Don't want to be unfair here. My wife said, as Jr. got to the free throw line "I wish it was someone else shooting." I have a vague memory of what made her say that - is there a history here? (I have the feeling there is). It's too bad, he had a great game (and even went LEFT a couple of times!!).
Bad game for the Vander haters. Decent games from the 5 guys.
Juan gave energy, but had a coupla avoidable fouls. Jamil was gone.
We were not ready to play UNC. This team works hard, but I think they need some time to mesh.
It should never have come down to those free throws. If we could play defense at all or especially if we could box out on the possession before instead of letting a guy fly in from the 3 point line to score the putback the game would have been over.
It's true it shouldn't have come down to those FTs but he has to a better job in that spot. He got a very lucky/friendly roll on the first shot.
JR is about a 70% free-throw shooter. Not bad, but hardly automatic.
This season, I thought Jake Thomas would be on the court in the final minute of close games when we are trying to hold on to a 1-3 pt. lead and would get the ball when the other team has to foul. Isn't he supposed to be a great free throw shooter, like Travis Diener and Steve Novak? We've lost a bunch of games in recent year by missing late free throws...Florida St. & DePaul come to mind. I know there were others. I thought that wouldn't be the case with Thomas on the team, but no such luck.
Quote from: WarriorHal on November 19, 2012, 05:28:20 PM
JR is about a 70% free-throw shooter. Not bad, but hardly automatic.
This season, I thought Jake Thomas would be on the court in the final minute of close games when we are trying to hold on to a 1-3 pt. lead and would get the ball when the other team has to foul. Isn't he supposed to be a great free throw shooter, like Travis Diener and Steve Novak? We've lost a bunch of games in recent year by missing late free throws...Florida St. & DePaul come to mind. I know there were others. I thought that wouldn't be the case with Thomas on the team, but no such luck.
UH, Thomas hit his free throw after his miracle put back.
Maybe what you are saying is that Thomas should have been in possession of the ball and drove to the basket as opposed to Junior?
Knew there would be the inevitable "free-throw/buzz doesn't have them practice/JR not clutch" thread......HOW ABOUT a where was Jamil post? So we woulda made it to OT if he made his other free throw then what........
Blue or Thomas would have been a better option. I thought they passed it in kind of quick. They had a timeout and should have tried to get Vander open. Junior played well though and I don't have a problem with him taking the free throws. He's the senior point guard who needs to have the ball in his hands when it matters most. Unfortunately he failed today, much like Cubillan did at DePaul and DJO did in WV and I'm sure there were a few others. You miss a free throw and the other teams chances of hitting a buzzer beater increase dramatically it seems.
After Butler cut it to one, Buzz had his defensive team out there. Unless he uses his last timeout (which I think he was saving for after Cadougan's second make.....which never happened), Cadougan and Blue were the best FT shooting options on the floor. Clark pulled one out of his abe. It happens.
Quote from: nyg on November 19, 2012, 05:35:28 PM
Maybe what you are saying is that Thomas should have been in possession of the ball and drove to the basket as opposed to Junior?
I'm referring to JR missing that last free throw. We in bounded the ball up by 1 pt. & Butler had to foul. I want Thomas to get the ball in that situation. Blue would also be a better option than JR.
Your point guard has to be better than 70%.
Junior was all heart...played fantastic and he and Vander willed MU every time they needed a pick up. MU had three turnovers in the second half to Butler's zero...yes zero.
MU outscored in the paint 46-36 with our 5's playing just 28 minutes. Frankly, Buzz was out coached on the defensive end with bad adjustments in the end. Butler kept running the same plays to take advantage of the mismatches. Butler's forwards were 16-23. Why Clarke wasn't bracketed on the last shot is beyond me. Everyone knew he was going right with a runner using his momentum. Jamil needs to strep up big. Two stinkers in a row.
Quote from: WarriorHal on November 19, 2012, 05:44:19 PM
I'm referring to JR missing that last free throw. We in bounded the ball up by 1 pt. & Butler had to foul. I want Thomas to get the ball in that situation. Blue would also be a better option than JR.
Spot on here. The Celtics wouldn't inbound the ball to Rondo in that situation they would have gone to Ray until this year. Have to get it into the best free throw shooter on the team in that situation.
Marquette as a whole in the last 4 years has struggled with late game clutch free throws. DJO had his issues with them at times as well. It's going to happen. In Junior's defense that thing was halfway down.
Jr might shoot 70%, but not when it's a clutch situation.
I'd love to see stats of free-throws made/attempts in the last two minutes of close games.
Quote from: Skatastrophy on November 20, 2012, 08:54:50 AM
Jr might shoot 70%, but not when it's a clutch situation.
I'd love to see stats of free-throws made/attempts in the last two minutes of close games.
I think DJO's stats in this category would have been worse than Jr's up to last year where he made some big ones. Junior definitely has had some issues there.
Ox missed a good bit of free throws yesterday and and layups we are accustomed to him making. He has been huge for us this year, but yesterday wasn't his best offensive performance.
Quote from: Dr. Blackheart on November 19, 2012, 08:50:30 PM
Why Clarke wasn't bracketed on the last shot is beyond me. Everyone knew he was going right with a runner using his momentum. Jamil needs to strep up big. Two stinkers in a row.
Clarke threw up (as in puked) a miracle one-handed falling on his ass heave that misses 9,999 times out of 10,000. I hardly think that's the moment to focus in on. It was the breakdowns that led to that being possible that is more of an issue.
It's easy to focus on Junior missing that last free throw, but you can hardly blame him since he was one of our best players offensively. How about Juan going 1-4 from the line (with a couple of bricks)? Also, keep in mind Butler was 14-25 from the line. With all the fouls we had that kept us in the game.
Quote from: frozena pizza on November 20, 2012, 09:06:03 AM
It's easy to focus on Junior missing that last free throw, but you can hardly blame him since he was one of our best players offensively. How about Juan going 1-4 from the line (with a couple of bricks)? Also, keep in mind Butler was 14-25 from the line. With all the fouls we had that kept us in the game.
I wasn't blaming Junior for the loss. Overall, he had a good game.
Generally speaking, when it's the last minute of a tight game and we're trying to hold on to the lead, and it's obvious that the opponent must foul, shouldn't we inbound the ball to an excellent FT shooter? Based on his rep, I think Jake Thomas is that guy. Blue has improved his FT shooting over the past year and now seems like a good option, too. At least better than Junior.
Was not a high level confidence that he would make both of them here. After first one clanked in I told my wife we better get the rebound. PG has to be one of the best free throw shooters on the team and Junior needs to improve in that area.
Quote from: WarriorHal on November 20, 2012, 11:38:54 AM
I wasn't blaming Junior for the loss. Overall, he had a good game.
Generally speaking, when it's the last minute of a tight game and we're trying to hold on to the lead, and it's obvious that the opponent must foul, shouldn't we inbound the ball to an excellent FT shooter? Based on his rep, I think Jake Thomas is that guy. Blue has improved his FT shooting over the past year and now seems like a good option, too. At least better than Junior.
Thomas wasn't in the game at the time. MU had 1 TO remaining and they weren't going to use it to get Thomas in the game, especially when the opposing team would be focusing on him and could double him. You don't want to leave the inbounder with no TOs in that situation. Senior leaders should want the ball in crunch time. Cadougan got open, got the ball but missed the FT. It happens.