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A Look Towards Next Year, and Offensive Style


hal9000

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As we wait on news of Terran's decision, I thought I'd throw out a couple thoughts and pose a question with a view towards next season, if that's okay. 

 

First of all I feel it is vital for our chances of getting back to the NCAA Tournament that Terran comes back for his senior year.  I'm not saying we can't make it without him, but when I think of our offensive potential next year with Terran, it gives me a lot more hope.  We would have three major scoring threats with Petteway, Shields and White.  That means that at any one time on the court we should always have at least two major scoring threats, instead of this year where we sometimes had only one, or maybe even none, depending on TP and Shields' foul situation or need of rest.  Then throw in Pitchford who will hopefully get his touch back, Smith, Morrow, and Watson, and I really feel like we have a shot at the upper half.  Without TP, just my opinion mind you, I think we're probably an NIT level team. 

 

Then my question is in regards to the style of offense Miles will run next year.  What do you think it will be?  I presume that Miles, like most coaches, recruits players generally speaking with an eye towards a certain type of offense he wants to run.  If a coach plans on running his offense from the inside out, for example, he would load up with more bigs.  I'm trying to figure out if Miles plans on changing up the offense any with the new recruits he's brought in, or will he continue to go with motion?  One interesting note, in Miles final Husker wrap-up with Greg Sharpe he said expect a spring signing, a shooting guard.  Not sure if that is old news, but it was telling to me that we're not looking at a big man.

 

Real excited about incoming players.  Miles spoke about them on the show.  Said we landed 2 of the top 5 players in Chicago.  Morrow shoots a high percentage, can hit from outside but needs to improve his footwork.  They showed highlights of him scoring over Jahlil Okafor.  Watson a play making point guard.  He'll get you whatever you need.  Handles full court pressure well.  Jacobson is a crafty stretch 4, not overly quick but versatile.  He calls White KFC because he gets buckets.  Plays both ends.  Didn't talk about McVeigh that I saw, but I could have missed it.  

 

My hopes/predictions for next years players, with the understanding there could be attrition, including Petteway. 

 

Starters:  Pitchford, Petteway, White, Shields, and Watson

Subs:  Smith, Morrow, Jacobson,Fuller, Webster

Redshirt: McVeigh, (maybe Hammonds)

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My hopes/predictions for next years players, with the understanding there could be attrition, including Petteway. 

 

Starters:  Pitchford, Petteway, White, Shields, and Watson

Subs:  Smith, Morrow, Jacobson,Fuller, Webster

Redshirt: McVeigh, (maybe Hammonds)

 

About 1-2 weeks and you'll know if there is anything to all the smoke.

 

I would be curious if Miles is going to change his philosophy on shooting the 3. Last year was the most any of his teams have shot it, which still was only 151 most in the country in terms of 3pa/fga. (middle of the road)

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My hopes/predictions for next years players, with the understanding there could be attrition, including Petteway. 

 

Starters:  Pitchford, Petteway, White, Shields, and Watson

Subs:  Smith, Morrow, Jacobson,Fuller, Webster

Redshirt: McVeigh, (maybe Hammonds)

 

About 1-2 weeks and you'll know if there is anything to all the smoke.

 

I would be curious if Miles is going to change his philosophy on shooting the 3. Last year was the most any of his teams have shot it, which still was only 151 most in the country in terms of 3pa/fga. (middle of the road)

 

I think Miles needs to coach his players to MAKE more of those 3 pointers.  Just a suggestion.

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As we wait on news of Terran's decision, I thought I'd throw out a couple thoughts and pose a question with a view towards next season, if that's okay. 

 

First of all I feel it is vital for our chances of getting back to the NCAA Tournament that Terran comes back for his senior year.  I'm not saying we can't make it without him, but when I think of our offensive potential next year with Terran, it gives me a lot more hope.  We would have three major scoring threats with Petteway, Shields and White.  That means that at any one time on the court we should always have at least two major scoring threats, instead of this year where we sometimes had only one, or maybe even none, depending on TP and Shields' foul situation or need of rest.  Then throw in Pitchford who will hopefully get his touch back, Smith, Morrow, and Watson, and I really feel like we have a shot at the upper half.  Without TP, just my opinion mind you, I think we're probably an NIT level team. 

 

Then my question is in regards to the style of offense Miles will run next year.  What do you think it will be?  I presume that Miles, like most coaches, recruits players generally speaking with an eye towards a certain type of offense he wants to run.  If a coach plans on running his offense from the inside out, for example, he would load up with more bigs.  I'm trying to figure out if Miles plans on changing up the offense any with the new recruits he's brought in, or will he continue to go with motion?  One interesting note, in Miles final Husker wrap-up with Greg Sharpe he said expect a spring signing, a shooting guard.  Not sure if that is old news, but it was telling to me that we're not looking at a big man.

 

Real excited about incoming players.  Miles spoke about them on the show.  Said we landed 2 of the top 5 players in Chicago.  Morrow shoots a high percentage, can hit from outside but needs to improve his footwork.  They showed highlights of him scoring over Jahlil Okafor.  Watson a play making point guard.  He'll get you whatever you need.  Handles full court pressure well.  Jacobson is a crafty stretch 4, not overly quick but versatile.  He calls White KFC because he gets buckets.  Plays both ends.  Didn't talk about McVeigh that I saw, but I could have missed it.  

 

My hopes/predictions for next years players, with the understanding there could be attrition, including Petteway. 

 

Starters:  Pitchford, Petteway, White, Shields, and Watson

Subs:  Smith, Morrow, Jacobson,Fuller, Webster

Redshirt: McVeigh, (maybe Hammonds)

The spring signing of a shooting guard is McVeigh.

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As we wait on news of Terran's decision, I thought I'd throw out a couple thoughts and pose a question with a view towards next season, if that's okay. 

 

First of all I feel it is vital for our chances of getting back to the NCAA Tournament that Terran comes back for his senior year.  I'm not saying we can't make it without him, but when I think of our offensive potential next year with Terran, it gives me a lot more hope.  We would have three major scoring threats with Petteway, Shields and White.  That means that at any one time on the court we should always have at least two major scoring threats, instead of this year where we sometimes had only one, or maybe even none, depending on TP and Shields' foul situation or need of rest.  Then throw in Pitchford who will hopefully get his touch back, Smith, Morrow, and Watson, and I really feel like we have a shot at the upper half.  Without TP, just my opinion mind you, I think we're probably an NIT level team. 

 

Then my question is in regards to the style of offense Miles will run next year.  What do you think it will be?  I presume that Miles, like most coaches, recruits players generally speaking with an eye towards a certain type of offense he wants to run.  If a coach plans on running his offense from the inside out, for example, he would load up with more bigs.  I'm trying to figure out if Miles plans on changing up the offense any with the new recruits he's brought in, or will he continue to go with motion?  One interesting note, in Miles final Husker wrap-up with Greg Sharpe he said expect a spring signing, a shooting guard.  Not sure if that is old news, but it was telling to me that we're not looking at a big man.

 

Real excited about incoming players.  Miles spoke about them on the show.  Said we landed 2 of the top 5 players in Chicago.  Morrow shoots a high percentage, can hit from outside but needs to improve his footwork.  They showed highlights of him scoring over Jahlil Okafor.  Watson a play making point guard.  He'll get you whatever you need.  Handles full court pressure well.  Jacobson is a crafty stretch 4, not overly quick but versatile.  He calls White KFC because he gets buckets.  Plays both ends.  Didn't talk about McVeigh that I saw, but I could have missed it.  

 

My hopes/predictions for next years players, with the understanding there could be attrition, including Petteway. 

 

Starters:  Pitchford, Petteway, White, Shields, and Watson

Subs:  Smith, Morrow, Jacobson,Fuller, Webster

Redshirt: McVeigh, (maybe Hammonds)

The spring signing of a shooting guard is McVeigh.

 

 

Right?  He couldn't talk about McVeigh specifically since he hasn't officially signed yet.

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I think Miles needs to coach his players to MAKE more of those 3 pointers.  Just a suggestion.

 

His last CSU team shot 40% from 3, top 10 in the country but their 3pa/fga ratio was 263rd in the country.  They didn't take a lot of 3s. We seem to be bringing in more shooting. Is Miles' team going to take more 3s?

 

Let's take a look at his DI numbers and some of the trends

2010104690.png

 

Effective FG%: Varied by team - This seems like it's the key to Miles' success building as you can see that number build up after 3 years at CSU and was high during his last two years at NDSU. Unknown what combination of skill and scheme generate these numbers.  Hopefully we will see the same sort of year 4 jump that Tim Miles' CSU team saw. Amazing we made the tournament last year with such awful shooting...amazing.

TO%: Varied by team - If anything, the first two years at Nebraska of low turnover rate was the outlier. Would have to dig into it more to find a reason. It's possible that it's inversely proportional to the Free Throw Rate as players turn the ball over more driving to the rim.

Offensive Rebound Rate: Low - Has been low since leaving NDSU. His teams don't crash the boards on offense through a combination of design and probable lack of size.

Free Throw Rate: Varied by team - Seems like something that is a part of a successful Miles team and is part of him generating offense by driving to the rim. The difference between a Ray Gallegos jump shot offense from 2 years ago vs a Petteway led offense is very easy to see in this stat.

 

Tempo: Varied by team - It would seem as though Miles has varied this over the years based on personnel. He peaked at #88 but that was with North Dakota St in 2007 so his relative pace seem between slow and middle of the pack.

3 Point Attempt %: Low - When Miles says love the rim, like the 3, it's not lip service. For a metrics guy who has had some good shooting teams, it's actually a bit puzzling to me why we don't shoot more 3s. This would be seem like a great question for a weekly call in show. This is a style attribute though and you don't have to be a 3 point shooting team to be successful.

Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

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I think Miles needs to coach his players to MAKE more of those 3 pointers.  Just a suggestion.

 

His last CSU team shot 40% from 3, top 10 in the country but their 3pa/fga ratio was 263rd in the country.  They didn't take a lot of 3s. We seem to be bringing in more shooting. Is Miles' team going to take more 3s?

 

Let's take a look at his DI numbers and some of the trends

2010104690.png

 

Effective FG%: Varied by team - This seems like it's the key to Miles' success building as you can see that number build up after 3 years at CSU and was high during his last two years at NDSU. Unknown what combination of skill and scheme generate these numbers.  Hopefully we will see the same sort of year 4 jump that Tim Miles' CSU team saw. Amazing we made the tournament last year with such awful shooting...amazing.

TO%: Varied by team - If anything, the first two years at Nebraska of low turnover rate was the outlier. Would have to dig into it more to find a reason. It's possible that it's inversely proportional to the Free Throw Rate as players turn the ball over more driving to the rim.

Offensive Rebound Rate: Low - Has been low since leaving NDSU. His teams don't crash the boards on offense through a combination of design and probable lack of size.

Free Throw Rate: Varied by team - Seems like something that is a part of a successful Miles team and is part of him generating offense by driving to the rim. The difference between a Ray Gallegos jump shot offense from 2 years ago vs a Petteway led offense is very easy to see in this stat.

 

Tempo: Varied by team - It would seem as though Miles has varied this over the years based on personnel. He peaked at #88 but that was with North Dakota St in 2007 so his relative pace seem between slow and middle of the pack.

3 Point Attempt %: Low - When Miles says love the rim, like the 3, it's not lip service. For a metrics guy who has had some good shooting teams, it's actually a bit puzzling to me why we don't shoot more 3s. This would be seem like a great question for a weekly call in show. This is a style attribute though and you don't have to be a 3 point shooting team to be successful.

Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

Dimes you didn't say that there would be MAAAATTTTHHHH.;)

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The spring signing of a shooting guard is McVeigh.

 

Thanks Norm, I wasn't clear on that.  I need to do my research a little better. 

 

No problemo.  That's what we're here for.  The collective knowledge of the group exceeds that of any single individual here.  Unless that single individual is Dimes.  Or Dean Smith.  To take nothing away from basketballjones.  And, of course, 49r knows his kudzu like no one else.

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I think Miles needs to coach his players to MAKE more of those 3 pointers. Just a suggestion.

His last CSU team shot 40% from 3, top 10 in the country but their 3pa/fga ratio was 263rd in the country. They didn't take a lot of 3s. We seem to be bringing in more shooting. Is Miles' team going to take more 3s?

Let's take a look at his DI numbers and some of the trends

2010104690.png

Effective FG%: Varied by team - This seems like it's the key to Miles' success building as you can see that number build up after 3 years at CSU and was high during his last two years at NDSU. Unknown what combination of skill and scheme generate these numbers. Hopefully we will see the same sort of year 4 jump that Tim Miles' CSU team saw. Amazing we made the tournament last year with such awful shooting...amazing.

TO%: Varied by team - If anything, the first two years at Nebraska of low turnover rate was the outlier. Would have to dig into it more to find a reason. It's possible that it's inversely proportional to the Free Throw Rate as players turn the ball over more driving to the rim.

Offensive Rebound Rate: Low - Has been low since leaving NDSU. His teams don't crash the boards on offense through a combination of design and probable lack of size.

Free Throw Rate: Varied by team - Seems like something that is a part of a successful Miles team and is part of him generating offense by driving to the rim. The difference between a Ray Gallegos jump shot offense from 2 years ago vs a Petteway led offense is very easy to see in this stat.

Tempo: Varied by team - It would seem as though Miles has varied this over the years based on personnel. He peaked at #88 but that was with North Dakota St in 2007 so his relative pace seem between slow and middle of the pack.

3 Point Attempt %: Low - When Miles says love the rim, like the 3, it's not lip service. For a metrics guy who has had some good shooting teams, it's actually a bit puzzling to me why we don't shoot more 3s. This would be seem like a great question for a weekly call in show. This is a style attribute though and you don't have to be a 3 point shooting team to be successful.

Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

I threw up in my mouth looking at those numbers.

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I'd like to see more full court defensive pressure and force opponents to speed up their shots.  This creates way more transition and makes players like Benny and Tai very useful.  I thought we played really well every time we did this.  I like Molinari--I've seen individual defensive improvements under his tutelage (see Tai--complete 180), but I was surprisingly more impressed with how well he coached pressure defense.  

 

I realize this is an offensive thread, but I feel like our offense has been directly related to our defensive philosophy.  Wisconsin is my favorite team to watch, so I get the pack mentality, but they can shoot the mess out of the ball in the half court and pass better than anyone in the country.  There's no way to play the way they play unless 1-5 can shoot it.  It is clearly a prerequisite for getting on the floor in their system.  

 

The only players on our team next year that fits their mold are Pitchford (the good one) and maybe Jacobson and McVeigh.  Every other athlete we have SCREAMS run like hell and attack the opponent, in my opinion.  Sometimes I feel like we'd be more effective with Arkansas' approach.  They are a pain in the ass for everyone even if they lose.  

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The only players on our team next year that fits their mold are Pitchford (the good one) and maybe Jacobson and McVeigh.  Every other athlete we have SCREAMS run like hell and attack the opponent, in my opinion.  Sometimes I feel like we'd be more effective with Arkansas' approach.  They are a pain in the ass for everyone even if they lose.  

I agree. When we get into our half court set we need to do a better job of passing the ball and looking for our cutters. Without an inside presence, other than Pitchford and Hammond, neither of whom has shown much, we are going to have to be able to do variety of things well, like cutting to the hoop, dribble drive, screening, etc. in order to get better % shots. We were not a good passing team and that needs to change. We also did not get a lot of clean looks. Always seemed like we were shooting contested jumpers.

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Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

 

I'd say this comment about assists isn't entirely true.  There's not necessarily a direct 1:1 relationship between assists and wins, but there are more teams with higher assist numbers that do well than there are teams with low assist numbers that do well.

 

In fact, if you look at the top 50 assist/game teams in the country, you'll see several NCAA tourney teams on the list including North Carolina, Michigan State, Gonzaga, BYU, Davidson and Xavier, all of whom were in the top 10 in the nation in assists per game.

 

On the other hand, look at the bottom 50 assist/game teams in the country.  I did a quick scan of the bottom 50 and I didn't see a single NCAA qualifier among them.

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I'd like to see more full court defensive pressure and force opponents to speed up their shots.  This creates way more transition and makes players like Benny and Tai very useful.  I thought we played really well every time we did this.  I like Molinari--I've seen individual defensive improvements under his tutelage (see Tai--complete 180), but I was surprisingly more impressed with how well he coached pressure defense.  

 

I realize this is an offensive thread, but I feel like our offense has been directly related to our defensive philosophy.  Wisconsin is my favorite team to watch, so I get the pack mentality, but they can shoot the mess out of the ball in the half court and pass better than anyone in the country.  There's no way to play the way they play unless 1-5 can shoot it.  It is clearly a prerequisite for getting on the floor in their system.  

 

The only players on our team next year that fits their mold are Pitchford (the good one) and maybe Jacobson and McVeigh.  Every other athlete we have SCREAMS run like hell and attack the opponent, in my opinion.  Sometimes I feel like we'd be more effective with Arkansas' approach.  They are a pain in the ass for everyone even if they lose.  

 

Sooo... and I do not want to come off as attacking you or being a jerk, so keep that in mind, but in my opinion after watching basically every tournament game and NIT game so far, I've concluded that we are actually sorely under-athletic compared to these squads. 

 

Ask yourself this -- How many squads have you seen so far in the tournament(s) that look like this:

 

1. A point guard who can not, and is no where near, being able to dunk in a game (Benny). 

2. A starting 4-man who had (this is my guess) less than 5 dunks this year (Here's a image search of "David Rivers dunk", here's a video search of "David Rivers dunk")

3. A GROUP of 5-men (Pitch, Smith, Abraham), who probably had less than 20 dunks between them this year (I have no idea where to find that information, I'm completely guessing). 

 

The only two, again, in my opinion, ferocious athletes we have on this team are Terran Petteway and Tarin Smith. I think Tia is a good athlete frame wise and metrics wise (vertical jump, timed-speed, etc...) - but he seriously lacks decisiveness and aggressiveness. He's a finesse player, quite frankly. And don't get me started on Pitch. And Nick Fuller is not what you come up with in a laboratory when you are thinking of a pressing player. 

 

I do not think the recipe for this team this past season, or moving forward is to press like Arkansas, and I will keep that opinion until I see what the recruits look like and AWIII, and how the rest of the squad develops. 

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I'd like to see more full court defensive pressure and force opponents to speed up their shots.  This creates way more transition and makes players like Benny and Tai very useful.  I thought we played really well every time we did this.  I like Molinari--I've seen individual defensive improvements under his tutelage (see Tai--complete 180), but I was surprisingly more impressed with how well he coached pressure defense.  

 

I realize this is an offensive thread, but I feel like our offense has been directly related to our defensive philosophy.  Wisconsin is my favorite team to watch, so I get the pack mentality, but they can shoot the mess out of the ball in the half court and pass better than anyone in the country.  There's no way to play the way they play unless 1-5 can shoot it.  It is clearly a prerequisite for getting on the floor in their system.  

 

The only players on our team next year that fits their mold are Pitchford (the good one) and maybe Jacobson and McVeigh.  Every other athlete we have SCREAMS run like hell and attack the opponent, in my opinion.  Sometimes I feel like we'd be more effective with Arkansas' approach.  They are a pain in the ass for everyone even if they lose.  

 

Sooo... and I do not want to come off as attacking you or being a jerk, so keep that in mind, but in my opinion after watching basically every tournament game and NIT game so far, I've concluded that we are actually sorely under-athletic compared to these squads. 

 

Ask yourself this -- How many squads have you seen so far in the tournament(s) that look like this:

 

1. A point guard who can not, and is no where near, being able to dunk in a game (Benny). 

2. A starting 4-man who had (this is my guess) less than 5 dunks this year (Here's a image search of "David Rivers dunk", here's a video search of "David Rivers dunk")

3. A GROUP of 5-men (Pitch, Smith, Abraham), who probably had less than 20 dunks between them this year (I have no idea where to find that information, I'm completely guessing). 

 

The only two, again, in my opinion, ferocious athletes we have on this team are Terran Petteway and Tarin Smith. I think Tia is a good athlete frame wise and metrics wise (vertical jump, timed-speed, etc...) - but he seriously lacks decisiveness and aggressiveness. He's a finesse player, quite frankly. And don't get me started on Pitch. And Nick Fuller is not what you come up with in a laboratory when you are thinking of a pressing player. 

 

I do not think the recipe for this team this past season, or moving forward is to press like Arkansas, and I will keep that opinion until I see what the recruits look like and AWIII, and how the rest of the squad develops. 

 

 

Being athletic doesn't mean dunking prowess.  If that's your only barometer, I definitely disagree.  It means having lateral quickness and length to go along with anticipation and coordination, defensively.  Benny is off the charts with lateral defensive quickness.  Terran and Shavon are long.  Tai is a very good defensive athlete.  Tarin is a good defensively athlete (but isn't as laterally quick as Benny defensively), Walt is a very athletic 6'10".  He's just not aggressive. Morrow and Watson completely fit this mold coming in.  Rivers wasn't a half-court athlete because he was undersized, but he definitely had the wheels and athleticism to press.  He's been a very good defender.  

 

What we lack are shooters, and the best way to counter that is to create chaos and score in transition.  

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I watched Richmond and Miami last night. Richmond was us in that they did a really nice job against the man to man. Their 5 was a guy who wanted to shoot 3's and he got a bunch of lay ups or 3's off the cutting man to the spot up player.

They are up 18, the U goes zone and now clank, clank, clank and they end up losing by like 4. No movement stood arouns the three point line and passed then shot when the clock was on like 4.

So it seems to me that you need guys who can do both. I know duh, but you need players who can make the other team still have trouble what ever they throw at you.

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I'd like to see more full court defensive pressure and force opponents to speed up their shots. This creates way more transition and makes players like Benny and Tai very useful. I thought we played really well every time we did this. I like Molinari--I've seen individual defensive improvements under his tutelage (see Tai--complete 180), but I was surprisingly more impressed with how well he coached pressure defense.

I realize this is an offensive thread, but I feel like our offense has been directly related to our defensive philosophy. Wisconsin is my favorite team to watch, so I get the pack mentality, but they can shoot the mess out of the ball in the half court and pass better than anyone in the country. There's no way to play the way they play unless 1-5 can shoot it. It is clearly a prerequisite for getting on the floor in their system.

The only players on our team next year that fits their mold are Pitchford (the good one) and maybe Jacobson and McVeigh. Every other athlete we have SCREAMS run like hell and attack the opponent, in my opinion. Sometimes I feel like we'd be more effective with Arkansas' approach. They are a pain in the ass for everyone even if they lose.

Sooo... and I do not want to come off as attacking you or being a jerk, so keep that in mind, but in my opinion after watching basically every tournament game and NIT game so far, I've concluded that we are actually sorely under-athletic compared to these squads.

Ask yourself this -- How many squads have you seen so far in the tournament(s) that look like this:

1. A point guard who can not, and is no where near, being able to dunk in a game (Benny).

2. A starting 4-man who had (this is my guess) less than 5 dunks this year (Here's a image search of "David Rivers dunk", here's a video search of "David Rivers dunk")

3. A GROUP of 5-men (Pitch, Smith, Abraham), who probably had less than 20 dunks between them this year (I have no idea where to find that information, I'm completely guessing).

The only two, again, in my opinion, ferocious athletes we have on this team are Terran Petteway and Tarin Smith. I think Tia is a good athlete frame wise and metrics wise (vertical jump, timed-speed, etc...) - but he seriously lacks decisiveness and aggressiveness. He's a finesse player, quite frankly. And don't get me started on Pitch. And Nick Fuller is not what you come up with in a laboratory when you are thinking of a pressing player.

I do not think the recipe for this team this past season, or moving forward is to press like Arkansas, and I will keep that opinion until I see what the recruits look like and AWIII, and how the rest of the squad develops.

Being athletic doesn't mean dunking prowess. If that's your only barometer, I definitely disagree. It means having lateral quickness and length to go along with anticipation and coordination, defensively. Benny is off the charts with lateral defensive quickness. Terran and Shavon are long. Tai is a very good defensive athlete. Tarin is a good defensively athlete (but isn't as laterally quick as Benny defensively), Walt is a very athletic 6'10". He's just not aggressive. Morrow and Watson completely fit this mold coming in. Rivers wasn't a half-court athlete because he was undersized, but he definitely had the wheels and athleticism to press. He's been a very good defender.

What we lack are shooters, and the best way to counter that is to create chaos and score in transition.

Being athletic doesn't mean dunking prowess... I agree. However, lots of dunks probably mean the general level length, explosiveness, coordination, height, and speed of your team are pretty high (i.e. Athleticism). I'm using dunks (or lack there of) to paint a picture, not tell the entire story.

If by press you mean a very soft 3/4 2-2-1 that limits teams from fast breaking and slows down the game even more, then I'd agree. But Id wager if we picked up full court or went run and jump all game we'd get ran out of the building. The reason our pressure worked every once in a while this year was because the other team was half asleep, didnt expect it, and we were desperate.

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Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

 

I'd say this comment about assists isn't entirely true.  There's not necessarily a direct 1:1 relationship between assists and wins, but there are more teams with higher assist numbers that do well than there are teams with low assist numbers that do well.

 

In fact, if you look at the top 50 assist/game teams in the country, you'll see several NCAA tourney teams on the list including North Carolina, Michigan State, Gonzaga, BYU, Davidson and Xavier, all of whom were in the top 10 in the nation in assists per game.

 

On the other hand, look at the bottom 50 assist/game teams in the country.  I did a quick scan of the bottom 50 and I didn't see a single NCAA qualifier among them.

 

Effective FG% and ultimately Offensive efficiency matters. Assist% and 3PA% are indicators of the styles used by your offense for generating the shots that make up your eFG%. Whether it's by an extra pass or beating your man off the dribble it's the scoring that matters. Assists do matter but it's secondary.

 

Look at the extreme of the Bill Carmody Princeton offenses.

His teams had varying levels of success that are pretty much independent of him being a NCAA leader in Assist% and 3PA%.

You can see a correlation between the AdjO (Offensive Efficiency) and the overall success of the team.

 

 

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If you look at before and after 2008 up there, you can see that the driving factor behind that increased AdjO was that Northwestern started making a lot more 3 pointers.

 

Thus, this advice 

 

I think Miles needs to coach his players to MAKE more of those 3 pointers.  Just a suggestion.

 

makes a lot of sense.

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Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

 

The Div 1 Rankings of Sweet 16 teams for Tempo, Offensive Efficiency, 3PA Rate, and Assist Rate

8321f77066.png

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Assist Rate %: Low - Miles doesn't run an assist generating offense and that's true even for his best offensive teams. This is also a style attribute and you don't have to be a high assist team to be successful.

 

The Div 1 Rankings of Sweet 16 teams for Tempo, Offensive Efficiency, 3PA Rate, and Assist Rate

8321f77066.png

 

Far and away the most important factor of those listed above is offensive efficiency.  Looks to me like the second most telling factor is assists.

 

For tempo, the average rank is 168.125.

 

For F3G rate, the average rank is 206.0625.

 

For assists, the average rank is 139 even.

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