decoy tonight.

I believe Tyson got pulled at least 2 times last night after a couple forced shots. He didn't stay out long though.

[Shockm]

A few minor game observations

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
The Good

--My mask stayed comfortable in my pocket.
--We won the game
--The team played or at least finished better.
--Ricky played or at least shot good, and had some nice assists.
--Dexter is ok but imo, we are better when Ricky is the 3, and Dexter is the 4 (see #2 under Bad)

The Bad

--KP is too weak, and not tough enough, but you can see the talent still ready to ooze out.
--Our 4's aren't very good
-You can see it coming, that Once Mo, Tyson, and Ricky start to go to the basket, they lose all vision to open players and can't pass the ball.
--I only remember Tyson taking one bad shot, falling out of bounds, and too many of the designed shots for Tyson are with him running to catch the ball off of a screen away from basket, and shooting it falling away
--Tyson will be best when he allows the game to come to him (probably would average around 10-14 pts.- sometimes more/less), and can find open people around him.
--Our team has extremely low BB IQ

Sometimes we just play ugly

[ShockTalk]

That was the first complete-ish game the Shocks have played all season. No long scoring droughts, no major defensive lapses.

I really think WSU’s best offense runs through a combination of Ricky Council, Craig Porter, and Mo Udeze. Etienne and Dennis should mainly be getting shots in rhythm, not driving the offense.

Nice to finally get some positive momentum going!

Not trying to be picky and loved the win. However, after RC making 4 FTs in a row, the team going 5-12 from the line to finish the game sucked.

[1972Shocker]

Sometimes we just play ugly

I'm beginning to think that is just what college basketball has evolved into.

[TrackSuitAndTie]

Not trying to be picky and loved the win. However, after RC making 4 FTs in a row, the team going 5-12 from the line to finish the game sucked.

Yeah the last two minutes left a lot to be desired. Reminded me of our games last year where we would regularly let a 10+ point lead dwindle to 3-4 points (hurting our metrics).

[Atxshoxfan]

I'm the one who said Tyson didn't take any bad shots. Since so many of you disagree, I will rewatch this one just for that purpose. But one or two of you claim he went hero ball..That I totally disagree with. Look back at last 8 minutes of the Tulane game, or just about any of our previous games. Those games will show TE in hero mode. But he was not like that this game.
Fever asked my definition of a bad shot...to that (regarding 3 point shots) too quick in the shot clock other than fast break, secondary break opportunities). But beyond that, any 3 attempt that your flying sideways, back or twisting or shooting outside without some spacing. Those are bad shots. I call it feet under you. I hate runners.

No nobody has mentioned DD's game last night. Great effort and it paid dividends.

Some of you guys on here have real troubles with positive comments. Thats a little sad. Was there negatives, sure. But it's good to point out the positives as well. While some enjoy pointing out the negatives, I'll leave that up to you for the most part, and I'll look for some positives to post about.

[shocker43]

I'm the one who said Tyson didn't take any bad shots. Since so many of you disagree, I will rewatch this one just for that purpose. But one or two of you claim he went hero ball..That I totally disagree with. Look back at last 8 minutes of the Tulane game, or just about any of our previous games. Those games will show TE in hero mode. But he was not like that this game.
Fever asked my definition of a bad shot...to that (regarding 3 point shots) too quick in the shot clock other than fast break, secondary break opportunities). But beyond that, any 3 attempt that your flying sideways, back or twisting or shooting outside without some spacing. Those are bad shots. I call it feet under you. I hate runners.

I'm not going to watch the game again but I really only remember 2-3 bad shots. I also don't think he went "hero mode" at all during the game. There were two possessions in the first half where he took and missed two 3s, but I thought those were pretty good looks for him.

[Stickboy46]

I'm the one who said Tyson didn't take any bad shots. Since so many of you disagree, I will rewatch this one just for that purpose. But one or two of you claim he went hero ball..That I totally disagree with. Look back at last 8 minutes of the Tulane game, or just about any of our previous games. Those games will show TE in hero mode. But he was not like that this game.
Fever asked my definition of a bad shot...to that (regarding 3 point shots) too quick in the shot clock other than fast break, secondary break opportunities). But beyond that, any 3 attempt that your flying sideways, back or twisting or shooting outside without some spacing. Those are bad shots. I call it feet under you. I hate runners.

No nobody has mentioned DD's game last night. Great effort and it paid dividends.

Some of you guys on here have real troubles with positive comments. Thats a little sad. Was there negatives, sure. But it's good to point out the positives as well. While some enjoy pointing out the negatives, I'll leave that up to you for the most part, and I'll look for some positives to post about.

I don't think he did any "hero ball" .. but I actually think many of the designed shots are bad shots. He may have his "feet under him" but his momentum is nearly always going sideways when he takes a shot off the screen. To me, that is a bad shot. I'm not gonna go back and rewatch to count .. but it felt like at least half of his shots he was drifting to the side when he shot it.

I compare that with say Conner Frankamp ... Frankamp had a crazy ability to elevate VERTICALLY no matter what direction he was running. To me .. that's where Etienne needs to figure out his game.

As far as DD .. he's our 2nd most important player every game IMO. Right behind Porter. Could argue that he's the most important. He doesn't always impact scoring .. but he impacts everywhere else. We beat Tulane by double digits IMO if he's in the game. There is a reason Forbes was 7-10 this year and was a combined 1-23 against us last year.

[Woodrow]

Tyson takes too many bad shots, but he is also missing open looks. It's mental at this point. He's better as a decoy than a scorer at this point. DD never shoots it the same twice. He missed a high arc 3 and later shot a flat line 3 almost airball. Mo has never seen a double team he doesn't like. RC4 is the most disinterested good free throw shooter I've ever seen. HCIB definitely said it was the best night of his life. He wasn't being sarcastic but he seemed highly relieved when he said it. Porter is the key to this team winning games.

[ShockTalk]

Right now, ETN is our decoy. That doesn't mean he has to shoot. That doesn't mean he shouldn't shoot. He needs to shoot smarter.

Team FG this game: 22-55, 40%. Remove ETN's FGs: 20-42, 47.6%.

Team 3pt this game: 9-23, 39.1%. Remove ETN's 3s: 8-15, 53.3%.

ETN was 2-13 / 1-8. He needed to shoot smarter. Not fading away may draw a foul. Passing up a difficult shot with a pass may lead to an assist. Be that team leader.

[ShockTalk]

While am at it, Mo still may have time to learn how to kickout from the post and not always try to force shots through taller opponents (although I am somewhat amazed he is as successful as he is).

He has 5 total assists for the season as a senior playing 24.4 mpg. Pohto has 7 assists for the season as a freshman playing 14.3 mpg.