I LIKE TOM CREAN but.......

[ecompt]

You're right, CT, that probably is the way to attack that zone. If Lazar has hits a 15-footer or two early, maybe we stay competitive for awhile. I just don't know if he has the hands and the quickness to be effective there. 

[MarquetteFan94]

Down 13 with 11:59 to go how can we have Burke AND Blackledge in the game at the same time...basically playing with 3 offense...don't get it.

[mviale]

and I think his chump move of quickly shaking Pitino's hand and immediately walking off the court was total bush-league. Didn't even congratulate assistant coaches or Louisville players.

should he kiss him? what would maguire do?

[mugrack]

If you can't get up for Louisville at home after getting spanked by them 2 weeks ago then check your pulse...you're dead.

[Daniel]

When the score was 19-10, we made 6 stops in a row as I recall, and after we had the ball those six times, the score was 19-10 still.  We blew every offensive opportunity we had there to catch up and even take the lead - that was the point the game was lost - we had the chance - a great chance - to catch up and lead.

We need to practice some shooting and free throws until we can make 'em

[muPARTY]

first of all, the way to beat a zone is my flashing to the open area between defenders.  hitting 3s only extends the defenders in the zone.  flashing to the open spots, forces the defense to shift, creating new open areas.  you have to make the zone start to move out of where it typically does.

and i have been saying this since C-USA tournament in Memphis against TCU in '05... Tom Crean is overrated.  that team got picked apart in the last 5min by a TCU full-court press (they were minus Diener, but TC's fault for not providing a backup).  he's lucked out of players going beyond expectations.  he's never secured a true, go-to big man.  he's never been able to say he landed the big name recruit.  D. Wade was only being pursued by ISU, DePaul, and us.  James never got a visit from any of the big 3 Indiana schools (ND, IU, Purdue).  in the last 6yrs, the only 2 players i can think of that played like people thought were Wade and senior yr Diener.  Novak played better than anyone expected his senior yr, James was a surprise his fresh yr, then below expectations the next 2 (well 1 and 2/3)

he basically banked on 3 players: Wes, James, Jerel, who all do the same thing: have no real outside shot (Matthews probably being the best) and are all best fits as #2 guards (maybe JM and WM @ #3s because they can't shoot well enough to be a 2, but too small to be a 3).  Lazar is a great #3 who's being forced into being an undersized #4 and #5.  and his center of choice never played high school basketball.

TC just doesn't build a team that is needed for this style of play to be a serious contender for a championship because he can't get the talent.

not one freshman from '03 was on the team come '07 (Edwards, Bell, Christian, Mason).

his best lineup that was "textbook" was:  
T. Diener (true PG with great outside shot)
D. Wade @ #2 guard(overall stud)
T. Townsend @ small forward (ok shot, had some size w/ great defense)
S. Merritt @ PF (quicker/agile big man who's good for 8p/5r)
R. Jackson @ the #5 (the 'go-to' inside threat that ever team needs)

(a no-brainer, sure, but wonder why it succeed so well?  not just Wade, but because every position was filled by a player having a seprate/specific role and could match up against another team)

[slingkong]

James never got a visit from any of the big 3 Indiana schools (ND, IU, Purdue)....

Just a small nitpick regarding James: Matt Painter (Purdue) did pursue James, though perhaps not as fervently as Crean. So there was interest in him from at least one of the Indiana schools.

Aside from that, I completely agree with your post.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

and I think his chump move of quickly shaking Pitino's hand and immediately walking off the court was total bush-league. Didn't even congratulate assistant coaches or Louisville players.

I agree that it was a poor display of sportsmanship. (I didn't see it, so I'm just going off of your account of it).

But, let's also keep in mind that after a bad loss like that, everything a coach does is under the microscope...

ie if he shakes all of the players hands and smiles at Pitino, fans would blast him for not being more pissed about the loss.

I'm not defending what he did, I'm just trying to be objective and realize that fans (including me) tend to obsess after losses, and often times coaches are damned if they do, damned if they don't.

If Crean storms off of the court, "he is a poor sport", if he glad hands, then "he doesn't care". 

It's gotta be tough being a coach after a bad loss. I love MU, and I still they are a good team... but that was a bad loss.

[NavinRJohnson]

The most effective way to beat a zone is by hitting 3's.  Tonigh we just didnt him them

That's one way to look at it. Another way to beat the zone is to stop your opponent on defense, and beat them down the floor so that can't get the zone set up. When you have a team like UL with 6-10 guys closing out on shooters like Cubillan and James, and McNeal, that's the only real alternative for MU. We were as bad defensively last night as we were shooting the ball. I know I'm a broken record here, but defense it where it begins and ends for MU.