Mitchell/Ross/Defense/Offense

[MuggsyB]

Slot me in the camp of being a bit dumbfounded that Ross sat essentially the rest of the game after his 4th foul.  I'm just wondering what Scoopers think in general about ways to close under 5 mins moving forward?  I suppose this is a game by game decision but as a rule would you rather have a better offensive or defensive player on the floor in a tight contest down the stretch?  Or do you sub like crazy for O/D? 

As a side note I believe Mitchell is a much better offensive player than he's showing right now.  A lot of this is a confidence issue.   I would get him more opportunities early in games. 

[tower912]

Slot me as shocked after all this time you are still surprised that coaches ride their experienced players at crunch time.   

[CountryRoads]

Thought Shaka could have been a little more courageous down the stretch and got Ross and S Jones in there. Mitchell did a good job on Hepburn in the second half but the team was very gassed in OT as evidenced in part by the wide open missed threes. They both seemed like they really came to play as well and I don't think we would have seen a talent drop with them in there. Their time will come.

[MuggsyB]

Slot me as shocked after all this time you are still surprised that coaches ride their experienced players at crunch time.

Experience is not the be all or end all.

[The Sultan]

Experience is not the be all or end all.

His point is that you shouldn't be "dumbfounded" by this. Coaches go with experience in crunch time all the time.

Should Shaka have in this case?  Well, it got us there so I get it. Not sure the results would have been different otherwise.

[MuggsyB]

Ross had it going in thr first half.  He somewhat kept us in the game with his 8 pts.  I get these decisions are not black snd white and are fluid but I think I would have rolled the dice in this particular situation.  Hopefully Stevie will find some confidence because it puts us in a real pickle in a tight game. They won't guard him to the 3pt line or really worry about him making a play off the dribble.  We have five guards that are all capable of being effective and productive.  The question is how to best utilize their talents and who to play down the stretch game to game. 

[bilsu]

Slot me in the camp of being a bit dumbfounded that Ross sat essentially the rest of the game after his 4th foul.  I'm just wondering what Scoopers think in general about ways to close under 5 mins moving forward?  I suppose this is a game by game decision but as a rule would you rather have a better offensive or defensive player on the floor in a tight contest down the stretch?  Or do you sub like crazy for O/D? 

As a side note I believe Mitchell is a much better offensive player than he's showing right now.  A lot of this is a confidence issue.   I would get him more opportunities early in games.

Ross made a big mistake getting a charged called on him instead of passing off the ball on a two man fast break. I assume this is why he was benched. If so, I think Shaka did the right thing. I love Ross, but I all for Shaka teaching him a lesson.

[DoctorV]

Ross made a big mistake getting a charged called on him instead of passing off the ball on a two man fast break. I assume this is why he was benched. If so, I think Shaka did the right thing. I love Ross, but I all for Shaka teaching him a lesson.

Chase just wanted to dunk in dudes head and make the place explode.

Sometimes emotions get the best of us

[tower912]

Exciting freshman got amped.  C'est la vie.

[MuggsyB]

Ross made a big mistake getting a charged called on him instead of passing off the ball on a two man fast break. I assume this is why he was benched. If so, I think Shaka did the right thing. I love Ross, but I all for Shaka teaching him a lesson.

He should have given that up for sure.  We need someone other than Kam to consistently make some J's.  OMax had an off day and Kolek only took one three yesterday.  Wisky was an inferno in the first half including 2 unconscionable shots by Hepburn. They absolutely earned the W.  That said I really think we let one get away once we had opportunities to make it a two possession game before the ot's.

[BCHoopster]

Unless Mitchell starts hitting some shots, I would think Ross might move ahead of him and get starting time. 

[The Sultan]

I'm pretty sure that Shaka didn't pull Chase for the rest of the game to teach him a lesson. I think he simply went with who he thought were the best options. Some Scoopers disagree. Such is life.

[MUfan12]

Unless Mitchell starts hitting some shots, I would think Ross might move ahead of him and get starting time.

I love the kid but Stevie is such a minus on the offensive end. Can't shoot it very well, and not strong enough of a ballhandler to beat guys off the bounce.

He's a perfect 6th or 7th guy

[BCHoopster]

I love the kid but Stevie is such a minus on the offensive end. Can't shoot it very well, and not strong enough of a ballhandler to beat guys off the bounce.

He's a perfect 6th or 7th guy

Exactly.  Stevie has had many open looks lately, and has not taken advantage of those open opportunities.  Have to start knocking down some threes.  Curious why
Joplin has not taken the next step to beat him out either.  I do like that Shaka has players that possibly can take the next step, time will tell.  I know that Shaka loves
the kid, great student as well.  At least he made the lay-up at the end of the game.

[The Sultan]

I think Stevie will continue to start because Shaka likes bringing Chase and Sean off the bench together. But we will see what happens in crunch time as the season progresses.

[MuggsyB]

I love the kid but Stevie is such a minus on the offensive end. Can't shoot it very well, and not strong enough of a ballhandler to beat guys off the bounce.

He's a perfect 6th or 7th guy

It's also worth noting that Joplin almost single handedly kept us in the Purdue game.  He's probably our 2nd best pure scorer but pretty poor defensively.   What 5 do you go with down the stretch in a tight game or is it too early to tell and situational?

[CountryRoads]

I love the kid but Stevie is such a minus on the offensive end. Can't shoot it very well, and not strong enough of a ballhandler to beat guys off the bounce.

He's a perfect 6th or 7th guy

Same I love what Stevie brings on defense but I think we may just simply have more talent on the bench. Personally, I think S Jones should be ahead of Mitchell and Kolek. Again, not a knock on Kolek or Mitchell, I just think Jones is a higher level player than either of them. 

[tower912]

What have you seen so far?

Now, a criticism of Shaka I have not yet seen is that he had Joplin on the court with 3.5 seconds left.  Setting the screen for TK.  Talk about a waste.

[MuggsyB]

Lost in this discussion is that what really hurt yesterday is that Klesmit, Essigan, and McGee had 30 pts.  Obviously Hepburn went bananas and Wahl played well but that trio getting 30 is infuriating. 

[tower912]

Congrats to McGee scoring his first points as a badger.    Pretty sure he did not show up on the scout.

[MuggsyB]

Will Wrightsil be back?

[BCHoopster]

Will Wrighsil be back?

.

What has he shown you so far?

[MuggsyB]

.

What has he shown you so far?

He hasn't gotten much pt.  I dunno...he's got some skills. 

[avid1010]

Unless Mitchell starts hitting some shots, I would think Ross might move ahead of him and get starting time.

Agreed.  Mitchell is not comfortable on offense at all.  Teams are daring him to even touch the ball.

[MU82]

Same I love what Stevie brings on defense but I think we may just simply have more talent on the bench. Personally, I think S Jones should be ahead of Mitchell and Kolek. Again, not a knock on Kolek or Mitchell, I just think Jones is a higher level player than either of them.

I'd rate the likelihood of Kolek being taken out of the starting lineup as down near 0%. The same with him not getting the majority of PT at PG. So you can wear yourself out thinking about it, but you might as well spend your time thinking about you getting together with Scarlett Johansson.

As the season goes on, if Sean outplays and outworks Stevie in practice and games, I suppose that could happen.