Bama vs. Furman Preseason Game

[BAMARICH]

We suck.

We will be fine. Promise.

So... you have absolutely no concerns about our inside game based on what we've seen thus far?

 

[dayhiker]

We suck.

We will be fine. Promise.

This thread feels like the FSU post game football thread.

I'm looking forward to seeing a real game on Monday night.

 

[BAMARICH]

Far, far, far different than the FSU post game thread. There were posters in that thread that thought we'd be a total disaster the rest of the season. We'll be "ok"... as in "even without a strong inside game we'll win our share of games and go to the postseason". However, I'm past looking at things from an "I just want to make the NCAA tourney" perspective. We're in an era in UA basketball where we can legitimately compete for a championship - and honestly, we might not ever reach this point again in our history. I want Elite Eights... I want Final Fours... I want to win the last game of the season (NOT in the NIT!). Thus, issues like what I see thus far with our inside game is a potential pitfall. Not a pitfall that's going to cost us an NCAA berth... but one that can keep us from making a deep run into March.

 

[CajunCrimson]

So... you have absolutely no concerns about our inside game based on what we've seen thus far?

If we were an inside team, I'd worry. We aren't. When have we had a great inside game since Nate's been here? We went to the final four with a skinny 6'8" center and little back up. We had a 6' 11" that spent more time shooting 3's than playing inside.

Last year we had Cliff in spots -- but we didn't have an inside game last year either.

We aren't an inside team. These freshmen will come around -- and 22 will too. But, we have more slashers than we've had since Miller was here. We have what may be the best shooting 4-some we've had in the backcourt. And we have 3 freshmen that are playing hard.

Who in the SEC has a strong inside game outside of Florida? Kentucky? Maybe Arkansas?

Nate doesn't play an inside game. He's 3pt shots and layups... and guess what we've loaded our team with?

 

[Coach D]

If we were an inside team, I'd worry. We aren't. When have we had a great inside game since Nate's been here? We went to the final four with a skinny 6'8" center and little back up. We had a 6' 11" that spent more time shooting 3's than playing inside.

Last year we had Cliff in spots -- but we didn't have an inside game last year either.

We aren't an inside team. These freshmen will come around -- and 22 will too. But, we have more slashers than we've had since Miller was here. We have what may be the best shooting 4-some we've had in the backcourt. And we have 3 freshmen that are playing hard.

Who in the SEC has a strong inside game outside of Florida? Kentucky? Maybe Arkansas?

Nate doesn't play an inside game. He's 3pt shots and layups... and guess what we've loaded our team with?

Think when people talk about inside game it’s not about posting up but about rebounding and defense.

 

[Coach D]

This thread feels like the FSU post game football thread.

I'm looking forward to seeing a real game on Monday night.

Don’t think anyone was being dramatic like you are insinuating just discussing. Think we all know you can’t judge much of anything in these games other than some individual performances.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Think when people talk about inside game it’s not about posting up but about rebounding and defense.

The final four season.

NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Defensive Efficiency | TeamRankings.com

NCAA Basketball defensive efficiency, by team.

www.teamrankings.com

That year per site above we were 200+ in adjusted defense efficiency.

Our style of play negates the need for rim protectors for 40. They speed the other team up. The other team takes more threes etc.

It’s like worrying about Hurricane insurance in New Jersey. Is it possible it hurts you? Maybe. Is it worth our limited budget to buy it? No.

Rim protectors aren’t cheap. And it’s not our style on offense. We spent our money on shooters, slashers, and perimeter ball handlers.

We will be fine come March.

Positionless basketball.

 

[BamaHoopsBoi]

Last year we had Cliff in spots -- but we didn't have an inside game last year either.

Couldn't agree with you more. Cliff was not at all what he was cracked up to be. Cliff was kinda soft.

I'd argue Mo D was much more of a defensive presence than Cliff. That's why it hurt so bad when he left to Kentucky.

Like you've said already, this team does not need an "inside game". Our defense is as much of a bend but don't break style as our football team's. We want to create turnovers and score easy buckets (at the rim and open 3s). This gets us ahead very quickly in possessions IF we are executing on offense.

We have all the length and athleticism we need on our roster to be top 40 in defensive efficiency by the time March rolls around. If we all remember correctly, the FF team couldn't guard a Upward basketball team for most of the season until March rolled around.

We will be fine, as always. IN OATS WE TRUST

 

[dayhiker]

Don’t think anyone was being dramatic like you are insinuating just discussing. Think we all know you can’t judge much of anything in these games other than some individual performances.

The tone felt like the sky was falling. It's not.

At the same time, it takes these teams a while to gel. I hope we don't start 1-4.

I'm looking forward to attending the season opener.

 

[CajunCrimson]

Think when people talk about inside game it’s not about posting up but about rebounding and defense.

View attachment 54018
The final four season.

NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Defensive Efficiency | TeamRankings.com

NCAA Basketball defensive efficiency, by team.

www.teamrankings.com

That year per site above we were 200+ in adjusted defense efficiency.

Our style of play negates the need for rim protectors for 40. They speed the other team up. The other team takes more threes etc.

It’s like worrying about Hurricane insurance in New Jersey. Is it possible it hurts you? Maybe. Is it worth our limited budget to buy it? No.

Rim protectors aren’t cheap. And it’s not our style on offense. We spent our money on shooters, slashers, and perimeter ball handlers.

We will be fine come

The tone felt like the sky was falling. It's not.

At the same time, it takes these teams a while to gel. I hope we don't start 1-4.

I'm looking forward to attending the season opener.

figuring we have Purdue, St. John’s, Gonzaga all in the first half dozen games may be trouble on the record. But I do believe this team will be right in the thick of it by March.

 

[dayhiker]

View attachment 54018
The final four season.

NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Defensive Efficiency | TeamRankings.com

NCAA Basketball defensive efficiency, by team.

www.teamrankings.com

That year per site above we were 200+ in adjusted defense efficiency.

Our style of play negates the need for rim protectors for 40. They speed the other team up. The other team takes more threes etc.

It’s like worrying about Hurricane insurance in New Jersey. Is it possible it hurts you? Maybe. Is it worth our limited budget to buy it? No.

Rim protectors aren’t cheap. And it’s not our style on offense. We spent our money on shooters, slashers, and perimeter ball handlers.

We will be fine come

figuring we have Purdue, St. John’s, Gonzaga all in the first half dozen games may be trouble on the record. But I do believe this team will be right in the thick of it by March.

Illinois is in there too.

I agree, I think we'll be good. Was it the Final Four team that started off with a bad record? They had Purdue in Canada, Arizona, and a few others all in a row.

 

[BamaMoon]

View attachment 54018
The final four season.

NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Defensive Efficiency | TeamRankings.com

NCAA Basketball defensive efficiency, by team.

www.teamrankings.com

That year per site above we were 200+ in adjusted defense efficiency.

Our style of play negates the need for rim protectors for 40. They speed the other team up. The other team takes more threes etc.

It’s like worrying about Hurricane insurance in New Jersey. Is it possible it hurts you? Maybe. Is it worth our limited budget to buy it? No.

Rim protectors aren’t cheap. And it’s not our style on offense. We spent our money on shooters, slashers, and perimeter ball handlers.

We will be fine come

figuring we have Purdue, St. John’s, Gonzaga all in the first half dozen games may be trouble on the record. But I do believe this team will be right in the thick of it by March.

I think the "inside game" concerns makes for a good discussion.

While I agree we counteract the need for that with the way we construct our roster/style of play, the argument remains that it's this type of team that has ended deep NCAA runs for us; the type of team that often has a HUGE/BIG inside presence.

Purdue comes to mind in recent history, as does UConn and last year it was Duke.

I'm glad we are playing them early and it's teams like Purdue, St. Johns and Gonzaga that we'll also run into late in the tournament.

This is probably why CNO schedules them early so we'll see how we match up. Perhaps playing these teams early will show us the adjustments we might need to make come March against them.

What I do like about our roster is we have bigger/more Bigs this year than I can remember. They are untested at this point, but that's why CNO schedules the pre-SEC run with juggernauts like these!

 

[BAMARICH]

I think the "inside game" concerns makes for a good discussion.

While I agree we counteract the need for that with the way we construct our roster/style of play, the argument remains that it's this type of team that has ended deep NCAA runs for us; the type of team that often has a HUGE/BIG inside presence.

Purdue comes to mind in recent history, as does UConn and last year it was Duke.

I'm glad we are playing them early and it's teams like Purdue, St. Johns and Gonzaga that we'll also run into late in the tournament.

This is probably why CNO schedules them early so we'll see how we match up. Perhaps playing these teams early will show us the adjustments we might need to make come March against them.

What I do like about our roster is we have bigger/more Bigs this year than I can remember. They are untested at this point, but that's why CNO schedules the pre-SEC run with juggernauts like these!

THAT'S my focus in this discussion. It's not the season-long stat sheet nor doing enough to get into the Big Dance. It's about what we're capable of when we meet the UConn's and Duke's deep in the NCAA tourney. In both of our final games of the past two seasons, we weren't really competitive in the game because of a team deficiency. At some point this season, our bigs will have to at least hold their own vs. those types of teams and at THIS stage in the season, this appears to be a likely weakness. Like Coach mentioned above, for me it's not about the offense as much as it is about the rebounding and defensive work in the paint.

 

[Bama Shoals]

I really like the last two posts and the one earlier saying it's not about whether we're going to be a good team; it's about can we get over the hump to win it all. Coach Oats has the program to the point where we'll be good every year. The question is can we slug it out with the top teams any given year to win a championship. So far, the answer has been no. We weren't really close two years ago against UConn and we weren't close last year against Florida or Duke. We need a bigger, stronger frontcourt and bigger, stronger guards to be able to do that I believe. We'll beat a lot of teams every year with our style, athleticism, and shooting but we need more to beat the best.