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How would you fix it?


KoB2011

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Looking for some in depth answers on how people would change things right now if they were coach to improve things starting tomorrow. 

Not particularly interested in hearing the same generalities we can read in almost thread that lack much in terms of substance and proof, but actually answers about things a coaching staff could change to make things better. 

I'll go first: I think this team needs to shoot more threes, particularly folks like Armaan, Jerome, Hunter, and Leal. Those four can all knock down threes and that will open things up for everyone else so that we can get quality post touches inside for TJD and Race, and driving lanes for Rob. 

Secondly, all of the Galloway/Leal minutes would go to Leal at this point. I like Galloway, but he still isn't 100% IMO and I'd rather have the shooting from Leal than the things he brings to the table. 

Lastly, I would try and get Rob some early, easy buckets in every game. This team is only going to go as far as he takes us and we need him playing confident. 

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Honestly, give up on the pack line defense.  It seems gimmicky to me. Teach man to man help side defense.  Dont waste time in practice teaching things a player who was recruited to play college basketball should already know. 

Basketball isn't that hard and I feel alot of coaches complicate the game. 

For 4 frickin years we have dealt with atrocious shooting.  You can't win games if you dont score points. 

This team needs 75% practice shooting, 25% defensive drills. 

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Put Hunter in at the 3 and put AL on the bench.  I would say RP but I can't have Armaan or Al running the point.  I would start running more plays to get our shooters with off the ball screens.  I would pick up the pace and start your offense right away and not do the weave for 12 seconds before getting into our offense.  I like it when we do cross screens to get TJD to the ball side for easy layups so we should do that more.  I would change up the defense a little and try some zone defense.  This team has trouble guarding the dribble do why not change it up.

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I'd like to see us be more aggressive on both ends.  I think we're too methodical and struggle to get into a good flow at times.  I know the pack-line isn't meant to be an aggressive defense that forces a lot of turnovers, but our offense isn't good enough to line up and beat defenses repeatedly.  Getting some easy baskets off turnovers would be a big boost when we have a scoring drought.  I'd like to have a wrinkle added where we could throw in more pressure at certain times.

Specifically on offense, I'd like to see us push the pace a lot more.  We're pretty much middle of the pack in possessions per game.  It seems like we're sometimes too structured.  Too much walking the ball up, looking for the play, wasting a lot of time from the clock before we get into our offense.  We have times when we run a little more, and I think we get into a better flow when we do.

I think the biggest thing we need is a confidence boost.  I get the emphasis on limiting turnovers and getting smart shots, but I think it makes teams play uptight at times.  If you're worried about having a turnover, you might not be as willing to push the ball, to make a slightly risky pass that could lead to a wide open layup, etc.  I don't want us to get back to Crean level turnovers, but I think unless you're elite at not turning the ball over like Virginia or Wisconsin usually are, an emphasis on limiting turnovers can be counterproductive.  Sometimes you have to risk getting a turnover to get a better shot.  There's obviously a balance there, and I'd like to see us be a little less conservative.

We really need to start taking shots confidently.  Hunter, Franklin, Leal, and Lander (unfortunately!) do a great job of taking confident shots, but a lot of the rest of the team is too hesitant.  I get the idea of not wanting us to take more threes, but I think shooting more WITH CONFIDENCE could be a big help.  Sometimes you have to play looser and shoot more to get that confidence.  I agree that at our current confidence level, a lot of the team doesn't need to shoot more.  It seems like some of our guys don't realize they need to shoot until the ball is already in their hands.  We have to be thinking about shooting before we get the ball.  Wondering if a shot is a good shot or not can lead to hesitant shooters.  We have to be willing to put up more shots to try to gain that confidence.  Again, within reason.  We don't need to shoot 30 threes per game, but 22 or 23 a game isn't unreasonable (currently 18 per game).

I don't know what we're doing to practice shooting around the basket and free throws, but we need to change whatever we're doing.  It seems like nobody on our team is consistent around the basket.  There's got to be some things we can do differently to try to improve on all of our missed layups.  Hard to say what we should be doing without knowing what we're currently doing.  There's definitely a player responsibility in that too, but when our whole team struggles with it, it is something that needs to be practiced and addressed.

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I would like our guards to shoot the ball when they are open. Too many times they get an open three and pump fake and dribble into traffic and we turn over the ball without ever getting a shot.  I agree with the above. We need to take more three point shots especially Franklin, Hunter and Leal. And if Leal won’t shoot then no reason to have him on the floor. He has passed up more open threes than any of our other guards. 

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Put Hunter in the starting line up and bring RP off bench, have AD run point. I think Phinisee plays better off the bench. He's more relaxed. At this point, the whole team gets tight when he isn't doing well because the narrative driving the team is they can't win if he doesn't play well.

The Archie post game comment that stuck out to me was "If we can get two of our three guards to perform, we will win." Ok, Franklin has performed, so Archie knows his problem. The real question is: "why run a three guard offense if only one of your three guards performs consistently?"  

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1) Drop the packline. Not working. Since the NW game, guys have just been able to drive at will against Iu. When/ IF, help comes, it’s too late, and the dribbler kicks out for wide open 3. Or, just gets an easy lay up. Also seems like we give up an awful lot of And-1’s. Go man to man, and I think we would be deep enough for the full court press once and a while, not just when we are down 6 with a minute left. We all remember the 3 point barrage we got from Fort Wayne at Assembly Hall and there are too many other games since where the packline isn’t working, and the “Falzones” and Boo Bouies of the world go OFF on IU. 

2) Recruit shooters. These guys try really hard. Franklin has blossomed, and Hunter is slowly coming on, but there are stretches where we just can’t shoot. And it’s consistent during Archie’s tenure. We need to try to get at least one knock down shooter in every class. Hopefully Leal fits that rile this go around. 2b) get rid of Cliff Marshall. I still think that whatever they do for conditioning is more geared for NFL bodies and not basketball. Many disagree, but i have thought their shots are affected by too much strength training. ( Despite Yogi being a tank and improving his shot- Yogi had Lionel Anderson as strength coach) 2c) Recruit more bigs to go with all the wings.

3) practice free throws. By the HUNDREDS. Being one of the top teams in the country getting to the line is NOT an advantage if you only hit 65%. 

4) Make line up adjustments. Starting the 2nd half with the starting line up when let’s say one of them is 0-6 with 3 turnovers is something that makes no sense. 

Whether Archie is here or not, this will be a good team in a couple years. And so many of these barriers have held us back. That’s why it’s so frustrating. This is a good team, so much better than their record. They have lost a lot of very winnable games. So many things could be different with a few small changes. We all know the definition of doing the same things over and over that don’t work. That is on the coach. The seat grows hotter....

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I think I would have each player have a note pad on the sideline and write  notes then in game quiz the players. If they goof around or don’t take notes ... Well they can be buried at the end of the bench. It seems like half the time we have a substitute come into the game they blow an assignment right away or outta position on offense. I would have each one of my assistants focus on one player each in the the game and report back to me on things they see that can be exploited. I would work 24/7 if I had to... To help a Trayce better his right hand hook or Lander’s shooting. 

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Apparently Izzo told his players that the rest of the year was going to be an audition for who comes back next year...If i were coach i would tell the players the samething, the market is going to be flooded with players,shooters,big men,Guards...yesterday's game a couple upper class guards were 0-10 with 4 turnovers and 2 pts combined...its up to them to prove their worth...maybe some dont want to come back and that could be a healthy change...next year your looking at Stewart, Duncomb all this years freshman, Franklin,Thompson and if he were smart TJD...plus any players CAM could get in the market...i think a change of scenery for a couple players will do both player and IU wonders....if the results are the same then hit the market for a new Coach...cam not going anywhere this year..if you look back at some of the previous games just shooting a decent % on 2's and 3's ...then this season looks "better"...there have been alot of games that came down to shooting. 

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9 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

I'll go first: I think this team needs to shoot more threes, particularly folks like Armaan, Jerome, Hunter, and Leal. Those four ??? can all knock down threes and that will open things up for everyone else so that we can get quality post touches inside for TJD and Race, and 

So is there a name missing or do you want Hunter shooting a BUNCH of 3's every game?? 🤔🤣

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Fix immediately?  Can’t be done. Culture problems take time.  
 

1.  Bench the players who aren’t trying consistently.  RP for example. We don’t have enough depth to not play him but bench him.  It incentivizes  this thing called trying. In addition. Base playing time on how guys show up in games not how they practice.  This has drove me nuts since Fitzner 
 

2.  Stop rolling with 10-11 scholarship players.  Like just don’t do it. If you lose a contributor your basically screwed.  You should have 7-8 experienced players and 3-4 freshmen. And then maybe 1-2 transfers who are new to the system but know college basketball 
 

3. Whatever is being done to prep for games stop. Just stop it’s consistently not working 

4.  Stop changing the lineup in the middle of a run unless the other team calls a timeout.  We kill our own runs by taking out guys who are playing well.  Give the guys a breather in a few minutes  

 

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I'm not saying we should mash the gas on offense, but we at least need to take off the parking break!!  It's like watching grade school games with kids running the same 2, stiff, robotic sets all game.  Loosen things up some and maybe start running the offense before the shot clock gets to single digits?  

On defense, we've goe back to hard hedging and its got us running all over the damn floor playing catch up with ball while spot up shooters are hitting wide open 3's or TJD's guy is getting an easy and 1 because TJD was 74 feet away hedging a ball screen.  STOP IT!!!!  I dont know what the exact "fix" is for this, but if i kept getting my d%@# caught in my zipper id figure out a better way of doing things pretty quick or id start wearing sweat pants.

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I think if we're looking for doable, realistic options, we can throw out ditching the Packline during the season.  No college coach that believes in his defense is just going to scrap it at this point.  I'm actually a little surprised that many are mentioning defense as a big concern.  I think we can offer who we think needs to play more and less.  We can offer that the starters should change.  I personally would like to see a shorter leash on guys who are playing poorly in each particular game.  Seems coaches are always criticized these days for pulling kids when they make mistakes.  I think that's hogwash.  It is usually clear early if RP or Al came to play or not.  I also personally wish we'd play faster, but don't see Miller changing his system during the system in that way either.  Shooting more 3s scares the crap out of me.  I guess I can get onboard with telling the guys coming out to take the good open 3 if it's within the offense, etc., but then if we start 1-10, in the timeout point out that they're not falling and to get to the basket.  Surely he already does that?  I don't have any magical suggestions though.  I'm at a loss with his team.  

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 - Get Phinisee some early, easy shots at the rim to get his confidence going. As others have said, IU will go as Phinisee goes. Lander is miles and miles away from being ready. 

- Put the ball in Franklins hands once we get into the offense. Stop putting him in the corner while Phinisee and Durham run the action. Run the offense through Franklin and TJD. 

- Continuously run Al off of pin down screens where he can get that curl action going. He shouldn't be initiating the offense

- Push the pace in transition and off live ball changes of possession. We initiate offense much to slow

- Get Hunter more playing time on the wing to go along with his time at the 4

- Choose between Galloway and Leal. I'd probably pick Leal just for his shooting. But give one of them 10-12 minutes instead of one of them 8 and the other 4. 

- Finally, pull an Izzo and tell the guys the next month is their chance to audition for next year. The bottom line is IU doesn't have the guard/wing talent to compete at a high level (keyword high. We have middle of the pack talent, not Big Ten Title talent). Those positions need to be upgraded in the transfer market.

 

 

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1 hour ago, 3Ballin said:

On defense, we've goe back to hard hedging and its got us running all over the damn floor playing catch up with ball while spot up shooters are hitting wide open 3's or TJD's guy is getting an easy and 1 because TJD was 74 feet away hedging a ball screen.  STOP IT!!!! 

 

27 minutes ago, NCHoosier32 said:

I'm actually a little surprised that many are mentioning defense as a big concern. 

I think beyond what @3Ballin stated above, you're right. 

When MSU spread us out, and we hard hedged, they knew exactly what to do... Hit the guy that our big men had left close to the basket who either scored or kicked the ball out for a wide open 3...Most of the time it was Gabe Brown getting a wide open look...

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5 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

There’s nothing wrong with the pack line per se. any defense not properly executed is going to struggle. Plenty of teams run the pack line with great success. 

Completely agree. IU doesn't have a system problem, it has an execution, talent (our perimeter recruiting has not been good enough) and potentially philosophy problem. What I mean by philosophy is that our offense is completely fine schematically, IU generally gets really good shots, but the philosophy of how we execute is potentially a problem, as in the pace that we play, the low emphasis on the 3pt shot, etc., etc. 

Archie has talked about pushing the pace and wanted to get into offense faster, and IU has done that much more this year, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. 

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Fixes for this season

Keep feeding the ball to TJD early especially if there is no double team.  If our opponent doesn't have 2 traditional bigs on the court, feed the ball to Race and exploit this mismatch until the other team adjusts.  Run more plays to get Al and Franklin open for catch and shoot 3 point shots   Run some stuff to get Franklin attacking downhill.  I would get him involved in the offense more often overall.  Also, get Rob to attack the basket more often.  He is capable, we have seen it every couple of games.  

 

Next season

Find true point guard on the transfer market or a big wing (that can shoot).  Start next season with the transfer PG, Stewart, and Franklin in the backcourt.  Or Stewart, Franklin, and transfer wing.  Either situation, I would have Rob come off the bench and extend his pressure to half court off of made baskets.  He is a really good on ball defender and Archie needs to find a way to play to his strengths.  Unless Lander makes a huge leap over the offseason, I'm not sure he is ready to play significant minutes yet.  I think Stewart was the primary facilitator at UT Martin, so he could share some minutes at PG.  Seeing how bigger perimeter players like Scottie Barnes, Aaron Henry, Ayo (1st game), and Justice Sueing were able to exploit our smaller guards, I would probably rather Archie find a big wing in the offseason that could help with these matchups.  Adding a 6-6/6-7 wing, would give us a backcourt of 6-4, 6-5, and 6-6.  I know we have Hunter, but can't guard traditional wings and I think Geronimo maybe another year away from playing significant minutes and he is probably a 4 in college.

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My eyes tell me the offense is significantly more efficient with Anthony Leal on the floor.   And, there are stats that back that up.  Sure, he will make some rookie mistakes.  But, so do our veteran guards.  Let Anthony get the experience he needs on the floor in preparation for next year.  20-25 minutes a game.

 

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7 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

My eyes tell me the offense is significantly more efficient with Anthony Leal on the floor.   And, there are stats that back that up.  Sure, he will make some rookie mistakes.  But, so do our veteran guards.  Let Anthony get the experience he needs on the floor in preparation for next year.  20-25 minutes a game.

 

Yeah. I don’t want to knock Galloway, because I like him, but I kind of cringe when I see him off the bench before Leal. Both are freshman with a lot of room to grow, but Leal is the guy I’d go to first now, and that doesn’t mean forget about Galloway at the end of the bench. 

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3 hours ago, Brass Cannon said:

There’s nothing wrong with the pack line per se. any defense not properly executed is going to struggle. Plenty of teams run the pack line with great success. 

True. In a recent Illini game, Hummel mentioned how Underwood ditched the pressing defense he had always played when B1G teams were torching it with fast breaks. He said IL now runs a version of a pack line.

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4 hours ago, 3Ballin said:

So is there a name missing or do you want Hunter shooting a BUNCH of 3's every game?? 🤔🤣

Ha I actually meant Durham, good catch. I want him in more catch and shoot situations and coming off of curl screens. He's actually borderline very good in those two specific situations. 

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