Syracuse

[TravelingPanther]

Re: Syracuse

This thread makes me laugh. Thanks.

[Neighbor]

Re: Syracuse

I'm no expert at basketball, but with no post ability wouldn't it be better to have a zone offense centered around penetration (aj, kwadzo, moran), than trying to facilitate the offense through Koch and Rank?

Well no. A zone defense primary objective is to stop dribble penetration. To break down a zone a team has to move the ball a lot and quickly.

[UNI83]

Re: Syracuse

Well no. A zone defense primary objective is to stop dribble penetration. To break down a zone a team has to move the ball a lot and quickly.

Ball and people movement.


However, that people movement and getting people slashed through the zone should create driving lanes.

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: Syracuse

Some good points brought up previously, but I guess I'll summarize my thoughts.

Frustrating that the 2nd half didn't go as well as the 1st. I said earlier in the week that I was looking forward to seeing a team really progress over the year, and I guess we know the starting point now. Not as far behind of a reload as in previous years, but still things to work on.

We knew that the post play was going to be a challenge, especially offensively as O'Rear and Rank are undersized (and Rank does play more perimeter than post) early on as roles began to be established. This was exacerbated playing a team like Syracuse with their length and athleticism. Good news: UNI won't play a taller/longer/more athletic team the rest of the year (especially in the post).

Three point shooting definitely wasn't there last night, but I guess I disagree with some saying that there were bad shot selection. There were a couple contested shots, but nothing too bad. Inside shooting was just going to be minimal as mid range jumpers were being contested by 7'0"-ers and 6'8" guys with 7'0" wingspans. UNI had their chances with O'Rear, Koch, Pehl, and Rank with some short shots, but those didn't drop, and most of the time I think they were probably intimidated by the Cuse' length that they factored in for taking some body or correcting their shot at the potential of getting blocked. JMO

As stated before, AJ played great. He's really playing himself into more minutes. I loved the defense from Sonnen. His aggressiveness on offense was good too...just didn't make shots. Part of that is a guy gaining more of a role on offense than last year and needing to make that adjustment. I think he's doing the things Jake is asking of him...his shots just weren't dropping tonight. How many charges did he attempt to take tonight? 5 or 6?

Speaking of charges taken, it seemed like the BE officiating crew hadn't seen teams taking charges before! They really struggled with trying to identify what was a charge and when to call it. They knew there illegal screens though! (for 45 seconds in the 2nd half when they called 3 in a row and I don't believe any before then or after)

I thought Pehl was very serviceable in the 1st half when O'Rear was down with foul trouble. I think we would have seen more from him in the 2nd half if O'Rear wasn't so fresh and if UNI would have been playing even or down just a couple points (not down 10+ by the 1st TO). It's hard to play Pehl when you're trying to get points scored, as that's not his role. And, you aren't going to see Pehl and O'Rear play at the same time. There's no outside threat when that happens.

Overall, I think first game jitters for some of the freshmen/sophs showed tonight, as they were playing their first real game with expanded roles. They remained fundamentally sound defensively, which is exactly what we are all taught from a young age (i.e.- our shots may not fall, we may get nervous, but you can always play and control how you play defense). The shots will fall, we'll play against shorter competition, and guys will adapt to their new roles. UNI won't play against national coaches of the year with McDonald's AA's on the rest of the schedule either (that I know of). This was arguably the most difficult game of the year, and the rest gets easier/more familiar. UNI has struggled vs. legit top 10 teams with their athleticism (especially when those games are almost always on the road or neutral). Athleticism is something that is being added to UNI's recruiting classes...it's just next year's class.

[Blue42]

Re: Syracuse

Disappointed we didn't shoot it a little better.

But a good early season game. Much more valuable than beating up on Tx-Gulf Coast- Galveston State College or the like.

Coaches and players will learn a lot. Pay dividends later on.

Little disappointed a couple of our veterans didn't step up more on offensive end. KD and Koch have to look to score. Neither were aggressive on Friday.

Thought the refs got the Panther post players on a lot of ticky tacks. Thought they played a little tougher brand of ball in the Big East. Myth over reality there I think.

[williebat]

Re: Syracuse

Disappointed we didn't shoot it a little better.

But a good early season game. Much more valuable than beating up on Tx-Gulf Coast- Galveston State College or the like.

Coaches and players will learn a lot. Pay dividends later on.

Little disappointed a couple of our veterans didn't step up more on offensive end. KD and Koch have to look to score. Neither were aggressive on Friday.

Thought the refs got the Panther post players on a lot of ticky tacks. Thought they played a little tougher brand of ball in the Big East. Myth over reality there I think.

I wish they would of put morrison in for a couple shots. He tore it up in PTL last summer. The other guys could not buy an outside shot.

[UNItool]

Re: Syracuse

So.... did we win this game after all?

[Codytwo]

Re: Syracuse

Negative..

[UNIdad]

Re: Syracuse

So maybe Wesley Johnson's sudden departure from Ames wasn't just about the broken bone in his foot?