nuk13 wrote:
I was only able to listen to ksl the second half. I did it on line if any of you could use that info. I think a lot of the team gained confidence in this game. Sooner or later this will come in handy. Top to bottom this team may be or may become the best we've seen in a while.
I am concerned that Carlino is not only out of control at times but he is looking more to score himself than pass to his teammates. Maybe I watched J. Stockton too much but he ran his team, quarterbacked it if you will, and that is what a point guard is to do. Stockton scored, I remember his joy in hitting the winning shot against Houston in the finals, and Carlino obviously has that ability but if his shot is not falling he needs to put more in to the team.
I would rather have a hard charging neversaydie Matt Carlino than a tentative one (the tentative one got worked last year in our inexcusable losses to USD, USF, St Mary's etc.).
We had a couple former college players on our intramural teams in college (I had connections through my job at school, so we knew how to unfairly load our team... it's just not right to be the dental school team, show up and realize that the medical school team has a 6'8" and 6'10" front line and a 6'1" point guard that signed with Oklahoma out of high school and never qualified due to grades) and they obviously wanted to run and run and run. At 1st, the rest of us couldn't keep up with the pace and we all felt out of control (didn't matter as we won every game by 50+) but by the end of the intramural season, we all could play that way and it was amazing that the moment your team had the ball in your hands, you were pushing it. After playing that way, I don't see any other way to play because not only does it make you better, but if the other team isn't programmed to play that way or in shape to play that way it just wrecks them. Matt is our point guard and he has to have it in his DNA to run. No doubt he could make better decisions sometimes but he's much much better than the tentative player he has been the last couple of years. If we have to sacrifice a few turnovers so that he can set the pace for the team, then so-be-it. What I learned about playing at that pace, is that you get better at it, not worse. The game slows down and as he learns to trust his teammates and as the games get to be more important, I think he'll make better decisions. The last thing we want is a Carlino that thinks too much and isn't willing to go to the hole.
Same deal with free throws. This team will get better at it because these guys are shooters, if they can hit threes , they can hit free throws, however free throws don't feel as natural because it's not at the same breakneck pacing. Once they get used to running at this pace and not getting tired at the line, they will be a great free throw shooting team... right in time for when we really need it. When you go at that pace, often the worst thing you can do is stop; that's when your body all of a sudden tells you that you're tired. All of a sudden you start sweating buckets. All of a sudden your body wants more oxygen. They'll adjust and we'll be a juggernaut from the line. But at no point do I want Carlino, or Mika, or Collinsworth, etc. to stop running just because we end up with empty possessions. (Nothing drives me crazier than turnovers and empty possessions in hoops... and I'll complain til the cows come home with they turn over the ball; but it's also the learning curve this team needs. Let them run, coach them up when they blow it, but let them run.) However, as they continue at this pace, they will get better at it and the other team will not. We cannot come out of that pacing, simply for the benefit of our assist/turnover ratio. It will improve as we go, even with better competition on the horizon.
Here's a good example. Texas is a decent team and their starters can definitely run with us, but they dont' shoot well. They have very little depth; however they have a backup center that's one of those 6'10" 280 lb bodies that can really do damage at times
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/61714/cameron-ridley" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(he's hit or miss, but dangerous)... where do you play that guy when BYU is running like they are? It truly takes him out of the game. Then what happens if the starting center for Texas (who's not a scorer and while a better runner is still a load at 6'10" 250) gets in foul trouble?
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/61710/prince-ibeh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Even their starting point guard is a bit of a fatty..
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/61708/javan-felix" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Darius+Gatson+Sam+Houston+State+v+Texas+-GZqKETJtckl.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
He's good but there's no way he can keep up with the place we play. He'll either get in foul trouble or he'll have a heart attack. If you've watched Texas play, there's no way this kid is only 195 lbs, even at 5'11"... He's either shorter or heavier. How does he keep up with Carlino? Answer: He doesn't and BYU wins the Texas game handily IF they run, and IF they manage to maximize their up tempo game with scores and free throws. If BYU gets pulled into a half court game, it's anyones guess, Texas has talent and those 250 lb centers will give us trouble if we allow them to get interior passes. But in an up tempo game, we could win this going away (ala Stanford).
BYU will zone these guys and eat them alive on the break. That all starts with Matt Carlino.
Eventually we'll run into a team that's either so efficient, that our break doesn't hurt them (Gonzaga) or a team that can run with us (Oregon) where we can't afford to make mistakes period... but right now is the time get the kinks out and I hope that means Matt does everything fast break style. I hope he eats fast, does his homework fast, talks to his mom on the phone fast... you name it.
