Are we predictably bad on offense? (video evidence)

[wsubball96]

I'm not saying I'm a basketball expert. This is just for discussion. Please correct me if I'm wrong (be kind if you disagree)

I think we just flat out dribble too much on the perimeter in general. Maybe because our movement without the ball is poor???? We take a ball screen at the top the 3pt line (just about every possesion and is damn near Turgeon predictable) and instead of taking advantage of the screen we keep dribbling away from the screen where the defence wants us to go (usually further away from the basket). To me what is even worse is that we are ALWAYS going away from the screener (and don't even look that direction). The screener would be the player that would most likely be free whether the defensive players switch or not. Instead we go the other direction where are players are still standing in the same spot previous to the screen. What does that do???? Nothing in my eyes. In the example below we do it twice with no luck on this possesion and just about every time down the floor.

Example: Just about every possesion

Note: I turned down the audio (I can only take so much Craig and Bruce. Nothing personal just don't like their style) - turning it up won't help you much.

[melcong4]

looks like we arent running much of anything on that possesion. when the first screen didn't work (because UNI knew exactly what we were going to do) we just spread out and decided to do one on one. thanks for the clip.

[KC Shox]

The last 10 seconds of the video shows a textbook example of how inept our offense is. Mantas was wide open underneath the basket after setting the pick for like 4 seconds just standing there, do we lob the ball for an alley-oop, pass to him for an easy lay-in? Nope. Even Steven said, "find him he's open" but no court vision and/or lack of confidence prevented a pass to him.

We need atheletes who can score down low, maintain control and composure. Too many times I see guys drive the lane with no clue as to do with the ball - jump in the air and throw up a wild shot because they are out of control. We need guys who have great court vision and the ability to make a pass with confidence.

[ShockCounselor]

The ball screen offense shown is definitely more effective with an ballhandler that is capable of aggresive penetration but it is also designed to spread the floor and isolate the post on the block which it does nicely in this video. However, you have to have someone on the block that understands post positioning and will post strongly. If you'll watch Mantas, he drops to the block after the screen and has an opportunity to post strong. He actually had good intial positioning but did not post strongly enough or high enough. A skilled, smart post player would have had the ball, one on one, in exactly the postition you would want.

[jocoshock]

We need atheletes who can score down low, maintain control and composure. Too many times I see guys drive the lane with no clue as to do with the ball - jump in the air and throw up a wild shot because they are out of control. We need guys who have great court vision and the ability to make a pass with confidence.

Amen

:good:

[SB Shock]

It is pretty simple to me, no ball movement and to much dribbling.

[shockerfan]

I think it's our court vision. Our bigs get open at times but our guards don't look to them until the defense has recovered. It's tough for big men to get open, so when they do they HAVE to see it and react quickly. Sometimes they see it, but it's too late and we turn it over by passing too slowly.

Also we aren't good at handling double teams. Garrett is decent at passing out of it....SOMETIMES. But most everyone else is horrible at it. Teams have just been throwing bodies out at whoever has the ball and we don't make them pay.

[Shox21]

I've said it before. I love basketball and I know just enough about the ins and outs of the game to thoroughly enjoy it. I do not, however, make a study of the game nor did I ever play any organized ball. That being said, one of the things I have noticed most about our offense (or lack thereof) is our passing. I was most impressed by the passing of the Bradley team. Quick, crisp, and on target. Most of which I don't seem to notice in our passing game. There was an absolute glaring difference in styles during that game. If I, being as inexperienced as I am in the finer points of the game, can tell you exactly where our next pass is going (hence a steal/turnover), then there is a problem.

I, like many on this board, was thoroughly unimpressed by the UNI game. Even when we were ahead the first half, our offense sucked. If UNI had been hitting the threes the way they did in the second half, I can't even imagine what the scoring differential would have been. It was embarrassing enough.

[shockball]

On offense we play 4 against 5.

[shockall]

Just an observation....

I've seen this type of inept action on other teams that have an overzealous coach on the sidelines. When a coach is continuously barking orders from the sideline, an offense often depends on his verbal commands rather than think for themselves on the court. HCGM might be too verbal during the games and might be confusing the players more than doing them good.

I would like to see the coach sit more and stand less during the game. I'm not knocking his coaching ability or his enthusiasm, but only question whether he is confusing the players by barking different commands during a set play.

[shock-it-to-me]

On offense we play 4 against 5.

I don't think this is the root of the problem. Look at the Bulls teams back with Dennis Rodman. They won championships with a player who was no offensive threat at all, but who played good defense and rebounded.

[BostonWu]

I, like many on this board, was thoroughly unimpressed by the UNI game. Even when we were ahead the first half, our offense sucked. If UNI had been hitting the threes the way they did in the second half, I can't even imagine what the scoring differential would have been. It was embarrassing enough.

My exact thoughts. Just 10 minutes into the game I was thinking UNI looks awful, Hannah has played lights out (not likely to hold up) and we're only ahead 4-5 points. Like you said, even at the start of the game when we got ahead 7 points the offense didn't look all that great. It was just Hannah going 1-on-1 hitting shots. To me the most troubling aspect was we couldn't build a bigger lead when UNI was god-awful and we were supposedly "hot".

There's little doubt this team is above average at rebounding and defense but it rivals some of the Smithson/early Turegeon-era teams when it comes to putting the ball in the hole. I really don't expect to see a decent (even mediocre) offense for another year or two.

[DUShock]

Sheer Madness!

[KC Shox]

On offense we play 4 against 5.

I don't think this is the root of the problem. Look at the Bulls teams back with Dennis Rodman. They won championships with a player who was no offensive threat at all, but who played good defense and rebounded.

Two things - the Bulls had Jordan which more than made up for Rodman's lack of offensive production. We don't have one offensive threat. Second, no one plays D in the NBA, MO Valley teams are notorius for playing good D. This hurts a team like ours who lack players who can pass effectively and have the ability to create on their own.

[shock-it-to-me]

Yeah, if we did have Jordan, we'd probably win the Valley ;-)

I still think there are bigger problems, though. Like players just lacking a basic understanding of offensive stratagy.