UAB game

[cole256 17,039]

Well that was different. I was going to do an I told you so post but I've decided not to but I'm going to repeat myself alot because many things happened last night that I/we've previously discussed in other threads. 

These are my opinions so you can take them or leave them, of course. I already know from the game thread many won't agree.

First of all, uab isn't as bad as we made them out to be. They are a super young team so they are inconsistent, I don't know the players mental, none of us do but even our posters downplayed them. Going as far to make it a point to note they weren't good, I didn't remember us doing that about the other teams....and we played some lollipop teams during that stretch. So I wonder did they feel disrespected before this game? Not because of this board mind you but are we an extension showing what they may were getting from people in general. 

First they didn't play outside of their minds. We're just not some big unstoppable team. I doubt we go undefeated in the conference but we should get better all the time. They played a ranked team that's in-state at home though. I imagine hitting those shots at the end of the game was helped by the countless shots you put up on your goal that's muscle memory just about. I liken NOBODY to Mr Kobe Bryant but you could see in crunch times he went to certain spots to tie and win games......that's really the only advantage I ever experienced with home cooking.

We had the big bad Cole mental weakness thing....this is what I was referring too, there is no I'm tired, I'm sleepy, I'm scared, I traveled....if we had lost would anybody care about any of that? We're trying to be great. Period. Also in this situation they were the home team how many of you thought they are the better team they have finals coming up though? 

Ok so what happened? They did to us what I said we needed to do to Duke. They. Slowed. Us. Down. That took us out of our comfort zone. Except at the end. I imagine they were tired and Harper being used to have to play most of the game anyway he got some coasts to coasts got going and brought us home. 

So what are we going to do when the shots don't drop? Hopefully everybody is looking in the mirror. Realizes the importance of the big men and think about driving the ball. I feel like they started doing that the middle of the second half and that's the only reason we won this game. We were outplayed everywhere else. I feel like many of us here cry about calls, look at this game. Did the refs cheat for us? No we finally took the game and forced the refs to do their job. You can't just look at free throw attempts and cry foul (pun intended)

I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm absolutely ecstatic this happened. This is what I was talking about playing somebody to really show where we're at. I know the tourney earlier but everybody was up for that, everybody practiced and prepared so hard for that. To me it's sort of like in football running that script first drive then the rest of the game everybody is like what happened?

My first post I wrote this season was don't be surprised if we lose to somebody we don't supposed to it won't be a big deal. We didn't lose this one which is great and we'll grow from this. 

Negatives: We DON'T have the best backcourt in the country. That's ludicrous to think when our backcourt more than likely won't even be drafted. We have a strong TEAM with a good system and coach. 

-Sort of the same....this super defender stuff. No. They are good as far as their athleticism allows. We're not lazy. But we aren't some people see the matchup and are scared to see our defenders on the perimeter. Nobody is scared of a 5'9" and 6'2 tandem....I promise you. Once again we are a good TEAM.  Oh and this is where we miss Herron. Our guards have more burden offensively and still have to get it done defensively. That's HARD.

-We need to be more versatile offensively, if I can figure a gameplan to stop us we better have some great plan B action. 

Positives: we showed heart. We won. We were tough, physically and mentally. We learned stuff to work on. We learned who's team this is, everybody will start acting accordingly. We should see how we need to rely on each other as a whole because individually we're not the cream of the crop.

Well when do we have Murray st? I'm going to tell you now they possess the best player that will be on the court and even if you stop him from scoring he can get double figure rebounds and assists. The backcourt will need help from the big guys....we need to be a TEAM because guards dictate the college game, that's why uab was in this one and ironically why we won because as Bruce Pearl said we had the best guy, that won't be the case against them though.

Send all hate posts to golf and bird. Thank you

 

[aujeff11 6,243]

Brown doesn’t really create offense for himself and others. When he’s off, our guys better hunker down because he’s basically useless. Other teams will probably try to use UAB’s game plan against us. We have to dominate inferior opponents at their own game as well. I’m glad we won as well.. Definitely an ego check though. 

[AUBwins 10,063]

Thanks @cole256. Appreciate your insight and taking the time to do this. 

[doverstutts 1,643]

very good and very true analysis

[mustache eagle 2,388]

I was disappointed in our finishing by our big guys.  This was a game tailored for Herron.  I believe we win in regulation with Herron because he’d have taken the ball to the hoop from the beginning.  Put pressure and fouls on their big guys.  I can’t figure Okeke out.  He just isn’t playing tough.  He isn’t a post up guy and he really didn’t shoot from outside.  He doesn’t go outside in with the ball like he did last year.

im also a tad disappointed that Purifoy didn’t get a chance to go to the rack with the ball.  There was a 1v1 opportunity about 3 minutes into his time on the court.  I yelled out loud for him to go to the basket.

we had multiple times, can remember one by spencer, where we should have gone up strong but didn’t.

wiley was strong in the boards the first 10 minutes.  Had like 5 defensive boards.  Ended with 7 for the game?  What happened to him?

was honestly a weird game.  I actually feel like CBP May have gotten out coached in this one.  I’m missing it?

our D was pretty solid and active.  Some of those jacked up, end of shot clock makes were crazy makes by uab.

cole, as far as “home court” ... this was the bjcc.  I don’t know how often the play there.  Can’t imagine often.  This was a neutral court with a decidedly pro auburn crowd.  UAB simply played better than us.  We just had Harper and that was the difference.  Props to UAB and their crowd.

 I’m completely misread this game.  Count me as a crow eater.

[cole256 17,039]

13 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

I was disappointed in our finishing by our big guys.  This was a game tailored for Herron.  I believe we win in regulation with Herron because he’d have taken the ball to the hoop from the beginning.  Put pressure and fouls on their big guys.  I can’t figure Okeke out.  He just isn’t playing tough.  He isn’t a post up guy and he really didn’t shoot from outside.  He doesn’t go outside in with the ball like he did last year.

im also a tad disappointed that Purifoy didn’t get a chance to go to the rack with the ball.  There was a 1v1 opportunity about 3 minutes into his time on the court.  I yelled out loud for him to go to the basket.

we had multiple times, can remember one by spencer, where we should have gone up strong but didn’t.

wiley was strong in the boards the first 10 minutes.  Had like 5 defensive boards.  Ended with 7 for the game?  What happened to him?

was honestly a weird game.  I actually feel like CBP May have gotten out coached in this one.  I’m missing it?

our D was pretty solid and active.  Some of those jacked up, end of shot clock makes were crazy makes by uab.

cole, as far as “home court” ... this was the bjcc.  I don’t know how often the play there.  Can’t imagine often.  This was a neutral court with a decidedly pro auburn crowd.  UAB simply played better than us.  We just had Harper and that was the difference.  Props to UAB and their crowd.

 I’m completely misread this game.  Count me as a crow eater.

Great point I'm assuming they get to practice there but they probably don't do they? Thanks for this

[PUB78 1,354]

UAB wanted it more. I was at the game and saw very little emotion or fire from our players as well as the AU fans.

[gravejd 3,267]

I think it’s pretty simple that we just don’t do well when the other team commits to dictating the pace of the game like uab did. I was really impressed by how dedicated the players were to slowing it down. That takes great coaching and kudos to them. I think uab REALLY wanted this one and probably a bit more than we did. It happens and hopefully we learn from it. 

It’s very true we aren’t a monster team that can steamroll people. We have a team full of really good players but outside of Harper none have shown ability to take over games whenever needed. Brown can take over games but he is so reliant on his shotting that he can’t do it whenever. 

Over the course of the year I don’t know how many teams we’ll face that will commit to getting us out of our style like uab did. I might be surprised but I think most teams want to play their game and not change what they do just for one opponent. But come tourney time teams will definitely do whatever it takes. We need to find a way to better handle these games as the teams will be way better then uab who is no pushover but not a tourney team in all likelihood. 

I am proud of the team for fighting it out and getting the win. Easier to handle these lessons when we win!

[jared52 4,354]

13 minutes ago, gravejd said:

I think it’s pretty simple that we just don’t do well when the other team commits to dictating the pace of the game like uab did. I was really impressed by how dedicated the players were to slowing it down. That takes great coaching and kudos to them. I think uab REALLY wanted this one and probably a bit more than we did. It happens and hopefully we learn from it. 

I agree. It’s way easier to slow a game down than speed it up. AU is very much a rhythm team and IAB was very disciplined in keeping control of the pace. It helped that the whistle blew a lot and that AU wasn’t ever able to get a lead large enough for UAB to have to try and pick up the pace until basically 2 min to go in OT. 

[theweegler 81]

I agree with most everything said here. But the biggest issue was our horrible FG percentage. 

If we make shots at our average percentage this game isn’t close. We would have been up by 10 or 12 at the half and it would have forced UAB to score more. BB HAS to be more consistent for this team to get to that next level. Teams are going to use this game to try and slow us down. We’ll see it at some point where we aren’t struggling to hit shots and this defensive game plan won’t work. I’m also pretty confident we will see this again where we can’t hit shots  and hopefully we will have learned from this and we will see another offensive option other than having to get on Harper’s back. 

 

[Auhud08 596]

Lot of good points. One part of the teams game that was frustrating was their inability to create space for an open shot. UAB played tough defense but if you drive enough to force extras to commit-dish it and shoot. Thats where you get some rhythm 

[cole256 17,039]

In my experience it's hard playing slow except for those that are gifted in that area of the game. So many things about basketball is repetition and reflexes. But you can't train by yourself to play slow ball. Rarely are you going to find pick up ball guys playing slow. AAU usually isn't slow. And won knows how good your coach may be in high school. So when you get hit with it, it almost doesn't feel natural. Then with our program we don't play that style. I imagine we practice it some but as stated by many of you when it does happens it really effects us. I thought preparing for Duke would've been a great opportunity. Make no mistake though when tournament time come we better be good at it because it's coming

[mustache eagle 2,388]

17 minutes ago, Auhud08 said:

Lot of good points. One part of the teams game that was frustrating was their inability to create space for an open shot. UAB played tough defense but if you drive enough to force extras to commit-dish it and shoot. Thats where you get some rhythm 

I thought we create enough good shots inside and outside.  We just couldn’t hit anything ... anywhere.  It was weird.

[AuMarine 1,372]

Watched the game on TV. I like basketball but will not pretend that I know a lot about how the game is played as far as offense and defense. I did notice that our guys seemed flat and that UAB played lights out. Several times they had a guy nail a 3 point shot with someone in his face..  they were doing a great job of hitting their shots. I didn’t notice too many times that UAB had clear open shots on the perimeter although I could be wrong. I thought UAB played extremely well and we didn’t . I honestly didn’t think we would win but glad we did. 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

2 hours ago, Auhud08 said:

Lot of good points. One part of the teams game that was frustrating was their inability to create space for an open shot. UAB played tough defense but if you drive enough to force extras to commit-dish it and shoot. Thats where you get some rhythm 

Disagree with you here. We had open shots all night, they just weren’t falling. It happens, teams have bad shooting nights. I’ve said it already somewhere but we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. That’s why we had to start going inside and driving, and it worked a lot of the time. Made some dumb passes throughout the night, but if we shoot like we normally do, we win this game by 15. 

[Auhud08 596]

11 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

Disagree with you here. We had open shots all night, they just weren’t falling. It happens, teams have bad shooting nights. I’ve said it already somewhere but we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. That’s why we had to start going inside and driving, and it worked a lot of the time. Made some dumb passes throughout the night, but if we shoot like we normally do, we win this game by 15. 

Eh- we had a few. I just recall BB being guarded extremely closely. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

 

21 hours ago, mustache eagle said:

.I actually feel like CBP May have gotten out coached in this one.  I’m missing it?

 

CBP absolutely got out coached in this one. I said the primary thing to watch for us in this game was the rotations with the addition of Puriofy, and they were a train wreck. I don't know if that is how CBP had it planned out, or if fouls forced, him to deviate. Either way, the entire first half rotations were puzzling. I'm not excusing anyone's play or any of the bad shooting, but rotating that way putting guys in spots they aren't used to is going to affect them. Combine that with UAB playing well above their average (probably near their ceiling), and you get what we saw. I've also said all along this was Harper's team and he was the key. He showed that again tonight. He closed out the first half and the game.  

In my preseason expectations post, I said I thought we would lose 4 non-con games. Right now we only have one loss, but have two overtime wins against inferior teams. This game was exactly what I was concerned about. What would the chemistry be like as we add guys back to the mix. This wasn't Purifoy's fault, but CBP's rotations were off, which is why you saw him take Purifoy out of the rotation in the second half. Not because Purifoy was playing poorly, but because the coaching staff knew everything was out of wack. 

Glad to be able to learn from that game and still have a W. Props to UAB they played their butts off. As far as other teams following that game plan, like @cole256 mentioned, it is very difficult to get players to play that slow for the whole game. Teams will not be able to just decide we are going to play slow against AU. Its very hard to get players to play that disciplined all game long. I wouldn't worry about other teams using UAB's gameplan as much as I would worry about our own staff figuring out how to play all ten guys going forward. 

[bigbird 60,367]

One thing I noticed. Our entry passes we're slightly better, but our guards after they made the pass, just sat there and watched.  A number of times, BB would send it down and then, instead if drifting to the corner,  increasing the spacing, he would stand there 5 ft from another.  If he did move to the corner, he would be primed for a catch and  shoot kickout by our bigs when the double came. Our movement without the ball is at best inconsistent.

[Tiger 8,817]

55 minutes ago, bigbird said:

One thing I noticed. Our entry passes we're slightly better, but our guards after they made the pass, just sat there and watched.  A number of times, BB would send it down and then, instead if drifting to the corner,  increasing the spacing, he would stand there 5 ft from another.  If he did move to the corner, he would be primed for a catch and  shoot kickout by our bigs when the double came. Our movement without the ball is at best inconsistent.

So maddening. YOU HAVE TO RELOCATE. It's like we were just proud to make the pass lol

[AUGoo 2,658]

18 hours ago, Auhud08 said:

Lot of good points. One part of the teams game that was frustrating was their inability to create space for an open shot. UAB played tough defense but if you drive enough to force extras to commit-dish it and shoot. Thats where you get some rhythm 

I disagree with the dribble drive O philosophy.  I have not understood why we stand around and run the shot clock down to 10 seconds then do a dribble drive, desperation shot.  Run the O! Use the clock to work for a good, open shot.  Standing around for most of the clock just seems to lead to more standing around. No movement leads to no rebounding or second chance shots.  I am hoping there is a method to the madness.

[AUGoo 2,658]

15 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

Disagree with you here. We had open shots all night, they just weren’t falling. It happens, teams have bad shooting nights. I’ve said it already somewhere but we couldn’t throw it in the ocean. That’s why we had to start going inside and driving, and it worked a lot of the time. Made some dumb passes throughout the night, but if we shoot like we normally do, we win this game by 15. 

I have been surprised that we have not worked the Bigs out down low more in this preseason.  Seems we have taken the three instead of throwing it down low for a higher percentage shot.  These big guys work for position, then the ball goes undelivered quite often.  We are gonna need that part of the O on the cold shooting nights.

[Auhud08 596]

3 hours ago, bigbird said:

One thing I noticed. Our entry passes we're slightly better, but our guards after they made the pass, just sat there and watched.  A number of times, BB would send it down and then, instead if drifting to the corner,  increasing the spacing, he would stand there 5 ft from another.  If he did move to the corner, he would be primed for a catch and  shoot kickout by our bigs when the double came. Our movement without the ball is at best inconsistent.

This is what i mean

[gravejd 3,267]

4 hours ago, AUGoo said:

I disagree with the dribble drive O philosophy.  I have not understood why we stand around and run the shot clock down to 10 seconds then do a dribble drive, desperation shot.  Run the O! Use the clock to work for a good, open shot.  Standing around for most of the clock just seems to lead to more standing around. No movement leads to no rebounding or second chance shots.  I am hoping there is a method to the madness.

Auburn very rarely runs the clock down to 10 seconds from what i have seen this season. But i agree that our half court sets on both O and D need some more work for us to be an elite team. 

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

21 hours ago, gravejd said:

Auburn very rarely runs the clock down to 10 seconds from what i have seen this season. But i agree that our half court sets on both O and D need some more work for us to be an elite team. 

I think a big part of the issue against UAB was the groupings on the floor weren't used to running offensive sets with each other. Especially in the first half. And once the game was heading down that path, it is very difficult to just call a timeout and reset with our usual lineup. That ability to reset mentally is part of what Cole is talking about having a mentally weak game. Championship teams can let bad possessions and even bad halves go, and focus in on the remaining time. 

[cole256 17,039]

On 12/16/2018 at 11:43 AM, AUBwins said:

Thanks @cole256. Appreciate your insight and taking the time to do this. 

No problem and Preciate you bro, you are cool as hell and you don't ever trip. Seriously thanks!