Colorado (6-2) vs #15 Miami (7-1)

Why do this?

This team is really, really good when they play together, play hard, and play their assignments.

They’re also very, very beatable (even… bad) when they bring a half hearted defensive effort and are more worried about scoring than rebounding.
The point is they are not Top 5, or even close. Probably not in Top 25 as of Monday. Sure, they can play like a Top team at times, but if they do not start to do that regularly, its the N.I.T.
 
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Things I’ve noticed:

-Guys played tonight like an individual audition for NBA scouts and less like a team
-We miss Wong and Miller. Wooga has yet to show he’s a clutch guy (the kind that can take over when we need to get hot). Cleveland has shown little desire to do the kind of work around the basket Miller did last year. Too many jump shots for me.
-Nwoko isn’t ready. A 6‘11 guy should dominate inside. He isn’t
-I still think Benz is a better first off the bench guy
-Omier needs to stop bringing the ball up the court. He’s also picking up too many cheap fouls. The refs aren’t helping
-This team lacks heart. It just seems to lose interest once things get out of hand
-George has the talent. He needs to have the light come on. It hasn’t yet
-I think Watson is our second best bench guy. He’s close to breaking out
 
Effort should be the foundation and i agree we looked like we didn’t give af after they punched us in the mouth and that is unacceptable and a terrible sign

But i think even with effort I just dont think this team has the answers we are gonna need. I think we may have overrated the talent we actually have, we have good complementary pieces but wong and miller were rocks that knocked everyone down a notch to their natural role

Nobody can dribble good enough to get passed their man and i dont see that changing so once the games slow down teams will lock us up. Last year when they game slowed down we had answers for everything but now idk who it can be
 
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Hard to play 2 diminutive guards at the same time when you're also lacking size in the post. I know it won't happen but if all things were equal, Pack would be the ideal man to come off the bench because he's more of a 2 than a 1. Bensley can run the point, but what makes him the better option in the starting 5 is that he's a much better defender than Pack. Pack off the bench, brings you the scoring we're lacking after starters come out and also isn't a terrible option to give you spot minutes at the point when necessary. A starting lineup of Joseph, Poplar, George, Cleveland and Omier is a much better balanced unit with Pack, Watson, Casey and Nwoko coming off the bench.
Key statement in the 247 article: "When the game was getting out of hand, Miami needed someone or multiple people to step up with a strong effort and put an end to the game getting out of hand and instead they wilted and it got worse."

I know you said it won't happen. And ur right. I don't think Pack (or his attitude) would take a demotion well. Prolly just create locker room problems. Plus, I don't think George is ready yet for starter minutes. If he is, I bet L would demote Joseph to 6th man before even thinking about Pack.
 
These performances have me down bad on the basketball team. I really thought this years team had a chance to win the ACC, and make another really deep run.

I just don't see it now. We lack toughness, and I really think this team may struggle to make the NCAA tournament.
 
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Why not try a zone at some point? Not saying that’ll save the season but coach L can’t just watch a layup drill and think what they’re doing is fine. We can’t guard a traffic cone
I’ve thought the same thing but imagine they’ve seen massive holes in it during workouts/practice. But if the trend continues we have nothing to lose and I expect to see it at some point
 
Why not try a zone at some point? Not saying that’ll save the season but coach L can’t just watch a layup drill and think what they’re doing is fine. We can’t guard a traffic cone

As a small but quick and athletic team, pressure man defense and the ability to switch 1-5 should be our strength. We don’t have the length to zone effectively… but then again we aren’t playing man effectively so maybe a zone couldn’t be worse? Personally, I think the problem is not able to be solved through scheme alone.
 
These performances have me down bad on the basketball team. I really thought this years team had a chance to win the ACC, and make another really deep run.

I just don't see it now. We lack toughness, and I really think this team may struggle to make the NCAA tournament.
That's my only goal every season. Determines a successful/unsuccessful season. After that, it's all gravy (meaning luck of the draw) and peaking at the right point.
 
These performances have me down bad on the basketball team. I really thought this years team had a chance to win the ACC, and make another really deep run.

I just don't see it now. We lack toughness, and I really think this team may struggle to make the NCAA tournament.
they really miss wong
 
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As a small but quick and athletic team, pressure man defense and the ability to switch 1-5 should be our strength. We don’t have the length to zone effectively… but then again we aren’t playing man effectively so maybe a zone couldn’t be worse? Personally, I think the problem is not able to be solved through scheme alone.
As a small but quick and athletic team, pressure man defense and the ability to switch 1-5 should be our strength. We don’t have the length to zone effectively… but then again we aren’t playing man effectively so maybe a zone couldn’t be worse? Personally, I think the problem is not able to be solved through scheme alone.
I agree. But the problem we run into is our style of play requires extreme effort and focus (which we are not giving). Idk if these guys have bought into themselves or what but if we are going to be at a severe size disadvantage and play the chaos hedge defense, we truly need to play with some **** passion. But it’ll all be moot if they don’t focus and turn it around. We won’t make the tournament playing how we are.
 
It's been an incredible couple of years but I think it's pretty clear this team does not have the ability to make a deep run in the tournament. Our defense is bad and our offense is not good enough to overcome a bad defense game in and game out. We don't have a clear leader. Many will say it's Omier and if that's the case then he needs to stop with the stupid fouls and learn to stay on the court. And the issue is that if he plays more conservative on defense to not give up easy fouls then it hurts us defensively since we need his playmaking on defense. I trust L to improve this team as the season goes on but it looks like our new adjusted goal should be to just make the tourney and hopefully get a decent seed. We also need to start pressuring and trapping on defense because we don't have the defensive roster to be good defensively consistently especially against good teams with good coaching. Teams get easy lay ups on us when we aren't trapping/pressuring so we might as well do this and hope to get more turnovers.
 
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The NIL curse has set in. Individual performance and execution is directly related to NIL worth (and compensation) and that almost wholly means Offensive stats and PPG in the current environment.

Team prosperity has taken a second priority at many colleges, and we are surely one of the most obvious lately. Miller and Wong were pleasant exceptions and also gave their all to defense and play-making as well as being leaders by example AND great scoring threats. The Share The Ball signs show Coach L's frustration in the NIL day. But to get maximum NIL-rewards and career advancement recognition, many would rather drive the basket or take iffy shots versus set up a team-mate, maybe one making thousands more due to the NIL deals of yesteryear. nor do they want to exhaust oneself with aggressive scramble defense or vigorous contesting for rebounds, both of which leads to fouls and exit from playing time... and as such the laissez faire defense and selfish hero-ball furthers this team's developing doldrums.
 
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