Gal Mekel

[Hotel Paper]

support can also come from criticism also. look at their weaknesses.

[pinstripers]

Gal is not a particularly good point guard. Right now he is the best we have. He is doing his best. It's hard to fault some one for doing that.

[SpanglerFan316]

I watched the game and noticed that often nobody worked hard to get free so Gal could pass to him. Where are the players who fight through screens so our point guard has a shooter to pass to? I wish Hatch, Gris, etc. would get free for the outside shot more often. Blaming one player who is willing to take the shot when so many others seem afraid to is just stupid.

[ShockerInKC]

Gal's turnover was a costly one for sure...and a bad one, BUT it wasn't entirely his fault. Where the hell was Mantas going? For offensive balance and as a safety, someone should pretty much always be in the vicinity of where he was going with that pass. In fact, it would have created a pretty good look if Mantas wouldn't have crashed into the pack in the lane.

Ditto. The rest of the guys have played with Gal all season and we/they know this is one of Gal's moves. You've got to help and expect your teammates to do things they've done before. I think singling out Gal is bad because his teammates didn't help screen/get open/block out/or expect the abra-cadabra drive and dish move.

[SubGod22]

Even his teammates aren't sure what he's going to do sometimes. Like when he brings the ball up the court and dribbles around for 10 seconds only to force up a bad, contested shot with never looking to pass.

If you're going to leave your feet you HAVE to know what you're going to do with the ball and where it's going. That's one of the biggest things with Gal and we seen it late last night.

Gal has the ability to be a good player. But his basketball IQ is sometimes lacking. One of these days he'll learn.

[7hottamales]

I can't believe I'm defending anything about our team in that scenario, because it was poorly executed from the beginning, but I'd bet if those of you that have the game recorded rewatch it, we'll find that Gal had little choice but to leave his feet at that point. My guess is that he had nowhere else to go once the defense reacted well to his drive. It was either leave his feet to try and buy time to create or basically just go out of bounds. I didn't have the best angle, but I suspect it was something like that.

Now maybe you can criticize him for driving into traffic, but even with that we had little to nothing else going on a possession that we absolutely needed to try and find a basket on.

I have just as much of an issue with the basketball IQ involved with no one being at the top of the key as I do with someone trying to force the issue and make a play at a critical time of the game.

[BA2929]

I can't believe I'm defending anything about our team in that scenario, because it was poorly executed from the beginning, but I'd bet if those of you that have the game recorded rewatch it, we'll find that Gal had little choice but to leave his feet at that point. My guess is that he had nowhere else to go once the defense reacted well to his drive. It was either leave his feet to try and buy time to create or basically just go out of bounds. I didn't have the best angle, but I suspect it was something like that.

Now maybe you can criticize him for driving into traffic, but even with that we had little to nothing else going on a possession that we absolutely needed to try and find a basket on.

I have just as much of an issue with no one being at the top of the key as I do with someone trying to force the issue and make a play at a critical time of the game.

I was just wondering why he didn't just throw up a shot and hope for a rebound like he did a few minutes later when he drove to the exact same spot on the court. Instead, he throws a pass to half court that Creighton takes to the house for an easy 2.

[proshox]

There have been some very insightful comments in this thread... I agree with most of what Hockey, Sub and ShockerInKC have written. There is opportunity for Gal to improve in many areas and I am confident he can do so.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

thraed flopped #2

Come on guys lets start a new one and have the exact same conversation

[RipEmUpShox]

Even his teammates aren't sure what he's going to do sometimes. Like when he brings the ball up the court and dribbles around for 10 seconds only to force up a bad, contested shot with never looking to pass.

If you're going to leave your feet you HAVE to know what you're going to do with the ball and where it's going. That's one of the biggest things with Gal and we seen it late last night.

Gal has the ability to be a good player. But his basketball IQ is sometimes lacking. One of these days he'll learn.

"Seriously, DO YOU EVER SHUTUP?"

[SubGod22]

Even his teammates aren't sure what he's going to do sometimes. Like when he brings the ball up the court and dribbles around for 10 seconds only to force up a bad, contested shot with never looking to pass.

If you're going to leave your feet you HAVE to know what you're going to do with the ball and where it's going. That's one of the biggest things with Gal and we seen it late last night.

Gal has the ability to be a good player. But his basketball IQ is sometimes lacking. One of these days he'll learn.

"Seriously, DO YOU EVER SHUTUP?"

No I don't. But at least I try to bring something to the table other than nonsense ramblings of the uneducated.

[RipEmUpShox]

i guess things like this is why.... i dont come to maranatha much anymore.

[SubGod22]

I'm not the one that burns my bridges.

[ShockerWheelSU]

I am tired of Shocker fans ripping Gal. In the Missouri State game he made great plays and nobody seems to notice. He played a lot like a senior in that game.

He probably to the last shot against Creighton because he is the only one who has the guts and want to shoot it. (no offence PJ)

[proshox]

Based on 7hot's theory I went and watched the game film of the big turnover. He was 100% correct - Mantas was exactly where Gal through the ball about half second before the pass was made. Based on earlier screen and role plays it was exactly where he was meant to be. For some reason he cuts right into the lane which was already filled by Phil - I think he was anticipating a possible rebound opportunity. The problem is that there was not a shot and the ball ends up bouncing between him and the CU player.

The pass Gal attempted to make is not very unusual and it is a play that certain guards north of here make a few times a game. It was also a turnover that never ends up being a "fast break one on none" situation because Mantas should have been there to slow it down in a worse case scenario.

I have a feeling that Gal will not take heat on his decision from this coaching staff.

One more thought - Gal is just good enough at this point to be the logical scapegoat for this team. He is one of two guys who can penetrate and he is a decent play maker in certain situations, but he is not at the level to be the go-to guy when there are not wings and big guys that demand attention from the defense. The heat he feels this season is a direct result of the total team make-up and not just due to his bonehead plays.