Shane Battier picks WVU
- Thread starter Doc4UK!
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Like everyone else, they are at the mercy of all our shooters having a bad night. What else could they do but pack it in. If they don't Towns and Lyles will eat them up inside.
They aren't going to pack it in though, they are idiotically going to press and allow UK to shoot 60% from the field on mainly dunks, layups and FTs.
I thought we went over this a few days ago already???
Look, SB just shot his wad on this and he is going to be the one that looks like an idiot when it blows up in his face. He's new and he will learn. . maybe.
I don't care what wrinkle Huggins puts in he won't have the personnel to so much more than trap and press. On top of that, West Virginia hasn't had the luxury of playing UK, several teams have had that opportunity, teams like Arkansas and Florida, but they didn't fare any better after they experienced playing UK at least once.
I think I'll take Vegas' thoughts on this over Shane Battier who is still a pup on the analyst stage.
Look, SB just shot his wad on this and he is going to be the one that looks like an idiot when it blows up in his face. He's new and he will learn. . maybe.
I don't care what wrinkle Huggins puts in he won't have the personnel to so much more than trap and press. On top of that, West Virginia hasn't had the luxury of playing UK, several teams have had that opportunity, teams like Arkansas and Florida, but they didn't fare any better after they experienced playing UK at least once.
I think I'll take Vegas' thoughts on this over Shane Battier who is still a pup on the analyst stage.
Maybe the 'new wrinkle' Battier is talking about. Just thinking about them continuously pressing, IMO they would have to score in the 80's and they don't shoot well from anywhere. Just can't see them turning us over a lot in this way. Normally, knowing how we play in a fast paced game, we blow teams like that away. That kind of game just fuels our intensity level and if our intensity level is on high, we have seen numerous times what happens.
Huggins has to know this and just can't see him being that stubborn and idiotic. Could see them trying it but getting out of it in a hurry and going to plan 2, slowing it down and packing it in. Trying to keep the score down.
They say we don't play hard, obviously they haven't watched us a lot. When we come to play our intensity level is ridiculous and there would be nothing they could do about it. They are at the mercy of what kind of mood we are in. And them running their mouths was the most stupid thing they could have done. It does make the game even more interesting, them knowing what they will do.
I was living in Miami when Battier was playing there. The fans there hated him. He was a Lattner/Dukie-like douchebag. Evidently still is...
Battier made a fool of himself by falsely stating, while trying to provide rationale for his prediction of an upset, that UK was one of the "worst turnover teams in the country - coughing up 25% of their possessions!".
He was so far off I had to laugh.
UK only turns the ball over 13% of the time. Far less than 1/4, Battier, and actually that ranks 26th-best in the country. I guess math isn't one of the best classes at Duke.
And then he went on to say he couldn't wait until Saturday morning to tell everyone he told us so. Why wait a full day, Shane? The game is tomorrow night - THURSDAY.
Idiot.
He was so far off I had to laugh.
UK only turns the ball over 13% of the time. Far less than 1/4, Battier, and actually that ranks 26th-best in the country. I guess math isn't one of the best classes at Duke.
And then he went on to say he couldn't wait until Saturday morning to tell everyone he told us so. Why wait a full day, Shane? The game is tomorrow night - THURSDAY.
Idiot.
We are one of the best teams in not turning the ball over. They are the best team in forcing them. Something has to give - and it won't be a wild swing either way. So we must assume we'll end up meeting somewhere in the middle. We average around 10 TOs per game, they force nearly 20. So we end up with 15. Then they'll have to actually turn those in to points against our defense.
And, they are #1 in fouls given (23.3 per game), #1 in opponent's free throws (25+ per game), and one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country.
Finally, they are the best offensive rebounding team in the land, but we are one of the best defensive rebounding teams. So again, assume this to end up somewhere in the middle - we allow 9 OREBS per game, they get 16.5 per game - give them 13 and call it a day. Then, as with the turnovers, they have to manage to turn those OREBS in to points - again, not easy to do with our size and defense.
In other words, they need a LOT to go right for them beyond just their snazzy turnover and OREB prowess.
He also picks his nose and his ***...sorry mods. Had to be said. Couldnt have said it about a better guy!
We are not one if the best defensive rebounding teams actually. That is one thing we do need to improve on during this run. We rank somewhere around 120th or 130th in defensive rebounding. We took a major hit on the boards when Alex went down. We need to make sure we hit the glass both offensively and defensively tomorrow. I still think the key will be to break the press and I like our guard with their skill set. The officiating concerns me the most though. I just hope they call the fouls and do not allow this to become a mugfest.
And about Battier, of course he picked against us and I see why he did and I don't think it has too much to do with basketball and more to do with making a name for himself is his new business. While I don't believe it and I think he is wrong, try looking at it from his perspective. He is a new guy trying to make a name for himself in the business and what better way to do that then to pick WVU? He originally went against us to win the tournament, so this just falls right in line with that also. Now, he better not make a habit out of these crazy picks or he will be looking for a job soon. Lol.
My friends and I used to refer to him as "Raisin Head" during his Dukie days. He looks like a Shar Pei.
One reason we rank so poorly in defensive rebounding is the poor quality of shots launched against our defense. This results in shots which do not come off the rim close to the basket where our big guys are positioned Our guards are often taking off down the court and are not in position to get a long deflection.
At least he and some other's are giving us some good laugh's. I don't know where some of them have gotten the idea UK doesn't take very good care of the ball. It's been one of the biggest improvements from last year to this. I think we'll see quite a bit of Tyler, Andrew, and Aaron together. If someone wants to pick an upset that's fine, but they should at least do a little fact checking before they go on the air and state something like UK turns it over 25% of possessions. It's not like getting team and player stats takes a whole lot of work these days. I'm assuming since he was an NBA player he does know how to click a mouse, or use the touchpad on a LT or smartphone.
Let me preface this by saying I absolutely can't stand Shane Battier. But as far as the "turning it over 25% of the time" comment goes, what I heard him say on Finebaum was that Kentucky was only pressed on 5% of their possessions this year. Of that 5%, we turned it over on 25% of those. First thought that came to mind was, "there's a reason we were only pressed 5% of the time" and second thought was, "damn, that's an obscure statistic". Either way he's a dumbass.
More like a large testicleOriginally posted by CatPhight:
His head is actually a puff of Super Sugar Crisp.
Sorry, but I commented on this absurd "stat" in another thread. No way this is a statistic that just happened to be tracked all year long. And, no way ESPN had enough time for someone (intern) to sit and watch all 36 UK games and tally turnovers caused by presses, given WVU just won Sunday and it's only Thursday.
Therefore, that stat is probably 100% made up.
It was a very smart call by Battier because he knows how much UK is disliked by all who are not UK fans. So, if he is correct being a former Duke player the media will label him as one of the smartest minds in basketball. Also, if he is wrong no one other than UK fans will even remember it. Basically, this is a easy risk/reward move. In addition, he certainly realizes that if UK wins the NC Duke will take a backseat to UK when it comes to talk about college basketball. So, it is more about wishful thinking than really believing it will happen.
He is basically playing the lottery. There is no downside to making the prediction other than being wrong and no one will care. However, if something inexplicable occurs and WVU wins, He will be on sports center for the next few weeks non-stop and every following basketball season just like the shot. It was a no-brainer for someone trying to establish an ESPN career, especially if you are a former Dukie.