Wow. A little shout out ftom Dmitri. The gist of my overall point is that if you have to adjust your style of play to match Cal Poly SLO, it’s not a great sign long term. Given that I tuned in late, I missed their court appearances.
I don’t necessarily agree. Being able to adjust your style of play is a sign of versatility. I’m thinking of teams like the dodgers who put in certain pitchers depending on who they see at the plate regardless on if the team has 100 wins or 100 losses.
A game like this is essentially a live practice for a small-ball lineup. And if Cronin hadn’t made the adjustment and the game ended up being close in the second half that would’ve been the criticism.
A good sign I noticed was that despite being on the bench, Booker and Jamerson were active cheering on the team and greeting teammates. They weren’t sulking so that was good to see.
It’s definitely good to be able to adjust. I just don’t think ot should be necessary against Cal Poly SLO. Why not take advantage of your size in pound it inside in the first half. Force their 3 point shooters to defend the post. We should be able to dictate tge play against that opponent.
AB, I agree with both you and Chen here and offer an alternative reason . To me, it looks like Mick is still “Team Building.” I know a lot of people are complaining about this team; its effort, disappointing play, bad coaching, no defense, too much one on one, lack of structure on offense, failure to close against top teams, etc. etc. For me, I think this is the most interesting team Cronin has had and by far the most challenging for his lock-down defensive philosophy.
No team he has ever coached in his Division I history has had the potential offensive fire power that this one has. They got me out of my seat against Arizona, when we fell down by 7 and it looked as if we were just fighting in the wrong weight class, then boom, it was breathtaking how, over 2 minutes in the 2nd half, we “clicked” into a stifling half court defense, triggering up tempo offense with a combination of dunks and threes and we went from 7 points down to a 5 point lead! Time out ‘Zona! It happened again against the “Zags,” we were losing touch, down 11 and then “bang,” 2 minutes and 30 seconds later, we took the lead by 1! Time out Zags! We have had lesser versions of this in most of the games we’ve won thus far; a kind of lolly-gagging through the 1st half and then turning it up just enough to pull away in the 2nd half.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a lot of incongruence/tension between “up tempo Play” (which this team is physically built for) and “low 60’s scoring stats for opponents” (a stat Cronin has always measured his defenses by). Due to the Transfer Portal and NIL issues, each team Cronin has coached over the past three years has been essentially a new group, and thus a mystery as to what they will ultimately become. That is a massive challenge in and of itself. You can’t develop your team for 3 years any more (as he did with the Tyger, Juzang, Jaquez, Jules, Cody, Jaylen, Singleton group; absent the injuries to Bona and Jaylen, that nucleus would have at least reached another Final Four and may have brought home a banner in ‘22-’23). If you have a "Portal Influx" (sounds like a new disease for the Pharma Industry), you now have to develop the team on the court, during the pre-season and most of the regular season as you are prepping for the NCAA’s; and as Mick (and Chen) alluded to in Mick's last post-game interview, this team, like the ’21 team, may not reach its full potential (and by that I mean they may not recognize/accept and "click" as to their respective roles and the team’s identity/strengths to lean into) until March.
Clearly, It is Mick’s job to “get them to click.” Don’t forget, despite all his foibles, he was voted Coach of the Year in the Pac 12 in two of his first 4 seasons. I am still trying to figure out whether I am falling victim to that dreaded "hopium" or if I am actually seeing kernels of significant potential here. If Mick can harness this team by first defining and then convincing them what their winning formula is, and how to sustain it, we still may yet have a shot to make some serious noise in the NCAA’s this year. Mick will have plenty of chances to test our team’s mettle in what may be the best basketball conference in the country. Fasten your seat belts; it’s probably going to be a rough ride.
Have a great break and holiday week! Christmas and New Years are my favorite holidays because I essentially get 2-3 weeks off work! I don’t like that ucla has a game 12/23 and then is off until 1/3. The women’s schedule with a game between Christmas and New Years is definitely better because a long layoff can result in the team coming out sluggish and rusty. Our opponent, Iowa, has a buy game on 12/29 so they don’t have that to worry about
It’s interesting for Cronin to basically admit they had the wrong defensive game plan coming into the game but good for him for adjusting I guess. They really need to fix their effort problem. Another interesting thing Cronin said was that the 2021 final four team didn’t play defense how he liked until the ncaa tournament that year. Hopefully this team figures it out way before that time though.
I saw that SC just signed a PG this week. A guy that averaged double digits at his previous school. I did not know that was allowed. Is there a center floating around out there for us to pick up? A defensive wing? What are the rules here?? I saw that G-league players that don’t haven’t signed an nba contract can play in college, so maybe we can look there too…
"Since he was still in the transfer portal and because he has already graduated, Woods is the rare case, outside of an international player or junior college player, that qualifies to be a midseason addition."
Sounds like he was a grad transfer but somehow didn't sign with a school until now. This seems super scummy and an odd loophole
BYU's Trevon Knell is 26. (The Brooklyn Nets starters average 23.3 per Google.) Remember the New Mexico team (with Dent) that manhandled the Bruins last year? The average age of their starters was 21.2. Crnin remarked that the game was like a bunch of high schoolers going up against a team of grown a$$ men. Hence the strategy to instantly age a lineup with experience through the portal, which is done at the expense of the importance of recruiting. Toto, we're not in the days of freshmen ineligibility anymore, but it doesn't mean that this old head has to like it.
Don’t forget that BYU students go on “missions,” which takes them out of school for at least 18 months and sometimes 2 to 3 years; so, they have always had older, more physically and mentally mature teams. Add super senior, medical redshirt and now G-League and JC status and now you have men in their mid to late 20’s playing college ball. However, that in no way impinges upon the valid point you are making. As has been referenced previously on this site, young men are going to be doing whatever they can to stay in college football and basketball, for as long as they can, given the money available there, and the slim chances for most to get a pro-career opportunity. The college sports landscape is unrecognizable from where it was as recent as 2019. Where it goes from here is anybody's guess.
Wow. A little shout out ftom Dmitri. The gist of my overall point is that if you have to adjust your style of play to match Cal Poly SLO, it’s not a great sign long term. Given that I tuned in late, I missed their court appearances.
I don’t necessarily agree. Being able to adjust your style of play is a sign of versatility. I’m thinking of teams like the dodgers who put in certain pitchers depending on who they see at the plate regardless on if the team has 100 wins or 100 losses.
A game like this is essentially a live practice for a small-ball lineup. And if Cronin hadn’t made the adjustment and the game ended up being close in the second half that would’ve been the criticism.
A good sign I noticed was that despite being on the bench, Booker and Jamerson were active cheering on the team and greeting teammates. They weren’t sulking so that was good to see.
It’s definitely good to be able to adjust. I just don’t think ot should be necessary against Cal Poly SLO. Why not take advantage of your size in pound it inside in the first half. Force their 3 point shooters to defend the post. We should be able to dictate tge play against that opponent.
AB, I agree with both you and Chen here and offer an alternative reason . To me, it looks like Mick is still “Team Building.” I know a lot of people are complaining about this team; its effort, disappointing play, bad coaching, no defense, too much one on one, lack of structure on offense, failure to close against top teams, etc. etc. For me, I think this is the most interesting team Cronin has had and by far the most challenging for his lock-down defensive philosophy.
No team he has ever coached in his Division I history has had the potential offensive fire power that this one has. They got me out of my seat against Arizona, when we fell down by 7 and it looked as if we were just fighting in the wrong weight class, then boom, it was breathtaking how, over 2 minutes in the 2nd half, we “clicked” into a stifling half court defense, triggering up tempo offense with a combination of dunks and threes and we went from 7 points down to a 5 point lead! Time out ‘Zona! It happened again against the “Zags,” we were losing touch, down 11 and then “bang,” 2 minutes and 30 seconds later, we took the lead by 1! Time out Zags! We have had lesser versions of this in most of the games we’ve won thus far; a kind of lolly-gagging through the 1st half and then turning it up just enough to pull away in the 2nd half.
As I mentioned in a previous post, there is a lot of incongruence/tension between “up tempo Play” (which this team is physically built for) and “low 60’s scoring stats for opponents” (a stat Cronin has always measured his defenses by). Due to the Transfer Portal and NIL issues, each team Cronin has coached over the past three years has been essentially a new group, and thus a mystery as to what they will ultimately become. That is a massive challenge in and of itself. You can’t develop your team for 3 years any more (as he did with the Tyger, Juzang, Jaquez, Jules, Cody, Jaylen, Singleton group; absent the injuries to Bona and Jaylen, that nucleus would have at least reached another Final Four and may have brought home a banner in ‘22-’23). If you have a "Portal Influx" (sounds like a new disease for the Pharma Industry), you now have to develop the team on the court, during the pre-season and most of the regular season as you are prepping for the NCAA’s; and as Mick (and Chen) alluded to in Mick's last post-game interview, this team, like the ’21 team, may not reach its full potential (and by that I mean they may not recognize/accept and "click" as to their respective roles and the team’s identity/strengths to lean into) until March.
Clearly, It is Mick’s job to “get them to click.” Don’t forget, despite all his foibles, he was voted Coach of the Year in the Pac 12 in two of his first 4 seasons. I am still trying to figure out whether I am falling victim to that dreaded "hopium" or if I am actually seeing kernels of significant potential here. If Mick can harness this team by first defining and then convincing them what their winning formula is, and how to sustain it, we still may yet have a shot to make some serious noise in the NCAA’s this year. Mick will have plenty of chances to test our team’s mettle in what may be the best basketball conference in the country. Fasten your seat belts; it’s probably going to be a rough ride.
Enjoy your break, Dmitri and have a Merry Christmas!
Have a great break and holiday week! Christmas and New Years are my favorite holidays because I essentially get 2-3 weeks off work! I don’t like that ucla has a game 12/23 and then is off until 1/3. The women’s schedule with a game between Christmas and New Years is definitely better because a long layoff can result in the team coming out sluggish and rusty. Our opponent, Iowa, has a buy game on 12/29 so they don’t have that to worry about
It’s interesting for Cronin to basically admit they had the wrong defensive game plan coming into the game but good for him for adjusting I guess. They really need to fix their effort problem. Another interesting thing Cronin said was that the 2021 final four team didn’t play defense how he liked until the ncaa tournament that year. Hopefully this team figures it out way before that time though.
I saw that SC just signed a PG this week. A guy that averaged double digits at his previous school. I did not know that was allowed. Is there a center floating around out there for us to pick up? A defensive wing? What are the rules here?? I saw that G-league players that don’t haven’t signed an nba contract can play in college, so maybe we can look there too…
LA Times reports it this way:
"Since he was still in the transfer portal and because he has already graduated, Woods is the rare case, outside of an international player or junior college player, that qualifies to be a midseason addition."
Sounds like he was a grad transfer but somehow didn't sign with a school until now. This seems super scummy and an odd loophole
The NCAA allows G League players without an NBA contract to sign with a college.
UCLA pursued G League Westchester Knicks 6'10" C Abdullah Ahmed, but he committed to BYU in November.
Yes, it does raise questions and concerns. I predicted midyear player movement.
Next, midyear "trades" between schools?
The ncaa just announced an hour ago that Ahmed will have 3 years of eligibility… at 22 years old.
BYU's Trevon Knell is 26. (The Brooklyn Nets starters average 23.3 per Google.) Remember the New Mexico team (with Dent) that manhandled the Bruins last year? The average age of their starters was 21.2. Crnin remarked that the game was like a bunch of high schoolers going up against a team of grown a$$ men. Hence the strategy to instantly age a lineup with experience through the portal, which is done at the expense of the importance of recruiting. Toto, we're not in the days of freshmen ineligibility anymore, but it doesn't mean that this old head has to like it.
Don’t forget that BYU students go on “missions,” which takes them out of school for at least 18 months and sometimes 2 to 3 years; so, they have always had older, more physically and mentally mature teams. Add super senior, medical redshirt and now G-League and JC status and now you have men in their mid to late 20’s playing college ball. However, that in no way impinges upon the valid point you are making. As has been referenced previously on this site, young men are going to be doing whatever they can to stay in college football and basketball, for as long as they can, given the money available there, and the slim chances for most to get a pro-career opportunity. The college sports landscape is unrecognizable from where it was as recent as 2019. Where it goes from here is anybody's guess.