Watching the stream of the PIT with Big Dog

[akronzips71]

http://www.liveliveonline.com/

 

He is showing moves he never had at Akron!

 

Shooting from the outside - and hitting.

[tpsjugglerdude]

I remember him hitting at least one outside shot.

 

 

[NWAkron]

What's an awesome night that was!  It's nice reliving some good memories.  I think we will have more going forward.

[akronzips71]

I may be hallucinating. 3-3 from 3 point range

15 points in 22 minutes with 2 assists and 2 steals.

 

Maybe Coach was not playing him right.

[zippy5]

3-3 from 3? Dang

[akronzips71]

https://media.wix.com/ugd/9dbc28_617801e60db54ae2b378162b69094583.pdf

[Blue & Gold]

What on earth?

[akronzips71]

3 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

What on earth?

 

Read it and weep.

 

I think I may be happy that Dambrot is gone.

 

[UAZip0510]

1 hour ago, akronzips71 said:

 

Read it and weep.

 

I think I may be happy that Dambrot is gone.

 

 

He was MAC POY under Dambrot so I think he did alright.

[akronzips71]

5 minutes ago, UAZip0510 said:

 

He was MAC POY under Dambrot so I think he did alright.

 

Did you know he could shoot three's?

[UAZip0510]

4 minutes ago, akronzips71 said:

 

Did you know he could shoot three's?

 

He can shoot for sure, although today wasn't the norm.  Much more efficient for him to back down a (usually) smaller opponent and drop it in.  Big Dog did great under KD.

[skip-zip]

6 hours ago, UAZip0510 said:

Much more efficient for him to back down a (usually) smaller opponent and drop it in.

 

You shouldn't even need to explain that.   I hope some of the responses above were not serious.   

[mes102]

I'm sure some are looking at this as an eye-opener, but without looking at the PIT game, I can't imagine that this type of shot selection from Big Dog would have translated to more wins for us. In fact, I think we would have lost more games, to be completely honest.

Now do I think we utilized Big Dog the right way? Yes and No.

I believed that we should have given him the ball more in the high post. With his vision of the court, being at the high post sets up a lot of things you could have done with the other four on the court.

I'll just give you one situation where you could have done this. For those that aren't used to the basketball terms, I apologize in advance.

Antino passes to Big Dog at the high post. Cheatham is posting up on the left block for a little high-low, while Antino is then going to the left side of the floor for a flare screen. While that is going on Noah is on the right wing and backdoor cutting to try and get a pass from Big Dog. If Antino's flare and Noah's backdoor is not open, Cheatham and Ivey set a stagger screen for Noah. While that is going on, Antino is coming back over to Big Dog to get the handoff. Noah's stagger screen is mainly a decoy for the handoff. Cheatham then sets a back screen for Ivey and either Antino takes it all the way to the hoop or he alley-oops it to Ivey. Cheatham pops out after setting that back screen for a potential 3 if his defender shades to help on Ivey. Now, during all that time(which should be no more than 10 seconds) Big Dog has the ball, if he sees any opening to take his defender 1v1 , he has the green light.

And to be honest, with the other four players moving this much with Big Dog having the ball at the high post, it makes it difficult for any of the opposing team's defenders to stay in help side for longer than a second. My biggest problem was how we went iso with Big Dog and the other four hardly moved, and just watched Big Dog go to work. That is the most easiest way to defend a team. That's why I was so impressed with Big Dog, because everyone knew where the ball was and knew what was going, and he STILL found a way to score or find the open guy even though they weren't moving.

That would be my issue with how KD used Big Dog. However, no way would I allow Big Dog to shoot 3's in a game for Akron Zips. He's best around the high post and block. Plus, we had enough 3 point shooters. We didn't need another guy to take up that space. 

 

Edited April 14, 2017 by mes102

[kreed5120]

From watching shoot around, yes I knew he could make them just like I knew he could make 17 footers. I also knew Kwan can make 27 footers. That doesn't mean either should shoot them. A few times over the course of the season I noticed Big Dog getting the ball beyond the 3 point line with the defender giving him 5 feet of space and he thought about shooting before passing.

[UAZippers]

Its fun to hear that Big Dog had a good game, but lets not act like one day tells a whole story. His first game on Wednesday, he went 0-4 and didn't score. Single games very rarely tell you anything.

 

As Kreed said above me, Big Dog has been shooting and hitting 3's during warm-ups all season. However, I feel like the last thing that the Zips needed last season was another guy who wants to stand at the 3-point line.

[clarkwgriswold]

I was always far more concerned with Big Dog playing defense at the three point line than I was with him with the ball at the three point line!

Edited April 14, 2017 by clarkwgriswold

[Zip Watcher]

 

[kreed5120]

32 minutes ago, Zip Watcher said:

 

 

"There is a championship team that we can afford because everyone undervalues them because they don't play defense but shoot a crap ton of 3's. Like an island of misfit toys"

[zipfan84]

On 4/14/2017 at 8:11 AM, mes102 said:

I'm sure some are looking at this as an eye-opener, but without looking at the PIT game, I can't imagine that this type of shot selection from Big Dog would have translated to more wins for us. In fact, I think we would have lost more games, to be completely honest.

Now do I think we utilized Big Dog the right way? Yes and No.

I believed that we should have given him the ball more in the high post. With his vision of the court, being at the high post sets up a lot of things you could have done with the other four on the court.
 

 

mes102,

 

Couldn't agree more. I was at the EMU game in Ypsilanti and BD played the high post almost exclusively (against 2-3 zone). Many more passing options and the rest of the team seemed to be much more active without the ball. Lots of slashing and scoring from Jimond and others, as I recall. Not to mention the wide open jumpers you would expect to get against the zone. It was probably the Zips best offensive performance of the season. Definitely the most fun to watch :-)

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, zipfan84 said:

I was at the EMU game in Ypsilanti and BD played the high post almost exclusively (against 2-3 zone).

 

I was wondering when this would come up.  We were very effective with him in the high post against EMU this year.  But that's a little bit different situation with that Zone.  We played it by making the two wing defenders have to watch guys standing in both corners, which allowed for the back cuts when Dog pulled out their only defender in the paint.  

 

In one-on-one situations, those back cuts are harder to find.  So, then you'd have to question why your best one-on-one scorer in the low post is holding the ball near the foul line.  

All of this depends on each particular sequence, and how they play it.  But I just wanted to point out that there's a lot more to it than simply thinking that he may have been just as valuable at the high post in either situation.  

[mes102]

3 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

I was wondering when this would come up.  We were very effective with him in the high post against EMU this year.  But that's a little bit different situation with that Zone.  We played it by making the two wing defenders have to watch guys standing in both corners, which allowed for the back cuts when Dog pulled out their only defender in the paint.  

 

In one-on-one situations, those back cuts are harder to find.  So, then you'd have to question why your best one-on-one scorer in the low post is holding the ball near the foul line.  

All of this depends on each particular sequence, and how they play it.  But I just wanted to point out that there's a lot more to it than simply thinking that he may have been just as valuable at the high post in either situation.  

He would have been more effective in the high post against Ball State in the MAC semifinals. They wouldn't have been able to front him like they did if he was at the high post. That's just one example. I understand that it all depends on matchups, and there would be games that going isolation with Big Dog on the block would be the better option, but I think if Big Dog at high post was our normal base offense, and not the exception, we would have had a more entertaining offense and wouldn't have those late regular season embarrassing losses.

But KD is gone and this new coaching staff seems to be on track to take us to the next level.

Edited April 17, 2017 by mes102

[akronzips71]

Three points are three points. He went 4-6 on threes in the tourney.

I have to assume KD would not allow him to shoot.

[kreed5120]

Dambrot called his number to shoot that 17 foot game winner against Ball State. Big Dog just wasn't looking to shoot the 3, nor should have he. Outside of Karnowski he was bigger than anyone he faced. Settling for 20 footers would have just done the opposing defense a favor.

 

Edit: In a glorified scrimmage I can see why he would want to shoot the 3 to show scouts he has the ability. Big Dog was always a team player and I assume he didn't shoot them was because he felt that wasn't what Akron needed out of its only legitimate post player.

Edited April 17, 2017 by kreed5120

[LZIp]

Complaining about KD supposedly not letting Big Dog shoot 3s is one of the silliest stances I have seen on this forum.

[Valpo Zip]

I often felt that the team was shooting way too many threes. If anything, I would have hoped KD would ask Kwan to post up more and shoot less thress. I can't believe people wanted Dog to shoot more.