RE: Tennessee Tech.
It was ugly at times last night. I thought our guards really forced it early on in the game with heavily contested drives that resulted in poor shots or turnovers (I often consider miserable shots turnovers too).
Drew is indeed struggling, but I don't think it's just foul trouble. He's played back to back to back 17 minute games. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this coaching staff needs to pump Drew with confidence as I believe he can be difference maker. He rarely plays the last 4-5 minutes of games (don't know why) which means he really has about 25-30 minutes to earn his 5 fouls. Why pull him when he picks up his second in the first half? Why pull him when he picks up his 3rd early in the second? He's a 5th year senior, show some trust, instill some confidence in him. Have his expectations been communicated to him? You don't accidentally score 16 against UNC or 21 against UK. He needs to be a double digit scorer for us offensively, not a spot up, wildly 'guard-able' shooter.
Aside from Drew's struggles, I think our defensive performance these last two games is not what we saw against EKU and Morehead at home. Everyone is having lapses out there. Helping off shooters too much, playing awful on ball defense, and our high ball screen defensive principles just aren't there consistently. Combine that with still suspect rebounding (another reason I can't explain how Drew doesn't see more minutes) and we've put ourselves in position to lose several games.
Last night is another prime example for me to revisit my often comments about going inside to our bigs. Craig and Reece were unable to effectively drive (credit TTU) and our shots weren't falling. We went inside a few times with mixed result. Chad had one good hook, Evan got called for a phantom travel, Drew forced a half hook from 8 feet, but he also scored on a turnaround jumper for our first bucket of the game & drew a foul on another post feed. We refuse to revisit that well consistently. I mean can you imagine being Blake... he bangs inside all game long, picks up fouls, and rarely gets a chance to return the favor to the other team. I know Drew's having a tough stretch, but so is Blake lately. These guys are 5th year seniors... it's time this staff gases them with confidence. Our guards turn the ball over left and right at times and Rick claps his hands and encourages them to keep attacking, why aren't Drew and Blake afforded that same confidence? Instead, they get yanked. They know how to ball and they need to see the minutes for us to compete in March.
I understand that our squad has been an unbelievable shooting team over the years, but if we want to win conference titles and NCAA tournament games, we need to be more than one dimensional, unless we're stroking like we did against SEMO. Guys on our team that I consider multi-dimensional with their offensive skillset are Craig, JJ, and Drew. We saw Drew explore different parts of his game against our toughest competition (VCU, UK & UNC), but doesn't against the likes of conference foes. Teams that win in March have 3 multi-dimensional scorers. Last years team is a great example with Kerron, Ian, & Trevor. I have to believe we have that again, but only two of those players are put in positions consistently to make plays. JJ killed EKU & UNC cause he's earned Rick's trust even through his struggles and it paid off. Craig is almost certain to turn it over 3 times a game, but Rick continues to tell him to attack and Craig relentlessly does. I love that. I get Drew is a one and done and Evan is the future, no doubt, but Drew can't start tapering off now.
Those are my long-winded, hyper-critical thoughts. I can't wait to see us back in action at the Curb on Thursday against Murray! I might even wear red pants!
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