vs. Toledo (1/30)

[zete]

With the exception of J Turner, this team was somewhat over rated from the git-go. With that in mind, Im looking at it as a building year..... It has become obvious to me there are some very good teams in this league. MAC basketball has displayed parody for years. This year being not so different. Take away all the pre season hype and take a hard look at our depth chart...... young and promising, with some solid veterans, but we lack a guy like D Wiggins to make the wheels go.

[hammb]

It's possible we were a bit overrated. The expectations were rightfully high because we have 2 legit all MAC seniors combined with another senior scoring wing. Fields is a defensive guy who has played a lot of minutes.

I think some of the expectations from the pundits were probably based on also having a giant in the middle to help defense but I think most of us who watched the team knew he couldn't play.

This roster definitely has flaws defensively. Nothing to really guard the interior and not enough long athletes to really play zone (which we rarely try anyhow). This lack of inside presence has really started to kill us as our perimeter defenders are constantly cheating inside and smart teams are destroying us with perimeter passes to either get wide open 3s or drive against a defender scrambling to get back into position.

But offensively there is zero talent reason for this team to struggle so much. They just, quite simply, don't do anything creative. They know they're talented and wait for the talent to take over. The only time we ever seen to pass and find the open man is on the break.

The real frustration for all of us that have followed this program closely over there years is that this is not unusual. No matter how much offensive talent we've had, and Huger has recruited a lot of it, we never seem to be good in half court sets.

[Globetrotter]

It's possible we were a bit overrated. The expectations were rightfully high because we have 2 legit all MAC seniors combined with another senior scoring wing. Fields is a defensive guy who has played a lot of minutes.

I think some of the expectations from the pundits were probably based on also having a giant in the middle to help defense but I think most of us who watched the team knew he couldn't play.

This roster definitely has flaws defensively. Nothing to really guard the interior and not enough long athletes to really play zone (which we rarely try anyhow). This lack of inside presence has really started to kill us as our perimeter defenders are constantly cheating inside and smart teams are destroying us with perimeter passes to either get wide open 3s or drive against a defender scrambling to get back into position.

But offensively there is zero talent reason for this team to struggle so much. They just, quite simply, don't do anything creative. They know they're talented and wait for the talent to take over. The only time we ever seen to pass and find the open man is on the break.

The real frustration for all of us that have followed this program closely over there years is that this is not unusual. No matter how much offensive talent we've had, and Huger has recruited a lot of it, we never seem to be good in half court sets.

It would be interesting for someone to compare the number of assists we have in losses vs wins as well as our 3 pt percentage.

[Falconwriter]

"We have to work harder and do better."

Now there's some stellar coach-speak.

[hammb]

It's possible we were a bit overrated. The expectations were rightfully high because we have 2 legit all MAC seniors combined with another senior scoring wing. Fields is a defensive guy who has played a lot of minutes.

I think some of the expectations from the pundits were probably based on also having a giant in the middle to help defense but I think most of us who watched the team knew he couldn't play.

This roster definitely has flaws defensively. Nothing to really guard the interior and not enough long athletes to really play zone (which we rarely try anyhow). This lack of inside presence has really started to kill us as our perimeter defenders are constantly cheating inside and smart teams are destroying us with perimeter passes to either get wide open 3s or drive against a defender scrambling to get back into position.

But offensively there is zero talent reason for this team to struggle so much. They just, quite simply, don't do anything creative. They know they're talented and wait for the talent to take over. The only time we ever seen to pass and find the open man is on the break.

The real frustration for all of us that have followed this program closely over there years is that this is not unusual. No matter how much offensive talent we've had, and Huger has recruited a lot of it, we never seem to be good in half court sets.

It would be interesting for someone to compare the number of assists we have in losses vs wins as well as our 3 pt percentage.

I did that comparison a couple years ago, maybe it was in the '18-19 season? The assist numbers were huge... Something like over 15 in our wins and under 12 in our losses. These numbers could be correlation more than causation, it stands to reason in games when you make shots you get credited with assists, and often lead to wins. Still watching this team it is obvious over the years that when the going gets rough we resort to isolation basketball and forget how to move the ball.

This year's stats are really pretty disgusting when you look at them (not taking the time to break down wins vs losses). We are in the top 40 nationally scoring the ball, top 5 in fg attempts and about 50 in fg makes. Yet we're 295th(!) In assists/fgm. That is obviously awful and really exemplifies how effing horrible we are at moving the ball.

No doubt in my mind that those assist numbers are fueling our overall quite poor shooting numbers. Our overall offensive efficiency is closer to 100th than our top 40 scoring would indicate, and reality the only thing we do well on offense is we're top 50 in ft% and we're in the top 10 range in not turning it over. Although I would easily argue our lack of passing leads to lesser turnovers but more difficult shots. Certainly if we actually moved the ball we'd turn it over but should reap the benefits of better shooting numbers.

[BPardonMyTake]

No Matiss for the year was the beginning of the end. Swingle project was a failure and I’ll be the first to admit i was wrong on him. Never was going to ‘fit’ with this team, but anytime you have a guy with his size in the MAC, you’d think he could at least contribute in some way. I mean Cam Black was horrendous but even he blocked shots at times. Mattos at least put his arms vertically in the air and altered shots. Not that it matters at this point but I never understood how one of the coaching staff’s #1 priorities wasn’t to have swingle cut some weight?

Always thought Matiss would end up being the guy getting majority of the minutes at the 5 and finishing games though, much like him/Sierra in place of Mattos last year. Heavy guard play with shooters works in the MAC and we’ve seen it be the recipe for upsets in the NCAA tournament for years. Means nothing if we can’t defend and Louis Orr 2.0 offense is being run though.

[guest44]

Just look at how quickly Toledo has flipped it's roster the last two seasons. Meanwhile, Bowling Green has run through Mattos, Gadsen, Matiss, Swingle, and Washington. 5 scholarship players who have all contributed less than what Sierra gave them while undersized and not overly skilled. It's not just a lack of a good big man, it is just horrible identification of a big guy who can even contribute at all. It's almost impossible to have that many scholarships used for that many years, and get next to nothing.

[Diemilkweed]

[/quote]

I did that comparison a couple years ago, maybe it was in the '18-19 season? The assist numbers were huge... Something like over 15 in our wins and under 12 in our losses. These numbers could be correlation more than causation, it stands to reason in games when you make shots you get credited with assists, and often lead to wins. Still watching this team it is obvious over the years that when the going gets rough we resort to isolation basketball and forget how to move the ball.

This year's stats are really pretty disgusting when you look at them (not taking the time to break down wins vs losses). We are in the top 40 nationally scoring the ball, top 5 in fg attempts and about 50 in fg makes. Yet we're 295th(!) In assists/fgm. That is obviously awful and really exemplifies how effing horrible we are at moving the ball.

No doubt in my mind that those assist numbers are fueling our overall quite poor shooting numbers. Our overall offensive efficiency is closer to 100th than our top 40 scoring would indicate, and reality the only thing we do well on offense is we're top 50 in ft% and we're in the top 10 range in not turning it over. Although I would easily argue our lack of passing leads to lesser turnovers but more difficult shots. Certainly if we actually moved the ball we'd turn it over but should reap the benefits of better shooting numbers.
[/quote]

This goes back to Huger's days under Larranaga. Huger came in as a seriously flashy, dynamic lead guard. This led to turnovers, but also highlight real scoring moments for him and the team. Larranaga Beat that out of him. To keep getting playing time, he had to stop the turnovers. Larranaga basically siphoned all the creativity out of his game in the name of safety.

Which is EXACTLY how Huger coaches.