Looking past the disappointment this morning and thinking about the future.
If you've been following the program since CNO arrived, you know his formula for success can be broken down like this:
Offensively: shoot lots of 3's, lots of shots in the paint at the rim (dribble drives, drop passes, lobs, etc.) and points off free throws. He believes in 5 athletic guys who can run the floor and play fast!
Defensively: guard tightly with long, lanky defenders and rebound (in a nutshell).
There's already some talk about the things CNO needs to consider to help push our program over the hump (especially in light of the parity NIL brings and the way the game is officiated by allowing rough, body checking physical play).
Without allowing this to deteriorate into a complaint thread about officiating (someone can start that thread if they want) OR complaints about why we don't shoot midrange jumpers (if you want to know do some research on analytics and you'll get your answer), what adjustments/tweaks would you like to see CNO bring into the program???
I'll offer two suggestions:
1. Different point guard play: Love JQ but he had the propensity to play hero ball and CNO would inexplicably allow him to do so for big stretches. He's a wizard with the ball and against certain teams, he could get to the rim, but he's not the perfect PG for CNO. Neither is Jaydon Bradley, at least at this point in his college career. His minutes sank to almost nothing as it became clear he was an offensive liability with his 3 point shooting. Teams played under the high screen and basically clogged the paint because they knew he wouldn't/couldn't shoot the 3. The next great PG for CNO would be a guy who's a mixture of JQ, who has a really good 3 point shot, and Bradley who's tough and physical and can get to the rim. Too bad Colin Sexton didn't play for CNO cause he'd be ideal.
2. I'd really like to see us be willing to use a 4 or 5 that has some post up ability. There are times when a guy with his back to the rim in the post is needed. Times when the game slows down (like teams try to do to us) and times when the 3 isn't falling (think last month of the season and last night) and times when teams are more physical and take away our dribble drive game. Noah Gurley was probably the only guy on the team with this talent, but he hardly ever got intentional looks down low and I'm not sure he is strong enough, overall, to be dependable at the rim. But a post player that is a real threat can take some pressure off a struggling offense in a game like last night. Drew Timme scored 30+ points with this type of game for the Zags Thursday night playing with his back to the basket in a lot of sets. It's not a part of the modern game (especially for CNO) but old school stuff can still be effective in spots and that's what I'm recommending. Granted, this type of player for CNO would still need other skills, but this type of guy could push our offense over the edge in tough, physical games like the ones we lost this year.
What else have you got?
If you've been following the program since CNO arrived, you know his formula for success can be broken down like this:
Offensively: shoot lots of 3's, lots of shots in the paint at the rim (dribble drives, drop passes, lobs, etc.) and points off free throws. He believes in 5 athletic guys who can run the floor and play fast!
Defensively: guard tightly with long, lanky defenders and rebound (in a nutshell).
There's already some talk about the things CNO needs to consider to help push our program over the hump (especially in light of the parity NIL brings and the way the game is officiated by allowing rough, body checking physical play).
Without allowing this to deteriorate into a complaint thread about officiating (someone can start that thread if they want) OR complaints about why we don't shoot midrange jumpers (if you want to know do some research on analytics and you'll get your answer), what adjustments/tweaks would you like to see CNO bring into the program???
I'll offer two suggestions:
1. Different point guard play: Love JQ but he had the propensity to play hero ball and CNO would inexplicably allow him to do so for big stretches. He's a wizard with the ball and against certain teams, he could get to the rim, but he's not the perfect PG for CNO. Neither is Jaydon Bradley, at least at this point in his college career. His minutes sank to almost nothing as it became clear he was an offensive liability with his 3 point shooting. Teams played under the high screen and basically clogged the paint because they knew he wouldn't/couldn't shoot the 3. The next great PG for CNO would be a guy who's a mixture of JQ, who has a really good 3 point shot, and Bradley who's tough and physical and can get to the rim. Too bad Colin Sexton didn't play for CNO cause he'd be ideal.
2. I'd really like to see us be willing to use a 4 or 5 that has some post up ability. There are times when a guy with his back to the rim in the post is needed. Times when the game slows down (like teams try to do to us) and times when the 3 isn't falling (think last month of the season and last night) and times when teams are more physical and take away our dribble drive game. Noah Gurley was probably the only guy on the team with this talent, but he hardly ever got intentional looks down low and I'm not sure he is strong enough, overall, to be dependable at the rim. But a post player that is a real threat can take some pressure off a struggling offense in a game like last night. Drew Timme scored 30+ points with this type of game for the Zags Thursday night playing with his back to the basket in a lot of sets. It's not a part of the modern game (especially for CNO) but old school stuff can still be effective in spots and that's what I'm recommending. Granted, this type of player for CNO would still need other skills, but this type of guy could push our offense over the edge in tough, physical games like the ones we lost this year.
What else have you got?
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