West Virginia 2/19 7:00 ESPN2

[longtimefan]

We are finishing 64% of our rim looks this year, which is top 50 in the country and even better than Alabama. But our offense is geared to the midrange where we make only 36%. It might be Jizzle's best shot, but it's not best for the team.

Not 64% if you subtract the lob dunks. Outside of those, we really stink getting to the rim.

[sedz]

Not 64% if you subtract the lob dunks. Outside of those, we really stink getting to the rim.

Subtracting all dunks we're converting 55% at the rim, still way better than the 36% we make on all other twos. Here's our effective field goal percentage for each shot:

90% dunks
55% layups
36% midrange
50% threes

Midrange is the worst shot by a mile.

[Rufus]

CWM takes a lot of criticism on here, but he drew up a **** of a set for the last play. Betsey had a wide open shot that he just missed, but I can’t see how they could have run that set any better.

Sedz indicated that Betsy was in the group that had a negative score. Partly because all he does is shoot. All of our problems on offense is because all every one on this team does is dribble and shoot. Betsy at 6' 8-9" should have more game than just shooting treys. Same with Page and Mitchell and SL. No one follows their shots for rebounds, no one boxes out, no one even bothers to go for rebounds. No one other than the guards even attempts to challenge their defender so that leads to no one obtaining fouls and when we do get fouled no one can make free throws. I don't know what these coaches are doing in practice but they are not teaching these kids how to play bball. We have seen this offensive scene now for three years and every year the basic of offensive sets have diminished more and more. Over 90% of our offensive scene is one player dribbling around until they get a reasonably clear shot and occasionally Aziz will remember to break for the lob pass. I was as excited as anyone when CWM was pegged as our coach to replace JB but after three years we've went from one extreme to the other. From way too tough to too lenient.

[London 'Cat]

I was as excited as anyone when CWM was pegged as our coach to replace JB but after three years we've went from one extreme to the other. From way too tough to too lenient.

None of us are at practices. My question for Rufus is how do you know CWM and staff are too lenient? I don’t know that. CWM may be raising **** and the players are not responding. Maybe he is letting them do what they want in practice. Maybe, like Sedz points out, CWM is teaching them an offense which is easily defended by UC’s opponents. We don’t really know what is happening all we know is there is something fundamentally wrong on the program.

[leo from jersey]

Has anyone watched the High School film of our players. If they had basic skills then, what happened? They had to have something or they would not have been recruited. Huggs wanted Day Day out of JC.

[sedz]

Maybe, like Sedz points out, CWM is teaching them an offense which is easily defended by UC’s opponents.

This is my assumption because Miller's offense has always looked like this, going back to 2015 or so at UNCG. Slow pace, not scoring at the free throw line, lots of midrange shots.

This season is looking an awful lot like his last at UNCG, when Isaiah Miller had a 35 usage rate and took 9 midrange shots per game at 38%. Their team free throw rate was 24%, exactly the same as ours this year.

[BearKatz]

Not at all, just saying those teams should also be embarrassed. The quick success of a guy like Devries at WVU goes to show that those complaining about Wes ,ay have a legit gripe, and those defending him may not be as up on whay it takes to win in the NIL era. I believe a good college coach should now have the same skillset as an NBA coach. The teaching and upskilling is not working well with kids getting paid like pros.

My Apologies! I totally took it the wrong way.

[Rufus]

I agree that something is wrong L'C, And I will concede that we don't if it's the players being belligerent and not accepting the teaching or if they are just not comprehending the teaching, or if it's the has coaches not developing players. But what we do know is that CWM has preached getting better everyday ever since He's been here and we are not seeing it. He has tried to play the same offense for the past three years, with different players coming from the portal and traditional recruiting and have seen a blatant lax in basic bball play progress from year to year with reliance on the three shot becoming more and more prevalent. Someone recently reminded me of Eric Martin getting sent to the locker room in a game because he refused to play to the designed scheme or to put it simply not "playing hard". How long does a coach tolerate a player who can't be taught, or refuses to get with "the program". Even with players that have been with the program multiple years we see no increase in a sense of urgency or bball intelligence. instead we continue to see the same regressing into being satisfied with just standing on the arc and shooting. I just find it fascinating that a coach, any coach would be satisfied with a player just shooting and refusing or reluctant to go after rebounds. UC has a history of having thugs as they have been called, getting two, three, or four shot attempts at the rim. But now coming down the floor and getting one three attempt, clanking the rim and giving up the ball is going to keep us perennially in the B12 basement. Watching this team you just get the sense that they do not want to play for CWM, do not want to play for each other, and certainly do not want to play for the school. Even at the final ten minute mark and us losing by double digits and a loss inevitable, there is no change in attitude, urgency, or scheme, from the players or the coaches. Yes I do not know what is going on in practices and I'll be the first to say I am not a bball expert, but I can see with my own eyes that there is no one on this years team who was here last year that has gotten better!

[Gypo O'Leary]

CWM takes a lot of criticism on here, but he drew up a **** of a set for the last play. Betsey had a wide open shot that he just missed, but I can’t see how they could have run that set any better.

If you think that the best last play is the untested rookie on the floor shooting your last shot....ok.

[Gypo O'Leary]

This is my assumption because Miller's offense has always looked like this, going back to 2015 or so at UNCG. Slow pace, not scoring at the free throw line, lots of midrange shots.

This season is looking an awful lot like his last at UNCG, when Isaiah Miller had a 35 usage rate and took 9 midrange shots per game at 38%. Their team free throw rate was 24%, exactly the same as ours this year.

There are levels and leagues where really good guards can carry a team a long way. But in the power conferences there are serious NBA front line players. Big guys with skills, can move, etc. if you are going to compete with them, you need to have some front line talent. And that is UC's problem this year. Aziz is the best front line player. Betsey and Page are just not competent to step in and compete in the Big 12. Mitchell weighs 200lbs, he is not going to dominate inside. UC had better bigman last year Aziz + Lahkin + Reynolds. And every team I've watched in this Big 12 Debacle runs a better offense than UC. Cuts, screens, inside-out passing. Lukocius can't come off a screen and dribble shoot. Fredericks and Hickman are busts. Aziz is just a lob threat. There is no offense other than Day Day and JJ. And that is just not going to win games in the Big 12.

[BearKatz]

There are levels and leagues where really good guards can carry a team a long way. But in the power conferences there are serious NBA front line players. Big guys with skills, can move, etc. if you are going to compete with them, you need to have some front line talent. And that is UC's problem this year. Aziz is the best front line player. Betsey and Page are just not competent to step in and compete in the Big 12. Mitchell weighs 200lbs, he is not going to dominate inside. UC had better bigman last year Aziz + Lahkin + Reynolds. And every team I've watched in this Big 12 Debacle runs a better offense than UC. Cuts, screens, inside-out passing. Lukocius can't come off a screen and dribble shoot. Fredericks and Hickman are busts. Aziz is just a lob threat. There is no offense other than Day Day and JJ. And that is just not going to win games in the Big 12.

Couldn't agree more!

[BorisTheCat]

Good analysis... CWM built this roster with a whole lot of "wing guys".. they really have no inside scoring threat at all... Inside out passing game assumes that the defense must respect the inside player's ability to score... that's not Aziz. Two freshman coming in are more of the same.... I hope CWM... at the end of year... can admit to himself that what he is doing has not and is not working... otherwise, next year will be his last sadly

[longtimefan]

If you think that the best last play is the untested rookie on the floor shooting your last shot....ok.

Yes. Before last night Betsey was shooting 42% from three in his last eight games, and the shot was wide wide open.

[leeraymond]

Yeah, much like Cronin, Wes is good at drawing set plays after timeouts. Both coaches struggle to implement schemes though. Wes should take some notes from the Missouri v Alabama game last night. That's how you play fast and attack the rim. Dennis Gates and Nate Oats know how to implement an offensive scheme. The teams averaged 104 points in 79 possessions in that game with 26 rim looks, 27 threes, and 34 free throws - only 8 midrange shots! We put up 20 midrange shots in a 60 possession game.

By the way, Dennis Gates interviewed for the UC job when he was at Cleveland State. He interviewed along with Miller. Gates has NBA developmental coaching experience, Power 4 assistant coaching experience, and head coaching experience. Gates has had two 20-win seasons in the SEC (Missouri) in three years. Missouri will make the NCAA Tourney this year for the second time in three years.

Cunningham overlooked Gates for Miller. I wonder what Gates is thinking now concerning his success at Missouri versus what UC is doing. Who laughs last, laughs best.

By the way, I also wonder what Cunningham is now thinking.

[SKell82155]

Nevermind, point already made in post subsequent to
the one I was going to comment on regarding % at the rim.