The End of Non Conference: A Look Back Part 1

So I will continue to call this the end of our non conference schedule because plainly, having to continually reiterate to myself and others that we still play Seattle University in February is annoying and unnecessary. With Pac-10 play beginning in less than a week I thought this would be the opportune moment to look back on our 11 games thus far and talk about what was good, bad, ok, as well as do another player by player review based on their seasonal performance thus far and discuss what we need from them/would like to see from them.

We saw two distinct teams from the Huskies through our non conference schedule. We saw the dominant home team that put up 4-100+ point games and a few 90+ point games as well. We led the nation in scoring for quite some time as well as some other stats including assists and three point shooting. After the season opener against McNeese we were first in 6 of 8 categories: PPG, OPPG, RPG, ORPG, Assists, and OAssists. We were second in shooting percentage and opponents shooting percentage. The second team we saw was very strange. They struggled against top 10 teams, yet would be within 2 points in the final minute. This team couldn't close out and win close games. C.J. Wilcox had two opportunities to hit game winning shots, but was unable to convert. IT got blocked on a last second shot that could have won the game when there was a wide open Gant and semi open C.J. on the perimeter. For one reason or another our shooting shut down against good opponents. We couldn't buy a shot and it killed us. On the other side of that, we saw stellar defense throughout the non conference schedule that allowed us to stay in those tough shooting nights until the draining seconds. So while the 8-3 finish is disappointing considering the very possible 11-0 start we could have had, things could have been worse. We could have lost by 20 to teams like UK, MSU, and TAMU on the road. Instead we lost by 7, 4, and 1. Small margins. The 7 and 4 point loses were amplified by free throws at the end of the game. We effectively lost to MSU by 1 point as MBA missed a game tying free throw (just shoot me please...). The worst part of the MSU loss was blowing a 10 point halftime lead. Another interesting fact: We have led at half every game this year. Every single game. A slow start to the second half has been our Achilles Heel.

Now then, a quick recap of all the games. McNeese was complete domination and the revealing of several future super stars for the Huskies. C.J. Wilcox showed off his shooting touch, Terrence Ross brought out his athletic skills and wowed all. Aziz was beastly down low grabbing 10 boards and 15 points despite 3 for 15 shooting from the FT line. This same trend continued until the Maui Invitational. At Maui we opened up with a thorough whomping of the Tony Bennett coached Virginia team. We score 108 points on a coach whose highest score against had been something like 84 points, in double OT mind you. We hit 17 three pointers and could not miss plain and simple. Even Antoine Hosley, a walk on, came onto the court, jacked up a three, and drained it like it was shooting practice back home. We looked and played like a National Championship team that would go undefeated with no opponent being able to match us in any aspect of the game. Then reality hit home. We played Kentucky, somewhat of a blood feud and newly found rivalry after the defection of two highly touted and skilled recruits in Enes Kanter, currently ineligible to play due to NCAA infractions concerning his amateur status as a basketball player, and Terrence Jones, a possible POY candidate in my opinion and the missing piece to an uncontested shot at the Final Four and Title. Things started well for us in that game, taking the early lead. Next thing we know we are down 14. We battle our way back to the lead slowly but surely. We get with 2. Overton gets called for a technical after an official review, something I was unaware could happen. We keep the game within two. Then the unthinkable. Overton is called for a foul despite being elbowed in the face, a violation of a newly heavily enforced rule concerning player safety. UK is given two free throws and the ball. Romar yells for a review and gets it. The UK guard is called for the technical, yet UK is allowed to keep the two points and the ball. Had the ref called the right play originally it would have been our ball and two free throws, instead we are down four and UK has the ball. We end up giving up several key offensive rebounds and lose by 7. We beat ourselves with poor shooting and some holes on defense, but the refs buried us. Then came MSU, our chance for redemption against the #2 team in the nation. We got up by 10 at half, confidence was high once again. We were still shooting poorly, but our defense was keeping us well ahead as our transition game flourished. MSU's coach, Tom Izzo, came out of half time and just out-coached Romar. He set up several inbound plays that led to killer 3 point shots that got them back in the game and eventually took the lead. We had a chance to tie with less than a minute left as MBA went to the line for two shots and the Huskies down two points. He nailed the first. Stress was high, prayers were being spit out as fast as a person could say them. His second shot goes up and out. MSU rebounds. They pick up two offensive rebounds that drain the clock to the point where we are forced to foul. We get the ball, down three. Romar brings in C.J. Wilcox, the three point prodigy, to win the game. At this point he has only played 2 minutes in the game thus far. His cold arm showed as he air balled with 14 seconds left. MSU rebounds and goes on to win by 4. Hopes are crushed. The Huskies drop from 13 in the polls down to 22. The fans and team know we will recover at home and we do, going on to dominate several more mid major programs. We look forward to our final test of the non conference schedule. A match up on the road against Texas A&M who had not lost in 69 straight non conference home games. Rebounding kills us throughout the game as we again struggle to shoot. We force 20 turnovers while causing 20 ourselves. Our defense kept us close. TAMU inbounds the ball with 14 seconds left. We choose to go for the steal rather than the foul, down only 1 point. Isaiah gets the miracle steal with 5 seconds or so left. He dribbles down court, pulls up and half hesitates as he shoots somewhere between the free throw line and the three point line. His shot is swatted away as the buzzer sounds. Another season with road struggles early on. Stress is high to say the least. IT takes heavy criticism. The team moves on and crushes their final home opponents. We dropped out of the AP and Coaches polls, sitting somewhere between 26 and 30 in the rankings. Kenpom still has us at number 5 in the nation. We could fill this position very well if we lived up to our potential and talent, yet we struggled to finish the tough games. We still lack signature victories, but have played several close games to top tier opponents and crushed everyone else with much more expertise than most people predicted.

We now enter Pac-10 play with several schools having picked up wins against ranked opponents, something we did not manage. Yet at the same time, those schools lost by large amounts to teams they should have beaten USC beat number 19 Texas and number 19 Tennessee after losing by 20 at home to Rider. UCLA beat number 18 BYU, but lost to several mid major programs as well. WSU and UA are the only teams with losses to quality opponents. WSU is currently on a roll beating a few solid teams including Baylor. This spices things up for the conference title race as things are not so clear cut in who will take the title. I still feel as though it is ours to lose, but we could see UA, WSU, and possible UCLA or even USC compete for the title.

So what have we done well thus far.

Shooting

For the most part we have been a lights out team. Our home game average is somewhere around 100 points with a margin of victory over 30 points. Against Virginia we shot arguably our best game, hitting 17 three pointers. On the road and in neutral sites our shot struggled. Even in our last two homes games our shots seems to be avoiding the net for one reason or another. We have 8 legitimate three point threats. IT, Holiday, Gaddy, C.J., Ross, Suggs, Overton, and Gant. MBA is said to be able to shoot the long ball a bit as well, but that is not something I want to test. The Huskies have had 4 players score 20+ points thus far. Holiday has had two 20 point games this season. IT has had two 20+ point games. MBA had a 28 point game to start the year. C.J. Wilcox hit 20 as well. With the new starting line up with MBA at the 4 and Aziz at the 5 our post scoring has greatly improved over the last two games and I expect we will continue to see this line up especially against bigger teams like USC and UCLA. There is no doubt we can score and do it in bunches when we get going. The trick is being able to win games when we can't find the long ball and so far that has been pretty iffy at best.

Defense

This has probably been one of the most solid and consistent aspects of the Husky team thus far. Game in and Game out our team has played solid defense. We have had lacking moments and have been taken advantage of, but personally I would rather our defense take its lumps now and learn the mistakes early versus in February and March. I want a deep run this season. I want it bad. So bad. With Justin Holiday and Venoy Overton being recognized as two of the best defenders in the nation along with IT becoming a monster on defense and Aziz in the post as the Great Wall of Sengal we have proven to be a tough team for guards to excel against. Our defense is currently forcing 18.3 turnovers per game. That's pretty darn good. We are only turning the ball over 11.5 times per game, but in the last two games we have committed a total of 9 turnovers (4 against USF, 5 against UNR). If it weren't for our defense UK, MSU, and TAMU would have killed us. This will be what allows us to win close games when our shots just won't fall.

Passing

This is another part of our game that has been stellar the entire year. We are averaging over 19 assists per game and holding opponents to under 10 assists per game. Our 19 assists a game is good for an assist percentage of almost 57% (56.9). That is incredible. We are currently 2nd in the nation for assists per game. The Huskies have been really exceptional at taking an extra pass or even two and three to find the open shooter. Abdul Gaddy, Isaiah Thomas, and Venoy Overton have been absolutely killing it on the assist to turnover ratio. Against USF they had a combined 19/1 ratio. Against UNR Abdul and Isaiah combined for 9/1. Could have been better had MBA not dinked some easy shots next to the basket. We score so well because our team is unselfish and has not only great court vision, but the talent to use it effectively over and over again. Abdul throws passes like no one else can. He finds holes that surprise even our players who are on the receiving end. IT has greatly improved on his ability to dish out on the drive from inside the lanes and has often found MBA and Aziz with waiting arms for an easy lay-in or dunk. Continuing our passing excellence will greatly help our cause. When our team stops passing that is when you can see we are panicking and will lose games.

What has been improving/needs improvement

Rebounding

Slowly, but surely the Huskies have been improving on the glass. Against UNR we finally brought back the A-game we saw against McNeese. After only leading 22-21 at half the Dawgs came out and won the board battle 56-42. MBA finished with 11, Aziz with 10, Holiday with 9, and IT with 8. Man, if IT was 6 inches taller could you imagine what kind of rebounding numbers he could have. Give him credit though, the kid has a nose for the ball and the hops and strength to get after it. Aziz's work ethic on the boards seems to be rubbing on finally on MBA and Gant. With the taller line up, opponents have to make a choice who to box out as they won't be able to get both if MBA and Aziz are doing their jobs right. This is showing in the increased rebounding numbers for both players, though admittedly Aziz's increase is more due to more play time than anything. Aziz plays a tough and rumble game very similar to Brockman, only with the advantage of being 7 feet tall versus 6'7''. Ross, Suggs, and Wilcox have been good on the boards thus far, grabbing a few a game each. Gant started the year soft, but he has been better about getting tough on the boards especially after the TAMU game where he let A&M pick up two costly offensive boards off missed free throws that were put back in. He was lazy on the box out and let his man move him around. He picked up 4 offensive boards in 15 minutes against UNR. MBA had 7 offensive boards against USF. Its still a work in progress, but Romar has them heading in the right direction, I think. Getting 45 boards a game would keep us on top no doubt in my mind, well, assuming the other team doesn't out rebound us even when we grab 45 ourselves. Of course that means a TON of missed shots, which will hopefully not be our fault.

Opening the Second Half

We start so slow coming out of half it seems like. More often than not, the opposition is able to cut down whatever lead we took into half usually within a few minutes as we struggle to make changes to counteract whatever the opposition changed about their play style. To me this is a coaching issue more than a player problem. If the coach sees his players aren't adjusting call a time out. I don't care if its 15 seconds into the game or 4 minutes. The coach's job is to see what the players don't and tell them how to identify and correct it. Our team needs to find its source of inspiration and come out all cylinders firing. Maybe leave the 5 on who ended the first half rather than returning to the starting five? I'm not sure. Romar has been able to address the half court offense pretty well and is developing some great baseline cut plays and backdoor screens. I am hopeful he will be able to address and solve our slow start problem. Obviously it can be done because the other teams always seems to manage a nice run to start the second half. Why can't we do the same?

Speaking of it

Half Court Offense

This was the nagging problem that caused us so many problems against MSU and UK, even TAMU. When we couldn't find out shot we seemed lost to do anything else offensively. We didn't seem to have a plan or an ability to run plays. It came down to mostly lazy screens, some sloppy pick and rolls, and a hope that some one could get themselves open. Running an offense is on the coach completely. The players need some direction, especially at the college level where they are still learning and perfecting the game. Romar is addressing this issue pretty darn well and it is showing our decreased turnovers and increased post efficiency. Our half court offense is definitely in its infant stages still, but it is better than nothing. We have a lot of talent that can benefit from a solid half court offense if we can get it rolling.

I think I'll continue this discussion in another post I'll try to put up tomorrow. Being on break is nice. I have time to write about more than just the games. More later! Peace.