Coach Buzz !

[Murffieus]

IMO-----calls for Buzz to be fired are are off base-----as a young coach with limited HC experience, I though overall he did a good job----better than I expected-----late season tailspin not withstanding..

Buzz started off with the best man to man structured offense I've seen at MU since Al/Hank. However it has degenerated into a free lance affair which ends up shooting too many treys of late and not enough an inside game-----and a lot of off balanced finish attempts at the hoop.

His zone offense yesterday was well structured, but again too many trey attempts for a team that averages only 35 percent. I like the high post activity with Lazar-----very good----need more of that.

Defensively we can't guard our shadow one on one-----even McNeal who is supposed be the best defender in the BE has been horrible one on one at least the last month-----quits on his slide and gives up the alley instead of staying in front of his guy on the continuation. Very little help defense from the perimeter on dribble penetration. However despite a lack of size our interior defense is a lot better than in former years.

Game management mistakes are a result of inexperience------he will get better at that-----but what concerns me is the regression since Feb 1----starting with the loss at SF-----we are all too familiar with with this as during the Crean era in Jan our record was 45 wins & 23 losses------but in Feb/March his record was only 55 & 50------both timespans involve similar competition.

TC didn't manage late season practices very well insofar as intensity and length of practice is concerned late in the season as fatique entered the picture-------I will give Buzz the benefit of the doubt his first season here managing late season practices, but if the same pattern develops year after year the reason will be evident.

Yesterday's loss wasn't the result of DJ----as Acker played very well (7 assists vs 2 TOs and 2 steals)----and please recall that we got walloped last year by essentially the same CUSE team with DJ (BTW Flynn had 21 points and 7 assists against us last year).

To his credit and for the most part, Buzz has this team playing hard, smart, and together. Would like to see all players incorporated into the offense though.

[StillWarriors]

Have to agree with you on McNeal. He's my favorite player, but it has become evident that he is not a great on the ball defender-never has been. He gets steals and blocks on help or cheating a lot, which is I guess what earned him the great reputation as a defender. At least this year, James was a far better on the ball defender. I would imagine games like yesterday and Price breaking his ankles would concern NBA scouts looking at McNeal.

In Jerel's defense, he looked like he was flat out exhausted a good bit of the second half yesterday and MU's help off the high screen was terrible. In fact, weak side help D was non-existent all day. That had been a strength, and to me is just a combination of everything being a little out of sync and the minutes catching up.

I give Buzz a pass this year, but I sure hope it's not his philosophy to ride the main horses like we have had to. I can't imagine it would be.

[Murffieus]

Good point----the wealth has to be spead around next year (including a postup offense)-----but I think Buzz coming into a veteran team that had been overall successful he felt he had to listen to them and give them more input than if it were a younger team.

Much like when Mike Sherman came in as HC of the GB Packers in 2000-----he had no HC experience and had to listen to Brett Favre who had 3 MVPs otherwise he would have had chemistry & lockerroom problems. Favre got a free pass within few limits to more or less do what he wanted and how he wanted to do it.

[ecompt]

Tough to run a postup offense when you have postup player.

[ErickJD08]

Great post... agreed with every point.

I am a HUGE fan at the FT line feed for Hayward.  Even to Butler, which I think happen once or twice.  Good things seem to happen.  Defense loves to collapse on the free throw line and our players are smart enough to take advantage of a chasing defense.   

[Murffieus]

Tough to run a postup offense when you have postup player.

I think you meant "when you 'don't' have a postup player"

My answer----that's where development should come in------problem is going back
Burke was never developed as a postup-----TC didn't use a postup in his offense-----it was guards, guards, guards!

[wildbill sb]

Good stuff, Murf.  Rational, insightful, analysis with a historical perspective.  I may not agree with every point you make, but I can learn from your balanced viewpoint.  It is this calm approach, rather than the ranting, that makes reading the 'scoop worthwhile for me. Thanks, and no,....

.... I'm not Murf's mother!

[ecompt]

Murff knows as much basketball as anyone. But I think you could have had the grestest big man coach in the history of basketball the past four years and it wouldn't have helped Burke become an effective postup player. He simply doesn't have the offensive talent. The argument with the schedule is all-too-familiar, and again, we don't know how rigorous the practices were. This year we simply didn't have the depth down the stretch.

[JTBMU7]

the season is not over yet! give buzz and the guys a chance to prove themselves when it counts. quit looking back and looking ahead, we've still got the BET and NCAA's to make this season a success.

[AlumKCof93]

Murph, I have a question for you about the late game experience.  At what point, do you blame the coach and when do you blame the players?  When MU had the ball for the last shot, isn't incumbent upon the 4 yr senior to drive the ball instead of settling for a 3-pt shot?  I love McNeal, but he should be the playmaker in that situation and either drive and dish or finish.  Despite the other criticisms on this board about this game, that is the play that I wish we could re-run and I don't blame Buzz for it.

[Murffieus]

Tough situation when you gain a possession with a few seconds on the clock. I always felt the less on the spot instruction you give at that point the better. However some contingency plan should be choreographed
in practice so that players have an on the spot automatic response to the defense in that situation------in otherwords do what the defense is telling you to do.

But this taking a time out and and drawing plays on a board cold turkey IMO is useless-----as defenses can change from over the TO-----also might have the inbound pass intercepted-----the play just seldom develops as diagramed cold turkey.

I can't fault McNeal-----he should be coached to do what the defense is telling him------apparenty it told him to shoot the trey!

[Pakuni]

Yesterday's loss wasn't the result of DJ----as Acker played very well (7 assists vs 2 TOs and 2 steals)----and please recall that we got walloped last year by essentially the same CUSE team with DJ (BTW Flynn had 21 points and 7 assists against us last year).

Really good analysis Murff, but I don't think statistical comparisons tell the whole story of what MU loses with DJ out of the lineup.
I think it's obvious just by watching that this team's offensive flow, transition offense and ability to get quality shots has suffered significantly since James' injury. And no one is hurting more than McNeal, who has shot about 32 percent from the floor the past four games.

[ecompt]

+1, pakuni.
The loss of DJ not only thrust Mo into a starting role (he had a good, not great, game against Syracuse) but made Jerel on top on-ball defender. Combined with the extra scoring pressures, that has taken its toll on McNeal.