@justanotherfan
But we also won’t play every game as we did against UCLA.
This is why Self talks about 1/3 good, 1/3 average, 1/3 bad and about trying raise up the bad with things like going hard on defense, which he feels can be done even on a bad night.
Regarding your pithy set of why on earth questions, which I enjoyed.
The answer is: rotating a bunch of mediocre players and talented but sushi freshmen really does keep the opposing post men out of their comfort zones.
Composite 5 had a double double against Harvard. Composite 5 was largely why we beat Harvard, and it turns out, largely why we have beaten all of the good and bad teams we have played.
Composite 5 has had way more solid games than anyone but Frank and Perry, and even rock solid Perry finally lost his mojo for a game against Harvard.
Composite 5 is our ace in the whole.
And he will be even when we run into that OAD Number 1 draft choice center, if there were one this season.
Why?
You know why.
We are going to run his legs off, and bump him and bang him, and keep him constantly changing the way he guards and offends, based on a constantly changing offender and defender on him.
The opponent’s superstar OAD 5 will win the battle with Composite 5, of course, because ONLY another superstar OAD 5 could have a good night and beat him. But Composite 5 will play the opponent’s superstar OAD 5 closer than any other single mediocre, or single above average 5 could.
The reason we got out rebounded against Harvard is so obvious that I cannot believe I am the only one that has posted about it and reiterated about it and chastised the players responsible for it.
To re-reiterate, Composite 5 and Frank Mason got their allotted rebounds needed for us to be successful and outbound Harvard. It was the players that staffed the 2, 3 and 4 positions that completely let their teammates down as rebounders. Graham, Selden and Perry, plus Svi in relief, decided they didn’t like to have to establish position and rebound against Harvard’s unpleasant motion offense, especially. Those three starters came wanting an off-night, where everything came easy, but instead they got that terrible Bob Knight/Coach K motion offense with all those awful picks and all that staying on spots and shoving others off theirs, and all that contact that Knight and K have always required of their less athletic player. And Svi, who wanted to bang a little, then got distracted by shooting 1-6 from trey and he began to pout. Devonte, Wayne, Perry and Svi couldn’t fill a thimble with the defensive rebounds they collected, and EVERYONE, including them, has known from the start of the season that for this team to rebound competitively, their three positions were going to have to be productive, because we know sooner or later Composite 5 is going to have an off night. But they didn’t wait for Composite 5 to have an off night. They just went ahead and dogged it against Harvard.
Now to be fair, it is probable that Devonte, Wayne, Perry, and Svi were fretting some about finals coming. They are students and Self does make them go to class. But this fretting about finals did not distract them from hoisting a bunch of misses inside and outside, did it?
So: this is why the buck stops with these four guys. They let the team down, because they came out without enough want to for rebounding, just shooting and some defense. But of course there defense was also a big part of the problem, too. Wayne getting fouled up early because he lacked enough focus even to get out of offenders way, proved once again just how hard it is to get a stop from the bench. Its a bitch!!! Man, you sit on your butt on that bench, and no matter who much you chop your feet on the bench, your man just keeps running on the court and scoring and grabbing rebounds, and stopping other guys. Wayne, baby, listen to you coach. You have to come focused and properly prepared to play. You are a pretty good defender on the floor. But on the bench, man you are totally exposed as a lousy defender that never gets a single stop from outside the black lines.
Now I could rake Devonte over the coals for what he did on the floor, but,. well, Devonte has the baby face, and he is a sophomore teetering on the verge of succumbing to the sophomore jinx, and board rats love him and feel protective of him because he was a stand up frosh last season, and put on some pounds for Andrea, and moves like a player, so, like I cannot talk about his inefficiency without seeming like an ogre. And I’ve already pounded Perry into the cracks in the floor for what he did out there. He looked like a guy that that just broke up with his sweet heart and he just might have for all I know. So I have to lay off Perry. And well, the Ukraine Kid, he is another guy you have to be careful about calling on the carpet for failing to wear out the nets, because, well, because his whole world back in the Ukraine is in danger of being swallowed up in World War III, and he’s packing a bunch of unnecessary bulk for Bill’s and Andrea’s excellent adventure into bulk weight acquisition. Gotta cut the Ukraine Kid some slack, right?
So: in the end, all we can really do is say the 2, 3, 4 and reserve 3 had off nights and have to come back raring to go, because sooner or later Composite 5 and Frank are going to have an off-game and we need those other guys firing on all cylinders when that happen to squeak out another 5 point win. The other nights, when everyone is playing well, and we are hitting 50-60% from trey, well, then we’ll blow anyone in the country out of the gym.:-)
Rock Chalk!
