Bama Game Thread: Bama vs UNC - Sat 11.27 - 2:30 CST ESPN - PKI 3rd Place Game

NationalTitles18

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I get that it’s a bit fashionable to bash on JQ at times. Without JQ you can’t get what you got out of Sears.

he’s still just a couple of weeks back from injury. On a pitch count and had to play 40+ minutes.

his effort was nothing short of heroic.
I enjoyed his effort, but not always his decision making.

Still, he scored 21 and had 8 assists.

The continued inconsistency is frustrating at times and he has to work on that, but he's still one of our best players in spite of his shortcomings.
 
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BamaMoon

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Had a lot of these thoughts yesterday, but I didn't want to come off as being negative after a BIG win!

I thought Bill Walton was entertaining. Goofy, but entertaining. And he apparently did do some studying on Alabama, except geography.
Entertaining yes. Goofy yes. When he just sticks to B-ball he's tolerable. He's a true west coast guy and just comes off as a tree hugger at times with his off the all, earthy comments.

When they told him about Alabama just beating Auburn he didn’t have a clue what that meant…got chuckle out of that
See west coast comment above! LOL

btw- Sears is the guy for PG. better at distributing the ball. Chemistry is better too. Not a knock on JQ.
Sears is good at point guard, but I really think Bradley is actually our best point guard at finishing around the rim and needs more playing time. I say that fully acknowledging JQ is a special talent and AT TIMES is just crazy good one on one...BUT (see below)...

I get that it’s a bit fashionable to bash on JQ at times. Without JQ you can’t get what you got out of Sears.

he’s still just a couple of weeks back from injury. On a pitch count and had to play 40+ minutes.

his effort was nothing short of heroic.
Here's my problem with JQ (this even goes back to last year): he doesn't know how to NOT force it. Just because he can make a few incredible plays doesn't mean he can just take over a game and go "one on one" as if there aren't four other really good players on the floor.

This is where CNO really needs to coach him up. What JQ doesn't seem to understand is the other four players make his one on one game possible by him being a threat to drop it off to a big OR passing out for a 3 to a shooter. He can be a magician but he also struggles to finish at the rim if his shot is contested. Finishing at the rim is his weakness (was last year too before the injury; so I don't think this has anything to do with his injury). It's a mindset that he thinks he can beat a guy at the rim that's a foot taller than him. Again, he doesn't know how to NOT force it.

That being the case, I can't understand why CNO allowed JQ to practically try to win the game in each overtime by going one on one with the other four players standing around. Sears was our best player yesterday along with Beds. Even Gurley was having a good day shooting from 3. Why we didn't run our regular offense during the OTs just didn't make sense to me.

As I said yesterday, I think CNO will watch this tape and see that's not how we play our best ball.
 

CajunCrimson

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I enjoyed his effort, but not always his decision making.

Still, he scored 21 and had 8 assists.

The continued inconsistency is frustrating at times and he has to work on that, but he's still one of our best players in spite of his shortcomings.
Here is what most people miss. Teams begin to defend the passing lanes. Often times only leaving the player behind them open as he’s penetrating. He cannot pass behind him easily, and they, the defense, are opening up the lane challenging him to go inside against their bigs.

So what we are all seeing as “excessive dribbling” is really the other team defending our offense.

Some teams protect the lane. Others protect the perimeter. When they protect the perimeter, it forces our guards to drive

this is where you want your taller guards to do the driving, but as the game wore On, he had to do that dirty work.

It’s a part of Nate’s offense. Love it or hate it.
 

BamaMoon

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Here is what most people miss. Teams begin to defend the passing lanes. Often times only leaving the player behind them open as he’s penetrating. He cannot pass behind him easily, and they, the defense, are opening up the lane challenging him to go inside against their bigs.

So what we are all seeing as “excessive dribbling” is really the other team defending our offense.

Some teams protect the lane. Others protect the perimeter. When they protect the perimeter, it forces our guards to drive

this is where you want your taller guards to do the driving, but as the game wore On, he had to do that dirty work.

It’s a part of Nate’s offense. Love it or hate it.
Good points, especially defending against the passing lanes for the kick out 3. The obvious thing to do in that situation is either do a drop pass to a big (when their defender comes to protect the rim) OR dribble thru the lane and look for a slicer to the rim.

BTW, this is why I think Bradley would be better in those situations. I'm not sure how much taller he is but he is much stronger going to the rim than JQ. Not as flashy and creative, but stronger. Bradley does need to get in some work at the free throw line, because he's gonna get fouled a lot if he fills this role more.
 
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BamaMoon

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Let's break down Brandon Miller a little bit. I know he got into early foul trouble but, despite his immense talent, he got exposed a little against UCONN and then again yesterday due to a couple of weaknesses.

First, they put a very tall and aggressive defensive specialist on him. He better get used to that.

This made him try to go one on one more to the rim and it exposed that he needs more strength to finish at the rim.

Also, teams are already figuring out that when he drives he likes to glide and shoot a little fade type shot where he shows the ball and then hangs and shoots almost as he goes down. I'm sure that worked in HS and even AAU, but at this level he's gotten several shots blocked against UCONN and against NC because defenders are playing this tendency.

I think he does this because he's not real strong yet and his body is still developing.

Going forward, I'd like to see CNO use him off the ball more and create some plays for him coming off picks to catch and shoot. I think this is the strength of his game right now. But when he's trying to create off the dribble he tends to force things a bit.

He's an amazing player and I think he'll adjust and have a huge year. If he figures out what teams are trying to do and CNO plays to his strengths he's likely a one and done so we better enjoy this year!
 
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day-day

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I was on the road yesterday so I watched a replay after I got home.

I have been disappointed in Bediako's lack of improvement around the rim up until this game. He showed very good hands most of the time and I hope this is the change I was looking for.

Quinerly lead the team in assists and steals. He does an amazing job of maintaining his dribble. He made a few poor decisions around the rim but so did Miller and others. The pass is not always available but there are times I wish they would look to pass after they begin their penetration drive.

Very good win and Bama's depth paid off. Both teams deserve a win when a game goes to four overtimes but it is often forgotten later in the season and just becomes either a win or loss. So, a very big win for Bama.
 
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BamaMike05

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Let's break down Brandon Miller a little bit. I know he got into early foul trouble but, despite his immense talent, he got exposed a little against UCONN and then again yesterday due to a couple of weaknesses.

First, they put a very tall and aggressive defensive specialist on him. He better get used to that.

This made him try to go one on one more to the rim and it exposed that he needs more strength to finish at the rim.

Also, teams are already figuring out that when he drives he likes to glide and shoot a little fade type shot where he shows the ball and then hangs and shoots almost as he goes down. I'm sure that worked in HS and even AAU, but at this level he's gotten several shots blocked against UCONN and against NC because defenders are playing this tendency.

I think he does this because he's not real strong yet and his body is still developing.

Going forward, I'd like to see CNO use him off the ball more and create some plays for him coming off picks to catch and shoot. I think this is the strength of his game right now. But when he's trying to create off the dribble he tends to force things a bit.

He's an amazing player and I think he'll adjust and have a huge year. If he figures out what teams are trying to do and CNO plays to his strengths he's likely a one and done so we better enjoy this year!
There might not be a better on ball defender in the country than Leaky Black, who was guarding him yesterday.

UCONN ran two guys at him at times and trapped him off ballscreens. So he has now seen two different ways that he can be guarded. This is great for his growth.

You make great points about him gliding through the lane and finishing. I think it was just an off day for him there. He was even missing simple putbacks. One of those days.
 

BamaMoon

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There might not be a better on ball defender in the country than Leaky Black, who was guarding him yesterday.

UCONN ran two guys at him at times and trapped him off ballscreens. So he has now seen two different ways that he can be guarded. This is great for his growth.

You make great points about him gliding through the lane and finishing. I think it was just an off day for him there. He was even missing simple putbacks. One of those days.
Yep...and more teams will try these and other experiments. For instance, he's a good ball handler for his size, but some teams with roster limitations that don't have a tall, strong defender might try to put a small, fast ball hawk on him when we try to use him as a #1.

You are correct about it just being "one of those days." If you've played the game much, they happen. Fortunately for BM, he'll have a lot more days when he's scoring 20+ and making highlight reels.
 

BamaMoon

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Now, how about Noah Clowney??? Yesterday we saw just how valuable he is to this team! Losing him to the injury devastated our ability to rebound and crash the boards on follow ups. With him and Beds in at #4 and #5 along with BM at #3 we are so long and athletic!

He's such an important piece to this team! I hope he's OK and doesn't miss any games.

It's pretty amazing we managed to stay in the game and even win with him having to leave and with BM having such an off night.
 

BamaMoon

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I don't recall Miller getting an iso yesterday, so I guess this is why.
Most likely although he did try to get to the rim a few times when we had him playing point in the half court offense.

Against defenders like that and the kind he'll see in SEC play, we need to be running BM off screens.
 

BhamToTexas

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Wow what a crazy ending to that game. We had way too many turnovers and poor inbounds passes but luckily UNC made plenty of mistakes too down the stretch. Great win!!
 
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dayhiker

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Another thing to take into consideration, is that this team is still learning our base offense and still learning how to play fast. That is part of the reason we are still turning the ball over as much as we are. It is still getting comfortable with our pace of play.
It'll be interesting to see how Welch fits in when he becomes available.
 

FThomas

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Bama climbs to #11
UNC drops to 18th
UConn rises to 8th
MSU comes in at 20.

Houston climbs to first and we will play two teams ranked number one withinamcoupoe Games of each other (barring a Houston upset)
 
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TIDE-HSV

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Had a lot of these thoughts yesterday, but I didn't want to come off as being negative after a BIG win!



Entertaining yes. Goofy yes. When he just sticks to B-ball he's tolerable. He's a true west coast guy and just comes off as a tree hugger at times with his off the all, earthy comments.



See west coast comment above! LOL



Sears is good at point guard, but I really think Bradley is actually our best point guard at finishing around the rim and needs more playing time. I say that fully acknowledging JQ is a special talent and AT TIMES is just crazy good one on one...BUT (see below)...



Here's my problem with JQ (this even goes back to last year): he doesn't know how to NOT force it. Just because he can make a few incredible plays doesn't mean he can just take over a game and go "one on one" as if there aren't four other really good players on the floor.

This is where CNO really needs to coach him up. What JQ doesn't seem to understand is the other four players make his one on one game possible by him being a threat to drop it off to a big OR passing out for a 3 to a shooter. He can be a magician but he also struggles to finish at the rim if his shot is contested. Finishing at the rim is his weakness (was last year too before the injury; so I don't think this has anything to do with his injury). It's a mindset that he thinks he can beat a guy at the rim that's a foot taller than him. Again, he doesn't know how to NOT force it.

That being the case, I can't understand why CNO allowed JQ to practically try to win the game in each overtime by going one on one with the other four players standing around. Sears was our best player yesterday along with Beds. Even Gurley was having a good day shooting from 3. Why we didn't run our regular offense during the OTs just didn't make sense to me.

As I said yesterday, I think CNO will watch this tape and see that's not how we play our best ball.
He seems to have a blind spot when it comes to JQ...
 

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