RE: Valpo Game

From: Shinkle, Randy
Date: 03 Dec 2003 - 11:21 AM EST

-----Original Message-----
From: Brad Holdheide [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 10:40 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: RE: [UC Basketball] Valpo Game

"...... UC generally doesn't attack a zone well at all."
James White = problem solved (hopefully)

I hope so, too, but I think it takes more than that. There are specific techniques for attacking a zone (overload low, overload high, skip passes, ...) that I don't recall seeing UC use much. They tend to pass it around the perimeter and occasionally try a normal post-up and inside-out pass. This can be improved, but it takes time that Huggins just hasn't had yet. It also takes a higher "basketball IQ" than UC has sometimes had. A complicating factor is that there are several varieties of zones to account for. Coppin State regularly switched between a 2-3 and a 1-3-1, and it slowed UC down. Fortunately, again, Field and Tony were both on.

"Armein ..... I didn't see much that he did that I could compliment."
In the second half when Armein played PG he took his man off
the dribble on
3 or 4 straight possessions, one for a left handed lay-in and
a couple of
times for some nice passes to Max who got fouled. Kirk
didn't look that
good but those few possessions (to me) show signs of what
type of mismatch
he could become for opposing teams.

Yes, he is a potential weapon, but up to that point his mental game was just awful. For example, he was inserted at the end of the first half specifically to help run UC's last shot offense, and he responded by jacking up a near 3 ("but, Huggs, I was open!") with over 20 seconds left. He promptly returned to the bench.

In classic UC fashion, Armein will likely become the jewel of last year's freshman class, ahead of the more highly regarded Hicks and Moore. But he still has a long way to go to fit his game into the context of UC's system. I'm very interested to see how well White fits in.

If Bobbitt would just stop shooting those ill-advised deep
forced shots off
the dribble I'd be so much happier. He was 5 for 10 last
night and 4 of his
5 misses I called as misses cause it's just so obvious when
he's forcing the
shot. When he is set and shoots off an inside-out pass he is
deadly. I
can't argue with his production so far and I guess if I have
to put up with
his forced "bad" shots to get the good ones I can. Plus,
he's been passing
very well and we didn't see that at all last year.

The best thing I've seen so far is that UC has so much room
to improve and
they're still blowing teams out playing far less than what
they're capable
of. This team has scary potential.

I completely agree with all of this.

Randy '78

-----Original Message-----
From: Shinkle, Randy [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 10:23 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: RE: [UC Basketball] Valpo Game

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Ryan [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 9:25 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: RE: [UC Basketball] Valpo Game

Post passing - Paul, I've noticed that now in the last two games as
well. We cant seem to get the ball into the post for A) a Max
turnaround jumper or B) a pass back out by Kareem or Max for an open
shot. This is a problem that needs to be solved. I remember
this being a
problem last year.

This is (IMO) because UC has typically been a mediocre offensive team
against a zone. Having guys like Field and Tony make 3s
hides the fact that
UC generally doesn't attack a zone well at all. I'm sure
most of this is
from not practicing against a zone much, which is in turn
because UC doesn't
play much zone. It's sort of the inverse of other teams not
being able to
prepare for UC's press.

Huggins can address this over the holiday break, since I'm
sure he realizes
he's going to be seeing a lot of zone this year.

Armein - I don't think Bobbitt "played PG", though he did
bring the ball
up the court a few times. However, Armein played the PG spot and his
passing was good and he drove the lane a few times. However,
when you do
these two things well you should get either an assist or a

trip to the

free throw line and he didn't get either ! (0 assists, 0-0 from the
line) I was surprised when I spotted that in the box score.

Armein came into the game with 8 assists and 1 turnover for
the season.
He left the game with 8 assists and 5 turnovers for the
season. He also
has the most personal fouls on the team, even though he is 7th in
Minutes Played. Sheesh. I think he could be a capable PG for us, but
many things need to improve.

To me, Armein looked like a raw freshman in this game. I
didn't see much
that he did that I could compliment. If there has been a
question as to
when White would become a starter, and who he would send to
the bench, there
isn't any longer (again, IMO).

I loved Bobbitt's spirit-breaking trey. The silence of the crowd was
noticeable on TV as well.

The best way I can think of to describe Tony ("the man of
steal") this year
is that he's "getting it." He's a re-run of D'Juan Baker, only more
talented.

Field - with under 4 mins left, Field got the ball ready for
a trey and
was quickly approached by a defender. He dribbled left for a short
jumper. If he can do this with regularity, he could average

20 a night

instead of 14. He is 8-12 on the year from >inside< the

arc. He also

would get fouled more which would put him at the line for a

guaranteed

two points, given his 90% FT shooting last year.

The open post, motion offense should get Field more
opportunities around the
hoop. UC's least used major weapon is Field's FT shooting.
However, note
the following FT figures through last night's game:
Bobbitt: 7 of 8
Kirkland: 7 of 8
Moore: 1 of 2
F. Williams: 2 of 2
N. Williams: 16 of 18
And Tony and Nick hadn't missed until last night. That's a
total of 33 of
38 for the guys who will be handling the ball in close games.
Very good
sign.

The major concern last night was the turnovers, which were
spread around
nicely. :-( Everyone who played but Hicks had at least one.
The start of
both halves were especially ugly. I wish UC had at least one
more road game
before beginning conference play, to continue to adapt to that kind of
environment. Fortunately, Huggins' message seems to have
gotten through
about playing hard and attacking the glass.

UC has now beaten 4 not-so-bad teams by at least 19 points
each. Contrary
to what we thought earlier, it looks to me like Valpo is the
weakest of the
4, at least right now. Akron, Oakland and Coppin State could well be
conference champions. I think Coppin State is the best of the group.
They're athletic and shoot the 3 really well; it kept them in
the game last
night against Missouri, even though they were getting crushed
on the boards
(38 to 19 for the game). I'll bet that stat gets noticed by
Huggins and
passed along to the team.

Randy '78

I also cant believe this is the same scrawny Field Williams I
saw in the
Summer League over 3 years ago. He looked scared back then,
now he looks
confident and capable.

Mike Ryan

-----Original Message-----
From: address@hidden [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 1:27 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: [UC Basketball] Valpo Game

Just got back from the game in Valpo. Fun place to watch a
game. Felt
like a big high school field house. Loud crowd, good support
for their
team. Very physical game. The refs at one point would

call very weak

touch fouls and then would overlook some pretty blatant

hacks. Very

inconsistent but they didn't seem to be favoring either team.
A couple
of times there was some woofing between players but nothing big
happened.

Observations:

1. Bobbitt is definitely the spark on this team. He is

pure energy

at all times on the court and has calmed down and matured

considerably

since last year. He has very quick hands and feet on

defense and is

playing in control on offense. I think we have seen the
results of his
hard work over the past several games and it looks like it will
continue. I spoke with him after the game and he was
basically playing
through cramps in his calf muscles all game. Gutsy effort.

Favorite

play of the night was in the first half when Valpo started

to go on a

run and their crowd got very loud and on its feet. Bobbitt calmly
dribbles up the court, knows he shouldn't, but pulls the

trigger on a

long three and drains it. Crowd promptly shuts up and sits
down. Valpo
run over.

2. Huggins is still searching for the right point guard.

Nick and

Chad are both pretty inconsistent right now. Both had some stupid
turnovers and are still a step slow on defense. Both let

players run

back door on them several times. He played both Kirkland and
Bobbitt at
various times at the point tonight. Kirkland looked good at
the piont
late in the game but no one seems to be able to get the ball
in to Max.

3. Max is still trying to find his comfort zone. His

shot is still

very flat (remind anyone of the early Kenyon?) but in the

meantime is

playing great defense and rebounding. You could tell he

missed Whaley

tonight on the offensive end (they were definitely keying on him).

4. Valpo watched the game tape from Coppin State. They
were stuck on
Field all night but he still managed to get open for a few
treys and had
some nice drives and dishes or finishes. They had no answer
for Bobbitt
though. He's too quick to stop. Having those two on the
court together
is dangerous for other teams.

5. Most impressive thing about this team is its defense. The team
knows how to shut down and intimidate others (even without the half
court trap). Even if we're having difficulty on offense (as
we will if
we keep relying on the 3 ball), we still will be in every game this
year.

Good team effort overall especially in a hostile environment.
Our bench
is very very deep and we are playing without two of our

best players.

Can't wait for us to be full strength. The bench really
allows Huggins
keep the attention of the players on the court and keep them
focused (if
they want to stay in the game). We could be very

dangerous. Night

and day from last season. Go Cats!

-Paul

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