I'm sure somebody will say I'm b*tching

[Sec.112]

But this hasn't been the most inspiring 3-0 start.

To me, some of the Cats' issues are already pretty apparent.

1) Let me be the first to say it: Olah has not improved like they needed. He has the same struggles with contact, his hands and defense. He's no bum, but he is what he is - a mid-tier offensive center on a good night.

2) In addition to Olah, I don't know where you get some defense from 3 and 4. Falzon plays freshman defense, but at least he has some offense to offset his poor defense.

Collins seems to find some level of reasonable play in a combo of Lumpkin and and Taphorn. I couldn't disagree more. You just can't play those two together. There's not nearly enough defense to offset some pretty mediocre offense, especially while Demps and Olah are trying to find some consistency in their games.

The ineffectiveness of Lindsey hasn't helped either. Let's hope Skelly was the beginning of an answer tonight.

4) This might be minor for now, but this team is lost without McIntosh in there. And I'm not referring to scoring. I think Demps is an absolute drag on the offense when he's running the show - holding the ball ... repeatedly pulling the ball out ... generally unsure of his next move. To me, that's a killer with a 30 second shot clock.

Once again, I think we're looking at 35 mpg for BMac. Keep your fingers crossed in February.

5) And the offense ... I think there's a long list of issues here. I might want to start with movement on the weak side. Any other suggestions?

I hope this bunch can find more answers than I see by the time the conference rolls around.

 

[Sec.112]

Lesson learned ... do as I asy, not as I do.

You can't edit that thread title in the not-so-new system.

 

[FloridAlum]

Yes you can. At the top of your original post you should see a little icon that looks like a wrench. Click on that and then you can edit the header of your post.
What would you like the header to say?, or should I say asy?

 

[mikewebb68]

Really could not form an opinion of Olah tonight, as we made zero effort to get the ball to him. He took only 6 shots...

 

[NJCat83588]

Really could not form an opinion of Olah tonight, as we made zero effort to get the ball to him. He took only 6 shots...

That seems to be a recurring problem with the NU offense. They really don't have a low post set. Alex has to create most of his shots on the fly.

 

[Deeringfish]

That seems to be a recurring problem with the NU offense. They really don't have a low post set. Alex has to create most of his shots on the fly.

Is that something that could be held out till later? Would they introduce such a set when B!G play begins?

 

[Walker Fan]

I think setting up plays for Olah to get him going in the early of the game makes sense. Another option is to play Skelly more who is our most athletic "4" on offense and defense on the team. He bailed the team out last night with his rebounding, defense and baskets and contributions to energize to the team. From what I have seen, he also has good hands and can feed the post if allowed. Not sure how Collins can think that Tap can play defense at the "4" after last night. No lateral quickness on defense and more importantly toughness on defense. If Columbia can dunk over you and you can't hard foul to stop a Columbia forward, I do not see you being able to guard the more athletically gifted Big 10 PFs. We have to use more multi-dimensional players Skelly over other players. And as I said the team has always picked up its pace on defense and offense when Skelly is in the game. Hopefully, a more traditional "4" like Skelly will open things up for Olah and help in weak side rebounds.

Also, Falzon shooting better than 1 for 7 or 8 will open things up for Olah more also.

On a positive, NU would have lost the Columbia game last year (see Western Michigan loss) so I like our toughness but it was an ugly game.

 

[NJCat83588]

On a positive, NU would have lost the Columbia game last year (see Western Michigan loss) so I like our toughness but it was an ugly game.

I think you meant Central Michigan.....NU beat WMU after losing to CMU last season.

 

[Medill90]

I have zero issues with Olah's play the first three games. Pretty happy with it. Disagree that he hasn't improved. And I think he's showing more intensity and more focus. He's playing like he knows it's his last year.
I do think that against a team like Columbia he at times establishes position too far from the rim. When he has six inches he needs to at times set up where he can catch, turn and shoot.

Thought last night's game clearly showed how much this team will miss Vic on defense. Columbia doesn't shoot 50% from three with Law guarding the perimeter. His close outs are just much, much faster. NU is much longer, much larger and just as fast as Columbia which made the D concerning. Thought Columbia shot at will and had too many second chance opportunities.

Thought Falzon played well even though his shot didn't go in. He's a sophisticated presence on both ends. If this is how freshmen play I'll take it.

Not crazy about the offense. It's not bad, but it's not "really good" like Collins said last night. Much better in transition when BMac has the ball but so many of the shots are high difficulty. I don't like the spacing and the passes aren't crisp. When NU runs the offense it doesn't really break down a team and expose an opportunity. The motion and runs through the middle don't get a ton done. Collins said, "I'm learning that this is a jump shooting team." That's not horrible, but I don't know if that's what he's been working toward.

The next two games will tell us a tremendous amount about the team. I thought this game was over in a bad way several times. I'm still not completely clear how they came back and took this.

 

[rwhitney014]

Really could not form an opinion of Olah tonight, as we made zero effort to get the ball to him. He took only 6 shots...

Very, very little interior passing. Olah set a screen and rolled wide open to the basket at least a couple of times that I could see, and he never got the pass. But I thought he battled for boards (all of Columbia's shots were from outside and often had long rebounds) and generally was a presence down low. The technical on him was absurd and really hampered things, as a foul on Columbia turned into two shots and the ball for them because their guy wouldn't let go of the ball.

Refs were too busy telling the benches to sit down to call fouls. My favorite was when McIntosh drove to the basket and got smacked in the head while in the air, to no call. My second favorite was two of their guards playing about 20 minutes of defense on the driving Mac, including the head smack, without getting the 5th. But a fun one overall, and in a night of B1G carnage, I'm glad for the win.

 

[PZAZ]

Lots of B1G teams lost to "low" teams; so far we've avoided that. Perhaps there's more parity than previously?
Agree the next few games will give us a better idea.

 

[Medill90]

On the passing into the post...about half of the total comes out of time outs. The other half is one and done, either he shoots or passes out and never sees the ball again. Too many of the passes into the post are of poor quality. And oftentimes the best time to pass into the post is right after it comes out of the post when the post defense breaks down just a tad.

At some point early in the Big Ten the coaches sit the guards down and remind them that NU has a seven foot and nearly three hundred pound center who can get off clean looks and then suddenly there is a commitment to passing into the post. Look at the Michigan and MSU games last year.

I don't get it. When Alex scores it gives the guards and wings more open looks. And the guards and wings really, really like to shoot so you'd think they'd be committed.

In contrast, watching the MSU games last night Denzel Valentine was absolutely parked at the three point line when he had the ball and was patiently waiting for his post players to create position. He was 100% committed to getting the ball into the post and so ended up with eleven assists and the two post players each scored in double digits. A lot of those were in and out and then back in.....bang, bang, bang. That's tough to do when all you're thinking about is the three.

 

[Sec.112]

Very, very little interior passing. Olah set a screen and rolled wide open to the basket at least a couple of times that I could see, and he never got the pass.

Boy, am I glad somebody else saw this. I thought his roll to the basket was open ALL NIGHT.

Having said that, one side of me tries to agree with what many say: Too often, they are not looking for him. Another side of me says this is too obvious, and they don't trust him to catch the ball and move to the basket.

But I wholeheartedly agree there are not enough sets in this offense to get him the ball in the post - once again, off-the-ball/weak-side motion.

 

[willycat]

Very, very little interior passing. Olah set a screen and rolled wide open to the basket at least a couple of times that I could see, and he never got the pass. But I thought he battled for boards (all of Columbia's shots were from outside and often had long rebounds) and generally was a presence down low. The technical on him was absurd and really hampered things, as a foul on Columbia turned into two shots and the ball for them because their guy wouldn't let go of the ball.

Refs were too busy telling the benches to sit down to call fouls. My favorite was when McIntosh drove to the basket and got smacked in the head while in the air, to no call. My second favorite was two of their guards playing about 20 minutes of defense on the driving Mac, including the head smack, without getting the 5th. But a fun one overall, and in a night of B1G carnage, I'm glad for the win.

I also feel that the refs spend to much time telling coaches and players to sit, instead of watching for hand checks, over the back rebounds and 3 second calls.

 

[Medill90]

Willy, I saw exactly what you describe Friday night. The ref was focused on NU's bench and telling Collins to get back while all ten players on the court were to the ref's back. I don't know if NU has the rep for an unruly bench but after the technical at the end of the previous game for "standing" the attention was noticeable.

 

[willycat]

Willy, I saw exactly what you described Friday night. The ref was focused on NU's bench and telling Collins to get back while all ten players on the court were to the ref's back. I don't know if NU has the rep for an unruly bench but after the technical at the end of the previous game for "standing" the attention was noticeable.

Haven't been to a game this season but at a couple of games last season I observed the same thing. My seats were about 10 feet from the NU bench and the refs constantly told the NU personal, including coaches to get back and sit down, while the play continued. They specifically singled out NU assistants, yet I have seen coaches like Cream and others come way out onto the floor with little or no reprimand.