We had a ton of open looks, but couldn’t hit anything. I would like to see more ball movement and more transition opportunities.
Seeing Justice go down about made me sick, I was convinced it was Achilles thankful it’s a sprain, he had an ankle injury to begin the season and this could be a reoccurrence maybe. I hope he can recover strong quickly. I would have to agree with many on Brown at least up to this point. He has some decent defensive quickness and hands but he isn't a starter right now. Brody should probably be starting over Brown at this point. Tucker gave us some good minutes off the bench. Offensive sets, flow, chemistry, and shooting left on break with the students. How will we respond? I guess we will see on Saturday. If there isn't a transition opportunity we need to find a way to get the ball into the post and play inside out. Getting shots in the flow of an offense should be more rewarding. We have to finish at the rim more consistently and under control. USI looked like a bad team and we won’t beat many shooting like we did this afternoon. Onto the next one!
Why did tupiola not play most of second half? Hope he isnt hurt too. If he wasnt hurt I question lineups 100%. Worst loss in powell era by a signifigant margin. And the mark brown experiment has to be over. Sometimes you miss on the talent eval, Thats ok. But time to reflect with some bench time... maybe not green light
@valpodad he was cramping pretty bad in his right leg from what I could tell. Brown is shooting 16% from the felid, 22% from 3, 37% from the stripe, and averaging 1.2 assists a game. I have to agree with you!
Whitakker and a healthy justus should be ahead of him. 4th guard in rotation. plays decent defense and so far nothing else. Not banging on the kid just saying lets try other options
From Roger: the game plan was to go inside with our height and we jack up 3 threes [instead].
Right away. Time out! (1) Read riot act to players on the court (2) sub out next player to disregard game plan (3) and then ensure that 2 out of Shon, Carter and Tucker are always on the court to clog the middle, protect the rim, and clean the boards. Pretty simple. Key ingredient: forceful coaching.
From Roger: the game plan was to go inside with our height and we jack up 3 threes [instead].
Right away. Time out! (1) Read riot act to players on the court (2) sub out next player to disregard game plan (3) and then ensure that 2 out of Shon, Carter and Tucker are always on the court to clog the middle, protect the rim, and clean the boards. Pretty simple. Key ingredient: forceful coaching.
The thing is...everything you highlighted did happen. PLayers were removed who werent following the plan. Problem was, no one was following the plan. Sometimes you just need to see the fruits of your labor to learn your sowing process is not better than the manufacturer.
Shon was removed because he wasnt getting good looks down low(or when he did he wasnt getting production/fouls out of it). Hence why carter and Tornatta were down low instead. Tornatta actually did get good, productive looks down low. Carter, as it stands now, simply just cannot buy a bucket. He is still someone to go to as his defensive production more than makes up for his offesnive woes. The defense last night was stellar, the team wasdnt capitalizing
Problem was, no one was following the plan.
That is even worse and unfortunately reflects poorly on the coaching.
Exactly (but shorter) what I was composing before your post.
Bottom line, IMHO, two things seem to consistently mitigate against the discipline necessary to stop short the kind of performance this game exemplified: (1) Playing fast and free as an overriding full game philosophy and (2) no solid, disciplined half court offensive sets and plays when the F&F is not rolling.
And possibly a third: Roger is, no doubt, a players’ coach. They love him. Who wouldn’t? But perhaps a bit (lot?) more “tough love” is called for when a player/players fail to follow coaching instructions — as conceded by Roger. Players have to know you are very displeased (yes, even angry) that they are failing the team (and the coach) by not following instructions.
Shon doesnt even need looks- his put backs alone keep him on court plus his rim protection. I think someone mentioned he was cramping which is why he was on bench much of second half. Needs to be a 'come to Roger' team discussion improve the shot selection
@valpodad Ya think Vashil needed looks? His minutes were dedicated, in order, to: rim protection/shot blocking/intimidation, rebounding, setting screens, scoring in close off pick and rolls. Very basic, very simple. AND… Very effective. As a senior he (C) logged the 3rd most minutes on the team behind AP (F) and Keith Carter (G). #4 had 200 fewer minutes.
Shon has the same length, build and power. He actually may have better hands. He should IMH(and amateur)O be playing a similar role and playing similar minutes.
I wanted to take some time before posting. It was very typical for what we've seen in the post-Bryce era of Valpo basketball: feeling like the program has taken a step forward only to take a step backward. Valpo lacks an identity on offense. The program does not recruit shooters at a particularly high level, and it shows. This is not a difficult team to prepare to play. But, at the same time, Valpo's problems are so layered that it feels unfair to just criticize Roger Powell for this.
Southern Indiana is not a program that Valparaiso should be losing to. Ever. Just like Chicago State, just like IUPUI. Sigh.
Powell certainly deserves some blame for the same patterns occurring over and over with intermittent success. The set offense more often than not is anywhere from not fluid to a complete cluster..... This could be because Powell doesn't coach this well or the players don't listen. Either situation is a coach problem.
His starting lineup consists of a pure center, a point who not only can't shoot but can't score almost at all. A freshman who's been brilliant and hopefully isn't injured. A 2nd freshman who brings next to nothing to the outside game but has a decent inside game and a guard who's firing it in at a buck twenty five.
Is it any shock that these guys can't even get the ball down the court efficiently to the basket on a turnover which also happens entirely too much?
Some personnel and rotation changes need to be made pronto.
Oh I absoulutely agree that not following the plan is a reflection on how much people buy into the coach. But as I said, sometimes you need a reality check, SIU proved to be a reality check for this team. Hopefully they dont turn a blind eye. The plan used against CSU was a plan that will and has proven to be effective. Jacking up careless 3s is not effective.
As for the center conversation. Shon has proven quite effective at getting his buckets when he is down low(and has provent to be able to make his charity shots). Not sure where this narrative that he cant make any baskets is coming from since his rebound numbers and scoring numbers are consistant with centers and has certainly been a major factor in all 4 of the Ws. Vashil played over 10 years ago. The way basketball is played has drastically changed in the 10 years since his time in the ARC. The pick and roll is a lot easier to key up on and either swat the ball into the seats or grab the ball for an easy fast break. Not saying it cant be effective, but it wont work too often once you show it to be in your deck of cards. Shon plays his role quite effectively IMOP. He was just not getting the looks in the paint that are needed. Anything less than 10ppg is a failure to find him effectively.
I also think they need to stop putting Carter into the five slot as often. He's a forward first and foremost. Although forward and Center duties do overlap if you're training as a forward for your entire life, you're typically not going to do as well as a center when you're called upon on such short notice
I don't think he wants to play Shon and Carter together. It's two on the court at the same time who can't do much offensively. Tornata and either of the other two together I think is a better option. The big guys aren't the problem. Frankly....it's everyone else but Rakim and Whitaker and that includes Pettigrew.
