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Good win in a game we had to have heading out on the 2 game road trip next week. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:
1. The Ugly: FT shooting was horrific today. We were 60% (12-20). Many were front end of 1-1. The margin of victory could have, should have been bigger. Officiating was bad again. We were getting mugged in the paint all day on offense and they were calling every foul on us if we breathed on DC.
2. The Bad: I guess 12 TOs were bad. Better than the 15-19 we have had in the past, but considering 10 minutes in we zero, too many. Phil was not good today. You can see he is pressing and rushing to do something every time he touches the ball. He was 2-8 from the floor, shot a three from the corner that 4 feet over and beyond the rim and 3-6 from the line. He also got lost on defense a couple of times. He needs to take a breath, relax, and let the game come to him.
3. The Good: There was plenty of good. Defense was great and relentless.we held them to 39.3% (24-61) from the floor, 26.1% from the arc (6-23). This despite a couple of breakdowns where we gave them clear path runs to the basket.Our shooting, besides the FTs, was fantastic.We shot 46.3 (25-54)from the floor and and a whopping 50% (14-28) from the arc. We also had 21 assists on 25 baskets…which is RIDICULOUS. Watson was terrific after missing his 4 shots he finished 5-11, including 5-9 from the arc. Dez stared down the DC bench after each of them. Norris continued his good play and went 4-8 from the arc. He was actively looking to shoot it. He also only had 1 TO in 37 minutes. Quinn was excellent and efficient and looks like he is turning a corner. He was 4-4 from the floor, including 2-2 from the arc, 5 assists, 3 boards, , a steal and only 1 TO in 22 minutes while only committing 2 fouls. He was physical on defens and has learned to play without putting his hands on the offensive player. Edwards, again a nice job filling for Jayden. He only played 13 minutes, but he continues to show improved defens and was 2-4 from the arc. I hope he has earned some trust with the Coaching staff and does not disappear on the bench when Dawson returns. Not expecting him to pull huge minutes, but last two games he hit some big threes when the game was close. Dame played well, with the exception of his FT shooting.where he went 2-6. Finally, Drew coached another good game. He too is starting to turn the corner. I am not sure, but I have not seen the “white cheat sheet” lately and a lot of the substitutions we happening automatically as if he has delegated an assistant Coach to keep track of it. Drew made the substitutions when he was upset with guys or fouls trouble arose. It reminded me a Mullins under Porter.
Final Game Thoughts: Spoke to some Alum in Ireland’s (yes, it was actually open) after the game about this coming week. I was asked if I would be happy with a split. My answer an emphatic NO. To even think like that is not how Champions think. I want them both and I am sure that the team goal!
Now some fun stuff to chew on regarding our 3 pt shooting this year. Using the following guys who play this is what I discovered:
Norris 40-91 44%
Edwards 13-30 43.3%
Dawson 38-90 42.2%
Watson 38-91 41.8%
Dolan 16-44 36.4%
Quinn 10-41 24.4%
Alston 9-45 20%
Mwamba 4-28 14.3%
Welch 1-10 10%
Total: 169-470 35.9%
Now if we subtract Alston, Mwamba, Welch ( I left Quinn in the mix) the numbers are 155-387 40%.
This would place us 6th in the Country behind Baylor (41.8%); McNeese St. (40.7%); Sanford (40.5%); Purdue (40.4%); and Kentucky (40.3%) and just in front of Indiana State (39.9%)
Think about having FOUR guys shooting it over 40% and one shooting at 36.4%. There few teams in the Country that can boast that.
When we have the right people taking 3’s, we are an excellent 3 pt shooting team. We are even better when are ready to catch and shoot and don’t force them.
Arrow pointing up and this has been fun so far. My only concern in Norris logging heavy minutes. Once Dawson get back and with an improved Edwards, we need to be careful we don’t blow Norris out.
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