Practice 7/29/13

KBaden145 said:
I think people need to get the idea of a 'press breaker' out of their minds. Breaking concerted full court pressure is a team effort. It's obvious from the practice I attended and Gary's observations, breaking pressure AND applying pressure have been a major emphasis. I believe Kruger really truly wants to force tempo and be good in transition on offense and defense. Woodard and Booker has struggled at times with the SO guards and the pressure they apply defensively. I don't believe this is deficiency or anything but FR struggling with new level of play, speed, and quickness. Plus, these 3 SO are really good, as good a group defensively as we have had in quite awhile. Woodard and Booker will be better for it.
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That is exactly right. Last season after the major failures the practice the next day was all about correcting problems. It was almost always a problem with the help and outlet people not being in the right place or doing what they were suppose to do. It was seldom a problem with the ball handler.

Grooms was a good press breaker. But, he should have never been put in the position that he had to do it on his own as often as he was.
 
garyeb2 said:
That is exactly right. Last season after the major failures the practice the next day was all about correcting problems. It was almost always a problem with the help and outlet people not being in the right place or doing what they were suppose to do. It was seldom a problem with the ball handler.

Grooms was a good press breaker. But, he should have never been put in the position that he had to do it on his own as often as he was.
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Excellent point! Sam's teammates didn't do a good job in spreading the court and creating a passing lane to help him break the press. It also didn't help that Romero was the only guy taller than 6' 4" who could dribble and pass well enough to give our guards an assist. A big with good hands and the ability to dribble or pass out of trouble can be invaluable in the middle when full court pressure is applied. M'Baye didn't fit that description.

On that note, does Spangler have good ball handling skills? Is Cam still shaky in dribbling the ball or have his handles improved since last season? Will anyone else you have seen so far give us a better chance of breaking a full court press and limiting our turnovers this season? I think Woodard has a chance of being better than Grooms at breaking full court pressure in time.
But it may be asking too much to expect him to do it as a freshman.
 
AdaSooner said:
Excellent point! Sam's teammates didn't do a good job in spreading the court and creating a passing lane to help him break the press. It also didn't help that Romero was the only guy taller than 6' 4" who could dribble and pass well enough to give our guards an assist. A big with good hands and the ability to dribble or pass out of trouble can be invaluable in the middle when full court pressure is applied. M'Baye didn't fit that description.

On that note, does Spangler have good ball handling skills? Is Cam still shaky in dribbling the ball or have his handles improved since last season? Will anyone else you have seen so far give us a better chance of breaking a full court press and limiting our turnovers this season? I think Woodard has a chance of being better than Grooms at breaking full court pressure in time.
But it may be asking too much to expect him to do it as a freshman.
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All 3 SO guards will be better and are all 6-4. They don't have anyone like Osby as far as a big who can handle the ball like you are asking. I didn't get to see much of Cam on Monday. Gary should have seen more of him. Neal has been helping break pressure and the FR will improve.
 
AdaSooner said:
Excellent point! Sam's teammates didn't do a good job in spreading the court and creating a passing lane to help him break the press. It also didn't help that Romero was the only guy taller than 6' 4" who could dribble and pass well enough to give our guards an assist. A big with good hands and the ability to dribble or pass out of trouble can be invaluable in the middle when full court pressure is applied. M'Baye didn't fit that description.

On that note, does Spangler have good ball handling skills? Is Cam still shaky in dribbling the ball or have his handles improved since last season? Will anyone else you have seen so far give us a better chance of breaking a full court press and limiting our turnovers this season? I think Woodard has a chance of being better than Grooms at breaking full court pressure in time.
But it may be asking too much to expect him to do it as a freshman.
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Well, they will have a big inbound the ball after a made basket. I'm sure that will be Spangler. He isn't as good as Osby with the ball. But, he is OK for a big. He isn't expected to do a lot of dribbling. He throws in to a guard. If they throw it back to him, he is suppose to throw it to another guard. He will be fine.

As far as Cam, he is probably a little better. I've always thought he was better with the ball than he looked. He bounces the ball too high and looks out of control. But, he really doesn't turn it over much with his ball handling. And yes, Woodard is an upgrade over Grooms. Cousins is just flat out fast dribbling the ball. He needs maturity.
 
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garyeb2 said:
Well, they will have a big inbound the ball after a made basket. I'm sure that will be Spangler. He isn't as good as Osby with the ball. But, he is OK for a big. He isn't expected to do a lot of dribbling. He throws in to a guard. If they throw it back to him, he is suppose to throw it to another guard. He will be fine.

As far as Cam, he is probably a little better. I've always thought he was better with the ball than he looked. He bounces the ball too high and looks out of control. But, he really doesn't turn it over much with his ball handling. And yes, Woodard is an upgrade over Grooms. Cousins is just flat out fast dribbling the ball. He needs maturity.
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Thanks! I'm encouraged by that news.

You're spot on about Cam. Defenders with quick hands get a little smile on their face when a player stands up tall and dribbles the ball too high the way he does.

I think that Cam would be a lot better off if he dribbled the ball lower, and cut out some of the gyrations he goes through to get open, which rarely accomplishes much except to increase the possibility he'll turn the ball over. With his length and great hops, he could just go up and shoot over most of the defenders he faces.

You're right about Cousins, he is indeed fast with the ball in his hands. He's also too careless sometimes. If he can find the right blend of speed under control and improve his ability to score, he'll be one heck of a player someday.
 
It seemed to me that the biggest weakness last season against the press was the scheme. Way too often, the in-bounds pass was to Grooms in the corner, where he was often pinned in the corner by two taller defenders.
 
AdaSooner said:
You're right about Cousins, he is indeed fast with the ball in his hands. He's also too careless sometimes. If he can find the right blend of speed under control and improve his ability to score, he'll be one heck of a player someday.
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Cousins looks like a different guy. He's hitting shots, attacking the rim, and being very aggressive with ball off the dribble. I really think he was miscast as a lead guard last season, at least for this team. I see him as an aggressive wing attacking off the dribble and guarding at a very high level. In a way, it would use his aggressive nature to our advantage. I see him as a poor mans Westbrook. We just have better options for a lead guard in Hornbeak and Woodard. I love these guards. They are consistent outside shooting away from being a really elite group.
 
Thanks to all for the response and discussion regarding the issue of progress of dealing with the press. It was pretty much what I expected and what I wanted to hear.

I know we have other issues such as scoring; size, especially if Avila is not available, etc., but our lack of ability to deal with the press cost us a game or so last season, and a few others closer than desired.
 
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