Game video.

That dunk by Dodd at the 12:20 mark... WOW

I like some of the on ball pressure, but damn if we didn't get pushed around inside. Not much fluidity to the offense either

We are really going to be hurting at the 5 this year. Ouch. Just the first few minutes of that game deep in the defensive paint looked painful.

(08-13-2019 02:27 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  I like some of the on ball pressure, but damn if we didn't get pushed around inside. Not much fluidity to the offense either

Yeah, I noticed quite a bit of Kai picking his guy up at 3/4 court.

I did notice Shykeim Phillips either not getting notice of a screen coming or just wasn't picking up on switches.

Does anyone know if CB coaches them to switch or work their way around a screen? It doesn't do any good to work your way around a screen if your teammate is also going to pick up your man. Might as well at least try and switch to prevent the easy pick and roll.

Late game play looked suspect like last year

Looked exactly like every game we lost last year. Rushed three pointers when the game was close at the end and not a single drive to the basket or attempt to score in the post or draw a foul.

Dodd wasn't as dominating as I expected, Skaggs had really active hands and was a better defender than I expected, Linssen is a stiff but seemed like he could finish, Boggs was better than I expected, and overall I saw nothing to make me believe we will be any different than the past 2 years....sigh.

(08-14-2019 07:22 AM)82hawk Wrote:  Looked exactly like every game we lost last year. Rushed three pointers when the game was close at the end and not a single drive to the basket or attempt to score in the post or draw a foul.

Dodd wasn't as dominating as I expected, Skaggs had really active hands and was a better defender than I expected, Linssen is a stiff but seemed like he could finish, Boggs was better than I expected, and overall I saw nothing to make me believe we will be any different than the past 2 years....sigh.

Dodd has always been a raw prospect, but his athleticism in undeniable. Boggs' game is already polished, a product of playing for one of the best private schools in the state. I'd say we're gonna need both of them to contribute quite a bit for us to be successful this season. Phillips will be solid, but I think how much playing time he gets this season will be based on the availability of Gadsden. All in all, a lot to like about the 3 freshman IMO.

(08-14-2019 07:22 AM)82hawk Wrote:  Looked exactly like every game we lost last year. Rushed three pointers when the game was close at the end and not a single drive to the basket or attempt to score in the post or draw a foul.

Dodd wasn't as dominating as I expected, Skaggs had really active hands and was a better defender than I expected, Linssen is a stiff but seemed like he could finish, Boggs was better than I expected, and overall I saw nothing to make me believe we will be any different than the past 2 years....sigh.

I tell you what I do like. They are pushing the ball and the pace is high. They have a number of guys that can finish in transition either by sprinting the lane or catching lobs. Some guys can even push the ball off a DR like Tolefree or Okauru so it doesn't always have to be Toews. We have too many guys shooting threes though, especially like you said when the game was close. It didn't seem like they had a play or person in mind to execute a solid possession.Get the ball to legit shooters or a legit finisher in the post. (Skaggs, Estime or Linssen) I also liked the 'intent' on the defensive end. They played with energy but it was mostly misguided. That will take time. No judgement yet. The question marks remain the same as always: Who replaces Cacock just in terms of some easy baskets and boards and the big question: Can we stop the 3pt shot. Did you notice the that the Serbian team beat us with 3s???

(08-14-2019 10:30 AM)HAWKING Wrote:  

(08-14-2019 07:22 AM)82hawk Wrote:  Looked exactly like every game we lost last year. Rushed three pointers when the game was close at the end and not a single drive to the basket or attempt to score in the post or draw a foul.

Dodd wasn't as dominating as I expected, Skaggs had really active hands and was a better defender than I expected, Linssen is a stiff but seemed like he could finish, Boggs was better than I expected, and overall I saw nothing to make me believe we will be any different than the past 2 years....sigh.

I tell you what I do like. They are pushing the ball and the pace is high. They have a number of guys that can finish in transition either by sprinting the lane or catching lobs. Some guys can even push the ball off a DR like Tolefree or Okauru so it doesn't always have to be Toews. We have too many guys shooting threes though, especially like you said when the game was close. It didn't seem like they had a play or person in mind to execute a solid possession.Get the ball to legit shooters or a legit finisher in the post. (Skaggs, Estime or Linssen) I also liked the 'intent' on the defensive end. They played with energy but it was mostly misguided. That will take time. No judgement yet. The question marks remain the same as always: Who replaces Cacock just in terms of some easy baskets and boards and the big question: Can we stop the 3pt shot. Did you notice the that the Serbian team beat us with 3s???

I wasn't able to watch the whole game, but I watched a good portion of the first half and I thought we took way too many threes in that part of the game. My guess though, is that if we are going to play a majority of games with a 4 guard lineup we're going to see a lot of threes. The 'ol "Live by, die by" adage comes to mind. I don't like it at all.

It also doesn't surprise me at all that the Serbian team beat us with threes.

1. The last couple years we have not defended the threes well... at all. Sure, players make contested threes from time to time and we all know how much coach loves telling us about that in the post pressers. However, what I continue to see in our defense (especially those playing the 3 and 4 spots) are that we shrink into the paint a little and give them way too much room and then try to run out on them when the ball is rotated to the wing or corner shooter. We rarely ever close out in time to put up any sort of adequate defense and get punished. Two years of that now and I saw the same thing in the Serbian game film.

2. Serbians can shoot. I never played college ball, but I've played with guys from that area of the world and nine times out of ten they are some of the best shooters on the floor. So it didn't surprise me that our weakness there was sorely exposed by them.

Last thing I'll say is that I reaaaaaally hope Gadsden is healthy sooner than later. We're very much going to need him on the court.

Scoring hasn't been our problem the last two years. Sadly scoring hasn't been our opponent's problem either.

The Serbians put up 91 points on us. I think I know what the problem to be fixed still is.

(08-14-2019 11:11 AM)70shawk Wrote:  Scoring hasn't been our problem the last two years. Sadly scoring hasn't been our proponent's problem either.

The Sebians put up 91 points on us. I think I know what the problem to be fixed still is.

Agree. I do not see us having a problem scoring. We have plenty of guys who can put it in the bucket. But, our lack of interior defense is going to result in drives to the basket with no size to help, or a kick out to an open 3 when we collapse to help. Basically, exactly what we saw last year. We cannot just play m-m with a 4 guard lineup and LESS interior defense than last year.

(08-14-2019 12:50 PM)82hawk Wrote:  

(08-14-2019 11:11 AM)70shawk Wrote:  Scoring hasn't been our problem the last two years. Sadly scoring hasn't been our proponent's problem either.

The Sebians put up 91 points on us. I think I know what the problem to be fixed still is.

Agree. I do not see us having a problem scoring. We have plenty of guys who can put it in the bucket. But, our lack of interior defense is going to result in drives to the basket with no size to help, or a kick out to an open 3 when we collapse to help. Basically, exactly what we saw last year. We cannot just play m-m with a 4 guard lineup and LESS interior defense than last year.

"Yeah but, i really want to see how are m2m looks. I think it could really be a factor for us this year."
insert eyeroll

I looked at some of it and felt like they played at a fast pace which really suited this team. Kai does a great job pushing the tempo and controlling the action. Players can play on instinct and in rhythm when they play at this pace and let's face it, they have to. UNCW played at a high pace a few years ago and almost won 30 games regardless of defense. And, this team needs to embrace pace the way it looks to me.

This last game was a good test for the team going forward. They can learn from this and the staff can see what guys can do. There were some guys that showed what they can do in different situations. Estime demonstrated consistent scoring. Tolafree demonstrated that he can do his thing at the end of a clock as he can drive the ball and shoot too. Skaggs showed that he is a killer 3 ball guy (like that confident stroke) with a match 3 ball late and had great chemistry with Kai. Boggs was bouncy and skilled. Phillips can do his thing as well as he is just getting rolling. Dodd will be a big factor in time and I came away impressed with Marten L too. Okauru is good as well but has to redshirt and Bowen looked like he could help some too but may redshirt.

If they can get Sims and Gadsden rolling, this club could be exciting to watch. They can't sustain any injuries however because all bets are off especially to the bigs or Kai. Fun group of ballers for sure that can outscore many a team and if they get stops, watch out! To me, a 10 man rotation early is fine for this group and it gets everybody rolling. Fun times, as there is talent!

(08-15-2019 10:58 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  I looked at some of it and felt like they played at a fast pace which really suited this team. Kai does a great job pushing the tempo and controlling the action. Players can play on instinct and in rhythm when they play at this pace and let's face it, they have to. UNCW played at a high pace a few years ago and almost won 30 games regardless of defense. And, this team needs to embrace pace the way it looks to me.

This last game was a good test for the team going forward. They can learn from this and the staff can see what guys can do. There were some guys that showed what they can do in different situations. Estime demonstrated consistent scoring. Tolafree demonstrated that he can do his thing at the end of a clock as he can drive the ball and shoot too. Skaggs showed that he is a killer 3 ball guy (like that confident stroke) with a match 3 ball late and had great chemistry with Kai. Boggs was bouncy and skilled. Phillips can do his thing as well as he is just getting rolling. Dodd will be a big factor in time and I came away impressed with Marten L too. Okauru is good as well but has to redshirt and Bowen looked like he could help some too but may redshirt.

If they can get Sims and Gadsden rolling, this club could be exciting to watch. They can't sustain any injuries however because all bets are off especially to the bigs or Kai. Fun group of ballers for sure that can outscore many a team and if they get stops, watch out! To me, a 10 man rotation early is fine for this group and it gets everybody rolling. Fun times, as there is talent!

"If they can get stops" what part of that video made you think this is a remote possibility?

(08-15-2019 10:58 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  UNCW played at a high pace a few years ago and almost won 30 games regardless of defense.

The Keatts era pressing/trapping defense lead to a lot of the high pace offensive points. So we outscored the other teams (which also typically scored a lot of points) often BECAUSE of our defense.

So far during the McGrath era we have scored a lot of points, but have been outscored by our opponents BECAUSE of our defense - or lack thereof.

No need to go back to last year's threads to recall player after player having "career" nights making 'tough shots'. Heck the SDN's own color commentator repeatedly said that there was 'something about our defense that other teams had figured out and were routinely exploiting.

It's just a fact that UNCW's defense last year was literally one of the worst in the nation, statistically. If that doesn't change not much else will matter.

Keatts ran them off the 3 point line so yes,that was just enough.

(08-18-2019 08:40 AM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Keatts ran them off the 3 point line so yes,that was just enough.

Seriously? So the press, the focus on deflections, the easy points of steals were irrelevant? C'mon man.

That press was not a great press and the intent was just to speed the game up. Yes, teams would get tired and sometimes throw the ball away, but they also got easy shots at the rim too. I did like the focus on deflections a whole lot. That was a good thing that Keatts brought with him. Keatts teams outscored people and I was fine with that. I do like to have a little of both.

Thus far McGrath's teams have not been good defensively, but I'm hopeful that they will improve with better athlete's out there and with more reps for later in the season for the freshmen. Players do make a difference regardless of scheme. If you're too slow or not a quick study, you're just going to get beat and give up looks. And, it only takes a 1 or 2 guys like that to ruin a defensive stand. He knows that the program needs to start making some positive strides this year. He has accumulated some nice pieces so we will see.