Lets see no outside shooters that can hit a three if they are open, better than 35% of the time. No big guys that have good hands able to score. Yes I know Tulsa made it to the NCAA last year but that was in C-USA. AAC is going to be much harder. Those lacks have to be fixed.
Very athletic, but no real shooters and no legitimate big men.
Agreed. I think the big question about DM was his ability to recruit which was a very strange occurrance given the fact that he had an advantage in name recognition with parents. I think he was either lax in recruiting or was so confident in his coaching that he just didn't feel he needed great talent. Who knows?
And lets face one thing for sure and I hope he doesn't read this little site, but the Big E will never make a significant contribution to TU MBB -IMO. He doesn't have the athletic ability nor the mindset to progress beyond what he is now. There is an old term used in basketball for big men who are JUST big and nothing else and that term is "stiff". I'm not even sure if he has the ability to "sprint" down the floor or just "lumber" it. So IMO that experimental "project" by DM is a bust.
Now he did recruit Harrison and Ray, kids that are really good. But so did Wojcik who recruited the backbone of the team with Woodard, Wright, Swannegan and Rashad Smith.
On shooting; its amazing at how many open shots our opponents can make and we can miss. When all is said and done, its that skill that is the great equalizer.
We need a real deep threat and a 6'10+ guy who isn't soft. If we had those two pieces, we'd be REALLY hard to stop.
IMO we have the tools to be a really great team, but it is dependant on several facotors. Maturity is one. I have waited a long time to see us develope that killer instinct and mental toughness, but it still hasn't arrived. Consistency is another. We are just too much of a yo-yo team and our best players don't have "off nights" they have nights when they completely vanish.
And the final factor may or may not be a factor at all, and thats coaching. I am not sold on the Haith system because I'm not really sure there is a definable system to begin with. This "new" offense just looks like schoolyard play to me. There doesn't seem to be much movement and that can spell disaster. I think what he's trying to do is clear the lane and defy the defenders to guard them away from the perimeter. When the defenders pressure outside, they just drive. When they don't, they just look for an open three - like the shots we took at ORU and couldn't make. I could be wrong since I've only seen us once, but thats what it looked like. We need rebounds and second opportunities to stay in some games. But I think we'll still have problems getting them when we need them the worst.
IMO
(11-18-2014 10:02 AM)rabidTU2 Wrote: [ -> ]the Big E will never make a significant contribution to TU MBB -IMO. He doesn't have the athletic ability nor the mindset to progress beyond what he is now.
I'm going to make a retraction on that above comment. All I had seen of him was in the drills and his brief scrimmage time. I was wrong and he may be able to contribute as a roll player or backup for Wright. He moves better than I'd seen before and "does" have a touch on the ball. So I take back the above statement. Go Big E!
He didn't look too bad in the ACU game. But does still need a lot of work. Personally I don't think he will get what he needs unless he plays though. (Big E)
I know this is way too early and I haven't seen the team play in person but it looks like a very long season......somewhat like football. Without at least a couple of very good and consistent scorers, the AAC is going to eat us alive. Also, any team without at least a couple of potentially good 3 point scorers on any given night is pretty easy prey.....a sagging zone cuts off the inside so it's really hard to score. On our really good teams of the late 90's and early 2000's could score.....and I mean really score.......90+ points, heck 100+ was an every night thing and I do mean every night. I'm not sure this team could score 90 points, let alone a 100 if the other team didn't show up. DW's problem was his teams didn't score enough but that was by design....his style of play..........this team can't score and it isn't by design..........I'm afraid it could be a long, long season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From watching TU in 2 games, I think that we are too much of a 1 on 1 offense that relies too much on good shooters we probably don't possess. Woodard is having his usual slow start and from what I've seen, our overall shooting from everyone except D Wright isn't much to brag about. So IMO we may be running the wrong offensive system and need a scheme a little more "controlled" with deliberate movement than what we have now. But the comfort level in MBB is always an issue on most teams offensively. And our comfort level seems MORE uncomfortable than I'd hoped.
IMO
The current teams make up is that of a driving, slashing take it to the hoop mentality. Its way too easy to stop that kind of team. We score best when we are on the break. They are uncomfortable shooting the three or even taking mid range shots. If we are so uncomfortable shooting the three, we at least have learn how to hit the mid range shot. That is a necessity not a just a want.