Ball State Recap - 10 Things I Think I Thought

[bleedbluegold03]

- When Juan Anderson plays within himself, he can be a real great cog for this team. Gives the most hustle of anyone and seems to be moving into that Lockett "do anything" role from LY. Game like today reminds me I was wrong to write him off completely.

- Derrick Wilson showed the same aggressiveness offensively that he showed against ASU tonight. Completely different squad if he can even meet somewhere in the middle of his highs and lows.

- Great nights for the frosh. Trey J and Burton combine for 22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Dang. Again, if Buzz gives them the minutes, both can be strong contributors THIS YEAR

- Open for reasoning as to why Jake Thomas is starting / getting significant minutes right now. Averaging less than 4 points his last four. I nearly think the idea of him being a threat from 3 is more threatening than his actual play.

- Speaking of playing within himself, I think with Gardner's gaudy numbers at times, it is understated how well Chris has progressed offensively. Showed some good moves including a turn around hook tonight.

- My favorite lineup of the night and one I want to see more together moving forward is Jamil Wilson, JuJuan Johnson, Juan Anderson, Deonte Burton and Davante Gardner. If given the reigns, that's my starting five as it gives you the best blend of hustle, speed and offensive skill.

- Is STJ still injured?

- Bummed we didn't see Duane Wilson Jr for the first time tonight. This side of a redshirt, this would've been the perfect time to bed him into the side.

- Intrigued with Buzz implementing the press late in the game, perhaps prepping a look for Saturday?

- Speaking of Saturday, with their loss tonight, New Mexico becomes as much of a OOC "must win" as one can have. Need at least one legit W outside of conference if we want to be taken seriously Selection Sunday.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I agree with most of this...expanding a bit...

- Juan...wow. Thank god he didn't transfer.

- What I like about Derrick is even in the lows, he doesn't give you the turnovers that lose games. If nights like last night are the high and he isn't losing games by literally throwing them away, we can challenge for the league crown.

- Really starting to think both Taylor and Wilson will be redshirted. At this point, it may be for the best. Even if Buzz tightens up the roster, we have an 8.5 man rotation.

[TheSultan]

The upside with both Burton and JJJ are huge. There are times they still look like freshmen - and Burton's right hand looks worse than my left hand right now - but you can see what they hopefully will become.

[MUMac]

The upside with both Burton and JJJ are huge. There are times they still look like freshmen - and Burton's right hand looks worse than my left hand right now - but you can see what they hopefully will become.

Agreed. They both still look lost on defense at times. As I said last week, they appear to be thinking too much and not reacting. It will come, but improvement on that end is how they will earn key minutes.

Yesterday, as an example, Burton had a very nice offensive basket and followed that up looking like his feet were in cement as Ball State's player blew right by him for an easy basket.

Again, it will come, but their defense is way behind their offense right now.

[kneelb4zerg]

- -
- Open for reasoning as to why Jake Thomas is starting / getting significant minutes right now. Averaging less than 4 points his last four. I nearly think the idea of him being a threat from 3 is more threatening than his actual play.

- .

Thomas played 19 minutes, would have likely been less if Mayo hadn't been forced out multiple times after getting bloodied. 19 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, not sure what the issue is. Ideally, 10-15 minutes and he can be productive in that role, especially as merely a threat to shoot, as you say.

[IrwinFletcher]

I am by no means a huge fan of JT, but he does many little things that don't show up. He had a great pass to Dk Wilson that lead to a bucket. He moves the ball well and plays some solid defense. He is guarded very closely on offense so that does open up the lane quite a bit which is what we need.

I think 15 minutes or so a game is fine for him. We need JJJ and Mayo on the floor as much as possible.

One nice thing about STJ and Duane if in fact they are redshirted. They are healthy enough to practice and that means the other 8-9 guys are going up against some real good players in practice. That is how they will get better.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

I agree with most of this...expanding a bit...

- What I like about Derrick is even in the lows, he doesn't give you the turnovers that lose games. If nights like last night are the high and he isn't losing games by literally throwing them away, we can challenge for the league crown.

This is correct, he doesnt give you the turnovers that lose you games but the reason he doesnt turn it over is that he isn't creating for others. On this offensively challenged team, I'd rather a pg who has a few turnovers sprinkled in over the course of the game bc of his aggressiveness to try and create for others---Derrick just doesnt have this ability. Our offense on the perimeter too often looks similar to the TC three man weave---a classic result of lack of penetration and ability for our guards to break people down.

[kneelb4zerg]

This is correct, he doesnt give you the turnovers that lose you games but the reason he doesnt turn it over is that he isn't creating for others. On this offensively challenged team, I'd rather a pg who has a few turnovers sprinkled in over the course of the game bc of his aggressiveness to try and create for others---Derrick just doesnt have this ability. Our offense on the perimeter too often looks similar to the TC three man weave---a classic result of lack of penetration and ability for our guards to break people down.

I disagree, in a slower-paced game that we are trying to play and be successful with, we need to limit turnovers because every possession has more value.

[TheSultan]

This is correct, he doesnt give you the turnovers that lose you games but the reason he doesnt turn it over is that he isn't creating for others.

Can we stop with this "not creating for others" falsehood?

So far this year, Derrick has 37 assists in 271 minutes. That's one every 7.32 minutes. Last year Junior had 133 assists in 982 minutes. One every 7.38 minutes. All with having a A/TO ratio of 2.8...Junior's was 1.5.

Derrick's OR right now is 98.7. Junior's was 96.2. This despite the fact that Junior was a better shooter and scored more points. And of course Derrick is a much better defender than Junior was.

Now of course Derrick's numbers may fade as we get into BE play. But he has been more than adequate about "creating for others."

[MUBasketball]

Can we stop with this "not creating for others" falsehood?

So far this year, Derrick has 37 assists in 271 minutes. That's one every 7.32 minutes. Last year Junior had 133 assists in 982 minutes. One every 7.38 minutes. All with having a A/TO ratio of 2.8...Junior's was 1.5.

Derrick's OR right now is 98.7. Junior's was 96.2. This despite the fact that Junior was a better shooter and scored more points. And of course Derrick is a much better defender than Junior was.

Now of course Derrick's numbers may fade as we get into BE play. But he has been more than adequate about "creating for others."

Easy Sultan, don't let facts get in the way of the Derrick haters on here!