Obviously the 3-point shooting is easiest to pick at from a stats page, but our defense is what's killing us. (Maybe the 110 points we gave up highlights that.)
We can't protect the rim, particularly after the other team has a chance to adjust to us. Morez Johnson in my opinion was our best defender all season. He's a monster on the defensive glass and he occupies space in the lane. I think he was more effective defending at the 5 position than the 4 position though. The "big" lineup we were playing couldn't stay in front of quicker lineups. If we do get Morez back at any point he will help us tremendously (frankly even with one working wrist.)
The "small" lineup we're playing now can't defend the rim at all. Tomi is out of shape, underweight now, and can't move well with his ankle. So he's getting torched now when he was pretty solid early in the season. The other guys can't keep the second man off the glass.
Boswell is a good defender but he used to be elite. I think he's been bothered by some leg issues and he's lost half a step.
KJ can be a decent defender, but he reaches too much and doesn't play solid fundamentals. I also think the issues on offense get to him.
Tre White had been a good defender. Whatever happened to him midway through the year really hurt our defense. He was the unsung second stopper that made our defense elite in the early part of the season. Now he's out of sync and that is hurting us. Maybe he can recover a bit and that would help us some.
Will Riley is learning but he doesn't seem to move well enough on defense to really stop anyone. He's still thin so he's not a very physical player. He does have length but he could learn more. I think that's what is keeping him out of the starting lineup.
DGL plays hard but he's undersized and that can be exploited.
The biggest issue is not any individual guy but the lack of cohesion as a group (especially with all the lineup fluctuations.) We're full of holes that teams figure out as the game goes along. By the end of the game, teams are scoring at will against us. It's also clear that we get demoralized when we don't score and we let our defensive intensity suffer. That's why we're so boom-or-bust. The mental game on defense is particularly weak. It's common with an inexperienced team. Typically coaches don't play talented freshmen (despite fan protests) because of defensive issues.
This is something that could improve somewhat with practice. Also, if Tomi's ankle starts to feel better (typically ankles do heal up) then he could move a bit better and he could be the anchor for the rest of the team. So there is some potential but with a demoralized team it's going to be hard. Need to find a lot of pride fast. The beatings will continue until morale improves.
I'm not going to 100% flush this season yet if Morez can really be back for the Big Ten Tournament. I'm 90% there but the Iowa game is winnable and if any of these things improve then we could get at least a little traction. Iowa's defense is incredibly bad so that may be the thing to help us get our mojo back on both ends.
We can't protect the rim, particularly after the other team has a chance to adjust to us. Morez Johnson in my opinion was our best defender all season. He's a monster on the defensive glass and he occupies space in the lane. I think he was more effective defending at the 5 position than the 4 position though. The "big" lineup we were playing couldn't stay in front of quicker lineups. If we do get Morez back at any point he will help us tremendously (frankly even with one working wrist.)
The "small" lineup we're playing now can't defend the rim at all. Tomi is out of shape, underweight now, and can't move well with his ankle. So he's getting torched now when he was pretty solid early in the season. The other guys can't keep the second man off the glass.
Boswell is a good defender but he used to be elite. I think he's been bothered by some leg issues and he's lost half a step.
KJ can be a decent defender, but he reaches too much and doesn't play solid fundamentals. I also think the issues on offense get to him.
Tre White had been a good defender. Whatever happened to him midway through the year really hurt our defense. He was the unsung second stopper that made our defense elite in the early part of the season. Now he's out of sync and that is hurting us. Maybe he can recover a bit and that would help us some.
Will Riley is learning but he doesn't seem to move well enough on defense to really stop anyone. He's still thin so he's not a very physical player. He does have length but he could learn more. I think that's what is keeping him out of the starting lineup.
DGL plays hard but he's undersized and that can be exploited.
The biggest issue is not any individual guy but the lack of cohesion as a group (especially with all the lineup fluctuations.) We're full of holes that teams figure out as the game goes along. By the end of the game, teams are scoring at will against us. It's also clear that we get demoralized when we don't score and we let our defensive intensity suffer. That's why we're so boom-or-bust. The mental game on defense is particularly weak. It's common with an inexperienced team. Typically coaches don't play talented freshmen (despite fan protests) because of defensive issues.
This is something that could improve somewhat with practice. Also, if Tomi's ankle starts to feel better (typically ankles do heal up) then he could move a bit better and he could be the anchor for the rest of the team. So there is some potential but with a demoralized team it's going to be hard. Need to find a lot of pride fast. The beatings will continue until morale improves.
I'm not going to 100% flush this season yet if Morez can really be back for the Big Ten Tournament. I'm 90% there but the Iowa game is winnable and if any of these things improve then we could get at least a little traction. Iowa's defense is incredibly bad so that may be the thing to help us get our mojo back on both ends.
