UNI game

[trufan]

The cumulative effect of multiple losses really feels bad, but this particular loss is nothing to be ashamed of for the Shockers. UNI is a HOT team right now, having beaten Illinois State (at the time in 1st place in the Valley and nationally ranked) last week. They committed only 9 turnovers (low in college womens basketball) and essentially shot 95% from the free throw line. Teams that do those things are tough to beat on those nights. The Shockers outrebounded them, essentially shot the same FG% and the same 3pt FG%, and came close to limiting TO's to less than 15 (15 TO's).
I still cannot say how it happens that good shooters like Whitney Rice, Jacie Hoyt and Taylor Steven can combine for a 1 for 17 shooting night. Fans have all seen Whitney and Taylor shoot much more consitently than 6 % by far! And if I remember correctly, Jacie is the one who broke Jackie Stiles' Kansas High School average points per game record. Good shooters, to be sure...this erratic shooting percentage is a mystery.
I am also not sure how a 6% shooting night can be pinned on the coaches, although i won't be surprised if people try to do just that....[/i]

[AndShock]

Re: UNI game

I am also not sure how a 6% shooting night can be pinned on the coaches,

Sure won't be because Jane coaches and recruited those players. WSU isn't losing all these games just because they're having bad shooting nights, they're losing because WSU is an overall, bad team. Which is none other than Jane's fault.

[1972Shocker]

I have to agree with trufan. If a team is running a good offense the way they have been coached and are getting good looks at the basket and simply are not knocking those shots down, then there is not much a Coach can do. We know that Jacie, Whitney and Taylor are better than 1 for 17 shooters normally.

However, that was apparently not the case in the UNI game (which I admittedly did not see). Based on the quotes in the Eagle Jane attributed the poor shooting to:

"I didn't think we (took good shots) tonight," WSU coach Jane Albright said. "I think we forced a lot of shots. I thought we shot quickly. We were anxious. I would have liked to have had better shots."

Forcing shots and being over-anxious and taking shots too quickly have at least a little bit to do with whether a team is properly prepared for a game I would think.

Either the team was not properly prepared or the Coaching staff did not adequatley communicate what kind of shots they wanted to get out of the offense. Perhaps UNI took away what they were trying to do, and the Shocks simply were unable to make adjustments.

Perhaps not 100% on the Coach, but there is some accountability and responsibility attributable to the Coach if, in fact, Jane's stated reasons for the poor shooting were accurate.

[molly jabali]

maybe that 1 for 17 shooting can be traced to 'coming out flat'...jane's words.

remind me again how a team DESPERATE for a win can come out 'flat'.....

[tgcshock]

I have to agree with trufan. If a team is running a good offense the way they have been coached and are getting good looks at the basket and simply are not knocking those shots down, then there is not much a Coach can do. We know that Jacie, Whitney and Taylor are better than 1 for 17 shooters normally.

However, that was apparently not the case in the UNI game (which I admittedly did not see). Based on the quotes in the Eagle Jane attributed the poor shooting to:

"I didn't think we (took good shots) tonight," WSU coach Jane Albright said. "I think we forced a lot of shots. I thought we shot quickly. We were anxious. I would have liked to have had better shots."

Forcing shots and being over-anxious and taking shots too quickly have at least a little bit to do with whether a team is properly prepared for a game I would think.

Either the team was not properly prepared or the Coaching staff did not adequatley communicate what kind of shots they wanted to get out of the offense. Perhaps UNI took away what they were trying to do, and the Shocks simply were unable to make adjustments.

Perhaps not 100% on the Coach, but there is some accountability and responsibility attributable to the Coach if, in fact, Jane's stated reasons for the poor shooting were accurate.

I was at the game and it seemed to me that both statements are true. We certainly forced some shots but we also simply missed some good open looks that were in rhythm and didn't go down. The frustrating part of many of the open looks was that they were part way down and rimmed out so it was hard to even call them bad shots. At the end of the day, however, you have to make shots. UNI's defensive strategy was clearly to put 2-3 players on Kiki at all times and live with whatever shots other people made. In a situation like that, other players simply have to perform and IMO opinion the shots were there to be made more often then not and the other players just did not get them to go down. My best guess about why is that losing tends to perpetuate itself. I suspect that if we had won three games in a row the majority of those open looks would have fallen. But in the classic "catch-22" scenario: "you need to make shots to win but you need to win in order to have the confidence to make shots."