North Texas Preview and Game Thread -- 01-02-2021

[Blers42]

I hear that, I just think that’s kinda what happened tonight. Cooper had a season high in minutes. Tate has the second least amount of minutes on the season... I’m not sure you wanna mess too much more with already established rotations. We went nine deep successfully against a real tough team.

I also agree on Tom as more of an Aundre Jackson type better shooter, not as crafty down low... good call there. His on ball defense/post game is still in need of some refinement. He’s had a few balls bounce right off his hands the last two games and I don’t think he was a good matchup tonight with North Texas’ size.

This was definitely a tough matchup, I guess seeing flashes of Welch got me excited for the future while Tate has been frustrating to watch. His FT shooting has been the real issue that got me annoyed last season and early this season. I’m not too worried about him turning his 3pt shooting around, he just didn’t seem comfortable or confident from long range tonight. I hope Porter is able to continue to find ways to use our depth to our advantage. It’s not that big of a deal if someone is cold, it’s not always going to be your night. If that’s the case though, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to sub someone else in. We have the talent to do so, why not use it when someone is struggling?

[natetheskate]

We keep having the same discussion forgetting that Coach is a defensive coach, first.. ....the problem is that when we see a box score it is overwhelmingly an indication of offensive skills. you have to go a little deeper to get good defensive stats...The number one thing to coach is how are you contributing to the defensive game plan.and he has one...If I had the time I would love to see how many times we have kept the opposing teams leading scorer significantly under their average.I think the Uguak thing is as simple as they really never needed him to score before..Now with everyone really focusing on defensive schemes to stop Krut we need him to score more.and teams were ignoring him to a laughable point....Also while trying to figure out his contribution you have to start with what he did defensively...that is why he was in the starting line up and we are trained to watch and react to offense.....
and we dont have a 4.......we have 4 players spaced equally around the perimeter....with one low post player,,,we sometimes run a high pick and roll....and although Welch has mostly seen time as a replacement for Krut...the more I watch him i think he might be able to play on the perimeter....Most of these changes were because there are way more guards and small forwards available than trying to find good centers and power forwards....(I think we got to a 5 out when Krut is gone)
So Coach is still trying to find a balance that lets them be excellent defensively and operate efficiently on offense....and when Tate plays like he has recently it really throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing..as the perimeter players have to be able to hit the 3 or it mucks everything up, stopping cuts,passes to the inside and the ability of the player to drive to the basket which is really Tates strength but if he struggles from the 3 point line it will be difficult for him to drive to the basket w/0 a screen....and if Ugauk continues to score it is like french fries at the bottom of your McDonals bag....bonus baby. But the North Texas game was at the heart of Coach's philosophy....some days your offense disappears but you can bring defense every damn day. Coach doesnt fast break because it is exciting.he does it because it is efficient and high percentage.
I am glad to see Uguak have some success as he has done a lot of the hard work for us over the last couple of years. Also I am with everyone who thinks that their is something special about Welch. It will be interesting to see how Coach maximizes him over his career.

[natetheskate]

"A real physical contest and fight on defense," said head coach Grant McCasland. "They were real tight and efficient on their ball screen coverages. Proud of how our guys fight and were physical but the difference in the game were the 20 turnovers."

You wont find ball screen coverages in the stat sheet but you better believe coach knows.. and to that point that is when we fell behind in the UW game...4 straight possessions with 16 minutes to go in the game, we were tied and then we miss played 3 high post ball screens and one off ball screen and we were down 12 in the blink of an eye.

[ToledoRambler]

"A real physical contest and fight on defense," said head coach Grant McCasland. "They were real tight and efficient on their ball screen coverages. Proud of how our guys fight and were physical but the difference in the game were the 20 turnovers."

You wont find ball screen coverages in the stat sheet but you better believe coach knows.. and to that point that is when we fell behind in the UW game...4 straight possessions with 16 minutes to go in the game, we were tied and then we miss played 3 high post ball screens and one off ball screen and we were down 12 in the blink of an eye.

McCasland also said post game, “ Uguak, he played a really good game. We had a game plan coming out for him. We said we were gonna let him take those shots, and he made ’em, so credit to him.”

It sounds like they had the right plan to win. North Texas held Krutwig, Hall, Williamson, Norris, Clemons, and Kennedy all below their averages, only gave up 57 points - and still lost. If you would have told me all those things would happen, but we would still win the game, I would have laughed. It’s a testament to this team, and to Uguak, that they still found a way to win.

There are only 2 teams in the league I think can take the North Texas game plan to slow us down and execute it - Bradley and Missouri State. For a Bradley, Boya and Childs have the ability to contain Krut if they cheat off Uguak and force Uguak and Williamson to win the game, while still getting enough offense in the other end to win. Mosley and Prim can probably do the same at Missouri State.

As good as Drake is, I don’t think they have the personnel to do it. Same with SIU.

Very excited about the drake series. I think we sweep.

[01grad]

"A real physical contest and fight on defense," said head coach Grant McCasland. "They were real tight and efficient on their ball screen coverages. Proud of how our guys fight and were physical but the difference in the game were the 20 turnovers."

You wont find ball screen coverages in the stat sheet but you better believe coach knows.. and to that point that is when we fell behind in the UW game...4 straight possessions with 16 minutes to go in the game, we were tied and then we miss played 3 high post ball screens and one off ball screen and we were down 12 in the blink of an eye.

McCasland also said post game, “ Uguak, he played a really good game. We had a game plan coming out for him. We said we were gonna let him take those shots, and he made ’em, so credit to him.”

It sounds like they had the right plan to win. North Texas held Krutwig, Hall, Williamson, Norris, Clemons, and Kennedy all below their averages, only gave up 57 points - and still lost. If you would have told me all those things would happen, but we would still win the game, I would have laughed. It’s a testament to this team, and to Uguak, that they still found a way to win.

There are only 2 teams in the league I think can take the North Texas game plan to slow us down and execute it - Bradley and Missouri State. For a Bradley, Boya and Childs have the ability to contain Krut if they cheat off Uguak and force Uguak and Williamson to win the game, while still getting enough offense in the other end to win. Mosley and Prim can probably do the same at Missouri State.

As good as Drake is, I don’t think they have the personnel to do it. Same with SIU.

Very excited about the drake series. I think we sweep.

That turns into a flawed game plan when Uguak shoots over 40% from three, as he’s doing this year. It’s the Uguak we hoped to see three years ago, and it’s great to see.

[ToledoRambler]

If Uguak maintains the consistency he’s shown in the last three games, nobody in the Valley is going to beat us. If teams have to be concerned about him on offense, it will really open up the floor. If Uguak truly has turned a corner on offense and has Haines confidence, this team is deadly.