1. I went to the game, and it was the loudest Texas game I've been to (been going for about 33 years (yikes)). It actually feels like Moody is a place where the crowd can affect the game, in a way the Erwin Center never did.
2. I've heard coaches talk over the years about reducing turnovers, and it always sort of felt like just one of those things that coaches are supposed to say, along the lines of "we're going to play fast this year." But last night's game really showed (to me, anyway) how damaging turnovers can be. When I kept looking at the stats during the game, it seemed like Gonzaga was really keeping pace with Texas, or exceeding them, except for turnovers. And I guess it makes sense, since turnovers are simultaneously decreasing the shots one team is taking and (usually) increasing the number of shots the other team is taking, but this game was the starkest example I've seen.
3. One of the things I was most impressed with was that, even with a big lead, Texas (mostly) seemed to keep running their offense and defense. There wasn't a lot of plays where they got over excited and jacked up shots, or at least they didn't string a lot of those kind of bad plays together. Of course, it helps when your shots are going in--that makes everything look better.
Well, from an Arkansas perspective, that Texas wipe-out looks a bit better now.
I agree wit you your point about it being "exceedingly hard to maintain the level of cohesion & execution that his systems require when you’re cycling through 1&D players regularly" but I'd like to hear your take on what differentiates Few's systems from those of coaches who have done/are trying to do a similar integration of older players, transfers and 1&D's.
Coach K, for instance, did a good job of overlaying the 1 &D's, but for a couple decades before that, he had a much higher percentage of 2&D players than Few had.
Musselman may be a closer comparison when it comes to the caliber of players he's had at Nevada/Arkansas until the last couple years (inc. c/o 2023, when he's gotten more five star recruits recruits (5) at Arkansas than the previous 19 years combined.
Would be interested to know if you consider Muss' job of integration any easier since he had that professional basketball background in the G-League where he was constantly juggling the equivalent of in-season transfers.
Still in SoCal, recorded but did not watch last night. I checked the score this morning before leaving for AZ and HOLY SHIT. And an even bigger shock, this piece shows up in my inbox after we thought you had sailed over the horizon. Thanks BWG!
Thanks for coming out of hibernation; we will welcome each appearance.
This was the unit that ran Arky out of the gym. Your game theory of treys has that supporting factoid as well. But the bad shooting nights will not be as disappointing to watch this season because of Hunter's effect, true all around punishing guard depth with Rice, and the reinvigorated Disu. The fact that they topped 90 while Timmy Allen got a deuce says a lot about the team as a whole.
Because the team is a combo of very old grad students and probable one-and-done and two-and-done athletes this may well be Beard's best shot at a F4 for some time to come.
Is Mitchell just a very high hoops IQ guy or does his smooth fit on O and D indicate some really serious coaching is happening?
I don't know if Beard has changed to fit his personnel or if they have decided to run motion plus fast break without his knowledge, but it works for me.
Great writeup (as always)! A few random thoughts:
1. I went to the game, and it was the loudest Texas game I've been to (been going for about 33 years (yikes)). It actually feels like Moody is a place where the crowd can affect the game, in a way the Erwin Center never did.
2. I've heard coaches talk over the years about reducing turnovers, and it always sort of felt like just one of those things that coaches are supposed to say, along the lines of "we're going to play fast this year." But last night's game really showed (to me, anyway) how damaging turnovers can be. When I kept looking at the stats during the game, it seemed like Gonzaga was really keeping pace with Texas, or exceeding them, except for turnovers. And I guess it makes sense, since turnovers are simultaneously decreasing the shots one team is taking and (usually) increasing the number of shots the other team is taking, but this game was the starkest example I've seen.
3. One of the things I was most impressed with was that, even with a big lead, Texas (mostly) seemed to keep running their offense and defense. There wasn't a lot of plays where they got over excited and jacked up shots, or at least they didn't string a lot of those kind of bad plays together. Of course, it helps when your shots are going in--that makes everything look better.
Well, from an Arkansas perspective, that Texas wipe-out looks a bit better now.
I agree wit you your point about it being "exceedingly hard to maintain the level of cohesion & execution that his systems require when you’re cycling through 1&D players regularly" but I'd like to hear your take on what differentiates Few's systems from those of coaches who have done/are trying to do a similar integration of older players, transfers and 1&D's.
Coach K, for instance, did a good job of overlaying the 1 &D's, but for a couple decades before that, he had a much higher percentage of 2&D players than Few had.
Musselman may be a closer comparison when it comes to the caliber of players he's had at Nevada/Arkansas until the last couple years (inc. c/o 2023, when he's gotten more five star recruits recruits (5) at Arkansas than the previous 19 years combined.
Would be interested to know if you consider Muss' job of integration any easier since he had that professional basketball background in the G-League where he was constantly juggling the equivalent of in-season transfers.
Still in SoCal, recorded but did not watch last night. I checked the score this morning before leaving for AZ and HOLY SHIT. And an even bigger shock, this piece shows up in my inbox after we thought you had sailed over the horizon. Thanks BWG!
Thanks for coming out of hibernation; we will welcome each appearance.
This was the unit that ran Arky out of the gym. Your game theory of treys has that supporting factoid as well. But the bad shooting nights will not be as disappointing to watch this season because of Hunter's effect, true all around punishing guard depth with Rice, and the reinvigorated Disu. The fact that they topped 90 while Timmy Allen got a deuce says a lot about the team as a whole.
Because the team is a combo of very old grad students and probable one-and-done and two-and-done athletes this may well be Beard's best shot at a F4 for some time to come.
Is Mitchell just a very high hoops IQ guy or does his smooth fit on O and D indicate some really serious coaching is happening?
I don't know if Beard has changed to fit his personnel or if they have decided to run motion plus fast break without his knowledge, but it works for me.