First of all, I want to say that I really like how this team is meshing, and I think they will be very good come tournament times. 2 things I wish the b-ball coaching staff would consider doing more often:
- play Scott with Craft more often to relieve some of the ballhandling pressure that Craft has to deal with in addition to being our best defender.
- run more direct plays for D. Thomas. Have him run off curls to get open mid-range looks. Thomas needs to get the ball more in crunch time. Set him up like how Boston and Miami would set up Ray Allen, or how the Pacers would use Reggie Miller.
In my opinion, the coaches are doing a great job with this team, however. I love watching the development of Amir and Q. Ross. Looking forward to finishing strong. Love talking basketball, so any thoughts are appreciated. GO BUCKS.
An oppoent would be dumb not to double or help Thomas at evey opportunity, thus negeting the running of the "direct plays".
bottom line is: Thomas isn't getting the ball when we need big buckets. A good coach finds a way to get his best players the ball. Everyone knew Jordan, Kobe, or Reggie Miller were going to get the ball in pressure situations, and they still got the ball. So, running direct stuff for Thomas isn't negated. You just have to be creative, in my opinion.
Thomas can score from anywhere though. He's not just a pure shooter like an Allen or Miller.
agree -- so I guess that means just get him the ball at crunch time. My main concern is that he's not touching the ball very much in the stretch, and he's our best offensive option.
I agree with that.
I agree with all of this - especially the second point. The refs are obviously another issue for another thread, but I'd rather have DT taking that last shot than Aaron Craft. Still love Craft, but that isn't really his forte. DT has got to get the ball in crunch time. If he misses, then so be it. I wouldn't have such a sour taste in my mouth from scUM and MSU losses if DT was taking that last shot and just couldn't get it to go (and wasn't fouled).
Class of 2010.
I just didn't see Tank open all that much. They had him pretty well neutralized.
In principle I agree with you. However, in the Michigan game I thought Craft did the right thing (On the last play at least). Our half court offense was completely ineffective in OT and our best chance was to beat their D down the floor. I know it sounds crazy given the MSU game but I wouldn't have minded seeing Shannon Scott taking it down the court because Burke would not have been able to catch up to bump him.
Yeah, but I'm not just talking about the last possesssion in the UM game. It seems to be a trend that Thomas isn't getting the rock at crucial times. Did he take any shots in OT? I'll have to watch it again. For those who remember, Jimmy Jackson would dominate the end of games and we Buckeyes called it JJ time. The whole country knew who was going to be taking the shots. Now, one advantage that Jim Jackson had was that he was the primary ballhandler toward the end of the game. But there are ways to free up Thomas, and a scorer like him will find a way to get the ball. We gotta give him the chance because D. Thomas is unique.
The problem with playing Scott with Craft is that their games have way too much overlap...neither is a confident reliable shooter/scorer at this stage, which we really lack as a team overall. I like having them in there at the same time depending on how the game is flowing...but usually Q isn't getting his minutes if both o them are in and we need his scoring ability and his getting minutes to help with our biggest weakness ( a second real offensive threat behind Thomas)
D. Anthony
yeah...I'm always trying to think who would be the odd man out if you play Scott and Craft together, and that's why I wouldn't want it to happen the whole game.
By the way, it's cool to be able to talk basketball with some Buckeyes on Football National Signing Day. We must all have the love for the game...
Craft or Scott -- such a tough choice. We all have a fondness for Craft and we know what level of hustle and perserverance he brings to the table. Scott brings a lot of the same qualities but doesn't have the veteran leadership that Craft has. What he does have, however, is NBA speed and quickness. You can't play them both against most teams because neither one is tall enough to legitimately guard a 2. You can't bench Craft because he is the heart of the team, but in benching Scott you are sitting potentially our best NBA prospect. Oh, and by the way, this problem will be with us again next year.
And we're missing the biggest weakness: they are both 6 feet tall. Did you see Scott trying to guard Hardaway last night? He just shot it right over top of him. He got hot when he had Scott on him and Matta had to bring in Smith, who is not all that much taller.
I do have to hand it to Scott, however -- he was breaking down that Michigan defense with relative ease. Why can he not finish? I cannot count how many missed (albeit difficult at times) layups I've seen with him.
My biggest gripe with this team, and I should note that I'm not really griping about this team much because I think they are doing pretty well given their stage of development, but since we're venting some frustrations: Why in the world did we go into OT with the original starting 5? Ross was clearly bringing it last night and had the hot hand. Just when you are entering THE critical stretch, you put him on the bench so that what? He can get cold? Lose his rhythm? That was not a smart move in my opinion.
Stop letting Craft go 1-on-1 in crunch time of every big game.
Don't go under screens on Hardaway.
Play Scott late. Sorry to Thompson or Lenzelle, but Scott forces the issue for the opposing defense in the lane. Ever notice how we start scoring more just with him in?
I agree with D. Anthony, you can't play Scott and Craft together, that only leaves you with one true scorer in THomas. Scott has to work on his jump shot, Craft has a decent shot but is struggling this year, I love Thompson's athletic ability, but before last night, he rarely takes or hits a jump shot. You have to give Ross more minutes and try to feed the ball into Williams. When they were driving to the basket, there were plenty of times they could have thrown a lob to Williams for an easy alley-oop or dunk.
Just for stretches of a game, why not Craft, Scott, Ross/Smith/Thompson (whoever's hot), Williams, and Thomas?
In my opinion, Craft's offense improves a lot when he doesn't have to bring the ball up. And as someone stated earlier on this thread, Scott can break a defense down with his dribble. His penetration sets up open jumpers for guys like Thomas, Smith, and Ross.
Did anyone notice Michigan began trapping Craft shortly after he would cross half court late in the game? This move contributed to Michigan's run toward the end of regulation. Sometimes Craft would beat it, but other times he would overdribble and ruin any flow on offense. Or worse, he'd turn it over. If a team tries that on Scott, even with his inconsistent jumpshot, he will make a defense pay by slicing into the lane and delivering a good pass. I'm waiting for Scott's midrange jumper to be consistent -- that's when he will be most dangerous.
Keep giving Craft lots of minutes -- his defense is incredible. But I hope Matta allows Scott to play along side Craft more often to take a little off of Craft's plate. I'm really pleased with Scott's improvement this year.
That high screen we ran in overtime isn't our strong suit. It pulls Amir out of the play and our wings end up standing around. Our best offense flows from constant movement.