Gophers Can't Win Shooting Threes

figi

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Lets face it, every team in the BT can outshoot us from outside. Lobbing the ball around the perimeter looking for the open man is a waste of time and invites turnovers. Westbrook finally moved the ball inside and the Cats defense fell apart. Get the ball inside. Use those big guys. Score and get the fouls. We all know this will also get us better outside shots.

I know normally passing the is the best way to move it. But, there has to be some effort to get closer to the bucket. If that takes moving the ball with the dribble, so be it. We went to the bucket at the end of the game. It changed to momentum of the game and we won.
 

If we lob the ball around the perimeter like that tomorrow we`ll get our posteriors realigned.
 

I like to move it, move it!

Just move the ball period. Against a zone, you have to keep the ball moving, whether it be by passing or penetrating. There were way too many times today where the guards stopped the ball movement and let the zone recover and get into position. This has been a problem all year. It got a bit better at the end of the game and look what happened...defensive breakdowns and scoring opportunities. It's just a fundamental aspect of attacking a zone and I don't get how some of our players just don't seem to get it...
 


MSU doesn't play a funky 1-3-1 defense like NU.

If I was gameplanning against the Gophers right now, I'd put it in just for that game. We are clueless against the 1-3-1. Our guys almost invite the defense to trap them. We need guys to penetrate against that kind of defense, but instead we just stand around.

Secondly, does anyone else think Hoffarber's minutes need to be reduced? I like the kid and he works hard, but he has been struggling at hitting the 3 for a long time now. If he's not hitting his shots, I'd rather see other guys playing more. I still wish Joseph would play some at the 2-spot while Nolen is in the game. He does once in awhile but not a lot. Against a team like Northwestern who is not very big, I would think a lineup of Nolen, Joseph, Westbrook, Johnson, and Sampson/Iverson would do very well.
 


Two really good observations in this thread:

figi's -

"Lets face it, every team in the BT can outshoot us from outside. Lobbing the ball around the perimeter looking for the open man is a waste of time and invites turnovers. Westbrook finally moved the ball inside and the Cats defense fell apart. Get the ball inside. Use those big guys. Score and get the fouls. We all know this will also get us better outside shots."

and GophersInIowa's -

"Secondly, does anyone else think Hoffarber's minutes need to be reduced? I like the kid and he works hard, but he has been struggling at hitting the 3 for a long time now. If he's not hitting his shots, I'd rather see other guys playing more."

I agree about Hoff, it's time to admit his shot is gone for the season.

I'd offer a third thought -

Usually I would agree that that with ten minutes left in the game and up by ten it is not the time to milk the clock. But I think that's what Tubby should do if he's fortunate enough to be in that situation in the near future. Seems like the team regularly starts to squander a lead of about ten with about ten to play. Maybe if we start to slow-play very early we can disrupt whatever negative dynamic is screwing up the gopher's game at that point.
 

Just move the ball period. Against a zone, you have to keep the ball moving, whether it be by passing or penetrating. There were way too many times today where the guards stopped the ball movement and let the zone recover and get into position. This has been a problem all year. It got a bit better at the end of the game and look what happened...defensive breakdowns and scoring opportunities. It's just a fundamental aspect of attacking a zone and I don't get how some of our players just don't seem to get it...

EXACTLY. Way too many people on this board think you dribble-penetrate against a zone; but that's a way to break down a man D, not a zone. The ball stopped past the top of the 3-point line way too often today, allowing NW defenders to realign into the passing lanes. The Gophers this season are a poor half-court offensive team because they are a bad passing team. The best way to beat a zone, IMO, is to pass quickly and accurately enough to keep the zone constantly moving and beat them to the open spot. If the zone can recover, then the contested outside shot is usually the end result.

This is why Nolen has failed so miserably in the BT season - when teams play zone, his drives just result in turnovers, and his passing is mediocre at best, awful at times. I love Nolen's first step, but he needs to learn to pass better to take that next step up to be a top BT PG. This is why when Hoff is in there, our offense works better - he's by far the best passer on the team. Now if he could just hit more outside shots, our offense would open up a lot more too...
 

The problem with the zone is that they work well until you force them to cheat. Nothing opens up if you can't do something well offensively. Passing the ball around looking for a perimiter shot works...if you can hit a perimiter shot. I actually liked how Tubby beat this today. It worked well. It was well crafted.
 




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