Memphis

[L-T]

paster hasn't had d rose or Evans come through his doors either

They haven't come thru our doors either.

 

[Bulldog01]

They haven't come thru our doors either.

Doubt they even got invited to summer camp

 

[jacobkdoyle]

We scored 30+ points in 26 of the 30 halves the first 15 games of the year.

We've scored 30+ points 4 out of 8 halves in the last 4 games.

 

[Madman81]

i know there is an intentional slow-down component, but isn't there also an aspect of the change in pace, compared to early in the year, that has to do with quality of opponent? it's a lot easier to press, trap and turnover those scrub teams, and those turnovers turn into quick buckets and transition points.

if you can't generate steals, obviously your chance to run is limited in comparison to games when you could force turnovers.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Once Memphis gets a real coach they are going to blow past us as a program. They have great attendance (over 14k when they're good, 11k now), an NBA Arena, a talented backyard and they convince most of those recruits to stay at home regardless of the coach. For our sake, we better hope they keep Pastner.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

i know there is an intentional slow-down component, but isn't there also an aspect of the change in pace, compared to early in the year, that has to do with quality of opponent? it's a lot easier to press, trap and turnover those scrub teams, and those turnovers turn into quick buckets and transition points.

if you can't generate steals, obviously your chance to run is limited in comparison to games when you could force turnovers.

The first 15 games of that stat include @Xavier, @VCU, Iowa State, Butler, GW, Nebraska, Tulsa, and Temple.

Last 4 games are @SMU, @South Florida, Houston, and @Temple.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

i know there is an intentional slow-down component, but isn't there also an aspect of the change in pace, compared to early in the year, that has to do with quality of opponent? it's a lot easier to press, trap and turnover those scrub teams, and those turnovers turn into quick buckets and transition points.

if you can't generate steals, obviously your chance to run is limited in comparison to games when you could force turnovers.

Had 10 steals vs USF and forced 18 turnovers. That resulted in 54 points.

Had 12 steals vs SMU and forced 17 turnovers. That resulted in 57 points.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

We scored 30+ points in 26 of the 30 halves the first 15 games of the year.

We've scored 30+ points 4 out of 8 halves in the last 4 games.

Jacob, my fear with this team is that they have no identity. In Cronin's tenure we have been noted as a lockdown defensive team that hit the glass hard and made the opposition work for everything they got. Over the summer and with the knowledge that the shot clock would be reduced by 5 seconds we changed to a more up tempo offense. Thru the early part of the schedule we were waxing team's. Of course they provided little competition but it looked as though we were making strides as a offense. After we got into the meat of the schedule We began playing better competition. We lost some very tough games. Other then X some very high scoring games. Many commented that our defense had fallen off. Even in the blow outs it was apparent our rebounding and our perimeter defense was lacking. That's when the comments began to surface from Mick that he listened to all those so called experts.

Now he is in the middle of changing the teams focus and it is apparent that they are not on same page. I think this team is questioning Micks approach. Are we fast paced offense or a plodding defensive minded team that grinds each possession to the end of the shot clock and suffocates opposition with defensive pressure.

Drawing on My Military and Corporate experience I can relay to you that if your team is not confident in the direction or style your implementing the performance always suffers. This is what I see in this team. TC has never played this badly. He is trying to be the extension of the Coach on the floor and the Coach is not sure what style he wants to run. The players are confused and second guessing the direction the coach is leading them. Whatever the reason is its apparent this team is not playing up to its potential. it also remains to be seen if Mick can tap into that potential between now and the end of the year. Lots of time left to make a run. There are few dominate teams out there this year. Its not to late to get it together but they all have to be on the same page. Pick a style or approach and live with it. The indecisiveness is a drain on the whole team and will continue to be until it is removed.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Had 10 steals vs USF and forced 18 turnovers. That resulted in 54 points.

Had 12 steals vs SMU and forced 17 turnovers. That resulted in 57 points.

NTS, I think in both those games we had begun to morph back into our slow the tempo down smothering defensive identity.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Guys we spent the whole summer gearing ourselves to play up tempo and after some losses decided to change our style back to last years. That can not be easy from a players perspective. Its also obvious that it is confusing more then anything. TC just hasn't forgotten how to play basketball. It is obvious. I have coached some very good players through the years and I can tell you to a man they have always said, the less I have to think and the more I can react the better I can play. TC is thinking out there instead of playing. Its obviously. Players do not just get worse in their third year. He is absolutely confused. If the direction from the coach is not clear this is the type of performance you get. Set sail in one direction Mick and live with the results. if it were me I would do it sooner rather then later. if I practiced fast paced all summer I would lean in that direction and live with the results.

 

[Madman81]

The first 15 games of that stat include @Xavier, @VCU, Iowa State, Butler, GW, Nebraska, Tulsa, and Temple.

Last 4 games are @SMU, @South Florida, Houston, and @Temple.

success in those games is a mixed bag so i'm not sure what the overall point is. i was more intending to note that i think this juggernaut people recall from november was us creating transition turnovers against scrubs. it's only tangentially related to your post itself.

Had 10 steals vs USF and forced 18 turnovers. That resulted in 54 points.

Had 12 steals vs SMU and forced 17 turnovers. That resulted in 57 points.

there's a difference between steals generated in transition and steals and turnovers forced in the half court.

my only main point is that it's not like they're deliberately slowing down when they get the ball in a position to push it.

i really don't even care that much about walking the ball up the court. you can still be efficient in the half court with 20 seconds on the clock. i think the biggest issue with the offense is the inability of our guards to penetrate with the ball and then do something with it once they're past the first level. if you look at what always shreds our match-up zone, for example, it's dribble drive penetration by a guard who kicks it when the help defender comes his way. that breaks down the rotations, and the chance for a good look after a couple passes emerges. we never, ever do that.

 

[Madman81]

Guys we spent the whole summer gearing ourselves to play up tempo and after some losses decided to change our style back to last years. That can not be easy from a players perspective. Its also obvious that it is confusing more then anything. TC just hasn't forgotten how to play basketball. It is obvious. I have coached some very good players through the years and I can tell you to a man they have always said, the less I have to think and the more I can react the better I can play. TC is thinking out there instead of playing. Its obviously. Players do not just get worse in their third year. He is absolutely confused. If the direction from the coach is not clear this is the type of performance you get. Set sail in one direction Mick and live with the results. if it were me I would do it sooner rather then later. if I practiced fast paced all summer I would lean in that direction and live with the results.

a lot of our guys really don't look like they spent the whole summer conditioning themselves to play up tempo.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

a lot of our guys really don't look like they spent the whole summer conditioning themselves to play up tempo.

they looked fine scoring bunches of points early in season. I'm not favoring one style over another. And certainly teams should play on both ends of the floor but it is obviously that this team has regressed. It's obviously we have changed our style and changed it back. This has to be unsettling even without looking at the obvious. That being how unsettled we look in our execution. To right this ship Mick needs to make this decision and live with it.

 

[Madman81]

they looked fine scoring bunches of points early in season.

yeah, when we played 10 deep and mick treated them like nba units

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

yeah, when we played 10 deep and mick treated them like nba units

this team is tight and plays that way. There is very little flow to this team. That comes from the coach on the floor. The PG. my biggest disappointment in the entire season has been the play of TC. The kid looks like a first year player. He looks confused while trying to carry out the game plan. If I'm Mick at this point in season I tell the team to go play like your hair is on fire on both ends of the floor. Kids need to have fun playing the game and it's obvious they are not. Build from there. Those that buy in get the minutes those that don't sit next to the coach.

 

[justinhub2003]

Some Quick Stat comparison: (conf rank)
PPG:
UC: 74.1 (6)
Memp: 77.8 (3)

PPG Against:
UC: 61.3 (1)
Memp: 66.5 (4)

Scoring Margin:
UC: +12.8 (2)
Memp: +11.2 (4)

FG%
UC: .438 (6)
Memp: .402 (10)

Opp Fg%
UC: .386 (3)
Memp: .363 (1)

3pt fg%
UC: .352 (3)
Memp: .296 (9)

Opp 3pt FG%
UC: .344 (10)
Memp: .302 (2)

SOS (according to kenpom)
UC: 133
Memp: 324

Best 3 wins (according to kenPom)
UC: @VCU, Tulsa & GW (neutral)
Memp: Temple, Louisiana Tech, Ohio St (neutral floor)

Kenpom Offense and Defense rankings
UC:
Offense: 92
Defence: 15
Memp:
Offense: 176
Defense: 21

Things of Note regarding Memphis:
* Memphis is 5th in average length of possession only using 14 seconds of the shotclock
* 9th in Adjusted Temple
* Ranked 324 in effective FG%
* One of the worst 3pt shooting teams in the country

Just from looking all this up; you'd think that memphis would try to switch up its style a bit. The numbers show they play extremely fast and yet shoot extremely bad in nearly all aspects. Why the hell they would be so impatient to jack up a bad shot is beyond me.

If our 3 ball falls tomorrow night, we could win big. But I will be extremely disappointed if memphis makes more than 6 3's on us when they are one of the worst 3pt shooting teams in the country. 2nd worst 3pt shooting defense vs the 3rd worst 3pt shooting team in conference. Something has to give..

PS Latest media availability from Mick regarding Memphis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gei5IdDm1Yc

 

[UCBearcats]

this team is tight and plays that way. There is very little flow to this team. That comes from the coach on the floor. The PG. my biggest disappointment in the entire season has been the play of TC. The kid looks like a first year player. He looks confused while trying to carry out the game plan. If I'm Mick at this point in season I tell the team to go play like your hair is on fire on both ends of the floor. Kids need to have fun playing the game and it's obvious they are not. Build from there. Those that buy in get the minutes those that don't sit next to the coach.

The only times our teams have usually played very well is when they've done what you described above. The funny thing is that everyone loves to talk about our Sweet 16 run but that was the year Bishop lead a revolt against Mick and was suspended for it. The team basically told Mick to kiss their a** when it came to the way they played offense and they took it upon themselves to play a more free style of basketball. It wasn't until that last month or so that we really saw Yancy Gates become the player we all hoped he would be for 4 years.

The best thing Mick could do right now is keep coaching defense and tell the guys on offense to do whatever the heck they want. Either that or we need another Rashad Bishop to stand up and challenge the diminutive dictator's authority.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Some Quick Stat comparison: (conf rank)
PPG:
UC: 74.1 (6)
Memp: 77.8 (3)

PPG Against:
UC: 61.3 (1)
Memp: 66.5 (4)

Scoring Margin:
UC: +12.8 (2)
Memp: +11.2 (4)

FG%
UC: .438 (6)
Memp: .402 (10)

Opp Fg%
UC: .386 (3)
Memp: .363 (1)

3pt fg%
UC: .352 (3)
Memp: .296 (9)

Opp 3pt FG%
UC: .344 (10)
Memp: .302 (2)

SOS (according to kenpom)
UC: 133
Memp: 324

Best 3 wins (according to kenPom)
UC: @VCU, Tulsa & GW (neutral)
Memp: Temple, Louisiana Tech, Ohio St (neutral floor)

Kenpom Offense and Defense rankings
UC:
Offense: 92
Defence: 15
Memp:
Offense: 176
Defense: 21

Things of Note regarding Memphis:
* Memphis is 5th in average length of possession only using 14 seconds of the shotclock
* 9th in Adjusted Temple
* Ranked 324 in effective FG%
* One of the worst 3pt shooting teams in the country

Just from looking all this up; you'd think that memphis would try to switch up its style a bit. The numbers show they play extremely fast and yet shoot extremely bad in nearly all aspects. Why the hell they would be so impatient to jack up a bad shot is beyond me.

If our 3 ball falls tomorrow night, we could win big. But I will be extremely disappointed if memphis makes more than 6 3's on us when they are one of the worst 3pt shooting teams in the country. 2nd worst 3pt shooting defense vs the 3rd worst 3pt shooting team in conference. Something has to give..

PS Latest media availability from Mick regarding Memphis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gei5IdDm1Yc

Good info. Thanks.

 

[GarradJ21]

Some Quick Stat comparison: (conf rank)
PPG:
UC: 74.1 (6)
Memp: 77.8 (3)

PPG Against:
UC: 61.3 (1)
Memp: 66.5 (4)

Scoring Margin:
UC: +12.8 (2)
Memp: +11.2 (4)

FG%
UC: .438 (6)
Memp: .402 (10)

Opp Fg%
UC: .386 (3)
Memp: .363 (1)

3pt fg%
UC: .352 (3)
Memp: .296 (9)

Opp 3pt FG%
UC: .344 (10)
Memp: .302 (2)

SOS (according to kenpom)
UC: 133
Memp: 324

Best 3 wins (according to kenPom)
UC: @VCU, Tulsa & GW (neutral)
Memp: Temple, Louisiana Tech, Ohio St (neutral floor)

Kenpom Offense and Defense rankings
UC:
Offense: 92
Defence: 15
Memp:
Offense: 176
Defense: 21

Things of Note regarding Memphis:
* Memphis is 5th in average length of possession only using 14 seconds of the shotclock
* 9th in Adjusted Temple
* Ranked 324 in effective FG%
* One of the worst 3pt shooting teams in the country

Just from looking all this up; you'd think that memphis would try to switch up its style a bit. The numbers show they play extremely fast and yet shoot extremely bad in nearly all aspects. Why the hell they would be so impatient to jack up a bad shot is beyond me.

If our 3 ball falls tomorrow night, we could win big. But I will be extremely disappointed if memphis makes more than 6 3's on us when they are one of the worst 3pt shooting teams in the country. 2nd worst 3pt shooting defense vs the 3rd worst 3pt shooting team in conference. Something has to give..

PS Latest media availability from Mick regarding Memphis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gei5IdDm1Yc

Solid information instead of just reading that Troy sucks and Cronin should be fired. I don't see us losing tomorrow.

 

[Madman81]

The only times our teams have usually played very well is when they've done what you described above. The funny thing is that everyone loves to talk about our Sweet 16 run but that was the year Bishop lead a revolt against Mick and was suspended for it. The team basically told Mick to kiss their a** when it came to the way they played offense and they took it upon themselves to play a more free style of basketball. It wasn't until that last month or so that we really saw Yancy Gates become the player we all hoped he would be for 4 years.

The best thing Mick could do right now is keep coaching defense and tell the guys on offense to do whatever the heck they want. Either that or we need another Rashad Bishop to stand up and challenge the diminutive dictator's authority.

rashad bishop wasn't on that sweet 16 team. maybe that diminutive dictator is more powerful than you're giving him credit for if he can suspend someone who isn't in the program.