Not to mention the defensive side of the ball.
4 Likes
I think easily top 30. We clean up the horrendous turnover leakage and improve our defense massively.
4 Likes
One of the things thatās really upsetting me so far is we heard all offseason about how we were planning to up the tempo. Our coaches were telling recruits that changes were coming, we were gonna play wide open and up the pace of play, get out in transition a little more while also taking more shots early in the shot clock. Wasnāt gonna be breakneck but it would be something different to embrace and build off of in future seasons.
Weāre currently sitting at 61.1 possessions per game, which is one whole possession faster than last yearās team and a half possession slower than our team two years ago. For as much valid handwringing as their was about our offense last season, we currently have a worse offensive rating on Kenpom than we finished with last year (104.5 compared to 105.1). I understand this team has a talent issue but thereās still no excuse for a power five team putting up that poor of a number, especially after we were promised change and improvements.
12 Likes
I think they were probably increasing tempo against the practice squad effectively.
But itās the same deal as last year: you have approximately one (1) guard who can get downhill. Even if you get out into transition a bit more, you arenāt going have quicker halfcourt possessions if the other team can effectively pressure you at each step. I fear we are a bit stuck. I do want players to take the first decent look, like Cofie for 3 a few times last night he passed up, but I really donāt think itāll move the needle on our offensive efficiency this season.
3 Likes
Have we ever finished our ābuyā games without once breaking 70ptsā¦ā¦? One to go, or is American even a buy?
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There was no point in keeping up the elaborate āwe are going to play fasterā Potemkin village ruse once Mallory decommitted.
My serious answer: I donāt know. How fast would we have played with Tony, Warley, and Dai Dai? Iād like to know that answerā¦
Though I donāt agree that lacking those guys is fully explanatory for why we are still going so slow, because itās not as if going slow is playing into our strengths. Which are ā¦ gimme a secondā¦
4 Likes
Also regarding the talent/roster construction issue, Ron & the current staff arenāt exactly blameless. My understanding is they were the ones primarily identifying the guys they wanted to pursue and get Tony involved with. I get that Tony has final say, but it wasnāt like Tony hand picked every player on the roster and completely overruled the staff.
1 Like
We gave it to TJ Power
Itās not obvious to me that playing faster would be a net positive with our current personnel. The tradeoffs that I think of with playing faster are broadly about offense for defense, which I think could be a net positive. But within the offensive Four Factors, faster teams tend to shoot better (yay), draw more FTs (yay), and turn the ball over more (uh oh for our team). The main defensive tradeoff is rebounding-related (for us thatās starting to stabilize some).
Of course, pace might not be causing these things; if you already have those particular strengths and weaknesses in those particular components of offense and defense you might decide to play faster/end up playing faster naturally.
3 Likes
Well thats good if you are right because we are never gonna try to play fast
Itās not obvious to anyone
What is obvious is that playing extremely slowly has given us a crappy offense. Or to state it in a way absent of quibble-tude: we are playing slow AND we have a crappy offense. Maybe those two things just showed up randomly having never met each other
Thatās the context we are in. We are not working with a blank piece of paper
3 Likes
Not until next year
Revamp the revamp
Nah, whatās giving us a crappy offense is way deeper than play fast / play slow. The last two years of playing slow are a symptom of that, not the cause. Thatās why just playing faster isnāt a real solution, just like running continuity ball screen didnāt fix things.
2 Likes
Playing slow is a symptom? Iāve been watching the Bennett offense since he got here and playing slow is a constant
1 Like
Yes, and weāve had good offenses during that time. So, itās not just playing fast or slow.
My point is this: everyone wants a simple explanation. Run new sets, play faster, etc. etc. But itās clear that the issues the last few years have been more fundamental. My hypothesis is that the quirks of Bennettās coaching - emphasis on minimizing mistakes and a high bar for trusting players were a terrible mix with the personnel weāve had recently and the lack of retention. You donāt address any of those things (either on the coaching style side or roster and retention side) and itās just window dressing if we run faster or run new offensive sets.
So yes, playing slow was an outgrowth of Bennettās coaching philosophy. But the more basic aspects of the philosophy coupled with the reality of the portal and recruiting/retention issues is whatās ailing us now.
3 Likes
When are the real questions gonna be asked. We talk transfer portal and admissions and it turns out Eli Bennett is matter of factly on our team as a transfer. His Charlotte credits magically get him into our great University?
6 Likes
I gotta run But Iām making narrower point. Different things work for different teams and different players. And if you wanna figure out what works for a given team, you need to try some stuff. And the one thing we are never willing to change, is pace.
(But fwiw, I mostly agree with the stuff in your middle paragraph)
Just having Ames on the floor is worth 3 possessions a game.
Without Ames* (Iām using Campbell, SMU, Bethune Cookman), weāre averaging 59.0 possessions.
With him, weāre averaging 62.2.
*He played 18 total minutes cumulatively in those three games.
5 Likes
In hindsight, we wouldāve been a lot better off with DellāOrso over Power. Very much hindsight because most of us preferred Power at the time, but DellāOrso is a much better version of Taine and wouldāve been far more suited for the 3, where Power has really struggled.
5 Likes