Scholarship table
Slip sliding away.
No, that was just bad defense.I'm concerned MU will play worse defense as the season progresses because the guys will be worn down, hurt, or fatigued.I understand why fans find Shaka's style exciting - and it can be when it works. But working or not, it requires a lot of effort every game to sustain. It's not a physically efficient defense.
I worried about this exact type of breakdown after the Badger game. Hopefully the guys can rally for the tournament, or at least get the offense clicking again.
The things that continuously annoy me on the offensive end are:1. Early shot clock 3s and jumpers, particularly off runouts. We are much more effective attacking the paint. How many momentum killing missed threes are we going to see off of turnovers/runouts before we realize that we should attack the glass and draw fouls?2. Kolek's drives at the rim are really backfiring because he can't finish, Oso and Kuath generally can't catch the dump off pass unless they see it coming a mile away, and our opponents are wise to his long kickout passes, so they lead to turnovers, blocked shots and transition offense for our opponents.What does work is Morsell, Lewis and to a lesser extent O-Max getting into the lane with the ball. Those guys can rise and score and demand help defense, which opens up the floor. They all need to be more willing passers when they get there. And for goodness sake, make the simple pass. Don't need style points.Our opponents are just running Jones and Elliott off the three point line and daring them to put the ball on the floor. They are letting Kolek shoot and not doubling him when he drives and leading him to the shot blocker. They don't worry about doubling our post guys. I know we want to play fast but this team is better playing slow. Move the ball get into the paint with the guys that can do damage. Work inside out. Get back in transition. Get Lewis in the low post sometimes.