Buie has had 2 insane nights scoring a combined 50+ pts against two excellent, veteran teams and we lost both games. Without him being unconscious on offense those games are blow outs. He’s covering up for a lot of our weaknesses. Not a bad thing as long as the team doesn’t feel too good about itself depending on Buie to keep them competitive.
Note of caution
- Thread starter torque-cat
- Start date
The real note of caution was that the on-the-floor reporter at halftime said that the DePaul coach made a note to his team that they had to turn up the intensity on guarding Buie. And, indeed, he was much less effective in the second half and seemed to have trouble even getting the ball. Consistent with your point, the strategy going forward against NU may be for each team to have their best, lockdown defender just shadow Buie everywhere and then let the rest of the Cats try to beat them 4 on 4. That may spell trouble.
ya this is where an off-season of gaining strength may help Buie against physical defenders. He’s already remarkable at creating shots but after the last 2 games everyone will be keyed on him so we’ll see how he responds. I think even the real Trae Young got worn down in his frosh year.
not sure I follow or agree with the logic here. I overwhelmingly prefer having a player that can go off like Buie can to not having one.
That type of offensive confidence can be contagious for the team, for one thing. And the other players are coming along. Buie to Kopp for three will happen a lot in the future. Having guys that can get to the basket makes a huge difference for great shooters. Nance and Beran will get more experience offensively as will others. It will be good to have other players that can go off on any given night. Boo showed he’s already there and it’s only a good thing that teams will have to specially account for him.
And Buie has already shown me that he is a better passer than former great scorers like Demps, perhaps not unexpectedly if he’s played more point than shooting guard. But he sees the floor very well and in a different way than a scorer like Tre did. (Who was also a real baller in his own right.)
So I don’t get cautious about this, as he is not covering up weaknesses but will lift the rest of the team with this kind of play. If his shots aren’t dropping in the future he can drive and use his passing to a greater degree. All of this is good.
Not to mention that Nance, Koop, Young, and Spencer have all also gone off and had big games too. Against varying levels of opposition to be sure, but we have a number of players who can rise to the occasion if neglected by the opponent. Buie has demonstrated that quality against high level competition and his learning curve and development of confidence has been impressive.
could say the same thing for winston (msu) and moore (depaul)... so when guys on other teams do it the teams are good but when one of NU guys does it its a note of caution ?
Our offense scored over 70 in the last two games. I would have not predicted it a few weeks ago. That’s encouraging.
But I also share some concern on how we are putting points on the board. Mostly because we have mismatches all the time and show little ability to take advantage of it. Yesterday Moore guarded Kopp, even Nance, on several possessions and I don’t think our guys even see it.
Ultimately I hope we do not go back to the offense level we showed at Purdue. Scoring low 40’s. That was against the arguably best defense in the B1G. Our guys are young and likely to get more confident and comfortable against good teams. But, at the same time, as other coaches watch tape, they’ll also work on shutting down what is working for us.
But I also share some concern on how we are putting points on the board. Mostly because we have mismatches all the time and show little ability to take advantage of it. Yesterday Moore guarded Kopp, even Nance, on several possessions and I don’t think our guys even see it.
Ultimately I hope we do not go back to the offense level we showed at Purdue. Scoring low 40’s. That was against the arguably best defense in the B1G. Our guys are young and likely to get more confident and comfortable against good teams. But, at the same time, as other coaches watch tape, they’ll also work on shutting down what is working for us.
Buie knows how to handle the ball in traffic. He knows when to start, when to slow down and when to get rid of the ball. Long-term, I'm not concerned about Buie against strong defenders.
During "that stretch" last night, he barely touched the ball. Part of that was defense, but part of it was Spencer thinking he's as good at basketball as he is at lacrosse. At best, Spencer was a DISTANT third option last night.
Also, one of the weaknesses Buie's red-hot game covered last night was the absence of the Cats best defender. Hopefully, that isn't a long-term problem.
During "that stretch" last night, he barely touched the ball. Part of that was defense, but part of it was Spencer thinking he's as good at basketball as he is at lacrosse. At best, Spencer was a DISTANT third option last night.
Also, one of the weaknesses Buie's red-hot game covered last night was the absence of the Cats best defender. Hopefully, that isn't a long-term problem.
Buie was begging for the ball on one of those turnovers. Spencer was a black hole there. He’ll have to learn from that, but Buie could have and should have had the ball more there.
I do think that Spencer will learn and adjust rapidly. Anticipated he'd have difficulty moving into conference play. I think what he brings is an intensity and confidence. I do not think he has the supreme ball handling of which Buie has started to show flashes. That's about not doing this as his primary sport the last four years.
What's excited me most about Bouie is the ball handling and game management. His eyes up looking at his teammates when he crosses midcourt. The scoring is great, but the biggest hole at NU basketball was true PG skills and that has been filled. I think Bouie and Ty will complement one another next year. I think they can play together.
Here's the think about the last few games. Mental head space is such a huge issue in college basketball and seemingly acute at NU. Why can two guys with the exact same skills, physical attributes and pre college resume perform so differently?
Bouie has done what he's done (to quote coach Ditka). He had the confidence to go out and do it against one supreme team and another decent team with 4/5 star guard talent. And so he knows he can go out and do that again against just about any team in the country. This morning he wakes up and knows that with certainty about himself and his game.
Sure, he'll be a focus. And for just decent, not great, PG's that creates a better opportunity to distribute. Bouie is cetainly decent and may be on the road to something more. Come at him, cheat towards him, leave your man to get a hand up, pull the zone towards him....and his teammates have to be smart enough to move into that open space and accept the pass. AJ and Young are super aware players and should benefit.
Spencer is a Lacrosse player playing basketball and should be a bench guy. He is just too slow and a poor ball handler to play LG and not a good enough shooter to play the two.
I may have not communicated this clearly. I am thrilled about Buie and he clearly makes the team better. What I am worried about is that because Buie keeps us in games against good teams with some insane scoring, the team will not go into the off-season with a huge undergod mentality with something to prove. We saw how the tourney team played with a chip and then how they collapsed the following year when they thought they were pretty good. Obviously its a different situation but if we feel we're entitled to be good next year because we're close this year, we will get a huge wake-up call next season.
Likely back to back last place finishes and you're worried NU won't have a chip on their collective shoulders??
It amazes me that the 3 players getting the most “concerned” posts are Boo, Young and Spencer. The 3 that have all been huge pleasant surprises!
nobody is worried about Buie. He looks great. The convo wasn’t that. Spencer has been a concern against legit PGs albeit a nice surprise overall as a player and hoping his toughness rubs off on the young guys.
inability to take advantage? Kopp punished Moore often on his way to 20+
nance totally different story
What are your thoughts on why Nance just can't seem to stay aggressive and put the ball on the floor
inability to take advantage? Kopp punished Moore often on his way to 20+
nance totally different story
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True. Great example. CM was basically a mismatch for anyone being guarded by him. And often he was guarding Kopp. But that was one player, one game. It’s not something we even remotely explore well.
It’s a lot to ask from young players who are obviously getting used to a game faster and stronger than what they are used to. But, it’s also something that comes from set plays to get players to spots where they can take advantage of the mismatches.
I guess ultimately I just hope we are a 70 points team in the B1G. That way we will win a few games.
A lot of guys are not confident creating offense off the dribble. In particular a 7 ft kid being defended by quicker smaller players may worry about turnovers. CC said that is his next level of growth. But your question was to Haywood who is likely to know better than I.
My point of caution was that teams may now really gameplan around shutting down Buie going forward. He won't surprise anyone anymore. And, if the second half was any indication, it looks like it may be possible to shut him down by basically sticking your best defender on him and denying him the ball. Thus, teams may decide to sell out to stop Buie and make the rest of our guys beat them. Now, it may not always work. But it is something to watch going forward. Let's hope other guys can make teams pay for overplaying Buie.
I hope you are right about Spencer learning and adjusting rapidly, but I'm afraid that I don't share your optimism about that happening. First he has to unlearn many of the things that made him such a great Lacrosse player, because they just don't fit in a basketball game. And then learn the new things that do work. In the minutes he will get in the 20 or so remaining games I don't see as likely happening. Hope I'm wrong. We'll see soon.