Team is a bit less than the sum of it's parts

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
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We have a couple of senior all big ten caliber players, a bunch of long, reasonably athletic, versatile players and some young guys with talent. But so far the fit is a bit disjointed, perhaps to be expected with 5 out of 9 guys who have never played together before.

The one thing we have almost never had is that great pure scorer who can take over games off the dribble. In general we always lack guys who can create for themselves off the dribble on a consistent basis.

I trust in Collins and do not think we are at a cross-roads just a little over 1 yr removed from a round of 32 appearance, great new facilities, and an upward trajectory with recruiting. However I don't see much value-add in terms of X's and O's. I don't want BC back, but he was better--calling set plays and even little things like box-outs, high-pointing rebounds, getting hands on balls etc... I think the difference is that CC is used to Duke where you can win on talent. BC was used to Princeton and had to win on X's and O's.
 

NUera

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
6,395
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But so far the fit is a bit disjointed, perhaps to be expected with 5 out of 9 guys who have never played together before.... The one thing we have almost never had is that great pure scorer who can take over games off the dribble. In general we always lack guys who can create for themselves off the dribble on a consistent basis."

It's much simpler than that. This teams lacks an experienced point guard who can bring the ball down court and drive and kick. Maybe add a few buckets. If we had that, we'd be soaring. Instead, our recruiting didn't pan out. Brown wasn't the answer and he's sitting out a year at Grand Canyon; Ash is probably a great dude but he's not B1G material. Lathon did whatever the hell he did and now he's averaging 9 pts, 4 rebounds and 3 assists at UTEP. Meanwhile, Ayo (understandably) got away and he's dropping 13/4/3 for the Illini. S*** happens.
 

EagerFan

Sophomore
Dec 24, 2010
3,128
126
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For those in the know, how much was Gates involved in making the offense and the guards effective?