SB Nation User Blog: Jo-Jo

Need some advice

Jo-Jo — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:18:21 -0000

I'm trying to max out my push-ups and sit-ups for a military PT test. I had great progress in my first month, but I seem to have hit a plateau. I"ve got 7 weeks to add about 20% more to my scores. I am a personal trainer but training myself has always been more difficult than training my clients. Any suggestions on some training methods to shake things up would be greatly appreciated.

The Cougs ...

Jo-Jo — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:12:26 -0000

were just the lead bumper on the prime-time Sportscenter.

Hell yeah. I think that might be a first.

I'm tryin' hard not to get too excited about what's going on, but going to the game next weekend with Nuss will be the highlight of the winter for me. If they win, I might run naked through the UW campus ... who's with me? I know Nuss will do it.

GO COUGS, DAMMIT!

Who would you give the minutes to?

Jo-Jo — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:55:12 -0000

I'm curious to see what our little community values in its players. Take a vote, and then take a guess at who is who. Be straight about it, don't look up player stats before you vote or comment, just use the numbers in the poll. This way we can leave romance and emotions out of it. I will give a little wrinkle and the results a few days from now.

Vote/discuss/enjoy.

Poll

Can you guess who is who?

Player A: fg% = 20 a/to = 1.4 team winning % when player gets more than 20 min. = 67

62 votes

Player B: fg% = 36 a/to = 1.2 team winning % when player gets more than 20 min. = 33

25 votes

Player C: fg% = 15 a/to = 3.75 team winning % when player gets more than 20 min. = 33

26 votes

113 votes | Poll has closed

My Hoops ManCrush on Marcus Capers

Jo-Jo — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:23:00 -0000

A late night film study of the UCLA game last night revealed an amazing number to me. It is no secret that I've been lobbying for Marcus Capers' PT over the past few weeks, and I'm very happy to see him pushing 30 minutes per game over the last three contests. It is easy to be critical of the kids offensive inabilities in his current phase of development, but one thing that cannot be denied is his defensive contributions to this team.

The number that amazed me was the number "1". One. Uno. One, singular field goal was scored against Marcus Capers in 27 minutes of play. That number is even more impressive when you consider that at least 20 of those minutes was while he was defending Mr. Shipp, who certainly isn't some spanky reject from Oregon State, or a fundamentally special needs player like Vinoy Overton.

All his weaknesses aside, if this team had an equivelant to a "lock-down corner," Capers would be it. Add in his rebounding and I think that it is obvious why he has taken minutes away from the upperclassmen. If Rochestie, Thompson, and Baynes are scoring, then this team doesn't need much O from Capers, and his defensive abilities will contribute in a large way to the success of this team in the Pac-10

What Went Right Part III: Rotation and Sets

Jo-Jo — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:55:34 -0000

Disclaimer: You all know that I am long winded. This post is big. If you are not a die-hard or a Cougar Basketball junkie, you might want to avoid the fallowing.If you are going to delve into this abyss, go to the bathroom first, and get a snack.

Here it is folks. This is where we get to talk personnel and tactics all at the same time. And it is true that those two things go hand-in-hand because there are some things that you just can't get done when some players are on the floor.

Let's start with this:

With some slight variations, this is the basic offense we've seen from the Cougs most of the year. This is the offense that is run when Daven Harmeling plays at the 4. It made perfect sense with the personnel that Coach Bennett had to work with, and against the lesser opponents, it worked beautifully.

The basic function of the 4-1 motion is two fold. First, the focus is obviously the 5. And we all know that getting Aron Baynes as many shots as possible in the paint is a big deal. Secondly, the perimeter players are in constant motion, keeping the defense moving and on their toes. Patience is at a premium and eventually the defense will break down and you get a driving lane or an open jumper. Simple enough, right?

Well, in the Cougs case, it became simple enough to defend. One would think that this would give all the room in the world for Baynes to work inside while the perimeter players swarm and confuse the defense, but good teams (especially our Pac-10 foes) know that Baynes is the number one option, and many Pac-10 teams have encorporated elements of the Bennett Pack Defense into their schemes. Teams have sagged down to Baynes and that is why his shot attempts have been so low. But like every good offense their is always a counter adjustment:

CONTINUE READING THIS POST ...

As you can see here, the defense is fronting Baynes and the weak side 4 defender is ready to help when the post pass is made. This is where the Bennett genius is supposed to come into play. In years past we've all drooled at the thought of Harmeling's defender leaving him to help somewhere else, hence the effectiveness of using him at the 4 spot -- either the four stays on him and Baynes is 1-v-1, or the 4 leaves him and you get and open perimeter shot.

Unfortunately teams have been wise to this as well. Teams haven't left Harmeling to double Baynes (smart move) and have dropped players from other area's (such as collapsing the 1 and the 3 in this example) and leaves you with Thompson and Rochestie getting a ton of shots and not making a very high percentage of them, and Koprivica ... I don't think we really need to get into that right now ... as the perimeter threats. This worked fine against the cupcakes, but failed miserably against like comptetition in the non-conferecnce.

Another variation to the 4-1 offense is the flex, which some of you might recognize as well:

Oh yes, we've seen a lot of this one too. This is designed to get a bit more movement out of the perimeter players to create those shots and lanes to work with. The failure of this offensive set, again is the personnel group. Harmeling and Koprivica simply do not have the foot speed to be effective weapons in this set but Thompson is servicable. Rochestie is perfect for this set and should see plenty of shots coming from off the ball movement, however, he is the only one in this line-up that can be trusted dribbling the basketball, so he has been forced to get his off the dribble, and that has been disastrous thus far.

Enter Caleb Forrest

When talking about personnel rotations and schemes, combinations really are the underlying foundation for success. There is so much more to it that simply putting the best players on the floor. It's about who brings out the best in each other. In the first real line-up shake-up of the season, Bennett recognized the lack of production from Baynes due to the failure of the scheme, and inserted Caleb Forrest into the line-up in search of a post combination that can hold defenses accountable. Let's take a look:

This is the base formation of the High-C (or High low depending on interpretation and terminology) offense. This, in my opinion is the best set for the personnel that the Cougs currenty have, and they have seen succes from it. Placing Forrest at the elbow is a nice because he is a threat from there with his mid-range jump shot, and he can crash down for offensive rebounds. The key here is to get the 5 the ball and let him work; if the 3 defender collapses, kick out of the double for a jump shot, if the 4 defender comes to help, Forrest makes a little cut to the basket and recieves a nice interior pass from Baynes and you get a layup. We saw that early against Stanford, but Forrest couldn't finish (bricking his layup on the bottom of the rim). He did convert one of two free throws, so the possession and the set can be considered a success.

I did notice in the first half that Bennett was not afraid of running the 4-1 motion (as seen above) with Forrest on the floor as the 4. That scared the living crap out of me. There was some sort of hybrid where he would start at the high post, then flash out and move into the motion, and then return to the high post. I didn't get it.

Now that we've got some tactical foundations layed, lets talk personnel

DeAngelo Casto starts the second half

And there was much rejoicing on the CougCenter game thread. I don't know what it was that convinced Bennett to start Casto in the second half, and honestly I don't really care. But the results were absolutely amazing. Nuss is right in saying that the second half defense was really a major component to winning that game, but exactly how did the High-C with Casto on the floor, and the high pick and roll, affect the efficiency of the offense?

Referencing the High-C diagram above, I believe Casto to be more of a threat from the 4 position than Forrest. From this spot, Forrest is fairly one dimensional. How many times have we seen the up-fake/single dribble/jump shot from there? Effective, yes; versatile, no.From there, Casto cannot shoot, but (believe it or not) he can create. His athleticism allows him to put the ball on the floor draw defenders and make the pass to the 5 spot.

The irony in this situation is illustrated in an email conversation Nuss and I had about why Casto wasn't seeing more minutes. Vince Grippi had written on his blog that the coaches felt that Casto was a liability on offense because he doesn't play with his hands in a position to recieve the ball and it leads to turnovers. Three times against Stanford, Casto put the ball on the floor, broke down the interior defense and made a surgical pass to Baynes who couldn't convert a basket. Who's not ready to recieve the pass? If Baynes handles those passes they lead to at least one layup and one dunk and two assists to Casto, and that results in one hell of a post combination to defend. From that position, Casto also managed to get himself to the free throw line, and even though he doesn't shoot them well, that is still a plus.

This combination, to me, is a no brainer. Casto should start at the 4 and play 30 minutes every game, Forrest should come off the bench give him and Baynes a blow. Now, I don't know what Bennett is going to do with the starting line-up tonight. I think it is obvious what most of us would like to see, but something tells me Forrest gets the start again. I don't like it, and if what we've seen with the naked eye isn't enough then everyone should take a good hard look at these Kenpom Player Stats. If Casto had but just 1.3% more player minutes he would be nationaly ranked in at least four catagories. He leads the team in OR%, is basically tied with Baynes in DR%, has what would be the 25th nationally ranked Blk%, and leads the team in FTRate. Case closed.

What to do with Daven

So, we've seen that using Daven at the 4 position hasn't really benefited the Cougs all that much. Hence his removal from the starting lineup for a more traditional post-up 4. But I think most of us would agree that an effective Harmeling does vastly improve the Cougs offense. And one would naturally assume that some minutes at the 3 would be in Harmeling's future.

Apparently not.

Harmeling did see some minutes at the 3 when Bennett made the move to Forrest, but this past weekend Harmeling's minutes were exclusively at the four, and he curiously played exactly zero minutes in the second half against Stanford. Uh oh. Now all of a sudden we are seeing Abe Lodwick (I am going to avoid talking too much about Lodwick in this post, but you can refer to his player grade here for my take on where he fits in the rotation) as the first backcourt player off the bench, ahead of Harmeling.

The problem with playing Harmeling at the 4 -- which the coaching staff seems to think is the most effective spot for him -- is that the offense grinds to a halt when he's there, and it was plainly obvious that he was the fourth option as a big on Saturday. Harmeling as been pigeonholed, and honestly I don't know what can be done about it. It seems like a waste of a weapon to have him relegated to the bench, but this is where the concept of combinations really proves itself. Lodwick may play a better 3 than Harmeling, and it was obvious that that is exactly where Harmeling's minutes went last weekend.

Taylor Rochestie's increased efficiency

I've bashed on Taylor a lot. I admit it. I stand by it. I've also said that he has been misused. But something else changed in the second half against Stanford. The team was looking to get Rochestie shots off the ball.

Already noted on this site is the missing element of Derrick Low's Rip Hamiltonesque ability to move without the basketball and get open for catch-and-shoot opportunities. For the first time all season, we saw a concerted effort to make that happen for Rochestie. Rochestie really is the only player on this team that posseses the ability to do this, and it is something that this offense needs. And wouldn't you know it, it came from a set that looks a lot like that High-C diagram.

From this set, Rochestie can get Klay Thompson the ball on the wing and move straight down the key and cut towards the baseline off of a screening 4. Thompson recieves the pass from Rochestie moves towards the top of the key, compacting the defense and shifting the stong side opposite the direction Rochestie is cutting. Thompson quickly turns back, hits Rochestie on the sideline (open thanks to a screen from the 4), Rochestie catches and shoots. Two points. Thompson and Marcus Capers both executed this pass to assist Rochestie on made baskets.

Another option is to start with moving the ball to the three. Essentially the play is exactly the same. If the shot does not come open immediately, then Rochestie cuts baseline, hesitates, and reworks his defender off the 5's screen. Rochestie is the best player on this team at manipulating his defender off an off-the-ball screen. On his three point basket in the second half he made his defender look absolutely foolish, and that is a talent that this team needs to exploit.

So why haven't we seen much of that this season? Last season Rochestie had plenty of those opportunities, and it was because Low and Kyle Weaver were trusted to handle the ball in the half-court sets. As I said in my player grades post, I believe that Thompson and Capers can facilitate this role in the half-court, to get Rochestie the looks that this team needs to be successful.

Which brings me to my final point. If you all haven't fallen asleep yet.

Who's the missing piece?

In talking about the rotation, or more specifically the starting line-up and who should get the majority of the minutes, I think that it is obvious that Rochestie, Thompson, Casto, and Baynes need to be getting a lot of minutes. That leaves us with Forrest, Harmeling, Koprivica, Lodwick, and Capers as the players to fill in the supporting roles.

I think Forrest's role is obvious; he should spell the devestating defensive wall of Baynes and Casto, and nothing else. Alledgedly, Harmeling is deep down the bench as a backup 4 man. Koprivica has been starting, and Lodwick was obviously his backup last weekend. And Capers gets very few minutes to spell Rochestie at the point. However, Capers and Rochestie saw some time on the floor together, and I got excited. (This is where I make my case for Capers.)

Thompson is clearly this team's second best perimeter player, and I would love to see him and Rochestie circling their respective sides of the floor working off screens without the ball and making things happen. Of the three remaining backcourt players (Koprivica; who's performance speaks for itself, Lodwick; who I don't see as a facilitator for Thompson and Rochestie, and Capers) I see Marcus Capers as the player who could put in solid minutes, helping get Rochestie off on offense. I wouldn't expect the kid to do much scoring, but we know he can move, he's energetic and I think he has more to offer than the others.

I believe that Koprivica has manned this spot because he is a known commodity, and I think that with Capers you just aren't sure what you are going to get. But I believe that if they both played at their best, you'd get more out of Capers that would benefit the team. Again, this is about combinations, and a Rochestie/Capers/Thompson back-court is something that can maximize the potential of the team's best players.

Forrest, Harmeling and Koprivica have been role players their whole careers at WSU, and I think they need to stay right where they are at. I think getting Casto and Capers more time is the infusion of athleticism and the wildcard upside that brings out the best in Rochestie and Baynes. Interestingly enough, Casto and Capers had the highest +/- scores on the team against Stanford. If Capers was +4 in only 8 minutes, I wonder what that would have looked like if he'd played 20-25?

That is what I would like to see this weekend in Oregon, but I am curious as to what all of you think:

Poll

Assuming that we all think that Casto should start, who do you think should be the third starter in the backcourt? Vote/discuss

Daven Harmeling

12 votes

Nik Koprivica

13 votes

Abe Lodwick

14 votes

Marcus Capers

26 votes

65 votes | Poll has closed

What Went Right Part II: Player Grades

Jo-Jo — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:44:27 -0000

Here are Jo-Jo's player grades for the game against Stanford, which I've combined into one post and promoted to the front page. There's a lot of good stuff in here, so enjoy. -- Nuss

The Frontcourt

Aron Baynes - B+
I think that it is safe to say that Mt. Baynes is the foundation around which the Cougar frontcourt is built. We know that, the coaches know that, all of the Pac-10 knows that. Which is why it is going to be increasingly more difficult to get him shots in the remaining 15 games this season.

Saturday night Stanford did an excellent job of limiting Baynes to four shot attempts, and though he struggled from the field against Cal (2-9 from the field) he served as his usual efficient self on Saturday, making two baskets and hitting 3-4 from the line. But don't let his low scoring fool you -- the dude collected 9 rebounds, had a beautiful post move and was solid as a rock throughout the entire game. The only reason why I don't give him an A is because he did have a couple of ball handling miscues that cost the Cougs some buckets and botched the recieving end of a couple gorgeous DeAngelo Casto interior passes. But the B+ is nothing to be down about; defensively, he was always there and when paired with Casto created an interior defense that was all but impossible to break.

Caleb Forrest - C+
You know what you're going to get out of Caleb Forrest. And I'd say that is about all that the Cougs got out of Forrest against Stanford. He didn't do anything exceptional, either good or bad. It is interesting how the dynamics of the frontcourt personnel grouping work. When Daven Harmeling is in the game, the team runs a 4-1 motion; when Casto is in, they run a modified High-C. Bennett uses both sets when Forrest is in the game, and the truth is that Forrest does neither very well.

Forrest is a safety net. When he's in the game, he isn't going to kill you, but he won't win you the game either. And that is why I like him so much better as a spot contributor off the bench rather than a starter garnering a majority of minutes. A solid reserve can give you a spark off the bench, but at the highest priority serves to give your best players some relief without everything falling apart. That is what you get out of Forrest. After scoring all three of his points within the first two minutes of play and hitting the deck on "The Dunk" play, Forrest was little more than a stop gap.

Daven Harmeling - Incomplete
What to do with the Harmeling situation? Daven was the first "big" off the bench coming in for Baynes at the 14:40 mark. He played only eight minutes, all of them in the first half. That's right, he didn't play a single minute in that second half. So, to grade him on the time that he did play, I felt that he played fine. He didn't take a bad shot. But he didn't make any shots either. Based on the fact that he has been pigeonholed into the 4 position, and the upcoming player grade, I wonder if we are ever going to see the Daven Harmeling we know is in there.

DeAngelo Casto - A
As the second "big" off the bench, Casto came into the game as the fourth post player on the depth chart. I now wonder if he has moved up a bit. We'll have to wait and see. But to grade his performance the other night, I have to say that he was the difference in the win. Yes, Taylor Rochestie appears to be breaking out of his funk, leading the team in scoring and making the big basket, but in my opinion Casto was the difference maker.

He gave the Cougs the defensive lift that they needed to really get this team moving. He was fearless, which lead to some fouls, but by the end of the game the interior defense that he and Baynes combined to provide was so intimidating that the Cardinal were flat out missing shots within 5 feet of the basket. And, believe it or not, he actually created some positive things on offense as well. He drew fouls, got to the line, made a couple of incredible interior passes that should have gone for assists, and was assertive and confident with the basketball. Would you believe zero turnovers in 21 minutes? This from a guy who, alledgedly, hasn't gotten the minutes because he is an offensive liability.

There are only two reasons why I couldn't give him an A+. The first is that he got caught overextending a few times on defense. This is a good mistake to make at this point in his development. It comes from working a little too hard. The second is making his free throws. This should come with time, but it's good that he is able to create a look that get's him to the line. Now he just needs to finish from there.

Just as food for thought, I applied the +/- stat from hockey to the game against Stanford. I wanted to see who was on the floor when the team was successful. Take a guess at who had the highest grade.

Baynes -- Minus-3
Forrest -- Minus-4
Harmeling -- Minus-1
Casto -- Plus-10

I don't know if that really means anything, but I thought it would be interesting to look at. I wouldn't put much weight behind it, however it was obvious while watching live that good things were happening when Casto was on the floor.

The Backcourt

Klay Thompson - B/B+
This was a tough player grade to come to. Of course the emotion behind "The Dunk" makes me want to take my clothes off and run around yelling "A+! A+!" But, I'm trying to be objective here.

In reality Thompson had a wonderful game. The only thing keeping him from an A+ grade was his shooting percentage (4/12 - ouch). But the four shots he did hit were huge. He nailed back-to-back 3's in the first half to keep the game from getting away from the Cougs too early, and the backdoor cut and "The Dunk" came on back-to-back plays at a pivotal time as well. Other than that, he forced a couple shots, but hey, if two of those jumpers fall then he's shooting 50%. The really impressive part of his game however was his steady defensive performance throughout the entire night. Thompson was asked to guard Stanford's point player all night long, and he did it for 35 minutes. Great defense starts on the ball, and Thompson kept the Stanford offense under control all night long.

Offensively we saw the emergence of some new things in the second half; as stated in my earlier post, the Cougs were pushing the ball a bit more when the opportunity was there and Thompson was a major contributor in that regard. But what I loved the most was what I saw him doing in the half-court offense. Two of Rochestie's catch-n-shoot baskets were assisted by Thompson, and for a stretch he was basically running the offense from a point forward position in the half-court (think Scottie Pippen to Steve Kerr). If this is something that we are going to see more of, then some of those offensive issues we've been ranting about might start to work themselves out.

Nik Koprivica - C+/B-
You know, I felt really bad for Nik in that first half. Many of our friends here have had just about enough of Nik, and though I've defended him for years, he really hasn't been playing well. But he was just fine in the first half; both of those offensive fouls were bogus, that's four points and we can assume that he would have made at least one of the subsequent foul shots. He made a beautiful pick and roll pass to Casto that Rochestie either can't or just won't execute. The guy just flat out got jobbed for his efforts in the first half.

Nik was a relative non-factor in the second half; he fell asleep on defense a couple times, dribbled the ball off his leg a couple times, but I have to say he might be the best player on the team at making the entry pass into the post (two of them lead to the post baskets by Casto and Baynes). I liken his contributions to that of Caleb Forrest; he didn't really hurt the team, but he didn't do a whole lot to help either. If he hadn't been screwed by the refs in the first half he would have had a nice little game for a roll player, but definately not the contribution that you are looking for from a starter.

Taylor Rochestie - A-
As someone who has been bashing on Taylor for a few weeks now, I can honestly say that it feels good to eat some crow. But just because he made some of his shots doesn't not mean that I'm okay with all of the shots he took. In fact, I didn't really like the game winner at all. I think that is a low percentage shot, and if he had missed it I would have been throwing things at the TV. But he made it. And Praise the Lord for that.

A few shots I did like came in the second half where it was obvious that Tony had his players "looking" for Rochestie off the screens. The three sideline jumpers that he banged home were vintage Derrick Low, and as I've said several times here, that is one aspect of this offense that has been missing. It is true that Rochestie is the best ball handler on the team, and he should be running the point, but getting the ball out of his hands in the half court and allowing him to move without the ball serves as the best way to get quality shots out of him. Thompson and Capers can serve this role in the half court for Rochestie, and it will get him more quality looks. We've been calling for it for weeks, we saw it in the second half against Stanford and hopefully we see a lot of it in the weeks to come.

I will say this; I really want him to start making the pass on the pick and roll. It gets irritating to see a wide open roll man floating around. And he needs to make better passes on his kick outs. He cost Harmeling a good look on one penetration by flipping a little backhanded YMCA pass that Daven intelligently gathered off the floor and rotated to Thompson who hit the three, but that should have been a shot attempt for Harmeling. In my opinion, Rochestie made his biggest contribution by getting to the line and converting. Rather than avoiding contact he embraced it and converted 8-of-9 from the stripe. That is another thing this team has been missing.

Abe Lodwick - B-
First, let me start by saying congratulations to Abe for making the first meaningful shot of his college career. That being said, I'm not going to get all romantic over Abe because he made that shot. The bottom line is that he is still 2-of-19 from 3-point range, and while that ONE shot was huge and tied the game midway through the second half, he finished the night 1-3, which really isn't any better than what this team gets out of Koprivica most nights. Yeah, he made a big shot, and that's great, but it's not like I'm ready to see him go Pacman Jones on us by "makin' it rain" from three all the time.

Defensively he was servicable, but not spectacular (it's going to take something spectacular to get the taste of LaceDarius Dunn out of my mouth), and offensively he spent most of his first half minutes standing around and watching. On his second shot attempt I was impressed with his ability to use the screen, something we haven't seen much of out of Harmeling and Koprivica, to get his shot. He looked quick, read the screen well, was wide open, and flat out bricked the shot. And maybe I'm nitpicking a bit, but it was his man that got that second Stanford offensive rebound with 1:00 to go, he didn't box out.

Marcus Capers - Incomplete
I don't know why I like this kid so much, but I do. And for the life of me I don't understand why he doesn't get more minutes. His minutes on Saturday I'm sure were a result of Koprivica getting hosed for offensive foul calls and he might not have seen the floor otherwise. In the second half he assisted on one of Rochestie's jumpers. And I don't care if that was a goal tend or not, that was awesome. Not the part where he got sealed off and beat baseline, but the part where he recovered and said "hell no. I ain't givin' you no easy bucket." (Okay, he didn't really SAY anything, but I think you get my point). When he was in the game he brought energy, much like Casto did, and I wonder how much of an impact he could make if he played more minutes.

+/- scores for the backcourt grade out like this:

Klay Thompson -1
Nik Koprivica +2
Taylor Rochestie +3
Abe Lodwick -6 (ouch)
Marcus Capers +4

Again, I don't know if this really means anything, but I find it very curious that Casto and Capers had the two highest +/- scores in the game.

What Went Right Part I: A change of offensive strategy in the second half

Jo-Jo — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:22:55 -0000

Much has already been commented on what we all witnessed the other night. I think it is safe to say that everyone noticed that something was different. I decided to do an extensive breakdown of the film from the other night's game to try to put into words exactly what it was that we saw. While all of us have obviously noticed the change in personnel, I am going to try to stay away from that as much as possible and just talk X's and O's (I will have an individual player grades and commentary on both the frontcourt and backcourt coming later), but the personnel issues do play a part.

To start with, I think it safe to say that the Cougar offense has been absolute garbage for quite a few weeks running. Comments have flooded CougCenter about the effectiveness of Taylor Rochestie, lack of a perimeter shooter, lack of free throw attempts (which is a direct result of the lack of ability to penetrate), and of course which combinations of players give this team the best opportunity to be successful on the offensive side of the ball. It has been my (unpopular) opinion that coach Bennett has put way too much of a straight jacket on this group of players to this point in the season, and that while the offense has been increasingly unproductive, Bennett has refused to waiver from his discipline. Until halftime Saturday night.

Watching this team all season, you can see that these guys have all of the talent and ability to have an effective offense. But they continually look hesitant, unsure, lacking confidence and down right afraid to take the shot. At first it was hard to notice, and I remembered watching Dick coach this team when Harmeling was a freshman. I remember thinking that this year's team was similar in their look of confusion. But it really came home to me when Grady posted this video (go ahead and watch it, you'll see what I mean). We all look at that and think "damn, I miss Low and Weaver." But there is more there than that. That is a team that took advantage of opportunities when they had the chance.

Perhaps that is what Rochestie has been doing with his untimely pull-up jumpers with 20 seconds on the shot clock. But you can see it in this current group; they never push the ball when they get the chance. Now I know that we have all come to love the slow, half-court efficiency of Bennett ball over the years, but part of being efficient is taking the easy, high-percentage shots that are there for the taking. And fast break opportunities are some of the highest percentage shots you can get. And the Klay Thompson dunk served as proof positive of that. But was Klay acting alone? Who does this kid think he is? Nobody has pushed the ball like that all year. Surely coach Bennett wouldn't approve!

Well, before that destiny-changing dunk occurred, I found something on the film that showed me coach Bennett had finally taken the leash of these kids. No, it wasn't the sweet post move that DeAngelo Casto had to get them going, it actually occurred at the start of the Cougars second possession of the half. It started with a beautiful help side block by Casto, Thompson retrieving the ball in the corner and charging hard up the floor. The Cougars were running? The possession eventually ended with Rochestie missing a layup, but what I saw was very subtle. I missed it when I was watching the game live, but noticed on the replay. Casto blocks the shot, and starts to pursue the loose ball. Thompson picks up the ball and as he starts to move up court Casto weaves in front of him and motions with his hand, as if to say "LET'S GO! LET'S PUSH IT!" It was evident that this was by design in the fact that all of the Cougs were screaming down the court (even the Baynes Train was sprinting). And it wasn't the only time we saw it either, it happened several times through the course of the second half.

The good Lord knows that I would have loved to be in that locker room at halftime, but since I wasn't I can only speculate. Thus, having to guess by the evidence seen in the second half I believe that Tony finally came to the conclusion that enough was enough, and that this team isn't going to win without scoring some points and it's just not coming in the half court. Now that's not to say that they are going to be running up and down the floor like Louisville, but that video from years past shows that the Cougar teams that have made the Tournament haven't been afraid to push the ball when the opportunity presents itself. If nothing else, a new approach was entered into the fray Saturday night, and at the minimum it produced "The Dunk."

I know this team is young. And I know that it takes time and that the Bennetts, though they offer freshman minutes, don't often let freshman have much freedom. That was certainly the case under Dick. But for as great as that class was, four years ago, this year's freshman class is even better. You can see it in their facial expressions, they have been frustrated. I believe that, to this point, the Bennett handcuffs that were meant to serve as a teaching tool while the upperclassmen carried the team have served to terrorize the confidence of the freshman. And when it became obvious that we couldn't count on Harmeling, Koprivica, and to some extent Rochestie to carry the scoring punch for this team, the wheels came off the wagon.

Coach needs to let these kids play a bit. I think it makes the upperclassmen more effective and that is what a team is all about. This is Tony's first go as a head coach bringing in a huge class full of talent. And I think maybe he has held them back just a little bit. But I think that the second half against Stanford showed that there are at least two freshman on this team that have ability to play fulltime minutes, along with the freedom to make some plays happen.

In response to Phildopip's Video Review - 2008, this video pretty much sums up how the season went...

Jo-Jo — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 16:03:33 -0000

In response to Phildopip's Video Review - 2008, this video pretty much sums up how the season went for me.

Micheal Bolton's reaction to the LSU loss.

Jo-Jo — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:06:40 -0000

Micheal Bolton's reaction to the LSU loss.

This is my response to the LSU loss.

Jo-Jo — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:00:16 -0000

This is my response to the LSU loss.