Stat I found interesting (diverse Offense)

[SemperFiCat]

For whatever reason I found this stat interesting;
56- points in the paint
36- fast break points
33- points off 3pters

Pretty interesting for a team that many thought would live and die by the 3. I know our 3pt attempts (11-24, 45.8%) were a little lower than Pope's stated target, but that looks like a pretty diverse Offense to me. And add 30 assists to highlight how much that ball is moving around.

Yeah, Wright State, but it's still real numbers, in a real game.

 

[TheDude73]

One of the announcers was correct in saying "a good team takes what the defense gives them". I loved that we exploited what appeared to be Wright St. playing more to the three and leaving the lane available rather than ignore that lane availability and launch threes.

And the fast break means we have a decent defense as well as are quick pushing on defensive rebounds. Another great sign.

Spacing and taking advantage of teams assuming we're going to be three-heavy but exploiting the open lanes with our athletic big ball handlers is going to be what makes us very, very hard to beat.

 

[IL Wildcat]

For whatever reason I found this stat interesting;
56- points in the paint
36- fast break points
33- points off 3pters

Pretty interesting for a team that many thought would live and die by the 3. I know our 3pt attempts (11-24, 45.8%) were a little lower than Pope's stated target, but that looks like a pretty diverse Offense to me. And add 30 assists to highlight how much that ball is moving around.

Yeah, Wright State, but it's still real numbers, in a real game.

Yeah, I wouldn't think this game would be the typical game for UK under Pope. There were a bunch of fast break points and plays made in the open court, which led to more 2s than 3s. And Wright State was clearly targeting UK's three-point shooting. They were hedging out high on those screens. In the process, they gave up multiple back doors for easy 2s. And we see the result- UK shot 60% from the floor and still made 11 threes on 24 3fgs for 45.8% as a team. And in the process, UK scored 103 and only gave up 62 to a pretty efficient offensive team. In other words, Wright St had to choose its poison and they chose to guard the 3 and force UK to beat them from inside the arc. And it turned into a very efficient offensive night for UK.

 

[Creed Bratton]

We got 30 of our 39 baskets (76%) off an assist. I mean that is good right? 😉

 

[Creed Bratton]

Yeah, I wouldn't think this game would be the typical game for UK under Pope. There were a bunch of fast break points and plays made in the open court, which led to more 2s than 3s. And Wright State was clearly targeting UK's three-point shooting. They were hedging out high on those screens. In the process, they gave up multiple back doors for easy 2s. And we see the result- UK shot 60% from the floor and still made 11 threes on 24 3fgs for 45.8% as a team. And in the process, UK scored 103 and only gave up 62 to a pretty efficient offensive team. In other words, Wright St had to choose its poison and they chose to guard the 3 and force UK to beat them from inside the arc. And it turned into a very efficient offensive night for UK.

Yes I love that our offense capitalized on what the defense gave them. Unlike under Cal where if the defense took away what we wanted to do we were screwed because we couldn't make adjustments.

 

[BBNinSC]

It looks like Pope has built a team that can win in different ways. I believe the coaching staff will be really efficient at game planning for specific opponents/styles.

 

[BlueBomb]

Make no mistake, in big games against the best competition, we WILL live and die by the three. I just hope we have nine lives...at least.

 

[SemperFiCat]

Make no mistake, in big games against the best competition, we WILL live and die by the three. I just hope we have nine lives...at least.

Agree to disagree. As long as we're rebounding, we can, and will, win in different ways.

 

[runt#69]

Yeah, I wouldn't think this game would be the typical game for UK under Pope. There were a bunch of fast break points and plays made in the open court, which led to more 2s than 3s. And Wright State was clearly targeting UK's three-point shooting. They were hedging out high on those screens. In the process, they gave up multiple back doors for easy 2s. And we see the result- UK shot 60% from the floor and still made 11 threes on 24 3fgs for 45.8% as a team. And in the process, UK scored 103 and only gave up 62 to a pretty efficient offensive team. In other words, Wright St had to choose its poison and they chose to guard the 3 and force UK to beat them from inside the arc. And it turned into a very efficient offensive night for UK.

Great analysis, think you are spot on. It felt like the most efficient game I can think of in recent memory!

They chose to focus on trying to limit the threes. We killed them in every other aspect of the game, and we still shot 11 of 24 on the deep ball. They did limit us, we destroyed them in all the ways they gave up in trying to implement that gameplan.

Simply said, much harder to do. We looked razor sharp against a decent enough team in our opener. One more tune up game against Bucknell will be another feel good game, I'd say. I look forward to an incrementally better performance!

 

[TheDude73]

Make no mistake, in big games against the best competition, we WILL live and die by the three. I just hope we have nine lives...at least.

Why, because you think the opponent will clog the lane and just let us launch threes? Or that there are teams so damned good on defense that they will be able to both keep us from shooting threes AND keep us out of the lane?

I hate to break it to you, but there isn't one team in the US collegiate or NBA system that is successful in shutting down both aspects of that game. We aren't just a three-shooting team - that was evident last night. And if a team tries to gamble and keep us out of the lane but leave open shooters or not close out on screened shooters, they are going to be in for a long night. This team will average 40-42% from the three, and if a team backs off and dares us to shoot the bulk of our attempts from out there, they will lose. Big time.

I can appreciate your hesitance to get excited, but you're trending more towards a pessimistic tone than hesitance...

 

[TheDude73]

It looks like Pope has built a team that can win in different ways. I believe the coaching staff will be really efficient at game planning for specific opponents/styles.

I guarantee Pope has already assigned video duties to his staff for the Duke game. Yes, it's looking ahead, but that's the coach's jobs - to prepare for the next 3-4 opponents, especially now that there is and will be footage available from games played this week.

The one thing we won't need to fret about - our team will be prepared for every opponent, at least from a game plan strategy standpoint. Will they be geared up and focused and not looking ahead? That's the question. Don't come in too loose or lazy - full attack mode right out of the gates.

 

[IL Wildcat]

Great analysis, think you are spot on. It felt like the most efficient game I can think of in recent memory!

They chose to focus on trying to limit the threes. We killed them in every other aspect of the game, and we still shot 11 of 24 on the deep ball. They did limit us, we destroyed them in all the ways they gave up in trying to implement that gameplan.

Simply said, much harder to do. We looked razor sharp against a decent enough team in our opener. One more tune up game against Bucknell will be another feel good game, I'd say. I look forward to an incrementally better performance!

Agreed runt#69. Honestly, I'm amazed at how cohesive this team has looked this early in the season. It speaks to Pope's coaching ability. I was very pleased with the players Pope brought in, especially considering how quickly he did it. But I've said all summer, the big question for this team would be learning how to play together- chemistry is so important. If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't even believe these guys have never played together.

So, there were a few rough spots here. Our rebounding needs to improve for Duke, without question. We had some sloppy play, some missed lay-ups, some unforced turnovers, some unnecessary fouls, some miscommunication on passes that could have easily led to easy buckets. So, Pope has some ammo and some areas to improve, which is good. The last thing these guys need to think is about how great they are. Confidence is good, cockiness kills. But for my part, I love where they are and what they can become.

 

[BlueSince92]

😱😱😱🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😱😱😱

THEY’RE ROBOTS!!!

 

[bucsrule8872]

Anyone think that Pope put that “we want to shoot 35 threes a game” comment out there just so teams will do exactly what Wright St. did: fear the three ball so much that they gave us easy baskets?

Pope is one of the smartest coaches (maybe the smartest) in the game and we know from listening to him he understands the mental part of the game, the psychology behind everything.

He said that on purpose. He planted this seed in the brains of every coach we will play.

The guy is a literal genius.

 

[jwphelps]

For whatever reason I found this stat interesting;
56- points in the paint
36- fast break points
33- points off 3pters

Pretty interesting for a team that many thought would live and die by the 3. I know our 3pt attempts (11-24, 45.8%) were a little lower than Pope's stated target, but that looks like a pretty diverse Offense to me. And add 30 assists to highlight how much that ball is moving around.

Yeah, Wright State, but it's still real numbers, in a real game.

High basketball IQ both on the floor and from the coaches on the bench, they took what the defense gave them. Wright State seemed determined to stop the 3 but this opened the floor up to drives and back doors.

 

[Cleatortoises]

I like fast break points. Could have been 40 with the 2 missed bunnies. That won't happen often.

 

[DreadLox]

Agree to disagree. As long as we're rebounding, we can, and will, win in different ways.

Pope was sending 3-4 guys to the boards. There doesn't appear to be a rebound that gets conceded. If for no other reason than it slows down the advance of the ball.

 

[BlueBomb]

I can appreciate your hesitance to get excited, but you're trending more towards a pessimistic tone than hesitance...

Agreed. I'll remain pessimistic for a while. It's better for my heart.

 

[BC_Wader]

Awesome offense is a beautiful thing to see. No more isolation and taking it down to the shot clock wire and throw up a prayer. It helps when our bigs are facilitators. Not many teams have guys like Williams and Garrison. Some say Garrison is a project but that dude runs the floor and is an excellent passer. He's only going to get better.

 

[Phil_The_Music]

Anyone think that Pope put that “we want to shoot 35 threes a game” comment out there just so teams will do exactly what Wright St. did: fear the three ball so much that they gave us easy baskets?

Pope is one of the smartest coaches (maybe the smartest) in the game and we know from listening to him he understands the mental part of the game, the psychology behind everything.

He said that on purpose. He planted this seed in the brains of every coach we will play.

The guy is a literal genius.

I thought that too. Though, I'm sure Pope would be happy to shoot that many 3's if the defense decides to give them to us. So it's both the truth and some psychology.

 

[TheDude73]

Anyone think that Pope put that “we want to shoot 35 threes a game” comment out there just so teams will do exactly what Wright St. did: fear the three ball so much that they gave us easy baskets?

Pope is one of the smartest coaches (maybe the smartest) in the game and we know from listening to him he understands the mental part of the game, the psychology behind everything.

He said that on purpose. He planted this seed in the brains of every coach we will play.

The guy is a literal genius.

Probably, but he also loaded up a team that can hit those shots, so it's not just a psych play, it's a real threat. What he also did was add pieces and cut plays to exploit the three-heavy perception. It is going to be very hard for a team to be able to defend both the lane and the perimeter, especially with this team already exhibiting outstanding floor spacing and execution.

The only mistakes I saw last night were two bad miscomms on backdoor cut passes. They'll work that stuff out.

The biggest unknown is how our defense will handle the more talented, athletic and wildly (SEC) physical teams driving to the basket. I believe this team is very savvy and will find ways to combat aggressive drivers (DJ Wagner) by standing up and taking charges. Kerr, Chandler and Carr (who already did it last night) will indeed be known for their ability to take charges.