Unusual rotation it wouldn't surprise me to see

[eastbaycat99]

Because I live on the west coast, I got to see Gonzaga a few times this year. They are a very good team, and their offense thrives in large part because of their post play. Collins, the backup center, is very quick for a big man and Karnowski is a mountain with good hands. They split time, in part because Karnowski tires pretty easily.
It wouldn't surprise me if CCC tries to save Pardon minutes to always have him on the floor when Collins is in to offset Collins' mobilitiy, and to do so, inserts Skelly instead of Benson for Pardon at some point when Karnowski is playing. The full rotation would be something like Skelly, Lumpkin, Mac, Taphorn and Lindsey. On defense. they would double Karnowski with Skelly overplaying the passing lane and Lumpkin holding post; if the ball got to Karnowski, Skelly would grab him and make him shoot freethrows: he shoots FT's in the 50's. On offense, Karnowski hates to guard a center with shooting range, so the Zags would essentially need to go to a zone, and space would open for Taphorn, Skelly and Lindsey. If Karnowski does come out to guard Skelly, it opens the lane for Mac.

 

[chicagocatfan24]

Luv it! Let's git this party started!

Whoops forgot to switch accounts

 

[GoZags1]

Yes ... but who will keep up with "The Gazelle"?

http://giphy.com/gifs/fultz-transition-lazy-3o7TKnGFEtYj9Vyfvy

Because I live on the west coast, I got to see Gonzaga a few times this year. They are a very good team, and their offense thrives in large part because of their post play. Collins, the backup center, is very quick for a big man and Karnowski is a mountain with good hands. They split time, in part because Karnowski tires pretty easily.
It wouldn't surprise me if Collins tries to save Pardon minutes to always have him on the floor when Collins is in to offset Collins' mobilitiy, and to do so, inserts Skelly instead of Benson for Pardon at some point when Karnowski is playing. The full rotation would be something like Skelly, Lumpkin, Mac, Taphorn and Lindsey. On defense. they would double Karnowski with Skelly overplaying the passing lane and Lumpkin holding post; if the ball got to Karnowski, Skelly would grab him and make him shoot freethrows: he shoots FT's in the 50's. On offense, Karnowski hates to guard a center with shooting range, so the Zags would essentially need to go to a zone, and space would open for Taphorn, Skelly and Lindsey. If Karnowski does come out to guard Skelly, it opens the lane for Mac.

 

[eastbaycat99]

Yes ... but who will keep up with "The Gazelle"?

http://giphy.com/gifs/fultz-transition-lazy-3o7TKnGFEtYj9Vyfvy

Zags are great in transition, but Cats have generally dealt well in that area. Post defense against really good centers has been more of a problem, hence it wouldn't surprise me if Collins does something unusual.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

Because I live on the west coast, I got to see Gonzaga a few times this year. They are a very good team, and their offense thrives in large part because of their post play. Collins, the backup center, is very quick for a big man and Karnowski is a mountain with good hands. They split time, in part because Karnowski tires pretty easily.
It wouldn't surprise me if Collins tries to save Pardon minutes to always have him on the floor when Collins is in to offset Collins' mobilitiy, and to do so,

I think you are referring to two different Collins, right?
To make it less confusing you may want to edit your post, referring to the NU's coach as CC (or CCC if you will). Just a humble suggestion

 

[eastbaycat99]

I think you are referring to two different Collins, right?
To make it less confusing you may want to edit your post, referring to the NU's coach as CC (or CCC if you will). Just a humble suggestion

Good idea, thanks.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

Because I live on the west coast, I got to see Gonzaga a few times this year.

Can you comment on the game they lost to BYU (which the Zags started on an 18-2 run!)? What did BYU do specially well, and the Zags specially bad? Do the Cats have the personnel to "emulate" what BYU did? (I think NU is more athletic than BYU is...and their PG is reminiscent of Mac).

Here is a link to the full game:


Here is a condensed (extended highlights) version:

 

[eastbaycat99]

I think the best ways to emulate the BYU win would be to hum a lullaby and say a prayer. The Zags went to sleep a little after their hot start and BYU hit some really long 3's, which pushed GU out on defense further than they are comfortable. BYU also played decent post defense. BYU and NU really don't have comparable strengths and weakness, so I'm not sure there is much of a direct lesson to take.

Since the Cats are really unlikely to hit very deep 3's and GU is certainly not going to be complacent after their very poor first round performance, I think the Cats' best chance is to play intense defense, which requires smart substitutions to keep their legs strong. I would expect Ash to get minutes, and I would also expect CCC to try to use Taphorn early to try to get GU to extend on defense. N u has a chance, but Law, Skelly and Taphorn all need to have great games.

 

[GoZags1]

Not sure if you were asking me or EastBay to comment .... but here goes. No excuses as BYU played very well and the Zags were missing a key "big" out of the rotation.... 6' 10" Killian Tillie (GU's quickest, most agile big ... missing him hurt on defense). Also ... if NU has one of their big, tough defensive linemen suit up today, the Zags "could" be in trouble.

BYU has had the notorious "Kaufusi" brothers in recent years .... and 6' 10" 270 lb Corbin Kaufusi has been the guy the last couple of years. When the refs "let them play" .... it gets ugly and GU didn't respond well on Feb. 25. That's not the reason they lost .... but it didn't help.

Note .... the caricature below came from the BYU side ...


.

Can you comment on the game they lost to BYU (which the Zags started on an 18-2 run!)? What did BYU do specially well, and the Zags specially bad? Do the Cats have the personnel to "emulate" what BYU did? (I think NU is more athletic than BYU is...and their PG is reminiscent of Mac).

Here is a link to the full game:

View embedded media

Here is a condensed (extended highlights) version:

View embedded media

 

[phatcat]

I think the best ways to emulate the BYU win would be to hum a lullaby and say a prayer. The Zags went to sleep a little after their hot start and BYU hit some really long 3's, which pushed GU out on defense further than they are comfortable. BYU also played decent post defense. BYU and NU really don't have comparable strengths and weakness, so I'm not sure there is much of a direct lesson to take.

Since the Cats are really unlikely to hit very deep 3's and GU is certainly not going to be complacent after their very poor first round performance, I think the Cats' best chance is to play intense defense, which requires smart substitutions to keep their legs strong. I would expect Ash to get minutes, and I would also expect CCC to try to use Taphorn early to try to get GU to extend on defense. N u has a chance, but Law, Skelly and Taphorn all need to have great games.

I am probably showing my ignorance, but I am holding my breath any time Skelly is on the floor, until he goes out again

 

[FeliSilvestris]

One thing that won't help NU is the altitude differential. Spokane is nearly 2000' high, which is about half of SLC's. Evanston is far closer to sea level (600' or so). Advantage to the Zags, here.

 

[FeliSilvestris]

BYU has had the notorious "Kaufusi" brothers in recent years .... and 6' 10" 270 lb Corbin Kaufusi has been the guy the last couple of years. When the refs "let them play" .... it gets ugly and GU didn't respond well on Feb. 25.
.

NU hasn't experimented converting FB players to BkBallers for a while. Last I remember is Napoleon Harris, who had a decent NFL career and is now a state senator. More recently, Dean Lowry showed great athleticism and good hands; from the distance looked like someone who could possibly be serviceable as a college basketball player, if not enough pure BkBallers were available (he actually did play HS basketball for a year). But that wasn't tried, AFAIK.

 

[D_C_B]

I am probably showing my ignorance, but I am holding my breath any time Skelly is on the floor, until he goes out again

You're not. Smelly has had flashes of brilliance (he single handedly won the Rutgers game - there simply was no BMac 3 pointer to win that game without one of the most productive 75 second stretches in NU hoops history by Skelly that preceded it! Without that 75 seconds, we may very well not be in the tournament at all!

But he does tend to offset that with some head scratchers.

Look at it this way:

He's fun to watch!

 

[Alan Smithee]

I don't think we're as dependent on his infusion of energy as we once were. Not that he doesn't still bring it, but I think the rest of the guys have it more than they once did.

If he improves his ability to defend without fouling, that would be another nice lift.

 

[Walker Fan]

Wow, four more posts or gibberish and irrelevant points about football players converting to basketball. Deep thoughts. Not!

BYU had a 6'9" stretch 4, Erik Mika who scored 29 points and 11 rebounds and went 10-14 from the field and hit a number of shots of the immobile Zag center. And won the game for Zags. Unfortunately, Skelly does not have the skills to shoot 10-14 and straight up jump shots 15-18 feet out and over the Zag Giant. And Falzon who could shoot 10-14 is redshirting. They will need some quality minutes from Benson. They don't want Skelly or Pardon to start firing out 10 or more jump shots from the elbow.

 

[GoZags1]

If you actually had been paying attention you would have noticed that the Gonzaga poster mentioned a big BYU player who is a converted FB player (or rather a dual player). Hence my post.
Next time, make an effort to follow the discussion before spewing your venom.

And Kaufusi's energy and aggressiveness was a factor in their win. As was the fact that the Zags were short a big out of their rotation.

But BYU played well and deserved the win (their 3rd in a row at the Kennel)

 

[CatManTrue]

I actually think Benson is our best matchup all-around for Kawnowski. He plays active D, has made more and more clutch plays as the season has gone, and has the size to contend. I love Pardon but he's struggled against bigger players, and also am a big Skelly fan but as othets have noted he can be hit or miss.

If Benson gives us quality minutes against K, I think our odds improve bigly. Can't wait to see what happens.

 

[eastbaycat99]

I am probably showing my ignorance, but I am holding my breath any time Skelly is on the floor, until he goes out again

Normally I feel the same way, but I think the Cats need to gamble a little to the dual p

I don't think we're as dependent on his infusion of energy as we once were. Not that he doesn't still bring it, but I think the rest of the guys have it more than they once did.

If he improves his ability to defend without fouling, that would be another nice lift.

Actually, one reason I think we might see Skelly is that fouling Karnowski may be a plus, not a minus.

 

[jjjjjjj]

No excuses as BYU played very well and the Zags were missing a key "big" out of the rotation.... 6' 10" Killian Tillie (GU's quickest, most agile big ... missing him hurt on defense). Also ... if NU has one of their big, tough defensive linemen suit up today, the Zags "could" be in trouble.

BYU has had the notorious "Kaufusi" brothers in recent years .... and 6' 10" 270 lb Corbin Kaufusi has been the guy the last couple of years. When the refs "let them play" .... it gets ugly and GU didn't respond well on Feb. 25. That's not the reason they lost .... but it didn't help.

If this was a parody post, well done.

 

[jjjjjjj]

Wow, imagine the non-excuse excuses we would see from Mr. Gozags if things had gone just a bit differently. I'm guessing he won't be back.