Big East offseason news

[lawdog77]

There was no system that was going to make our offense good last season.

And we still generated an insane amount of good looks at the rim, so the staff stuck with it.  Again, it worked, the players just couldnt make layups.

I dont expect the system to change much either since we added two guys who are at their best getting to the rim and finishing.  And Nigel and Royce are best around the rim too.

People see what they want to see. I saw way too many forced attempts at the rim when a pull up/floater would have been better I also saw Chase, Ben, and Damarius taking too many 3's.Shooting 29, 26, and 27% from 3 are not "good shots"

[The Sultan]

People see what they want to see. I saw way too many forced attempts at the rim when a pull up/floater would have been better I also saw Chase, Ben, and Damarius taking too many 3's.Shooting 29, 26, and 27% from 3 are not "good shots"

Yes. The best way to fix offenses is to have them take worse shots. Brilliant.

[Billy Hoyle]

It sounds like a conversation with a bunch of people who think they understand analytics, but they really don't understand analytics. It's not simply about shooting a bunch of threes. You even said it yourself...it's about shooting threes, layups and getting to the line. And it certainly isn't "flawed."

The highest scoring team in the league, and the defending champion, OKC Thunder, are pretty average in three point attempts, but they get a ton of points in the paint and get to the line a decent amount.

Here is their shot chart.

This is exactly what Shaka wants. He just doesn't want them jacking up three pointers. He wants them scoring at the rim.

I guess NC State learned that the hard way, amirite?

[lawdog77]

Yes. The best way to fix offenses is to have them take worse shots. Brilliant.

Is it a worse shot? Chase, for example, shot 49% from 2, and 29% from 3. I would argue a 3 is a worse shot for Chase than a 2. He had no business jacking up 4 threes a game. Same with Ben. Ben shot nearly twice as many threes as he did twos, despite shooting 26% from 3, and 66% from 2.

[MU82]

For the season, they calculated the fastbreak scenario where it is passed out for an open three. That play ended up being a net negative. Hopefully Shaka was listening.

Shaka would rather fastbreaks lead to open layups. He doesn't encourage a player who has a layup to kick out for a 3.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Their argument, which I agree with, is you need to cater the offense to the personnel. So by that, the problem was the offense.

So you want the team to take worse shots that they likely won't be better at making?

[Vander Blue Man Group]

Is it a worse shot? Chase, for example, shot 49% from 2, and 29% from 3. I would argue a 3 is a worse shot for Chase than a 2. He had no business jacking up 4 threes a game. Same with Ben. Ben shot nearly twice as many threes as he did twos, despite shooting 26% from 3, and 66% from 2.

Ben and Chase both shot well below their career norms.  Ben drove the ball more but he wasn't suddenly going to morph into a post-up player.  Because Ben shot 66% from 2 doesn't mean he would maintain that percentage with a higher volume of attempts, especially if those attempts were forced.

That's two years in a row where good shooters shot well below what was expected of them from 3.  Kam had a lot more on-ball responsibility and I assume less open catch-and-shoot opportunities.  Not true for Jop, Chase, and Ben - they just didn't make shots.  It's up to the staff to determine if that's randomness or if there was something more to it. 

[MU82]

Ben and Chase both shot well below their career norms.  Ben drove the ball more but he wasn't suddenly going to morph into a post-up player.  Because Ben shot 66% from 2 doesn't mean he would maintain that percentage with a higher volume of attempts, especially if those attempts were forced.

That's two years in a row where good shooters shot well below what was expected of them from 3.  Kam had a lot more on-ball responsibility and I assume less open catch-and-shoot opportunities.  Not true for Jop, Chase, and Ben - they just didn't make shots.  It's up to the staff to determine if that's randomness or if there was something more to it. 

Yup. For all the talk about Gold being a poor shooter, he in fact shot 37% from 3 over his sophomore and junior seasons combined. That's decent to good, especially for a big. That his percentage fell off by 100 basis points was just bizarre. Maybe he felt too much pressure to produce? Who knows? Similar with Ross, who went from .362/.365 to .295. And, as you said, Jop. Weird. If Stevens and James have similar fall-offs next season, it really will be a pattern. Hope not.

[tower912]

Yup. For all the talk about Gold being a poor shooter, he in fact shot 37% from 3 over his sophomore and junior seasons combined. That's decent to good, especially for a big. That his percentage fell off by 100 basis points was just bizarre. Maybe he felt too much pressure to produce? Who knows? Similar with Ross, who went from .362/.365 to .295. And, as you said, Jop. Weird. If Stevens and James have similar fall-offs next season, it really will be a pattern. Hope not.

Or, rib injury and bone spurs in his ankle requiring surgery.

[MU82]

Or, rib injury and bone spurs in his ankle requiring surgery.

Yeah, I get it. But Gold shot meh from 3 right out of the gate last season. Then it only got worse, which certainly might be explained some by the injuries.