In my opinion, he cost them the game by taking his last timeout with over 7 minutes remaining. He should have saved it for inside the last minute when Vandy went ahead by 1, at which time he could have set his defense and certainly have told his guys to play defense and not foul. Surprised that there has been very little made of this by the press. We still might have won, but the intentional foul on B-Mac surely would not have occurred.
Vandy Coach Drew
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Impossible to say if it cost them the game or not, but it sure didn't help them any...
I can't place the TO exactly in the game situation but Vandy outplayed NU over those last 7 minutes so the road not taken could have had NU ahead by 7 with a minute to go.
I get your point though that having a TO available to you in the last minute of the game is a strategic choice.
I get your point though that having a TO available to you in the last minute of the game is a strategic choice.
Rodger Sherman on The Ringer is the only one I've seen make a point about the time outs. Personally I think the intentional foul aspect has been overblown. It was a mistake, but not a fatal one. BMac still had to make the free throws and there was plenty of time to drive to the hole and either make a basket or get fouled. The fact that Vandy had to settle for a NBA three pointer was maybe due to the fact that the NU defense didn't give him any other option. As far as I'm concerned NU won the game and not that Vandy lost it as most of the pundits seem to be saying.
Edit: And let's not forget Dererk Pardon. Our worst free throw shooter going 6 for 6 down the stretch. NU made the plays in crunch time; Vandy did not.
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They were down 7 points, their team was tired, he was hoping to get the under 8 TV timeout, I think he was worried the game would get away from them there. I can't argue with the timeout. He probably burned a few of his other ones too early.
As far as the dumb foul, BMac was eating his defender alive, and his floater/shot was going in, I felt good he would get the basket for us either way.
As far as the dumb foul, BMac was eating his defender alive, and his floater/shot was going in, I felt good he would get the basket for us either way.
Guys, to say that is coaching is like bringing a radio in the bath tub and saying no one told me not to. All he has to do is have a very basic awareness of the game situation. The score, OR what his teammates are doing and their body language would have clued him in. If it's an expectation that the coach has to tell the team not to foul up one, there are much bigger issues at hand.
That is true, but with a TO left to use, Vandy could have called timeout and set up a play instead of taking that 25' three pointer. Fouling BMac was one thing, but taking that bad shot was a completely different thing. The really could have used a TO to set an offensive play.
Coach Drew said they had a play called from the sideline but that NU did something to disrupt it. Of course, at that point, he could have then called the timeout to set up an alternate play.
True, its impossible to know, but very easy to say. And NC statement is also a reasonable conclusion.
Bottom line, one team demonstrated sufficient composure and the other did not. The magnitude of the experience did not prevent us from going on several runs, necessitating several early timeouts by Drew.
Despite turning the ball over more than usual, key players in early foul trouble, and poor free throw shooting, we took a seven point lead into halftime and later built up a 15 point lead, necessitating several more early Vandy timeouts.
Despite the Vandy run which followed, the Cats didn't panic. Instead, they started making their free throws.
Sure, their player blinked near the end. His team had done so already several times earlier (hence all those timeouts). To their credit, they had bounced back, but the final straw was not his error, but their execution that led to a less than ideal shot with about seven seconds left.
Despite turning the ball over more than usual, key players in early foul trouble, and poor free throw shooting, we took a seven point lead into halftime and later built up a 15 point lead, necessitating several more early Vandy timeouts.
Despite the Vandy run which followed, the Cats didn't panic. Instead, they started making their free throws.
Sure, their player blinked near the end. His team had done so already several times earlier (hence all those timeouts). To their credit, they had bounced back, but the final straw was not his error, but their execution that led to a less than ideal shot with about seven seconds left.
Both Drew and his players showed ZERO leadership on that play. They were at the free throw line. No one cam over to the bench to talk to Drew during that time, the team did not huddle prior to the first free throw, Drew did not sub after the second free throw to set up his defense....all three of these situations could have occured which would have been able for him to let his team get on the same page and no players stepped up either. Feel for the kid but this goes back to coaching and Drew has taken zero heat which is strange. If it were Crean, Groce, etc, man they would be getting creamed by the media
One of the TV announcers mentioned his surprise when Vandy took there last TO so early.
I actually think the kid fell on his sword by stating that he thought they were behind at that point. The coach was the one who pointed at him which he immediately interpreted as the signal to foul. In the end it was a communication error as that foul would not have been made but for the coach's mistake. The mistake was either pointing in the first place or not having coached the player better as to how he should interpret a pointing signal. I suspect that when he saw the coach pointing at him that is what led him to believe they were behind at that point or at least to second guess himself. Our own player who was fouled admitted to second guessing himself as well as to which team was ahead once he had been fouled.
Coach Drew's response post game was about as classy as it comes. He wouldn't address it, and said that they wouldn't have been in that position without the player having played as well as he did prior...and all year. Vandy is going to be a tourney team for a while. Drew was a great hire for them.
At the time the Vandy kid fouled, if I recall correctly, Drew was yelling instructions toward the other 4 Vandy players. If those instruction were "don't foul!", it is entirely possible that the Vandy freshman didn't hear the "don't" part... just a hypothesis.
Did anyone notice how the Vandy timeout huddles moved closer to half court as the game moved on? That is because me and my buddies were hounding them during time outs from three rows up behind their bench every time they had a timeout. I actually got into a stare-down contest with two separate assistant coaches during timeouts
Vic Law owes that kid a steak dinner. Everyone seems to be missing the fact that Law missed the front end of a one-and-one with 50 seconds or so left and NU up by one.
All three of the second-half timeouts were oddly timed. Usually, you use a mid-half timeout to stop a run and to help your team gain composure. Each of the three second-half timeouts caused surprise with me and my viewing partner. During a run stopping timeout, "immediate explosion" is the typical crowd reaction. In the case of all theee second half timeouts, the reaction was "[pause] then explosion".
I don't know if the last timeout cost them the game - but I can state that Vandy would have been better off if they hadn't used a timeout at 17:30 AND 14:40 AND 7:30 of the second half (guessing on times, of course).
I don't know if the last timeout cost them the game - but I can state that Vandy would have been better off if they hadn't used a timeout at 17:30 AND 14:40 AND 7:30 of the second half (guessing on times, of course).
Actually he didn't have to, as the player had already said that he fouled because was pointing at MAC and he assumed that he was then supposed to foul.
Please stop with this. Yes, he had a bad night when it mattered. What athlete hasn't? Law is awesome and will bounce back. He's done it before. He'll do it again.
So you can't mention it? I never said he isn't awesome or won't bounce back. My point was for everyone piling on Vandy for their decisions down the stretch, Vic is pretty close to being that guy too,
Here's what I appreciate about Lumpkin: while he's not a big offensive threat, he's very good at deciding when HE should shoot. He doesn't score much, but neither does he go 1-9 from the field. Law has much more potential, so his shooting more isn't all bad - but at least Lumpkin isn't wasting possessions on the nights he scores 3.
I'll miss his defense and his decision making, but overall we stand to gain more than we lose with the return of Falzon and the addition of 2 (or 3) more.
I'll miss his defense and his decision making, but overall we stand to gain more than we lose with the return of Falzon and the addition of 2 (or 3) more.
OK but guess which player was on the winning side. Hint.. initials V.L. Now go take a pill or two.
Here's the thing about TOs: They don't just give rest or strategic planning to the team calling them, and BB is a zero-sum game. You should only call one if on balance it helps you more than it helps your opponent. For this reason there's a good case for avoiding late TOs on offense and preferring to use them defensively.
Regarding Bryce Drew, I've not seen enough of our games to feel 100% informed, but Valpo people indicate using time outs early is very much a philosophical commitment, as are TOs close to TV TOs to in essence create a longer rest.
The rest of this post turned out really long so.....
Regarding Bryce Drew, I've not seen enough of our games to feel 100% informed, but Valpo people indicate using time outs early is very much a philosophical commitment, as are TOs close to TV TOs to in essence create a longer rest.
The rest of this post turned out really long so.....
I can see arguments for and against but he probably takes it slightly too far. One argument in favor: The opposing coach is generally going to save all his time outs until the end. Just curious, if MFD hadn't fouled McIntosh and the fast break had been defused, do you think Collins would have called time out to set up an offense? (More on this below.)
Right. The second (about 17 min left 2nd half) seemed to respond to our terrible offensive, but momentum wasn't really in NU's favor. Better to be process- than results-oriented but it didn't seem to improve our play.
Plausible. Of course we Vanderbilt fans will always wonder whereas Northwestern fans are probably OK without knowing.
Current thinking by many coaches I respect is that TOs generally favor the defense. Again, zero-sum game point above. A well-prepared offense should already know what it's trying to do, whereas D is inherently reactive. It's probably better not to take a time out on offense there, unless there's some specific play they wanted to run. And I like the mindset that your team is so well prepared that you don't have to micromanage the offense but obviously if in reality you're less organized than the defense, you'd better take the time out!
Regardless, a defensive TO after the basket to put us ahead, right before where MFD fouled, would have helped a lot. Hindsight 20-20 etc.
Drew seems to be a very good young coach who did a terrific job to turn a throwaway rebuilding season into an NCAA near-miss. But good coaches do maddening things. I'm OK with early TOs but not to this extreme.
Right. The second (about 17 min left 2nd half) seemed to respond to our terrible offensive, but momentum wasn't really in NU's favor. Better to be process- than results-oriented but it didn't seem to improve our play.
Plausible. Of course we Vanderbilt fans will always wonder whereas Northwestern fans are probably OK without knowing.
Current thinking by many coaches I respect is that TOs generally favor the defense. Again, zero-sum game point above. A well-prepared offense should already know what it's trying to do, whereas D is inherently reactive. It's probably better not to take a time out on offense there, unless there's some specific play they wanted to run. And I like the mindset that your team is so well prepared that you don't have to micromanage the offense but obviously if in reality you're less organized than the defense, you'd better take the time out!
Regardless, a defensive TO after the basket to put us ahead, right before where MFD fouled, would have helped a lot. Hindsight 20-20 etc.
Drew seems to be a very good young coach who did a terrific job to turn a throwaway rebuilding season into an NCAA near-miss. But good coaches do maddening things. I'm OK with early TOs but not to this extreme.
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Well, Matt F-D said that in the locker room whereas Bryce Drew was asked at the official press conference.
Not bad with the memory!
And I agree 100% -- not any given TO but the incremental effects that led to a bad situation. I hope he modifies his approach slightly on this, not overhauls it.
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