the reason we don't get many good 3 point shots is that we aren't looking to pass the ball to the open man on the wing. We continually try to penetrate and either shoot or dish to someone underneath for a slam dunk.

Whereas other teams, notably Harding last night, move the ball around with passes and are able to get shots off before our men could get there. With that said, I remember two long shots they made with Alex right in the guys face, so give credit to the shooter.

In a lot of cases, if the other team isn't hitting a lot of 3 pointers, we win because we are able to score some easy baskets. But when they are hitting those outside shots, that's when we lose. I can pinpoint nearly every loss to teams outshooting us from the perimeter. I'm not sure they all have better shooters. They just look for the shooter on the perimeter. Until our offense is updated, it doesn't matter how many shooters we have on the team, they won't be able to score much, because we aren't looking for them.

As some on the board, me included, have stated in the past, our offense is designed for a team with dominating inside players. Players who, once they get the ball inside, can score consistently. We don't now, and have hardly ever had, that kind of inside player. So we're not playing an offense that takes advantage of our type of player. Mike is probably the only player that even comes close to being able to do much inside. I really thought with all those closed practices we were installing some different type of offensive maneuvers, but it looks like the same old thing.

I'm sorry, but until our offensive philosphy changes to fit our personnel, we will continue to be a competitive, but probably no better than a third or fourth best team each season. We might win 20 games this year, although I doubt it, but even if we do, we won't win the tournament, because we can't hold teams with good shooters down enough to offset our lack of offensive spark. We have some players who can do it. We're just not building the system around them. One question. Who would you rather be taking most of the shots? Burton, Bails, Thornton, Mike, or Solo, III, Nick, or Alex? I'll vote for the last group.

It's hard to build an inside offense without very good bigs. I suspect that's why most mid-majors use the 3 and 4 guard offense. There are exceptions, of course. But it's bound to be easier for a mid-major to find guards that can shoot, than big guys that can handle the ball, not travel, and dunk.

Why we don't use the motion offense is a question. It's better suited to quicker, smaller personnel.

(11-09-2009 10:01 AM)Scotto Wrote:  It's hard to build an inside offense without very good bigs. I suspect that's why most mid-majors use the 3 and 4 guard offense. There are exceptions, of course. But it's bound to be easier for a mid-major to find guards that can shoot, than big guys that can handle the ball, not travel, and dunk.

Why we don't use the motion offense is a question. It's better suited to quicker, smaller personnel.

You'd have to have Joe Foley teach it.