I would like to add my very limited basketball knowledge (long)

[mos.sixpack]

First of all, I'm no guru at all of the sport. I played high school basketball for a coach that I wouldn't consider a genious. However, there are a few things that I just don't agree with being tossed around.

1. I don't think there was a Stansbury stall at all last night. Everytime we back the ball out to run a set play everyone starts complaining about us stalling. At the same time, they are complaining that we don't run any set plays. I'm pretty sure that the "elevator screen" (or whatever the announcers called it) to get Jalen open for 3 was a set play. Also we run set plays to try to get Arnett open in the post. They don't always work and they seem to be the same sets that we see every game but they are set plays.

2. Was it on this board or another where someone was saying how dumb our team is for trying to set a ball screen against a team that was playing zone defense. Guess what, that is exactly what Kentucky did last night on the big 3 that they hit and the announcers acted like Calipari is a genious. Again, I'm no guru but I was taught that you can basically run the same motion offense against a 2-3 zone that you would run against man to man. You just have to know who to screen. But you can still pass and screen away.

3. I know we complain a lot about not feeding Arnett enough in the post but when I was watching last night, there was 1 possession in particular where we were really trying to get it to Arnett and the possession was a disaster. It got me thinking that maybe this type of thing ruins the flow of our offense. I haven't seen every game and I'm usually drinking when I watch. But how much does Arnett really score by posting up and scoring. It just seems that he gets a lot of his points on rebounds and transition. Maybe that is his game. Maybe we should stop trying to force it inside and continue to be guard oriented. I know it kills when the shots aren't falling. But, I'm not sure letting the guards run wild is not our best chance of winning. I know the guards were dominating in the first half last night.

Go ahead and blast away. Once again, I'm not pretending to know more than Stansbury or more than anyone on this board. Just some observations

 

[CadaverDawg]

No seriously though, when I say we don't run set plays I am not saying literally zero set plays. Of course we run some sets, but they're the same few every year and we don't even run those few very well most times. As for the stall, I agree we didn't stall last night, but the whole second half looked like one because we didn't carry the same defensive pressure and intensity into the second half in my opinion.

And as for Moultrie, he is very good, but I have been disappointed in his lack of hustle the last few games. He wants to get pouty when he's not getting touches, but he rarely scores on the post anymore. If it's not an ally oop he can't score. He continues to put the ball on the floor, and as bad as he wants to put the team on his shoulders at times, he rarely succeeds in scoring when demanding the ball. He should come back next year because he is not NBA ready

 

[DAWG61]

with the Moultrie comment. If MSU goes down low it needs to be to Sidney on the block. Nobody in the country can stop Sidney with the ball that close to the basket. Let Moultrie get his points on put backs, transition and alley oops.

 

[Tds & Beer]

1. I don't think there was a Stansbury stall at all last night. Everytime we back the ball out to run a set play everyone starts complaining about us stalling. At the same time, they are complaining that we don't run any set plays. I'm pretty sure that the "elevator screen" (or whatever the announcers called it) to get Jalen open for 3 was a set play. Also we run set plays to try to get Arnett open in the post. They don't always work and they seem to be the same sets that we see every game but they are set plays.

I think people really overreact about the StansburyStall. Stansbury tries to run set plays. The problem is how they run them. All this extra spacing, dribling off screens, except not using the screener correctly, posts popping out to screen when they arewide open.There's tons of ineffective dribbling.In an efficient offense, if you are dribbling, it should be accomplishing something.We do nothing but screen but we don't know how to use them. It all wears us out andusually doesn't accomplish anything. Add that to our ****** conditioning and what you you get by the end of the gameare players doing whatever they want, who are too tired to run the ****** set offenses, so they just look at each other, waiting for someone to do something. But no one does anything. Stansbury doesn't really call much, and if he does, they don't listen. And what you endup withis the infamous "stansbury stall."

 

[mos.sixpack]

We definitely run the same set plays every game. I miss the days when we would run the backdoor with our guard. I think it may have been Super D that we would run that play with. Seemed like we would run it several times a game and it seemed to always work. I miss the days of having a guard physical enough to finish the back door layup. None of the 2 guards on the team this year could finish it.
Also, I knew Sid would get in foul trouble last night but I really wanted him to do it by trying to dunk on Davis everytime he touched the ball. He should have made Davis earn every block he got and made him hurt while doing it. Of course, Wendell tried to do that and ended up getting the **** knocked out of him with no foul called.

 

[Tds & Beer]

catch the ball and go right at Davis' chest, get him under the goal, and go right over the front of the rim. Instead he would back him down and try to go at an angle instead of right at him. When you have a big guy like Sidney and a shot blocker like Davis, you gotta take it right to him, make him foul you, and get him on the bench. Of course sidney tried a little but he was too scared to go over the top. He should have jammed it on his head to start the game and dared him to try to block it the rest of the game.

 

[8dog]

we run enough set plays. Its what we do on offense when we don't run set plays. We have horrible motion offense principles and we have no confidence in our motion offense. That's what typically causes the Stans' stall.

We have a point guard that can get in the lane consistently. We have a pro post player and a guy in Sidney that is a load to handle and draws attention. That should be hard enough to stop. Mix in Steele to take away helpside and keep you honest along with a guy like hood that can get in the lane----we should really be pretty difficult to stop. But we aren't. We are stagnant...and its been this way for a long time.

We can debate set plays or not. Its irrelevant. Hell, I can call a set play. They are not big secret. Its what you do when you don't run set plays. The same thing happens defensively with ball screens. We don't understand whether we need to show strong and retreat or whether it needs to be more of a trap. So we get confused and half the time both defenders end up playing under the screen. Its been a big problem...and its been this way for a long time. Its just being exposed now b/c Rick used to have interchangeable parts and could switch every screen. Now he can't.

 

[Tds & Beer]

we run enough set plays. Its what we do on offense when we don't run set plays. We have horrible motion offense principles and we have no confidence in our motion offense. That's what typically causes the Stans' stall.

I agree. I hate the phrase "set plays." An offensively soundteam doesn't really run that many "set plays." They run entirelyseperate "offenses." They don't have one "offense"with different "set plays." They have multiple offenses, which they run the entire game based on what the defense is trying to do. And occassionally after a dead ball or when a bucket is especially needed, they run a "set play." When we are standing around staring at each other, it's not because of a lack of "set plays." It's a lack of horrid offensive coaching. It's a lack of preparation. Offenses should just flow with your team. We spend half the shot clock just getting into the right spot sometimes. But it's more than the offense. The fundamentals are bad. We don't know how to get in the triple threat position. Instead we stand straight up with the ball over our heads. We don't know how to V cut and as for the ball. We don't know howto use our screeners or read the defender coming off of it. etc etc. These are all things that are needed at the end of ballgames when the momentum, your legs, air, etc have all left you.

 

[DirtyDog38]

We definitely tried a bit harder to feed the post last night. Alot of the backing the ball back out or "stall" was due to the inside soft double-team on Moultrie...they couldn't make the entry pass. Even when they got the ball in there, then Moultrie would put it on the floor which allowed the defense to collapse and Moultrie to force a tougher shot. We still had some good looks that just didn't fall, and I think that is a product of not going right at the defender, but trying to angle around them. I was glad to see Lewis finally going strong inside instead of trying to lay it up, even if the referees blew the call. I have that dunk it everytime mentality when you are that close to the goal, it seemed to work for Dampier.

I think one of the biggest factors in the game, besides the ref's total change in direction in the second half, was the loss of Hood. Not only did we miss his shot making ability, but his generally calming influence. Throughout the season, the freshman has demonstrated a better understanding of how to calm our team down than our senior point guard, with a notable exception a few games ago when he got a technical foul. In addition, his loss allowed Kentucky to switch Kidd-Gilchrist over to Bost which helped Kentucky's defense.

 

[NewTweederEndzoneDance]

we do not run a "motion" offense. we run a ball screen, dribble drive "motion" offense. floor spacing, back door cuts, and screening away are not things MSU does (except occasionally in a set play). Sure you can run some man to man motion principles against a 2-3, but a ball screen, dribble drive offense where everyone else just stands in the same spot will not work. Against a zone, you need to fill the high post, cut without the ball behind the zone, overload a side, screen the backside of the zone for a skip pass, etc... We do exactly zero of this

 

[mos.sixpack]

I am all for attacking the gaps and kicking it out for the open shot. But really beating a zone comes down to hitting the outside shot. The play that Kentucky ran to hit the 3 was nothing spectacular. Screen 1 of the guys at the top of the zone and that leaves the other guy trying to guard 2 guys. Pretty simple. I found it amusing that the annoucers acted like it was such a great design. And if Kentucky is hitting the outside shots in the first half like they did the 2nd it is probably a totally different game. I don't know if it was that our defense was that much better in the 1st half or if they just started hitting them in the 2nd

Also found it funny how at halftime they acted like Renardo was having a great game even though his stats sucked. Goes to show you that when you half way try, you get a little credit.

 

[drt7891]