Sad State of Bearcat Basketball

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

We're underachieving because we run an outdated inefficient offense and we don't prioritize analytics for roster construction. This roster wasn't great to begin with. We started the season #40 on Torvik, not exactly an NCAA lock.

Wes Miller is ultimately responsible for this season. The AD is responsible long term.

The solution is to hire people who use current tools and strategies. Until that happens we will be left behind.

I don't know where the money is going. The only guys worth paying on this roster are Jizzle, Day Day, Baba, and Thiam. I can understand taking a risk on Abaev. Everyone else was a sub 3 BPM player, and we can't afford to waste money on that. Are we paying good money to Kriisa, Harris, and Celestine? I hope not.

To fix it we have to play Moneyball. We aren't spending like top 20 teams. We have to get value for every dollar, and get the most out of what we land with efficient strategy. At least 4 BPM at every position. Modern strategies on both sides of the ball, and willing to implement new ones each year.

I don't think effort is the issue. I think college athletes generally play hard. There isn't a magic motivation button to be pressed. But we can get more production from the same effort and talent with better tactics. And we can better predict talent by using production based metrics.

You are right. Sound offensive strategy is must for being a superior team. I watched an NBA game last night between Orlando and Charlotte. Charlotte came down on offense and continuously set two picks at the top of the arc. From there, it ran picks and rolls, double picks and rolls, it was able to free guys up for open shots, and as a result won by 15 points. Charlotte did not do anything fancy, but it had a sound strategy to win.

Orlando, on the other hand, came down on offense and repeatedly played one-on-one isolation offense. There was very little passing and player movement. It was easier for Charlotte to play defense on Orlando because there was little ball movement and a lot of contested jump shots.

Watching that game last night showed me how having a basic sound offensive strategy can make the difference between a win or a loss.

[sedz]

You are right. Sound offensive strategy is must for being a superior team. I watched an NBA game last night between Orlando and Charlotte. Charlotte came down on offense and continuously set two picks at the top of the arc. From there, it ran picks and rolls, double picks and rolls, it was able to free guys up for open shots, and as a result won by 15 points. Charlotte did not do anything fancy, but it had a sound strategy to win.

Orlando, on the other hand, came down on offense and repeatedly played one-on-one isolation offense. There was very little passing and player movement. It was easier for Charlotte to play defense on Orlando because there was little ball movement and a lot of contested jump shots.

Watching that game last night showed me how having a basic sound offensive strategy can make the difference between a win or a loss.

Yes! Professional basketball is where most innovation happens. The best college coaches study what the pros do. Dan Hurley has been open about that.

[sedz]

the thing is one has many variables when dealing with humans and not just x and or a play station platform. Not only different opponents, moods, health, etc. If your teammate is setting quality screens a shooter might hit more and if not, less. The same goes for help defense and rebounding help. It is still a team game. Where are the metrics for free throw shooting or inability to see and recognize the court. I want fundamentally trained, inspired, hustling, caring players and then there is no stopping. Metrics can give insights, but it is what inside a player that wins games. Over te last few decades, some have lost awareness of the human.

These excuses to ignore analytics are the reason we are 20 years behind.

[sedz]

I agree with all of the above but one thing struck me: a metric for free throw shooting. That is about as easy a metric to understand as any. Why do we have such difficulty recruiting players who can both score high in other metrics and shoot free throws? Most other teams seem to have figured this out.If you retrospectively projected an 80% free throw percentage over the current season's played games we could easily have won 3-4 more games.No it's not sexy or cool and it doesn't show up on highlight reels. You can't thump your chest or hold up one finger when you sink a free throw. You can't taunt your opponent when you make one.Maybe that's why our players don't take it seriously.Yet Wes just lets the inmates run the asylum.

We recruit poor FT shooters, and our good FT shooting guards don't get to the line. Most bigs in college aren't great at the line, but ours take almost all the FTs. Baba and Harris are both career 59% shooters who are making 60% this year. They are the two players with the most attempts. Abaev has 3rd most, and right behind him is Thiam who is a 62% career shooter. There is no surprise here. Put your bad shooters on the line and you'll have a bad FT shooting team.

[leo from jersey]

These excuses to ignore analytics are the reason we are 20 years behind.

in your opinion without any facts. The games are still won on the court by flesh and blood people. When dealing with people always expect the unexpected. Prepare for it by sound training and learn to adapt and overcome.

[London 'Cat]

in your opinion without any facts. The games are still won on the court by flesh and blood people. When dealing with people always expect the unexpected. Prepare for it by sound training and learn to adapt and overcome.

I'm willing to bet that if you compared the metrics of UC's players to the metrics of players on other teams in the BigXII, UC's metrics would be far lower. If so, the end result is the same - you have better all around players at every position, which is why you win the games. The metrics give us insight into the type of player behind the stats.

[leo from jersey]

I'm willing to bet that if you compared the metrics of UC's players to the metrics of players on other teams in the BigXII, UC's metrics would be far lower. If so, the end result is the same - you have better all around players at every position, which is why you win the games. The metrics give us insight into the type of player behind the stats.

not insulting, but this isn't playstation where you run a play and the players do the same all the time. With humans you may have stats but due to playing against different teams and variables on your team, the stats are nice, but can't tell the whole story. Of course with better players you will have better stats BUT IT IS THE BETTER PLAYERS CAUSING IT.

[leo from jersey]

This is somewhat off the subject but has some truth to it. Years ago my youngest son was asked by his school buddies to play in a rec league. These were his everyday buddies and he really just wanted to have fun playing with them. I said ok. At one of the games a father of an opposing team said it was not fair or right that my son played in that league. He went on to play HS and D1 BB and had some skills. I said why not as he just wants to have fun with his friends and while he was lifting weights, doing plyometrics, endurance, agility training etc. plus hours in the gym (both on his own and tutoring), your son is being a playstation all American.It still takes hard work to be accomplished and the stats may reflect it or maybe no, but the game itself regardless of stats shows ability. I am not against stats, I just see so much more and often less than stats to make a good player. Sadly, too many in these later days have the playstation and not individual hard work mentality. Playstation is generic based on planned movements with just a few variables in place. That is so far from life on the court. Once again it was amazing how Day Day put on a show right after a game of fouling out and one basket. Perhaps it wasn't the scheme, but the fact he had the opportunity to shoot with the ball hogs riding the bench. If they were still in, I wonder if he would have scored as much and had the stats. I wonder what his stats would be like if he had a floor leader he who read defenses, direct the movement and make precise passes with DayDay in position to put it up. So many variables. Again stats give some insights, but the eye test and feel for each game is quite important too.

[leo from jersey]

Here is an interesting variable that can show up in stats but it is usually a spur of the moment mistake. Some say the temper tantrum BaBa threw resulting in a technical caused a loss. There is more than one play contributing to a loss, but that did seem to have a domino effect with his going to the bench and being replaced with a less skilled player. Plus his play was erratic once he came back and had to play cautiously due to fouls.It did seem to motivate him for the next game and not it something that can't be mathematically measured. Variables in each game that often can't be predicted by the past. Plus is BaBa's coach using him to the full measure of his abilities especially against smaller opponents. Hard to gauge that except for speculation.

[sedz]

We're playing Atari 1v1 basketball. On a good day NBA Jam 2v2. Playstation offense will have our guys looking like floor leaders in no time.

[leo from jersey]

We're playing Atari 1v1 basketball. On a good day NBA Jam 2v2. Playstation offense will have our guys looking like floor leaders in no time.

I bought games for the kids but enjoyed the Tekken games.

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

Here is an interesting variable that can show up in stats but it is usually a spur of the moment mistake. Some say the temper tantrum BaBa threw resulting in a technical caused a loss. There is more than one play contributing to a loss, but that did seem to have a domino effect with his going to the bench and being replaced with a less skilled player. Plus his play was erratic once he came back and had to play cautiously due to fouls.It did seem to motivate him for the next game and not it something that can't be mathematically measured. Variables in each game that often can't be predicted by the past. Plus is BaBa's coach using him to the full measure of his abilities especially against smaller opponents. Hard to gauge that except for speculation.

"Variables in each game that often can't be predicted by the past:" Great statement Leo.

[Bearcat1996]

What I see are recent players have a low basketball IQ. In years past, we would have those 1-2 players on the court that showed very high basketball IQ (Van Exel, Martin, SK, Clark, Maxiel, Hicks, and others). It seems like we are missing those 1-2 players that can "run" a team.

[BearKatz]

I was just looking at the schedule, and it's possible we might not win another game in January.

[cpawstoney]

I was just looking at the schedule, and it's possible we might not win another game in January.

We might not win another game this season, unless an opponent forfeits.