Sun Devil Thoughts

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Another thing I didn't notice until checking the box score: Despite having a true rim protector in Jacobsen (2.2 bpg), Arizona State only managed one block. And that was from PG Chance Murray. I think we can credit that to great passing and Luke's ability to seal off defenders in the lane.

[THRILLHO]

Even though guys were still getting beat on the perimeter, having a 6'11 player who clearly understands help defense and positioning made up for a lot of mistakes.   I need to force myself to remember that it was one game and other teams are now going to start planning for him so they won't all be like this. 

The nice thing with this team is there are a lot of guys you have to plan for, and now Luke is one just one more. After the Georgia Tech game teams probably started scouting Carlino, then after Tennessee they had to scout Duane, now Fisher and possibly JjJ. Of course it is always nice to have a stud to rely on game in and game out but until he arrives having one extra guy that has to be accounted for on the scouting report with the potential to go off is great.

[chapman]

JJJ looked a smidgen better on defense.  Fischer made him look much better - was driven by a couple times only for the drive to be stopped by Fischer.  Got to be nice not to have his confidence deflated by each instance of imperfect D resulting in an easy layup.

[Lighthouse 84]

I have always known Du was quick, but last night he seemed to kick it into another gear on some of those breaks.  Hope he stays four years.

[jsglow]

5 turnovers in the final 2 minutes needs to get cleaned up.  We can't do that against better teams.  Fatigue?  Maybe.

[KenoshaWarrior]

One Anderson made a great play where it looked like he was going to dribble down court, froze one of the defenders, and drilled a beautiful bounce pass to JJJ for a slam.  Great use of "speed change"

[mug644]

A few thoughts:

1. Duane's quickness was remarkable, but I would've liked to see more of him breaking down the defense and then looking to pass rather than shoot. I think that will come with more experience.

2. While I understand that early Cohen's 3-pointer and then quick foul probably led to him sitting down and not getting much playing time, I wasn't so bothered by the shot. The team was on a bit of a run and it seemed like the energy was really building, so it seemed to me to be a 'team heat check'. It would've been better taken by someone else, I suppose, but if it had gone in, it would've been quite a hammer.

3. In another thread, someone mentioned the idea of playing Steve and Luke together more often. Like others, I worry about foul trouble too much for that to happen with much regularity. More importantly, I think Juan's quickness and passing make him a better one-two tandem with Luke. Or, at least it seemed to play out that way last night.

4. Juan still really reminds me of Joe Fulce.

[willie warrior]

A few thoughts:

1. Duane's quickness was remarkable, but I would've liked to see more of him breaking down the defense and then looking to pass rather than shoot. I think that will come with more experience.

2. While I understand that early Cohen's 3-pointer and then quick foul probably led to him sitting down and not getting much playing time, I wasn't so bothered by the shot. The team was on a bit of a run and it seemed like the energy was really building, so it seemed to me to be a 'team heat check'. It would've been better taken by someone else, I suppose, but if it had gone in, it would've been quite a hammer.

3. In another thread, someone mentioned the idea of playing Steve and Luke together more often. Like others, I worry about foul trouble too much for that to happen with much regularity. More importantly, I think Juan's quickness and passing make him a better one-two tandem with Luke. Or, at least it seemed to play out that way last night.

4. Juan still really reminds me of Joe Fulce.

Sorry, you are wrong in #1. He only shot 8 times. He consistently attacked the basket, which is breaking down their defense. He has the skill set and speed to break guys down with the dribble penetration--at least this type of team. He should be shooting more, not less. By comparison, JJJ shot twice as many shots.

[CTWarrior]

Sorry, you are wrong in #1. He only shot 8 times. He consistently attacked the basket, which is breaking down their defense. He has the skill set and speed to break guys down with the dribble penetration--at least this type of team. He should be shooting more, not less. By comparison, JJJ shot twice as many shots.

He really shot way more than 8 times.  FGA aren't counted when you are fouled unless you make them.  I too, would like to see him penetrate and dish more.  I had that thought more after Wisconsin than ASU, but that is the next step in his development.  He sure is fun to watch when he gets rolling.

[willie warrior]

Still worry about this team late in the game. Juan and Derrick are not the guys to handle the ball then, as they are not good FT shooters, and Juan did have a bad TO near the end. Kudos to Derrick as he did make 3-4 on FT's bringing his YTD FT% to 44%. Another 25-30% and it will be respectable.
But those two guys should not be the primary ball handlers late in the game because of their FT prowess. Wojo must correct that or it will be Hack a Derrick and Hack a Juan by opponents.

[CTWarrior]

Still worry about this team late in the game. Juan and Derrick are not the guys to handle the ball then, as they are not good FT shooters, and Juan did have a bad TO near the end. Kudos to Derrick as he did make 3-4 on FT's bringing his YTD FT% to 44%. Another 25-30% and it will be respectable.
But those two guys should not be the primary ball handlers late in the game because of their FT prowess. Wojo must correct that or it will be Hack a Derrick and Hack a Juan by opponents.

Think you are right here.  Derrick's our least likely guy to turn it over, but the worst FT shooter, so bad that you really don't want him on the floor, except Carlino, JjJ and Duane are not secure with the ball to say the least. 

[Strokin 3s]

Anyone else notice Wojo going with the two for one logic at the end of the first half again this game?

I know someone brought it up a couple weeks ago, but I turned to my buddy and mentioned I loved it in this game as well.  Somewhere around 50-55 seconds left in the 1st half and Wojo calls the TO, sets up a play and Duane drives in the lane and really kinda forced it, but got it to go right away.  I believe ASU came down and scored anyways, but we had the ball back and another chance to score.

Just appreciate the coaching philosophy there I guess.

[mug644]

Sorry, you are wrong in #1. He only shot 8 times. He consistently attacked the basket, which is breaking down their defense. He has the skill set and speed to break guys down with the dribble penetration--at least this type of team. He should be shooting more, not less. By comparison, JJJ shot twice as many shots.

He really shot way more than 8 times.  FGA aren't counted when you are fouled unless you make them.  I too, would like to see him penetrate and dish more.  I had that thought more after Wisconsin than ASU, but that is the next step in his development.  He sure is fun to watch when he gets rolling.

I think CTWarrior helps by pointing out that he did shot more than 8 times. Anyway, maybe I wasn't so clear in my articulation...my point is that I really liked his attacking and how he was able to break down the defense. But, once that happened, I felt like he was too inclined to immediately be looking to shoot. Frequently, it appeared that someone else's man, often Fischer's, came over to help, leaving Fischer open. That's when I was hoping that Duane would dump it off to Fischer rather than just got for the shot, though I can't deny getting to the line is a good thing--even better if he was hitting his free throws.

[connie]

I stated earlier that JJJ looked much better on defense. Good to see others saw the same thing.

You are probably right about Carlino, but, when he is on the floor did you notice how spread out the ASU defense was? That Duane and JJJ were able to get in the lane at will? Juan was also able to drive into the middle several times. Carlino's man isn't going to sag into the lane.

To be fair to Carlino, I did not. I think this is a good point that needs to be balanced against what, by my superficial viewing, looked like a pretty poor game.

[mikekinsellaMVP]

Our guards shot 52% (17-33).  Duane an JjJ alone shot 63% (15-24).  Anyone know the last time our perimeter guys shot 50%+ against P6 competition?

[jsglow]

Anyone else notice Wojo going with the two for one logic at the end of the first half again this game?

I know someone brought it up a couple weeks ago, but I turned to my buddy and mentioned I loved it in this game as well.  Somewhere around 50-55 seconds left in the 1st half and Wojo calls the TO, sets up a play and Duane drives in the lane and really kinda forced it, but got it to go right away.  I believe ASU came down and scored anyways, but we had the ball back and another chance to score.

Just appreciate the coaching philosophy there I guess.

+1.  Commented on that during the game to my son.  Very heady basketball.

[willie warrior]

He really shot way more than 8 times.  FGA aren't counted when you are fouled unless you make them.  I too, would like to see him penetrate and dish more.  I had that thought more after Wisconsin than ASU, but that is the next step in his development.  He sure is fun to watch when he gets rolling.

Right, they are not counted, so they are not shots. Still would rather him penetrating to the basket, because he has the speed and athletic ability to finish or dump off. Either way, good things will happen. Now, that may not work against good defending teams--don't think Az. State would fall in that category.

[RushmoreAcademy]

5 turnovers in the final 2 minutes needs to get cleaned up.  We can't do that against better teams.  Fatigue?  Maybe.

I can't put not being able to break a press on fatigue.  Just some bad decisions made.

[Golden Avalanche]

5 turnovers in the final 2 minutes needs to get cleaned up.  We can't do that against better teams.  Fatigue?  Maybe.

Talk about creating a narrative that doesn't exist and sticking to it. This is the fourth or fifth post I've read from you about minutes and fatigue since the game ended last night.

Marquette was coming off 10 days of rest. They were in cruise control for 33 minutes of this game. They got to the FT line early in both halves. ASU didn't play defense so exertion level on offense was less than it was against NJIT. There was not a thing about last night's match that would lead one to claim "fatigue" was a reason for any of MU's mistakes closing out the game.

[WarriorInNYC]

I think CTWarrior helps by pointing out that he did shot more than 8 times. Anyway, maybe I wasn't so clear in my articulation...my point is that I really liked his attacking and how he was able to break down the defense. But, once that happened, I felt like he was too inclined to immediately be looking to shoot. Frequently, it appeared that someone else's man, often Fischer's, came over to help, leaving Fischer open. That's when I was hoping that Duane would dump it off to Fischer rather than just got for the shot, though I can't deny getting to the line is a good thing--even better if he was hitting his free throws.

I was unable to watch the first half, but caught the second and the highlights at the end, and I noticed several times Duane drove and then dropped a pretty pass to Fish for a dunk.  Maybe there were some more opportunities for him to do so, but I loved seeing it happen when it did.

It made me think that Duane probably benefited a lot from playing with Diamond Stone in HS in that he has had many opportunities to drive and dish close to a big man for a finish.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I was unable to watch the first half, but caught the second and the highlights at the end, and I noticed several times Duane drove and then dropped a pretty pass to Fish for a dunk.  Maybe there were some more opportunities for him to do so, but I loved seeing it happen when it did.

It made me think that Duane probably benefited a lot from playing with Diamond Stone in HS in that he has had many opportunities to drive and dish close to a big man for a finish.

Interesting thought. I don't think it hurt at all. Can we start to imagine next year with Duane, King Henry and Luke though? That is a TON of inside out options.

[WarriorFan]

It's pretty clear that these guys need more practice on how to hold onto a 20 point lead for 13 minutes or more.

[connie]

It's pretty clear that these guys need more practice on how to hold onto a 20 point lead for 13 minutes or more.

Yeah, that is practice I would love to see more of as well.

[chapman]

Just watching the highlight video - what really stood out to me was that almost all of Juan's seven assists made it.  Very nice job of getting his teammates involved, setting up JJ and Fischer for their big games.  Several in transition, but also a couple nice feeds in the half court.

[brandx]

Yeah, that is practice I would love to see more of as well.

Well done.