Pre-Game Thread: vs. Richmond (11/17/22)

[Kung Wu]

I'm the homer.

Winner, winner chicken dinner.

[CBB_Fan]

This win comes down to two primary things. We focused on going inside and didn't force up as many bad 3s, and Richmond played into our plan and shot those 3s for us. The instant they started looking inside and we switched to launching bombs, the situation turned around and they started to catch back up.

I've heard a lot of people say that we were switching defenses. I don't think that is accurate. We primarily played a 2-3 for almost the entire game, and only really played man in short stretches, out of bounds situations, and in fast breaks.

I think that Isaac Brown made 3 great coaching decisions in this game. First, he slowed us down. We are not a controlled team, but using the full shot-clock forces us to execute and limits the amount of rushing we can do. We have the athleticism to play at a faster pace, but not the ball control. Second, he kept to the 2-3 even after Richmond started to make 3s. Many, even most, coaches would go back to man under the logic of "if they are making 3s, a zone is bad", even though the quality of looks they were getting under our zone were way worse than what they were getting from man defense.

Lastly, he made the absolutely necessary call to put back in Porter with 4 fouls and busted lip with 10 minutes and change to go. Without a doubt, if he didn't trust Porter to stay on the court we lose this game. Again, I think that this is a hard call to make as a coach, and he made it. How many coaches would stick to their guns and pull any player with 4 fouls till the under-4 timeout? Porter is far too important to this team for us to do that.

It looks ugly, but this game plan is what we need to do going forward. We need to use our length in zone defenses. We need to avoid the 3 like the plague, particularly bad 3s. We need to take any shot in the paint we can get; Walton, Porter, Pierre, Poor Bear and Rojas have all done well getting in the paint. We need to slow the ball way down and get used to trying to run plays at 10 seconds on the shot clock.

As much as I absolutely don't think Isaac Brown is a competent coach or the solution going forward, I will give him credit for doing a fantastic job on the turnaround. I think he found the plan that fit this team, and made the team execute it. I think he reacted well to the events of the game, made great substitution decisions, and made two very difficult calls most coaches wouldn't have made. I don't think it is wrong to say that this is his best coaching performance as head coach so far.

[WuShockFan]

It was a good win. Not trying to take anything away from a good road win. The win speaks for itself.

However, we got really lucky in the last thirty seconds of this game. Richmond missed two layups and a three pointer on one possession. Then we got the ball back only due to Porter throwing it off the guy's leg. Then we come down and miss a free throw. They get the ball back and miss another three pointer. Then we miss two more free throws. They have a chance to tie it, but bizarrely throw it out of bounds. Really lucky it turned out the way it did.

[WuDrWu]

While IB has to take some of (or most of) the blame for all the transfers out last season, I think it's impressive that he was able to put together a team, and frankly, a somewhat talented team in such a short time.

This team isn't perfect by any stretch. They are ALL (including IB) learning on the job.

Each player on the team has pluses and minuses, but is there any one player you think can't provide help at times? Of the 12?

I don't want Q shooting a ton of FTs but outside of that....I think it's somewhat remarkable that we will have 12 guys that can help somewhere every night.


The challenge is getting consistent effort and execution. Last night was a pretty darned good effort. The execution lacked quite a bit but the defense and effort were able to carry the day, against a decent team, not great by any means, but a group that is very experienced and used to winning. They were tough enough to take Charleston to OT, and Charleston destroyed a good Davidson team last night and were competitive with #1 UNC. Healthy (and yeah they were down a big guy last night and that matters) this Richmond team is around a top 75-100 team and that kind of road win always counts.

Our team is little more than a blank canvas at this point. They're just learning to play together. I don't know what the stat is, but fewest games/minutes together returning has to be something we're in the lowest 5% or so. Only CP3 and Kenny last year, and a little IPBC & CP3 the year before have been on the floor together before a couple weeks ago. That matters. We mostly have single dudes out there, but we've got some dudes.

Can they come together and play like a team? I don't know. I probably wouldn't bet on it. But I'll take the effort put forth last night, and I'll take the "want to" when faced with adversity in the 2nd half. All day long.

This may be the first time in a really long time that a bunch of stiffs on the schedule is something that COULD really help this team. They need some success, some feeling of accomplishment, some wins to get together and figure out who they are and what they can do best.

Interesting game last night. Kind of didn't think I'd be in the place I am now, but I'm looking forward to the next game. And I'm fully prepared to accept that feeling could disappear after it.


Also, I don't care who you are playing, 42% 22% & 67% isn't going to beat hardly anyone. For now, I'm going to believe this group will improve those numbers, perhaps substantially. Again, I'm prepared to be wrong.



But I can live with that kind of effort. Proud of the guys. They wore the black and yellow with pride last night, and I don't think that was easy after ASU, and as a fan that's really all I can expect.

[Dan]

The game was ugly from both teams, but it was a step in the right direction. I’m encouraged that our guys seemed to follow the game plan, despite their individual desires. We just have to keep taking baby steps and improving game by game.

[Shocktoberfest]

I’m really pleased that we didn’t cave after the run by the Spiders. That was a huge positive last night.

[Stickboy46]

I don't know what the stat is, but fewest games/minutes together returning has to be something we're in the lowest 5% or so. Only CP3 and Kenny last year, and a little IPBC & CP3 the year before have been on the floor together before a couple weeks ago. That matters. We mostly have single dudes out there, but we've got some dudes.

Per KenPom, our "Minutes Continuity" stat is at 18%. Which puts us at 312 out of 353 teams.... So not quite bottom 5% but still really low.

Also of note:

D1 Experience: 1.44 yrs - 276 out of 353

[WuDrWu]

Per KenPom, our "Minutes Continuity" stat is at 18%. Which puts us at 312 out of 353 teams.... So not quite bottom 5% but still really low.

Also of note:

D1 Experience: 1.44 yrs - 276 out of 353

Man I feel bad for those 41 teams worse than us. Except for those there with a load of 4* & 5* freshmen that is.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Overall pleased with the unexpected win. This is going to be a season of ups and downs and I hope we all enjoy roller coaster rides. Probably more downs than ups but nevertheless.

• What in the world is up with KP? Is it Etienne syndrome? Buying in to the offseason hype and thinking he has to prove he can shoot the three while getting smoked on defense almost everytime down the floor? He needs to figure sh!t out and quickly. Painfully obvious that this team lacks a coach who can work with big men.
• Rojas had a good stat line but made some careless mistakes a couple of times. Overall like his energy. Anyone else think he looks like Teddy Buckets?
• Porter is steady as they come and when he is not on the floor this team really suffers.
• Walton is a BEAST! What a recruiting steal for the Shox.
• Good to see Poor Bear fill in nicely with some much needed minutes up front. He can be that glue guy that gives you a solid 8-10 minutes per game.
• Played good team defense for most of the game and uglied things up just enough to win, but almost gave it away at the end if not for several bad misses by Richmond.

[Stickboy46]

Overall pleased with the unexpected win. This is going to be a season of ups and downs and I hope we all enjoy roller coaster rides. Probably more downs than ups but nevertheless.

• Rojas had a good stat line but made some careless mistakes a couple of times. Overall like his energy. Anyone else think he looks like Teddy Buckets?

I thought that last night too. He looks and moves like Teddy ... though don't think near the high side of Teddy

[TrackSuitAndTie]

Overall pleased with the unexpected win. This is going to be a season of ups and downs and I hope we all enjoy roller coaster rides. Probably more downs than ups but nevertheless.

• What in the world is up with KP? Is it Etienne syndrome? Buying in to the offseason hype and thinking he has to prove he can shoot the three while getting smoked on defense almost everytime down the floor? He needs to figure sh!t out and quickly. Painfully obvious that this team lacks a coach who can work with big men.

KP definitely got punked on that poster last night but I don't think his D has been that bad. The deep shots he's taking are also wide open (maybe for good reason) so I don't think it's quite time to call him a chucker. That being said, I'd say he's one more 0-5 night from deep away from "this guy shouldn't shoot another three all year" territory.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

KP definitely got punked on that poster last night but I don't think his D has been that bad. The deep shots he's taking are also wide open (maybe for good reason) so I don't think it's quite time to call him a chucker. That being said, I'd say he's one more 0-5 night from deep away from "this guy shouldn't shoot another three all year" territory.

He's 1-9 this season from three. That's chucker status. He has looked lost most of the time on defense in all three games. Out of position, not paying attention to his man, etc...

[TrackSuitAndTie]

He's 1-9 this season from three. That's chucker status. He has looked lost most of the time on defense in all three games. Out of position, not paying attention to his man, etc...

Agree on him being out of position occasionally, but I think it's more noticeable (compared to defensive lapses by other players) when the result is a dunk for the other team vs a missed shot from outside. I will say that we haven't seen him get bullied down low the way I thought we might. I'd still like to see improvement, especially in terms of aggressiveness / toughness.

One other area of KP's game that I think bears highlighting is his passing ability. The ball doesn't stick when it goes to him (unlike a certain, former Center) and he looks very comfortable finding the right pass on offense. Even though WSU's offense still looks very janky, the ball movement seems to be improved over last season, and I think KP's passing is part of the reason why.

[SubGod22]

KP definitely got punked on that poster last night but I don't think his D has been that bad. The deep shots he's taking are also wide open (maybe for good reason) so I don't think it's quite time to call him a chucker. That being said, I'd say he's one more 0-5 night from deep away from "this guy shouldn't shoot another three all year" territory.

We know he can knock those down, so as long as he's not forcing shots, I'm okay with it. He also passed up some open opportunities, which shows he's smart and knows things aren't going his way and he's willing to contribute in other ways. If he was the chucker MKR tries to paint him as, he'd have more attempts, and probably a couple more makes, because he's passing on some good looks. Unlike a guy like Pierre who has literally chucked up some bad, contested shots and is 0-8 so far from deep.

I also haven't seen this lost on D all the time Kenny that MKR has been seeing. He's a smart kid and plays that way. He's also one of the better passers on the team.

[WuShock Reaper]

coming for you next.JPG