Last night's loss hit a nerve for me (if you couldn't tell), and I think it's just frustration with a fundamental lack of discipline or apparent offensive scheme on this, in many cases, 3+ year version of the team. Maybe it boils down to the philosophy Collins seems to employ that anyone at any time can just start a dribble drive, even if there's no real plan in place for what happens in different scenarios. The ball movement last night by PSU, whether against our zone or in man to man, was beautiful. It's just something we don't see very often at NU, that "extra pass" mentality. Instead, we take the first open and available shot, even if it's not really that open. That's why good shooters like Berry and Beran often start pulling the trigger as they are catching the ball. Less skilled shooters, like Audige, are guilty of this as well (Boo not so much but on occasion). Why not use the other team's close out as an opportunity for a pump fake and drive/kickout, or ball rotation, as opposed to just launching from 22+ feet?
Even Young who I really like got caught doing a stupid dribble maneuver with his back to the basket outside the FT line that of course was a "pick 2" by the D. He did make up for it with an excellent fake handoff and drive/layup later though.
This team needs to work on crisp, decisive passing and less emphasis on dribbling.
One last note and this will get some reactions: Audige needs to play the point and Buie needs to be the shooting guard. Did anyone notice Audige brought the ball up a lot against Nebraska? It worked! Takes pressure and wasted energy off Buie to start the offense and gives Audige less inclination to just jack up a shot if he's tasked with actually starting the offense himself. He played in this role a few games last year (maybe Buie was hurt) and did quite well, with several good assists. Audige is an excellent ball handler, one of our best by far, and I see a lot of benefits to him in this role, as mentioned above.
Even Young who I really like got caught doing a stupid dribble maneuver with his back to the basket outside the FT line that of course was a "pick 2" by the D. He did make up for it with an excellent fake handoff and drive/layup later though.
This team needs to work on crisp, decisive passing and less emphasis on dribbling.
One last note and this will get some reactions: Audige needs to play the point and Buie needs to be the shooting guard. Did anyone notice Audige brought the ball up a lot against Nebraska? It worked! Takes pressure and wasted energy off Buie to start the offense and gives Audige less inclination to just jack up a shot if he's tasked with actually starting the offense himself. He played in this role a few games last year (maybe Buie was hurt) and did quite well, with several good assists. Audige is an excellent ball handler, one of our best by far, and I see a lot of benefits to him in this role, as mentioned above.
