Passing

[SemperFiCat]

Ok, I have to rant a little. This has to be the worst passing UK team I've seen in some time. The amount of lazy, no intent, passes I keep seeing this late in the season just boogles the mind. Most seem to be in the backcourt/top of the key area. How many extra possessions are we giving teams just because we can't throw a smart, crisp pass?? Is it the passing? Is it guys not coming to the ball? Is it both? Is anyone else as frustrated as me at something that should be so fundamental?

 

[Bluesnky]

We are number 2 in the conference in assists per game and in the middle of the pack in turnovers. I don’t know how many of those turnovers are from lazy passes but I’d have a hard time saying this is the worst passing UK team I have seen in some time.

But yeah when it happens it makes me want to throw my tv in the garbage and become Amish.

 

[Ugoff]

Some of it is limp wristed passes, but I think the amount of bumping and hacking teams get away with against us contributes as well.

 

[jwphelps]

We are number 2 in the conference in assists per game and in the middle of the pack in turnovers. I don’t know how many of those turnovers are from lazy passes but I’d have a hard time saying this is the worst passing UK team I have seen in some time.

But yeah when it happens it makes me want to throw my tv in the garbage and become Amish.

There have been games where the Cat's have made some really stupid turnovers, then there have been games were they rarely turn the ball over, hard to figure why we have such huge swings.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

It's weird.. I know what you're talking about.. a lot of limp-wristed half assed passes, and you contrast it to how well some of our past 5* guards could thread the needle, so it definitely looks off.

Yet, we're passing well enough to be a top5 offense and we're doing it with a constantly changing group of guards who have to step up in the hardest the SEC has ever been. So IDK, I can't really explain it. Maybe Pope's offense just makes a lot of this that much easier.. but the problem is when we get into a jam or we're not driving the paint.. that's when we get real sloppy, and the lack of athleticism and talent shows.

 

[Titpwhami2014]

Some of it is limp wristed passes, but I think the amount of bumping and hacking teams get away with against us contributes as well.

This. We do make stupid decisions—Garrison is a low IQ player for example—but Brea/Robinson/Almonor/Perry get the Reggie Miller treatment running off screens. Can’t blame opposing coaches either, I would deploy the same strategy if the refs allowed my defenders to get away with it.

 

[PersianCat387]

We attempt way more risky-looking, aggressive passes and also many more end around handoffs as part of the offense we run and Pope's trust in our veteran players. This creates some moments of brilliance but also more opportunities for failure. Combine that with the point the other poster made above, that our guys still get shocked by the speed/physicality of their SEC opponents (compared to past competition) and it leads to the turnovers we see. But all in all I'd say I am very satisfied by what our team is capable of on the passing end.

 

[bowfreak]

I think our offense, as good as it is, becomes extremely stale at times. During the OO outburst last night, there was little to no movement and nobody was open for a shot. It is truly amazing that OO went off to the extent he did. When you have one guy that gets hot and single-handedly carries you like that, that person only has to miss a shot or a couple of shots and you are beat. I can't believe we pulled that game out. OU shot lights out in the second half. I don't remember at what point it was but they put a graphic up and OU was shooting 67% in the second half. They had taken something like 20 shots so it wasn't early.

 

[ala_kat2]

I think it’s the absence of a point guard who can get downhill and create passing lanes. Teams are pressing us out front and getting up in our grill and they don’t have to play help defense because our ball handlers, except Oweh and Butler when healthy, can’t get separation off the dribble. It’s also partly to blame on our offensive sets with the big out front instead of posting up deep in the lane. When the other team has aggressive quick guards and small forwards, we struggle.

 

[SemperFiCat]

We are number 2 in the conference in assists per game and in the middle of the pack in turnovers. I don’t know how many of those turnovers are from lazy passes but I’d have a hard time saying this is the worst passing UK team I have seen in some time.

But yeah when it happens it makes me want to throw my tv in the garbage and become Amish.

Yes, it's true we aren't bad and finding open shooters (or cutters). I guess my main gripe is all those curl 'hand offs' and 6'-10' passes around the top of the key to wings. It's just amazingly frustrating to me that so many of those specific passes are just lazy half-arsed tosses. I'm just surprised that such an easy thing to fix is still occurring at the end of Feb ball. It's a lot of free possessions for the other team. A mostly unforced turnover.

 

[ala_kat2]

I think our offense, as good as it is, becomes extremely stale at times. During the OO outburst last night, there was little to no movement and nobody was open for a shot. It is truly amazing that OO went off to the extent he did. When you have one guy that gets hot and single-handedly carries you like that, that person only has to miss a shot or a couple of shots and you are beat. I can't believe we pulled that game out. OU shot lights out in the second half. I don't remember at what point it was but they put a graphic up and OU was shooting 67% in the second half. They had taken something like 20 shots so it wasn't early.

You are correct. Without Oweh’s individual production the last 12 minutes, we’re toast. No offensive flow whatsoever.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

You are correct. Without Oweh’s individual production the last 12 minutes, we’re toast. No offensive flow whatsoever.

There wasn't any offense being run. Just hero ball. Both teams. Our hero outdid theirs.

 

[ManitouDan]

At times it appears our guys think they can throw the completely thru a defenders arms/hands !! The simple pass to the wing to start things is the main culprit .. we make GREAT back door passes but cant make the first pass to get into a set . We get over played so much because we have no post player

 

[KYFOSSIL]

You are correct. Without Oweh’s individual production the last 12 minutes, we’re toast. No offensive flow whatsoever.

That’s one way to look at it the other one as we went with a hot hand as evidence by making sure he got the ball, including that great assist from Williams

 

[know1]

We are loose with turnovers, but other than that I think it's a great passing team. There were some real gems last night.

 

[JimBR]

There wasn't any offense being run. Just hero ball. Both teams. Our hero outdid theirs.

I think also with teams when a player has a hot hand, the tendency for teammates can be to stand and watch. Some of our guys may have been guilty last night. Saw a great show though.

 

[yoshukai]

There wasn't any offense being run. Just hero ball. Both teams. Our hero outdid theirs.

All year I’ve read that we don’t have a player that can “go get a bucket “ so I guess that was a good thing?

 

[CincinnatiWildcat]

Those lazy passes frustrate me as well. I think what happens quite often is teams press up on us to defend our shooters, and do a lot of grabbing on back door cuts. This was what caused our offense to struggle for a bit, and sometimes causes us to start throwing passes to space which is where these lazy lobs start to come from. It's almost like we don't know what type of pass to make all the time and sometimes end up lobbing it or trying to force it when a simple bounce pass would do the trick.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

I think also with teams when a player has a hot hand, the tendency for teammates can be to stand and watch. Some of our guys may have been guilty last night. Saw a great show though.

It wasn't that. We did try to run offense. Nothing worked. So we just reverted. I didn't think it was a good show. It was just ugly basketball by both teams. Both turning it over. Both not rebounding. We were just fortunate to get a win. A win we sorely needed.

The flip side of that is we will probably play good basketball Saturday. Might play great basketball and lose. That makes the ugly wins more important. I can't understand how this team can play so well against the best competition and then lay eggs against the bottom dwellers. You can see it happening once because a team gets ahead of themselves. But every time we play a bad team it's a rock fight?

 

[UKBB4Ever]

All year I’ve read that we don’t have a player that can “go get a bucket “ so I guess that was a good thing?

It was a good thing last night. But that's not how we play and it's not sustainable.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I think it's dependent on who is doing the passing. Williams makes some great passes at times.

At the beginning of the year, we were a team that took good care of the ball. Unfortunately, when Butler went out this has become a bit of an issue lately.

And it's causing our offensive efficiency to go down since we are so tied to shooting it well and not turning it over. We are never going to rebound offensively too much or get to the line so not turning it over is important to being the top 5 offense we currently are.

 

[yoshukai]

It was a good thing last night. But that's not how we play and it's not sustainable.

I agree.