tdhoosier

Well, because I don’t have time to and I’m not a masochist. Lol You’ve went back and analyzed these games?

I'm not going to go back and watch every game, but I think these types of line ups didn't kill us once....possibly twice in Big Ten play. I believe one of those times Lander hit a pair of 3. I also remembering you made sure we knew the line up was working that time. Every other time it killed our momentum. There are a couple of game threads where I even posted the score when the line up went in and when the line up went out. You are saying we mis-remembered it, but I think it's the other way around. Our fanbase was salivating with hatred towards the line up and in almost every single game thread we bitched about it IN THE MOMENT. This wasn't our imagination. And you can say that it's only 3-5 minutes, but with these lineups (specifically without one of TJD, Race or XJ on the floor) there was often a 5 point swing in the wrong direction. We lost 6 games by 5 points or less. To resolve this I think we should ask Scott because he has the photographic memory.

haha. @btownqb will die on this hill! I always love the debate and appreciate the perspective. I do agree that Geronimo is not ready for the 3 - I just can't see that working unless he does some crazy developing in the off-season. If everybody stays, we appear to be set at the 4, but I will stick to my guns about needing to rotate through JG, TJD and Race. No other big man should sniff the floor unless one of those guys is in foul trouble. Because why? If you rotate through, they'll all be plenty fresh to contribute at the end of games. (this is with the caveat: unless Kaleb Banks comes in as an absolute stud and is ready to contribute) I'm still holding out for Kopp to hit more 3s at a higher clip. But, we desperately need to find an athletic 3 in the portal who can create their own shot. It's really early, but we have not improved our greatest weakness yet: shooting.

Back to basketball.... There's been a lot of speculation about if Race, Trayce and Geronimo will be able to share minutes. Jared on Assembly Call had some interesting observations on the subject that made me rethink things. A good coach should be able to use those 3. This should be a good problem to have that he can sell to each of them. But in order to do so, I think Woody will need to approach substitutions in a more conventional way: play TJD and Race together play TJD and Geronimo (while Race rests) Move Race to the 5 and play Geronimo (while TJD rests) ...and keep rotating through that. Keep everybody fresh and happy. It seems simple right? But last year Geronimo got a good chunk of his minutes playing with all the bench players, when he couldn't be as effective. I know beat it to death, but IMO, these rotations have to improve next year.

This subject is so interesting to me because there is a mathematic limit. But on the other hand, at one time the 4 minute mile was considered an impossible barrier to break. Today, all the finalists at NCAA’s are within seconds of 4 minutes. Athletic ability will plateau at some point, but when? I do think we still have a long way to go in terms of nutrition though. As a meat eater, I hate to say it, but is meat our best protein source? Is it a coincidence Tom Brady is vegan? Funny story, I coach an elite 13 year old swimmer who is already starting to compete at a national level - she doesn’t eat meat. The girl is like a freaking Energizer bunny. This past weekend at a national meet she was hanging out with other elite regional swimmers, we found out that they don’t eat meat either. In all cases it wasn't a ‘strategic diet choice’, just a preference. 3 kids, amongst the top 13 year old female swimmers in the state, all coincidentally, are vegetarians? I know it’s a super small sample size but I keep hearing more and more about it. There’s also the Williams sisters, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Novak Djokivich, etc. Does this prove anything? Not necessarily. But it does suggest that not all athletes need animal based protein to compete at a high level. Perhaps it’s just that some are built differently and have different biological needs. All that said, and my point being…..a LOT of learning is still needed when it comes to nutrition and athletics.

…AND makes great athletes even better. I think the key lately is adding strength with movement with an added emphasis on recovery, and as you said: nutrition (which is vital to recovery). It used to be just adding strength. Or just relying on your natural athletic ability. But for athletes, strength only gets you so far if you’re decreasing your mobility. And vice versa. There’s a marriage between the two. I’m by no means an expert in the field, but I do receive a lot of secondary education, and I hear every modern, elite personal trainer or expert in kinesiology highlight the importance of this ‘marriage’ of strength and movement in athletics. It’s why you have a growing number of defensive lineman running the 40 yard dash under 4.5. And in the future, athletes will be more athletic than they are today.

I’m not 100% sure that’s the point. Teams can watch him workout, determine if he is a piece they need and hint if they are interested in drafting or signing him. It’s not all about feedback from a development standpoint, it’s also about gauging interest from teams to determine if he’s has a realistic chance at a contract. He can’t do that if he doesn’t meet with them.

This season he was 35-118 (29%) from 3. He ‘can’ hit them, but about as consistently as Race does.

I’d think it’s going to be that he’s going to test the waters for the NBA draft. I can’t imagine we’ll hear anything about his true decision until June. But I know nothing. My gut also says he stays….and Race leaves.

even better!

I agree with this, but specifically, I think it’s much easier for the big time P5 to make those replacements. I just mentioned it in the Final Four thread, schools like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, UNC, Nova, etc can go out and get the best guys (all conference first team transfers) in the portal based on their reputation, exposure and ability to win right away. I think those big time transfers need to see themselves filling a hole and need a coach who they know can win. It’s still early, but Woody needs to prove himself. That’s why I thought making the tournament last year was so crucial. Nobody good is going to transfer into a dumpster fire or to a school trending in the wrong direction.

After those interviews in the first half last night, I almost wanted to play for Hubert Davis.

Manek and Martin are transfers that plugged holes in UNC and KU’s roster. The transfer portal this summer is vital to our success. The difference between those teams and us is that they can go out and get whomever they want. We don’t have that credibility. Those big time transfers want to win immediately. Last year we were much further away, but we got XJ. This team would’ve sucked without XJ, let’s be honest. Now we need that athletic wing who can score or a stretch 4 who can consistently make threes. Sure the freshman will add to our base, which will help for the future, but we need one more key contributor right away. If TJD and Race go, then we need two. If we strike out, then we don’t make that jump next year.

…always 4 years away. Cubs fans like to say there’s always next year. We like to say there’s always the new coach’s next full recruiting cycle.

A couple of observations about how Hubert Davis uses Bacot. He gets his touches, but he doesn’t park him under the hoop. If it’s not there for Bacot; they immediately look for other options rather than force it into him and let the defense rest. He got his 2nd foul with over 3.00 left in the half. UNC was up 10+ and Davis didn’t take him out until there was 30 seconds left in the half.

I’m surprised he didn’t go through a concussion protocol to be honest. He was dazed.

I think Manek shook off the cobwebs and is seeing one basket now.

perhaps. But that's the whole point we're all agreeing on while at the same time finding was to disagree. Let's not jump to conclusions....it will be dealt with based on the circumstances that are unknown to us.

This week's theme in my music league is covers. Thought I'd share my favorite one: A cover of "All Night Long" that goes in and out of twangy steel pedal and psychedelic. It's a slow burner that takes a while to get going but holy smokes. ....my submission was The Jackson 5 cover of Who's Lovin' You (if anybody is interested)...

I'm not sure how Matta going is a factor Woody can control. He was offered a high major head coaching job! From all accounts that I hear, Dane was not Woody's decision. Their personalities clashed. The players picked up on it. The recruits picked up on it. The HS coaches in the state picked up on it. While I'm not assigning blame to who is at fault for this conflict, is it better for the program to let it reside and fester from within???? I'm no Woody apologist either, but IMO, your post lacks a whole lot of perspective.

I don’t think anybody is drawing a line in the sand and saying that Scott. Life is made up of grey areas. Unless you know the specific circumstances about this situation and XJ personally, then you can’t make a grand sweeping judgement like you are. That’s it. I think you are missing the point, which is why - once again, everybody is disagreeing with you. @btownqb brought up the point that you don’t know every kid’s circumstances. Knowing that he’s a teacher and a coach, I’m sure he sees this every day. As a coach myself, I see this. There are kids who don’t deserve second chances and there are some that do. If you know a kid well enough, you know their intentions. You know if they are truly remorseful. You know their character. The point being is that you don’t know XJ well enough to fairly make the judgement you are making. None of us do.

I do think it’s fair to say that none of us know XJ. Coach knows him. Coach knows if he deserves a second (third) chance. Coach knows if he’s run out of chances. We’ve all had friends/peers/coworkers/etc. close enough to be a judge of the character. We don’t have that luxury with XJ. Speculation will get us nowhere regarding his future. I just feel frustrated that he made this decision. I was young and dumb once (arguably still dumb) and while I’ve gone 90+ Mph on an interstate, I’d NEVER do that on Walnut. It is beyond dangerous.

War is horrible. Been a while since there was activity on this thread. Pretty remarkable that Russia still has not overtaken a Ukrainian city and they are being pushed out of Kyiv. 🇺🇦

I definitely don’t think it’s a bad thing to learn how to play a zone every once in a while. Just to use when things are slipping away.