It sounded like Pitino was all over the defense, in his post game press conference after the Wisconsin game.. There are a couple of things OFFENSIVELY that I hope he addresses, as well.
When Reggie Lynch is in traffic, after receiving a pass, rebounding, or chasing down a loose ball. DO NOT ALLOW REGGIE TO PUT THE BALL ON THE FLOOR IN TRAFFIC..The ball will be taken from him, every time. If he has his back to the basket, especially, because once that ball hits the floor and a defender is coming from behind or off the side, that ball will be stolen. That goes for any of the bigs, including Jordan Murphy, Eric Curry, or Bakary Konate. We lost 3-4 possessions that way and that is an easy fix.. Reggie needs to develop a jump stop move or something to stop his body momentum after chasing down the ball so he does not have to put the ball on the floor after getting the ball. GET THE BALL ABOVE HIS HEAD, RIGHT AWAY, AND PASSED BACK OUT TO A GUARD..Re-post closer to the basket.
I feel we panicked a bit, in the 2nd half, after getting the game to 51-45. We were only 2 possessions down at that point. Wisconsin pushed it to an 8 point deficit for us and I thought we played a bit selfish, at that point. It lead me to think about this first adjustment needed.. Maybe not an adjustment but certainly a reminder.
Nate, Dupree, or Amir have to understand they need the whole team on a possession if its not a run out....I could tell Nate basically had the attitude "Heck with this, nobody else is doing anything offensively for us SO I WILL TAKE IT MYSELF." The problem is that Wisconsin had 3 defenders back, Nate had no teammate as a option for the pass, and no one was in rebounding position for the Gophers.. Recipe for a LOW PERCENTAGE SHOT and an even lower chance of scoring on that possession... Saw the same from Dupree and Amir...Yes, that can succeed at times but many more times leads to failure. When you are making a comeback against a good team who is playing loose, you have to value the possession to grit it out and force the opponent to tighten up a bit... We did the exact opposite as Koenig got into a groove. Even if no one seems to be doing much, the best thing is to allow the guys to get involved and run a solid set, regardless what has happened up to that point.
We have been a tough team mentally but we got caught up in the moment to make things worse.. I am sure the pressure and burning desire to beat Wisconsin played into some of that.. Trying to prove the winning streak was not a fluke.. Playing with some sense of pride.. Lots goes into it but we were down 3 possessions with over 4 minutes to go... That is when really tough teams mentally realize that what made them successful is what they need to stick to for a comeback...I know the guys felt the game slipping away but need to maintain the poise to continue to be confident in running the sets to involve the whole team. We hadnt been in those shoes in over a month so it is a good time to remind the players what it takes to win in that situation.
When Reggie Lynch is in traffic, after receiving a pass, rebounding, or chasing down a loose ball. DO NOT ALLOW REGGIE TO PUT THE BALL ON THE FLOOR IN TRAFFIC..The ball will be taken from him, every time. If he has his back to the basket, especially, because once that ball hits the floor and a defender is coming from behind or off the side, that ball will be stolen. That goes for any of the bigs, including Jordan Murphy, Eric Curry, or Bakary Konate. We lost 3-4 possessions that way and that is an easy fix.. Reggie needs to develop a jump stop move or something to stop his body momentum after chasing down the ball so he does not have to put the ball on the floor after getting the ball. GET THE BALL ABOVE HIS HEAD, RIGHT AWAY, AND PASSED BACK OUT TO A GUARD..Re-post closer to the basket.
I feel we panicked a bit, in the 2nd half, after getting the game to 51-45. We were only 2 possessions down at that point. Wisconsin pushed it to an 8 point deficit for us and I thought we played a bit selfish, at that point. It lead me to think about this first adjustment needed.. Maybe not an adjustment but certainly a reminder.
Nate, Dupree, or Amir have to understand they need the whole team on a possession if its not a run out....I could tell Nate basically had the attitude "Heck with this, nobody else is doing anything offensively for us SO I WILL TAKE IT MYSELF." The problem is that Wisconsin had 3 defenders back, Nate had no teammate as a option for the pass, and no one was in rebounding position for the Gophers.. Recipe for a LOW PERCENTAGE SHOT and an even lower chance of scoring on that possession... Saw the same from Dupree and Amir...Yes, that can succeed at times but many more times leads to failure. When you are making a comeback against a good team who is playing loose, you have to value the possession to grit it out and force the opponent to tighten up a bit... We did the exact opposite as Koenig got into a groove. Even if no one seems to be doing much, the best thing is to allow the guys to get involved and run a solid set, regardless what has happened up to that point.
We have been a tough team mentally but we got caught up in the moment to make things worse.. I am sure the pressure and burning desire to beat Wisconsin played into some of that.. Trying to prove the winning streak was not a fluke.. Playing with some sense of pride.. Lots goes into it but we were down 3 possessions with over 4 minutes to go... That is when really tough teams mentally realize that what made them successful is what they need to stick to for a comeback...I know the guys felt the game slipping away but need to maintain the poise to continue to be confident in running the sets to involve the whole team. We hadnt been in those shoes in over a month so it is a good time to remind the players what it takes to win in that situation.
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