We are so behind on offense

[bigblue7609]

I know I’m beating a dead horse. And it doesn’t matter but our offense doesn’t even compare to the rest of the teams I’ve watched in the tournament. The movement, the flow, the screens. It just makes me realize how much we stand around dribbling with no idea what to do after that

 

[the nail at the foul line]

I know I’m beating a dead horse. And it doesn’t matter but our offense doesn’t even compare to the rest of the teams I’ve watched in the tournament. The movement, the flow, the screens. It just makes me realize how much we stand around dribbling with no idea what to do after that

Go make a play.

 

[westerncat]

I am surprised that many people are just now realizing this. Cal is not the best X&O coach in CBB. He has to have the best of the best to win games.

 

[The_Answer1313]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

 

[fisherscatfan]

Go make a play.

The Gonzaga vs Memphis game was fun to watch.

 

[Atrain7732]

Cal is not anywhere near the best X&O coach in college basketball, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t implement a more modern offense as most teams have done. It doesn’t take an offensive genius just takes the will. For the first time in his UK tenure he will be truly pushed on this we will all see how he responds.

BTW, I agree completely with OP. The comparison with most of the tourney teams offense is stark and not even close. If us Benny’s get this pretty simple observation it’s not going unnoticed by others.

 

[the nail at the foul line]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

It is both sides of the ball. The offense looked completely inept against St Peter's.

 

[Atrain7732]

It is both sides of the ball. The offense looked completely inept against St Peter's.

The offense looked completely inept the last 1/4 of the season. I don’t know what the numbers are for that time, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that. The defense was also abysmal esp during that final stretch.

 

[drainthatub]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

Now do just the last month or so of the season. You know, when it actually matters. Our offense was below average at best in March. Cal always reverts and regresses.

 

[The_Answer1313]

It is both sides of the ball. The offense looked completely inept against St Peter's.

Eh one game doesn't mean the offense is inept. We struggled to score against a defense that was ranked 28th.

Conversely we gave up 85 points to a team with a 225th rated offense.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Now do just the last month or so of the season. You know, when it actually matters. Our offense was below average at best in March. Cal always reverts and regresses.

Yeah the offense wasn't as good but the defense once again regressed WAY MORE.

What was that stat that's being thrown around in the last ten games we had an adj def efficiency around 161st?

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Eh one game doesn't mean the offense is inept. We struggled to score against a defense that was ranked 28th.

Conversely we gave up 85 points to a team with a 225th rated offense.

The offense was inept. The spacing was horrible. When Kentucky got down it was obvious they were panicking. Easy scores are rare.

 

[drainthatub]

Not good.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

It all stems from his one and done practice plan philosophy… he doesn’t think they have time to get down that many plays in a year and just tries to get them used to one on one attacking the basket. Which is garbage as duke for a few years has prove. That freshmen can learn offensive plays even before the season starts. Dukes problem is defense.

If he just swallowed his pride and went back to a traditional method , he knows how to do normal offense as proven with UMass and the Memphis days. But his ego is trump level and they won’t back down, only way cal wants to change is if it’s his idea to start with

 

[cats2010]

Eh one game doesn't mean the offense is inept. We struggled to score against a defense that was ranked 28th.

Conversely we gave up 85 points to a team with a 225th rated offense.

A defense ranked 28th but against piss poor competition.

 

[Cowtown Cat]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

I think much of that was due to Oscar and his rebounding. I’m curious as to what our offense would rank just on half court offensive possessions. No way we are top 4 in half court offense. No possible way. We looked like shit in the half court basically all season.

 

[yes_takeaside]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

I would bet that if there were separate categories for offensive efficiency in the half court and in transition, you’d actually see what’s going on with Cal’s offense.

 

[fisherscatfan]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

I firmly believe the defense issue was two things.

Watch how our guards (especially Mintz) hedge a screen. They basically open up the entire driving lane. Cal has always wanted to funnel to shot blockers. Doesn’t work quite so well when teams spread their offense and the bigs can now shoot. Our guards were just beat on drives and often it because what they are taught.

Also it comes down to effort. Look at the decline once it became official Sharpe wasn’t playing. TyTy and Wheeler were hurt and busting their ass for the team only to look over to the bench and Cal has a guy who refuses to play. If you are TyTy and you see that why would you bust your ass? You are a 1st rounder too and putting it out on the floor.

 

[JwUKFan11]

I think the problem was Wheeler. He’s so limited it kills everyone else as well.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I firmly believe the defense issue was two things.

Watch how our guards (especially Mintz) hedge a screen. They basically open up the entire driving lane. Cal has always wanted to funnel to shot blockers. Doesn’t work quite so well when teams spread their offense and the bigs can now shoot. Our guards were just beat on drives and often it because what they are taught.

Also it comes down to effort. Look at the decline once it became official Sharpe wasn’t playing. TyTy and Wheeler were hurt and busting their ass for the team only to look over to the bench and Cal has a guy who refuses to play. If you are TyTy and you see that why would you bust your ass? You are a 1st rounder too and putting it out on the floor.

I think to me the biggest problem comes down to this:

Def Numbers:
Eff FG% = 46.9% 45th
Turnover % = 17.5% 230th
Rebounding % = 24.9% 58th
FTA/FGA = 25.4% 54th

One of those numbers isn't like the other. And it's like okay well Cal's defenses even when he has elite ones do not force a ton of turnovers. We've basically been in that area since he's been here. But in the past it's just that we did everything else so well it didn't matter.

I sit here and I watch so many teams struggle just to inbound the ball. I watch what Baylor did to UNC yesterday when they were down by 20+. I'm not really saying we go all out with it or even press period but at some point if you aren't protecting the rim like you did in the past (pre 15 with guys like Davis Noel etc) well then you have to make up for that someway.

I guess what bugs me about it is you have guys like Tyty and Wheeler and IMO these guys can certainly create turnovers. I felt like especially with this team it was an opportunity missed.

 

[uk78]

I so disagree with the comments about Wheeler. In fact, in the second half of the SP game he was the only one who seemingly could drive to the basket and score when needed. In terms of the offense I blame Cal but remember this offense was amazing against Tenn and Kansas. What changed?

I say his tweaks were all to get the ball to Oscar no matter what. At least that is what I was seeing. If so, that was Wheeler's instructions and when SP followed the Notre Dame defense of clogging the middle Cal made no adjustment to that instruction. Even in last play to have Brooks drive to under the basket was stupid and ignored Brooks issues with dribble drive all season long. The offense problems rested with Cal.

 

[gamecockcat]

I wonder how much our defense slippage was partially caused by poor offensive sets, taking last second 3s, poor spacing, etc. Hard to put a number on it but since bb is so fluid, it would have to have some impact. And vice versa, of course.

 

[ukcatz12]

Now do just the last month or so of the season. You know, when it actually matters. Our offense was below average at best in March. Cal always reverts and regresses.

You're 100% incorrect. Last month of the season our offensive efficiency was #3 in the country.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I so disagree with the comments about Wheeler. In fact, in the second half of the SP game he was the only one who seemingly could drive to the basket and score when needed. In terms of the offense I blame Cal but remember this offense was amazing against Tenn and Kansas. What changed?

I say his tweaks were all to get the ball to Oscar no matter what. At least that is what I was seeing. If so, that was Wheeler's instructions and when SP followed the Notre Dame defense of clogging the middle Cal made no adjustment to that instruction. Even in last play to have Brooks drive to under the basket was stupid and ignored Brooks issues with dribble drive all season long. The offense problems rested with Cal.

Yeah Wheeler seems to be a popular person on this board to pick on but I honestly don't believe he was an issue this year.

Yeah those games above. The Alabama game. According to Kenpom we actually put up two of our best offensive performances this season since efficiency stats were kept (2002). We had some games on offense this season that were GREAT.

I think part of what happened was Tyty and Wheeler came back but for some reason we never got back into sorts after that. Then Grady lost his shot. And while Oscar was still doing well, I felt like that was a blessing and a curse. It's as if the team became overly reliant on his offense. Basically throw the ball to Oscar and stand around. Too many timid people out there afraid to shoot other than Oscar. Except........Wheeler to which I give him some credit for.

 

[mdlUK.1]

I know I’m beating a dead horse. And it doesn’t matter but our offense doesn’t even compare to the rest of the teams I’ve watched in the tournament. The movement, the flow, the screens. It just makes me realize how much we stand around dribbling with no idea what to do after that

all offenses look great when your players are making shots. Our offense looked great against ku, unc and ut (at Rupp). Not sure what happened the last few weeks but Grady was afraid to shoot. And tyty was never the same after his injury.

 

[ukcatz12]

I think much of that was due to Oscar and his rebounding. I’m curious as to what our offense would rank just on half court offensive possessions. No way we are top 4 in half court offense. No possible way. We looked like shit in the half court basically all season.

There's no doubt the high ranking was in part due to Oscar getting offensive boards. But you can't just write that off, it was a huge advantage and we played to it. So while people can think Cal needs to revamp the offense, the offense wasn't the issue this year.

 

[ukcatz12]

A defense ranked 28th but against piss poor competition.

Those stats are adjusted for competition. No matter how you slice it St. Peter's has a very good defense.

 

[WestKyCatFan58]

It is both sides of the ball. The offense looked completely inept against St Peter's.

Yet, we scored 79 pts
..we let a team that averaged 67 score 85...now which side of the ball beat us?

 

[Cowtown Cat]

There's no doubt the high ranking was in part due to Oscar getting offensive boards. But you can't just write that off, it was a huge advantage and we played to it. So while people can think Cal needs to revamp the offense, the offense wasn't the issue this year.

Our offense was a problem late in the year. Our defense was a bigger problem. He could’ve easily solved it by simply going to a zone. He’s too stubborn and thought the M2M would eventually somehow work.

 

[The_Answer1313]

No those numbers are adjusted for SOS.

They had that number because they were actually THAT GOOD on defense.

Just because a team might not be good overall doesn't mean they aren't good on one side of the ball, or one attribute on one side.

 

[CatsIndy2010]

I think we played to lose.

Why?

I don't think there's a rational reason why.

 

[ukcatz12]

The offense looked completely inept the last 1/4 of the season. I don’t know what the numbers are for that time, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that. The defense was also abysmal esp during that final stretch.

The numbers actually show our offense was #3 in efficiency the last month of the season. People keep saying it "looked" inept but the actually numbers just don't show that.

 

[susan2361]

It all stems from his one and done practice plan philosophy… he doesn’t think they have time to get down that many plays in a year and just tries to get them used to one on one attacking the basket. Which is garbage as duke for a few years has prove. That freshmen can learn offensive plays even before the season starts. Dukes problem is defense.

If he just swallowed his pride and went back to a traditional method , he knows how to do normal offense as proven with UMass and the Memphis days. But his ego is trump level and they won’t back down, only way cal wants to change is if it’s his idea to start with

I wish he would utilize the bench a little more. Give those guys a few minutes as opposed to seconds. Why have a bench if you can't, or won't use them? I know they are good for practice bodies, but geez, quit playing 5* favorites and treat all of them similarly (not equally...there's a difference).

Either "if they make one mistake, yank them out that second", or "let them play a little and try to get into their groove." Even the best players sometimes have to find their groove, and it seems Cal let's them do that. From what I've seen this (and last) season, a little extra time for the bench couldn't hurt.

Besides, if there are more injuries, we wouldn't be in such a bind. TyTy was obviously not 100%, and we could have used a deeper bench. Wheeler was horrible too...again, an available, deep bench might have helped. The experience of playing in a real game vs a practice game helps with nerves, confidence, etc., IF they're not too scared, which is what Cal seems to so. He puts the fear of God into the bench about mistakes, but the "stars don't seem too worried, unless it's really bad. He'd even rather play his "stars" not at 100%, rather than the bench, unless he absolutely has to.

One last thing and I'll quit rambling. It may not be a popular idea anymore, but I LOVED the platoon system. We had enough players that Cal let play, that we wore down the other teams. Now they seem to wear us down. That's what happens when you have a deep bench that you use.

Okay...I'll be quiet...for a while...lol.

 

[Cats192]

I am surprised that many people are just now realizing this. Cal is not the best X&O coach in CBB. He has to have the best of the best to win games.

Oscar is the best of the best. It’s not enough anymore.

 

[Atrain7732]

The numbers actually show our offense was #3 in efficiency the last month of the season. People keep saying it "looked" inept but the actually numbers just don't show that.

Ok I will take your word on that, but you are gonna honestly tell me the last 4 games of the Reg season and Sec/NCAA tourney you felt like our offense was clicking on all cylinders and top 5 in the country? Cuz I sure as hell didn’t. Apart from Oscar we were very limited for long stretches in most of those games.

 

[WestKyCatFan58]

A zone isnt always a quick fix. In a zone you dont have a certain man to block out...rebounding could suffer.

You still have to give effort to cover your area and to shift and move with the offense.

Just saying we should have tried zone isnt all there is to it.

 

[drainthatub]

You're 100% incorrect. Last month of the season our offensive efficiency was #3 in the country.

Not when it mattered, which was my point. No way that offense was “#3 in the country” against vandy, Tenn, st fvcking peters.

 

[Mike-D]

UK this season

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency = 4th
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency = 35th

Beating a dead horse here but everyone is focusing on the wrong side of the ball.

It's called half-court offense. Read about it sometime. We suck at it.

 

[Bluespade44]

Cupcake schedule helped our offensive efficiency. The SEC isn’t all it was cracked up to be.
Then we lost to a cupcake.

 

[The_Answer1313]

It's called half-court offense. Read about it sometime. We suck at it.

It's called the 4th best offense in the NCAA regardless of half court or fast break.