Won't be doing this after every game, but here we go...
The Good:
IU's defensive potential is enormous. Physically speaking, there isn't a weak link out there. Obviously there were mistakes and blown coverages tonight, but there is so much athletic ability on the floor at any given moment, they will have stretches, if not entire halves where they just just lock up their opponent. Without question the best defensive rotation tonight was Johnson, Cupps, Galloway, Reneau and Ware.
More on Ware later, but I was impressed with his tonight.
The Bad:
IU struggled with FGCU's ball screen coverage, and in that it's IU's primary offensive movement on the perimeter, it's alarming that it took Cupps
FGCU did something tonight that I have done vs. ball screen heavy schemes, pre-blitzed it. (Blitz = double the ball off the screen) Pre-blitzing means you simply bypass the screener altogether, not waiting for the screen to be set. They didn't do it every time, but they did do it when the ball was higher than the top of the key extended.
On the wing, they iced or downed it, which mean Dball gets above the screen and Dscreener gets below it, presumably forcing the ball 'down' the floor. Bob Huggins would call it shrinking the floor. It finally took the freshman to figure out ATTACK THE SLOW GUY, and in Cupps' case, late in the game, Dscreener dropped so quickly it gave Cupps an open 3PTer, which he nailed.
The Ugly:
Two seasons and one game in, and IU's offense is still devoid of any consistent player movement off the ball. It's remedial. It's frustrating because it's so F-ing basic. They are going to be great in transition, especially the way Mgbako can shoot it. I'm also a believer in Cupps, Johnson, Gunn and Galloway getting transition 3PTers. However, the half court, the only thing that looked remotely intentional was getting Reneau catches in space. One nice thing about that was they were able to get him in space pretty close to the rim.
I am a Motion snob. I will always be a Motion snob, and while I don't fully subscribe to Coach Knight's hatred of bringing a second defender toward the ball, the core of what I value is player movement, notably screening, off the ball. There is close to ZERO in Woodson's system. This is no longer about running offense through TJD. This is just a coach who doesn't believe in it. It will cost them games when they can't find ways to generate good shots.
Side note: The ONE TIME they cut off a post entry pass, they scored. Galloway's entry to Ware, prompting a simple cut by Galloway right off his defender's back side who over committed to digging down on Ware in the low post. I mean, F@#k, if the ONLY off ball action they ran was Split Action off post entry (low, mid or high), it would likely net them 10-12 points per game extra.
FGCU ran Slice cuts over Horns formations, frequently ran early Blocker-Mover reads, leading to baseline drives creating open shooters. IU? Nuttin.
The Note Book Dump:
Ware is intriguing, especially defensively. He's agile enough to not get burned on switches. He high points rebounds and had a nice tap back on an offensive rebound. He is a legitimate rim protector. I hope for his sake he stays at IU for two years. He's showed more touch in this game than TJD did in four years, but he doesn't have the toughness TJD developed his final two years, nor does it appear that he's leading verbally on the defensive end. Regardless, all in all, impressed.
There was some question on Cupps on what he could defend at the HM level. Everyone knew he would be a willing defender, but the early return is he is a +defender. If he can stymie B1G guards like he did in the second half of tonight's games, he'll be a gem defensively.
Mgbako has a beautiful stroke. I think I could get away from him running off screens. He does, however, have defensive potential.
Reneau really changed his body for the better. No longer chunky, he still looks strong and is much more agile. He is quick and slippery in the paint. Pretty impressed with his defense in the second half too away from the basket. Would love to see where his offense could go with a consistent jump shot.
Galloway might've made the biggest basket of the game. IU had lost the lead, and he came from the corner to grab the rebound near the nail, with the shot clock winding down, and put in the the floater. It gave IU the 49-48 lead, which they never gave up.
The Good:
IU's defensive potential is enormous. Physically speaking, there isn't a weak link out there. Obviously there were mistakes and blown coverages tonight, but there is so much athletic ability on the floor at any given moment, they will have stretches, if not entire halves where they just just lock up their opponent. Without question the best defensive rotation tonight was Johnson, Cupps, Galloway, Reneau and Ware.
More on Ware later, but I was impressed with his tonight.
The Bad:
IU struggled with FGCU's ball screen coverage, and in that it's IU's primary offensive movement on the perimeter, it's alarming that it took Cupps
FGCU did something tonight that I have done vs. ball screen heavy schemes, pre-blitzed it. (Blitz = double the ball off the screen) Pre-blitzing means you simply bypass the screener altogether, not waiting for the screen to be set. They didn't do it every time, but they did do it when the ball was higher than the top of the key extended.
On the wing, they iced or downed it, which mean Dball gets above the screen and Dscreener gets below it, presumably forcing the ball 'down' the floor. Bob Huggins would call it shrinking the floor. It finally took the freshman to figure out ATTACK THE SLOW GUY, and in Cupps' case, late in the game, Dscreener dropped so quickly it gave Cupps an open 3PTer, which he nailed.
The Ugly:
Two seasons and one game in, and IU's offense is still devoid of any consistent player movement off the ball. It's remedial. It's frustrating because it's so F-ing basic. They are going to be great in transition, especially the way Mgbako can shoot it. I'm also a believer in Cupps, Johnson, Gunn and Galloway getting transition 3PTers. However, the half court, the only thing that looked remotely intentional was getting Reneau catches in space. One nice thing about that was they were able to get him in space pretty close to the rim.
I am a Motion snob. I will always be a Motion snob, and while I don't fully subscribe to Coach Knight's hatred of bringing a second defender toward the ball, the core of what I value is player movement, notably screening, off the ball. There is close to ZERO in Woodson's system. This is no longer about running offense through TJD. This is just a coach who doesn't believe in it. It will cost them games when they can't find ways to generate good shots.
Side note: The ONE TIME they cut off a post entry pass, they scored. Galloway's entry to Ware, prompting a simple cut by Galloway right off his defender's back side who over committed to digging down on Ware in the low post. I mean, F@#k, if the ONLY off ball action they ran was Split Action off post entry (low, mid or high), it would likely net them 10-12 points per game extra.
FGCU ran Slice cuts over Horns formations, frequently ran early Blocker-Mover reads, leading to baseline drives creating open shooters. IU? Nuttin.
The Note Book Dump:
Ware is intriguing, especially defensively. He's agile enough to not get burned on switches. He high points rebounds and had a nice tap back on an offensive rebound. He is a legitimate rim protector. I hope for his sake he stays at IU for two years. He's showed more touch in this game than TJD did in four years, but he doesn't have the toughness TJD developed his final two years, nor does it appear that he's leading verbally on the defensive end. Regardless, all in all, impressed.
There was some question on Cupps on what he could defend at the HM level. Everyone knew he would be a willing defender, but the early return is he is a +defender. If he can stymie B1G guards like he did in the second half of tonight's games, he'll be a gem defensively.
Mgbako has a beautiful stroke. I think I could get away from him running off screens. He does, however, have defensive potential.
Reneau really changed his body for the better. No longer chunky, he still looks strong and is much more agile. He is quick and slippery in the paint. Pretty impressed with his defense in the second half too away from the basket. Would love to see where his offense could go with a consistent jump shot.
Galloway might've made the biggest basket of the game. IU had lost the lead, and he came from the corner to grab the rebound near the nail, with the shot clock winding down, and put in the the floater. It gave IU the 49-48 lead, which they never gave up.
