Scholarship table
Big East teams don't know about Tyler Kolek, but they're learning. Our hot starts of late are due to him attacking the lane and creating out of that. He had 4 assists in the first 5 minutes. Reminds me of some of the recent Providence greats that could find anyone anywhere. Really glad Cooley didn't get him.I don't remember seeing Kam and Greg together much before, but we got it at least twice tonight. It's nice to see multiple three point options on the floor.DePaul got 20 rebounds on 42 missed shots, nearly 50%. We aren't a great rebounding team, but that's where O-Max in foul trouble really hurt.Oso is going to be All Big East before he leaves. He has such great touch around the rim and is the best big man passer I've ever seen at Marquette. If he can add the three to his repertoire (71% FTs indicates it's possible) he immediately becomes our best pro prospect too.I said before the game, limit David Jones, beat DePaul. He had 9 points with a 92 ORtg. Mission accomplished.Brandon Johnson and Yor Anei for DePaul are a solid frontcourt duo. Aggressive on the glass and play tough. If Johnson could finish, they would've made it a game.
Good points Brew. Our rebounding issues concern me. I think we need to do a better job fundamentally and be far more aggressive snatching the basketball. We lose rebounds both close to the rim and on the shots that kick long. At some point you simply have to find a way to grab the freaking ball and protect it. Imagine if we had a vacuum type glass cleaner? Shaka needs to have a practice with 2 hours focused on rebounding imo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpuMWMg8DKM@6:30 shaka talks about people suggesting they play slower
It would appear Coach Smart is not interested in hearing people criticize the pace at which his team plays.
Shaka needs to have a practice with 2 hours focused on rebounding imo.
This inability to rebound is really surprising to me. Why are we so bad? Why aren't we getting better? Much more so than something like shooting, rebounding is just all about basic fundamentals - finding a man and putting a body on. Is there something about our defensive scheme that puts us out of position? It doesn't look like it to me - it looks to me like we just aren't boxing out. And that's such an easy fix.
I guarantee -- a 100% money-back guarantee -- that Shaka's team practices rebounding a lot.I've been a little surprised by it, too. From what I've noticed, only two players consistently use good fundamentals on box-outs -- Oso and Kolek. Oso often clears out a nice little semi-circle, and it's up to another MU player to go get the rebound, but our perimeter players don't do a great job of hitting the defensive boards. I know this isn't something Shaka hasn't heard or seen or emphasized; he mentioned at least once during a cuddle last night that we need to get "all 5 to the boards." We do a lot of switching, and quite often that leaves a small on a big or vice versa, and that could contribute. But these days most teams do a lot of switching. Gotta find a body, box him out and attack the ball.
Did he whisper in your ear during that cuddle?The Shaka cuddles becoming a thing of legend
Legit LOL. That's a great autocorrect.
He can say whatever he wants but the fact is vs Providence we played a bit slower, more under control, and valued our possessions.
"Cuddle" has been a Scoop meme since the Wojo times.
Who’s got the pace numbers for GT and DePaul?
TAMUI do know, Newsie is right on you knowing ball.
Oso is going to be All Big East before he leaves. He has such great touch around the rim and is the best big man passer I've ever seen at Marquette. If he can add the three to his repertoire (71% FTs indicates it's possible) he immediately becomes our best pro prospect too.
75 possessions vs. Georgetown (Breakneck speed)70 possessions vs. DePaul (On the faster side but not excessive)Important context about the pace we play at. We are 6th fastest in the country at average offensive possession length. We are are 311th fastest in the country at average defensive possession length. We attack quickly on the offensive end and then we make opponents go deep into their shot clock which lowers our overall possession numbers. Offense hasn't slowed down at all but they are penetrating better and learning the difference between an okay and good shot.Georgetown and Depaul are the two worst defenses in the Big East. Providence is 6th (in the middle). Our next seven games are against the top 4 defenses and Providence on the road. If we can continue to penetrate this well against better defenses than we will be dancing
Georgetown and Depaul are the two worst defenses in the Big East. Providence is 6th (in the middle). Our next seven games are against the top 4 defenses and Providence on the road. If we can continue to penetrate this well against better defenses than we will be dancing
Offense hasn't slowed down at all but they are penetrating better and learning the difference between an okay and good shot.
The only thing I heard in the mic'd up from Shaka where it was even close to criticizing an individual player was when he let Kam know that his heat-check 3 was a bad shot. Shaka did it very gently, but he definitely got his point across.
One extra pass. One less live ball turnover leading to a quick dunk. Not playing slower.