Basketball getting dominated again early
- Thread starter jestert79
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nmso far this year, BCU has lost by 53 to West Virginia, by 34 to Toledo and even lost by double digits to Stetson....hard to get excited about beating them in OT at home....
under Donnie Jones, this program has no identity....in every game we're letting our opponents dictate the style and pace of the game and we're not dominating (or even coming close to dominating) inferior programs....
we continually come out flat with little to no energy....and we can't play defense against mediocre backcourts....average guards make us look ridiculous on the defensive end.....
with the rest of our schedule, Donnie has to get these guys ready to play 40 minutes of basketball every game....and since he's coaching for his job it should be interesting to watch....
You can play that game forever. The fau team that we manhandled nearly beat FSU in tally.
Right now we have played well against good teams (although in losing efforts) and really not playing well against Stetson and BCU. Not sure what happens against GW but they are good.
come on man...I didn't reference only one Bethune blowout...they are not a good team...
the point is we have good athletes but play to the level of our opponents...that's not good and shows poor coaching....UCF has to start imposing its will from the opening tip...we have the talent to play our game and not theirs...
but does Donnie even know what our game should be? I suggest he needs to go either big ball (both Tacko and Justin on the floor at the same time) or small ball (all the bigs on the bench, full court pressure all the time)...and change up between the two, imposing our will in every game....rotating bigs with one on the floor at a time isn't working....
the other issues are the perimeter d when we play big ball and the entry pass to the bigs...... Donnie's got to play the guys who are willing to give it all on d on the perimeter....the perimeter d has been non-existent in our zone.....and he's got to teach the guys how to get the ball to the bigs....Tacko and Justin playing together would eliminate the double and triple teams on one of them that we're facing today...one pass to the other big is an easy hoop....
we have a lot of tough games from here on out...in the preseason, Donnie has been confused (by his own admission) and has had the wrong game plan.....that's got to change....
if he wants to keep his job he's got to improve as a coach....starting now
Ok...if you play Tacko and McBride all the time together...then when they both have to go to the bench after 5 mins of play, then what?
Tacko and McBride are doing very well subbing each other out...(Blair has provided some good mins when either has been in foul trouble).
Fall is shooting 73% from the field while McBride is shooting 71% (86% from FT line).
UCF went "small ball" (which you suggested) vs BCU with the press which is how they came back from their big deficit and won that game.
read my post...when the bigs go to the bench (you say after 5 minutes but realistically more like 10) you play small ball...then, after they rest, you go back to big ball....it'd be great to have 2 guys shooting over 70% on the floor at the same time....right?
I don't think you watch much UCF Basketball to think that McBride can go 10 mins full out on both ends of the court. Heck, Tacko can barely get in 5-6 mins in a row at this time.
NOTE: Both bigs are shooting over 70% from the floor since UCF is able to spread out the other 4 players...if you put 2 players on the low block...the D can collapse and those open passing/driving lanes disappear.
season tic holder and have attended all home games except one....
if you slow it down and use a timeout, the bigs can play nearly 10 minutes at a stretch....then you switch gears with the fast paced small ball game...in other words, you really change it up and make the other team adjust...to date, we've been adjusting to the opponent, been one step behind and that has to stop....
and, if you went to the preseason scrimmage you'd have seen Tacko and Justin playing well off one another...and if you went to the regular season games you'd see that the opponents collapse on Tacko anyway (2-3 guys regularly)...the difference is Tacko or Justin can throw a short pass or alley-oop to the other...and both showed they can do it....not try to make the long pass to a perimeter player...
we've proven that we don't play well with a single big...so 2 or none are the options...why not both for stretches?
Really?
In some games, even as a true Freshmen, Tacko has done very well and made a huge impact on both ends of the court...and McBride is probably the most efficient scorer on the team.
Now against smaller/quicker teams, sometimes it doesn't mesh...but against others, it does...and Tacko will only improve over the next 2-3 years.
I actually asked DJ the question at our first lunch if UCF might use two 5's in certain situations and he noted, its a possibility, just don't seeing it being done for an entire game (both players getting 30 mins or more together) like you suggested against all teams (especially against teams like BCU with Moody or vs one like Detroit that really don't have true 5's.
Actually, we do sometimes use a variation of the twin towers on offense. It's just not Tacko & Justin. It's Tacko OR Justin in the low post with Shaheed Davis in the high post. And it works.
So far this season, the great surprises have been Shaheed Davis and AJ Davis. I would not have thought Shaheed would mean this much to the team from what we saw from him last year. But he has found his groove this year. AJ Davis is going to be a lot of fun to watch the next two years.
As far as entry passes to the center ... yeah, they typically stink when we bother to try them at all. Anyone ever heard of a bounce pass? To me, it is very frustrating how we use (or don't use) our centers. I would expect to see our centers post up in the low post on the side with the ball. Instead, we typically post the center on the off side, putting two defenders between our center and the ball. It takes them out of the mix. Maybe there is some reason for it, but it is not obvious to me.
Positioned properly, Tacko is going to be open every time for the alley oop and dunk. Especially on the in-bounds. I think I've only seen it once on the in-bounds.
Both of our centers are capable of backing down into the paint. Both need to learn a rolling hook shot. Justin sort of has one but it's unreliable. If Tacko gets one, he will be unstoppable in the paint. I'd have them both shooting 1,000 hook shots a day in practice or open gym.
The downside to using Tacko & Justin together is on the defensive side. Both are a bit slow afoot. I think Tacko will improve a lot in that regard as he gains experience in basketball and learns to anticipate. Right now he is watching, then reacting. For example, when players drive the lane, cut across the baseline and put up a reverse layup using the rim as a shield. Or his instinct to go for the block on every drive to the hoop. Eventually he will learn that sometimes you just position to keep the driver from going where he wants to go and force him to release the shot in a way he doesn't want to. Justin has a much better basketball IQ at this point. But he can't jump. He just does not leave the ground very well. I don't know if it has always been that way, or if the knee injury really took it out of him. Justin does have good hands, though.
I love watching both of them play. I want to watch both of them become stars.
So far this season, the great surprises have been Shaheed Davis and AJ Davis. I would not have thought Shaheed would mean this much to the team from what we saw from him last year. But he has found his groove this year. AJ Davis is going to be a lot of fun to watch the next two years.
As far as entry passes to the center ... yeah, they typically stink when we bother to try them at all. Anyone ever heard of a bounce pass? To me, it is very frustrating how we use (or don't use) our centers. I would expect to see our centers post up in the low post on the side with the ball. Instead, we typically post the center on the off side, putting two defenders between our center and the ball. It takes them out of the mix. Maybe there is some reason for it, but it is not obvious to me.
Positioned properly, Tacko is going to be open every time for the alley oop and dunk. Especially on the in-bounds. I think I've only seen it once on the in-bounds.
Both of our centers are capable of backing down into the paint. Both need to learn a rolling hook shot. Justin sort of has one but it's unreliable. If Tacko gets one, he will be unstoppable in the paint. I'd have them both shooting 1,000 hook shots a day in practice or open gym.
The downside to using Tacko & Justin together is on the defensive side. Both are a bit slow afoot. I think Tacko will improve a lot in that regard as he gains experience in basketball and learns to anticipate. Right now he is watching, then reacting. For example, when players drive the lane, cut across the baseline and put up a reverse layup using the rim as a shield. Or his instinct to go for the block on every drive to the hoop. Eventually he will learn that sometimes you just position to keep the driver from going where he wants to go and force him to release the shot in a way he doesn't want to. Justin has a much better basketball IQ at this point. But he can't jump. He just does not leave the ground very well. I don't know if it has always been that way, or if the knee injury really took it out of him. Justin does have good hands, though.
I love watching both of them play. I want to watch both of them become stars.
So who's fault is that that McBride can only go 2 to 4 minutes??? Will McBride just be a sideline guy his whole career at UCF? When does he really start contributing every game?
Good analysis...just wanted to comment on the bold...as UCF guards and others tried that more than a few times early in the season and it was a disaster...as when McBride and especially Fall have to reach down low for passes...that's where opposing team's hands can (and did) easily knock it away for the easy steal.
As you noted, alley oops to Tacko (thats why the loss of BJ hurts the most...as he could have done that all day on his drives to the lane and if he wasn't stopped...BJ would just score), as Tacko will learn/improve with more experience (giving his guards one high hand target, etc...).
But as you stated, the 2 Davis's are the biggest surprises so far (Shaheed coming out from the depths of despair to AJ getting his first college starts was the "unknown").
The more mins Tacko can handle...the better he will become in Year 2 and Year 3.
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He generally contributes every time he plays...but I'm glad DJ decided at beginning of the year to start Tacko, as he is the future.
McBride can go longer than 2-4 mins (I'd say 5 mins or so is a good run), as McBride noted with only 2 centers last year generally playing...he couldn't go all out (especially defensively), but this year, with 3 centers...he knows he can get breaks...so he has picked up his tempo and his performance (per mins played) has improved.
McBride was a gamble coming out of HS...but with then UCF's NCAA investigation then sanctions, he was worth the risk and is paying off. (Plus, he is a great team player/high character, does a great job selling UCF to future recruits, etc...).
