There is a lot to complain about with Cal, but his lack of scouting and effective game planning, combined with in-game adjustments is near the top of the list for me.
Reed Sheppard has looked a step ahead of everyone all season. Last night he looked lost. It was evident he didn't know how to attack the zone - clearly on Cal. What was the plan? We decided to feed Mitchell in the soft spots, with mixed success. We decided to play Mitchell with a 5 man, who basically gave us nothing on offense. We had Wagner at the high post - in the sweet spot - despite him being an offensive liability. Sheppard actually fed Wagner who became the focal point. Sheppard, our most dangerous player, standing 25 feet from the hoop while Wagner attempted to score. WTF?! Wagner took more 3s in the first half than RS, who hardly shot all game. Mitchell taking 3s when I can't recall the last time he hit one. Very few transition points. The best 3 point shooting team in the country against a zone. I listened to the Francesa podcast Sisk linked. He scoffed at a team trying to zone us saying we would shoot the lights out of it. Instead, it seemed we didn't really create that many open looks from behind the arc and when we did, it was not always our most reliable shooters.
Sorry for the rant, but we were loaded with a great offensive team with brilliant 3 point shooters. Yet, we couldn't carve up a zone with 4 days prep and our smartest player looked lost.
Reed Sheppard has looked a step ahead of everyone all season. Last night he looked lost. It was evident he didn't know how to attack the zone - clearly on Cal. What was the plan? We decided to feed Mitchell in the soft spots, with mixed success. We decided to play Mitchell with a 5 man, who basically gave us nothing on offense. We had Wagner at the high post - in the sweet spot - despite him being an offensive liability. Sheppard actually fed Wagner who became the focal point. Sheppard, our most dangerous player, standing 25 feet from the hoop while Wagner attempted to score. WTF?! Wagner took more 3s in the first half than RS, who hardly shot all game. Mitchell taking 3s when I can't recall the last time he hit one. Very few transition points. The best 3 point shooting team in the country against a zone. I listened to the Francesa podcast Sisk linked. He scoffed at a team trying to zone us saying we would shoot the lights out of it. Instead, it seemed we didn't really create that many open looks from behind the arc and when we did, it was not always our most reliable shooters.
Sorry for the rant, but we were loaded with a great offensive team with brilliant 3 point shooters. Yet, we couldn't carve up a zone with 4 days prep and our smartest player looked lost.
