What should/must Cats do different/better?
- Thread starter 12375CAT
- Start date
Does it matter at this point? They've played 28 games. They've got two left. Outside of sick guys returning to full strength by Sunday, they're not going to get any better.
Light a match. Figuratively.
It does not matter what we think about who starts, lineups, rotation... The offense is completely broken. And it does not get solved in the short term. It gets solved with at least an off season of hard tactical work. Lots and lots of teaching.
In the spirit of the question, I'd try the following and (if there's a spark) go with whatever works.
Play Young with Nance for 20 minutes. Nance in the high post, Young in the low post.
Try Beran at small forward. Collins has claimed all year that Beran is a great defender. Prove it.
Commit to 25 minutes for Buie and Greer in the backcourt.
Try Nance with Nicholson when Young gets tired. Not just for 90 seconds, either.
Play Young with Nance for 20 minutes. Nance in the high post, Young in the low post.
Try Beran at small forward. Collins has claimed all year that Beran is a great defender. Prove it.
Commit to 25 minutes for Buie and Greer in the backcourt.
Try Nance with Nicholson when Young gets tired. Not just for 90 seconds, either.
Perimeter defense.
I used to think defense was a strength of Collins's teams, but it was fool's gold.
I used to think defense was a strength of Collins's teams, but it was fool's gold.
maybe, maybe not. His first 5 years, four of them were in the top 40 in PPG against. Maybe a lot of that is due to B1G style of play, but we are in the same conference now, and the last 3 years have been between 170-200
I got the impression he felt forced to create that as the team’s primary identity given the type of players he had.
Then he said 'well, winning more games every year and going to the NCAA is boring. Let's recruit a bunch of random (so-called) highly rated guys and throw them on the court and see what happens.' The sad thing is, this may have a grain of truth in it.
He is definitely just chucking guys onto the court and hoping something good happens.
Unfortunately, even when something good happens (like the win at MSU) he attributes it to random luck and ignores the results.
Collins has not settled on, let's say, 5 "go-to" lineups and given them most of the minutes.
Its all just random and the more players he has to choose from, the more it hurts us.
Against Power 5 teams, our #3 lineup in minutes played is Nance/Beran/Simmons/Buie/Berry.
They have played a TOTAL of 33 minutes in 22 games.
What kind of thinking is that? How is any specific lineup supposed to gel and learn how to work as a unit?
I keep pointing these things out because it is simply appalling use of a roster.
It is logical to believe that as the season progresses and other teams figure out their rotations and learn how to play as a unit (and we don't) that we will lose ground on our opposition.