On a less happy note....

[MuggsyB]

We need to have a discussion about breaking a press.  It's mindboggling to me how hard a time we have with any ball pressure. Not only that, but when we do  break it, and have 2-1 or 3-2 advantages, we still look lost.  Maybe it's me but that did not appear to be a difficult press by UNC.  Thoughts?  Should we not try to get DG or someone the ball in the middle of the floor and attack with the pass and not the bounce?  Some of these turns we have are beyond horrific and shouldn't happen at this level.

[BCHoopster]

First off, take the ball out of the hoop and get the ball in before they set the press, stupid, never let the D set up

[warriorstrack]

We need to have a discussion about breaking a press.  It's mindboggling to me how hard a time we have with any ball pressure. Not only that, but when we do do break it, and gave 2-1, or 3-2, advantages, we still look lost.  Maybe it's me but that did not appear to be a difficult press by UNC.  Thoughts?  Should we not try to get DG or something the ball in the middle of the floor and attack with the pass and not the bounce?  Some of these turns we have are beyond horrific and shouldn't happen at this level.

Amen, why not have 3 guys at half court, run towards the ball, then run backward, lob ball over press, worked for my JV girls team every time!!!

[tower912]

I would try the Mcilvaine Miller Kentucky tactic.

But with the current injury status of this roster, it is impossible to simulate the pressure, regardless of how many 5'9 team managers you throw in there.

[pbiflyer]

First off, take the ball out of the hoop and get the ball in before they set the press, stupid, never let the D set up

Yeah, that was frustrating watch us be so slow on that. And run the same play to the corner.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

First off, take the ball out of the hoop and get the ball in before they set the press, stupid, never let the D set up

[GoldenWarrior11]

It is absolutely mind-boggling that we almost always catch the inbounds pass in the trap-heavy corners.  Even more bizarre that the players break towards the area with regularity.  It's the one area to avoid (well that and the corners in the half-court).

The other part is that we really just don't have skilled ball handlers.  We have players that know they aren't ball handlers, and get frazzled when they are pressured with the ball.

Having both deficiencies is why we are so disastrous with turnovers.

[We R Final Four]

First off, take the ball out of the hoop and get the ball in before they set the press, stupid, never let the D set up

Yes—I saw Koby do this once and Perez, as well. I was yelling...now, right now—get it in!

[PointWarrior]

And the less happy note I was expecting was that this win probably saved Wojo's job .

[Farley36]

Get a better coach and recruit better players.

[MuggsyB]

It is absolutely mind-boggling that we almost always catch the inbounds pass in the trap-heavy corners.  Even more bizarre that the players break towards the area with regularity.  It's the one area to avoid (well that and the corners in the half-court).

The other part is that we really just don't have skilled ball handlers.  We have players that know they aren't ball handlers, and get frazzled when they are pressured with the ball.

Having both deficiencies is why we are so disastrous with turnovers.

Fair point Golden Warrior.  But we also seem to rush off the bounce to a fault whether it be coast to coast or in the h-court.  I thought Garcia did a great job tonight exercising patience off the dribble and Carton finally made a big bucket late in the lane because he was under control.  There are very few players that have the combination of jets off the dribble  combined with control and the ability to change speeds.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Marquette had 10 turnovers to just nine made field goals with 5:22 remaining.

[MU82]

Garcia shouldn't inbound the ball. He should set a screen to try to free up one of the guards and then roll to the FT line area to make himself available for the pass. He is tall so it makes lob passes possible, he has good hands, he's a pretty good decision-maker, he can dribble a little if he has to, and he's a decent FT shooter.

That adjustment would improve our press break significantly, and I'm mystified that neither Wojo nor his assistants thought to even try it once.

A couple other Scoopers touched on another big thing: Be ready to inbound the ball quickly, before they can set up. And I'm talking as much about potential recipients of a pass as I am the inbounder. Several times, Koby or Cain were on the wing but would start jogging downcourt, not even looking for a pass, because I guess they weren't supposed to be the primary recipient? It was bizarre - and bad basketball.

If you do have to catch the ball in the corner - and there are times that is the only way to get it in - don't go into a freakin' turtle with the ball. Look to get it up the sideline or back to the inbounder quickly. Or if necessary, try to split the defenders with the dribble; DJ actually did this successfully a couple of times.

A few games ago, somebody ran a stat showing that we're not as bad against the press as it seems, that it really hasn't caused all that many TOs. But we've had a few games where our press break has been nasty bad. UNC has some tall athletes they can use to trap, so they should be a good pressing team ... but we have to be better than we were tonight. Those really were some middle-school mistakes.

I thought Wojo coached a real good game otherwise - I liked the way our guards attacked and passed, the way we packed in the lane, the way we got our best shooters some open 3s, the way we dared their mediocre shooters to take 3s.

Thankfully we had a good lead, because that was as bad a press break as I've seen recently in a college game. And yes, that's on the coach.

[GooooMarquette]

First off, take the ball out of the hoop and get the ball in before they set the press, stupid, never let the D set up

Yep. And when we get the ball in, get the heck up the court before they bring the double team.

Several times tonight, we got the ball in quickly, but the guy who caught the pass stood there and waited for the double team. Unbelievable.

[MU82]

Yep. And when we get the ball in, get the heck up the court before they bring the double team.

Several times tonight, we got the ball in quickly, but the guy who caught the pass stood there and waited for the double team. Unbelievable.

Excellent point. I remember screaming at the TV a couple times in just those situations!

[warriorstrack]

Marquette had 10 turnovers to just nine made field goals with 5:22 remaining.

I was harping all game about to's, they played within themselves and didn't let to's become a huge influence on the game, kudos to MU!

[romey]

Think about this; if UNC hadn't been so poor on scoring down the stretch they would have pressed us even more.  They can't set up the press off of missed shots.
I thought the same thing about catching the inbound pass and then standing there drawing the trap.  Just poor decision making.  move, and move quickly.