Stallion wrote:Our 3 point Defense is in about the Top 20% in the Nation-its not as bad as some suggest. Can it improve yes-but most team throw up a bunch of 3 pointers throwing the ball around the perimeter because they can't penetrate our defense. SMU is No. 32 in the Nation is Defensive Shooting percentage about Top 8% in the Country
Stallion took the words right out of my mouth (well, fingers, in this case). I was doing some research and he's right. The bottom line is most teams can't score in the paint on us so their only hope is to jack up 3s - when a team gets hot they make it very very tight, but we definitely improved our defense in the 2nd half against the 3 ball last night (very hard for a team to be hot from there for a full 40 minutes - Arky beat us both times because they COULD compete in the paint AND got hot from 3 . . . . only they and Gonzaga, who is crazy deep, have just flat out manned us and truly whipped us in the last 2 years because they CAN play with us in the paint and have great 3 pt shooters and have depth -- very very few teams have that . . . maybe 10). Temple did have a couple of open looks in the 2nd half but didn't knock them down (but that was about it). "Live and die by the 3". I would like to see us get a little more offense out of Sterling and BenE that could keep games from getting so tight when a team DOES get super hot from the 3. If they could just average about 4-6/game that would be huge.
Bottom line: I like what I'm seeing. MK is the leader this team has needed - the guys really seem to respect him and galvanize around him. Fewer turnovers and a few more offensive rebounds and this team is scary good. Pony Up!
Yeah, there is probably a lot of truth to this theory. Also, if we did extend our defense it would obviously open the paint up so maybe that's just the way LB and the coaches want us to play.
I still fear a team getting hot against us in the tournament, but at this point we are obviously going to roll the way we roll.
I was very pleasantly surprised last night. Early 2nd half I was suffering battered wife syndrome but the guys resolved that pretty quick in the final 10 minutes!
Stallion wrote:Our 3 point Defense is in about the Top 20% in the Nation-its not as bad as some suggest. Can it improve yes-but most team throw up a bunch of 3 pointers throwing the ball around the perimeter because they can't penetrate our defense. SMU is No. 32 in the Nation is Defensive Shooting percentage about Top 8% in the Country
Stallion took the words right out of my mouth (well, fingers, in this case). I was doing some research and he's right. The bottom line is most teams can't score in the paint on us so their only hope is to jack up 3s - when a team gets hot they make it very very tight, but we definitely improved our defense in the 2nd half against the 3 ball last night (very hard for a team to be hot from there for a full 40 minutes - Arky beat us both times because they COULD compete in the paint AND got hot from 3 . . . . only they and Gonzaga, who is crazy deep, have just flat out manned us and truly whipped us in the last 2 years because they CAN play with us in the paint and have great 3 pt shooters and have depth -- very very few teams have that . . . maybe 10). Temple did have a couple of open looks in the 2nd half but didn't knock them down (but that was about it). "Live and die by the 3". I would like to see us get a little more offense out of Sterling and BenE that could keep games from getting so tight when a team DOES get super hot from the 3. If they could just average about 4-6/game that would be huge.
Bottom line: I like what I'm seeing. MK is the leader this team has needed - the guys really seem to respect him and galvanize around him. Fewer turnovers and a few more offensive rebounds and this team is scary good. Pony Up!
When a team does not get hot from three against us - they are toast - like USF game, Memphis, Michigan.
Ark, IU and Cincy got hot - usually at the right time - and they won the game.
On Inside College Basketball last night Wally Szerbiak., Mateen Cleaves, and the other desk guys did a more in depth analysis of the game and SMU's chances in the AAC than I'd ever seen. They seemed to have done their homework.
Anyway, they all got very excited about MK's last dunk, calling it Shaq-like and generally gushing over his manliness. They said with Markus back, they thought SMU is the best team in the conference and should win it. One of the guys who is not a former player and I can't remember his name did make a cryptic side comment about losing assistant coaches and players left and right. Not sure if he's been reading the pay boards, or just referring to the actual confirmed deparature of Justin Martin and leave of Maligi.
Arkansas pounded us inside though with Bobby Portis getting 22 points. While they did hit 40% from 3 point line (6 for 15)-6 three point plays won't kill you.
Last edited by Stallion on Thu Jan 15, 2015 11:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
"With a quarter of a tank of gas, we can get everything we need right here in DFW." -SMU Head Coach Chad Morris
When momentum starts rolling downhill in recruiting-WATCH OUT.
Stallion wrote:Our 3 point Defense is in about the Top 20% in the Nation-its not as bad as some suggest. Can it improve yes-but most team throw up a bunch of 3 pointers throwing the ball around the perimeter because they can't penetrate our defense. SMU is No. 32 in the Nation is Defensive Shooting percentage about Top 8% in the Country
Stallion took the words right out of my mouth (well, fingers, in this case). I was doing some research and he's right. The bottom line is most teams can't score in the paint on us so their only hope is to jack up 3s - when a team gets hot they make it very very tight, but we definitely improved our defense in the 2nd half against the 3 ball last night (very hard for a team to be hot from there for a full 40 minutes - Arky beat us both times because they COULD compete in the paint AND got hot from 3 . . . . only they and Gonzaga, who is crazy deep, have just flat out manned us and truly whipped us in the last 2 years because they CAN play with us in the paint and have great 3 pt shooters and have depth -- very very few teams have that . . . maybe 10). Temple did have a couple of open looks in the 2nd half but didn't knock them down (but that was about it). "Live and die by the 3". I would like to see us get a little more offense out of Sterling and BenE that could keep games from getting so tight when a team DOES get super hot from the 3. If they could just average about 4-6/game that would be huge.
Bottom line: I like what I'm seeing. MK is the leader this team has needed - the guys really seem to respect him and galvanize around him. Fewer turnovers and a few more offensive rebounds and this team is scary good. Pony Up!
When a team does not get hot from three against us - they are toast - like USF game, Memphis, Michigan.
Ark, IU and Cincy got hot - usually at the right time - and they won the game.
Do you think its coincidence that ARK IU and Cincy are wayyyyyyyyy better than USF, Memphis and Michigan? Good teams shoot the 3 well, that's why they are good..... We need to defend it in the tourney, because we will be playing good teams. There is a pattern here....
"We're not a hurry-up no-huddle offense, we're a hurry-up no-huddle football team and program. It's gonna start with our secretaries, its gonna resonate with maintenance department, everyone, they're gonna understand what 'tempo' is all about."
That's not necessarily true. As a couple of people mentioned, we would've been fine giving up the threes we did versus Arkansas except they also bullied us in the paint. And the guy from Cincinnati who lit us up? Announcers had mentioned he didn't have a great 3 point average but was streaky.
With this team, with a good rotation of big guys, if we play tough defense in the paint and force teams to shoot even marginally contested threes we will win. Now if we get pushed around in the paint and turn the ball over, it starts to feel like those threes are too much but it's the other mistakes that sink us.
All of this is ignoring Gonzaga who frankly was better than us inside and out. Don't know if we can learn much from that game other than "damn, Gonzaga is good".
DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote:I still fear a team getting hot against us in the tournament, but at this point we are obviously going to roll the way we roll.
From everything I have heard from LB his focus is to shut down the inside. Make teams shoot the ball well to beat you. I am totally with him on that. There is not a team we have played this year (that I can remember) that would have beaten us if we had not turned the ball over a gazillion times. If we fix the turn-overs (and EM not coming through for us has set us back in this regard, Nic not being a true point), we can absorb a hot team from the 3 point line. We must NOT get away from our interior defense which is studly in the extreme just because a few posters start dribbling in their shorts when a team hits a few threes. Trust Larry. We will go as far as our turnovers let us. Fix that, we could go deep.
I saw a team that is unable to shake bad habits: poor passing choices and mental mistake turnovers being the biggest.
I saw a team that has a geat inside game but needs to work on actually getting the ball inside.
I saw a team that plays hard, committed defense and sometimes gets burned on threes because of it...but less and less.
I saw a team that may look totally out of sync at times.... But will not quit!
I saw a team that both benefits from a great coach but also sometimes worries too much about what the coach will think. I think Markus Does NOT worry much about what LB thinks. Keith and Yanick won't scratch their nuts without permission.
Conclusion: i saw a team that is one and done in the tourney but could be a sweet sixteen and, depending on the draw, an elite 8 team IF THEY PLAY THE WAY THEY ARE CAPABLE OF PLAYING. Right now that's a huge IF. But there is time!
Sometimes it still hurts. You know how it is, man. It's like, you wake up every day and it hurts a little bit less, and then you wake up one day and it doesn't hurt at all. And the funny thing is, is that, this is kinda weird, but it's like, it's like you almost miss that pain.
I saw a team that is unable to shake bad habits: poor passing choices and mental mistake turnovers being the biggest.
I saw a team that has a geat inside game but needs to work on actually getting the ball inside.
I saw a team that plays hard, committed defense and sometimes gets burned on threes because of it...but less and less.
I saw a team that may look totally out of sync at times.... But will not quit!
I saw a team that both benefits from a great coach but also sometimes worries too much about what the coach will think. I think Markus Does NOT worry much about what LB thinks. Keith and Yanick won't scratch their nuts without permission.
Conclusion: i saw a team that is one and done in the tourney but could be a sweet sixteen and, depending on the draw, an elite 8 team IF THEY PLAY THE WAY THEY ARE CAPABLE OF PLAYING. Right now that's a huge IF. But there is time!
