I've been avoiding the topic for a few days, but the Charleston Classic was a disaster for the basketball team. 0-3 with the team looking worse with each outing. I don't think anyone expected a romp through the tournament, but measurable improvement would have been nice.
This afternoon the team gets to prove they've learned from their mistakes when they take on Auburn. The Tigers are the perfect sort of rebound opponent in that they are not particularly good -- in fact they had a disastrous run in Charleston too -- but they are from a major conference.
Although it is a home game, I think the Thanksgiving holiday will make for an empty Conte. Ryan Anderson is expected to play but will not be at 100%. If BC is going to turn their start around, they need to do the following:
-- Find another scoring option. Even with Anderson healthy, this is an issue. Jackson's been ice cold. Clifford hasn't been converting close to the basket. The freshman have potential but still made some bad decisions. Heckmann made tons of errors. I don't know who will step up, but I think the real problem is not being aggressive enough within the offense.
-- Defense. The defense was at its best against Baylor. The other games the guys looked lost, slow and tired. Did fatigue set in? I don't know, but if we stick with man, the guys have to be much better at blocking out and moving with their assignment.
-- Tempo. I know it is hard to push the ball with freshmen running the point and hard when you are not converting, but I think BC needs to push the pace against Auburn. Easier baskets will come and it gets them out of their rhythm.
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The freshman backcourt stepped up. Anderson was struggling big time, and I would imagine it was more injury related, he just looked lost. But Hanlan and Rahon made some great plays and got it done. ATL your post on Daniels transfer is relevant...these two guys playing together as a backcourt now will pay big dividends. They can create, shoot, and seem to like playing with each other. Rahon hustles all over, very scrappy, and mature beyond his years. Olivier can shoot and was aggressive going to the hoop. Excited to see these two develop, and Anderson get healthy.
Where did Lonnie's shot go? Think that will come around. Heckmann just doesn't seem totally comfortable still but hit a big 3. Thought Van Nest would play more.
Still feel like this team can do a lot of improving, surprise us with a couple wins we dont expect....and mature enough to get us excited for the next couple years.
Good win today. Happy to see us close out. But, we took a 9 point lead late into the 4th and couldn't go for the kill. The 3 pointer plus foul tying the game real late could have been disasterous. Regardless, good win before a run of games that should be good for us.
Interesting that Coach D used a short bench today (I think 8 guys). Like the 3 starting 3guards and the rotation for the bench. Ryan A never could get going today although the effort was clearly there.
Goog job team and Coach D.
Happy Thanksgiving.
One of the biggest trends out of Donahue's teams so far has been their inability to consistently hit their FTs. It could cost us today. I'm grateful for the 3s, but I would almost trade them for getting to 85% from the line as a team.
85%? So you want them to be the best free throw shooting team in the country? Last year the best mark was 81.4%. I think you are also forgetting some very successful Skinner teams that were disastrous at the line.
Look, Charleston was bad, but these kids are still in a tough spot. They are not all at an ACC level in terms of talent and skill. Lonnie is killing us on both the offensive and defensive end of the ball, Odio gave us 25 minutes that didn't look great today, and two of our ACC level players are hurt...
It means a couple of things. First, I would like to see Heck start. He has been a better spot up shooter than Lonnie, can at least use his length against a team's 3, and could use for a confidence boost.
Next, our two young guards are legit. O needs to run the offense through himself a bit more with dribble drives (I think he could quickly become our best player - no offense to Ryan, but that would be a great thing). To me - O is a pg that can create his shot most times. I am much more comfortable with him at the point than I was with Reggie.
The good news against Auburn was that we played better on the defensive end, this team can't fall in love with out shooting other teams because we are not that good. We need to play good team basketball on both ends of the floor and O and Ryan need to lead these guys. We have a good nucleus, I think we are still a few players short.
I couldn't stand Coach Jim O'Brien for several reasons - like his first 7 or 8 years going 0 for the Big East. His last 3 or 4 skewered peoples memories of his performance.
Anyway, one of my biggest gripes was that his teams could not shoot free throws. The coach didn't attach any significance to it. His teams were much closer to 50% than 75%.
I hope Donahue does not tolerate poor shooting from the stripe. 100 shots every day at the end of practice when they are tired to a reduced size basket. You can't leave until you hit 7 of the last 10, etc.
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