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Games 4, 5 & 6- Cayman Islands Classic Basketball Tournament


clarkwgriswold

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Put me in the camp that our offense looks better this season.  Much better flow.  We're missing open looks, but the looks are there.  I don't miss the Ali Ali dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble specials.  He was a fool for transferring.  Groce had given him an infinitely longer leash than he'll enjoy at Butler... or anywhere.

 

I will say I do miss Ali's length & versatility.  Losing our two starting wings in Ali and Dawson was a true kick in the nuts.

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6 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Put me in the camp that our offense looks better this season.  Much better flow.  We're missing open looks, but the looks are there.  I don't miss the Ali Ali dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble-dribble specials.  He was a fool for transferring.  Groce had given him an infinitely longer leash than he'll enjoy at Butler... or anywhere.

 

I will say I do miss Ali's length & versatility.  Losing our two starting wings in Ali and Dawson was a true kick in the nuts.

Yes, Ali leaving is just what D1 has turned into. Losing Dawson was a huge blow. I was expecting this year to be a break out year from him and his perimeter shooting would certainly help open up things for others.

Edited by kreed5120
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I am afraid LSU has shown the world how to defend Enrique.  Enrique has great footwork and is good to his back to the basket.  To my understanding, the LSU defense was making him turn to the baseline and essentially making the baseline a second defender and it flummoxed him.  The result was 1 of 6 from the field.  I trust that if that defense becomes a pattern Groce and staff will figure it out, but I suspect the solution will depend on kicking it out for successful threes or Enrique making good passes to cutters.

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1 minute ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I am afraid LSU has shown the world how to defend Enrique.  Enrique has great footwork and is good to his back to the basket.  To my understanding, the LSU defense was making him turn to the baseline and essentially making the baseline a second defender and it flummoxed him.  The result was 1 of 6 from the field.  I trust that if that defense becomes a pattern Groce and staff will figure it out, but I suspect the solution will depend on kicking it out for successful threes or Enrique making good passes to cutters.

 

Seeing the plan and executing the plan are two different challenges. Quite frankly, most teams should be able to shut down a 6'7" post player just based on sheer size difference, but they don't 95% of the time. I also trust that the coaching staff and Enrique will identify this "flaw" and work hard to limit its effect on Enrique's overall production. Making our perimeter shots will also go a long way towards opening up the game for Enrique.

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Nevada comes in at 5-1 with wins over Tulane, UT-Arlington, William Jessup, Grand Canyon, Utah Tech and Cal State East Bay (yikes, that's a murderers row) and yesterday's loss to K State.

 

6'4" senior guard Jared Lucas leads Wolfpack scoring at 17.5 ppg.  FAU transfer 6'6" senior guard Keenan Blackshear kicks in 12.5 ppg while leading rebounding at at 6.8 rpg.   They are coached by Steve Alford and were chosen to finish second n the Mountain West.  They average 77.5 ppg while surrendering 62.7, but those numbers are a little skewed by their questionable schedule thus far.

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9 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Seeing the plan and executing the plan are two different challenges. Quite frankly, most teams should be able to shut down a 6'7" post player just based on sheer size difference, but they don't 95% of the time. I also trust that the coaching staff and Enrique will identify this "flaw" and work hard to limit its effect on Enrique's overall production. Making our perimeter shots will also go a long way towards opening up the game for Enrique.

He and X also very obviously have targets on their backs now as everyone knows they're the lynchpins to the Zips offense and direct their defensive attention to stopping them first.

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2 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

Point I'm making is those open looks are there because those are the shots the defense is daring us to take. Tribble is a career 18% 3P% shooter. Any 3 ball he puts up is a low percentage shot, even if the nearest defender is 6-7 feet away.

I feel like with Greg on the floor, it's like having an NBA-quality 3-point shooter on your team. Unfortunately the shooter is Ben Simmons...  😉

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5 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

Yes, Ali leaving is just what D1 has turned into. Losing Dawson was a huge blow. I was expecting this year to be a break out year from him and his perimeter shooting would certainly help open up things for others.

He must be injured or something he has yet to show up in a Butler box score. I certainly don't wish him any ill will but I do wish he would have stuck around. 

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52 minutes ago, MDZip said:

He must be injured or something he has yet to show up in a Butler box score. I certainly don't wish him any ill will but I do wish he would have stuck around. 

I thought I saw someone here post that he had a broken nose and a concussion.

 

Honestly, today's game as a mid-major is living and dying by the portal. It would have been great for him to stay, but the portal under Groce has given us guys like X, LCJ, Banks, Cheese, Xeyius, etc. I'd say overall we've come out way ahead with it. Losing Ali was just the cost of doing business

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