Quote from: Jay Bee on Today at 10:41:41 AMEhhh, I think he's saying the defense is so broken that it would be difficult for any 'rim protector' to do a good job.  Things are breaking down so badly far away from the basket that we're f**k at that point.

Exactly. Tower is correct in his analysis.

Great teams have five options to score.
Good teams like the three Amigos and Lazar or three  Amigos  and  Novak have four options.
Average teams have three options.
Bad teams have only two.
When scoring options decrease, much easier to defend the only scorers.

Quote from: Aircraftcarrier on Today at 10:38:39 AMThanks for proving my point.

Ehhh, I think he's saying the defense is so broken that it would be difficult for any 'rim protector' to do a good job.  Things are breaking down so badly far away from the basket that we're f**k at that point.

The stars are descending into the Twin Cities next week. The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) will have their Indoor National Championships next week at Life Time Fitness in Lakeville, MN. Catch the action on Pickleball TV (included with YTTV!).

I'll be playing Wednesday (men's 4.0-4.5 doubles), Thursday (mixed 4.0-4.5 doubles) and Friday (men's singles, if I can still stand) and am looking forward to the electric atmosphere. Lots of shippers coming in from different states and Canada, so will face some unknown competition. I think it may be rough sledding for me at the PPA, but am confident I can do better than #muMbb.

On tap before then: today, singles open play at Life Time Fitness Crosstown; tomorrow, potential rest day; Monday, early AM practice with my PPA teammates at PITM BP; Tuesday, league at night... then it's off to the PPA for the rest of the week.

Injury updates:
The golfer's elbow is at 95% now - physical therapy helped a ton; some mild soreness, but overall it's waaay better. The latest injury has been severe plantar fasciitis. Have been trying different insoles, which do help a lot.. but the pain in the left foot is extreme at times. We will push through, hobbled or not.

Quote from: tower912 on Today at 10:32:43 AMLike he got destroyed by Ejiofor late last season.  The problem isn't Ben.  Look at the lack of containment on the perimeter.   Royce is no Joplin on the defensive end either.  Ben can't 'do his work early' defending the post because there is yet another guard driving in a straight line to the basket.  Or another blown switch leading to an alley oop.

For me, the team defense is the most puzzling part of this season.  Ben is part of that, but he is a deck chair on the Titanic of the defensive issues.

Thanks for proving my point. MU has no rim protector or rebounding big. The point is if Gold is the best person you have in that capacity you have a big problem against high major teams. I feel bad for Ben that he is put in that situation. It is totally unfair to him. MU is not a good team this year. Has a lot of youth but if this team had a big that could rebound they probably would have 4 more wins.

Quote from: Aircraftcarrier on Today at 10:18:42 AMDid Ben play against Georgetown, Purdue,Oklahoma and Wisconsin? Look it up and look at the opponents big man results. MU got destroyed. Ben should not be guarding a 5 man in the post.He gets punished.against the good teams.

Like he got destroyed by Ejiofor late last season.  The problem isn't Ben.  Look at the lack of containment on the perimeter.   Royce is no Joplin on the defensive end either.  Ben can't 'do his work early' defending the post because there is yet another guard driving in a straight line to the basket.  Or another blown switch leading to an alley oop.

For me, the team defense is the most puzzling part of this season.  Ben is part of that, but he is a deck chair on the Titanic of the defensive issues.

Will suck to be #13 in the conference. #11 doesn't sound nearly as bad. #muMbb

If you look at it we have one 1 pt win vs a high D-1 program.  It's really difficult to wrap my head around that kind of drop after our last three seasons.  And when you look at the intangibles, and basic competing and fundamentals, we're nowhere close to where we should be.  There's 0.0 cohesion on this team or competitive drive as far as I can tell. 

Chase literally wasn't involved at all for about 16 mins of the 2H.  I don't get that.  Some scoppers have suggested he's checked out, I have no frigging idea.  In back to back games he's been great in the 1H and a total no show in the 2H.  WTF is going on here? 

Again, we're not having a bad year, we're having a catastrophic season with a team that is maybe the worst in the history of our program.  We don't compete, that's what's so frustrating.  Until that 25 pt swing in the 2H it looked like we were fking Edgewood or Carroll College. 

What exactly were we trying to do on the court during this stretch?  Both defensively and offensively?  Did we have no gas in the tank?  Did guys simply quit?  Are there psychological issues?  When you allow lay-up, dunk, lay-uo, dunk, tip-dunk, corner three, lay-up, uncontested 3, uncontested 3, bunny, bunny, etc, etc, etc, wtf do you expect?  It was a 25 pt swing in like 9 mins.  Against DePaul!!!  Cannot happen.  Ever.  The competitive fire has to be there.  If guys are loafing or disinterested?  Glue them to the bench and let Scoopers call them for 2 hours. 

Quote from: tower912 on Today at 10:09:59 AM.  The only way to improve is to play.

Hopefully somewhere else.

Quote from: tower912 on Today at 10:09:59 AMAnd Ben barely played last night or against Villanova.  He didn't play against SJU.  And yet you blame him. 

Parham is playing a lot of small ball 5, which is a bad fit.  Yes, Hamilton and Clark have ample room for improvement.  Who is arguing anything  different?   But the only way out is through.  The only way to improve is to play.

Did Ben play against Georgetown, Purdue,Oklahoma and Wisconsin? Look it up and look at the opponents big man results. MU got destroyed. Ben should not be guarding a 5 man in the post.He gets punished.against the good teams.