Lingering Questions from Today's Game

really, really didn't get Buzz's rotational strategy in the second half. 1st and foremost, the absence of Steve Taylor JR - aka AI (robotic movement that works) - made zero sense for as we struggled to make shots and I don't get why Anderson (16 minutes), Wilson (9) and most of all Thomas (4) got the minutes they did in the second half while AI got 3.

combined for the game those three went 0-4, 2 rebs, 2 TOs and 4 fouls. Hopefully Buzz takes note and restricts the line up for Saturday's bout. I am not holding my breath tho

We are not the better than most teams 1-5. Our strength is that we can go 6-11 without missing a beat. In order to take advantage of that, you have to dictate the game so that those are the most important guys. The biggest way that you do that, is by pressuring full court, the entire game, which is exactly what we did. Trust me, bringing up the ball, under constant pressure, takes a lot out of you. It was not by coincidence that Davidson shot a lower ft percentage, late in the game, and missed timely threes late in the game. Wilson and JA pick up full court. Coudogan can't do that for the entire game, or he will wear down. We don't want Blue to do that much, to keep his legs fresh. We all saw how that was key, at the end of the game. Taylor can't pick up full court like that. JA can. With full court pressure, we make their players uncomfortable, put them in spots on the floor where they are uncomfortable, and have them take shots that are rushed, unfamiliar, and out of rhythm. That is in addition to wearing them down.
Taylor played poor post defense at the beginning of the game. He did not properly front, went for a steal, and got burned in a post move. Buzz lost trust in him early. I agree that he will be a stud and should play more. But if a coach loses confidence in a player in a tight game, he's not going to play much.
We need Wilson and JA to play the types of minutes they do, to wear down the opponent and give us energy. That is their role, and they did it well.

You can't lump the minutes of D Wilson and Jake Thomas into the conversation around Steve Taylor. D Wilson spells Cadougan at the point, not any of the big guys down low. Junior isn't going to play 40 mins, so D Wilson will always get some minutes. Jake went into the game late when we were down and needed 3 pt shooters in there. He had one good look and missed it. Again very situational and makes logical sense as to why he is in there and not Steve.

Now, you can question the time that Juan played versus Steve Taylor and ask why there. I think Steve's minutes have diminished over the last few games as Chris has really stepped up his game. He had a double-double last night! With Chris' improvement, gone are any minutes that Steve used to get at the 5 spot, even if they were few of the ones he would get. Chris and Davante had a combined 39 minutes last night so there was only one minute where we went to a smaller lineup. Jamil, who has really stepped up his game lately and is playing more minutes as well, and he and Juan played a combined 39 mins as well last night. So there is only one minute where we we potentially went to a three big-two guard lineup, which is shown by the fact that Lockett played 38 minutes! Buzz played smaller which gave Steve fewer opportunities to get on the floor. I also think that Buzz trusts Juan's defense over Steve's at this point. So how the game situation played out, Steve didn't get his chance. In a future game where we need more length, I can see Steve's minutes going back up.

That may be true, but when Juan and Derrick are on the floor together, we are, in essence, playing three on five on offense.

Since the start of conference play, Derrick has made 3 of 26 shots (11.5%). That is unbelievable. Three baskets in 20 games for a guy playing roughly a third of the game on average?

Juan isn't much beter. In those same 20 games he had 0 baskets nine times and 1 basket 7 times. He is shooting 31.7% from the field in those 20 games, and again, he is playing roughly a third of the game.

In yesterday's game we had cut into the lead near the end and had a chance to either tie or pull within one (I don't remember which), and Juan jacks up a trey from the corner. I almost screamed.

And it wasn't like Juan was playing good defense. There were times he looked like a matador.

Buzz pulled ST after Brooks beat him to a spot and made a basket. I get that. But Juan was also beaten on defense and beaten badly, and he brings little to the table offensively.

Derrick should only be in the game long enough to give Junior a breather. His offensive limitations are obvious to everyone.

Juan -- I really don't understand Buzz's committment to playing him significant minutes. I could accept it if he were a great defensive player -- but he's nowhere close to being that. I don't care if he's the greatest practice player in the world...until he does something in games, his minutes should be limited to about 5 a game as a situational sub.

I would put solid value on jake's minutes as Davidson overplayed him creating space in other areas.

Steve Taylor can't pick up, full court, like JA can. Plus, if I run an equal opportunity motion offense, I don't need five scorers on the floor. I can go with three. You have better ball movement, ball reversals, and less hesitation. People play their role. A lineup of only two scorers is brutal though.

Wilson can't only spell Cadougan to get his breath back if you want his legs fresh at the end of the game.

Put it this way. There is a reason why Buzz is doing this. He knows exactly what he is trying to get out of these guys. What roles they are playing. He's had that conversation with them. If they are not successful in that role, do you really think they will be playing? With someone as talented as Steve Taylor only getting three minutes, it's obvious Buzz has no problem sitting guys if they aren't doing what he wants. We struggle to shoot, period. It doesn't matter who is on the floor. We have to be consistent in other things in order for us to be successful. Guys need to play their role. JA and Wilson are successful at bringing energy and defending full court.

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Originally Posted by Jim Ganzer, "IWB"

I would put solid value on jake's minutes as Davidson overplayed him creating space in other areas.

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On the last play, Jake was out by the 3 point line and his man was face to face with him, opening up the middle. In fact, that entire play was well scripted. Junior was in the other corner by the 3 line. Interestingly, they guarded Jake much tighter than Junior. He definitely had defensive attention on that play. Jamil was way behind the play (as he was supposed to be). I am guessing, Vander had his option to go right or left off of Davante's screen, but the D was clogged at the top right. Jamil, if Vander was in trouble, would have been at the top for a drop back or a kick to Junior or Jake. If Vander took it, Jamil's role was to come flying in for a put back.

Well executed and well diagrammed.

People shouldn't act like Juan and Steve are interchangeable. Juan is a much better perimeter defender, and they were using him to guard a number of their taller three point shooters. Now when Juan ended up playing individual post defense, he struggled. Steve is obviously much better in those situations. Steve would have struggled just as much on the perimeter.

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Originally Posted by MUMac

On the last play, Jake was out by the 3 point line and his man was face to face with him, opening up the middle. In fact, that entire play was well scripted. Junior was in the other corner by the 3 line. Interestingly, they guarded Jake much tighter than Junior. He definitely had defensive attention on that play. Jamil was way behind the play (as he was supposed to be). I am guessing, Vander had his option to go right or left off of Davante's screen, but the D was clogged at the top right. Jamil, if Vander was in trouble, would have been at the top for a drop back or a kick to Junior or Jake. If Vander took it, Jamil's role was to come flying in for a put back.

Well executed and well diagrammed.

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OTOH, I still don't understand why Davidson defended that the way they did. Maybe they were shell-shocked or something, but that was the exact opposite of how I would have played it.

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Originally Posted by TheSultan

OTOH, I still don't understand why Davidson defended that the way they did. Maybe they were shell-shocked or something, but that was the exact opposite of how I would have played it.

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Well, with the opportunity of history, you are correct as MU won and Davidson lost. OTOH, I am betting they felt Cohen could defend the interior and they would have the perimeter covered for a kick out. Vander made a very quick move and Davante's screen and roll created additional space. Davidson had both sides covered. Vander was the better player on that play. I don't agree that they had the wrong strategy. Vander just got to the edge quicker than Cohen.

Sultan - I agree completely, only thing I wonder about is if they were so set on Vander going to the right, but still no excuse for the tight coverage on the three line.

Steve Taylor - I recall Buzz saying a few weeks back that when it comes to defensive adjustments with full court pressure, "I looked at Juan and said, do you understand how I want you to play this? He said yes, so I sent him back out there. with the assignment changing with every pass, we can't have someone who doesn't understand how to cover the opponent."

I think that is pretty close to the actual quote. It isn't a matter of who is the better player, who can score etc., it is about who can understands how to defend on the fly as the assignment keeps changing.

I just would have sagged Cohen a bit more...or brought over Jake's defender and take the ball out Blue's hands.

It is obvious to me that they were playing both sides with the way Vander's man was moving. Cohen hedged a bit and was sagging, was pushing Vander outside. I think they felt Cohen could stop Vander from getting to the hoop. Vander just beat him to the edge. Cohen did not move quickly enough.

The strategy, in my opinion, was not wrong. They were just out executed. That happens. It doesn't mean the strategy was not the correct strategy.

If I'm Jake, and I see my guy leave, I go to the basket, get the pass and get a layup. If Cadougan's guy comes over to help, then Cadougan is open for a layup. Tough to double from that position. Plus, you don't know that Blue is going to get the ball. You can't really scheme for that exact play in the timeout. However, Thomas' and Cadougan's defenders should have started in a higher help position. They were "on the help" line, but not far enough "up the line". As Blue gets closer, then they start to "hug" more. Use your body position to help deter penetration. Blue couldn't have gone so hard at the hoop then, and would have given Blue's defender, more time to catch up. That's tough though, in that situation. Those guys aren't use to defending someone as explosive as Blue.

Davidson just saw us drain the threes. Whether told by McKillop or not, that was in their heads on that play.

Taylor made a couple of defensive mistakes in the first half and Buzz decided to go with Anderson. I think Anderson was much worse, but that is just my opinion.

I think MU wanted to wear out the Davidson guards and hence, Wilson played more than normal. That said, MU really struggles on offense with Wilson at the point.

Mayo also missed a few defensive assignments, so again, Buzz went with Thomas.

Wilson plays tougher D than Junior. More aggressive, more in your face. That does wear on the guards. I have no problem with the time that Wilson had.

Mayo did not create offensively when he was in there and missed a wide open 3. Did not penetrate. So, he did not offer much offensively and his defensive rotations really hurt MU as well. Thus, he was out. Buzz is likely trying to get to Mayo anyway he can.

I was as frustrated as the next guy with Anderson yesterday. That said, I do understand and agree with Crisco's analysis. Crisco does a great job of breaking down the strategy.

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Originally Posted by Jim Ganzer, "IWB"

Steve Taylor - I recall Buzz saying a few weeks back that when it comes to defensive adjustments with full court pressure, "I looked at Juan and said, do you understand how I want you to play this? He said yes, so I sent him back out there. with the assignment changing with every pass, we can't have someone who doesn't understand how to cover the opponent."

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That actually was in reference to the Wisconsin game I believe and I would contend Taylor has made HUGE strides defensively since that point. Case and point, Buzz SUBBED IN Taylor for Blue defensively in the 10 minutes of the Cuse game. How anyone can argue Anderson is a better defender is beyond me. I could count 3 or 4 plays in the last two weeks alone that his over-aggressiveness or mental mishap led to points and/or fouls on other players.

Steve Taylor is not as switchable as Juan. Juan can cover guards.

Bleed - I think it all has to do with the situation, what type of defense they are playing and how the offense is being run.