He’s not easy on the eyes but he’s also a quintessential Euro High PnR big and we are not set up to run any 4-out sets. On top off that he’s never seen a collapsed game like this. Even FIBA youth ball has more spaced court than college ball. It also doesnt help that we don’t have a real catch-n-shoot threat to open things up inside. There are signs that some 4-outs could be in the works. The biggest being seeing Shelton dribble drive from the wing. That was very Calipari-esque last night when he drove, drew the double team, and dumped to Reneau (or Ernest?). Beautiful ball and easier said than done.
The other thing that needs to happen is having a corner/wing catch and shoot threat. We really need Timo to step up here. He was a catch and shoot corner specialist in Europe. But in Europe they teach these types to find a seam. A FIBA ball has a lot more seam to get a finger on than an American ball. I at least hope this is the issue. He seems to hesitate when he catches sometimes which further makes me think it’s the case. He needs HOURS on the gun with an American ball in the next 4 weeks before we open up ACC play. That’s on him. He has to do that. He needs to be confident with finger not on a seam. If we can get defenses to worry about him it’s going to open up a lot, especially for Shelton against zone sets (Chaka Smart slot cuts would be perfect for him)
I will give praise to Altuntas and Timo for their zone defense. That is something that is taught well in Europe and actually carries over to the college game. Timo is really fast at reading situations and being reactive. He navigates closing out the wing or corner and gets back to the rim very decisively. He’s probably not going to be blocking any 3s like Shelton but the dude is very solid and 6’8. Altuntas makes the right decisions, his execution can just be , uh, “oh wow” sometimes lol. But he is definitely getting better.