1. just a great job by Groce of focusing on where they have been lacking, SHARING THE BALL. Also was probably the most pissed he has been after the last loss, and specifically went after Hill and Nunn. Its no surprise then to see Hill come out and immediately make a huge play and hustle. Nunn as well. They really responded to Groce like no other last night. At a time when some teams may fold, the good leaders get their teams to fight and overcome adversity. They did that last night. And if you think about it, all 3 Groce-led teams have done that. Problem: THEY WAIT UNTIL ITS DO-OR-DIE to start doing so. The sooner they (Groce's teams) start playing better earlier, the less pressure we will have late in the season. Hate seeing this much pressure on the kids and the program. But missing the NCAA is indeed killer, so they brought this on themselves (coaches & players).
2. Mav Morgan did indeed have 10 & 8 last night. And i was happy for him. That was the Morgan you hope to see on the offensive end. he has always shot a very high % from the field. Its because he only takes shots when he is open, which is what you want. As a frosh, he shot a ridiculous 58%. That is just crazy, but its because he never forces ANYTHING on the offensive end. His buckets are always within 5 ft of the hoop (put-backs, etc.). But I still won't get overly pumped because as others have noted, it was against the 2nd slowest player in the BT. There were also 2 straight times where Morgan got the ball in the mid/high post and he had Colbert on the low block with his man sealed for an easy basket. Both times, Morgan totally ignored Colbert (actually I used the rewind on the DVR both times) and didn't even bother to look down and instead immediately looked to the 3-point line for a teammate. He has to start slowing down when he gets the ball and know where his teammates are. There were also 2 or 3 times where his teammates tried to lead him just a step for a much closer and better shot, and it went out of bounds because it was like his feet were in cement blocks. I still think he can be a very serviceable back-up in BT play, and maybe as a SENIOR be able to put up good minutes where he doesn't hurt you. Still no business playing ahead of A. Colbert though, which he has done the past 2 games for some reason...
3. I am not ready to crown this offense king after last night (nor is anyone else obviously). But what i mean is that Northwestern's zone is to thank for last night's offensive outburst (i.e. making of 3 pt shots). They made 14 shots from 3 (42 points). That isn't and won't happen much. And our offense's biggest issue (as brad has also pointed out) is that they stand around way too much and there isn't any off-the-ball screening and moving going on. But when you face a zone, you don't really have to do those off-the-ball things. Against a zone, its all about spacing and ball movement. They still didn't flash to the high post/FT line enough IMO. Every time you get the ball to that point, good things happen. I love it when teams have a player at that area almost all the time vs a zone. There were a lot of times where someone could've easily flashed, but they didn't. They did however do a good job of spacing (which is never an issue anyways), and Starks and co. moved the ball around the floor. I have never seen the ball reverse sides more than what it did last night. That is a MUST. I stlll think we will continue to struggle against man-2-man because of the lack of action away from the ball. Still, how they attacked the team they were playing last night was spot-on. everyone looks good when shots are falling, that is the obvious. That is why i always tend to look deeper than just the shooting %'s after every game.
4. They have the talent to win at PU. It will come down to what kind of shots they are taking. if they are shooting jump shots all night at PU, it likey ends in a loss. if they move the ball and ATTACK, they can easily win that game. .
5. I hope they win the next 2 games so I can at least watch the selection sunday! : ) Late last night, they had Lunardi's "last 4 in and last 4 out," and IL wasn't even on the list either way. So didn't know how to take that one. . .
2. Mav Morgan did indeed have 10 & 8 last night. And i was happy for him. That was the Morgan you hope to see on the offensive end. he has always shot a very high % from the field. Its because he only takes shots when he is open, which is what you want. As a frosh, he shot a ridiculous 58%. That is just crazy, but its because he never forces ANYTHING on the offensive end. His buckets are always within 5 ft of the hoop (put-backs, etc.). But I still won't get overly pumped because as others have noted, it was against the 2nd slowest player in the BT. There were also 2 straight times where Morgan got the ball in the mid/high post and he had Colbert on the low block with his man sealed for an easy basket. Both times, Morgan totally ignored Colbert (actually I used the rewind on the DVR both times) and didn't even bother to look down and instead immediately looked to the 3-point line for a teammate. He has to start slowing down when he gets the ball and know where his teammates are. There were also 2 or 3 times where his teammates tried to lead him just a step for a much closer and better shot, and it went out of bounds because it was like his feet were in cement blocks. I still think he can be a very serviceable back-up in BT play, and maybe as a SENIOR be able to put up good minutes where he doesn't hurt you. Still no business playing ahead of A. Colbert though, which he has done the past 2 games for some reason...
3. I am not ready to crown this offense king after last night (nor is anyone else obviously). But what i mean is that Northwestern's zone is to thank for last night's offensive outburst (i.e. making of 3 pt shots). They made 14 shots from 3 (42 points). That isn't and won't happen much. And our offense's biggest issue (as brad has also pointed out) is that they stand around way too much and there isn't any off-the-ball screening and moving going on. But when you face a zone, you don't really have to do those off-the-ball things. Against a zone, its all about spacing and ball movement. They still didn't flash to the high post/FT line enough IMO. Every time you get the ball to that point, good things happen. I love it when teams have a player at that area almost all the time vs a zone. There were a lot of times where someone could've easily flashed, but they didn't. They did however do a good job of spacing (which is never an issue anyways), and Starks and co. moved the ball around the floor. I have never seen the ball reverse sides more than what it did last night. That is a MUST. I stlll think we will continue to struggle against man-2-man because of the lack of action away from the ball. Still, how they attacked the team they were playing last night was spot-on. everyone looks good when shots are falling, that is the obvious. That is why i always tend to look deeper than just the shooting %'s after every game.
4. They have the talent to win at PU. It will come down to what kind of shots they are taking. if they are shooting jump shots all night at PU, it likey ends in a loss. if they move the ball and ATTACK, they can easily win that game. .
5. I hope they win the next 2 games so I can at least watch the selection sunday! : ) Late last night, they had Lunardi's "last 4 in and last 4 out," and IL wasn't even on the list either way. So didn't know how to take that one. . .
