CATS WIN! Takeaways from win over Nebraska
- Thread starter lou v
- Start date
Is it a bad take to say "Nobody had a bad game, a bunch of guys played fairly well and we still needed a last second putback to beat Nebraska?" (as 7 point favorites)
The key to our immediate success is putting Young and Nance out there together and letting the guards sort themselves out. Buie really improved today. The 6 assists are a reason for hope. Audige played under control. Berry looked better. Even Kopp managed to make 5 of 13 shots.
But we shot 11 of 25 from three. 21 of 35 from inside the arc. We should have blown them out. Our defense wasn't good. We lost the rebounding battle 31-30.
One problem is that Beran played 25 minutes and Young only played 16. Thats a significant mistake. Beran doesn't seem to play much defense.
Play Young and Nance 25 minutes together. None of this "Young in for Nance" flipflop nonsense. Nance is a talented 4. Young is a fairly good 5. Put those 2 together at the back of the zone defense, dominate the boards. Yeah, I know Collin thinks we're a running team. We aren't. We are a feed it into the post type of team. Figure out if Buie can get the ball inside or not. If not, play Greer at the point and use Audige, Buie and Kopp at the other perimeter positions. If they move to get open shots, the ball will come out to them.
Use Berry and Gaines as needed because Berry is making progress on offense and is disruptive on defense...
We can beat a lot of teams if we just play to our strengths. For whatever reason, we have not done so.
The key to our immediate success is putting Young and Nance out there together and letting the guards sort themselves out. Buie really improved today. The 6 assists are a reason for hope. Audige played under control. Berry looked better. Even Kopp managed to make 5 of 13 shots.
But we shot 11 of 25 from three. 21 of 35 from inside the arc. We should have blown them out. Our defense wasn't good. We lost the rebounding battle 31-30.
One problem is that Beran played 25 minutes and Young only played 16. Thats a significant mistake. Beran doesn't seem to play much defense.
Play Young and Nance 25 minutes together. None of this "Young in for Nance" flipflop nonsense. Nance is a talented 4. Young is a fairly good 5. Put those 2 together at the back of the zone defense, dominate the boards. Yeah, I know Collin thinks we're a running team. We aren't. We are a feed it into the post type of team. Figure out if Buie can get the ball inside or not. If not, play Greer at the point and use Audige, Buie and Kopp at the other perimeter positions. If they move to get open shots, the ball will come out to them.
Use Berry and Gaines as needed because Berry is making progress on offense and is disruptive on defense...
We can beat a lot of teams if we just play to our strengths. For whatever reason, we have not done so.
Good points. Only part I really strongly disagree is with zone defense. Might be my 1000th post bashing it.
We won a game with a 1-3-1 last year, against a Providence team that kept missing wide open shots in the corner. Carried n for a few games after with bad results. Morpher into a more traditional 2-3 used on and off. This year somehow turned into a 3-2 zone.
We play decent man to man. Other than Audige, we clearly have issues with lateral speed to keep up with speedy players. But I believe our best bet is to close out, being beaten off the dribble with some frequency, and rely that there are long arms bothering shots in or around the paint. We are plenty long with Nance/Young in the game. I even like Beran/Nance/Young for that reason.
Anyone with data on our offensive efficiency when in zone vs man to man?
Overall we are pretty decent on defense. Have been for a while. Even if, yesterday, we were not.
Lol, Collins was explicitly subbing Beran in to play defense for Young at the end of the game last night because the Nance-Young tandem played horrific defense together, but I'm sure you know more than the coach.
My concern with the man to man is that it often drags Young away from the basket on a switch, to the perimeter, where he really can't defend, then when the shot goes up he isn't in position to rebound.
When Young is out of the game, man-to-man defense makes more sense to me. (But I want him in the game for 25-30 minutes!)
Collins makes plenty of questionable or outright bad decisions with his personnel in every game. There are a number of ways to look at performance statistically, on offense and to a lesser degree defense. They all make it clear than Young is a better defender than Beran. There is a numerical consensus that Beran is one of our worst defenders, with Buie and Greer. That particular Collins brain cramp almost cost us the win. Perhaps you recall the sequence when we had a 77-75 lead with a minute to go and the Nebraska guy drove past Buie all the way to the basket while Kopp and Beran stood and watched Buie foul the guy at the rim? That put Nebraska ahead 78-77. The TV analyst ripped the lack of defensive help from Beran and Kopp. Young makes that defensive play, if he's on the floor.
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We were playing man on that play, not zone. It's weird, I read somewhere regarding man defense that:
My concern with the man to man is that it often drags Young away from the basket on a switch, to the perimeter, where he really can't defend, then when the shot goes up he isn't in position to rebound.
So, in your expert estimation, exactly where would Young have been on the floor that he could have stopped that drive?
I'll do you one better. Here's a picture of the drive. Notice the position of Pete Nance, previously guarding their center. Why do you think that Young would have been in a different spot? Kopp froze because he didn't want to leave his guy open for a 3, and it was terrible defense rightly pointed out by Elmore. Young would have done nothing to alter the outcome.
Young seems to have played himself into a bigger role and I'd guess PWB will get his wish.
UNL's record says what they are, but they have some talented players with a determined game. But NU closed out a tough opponent for the third time in a row. Before that, NU couldn't close a door.
UNL's record says what they are, but they have some talented players with a determined game. But NU closed out a tough opponent for the third time in a row. Before that, NU couldn't close a door.
Well I'm glad we won. But we almost lost, and we played well offensively. The thing is that Young played 25 minutes per game last year in Big Ten games, averaging 7.5 pts, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 turnovers. Probably the best player on the team.
This year he's only getting 19.5 minutes per game, averaging about 7.5 pts, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 turnovers. So he is scoring more effectively this year, rebounding about the same, a few more turnovers. He's still one of our top 3 players, with a track record of modest success, but he plays slightly less than half the game.
Thats on the coach.
We were playing man on that play, not zone. It's weird, I read somewhere regarding man defense that:
My concern with the man to man is that it often drags Young away from the basket on a switch, to the perimeter, where he really can't defend, then when the shot goes up he isn't in position to rebound.
So, in your expert estimation, exactly where would Young have been on the floor that he could have stopped that drive?
I'll do you one better. Here's a picture of the drive. Notice the position of Pete Nance, previously guarding their center. Why do you think that Young would have been in a different spot? Kopp froze because he didn't want to leave his guy open for a 3, and it was terrible defense rightly pointed out by Elmore. Young would have done nothing to alter the outcome.
Thats a good picture of two defenders staring at the sky. However, we were talking about Beran being brought in defensively for Young. So you are nitpicking your own imaginary scenario.
Weakside help has to come from Kopp or Beran in that situation. My belief is that Young certainly makes that play from Kopp's spot. Kopp would presumably be in Beran's spot. Young might even make that play if he were guarding the guy Beran is guarding. Its called anticipation and awareness.
Additionally, I have made it crystal clear that I think we should use Young and Nance together at the bottom of a zone defense, that it is irrational to use man to man with them on the court together.
So you are contorting yourself to try to find fault with my statements and doing so in a condescending manner. Is that typical for you or were you just having a bad day?
Why? Nance is pretty mobile for a big dude.
PS-I hate our zone. Well, and, for the most part, zone in general.
We can play man as much as you want, but I think our best 5 starts with Young and Nance together. With those 2 on the floor you want to go zone - that 3-2 zone where three guys defend the perimeter and Young and Nance defend the post.
I agree Nance is mobile and we probably should play man to man when he's out there and Young is sitting. Young is not as mobile and ideally belongs near the basket. Much of the time Collins has Young in there with four guards or three guards and Kopp, which presents other defensive and rebounding problems.
I think Collins undervalues rebounding.
Seems a bit exaggerated to basically say Young can’t be on the floor unless we play zone.