If Andrew’s can get it going and Dailey can limit fouls we will be really good especially if Johnson and Clark keep up the improved shooting. Thanks as usual Dimitri for your insightful work. Appreciate your dedication to our Bruins family.
For the men’s team, this as honest, unvarnished, raw and objective an opinion I’ve read this year. We have a team that can do wonders, we just need to find a way to harness that magic. I’m praying that CMC can do what he did a few years ago (final four and more).
I don’t agree with Coach Mick, we shouldn’t be undefeated at this stage… we got shellacked by New Mexico! But I like where he’s taking us… I’m a fan of CMC, I’m long on him.
Re.. the ladies,, I think CCC has put together a great team. These players would not have shown, if CCC was not good at what she does. Talent is there, but harnessing the talent and putting forth a real product requires coaching… I suspect you’re shortchanging CCC which I feel is unfair. Give some credit to CCC, talent alone does not get us to where we currently are.
One of bad characteristics of Close’s teams was the disappearing act for entire quarters. Didn’t matter who they were playing, the team couldn’t score or play defense. The cold spells are still there this season but there don’t last whole quarters.
Last season's roster reload was a failure due to lack of NIL funds and ended up being a lost opportunity with Adem Bona staying at UCLA for one more year. This year's improvement with better players shouldn't be too surprising, but kudos to Coach Cronin for adapting to this new era of college "free agency" and delivering a highly competitive team again. Seems that many of the elite and veteran HCs have left the game or are contemplating leaving because of the NIL situation.
Not sure why Dylan Andrews has regressed, especially after hitting that game-winning shot at Oregon. Wonder if the pressure of high expectations being placed on him is a bit too much to handle at the moment. Anyway, hope he can bounce back strong.
No question that Coach Cronin instills toughness and resilience with great defensive effort and enough offense to usually put the Bruins in a good position to win most games. Unfortunately, after yesterday's horrific shooting display, their KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency rating tanked from #66 to #89 (their defensive rating is still sitting pretty at #4), as of this writing. But it has to improve by a lot because, according to the KenPom stats, every NCAA tournament champion since 2002 had a top-10 rated offense (except for #19 and #39 UConn in 2011 and 2014, respectively) *AND* a top-15 rated defense (except for #18 Tar Heels in 2009). All of those teams had both an elite defense and an elite offense to go all the way.
Thank you for your in depth analysis. Really good stuff. Spot on regarding Coach Close. To paraphrase great recruiter emmm terrible game coach.
If Andrew’s can get it going and Dailey can limit fouls we will be really good especially if Johnson and Clark keep up the improved shooting. Thanks as usual Dimitri for your insightful work. Appreciate your dedication to our Bruins family.
For the men’s team, this as honest, unvarnished, raw and objective an opinion I’ve read this year. We have a team that can do wonders, we just need to find a way to harness that magic. I’m praying that CMC can do what he did a few years ago (final four and more).
I don’t agree with Coach Mick, we shouldn’t be undefeated at this stage… we got shellacked by New Mexico! But I like where he’s taking us… I’m a fan of CMC, I’m long on him.
Re.. the ladies,, I think CCC has put together a great team. These players would not have shown, if CCC was not good at what she does. Talent is there, but harnessing the talent and putting forth a real product requires coaching… I suspect you’re shortchanging CCC which I feel is unfair. Give some credit to CCC, talent alone does not get us to where we currently are.
One of bad characteristics of Close’s teams was the disappearing act for entire quarters. Didn’t matter who they were playing, the team couldn’t score or play defense. The cold spells are still there this season but there don’t last whole quarters.
Last season's roster reload was a failure due to lack of NIL funds and ended up being a lost opportunity with Adem Bona staying at UCLA for one more year. This year's improvement with better players shouldn't be too surprising, but kudos to Coach Cronin for adapting to this new era of college "free agency" and delivering a highly competitive team again. Seems that many of the elite and veteran HCs have left the game or are contemplating leaving because of the NIL situation.
Not sure why Dylan Andrews has regressed, especially after hitting that game-winning shot at Oregon. Wonder if the pressure of high expectations being placed on him is a bit too much to handle at the moment. Anyway, hope he can bounce back strong.
No question that Coach Cronin instills toughness and resilience with great defensive effort and enough offense to usually put the Bruins in a good position to win most games. Unfortunately, after yesterday's horrific shooting display, their KenPom adjusted offensive efficiency rating tanked from #66 to #89 (their defensive rating is still sitting pretty at #4), as of this writing. But it has to improve by a lot because, according to the KenPom stats, every NCAA tournament champion since 2002 had a top-10 rated offense (except for #19 and #39 UConn in 2011 and 2014, respectively) *AND* a top-15 rated defense (except for #18 Tar Heels in 2009). All of those teams had both an elite defense and an elite offense to go all the way.
Go Bruins and Go Lady Bruins!
Oops, I accidentally omitted 2 instances of NCAA champions not having a top-15 KenPom defensive rating:
2021 champ Baylor had a #22 rated defense (#2 in offense), and 2022 champ Kansas had a #17 rated defense (#6 in offense).