Bucknutin' But Net

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highlandbuck said...

The good:

1. Another B1G championship, although it would have been nice not to share.
2. Lenzelle Smith is probably the most improved guy on the team and came up big a few times when needed but didn't usually force his shot and played his role (occasionally to the point of not being aggressive enough).
3. Matta is willing to use his bench, somewhat. I never really had a big issue with his use of the bench and later in the season he seemed to start using some guys more during critical times, but he didn't stray too far from his norm.
4. This team can guard the perimeter as well as any team in the country and Craft has to be one of the best on ball defenders in the country.
5. A Matta coached team can be a good rebounding team. Rebounding has been a weakness is almost all previous years, but I think he found some more athletic players and for the most part this team was a very good rebounding team.
6. This team is capable of beating any team in the country when the shooters are hot and the defense is focused.
7. They have almost assuredly locked up a 2 seed. I think there is a very slim chance they move up to a 1 or down to a 3, but not very likely. I put this in the good column, even though I think this team was capable of being a 1 had they been a little more focused at times, plus I think Sully being injured briefly hurt them.

The not so good:

1. This is probably the worst shooting team since Matta arrived, and two of our five starters like to shoot a lot regardless of whether they are making shots.
2. The freshman were overrated. I know some think that Matta just didn't play them enough, but not a single one showed much scoring ability. Thompson, Scott, and Williams all looked pretty good at times on D, but on a team that already had pretty good defenders starting, the freshman didn't really fit a needed role. I think they will develop into decent players, but none of them were instant impact players as they were thought to be. They are athletic, though, and you can't teach that.
3. This team did not appear to have very good chemistry or enjoy playing together like the last few years. Kinda reminds me of the NIT team in that regard.
4. Some of the key players on this team didn't really show much improvement from last year (mainly Buford and Sully) and I think both struggled with being more integral parts of the offense.
5. Losing the recruiting battle for Anthony Davis is really tough in hindsight. I have a hard time believing this team would have lost more than 1 game all year with him at PF, Thomas moving down to the 3 and Buford at the 2. PF remains a position Matta has not really recruited well, possibly due to his PF mostly playing like a SF. I think Davis could also play the 5 and have Sully either sit the bench a little or play some PF depending on the matchup.

So---

This team is fully capable of a deep tourney run or even a championship, but like any year, they will need to play well and have some luck. I really hope they aren't seeded with KY or Cuse, as those teams would be difficult to beat. After that, there are a lot of very evenly matched teams. I like this teams chances in that they can play very good defense and rebound, so they will not get blown out by anyone and will be pretty consistent IMO. I also think some new officiating will be beneficial. I don't think the refs lost us any games, but the B1G refs were terrible this year. Whether we have good officials or not, Sully needs to keep his head in the game. This team is also the most battle tested team since Matta arrived, having played a ton of ranked teams. Let's hope they can maintain focus and get the job done. IMO, the key will be for Buford and Thomas to be patient and wait for good shots. This will help keep Sully involved and I think help the team work together better. Sully on the other hand needs to be willing to kick the ball back out to help those guys get better shots. There was definitely too many early shots down the stretch IMO. Those early shots should be saved for transition, which should be keyed by our guards ability to pressure the perimeter and create steals and turnovers. I hope they push the ball more than they did late in the season. Once we are in the halfcourt set, Sully needs to get the ball a lot.

So far, I would give this season a B as they did win a conference championship but I think underachieved at times, but the tournament could easily make it an A or even a C if they lose early.