Pretenders?

[Mr Wickerpark]

I have read many comments and they seem to indicate that many think we are pretenders.
I disagree and i think we will finish with 10 wins or more in the bigten.

The only thing stopping us is that we cant finish a game. Every game we lost was due to being outgunned in the last few minutes, except the msu game.
Oddly, in the msu game, we mounted a furious comeback prior to submission.

And our lack of a strong finish may be the result of being tired.

 

[thewildcat2011]

We're not going to be getting less tired as the season rolls on.

 

[julescat]

NEB is going to be a good game to watch. They are quite confident right now. NU starting 1-3 would be the kind of thing that gets us thinking NIT is the goal. NU winning at NEB would be an upset and I will be glad to see it.

 

[Alan Smithee]

The only thing stopping us is that we cant finish a game. Every game we lost was due to being outgunned in the last few minutes, except the msu game.
Oddly, in the msu game, we mounted a furious comeback prior to submission.

And our lack of a strong finish may be the result of being tired.

Well, that begs the question: How do we avoid being tired or fading down the stretch? We're not getting Falzon or Rap back this year. And resting multiple starters at once has its perils (see the start of Minnesota's run).

Having Pardon back will help. It will be interesting to see what else Collins can do

 

[FeralFelidae]

Given that the 'Cats play four of their first five Big Ten games on the road, if they can sweep this road trip (if they beat Neb I think they'll beat Rutgers) they'll be sitting in good shape at 3-2. The Neb game is very important.

 

[NJCat]

I have read many comments and they seem to indicate that many think we are pretenders.
I disagree and i think we will finish with 10 wins or more in the bigten.

The only thing stopping us is that we cant finish a game. Every game we lost was due to being outgunned in the last few minutes, except the msu game.
Oddly, in the msu game, we mounted a furious comeback prior to submission.

And our lack of a strong finish may be the result of being tired.

I hope you are right.

I doubt it though.

Cats look like Pretenders now. When the Heart and Soul of your team is held scoreless with only 3 boards before fouling out, you either need a heart transplant or to go to confession to heal the soul. How NU could be more tired than Minny when they just had 6 days off between games is beyond me.

 

[Sec.112]

Unfortunately, I think pretenders.

When you're top 40-50 with 9-10 wins in a pretty weak conference, you're scratching and clawing to be truly relevant.

But if that's how it ends up, I'm somewhat ok with that. This is an evolution. Truly being on the bubble would be a first.

 

[mickbula]

Unless we can somehow upset Nebraska this weekend, I honestly doubt we have any chance of making the big tourney for the first time. This is a critical juncture. A slow start would likely lead to some forlorn players. I am skeptical of our chances of turning it around. If we lose to Neb., I predict a 6-10 finish in league play. We may not take 108 years like the Cubs, but this simply may not be our year.

 

[scru]

Well, that begs the question: How do we avoid being tired or fading down the stretch? We're not getting Falzon or Rap back this year. And resting multiple starters at once has its perils (see the start of Minnesota's run).

Having Pardon back will help. It will be interesting to see what else Collins can do

I think CCC can clean up his player rotations a bit to keep the guys better rested down the stretch in games.

Law played 36 min and it showed. With Pardon back, Taphorn should not need to play the 4; let him sub the 3 at about 12 min per game. This gets Law down to 28 min. If Tap's hot, give him more minutes at the 3 and let Law spell Lindsey at the 2.

I liked seeing Ash in the game for Mac and hope we see more of him in games where we face a great or hot PG. But I think CCC could have gone longer with this rotation than 7 min. Bump this up along with a few more for Brown to keep Mac closer to 28 min. Then, minutes at the 2 not picked up by Law also must go between Ash and Brown. Go with the "hot hand" here.

Benson must have earned more than the 2 min he saw last night over the past 9 games. I'd have him as Pardon's backup and avoid playing Skelly or Lumpkin at the 5 the rest of the way. Let him get 12 min a night. He seems capable of that. Skelly and Lumpkin split time at the 4. They are your hustle guys and neither should see significantly more than 20 min.

Minutes could wind-up looking something like:

1 Mac 28
2 Lindsey 28
3 Law 28
5 Pardon 25

4a Lumpkin 20
4b Skelly 20

3xx Taphorn 18
5xx Benson 15
1xx/2xx Brown & Ash 18


The trick is to set the rotations to avoid having more than 1 of the third group on the court together for any extended length of time. First rotation for me would have Skelly and Taphorn off the bench for Lumpkin and either Lindsey or Law depending on how they're playing, with the latter shifting to the 2. Keep the hotter hand in the game. If both are hot, sub in Ash for Mac to give him early rest and keep running plays for the wings to score. Ash locks down on D and can help keep an early game run going with steals and pushing tempo.

I consider Skelly to be a 4b... basically a starter at the 4. If we get in foul trouble at the 5, he can give it a go, but I don't like our prospects against B1G competition with Skelly and Lumpkin lining up together.

 

[NJCat]

I think CCC can clean up his player rotations a bit to keep the guys better rested down the stretch in games.

Law played 36 min and it showed. With Pardon back, Taphorn should not need to play the 4; let him sub the 3 at about 12 min per game. This gets Law down to 28 min. If Tap's hot, give him more minutes at the 3 and let Law spell Lindsey at the 2.

I liked seeing Ash in the game for Mac and hope we see more of him in games where we face a great or hot PG. But I think CCC could have gone longer with this rotation than 7 min. Bump this up along with a few more for Brown to keep Mac closer to 28 min. Then, minutes at the 2 not picked up by Law also must go between Ash and Brown. Go with the "hot hand" here.

Benson must have earned more than the 2 min he saw last night over the past 9 games. I'd have him as Pardon's backup and avoid playing Skelly or Lumpkin at the 5 the rest of the way. Let him get 12 min a night. He seems capable of that. Skelly and Lumpkin split time at the 4. They are your hustle guys and neither should see significantly more than 20 min.

Minutes could wind-up looking something like:

1 Mac 28
2 Lindsey 28
3 Law 28
5 Pardon 25

4a Lumpkin 20
4b Skelly 20

3xx Taphorn 18
5xx Benson 15
1xx/2xx Brown & Ash 18


The trick is to set the rotations to avoid having more than 1 of the third group on the court together for any extended length of time. First rotation for me would have Skelly and Taphorn off the bench for Lumpkin and either Lindsey or Law depending on how they're playing, with the latter shifting to the 2. Keep the hotter hand in the game. If both are hot, sub in Ash for Mac to give him early rest and keep running plays for the wings to score. Ash locks down on D and can help keep an early game run going with steals and pushing tempo.

I consider Skelly to be a 4b... basically a starter at the 4. If we get in foul trouble at the 5, he can give it a go, but I don't like our prospects against B1G competition with Skelly and Lumpkin lining up together.

Very good analysis.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Less Skelly,less Brown,less Lumpkin,more Pardon,more Taphorn, and more Ash! Lots of Lindsay, Law,and Mac!

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

I think CCC can clean up his player rotations a bit to keep the guys better rested down the stretch in games.

Law played 36 min and it showed. With Pardon back, Taphorn should not need to play the 4; let him sub the 3 at about 12 min per game. This gets Law down to 28 min. If Tap's hot, give him more minutes at the 3 and let Law spell Lindsey at the 2.

I liked seeing Ash in the game for Mac and hope we see more of him in games where we face a great or hot PG. But I think CCC could have gone longer with this rotation than 7 min. Bump this up along with a few more for Brown to keep Mac closer to 28 min. Then, minutes at the 2 not picked up by Law also must go between Ash and Brown. Go with the "hot hand" here.

Benson must have earned more than the 2 min he saw last night over the past 9 games. I'd have him as Pardon's backup and avoid playing Skelly or Lumpkin at the 5 the rest of the way. Let him get 12 min a night. He seems capable of that. Skelly and Lumpkin split time at the 4. They are your hustle guys and neither should see significantly more than 20 min.

Minutes could wind-up looking something like:

1 Mac 28
2 Lindsey 28
3 Law 28
5 Pardon 25

4a Lumpkin 20
4b Skelly 20

3xx Taphorn 18
5xx Benson 15
1xx/2xx Brown & Ash 18


The trick is to set the rotations to avoid having more than 1 of the third group on the court together for any extended length of time. First rotation for me would have Skelly and Taphorn off the bench for Lumpkin and either Lindsey or Law depending on how they're playing, with the latter shifting to the 2. Keep the hotter hand in the game. If both are hot, sub in Ash for Mac to give him early rest and keep running plays for the wings to score. Ash locks down on D and can help keep an early game run going with steals and pushing tempo.

I consider Skelly to be a 4b... basically a starter at the 4. If we get in foul trouble at the 5, he can give it a go, but I don't like our prospects against B1G competition with Skelly and Lumpkin lining up together.

Makes sense but do you think Collins will trust to play the others?
He pulled Brown after 2 minutes due to 2 bonehead passes but we arent going anywhere without giving rest to our starters. Bmc was a different player against minny when his minutes went from 37 down to 30 or 28. His productivity was fantastic and he had his legs. On the other hand, Law had 2 of his shots blocked goung to the hole because he had no lift. Law has a great shot and there was a reason why he scored most or all of his points prior to the 10 minute mark. We are a more productive team when law and bmc are below 35 minutes. I think optimum would be around 32. But i think collins will keep their minutes over 35. As someone already pointed out, he only took bmc due to cramps. Izzo ate us alive and pressed us and rotated in 10 guys. The only alternative is to build better endurance, if possible, with practice drills or rigorous personal time but its too late for that. Basically, our guys just get gassed and dont have the endurance.
How many wins do we need in the big to secure a nit bid?

 

[Mr Wickerpark]

Unfortunately, I think pretenders.

When you're top 40-50 with 9-10 wins in a pretty weak conference, you're scratching and clawing to be truly relevant.

But if that's how it ends up, I'm somewhat ok with that. This is an evolution. Truly being on the bubble would be a first.

How many games does collins need to watch in order to realize his players need rest? We were ahead of butler, notre dame and were smoking dayton. Against butler we couldnt even inbound the ball at the end. Dayton went on a 10-0 run and almost won, even minny went on a 10-0 run and pulled ahead for good. Same with depaul when we almost blew a 20 pt lead.
We got away with this against lesser teams but with better rotation we beat minny. This season will come down to the patience of collins. Can he see the big picture or will he pull guys like brown and other bench players before its time?

 

[willycat]

Makes sense but do you think Collins will trust to play the others?
He pulled Brown after 2 minutes due to 2 bonehead passes but we arent going anywhere without giving rest to our starters. Bmc was a different player against minny when his minutes went from 37 down to 30 or 28. His productivity was fantastic and he had his legs. On the other hand, Law had 2 of his shots blocked goung to the hole because he had no lift. Law has a great shot and there was a reason why he scored most or all of his points prior to the 10 minute mark. We are a more productive team when law and bmc are below 35 minutes. I think optimum would be around 32. But i think collins will keep their minutes over 35. As someone already pointed out, he only took bmc due to cramps. Izzo ate us alive and pressed us and rotated in 10 guys. The only alternative is to build better endurance, if possible, with practice drills or rigorous personal time but its too late for that. Basically, our guys just get gassed and dont have the endurance.
How many wins do we need in the big to secure a nit bid?

Or have 13 healthy schlorship players.

 

[NJCat]

Or have 13 healthy schlorship players.

Out of curiosity, when was the last time NU had 13 healthy scholarship players available? I bet it was the mid-2000's.

 

[Deeringfish]

Out of curiosity, when was the last time NU had 13 healthy scholarship players available? I bet it was the mid-2000's.

Do you think very many tams have13 healthy players?

 

[willycat]

Do you think very many tams have13 healthy players?

Likely not but how many have only 10?

 

[NJCat]

Do you think very many tams have13 healthy players?

No. That was my point.