Reflection

[tropicalshox]

I think it's still fashionable to bag on Nick. IMHO he is playing darn good. Better right now than a few.

[wufan]

When did "follow your shot" cease to be a part of fundamental basketball?

Admiring one's shot has been a trend in college basketball for at least the last 15 years. And that's not a good thing.

At some point, someone was SO good that they could just sit and shoot over and over and it ALWAYS went in (almost). It became fashionable for everyone else to rush for the rebound while the shooter sat back and KNEW it was going to go in. While that type of confidence is desirable, the hustle after the 60% of misses is more desirable…just not as pretty.

[Aargh]

I think Nick is going to "figure it out" this year. I'm guessing he will see the "Sr" behind his name, realize what that means, and be more "coachable". If he does that, he could be a lock for 6th player in the Valley - and possibly the nation.

My BBIQ isn't that high, but from what I see, the bigs aren't boxing out very well, and are still trying to box out when they should be up in the air grabbing the ball. If you still have any games from last year, watch EO's box outs. He was boxing out and backing up ANYBODY in the vicinity.

When EO went for blocks, he wasn't boxing out and wasn't in good rebounding position, which meant it was harder for Hall to grab the board. With the rules change, blocks are more important than using a body to block an opponent's route to the basket.

I think the emphasis on blocks has helped the Shox avoid fouls on drives, but has cost them some rebounding. Right now the coaches are getting the longest stretch of practices since real games began. I imagine they're tweaking the "blocks vs. defensive/rebounding position" formula a bit.

Asking the bigs to block any shot near the basket, and box out, and be in good rebounding position, and grab boards that are "out of your zone" is asking an awful lot from them. Their jobs will be simplified and they will do better with the adjustments.