Iowa thoughts.....post yours. maybe?

[the fountainhead]

It is impossible to watch the Huskers. I was a season ticket holder during the Collier/Sadler era and, looking back, I wish Doc would have had a chance to move the team into the new arena...I am no expert on coaching and I know hindsight is 20/20 but really think we should be better.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

It is impossible to watch the Huskers. I was a season ticket holder during the Collier/Sadler era and, looking back, I wish Doc would have had a chance to move the team into the new arena...I am no expert on coaching and I know hindsight is 20/20 but really think we should be better.

I don't know if Doc was the answer. He's struggling right now at Southern Miss and his lone season in the B1G produced a 4-14 conference record. Maybe he gets NU to one NCAA tourney, but I can't see him getting to two tournaments.

Not to add to the misery, but looking through the past, NU has just one season this century where the team has posted a winning record in conference play (2013-14).

 

[huskon4ever!]

I've said it before on here, and will say it again, Miles' system is dependent upon a star PG to be the general, best player, etc. who can create his own shot at any point. I would guess this is a large part why we saw Petteway running point often last year and Shields this year, with even White getting some run there. A simple answer to the 'why ball screen in a zone' question is a quick ball screen creates a wide open shot each and every time either for the ball handler or the next shooter over if the other guy in the zone comes to cover after the screen and you don't have to be Steph Curry to make this work... Problem is Watson is the only guy who is confident shooting off the dribble, but isn't confident taking a 3, so this doesn't end up going anywhere. Also if McVeigh would've put a few of those 3s in, we would have essentially shot ourselves out of the zone, but because we went sooo cold toward the end of the 1st half, there wasn't a need to. To that point though, this team does have an issue with dry spells, so they need more confidence is throwing entry passes to the post to give themselves a better chance at a higher % shot. I also feel like they could experiment a little more with a high/low, but haven't seen that yet.

There is a timidness about this team too that is hard to explain. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a team pass up on open shots just to rotate the ball back to where the defense is, but I don't believe that is a coaching issue per say. I guess I haven't outright seen any of the players not having the green light to shoot open shots, it just seems like they are so used to giving the ball to the Alpha (Petteway/Shields) and getting out of the way, that its almost ingrained in some of their minds.

The play of the freshman has been encouraging, I hope Watson, McVeigh, and Morrow continue to develop and I would like to see White become more confident with the ball in his hands. He isn't afraid to shoot most of the time, he just needs to not be so reliant on spot-ups.

 

[NUFootballTim]

I've said it before on here, and will say it again, Miles' system is dependent upon a star PG to be the general, best player, etc. who can create his own shot at any point. I would guess this is a large part why we saw Petteway running point often last year and Shields this year, with even White getting some run there. A simple answer to the 'why ball screen in a zone' question is a quick ball screen creates a wide open shot each and every time either for the ball handler or the next shooter over if the other guy in the zone comes to cover after the screen and you don't have to be Steph Curry to make this work... Problem is Watson is the only guy who is confident shooting off the dribble, but isn't confident taking a 3, so this doesn't end up going anywhere. Also if McVeigh would've put a few of those 3s in, we would have essentially shot ourselves out of the zone, but because we went sooo cold toward the end of the 1st half, there wasn't a need to. To that point though, this team does have an issue with dry spells, so they need more confidence is throwing entry passes to the post to give themselves a better chance at a higher % shot. I also feel like they could experiment a little more with a high/low, but haven't seen that yet.

There is a timidness about this team too that is hard to explain. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a team pass up on open shots just to rotate the ball back to where the defense is, but I don't believe that is a coaching issue per say. I guess I haven't outright seen any of the players not having the green light to shoot open shots, it just seems like they are so used to giving the ball to the Alpha (Petteway/Shields) and getting out of the way, that its almost ingrained in some of their minds.

The play of the freshman has been encouraging, I hope Watson, McVeigh, and Morrow continue to develop and I would like to see White become more confident with the ball in his hands. He isn't afraid to shoot most of the time, he just needs to not be so reliant on spot-ups.

obviously whether something should work, vs whether it actually does are 2 very different things. I don't disagree with your point, but I'd argue that I've yet to see NU actually gain anything out of ballscreening the zone. I agree with you that it should work to stress the defense and create an open shot for someone 1 or 2 passes later, but the reality for NU speaks otherwise. Yet NU continues to do it, over and over. I agree with you wholeheartedly that Watson is the only guy who appears capable of the pull up jumper off the dribble. Usually in my experience, guys who have that skill set don't need someone to set them ball screens. Generally, its the guys who can't get around someone at will that need ball screens. So why then, are we setting ball screens against the zone for AW3 or Shavon Shields? it gets the team nothing.

you're right.....if McVeigh hits 3 of those 3s in a row, its a totally different ball game. and i don't have a problem with the 3s that he took. he's a capable shooter, and he was open. I'm all for it. problem is the totality of NU's offense revolves too heavily around hope that a guy can hit a couple 3s in a row, or that Webster can actually make layups like he did in the first 2 minutes of the game.....but what happens when we can't hit a 3, or Webster's man decides to not let him drive to the basket any longer.....or the defense plays zone and just dares NU to do something out of its comfort zone. We have no bread and butter. No schemes or strategy. no ability to run a set play to get a bucket and stop a drought. Its just continue doing the same thing and hope the shots start to fall.

 

[huskon4ever!]

obviously whether something should work, vs whether it actually does are 2 very different things. I don't disagree with your point, but I'd argue that I've yet to see NU actually gain anything out of ballscreening the zone. I agree with you that it should work to stress the defense and create an open shot for someone 1 or 2 passes later, but the reality for NU speaks otherwise. Yet NU continues to do it, over and over. I agree with you wholeheartedly that Watson is the only guy who appears capable of the pull up jumper off the dribble. Usually in my experience, guys who have that skill set don't need someone to set them ball screens. Generally, its the guys who can't get around someone at will that need ball screens. So why then, are we setting ball screens against the zone for AW3 or Shavon Shields? it gets the team nothing.

you're right.....if McVeigh hits 3 of those 3s in a row, its a totally different ball game. and i don't have a problem with the 3s that he took. he's a capable shooter, and he was open. I'm all for it. problem is the totality of NU's offense revolves too heavily around hope that a guy can hit a couple 3s in a row, or that Webster can actually make layups like he did in the first 2 minutes of the game.....but what happens when we can't hit a 3, or Webster's man decides to not let him drive to the basket any longer.....or the defense plays zone and just dares NU to do something out of its comfort zone. We have no bread and butter. No schemes or strategy. no ability to run a set play to get a bucket and stop a drought. Its just continue doing the same thing and hope the shots start to fall.

Yes, that's very true. I am curious why, but I'm kinda wondering if for some reason TM is just being stubborn and trying to get his guys to do something they're not yet comfortable with in hopes that they will become comfortable with it when they see they are wide open after the screen? I'm sure they go through this in film study and practice. Perhaps the guys just get gun-shy during the game... And no, they don't need someone to set the screen, but it normally gives them a cleaner look - they just have to be ready to shoot when they come off that screen and not hesitate or be looking to pass unless the other guy in the zone has noticed the screen and has rotated over.

And yes, I agree we don't have a bread and butter offense, but don't most teams depend on hoping the guy can hit open 3s from the corners? NBA offenses are hugely dependent on these... they are plenty of guys who get massive paychecks because they're one ability is to hit corner 3s. I guess I look it at it as a positive that we were getting a guy some open looks... I can remember watching many of Doc's teams and it looked like playground ball. A bunch of guys running around, setting screens with no purpose, watching the clock wind down and somebody throwing up some garbage shot on a prayer. I mean just because the guy doesn't make the shot, doesn't mean its the coaches' fault..

But still, I know offense isn't TMs strong area (I sat in on plenty of NDSU practices when he was there and was really close with all the players), and that's one of the reasons why I said his offense works best when his PG is his best player - he makes the decisions, gets the team into the correct sets and allows TM to concentrate more on the D side of the ball - its been mentioned before, but losing Coach Smith hurt this area.

 

[GIFRRO]

It is impossible to watch the Huskers. I was a season ticket holder during the Collier/Sadler era and, looking back, I wish Doc would have had a chance to move the team into the new arena...I am no expert on coaching and I know hindsight is 20/20 but really think we should be better.

Doc was a much better coach but recruited not real well
But if doc had had pba and the facilities to sell.....i believe wed be better right now with doc than hctm. But just my guess

 

[speedy44]

If you look at the 247 composite recruiting rankings for Iowa 4 of the last 5 years they have ranked lower than 70th and their best class in the last 5 years was good for 6th in the BIG that year.

 

[NUFootballTim]

Yes, that's very true. I am curious why, but I'm kinda wondering if for some reason TM is just being stubborn and trying to get his guys to do something they're not yet comfortable with in hopes that they will become comfortable with it when they see they are wide open after the screen? I'm sure they go through this in film study and practice. Perhaps the guys just get gun-shy during the game... And no, they don't need someone to set the screen, but it normally gives them a cleaner look - they just have to be ready to shoot when they come off that screen and not hesitate or be looking to pass unless the other guy in the zone has noticed the screen and has rotated over.

And yes, I agree we don't have a bread and butter offense, but don't most teams depend on hoping the guy can hit open 3s from the corners? NBA offenses are hugely dependent on these... they are plenty of guys who get massive paychecks because they're one ability is to hit corner 3s. I guess I look it at it as a positive that we were getting a guy some open looks... I can remember watching many of Doc's teams and it looked like playground ball. A bunch of guys running around, setting screens with no purpose, watching the clock wind down and somebody throwing up some garbage shot on a prayer. I mean just because the guy doesn't make the shot, doesn't mean its the coaches' fault..

But still, I know offense isn't TMs strong area (I sat in on plenty of NDSU practices when he was there and was really close with all the players), and that's one of the reasons why I said his offense works best when his PG is his best player - he makes the decisions, gets the team into the correct sets and allows TM to concentrate more on the D side of the ball - its been mentioned before, but losing Coach Smith hurt this area.

During one of our numerous 7 minute scoring droughts, I'd pay $50 dollars to see Watson bring the ball past half court, look over to the coach, receive a set call, communicate that to the other 4 players, and then run the darn thing. I don't see any of that. i realize that at this level of bball, you don't need to script everything for the players all the time, but at some point there has to be some level of purposeful harmony on the offensive side of the ball. Some sort of clear objective of what are we TRYING to do, what are we TRYING to attack? is it getting Shavon the ball on a mismatch, is it running a staggered screen for AW3 to get an open look for 3? is it emphasizing getting the ball on the block so the defense has to at least honor defending that portion of the floor?

All I see is the players playing upon their own instincts, possibly based on some broad, big picture concepts that TM gives them. I don't know that for a fact cause i've never sat in on a practice, and you clearly have more inside knowledge then I would, having talked to players who played for him. But thats what it looks like. 5 guys jsut sort of doing their thing....watching NU play just has the feel of throwing mud against the wall and hoping something sticks....maybe its AW3 hitting a bunch of 3s, maybe its Benny scoring 18 pts through some sort of miracle shooting performance, maybe its Webster making layups when he gets into the lane.....who knows. its just feels like hopes and prayers and hopefully enough of them will stick at the same time to get us a win. If it doesn't, we lose. there is no consistency because there doesn't appear to be any plan or strategy applied. its just whatever happens happens.