KoB2011

It can, but I don’t know that I’d put X into the great category which is why I think we need a third.

Yeah I think it’s too early to say. There’s a lot of potential but we need the depth to step up. I feel confident in TJD and mostly confident in X, I feel good about Race as a complimentary player, but we really need a solid third option to step up. I don’t think Stewart or Kopp are going to do that, they seem like complimentary guys who can hit some shots on this team (which is a need, so that’s great). I think it’s really going to have to be Bates developing into an all conference level player over the course of the season if we want this to be a special season.

TJD and X were obviously outstanding. Bates hit a big shot to put the game on ice. We have some things to work with and a coach who can adapt within a game. I think this will be a really fun season.

The rumor unfortunately seems to make the most sense. LeBron has been heckled a lot in his career and heard a lot of things and never done that; if it was racial, others would have reacted (Russ was right there).

I can’t imagine trying to justify thinking it’s okay to tell someone you hope their kid dies.

I’d be shocked if it doesn’t end up quad 1 honestly.

Yes. All of that.

That is part of the topic. Lander doesn't get playing time in a vacuum so what guys he is competing with for minutes do is relevant to the conversation.

I don't think anyone is saying the team would have been as good under Archie and I also believe we are all well aware we play a different system. I've personally pointed out several times we are playing an NBA style defense and it is clearly superior. Having said that, there are some defensive fundamentals that aren't about the system we are playing that this team clearly benefits from already have had instilled. Our defense disappointed last year under Archie, along with everything else, but to ignore that we largely had a good defense during his tenure is to ignore reality. We struggled with playing hard all the time, and we were susceptible to the three ball because it is a weakness of the scheme, but make no mistake our players had a lot of good principles instilled in them by Archie.

Yeah I think Archie deserves some credit for putting in a good foundation defensively. There’s a reason Woody has talked repeatedly about us being ahead defensively of where we are offensively, and that’s largely due to the teaching of the previous staff. This staff has quite clearly taken it to a new level and they deserve major credit, too.

Even on the little run they had to end it, those were some really tough shots they hit.

We have such a good defense. We've got some really good pieces to work with.

Over 50% in the majority of games. He's a weapon.

I think Lander and Leal picking up Galloway and Phinisee's minutes while they're out is going to pay dividends in the long run. Leal is such a dead-eye shooter and he plays really hard. The play he made to tip the ball up so TJD could grab the missed free throw was a great play that isn't going to show up in the stat sheet.

Stewart may be the best shooter in the conference. We may have the best defense in the conference. Trayce IS the best player in the conference.

He's done that several times through 4.5 games, this is the only time I can remember it being an issue. It's a huge asset if he can get it and go.

Durr is awful. Huge opportunity of Logan when he comes back, IMO.

Kind of hard to ignore how other point guards are playing when we are talking about how much one of our point guards should play.

Hard to ignore that Phinisee is behind Lander in both sets of stats they appear in. Aside from the fact that this season is a really small sample size, there are other reasons for that. All the same, I hypothesize that Rob’s style of play brings everyone else down. While he may be a better individual defender he plays in a very disengaging way and that doesn’t always just impact offense. When guys stand around watching someone pound the air out of the ball without purpose it’s not too far out there to think the team defense suffers from the team becoming disengaged.

Is smoked pot even a mistake?

Who was ranked outside of the top 25 in both coming into the tourney?

I agree. He lacks some physical ability on that end but he is smart and plays hard. He is a guy you can hide on defense, but man can that kid shoot. I’d like to see him get more run. I am fairly convinced Woody is giving upperclassmen the first crack at minutes and some of the stuff we have seen so far is not indicative of what our rotations will be in two months.

I’m honestly not that surprised. It’s a small sample size, but Rob and Durr have been outright awful on offense.

On the rebounding piece some of you are overly alarmed about... Their offensive rebound percentage was in the mid 30s. That's good, but not nearly as jarring as 21 offensive rebounds. When you think about the fact that Trayce, Race, and Jordan each played about 1/2 of the game and think about how bad some of those misses are, the numbers were somewhat inevitable. The only thing I am really perturbed by with regards to rebounding is Durr. I know it's early, but so far I am unimpressed by him.

100% man, and I think it's just going to keep getting better with him at the helm.