In order to get better as a team, you must find your weaknesses and eliminate them. They are sometimes harder to see when you win but they are glaring when you lose. There were a lot of things I saw Auburn can improve on and they will. Bruce does a good job of finding what we are bad at and making it happen less often. Not having Zep really showed this game.
Of all the things I was mad at last night, Bruce not calling a timeout with 20 seconds left and the ball with a tie score was number one. You call a timeout, set up a play, and try to execute that play. If not, you may end up with your tired point guard just waiting and shooting one from over 25 feet. This is just one play, but it's something we can learn from. Wen was doing well penetrating the second half and dribble drive kick out would have been a better option. A Jabari iso would have been better. I think just about anything would have been a better option.
KD finally played someone who could stay in front of him. It doesn't happen often, but Arky had the quicks to do it. Everyone has an off game so I won't put the blame on KD, but if you have an off night, you try other ways to help the team. His defensive effort was there, but he still doesn't consider passing the ball when he penetrates. He was getting nothing at the rim with 2 or 3 defenders around it all the time. Pass the ball to someone open.
Jaylin Williams just doesn't seem to give max effort to me. He almost looks lazy but I know he isn't. There were a couple of defensive rotations where he didn't move like he should have. I'm not sure what it is. That last free throw he didn't rebound showed that laissez-faire attitude when he should have had more urgency and bodied up Williams. He has so many skills that he isn't using.
Bruce needs to put in some type of play to get Jabari the ball off a pick. Teams are really bodying him up now and by putting him in motion off a screen, that may give a little more distance for him to do his thing. It's just something to try to get his shooting average back up.
Shooting less than 50% from the free throw line is just plain horrible. Shooting free throws in warm ups and shooting them at the end of a game when you are tired are different animals. We need someone to teach free throw shooting form to the team. I know everyone has a different form, but there are things to do during the shot process that can really help when you are tired. It is all about consistency and our form suffers when we are tired. If you shorten your stroke, you have less chance of error. I am a big proponent of pausing with the ball just under the eyes before your upward motion. By shorting your stroke, I'm referring to pausing when the knees are bent so that you are in the same position every time. This can keep 1/2 of the shooting process exactly the same. What happens when we are tired is our head position can be slightly off and that puts our eyes slightly off. Notice Walker when he shoots a free throw. He winds up with the ball and has no hesitation. That just increases the chances of inconsistency, especially when tired. Free throws are easy shots and putting them off the backboard shouldn't happen.
We got 2 points from KD and Zep didn't play and we still should/could have won. We missed so many easy shots at the rim and free throws. Cambridge even hit a three pointer in a SEC away game. This game will make us better and there is no better leader in college basketball than Bruce Pearl.
Of all the things I was mad at last night, Bruce not calling a timeout with 20 seconds left and the ball with a tie score was number one. You call a timeout, set up a play, and try to execute that play. If not, you may end up with your tired point guard just waiting and shooting one from over 25 feet. This is just one play, but it's something we can learn from. Wen was doing well penetrating the second half and dribble drive kick out would have been a better option. A Jabari iso would have been better. I think just about anything would have been a better option.
KD finally played someone who could stay in front of him. It doesn't happen often, but Arky had the quicks to do it. Everyone has an off game so I won't put the blame on KD, but if you have an off night, you try other ways to help the team. His defensive effort was there, but he still doesn't consider passing the ball when he penetrates. He was getting nothing at the rim with 2 or 3 defenders around it all the time. Pass the ball to someone open.
Jaylin Williams just doesn't seem to give max effort to me. He almost looks lazy but I know he isn't. There were a couple of defensive rotations where he didn't move like he should have. I'm not sure what it is. That last free throw he didn't rebound showed that laissez-faire attitude when he should have had more urgency and bodied up Williams. He has so many skills that he isn't using.
Bruce needs to put in some type of play to get Jabari the ball off a pick. Teams are really bodying him up now and by putting him in motion off a screen, that may give a little more distance for him to do his thing. It's just something to try to get his shooting average back up.
Shooting less than 50% from the free throw line is just plain horrible. Shooting free throws in warm ups and shooting them at the end of a game when you are tired are different animals. We need someone to teach free throw shooting form to the team. I know everyone has a different form, but there are things to do during the shot process that can really help when you are tired. It is all about consistency and our form suffers when we are tired. If you shorten your stroke, you have less chance of error. I am a big proponent of pausing with the ball just under the eyes before your upward motion. By shorting your stroke, I'm referring to pausing when the knees are bent so that you are in the same position every time. This can keep 1/2 of the shooting process exactly the same. What happens when we are tired is our head position can be slightly off and that puts our eyes slightly off. Notice Walker when he shoots a free throw. He winds up with the ball and has no hesitation. That just increases the chances of inconsistency, especially when tired. Free throws are easy shots and putting them off the backboard shouldn't happen.
We got 2 points from KD and Zep didn't play and we still should/could have won. We missed so many easy shots at the rim and free throws. Cambridge even hit a three pointer in a SEC away game. This game will make us better and there is no better leader in college basketball than Bruce Pearl.
