This offense sickens me.

[greenyellow]

Most of this thread has been nitpicking about the offense but when it comes down to it, the key word definitely has been execution. It was working for most of the season up until they lost Artis. Once they lost him, something within the team dynamic changed and they regressed to the point where they look completely out of sync and no one looks aggressive anymore. Players are unsure of how to attack with how defenses now play them and the coaches look a little exasperated in how to get them going without a wholesale offensive change that emphasizes what little Loyd can do well.

[maxduck]

Oh, boy. Where to begin?

There is nothing wrong with the offense! Miles Simon (who likely knows just a bit more about basketball than any of us on this message board) was actually quite complimentary of the offense when he gave a demonstration of it at halftime.

There is something wrong with the execution of the offense. For one, this team does not value the basketball. They haven't all year long. With the number of turnovers per game they commit, they have won more games than they should have. The law of averages is catching up to them. The frustrating part is that most of the turnovers are from carelessness. Some of them are from trying to be too aggressive, and that I can live with. Most are just plain careless, or trying to make plays they aren't capable of making. If you listen to Altman long enough, you will hear him constantly telling the players to make "simple plays". This team seems to get excited and make passes that are impossible to complete, or moves that they aren't skilled enough to accomplish. They actually played under control for most of the game last night. Only 12 turnovers was remarkable for them, but it seems like a couple of them came within the last 3 or 4 possessions of the game. A complete meltdown, and I don't know why. The second-guesser in me would like to see Dotson as the crunch time "closer," but even he doesn't yet have the experience or skill as someone like Devoe Joseph. The second-guesser in me also would like to see more of the full-court press, as that would have maybe made a difference. Hard to say. Hindsight is 20/20.

For once and for all, Loyd is not the worst PG in D1 basketball. Hyperbolic statements like that automatically reduce any credibility that might have otherwise been contained in the post. Is he a great shooter? No. Is he a good shooter? Sometimes, but not very often. Can the same be said for every other player on the team? Yes! There isn't a consistently good 3-point shooter on the team. That hurts the offense. Loyd is a great defensive player. He is great at disrupting the offense of the other team, even more so than what shows up in his number of steals (which is a lot). No argument from me that he is somewhat offensively challenged. He is a great change-of-pace guy to come in for Artis, give the team shot in the arm while Artis takes a breather. Stop expecting him to be as good as Artis. My gosh, the guy is now playing with one-hand! And looking like the toughest guy on the team. He deserves some respect for that. He went from being a below average shooter to a guy who is physically unable to shoot the ball right now. What do you expect the results to be in that situation? Just have to work through it, and hope Artis is back sooner, rather than later.

This team was picked to finish 7th in the Pac12. They have exceeded expectations, and in doing so, have created unrealistic expectations. Being in the Top 10 was fun, wasn't it? But, it wasn't realistic. Being mentioned by an ESPN writer as a possible sleeper for the Final 4 is nice, but probably not very likely. (Although, with as crazy as the college game has been so far this year, you probably have to include about 50 or more teams as Final 4 possibilities!)

Tied for 2nd place at the halfway mark of the conference season. Only 23 seconds (last night's game) from being tied for 1st. What a difference 23 seconds make! This lengthy thread wouldn't exist if not for 23 seconds last night. I'm sure the Indiana fans are unglued because of 9 tenths of a second! Time to back away from the keyboard and ledge. Need to make sure the slide stops tomorrow against Utah, and finish the rest of the season strong. A spot in the NCAA Tourney wasn't even a consideration when the season began, and it is still within reach.

Sorry for the long post. Thank you if you have followed it all the way to the end!

Good analysis, well written and level headed. You really should post more often.

[duckfan22]

Oh, boy. Where to begin?

There is nothing wrong with the offense! Miles Simon (who likely knows just a bit more about basketball than any of us on this message board) was actually quite complimentary of the offense when he gave a demonstration of it at halftime.

There is something wrong with the execution of the offense. For one, this team does not value the basketball. They haven't all year long. With the number of turnovers per game they commit, they have won more games than they should have. The law of averages is catching up to them. The frustrating part is that most of the turnovers are from carelessness. Some of them are from trying to be too aggressive, and that I can live with. Most are just plain careless, or trying to make plays they aren't capable of making. If you listen to Altman long enough, you will hear him constantly telling the players to make "simple plays". This team seems to get excited and make passes that are impossible to complete, or moves that they aren't skilled enough to accomplish. They actually played under control for most of the game last night. Only 12 turnovers was remarkable for them, but it seems like a couple of them came within the last 3 or 4 possessions of the game. A complete meltdown, and I don't know why. The second-guesser in me would like to see Dotson as the crunch time "closer," but even he doesn't yet have the experience or skill as someone like Devoe Joseph. The second-guesser in me also would like to see more of the full-court press, as that would have maybe made a difference. Hard to say. Hindsight is 20/20.

For once and for all, Loyd is not the worst PG in D1 basketball. Hyperbolic statements like that automatically reduce any credibility that might have otherwise been contained in the post. Is he a great shooter? No. Is he a good shooter? Sometimes, but not very often. Can the same be said for every other player on the team? Yes! There isn't a consistently good 3-point shooter on the team. That hurts the offense. Loyd is a great defensive player. He is great at disrupting the offense of the other team, even more so than what shows up in his number of steals (which is a lot). No argument from me that he is somewhat offensively challenged. He is a great change-of-pace guy to come in for Artis, give the team shot in the arm while Artis takes a breather. Stop expecting him to be as good as Artis. My gosh, the guy is now playing with one-hand! And looking like the toughest guy on the team. He deserves some respect for that. He went from being a below average shooter to a guy who is physically unable to shoot the ball right now. What do you expect the results to be in that situation? Just have to work through it, and hope Artis is back sooner, rather than later.

This team was picked to finish 7th in the Pac12. They have exceeded expectations, and in doing so, have created unrealistic expectations. Being in the Top 10 was fun, wasn't it? But, it wasn't realistic. Being mentioned by an ESPN writer as a possible sleeper for the Final 4 is nice, but probably not very likely. (Although, with as crazy as the college game has been so far this year, you probably have to include about 50 or more teams as Final 4 possibilities!)

Tied for 2nd place at the halfway mark of the conference season. Only 23 seconds (last night's game) from being tied for 1st. What a difference 23 seconds make! This lengthy thread wouldn't exist if not for 23 seconds last night. I'm sure the Indiana fans are unglued because of 9 tenths of a second! Time to back away from the keyboard and ledge. Need to make sure the slide stops tomorrow against Utah, and finish the rest of the season strong. A spot in the NCAA Tourney wasn't even a consideration when the season began, and it is still within reach.

Sorry for the long post. Thank you if you have followed it all the way to the end!

Good analysis, well written and level headed. You really should post more often.

Now that is very well written. Original poster may want to read this. May learn something.

[oregontrack]

i think we're confusing elite defense with quick hands that are able to come away with the occasional pick. loyd can be disruptive when he's getting steals, but he's hardly a great defender. he hustles and he tries hard, but for being so damn fast he's remarkably easy for an opponent to get past heading into the lane.

and, i mean, the 5'7 thing.

of course it's hyperbole to call him the worst point guard in the country. but this is the internet, the place where anonymity and boisterous opinions hooked up in a wild one night stand and hyperbole was birthed into the world.

[Kyle's Brother]

It's no coincidence that the offense went flaccid when Artis went out and Loyd came in.

That's all this is. We replaced an elite point guard with a point guard who, objectively, may be the worst scholarshipped point guard playing above the mid major level. No one likes knocking their own team's players, but Loyd has no business playing at a school like Oregon.

Ultimately it's on Altman, though. He's the one putting Loyd in the position to hurt the team.

When Artis is back we will be fine. Until then we will be extremely lucky to win a game.

[justducky0]

Loyd would struggle anywhere. a 5'7" pg who cant shoot is pretty much useless on the offensive side of the ball .... see tajuan porter after his freshman year.

Loyd does hustle his ass off on d which is his redeeming factor

[woundedknees]

That's all this is. We replaced an elite point guard with a point guard who, objectively, may be the worst scholarship point guard starting above the mid major level. No one likes knocking their own team's players, but Loyd has no business playing at a school like Oregon.

I think that may be a more accurate assessment.

[Brophdog88]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiti ... id=5125077

its not like Oregon was the only one after Lloyd, toss in UCLA, Washington State, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan State, he had a ton of name schools after him, not all recruits pan out, Loyd is best served as a spark, and Jabari transferring so quickly hurt one of the ballhandlers (he was going to be playing PG some here). In the meantime, we have Artis long term, and once he gets over his injury this offense will improve, and Loyds place on this team will be much more fitting. His hand injury certainly isnt helping matters

[Kyle's Brother]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiti ... id=5125077

its not like Oregon was the only one after Lloyd, toss in UCLA, Washington State, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan State, he had a ton of name schools after him, not all recruits pan out, Loyd is best served as a spark, and Jabari transferring so quickly hurt one of the ballhandlers (he was going to be playing PG some here). In the meantime, we have Artis long term, and once he gets over his injury this offense will improve, and Loyds place on this team will be much more fitting. His hand injury certainly isnt helping matters

I don't think any of that information is true.

Regardless, our offense seems to have gone back to normal now that Singler has started bringing the ball up the court. Lets hope Dana sticks with that. It's kind of a shame that it took so long to try it. We look good, though. Lots of open shots and lanes opening up.

[Duck24]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiti ... id=5125077

its not like Oregon was the only one after Lloyd, toss in UCLA, Washington State, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan State, he had a ton of name schools after him, not all recruits pan out, Loyd is best served as a spark, and Jabari transferring so quickly hurt one of the ballhandlers (he was going to be playing PG some here). In the meantime, we have Artis long term, and once he gets over his injury this offense will improve, and Loyds place on this team will be much more fitting. His hand injury certainly isnt helping matters

I don't think any of the information is true.

Regardless, our offense seems to have gone back to normal now that Singler has started bringing the ball up the court. Lets hope Dana sticks with that. It's kind of a shame that it took so long to try it. We look good, though. Lots of open shots and lanes opening up.

According to scout, his other offers were George Washington, SMU, Northwestern and Santa Clara. Not exactly Florida, Sparty, and UCLA.

[OreDucks01284]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiti ... id=5125077

its not like Oregon was the only one after Lloyd, toss in UCLA, Washington State, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan State, he had a ton of name schools after him, not all recruits pan out, Loyd is best served as a spark, and Jabari transferring so quickly hurt one of the ballhandlers (he was going to be playing PG some here). In the meantime, we have Artis long term, and once he gets over his injury this offense will improve, and Loyds place on this team will be much more fitting. His hand injury certainly isnt helping matters

I don't think any of the information is true.

Regardless, our offense seems to have gone back to normal now that Singler has started bringing the ball up the court. Lets hope Dana sticks with that. It's kind of a shame that it took so long to try it. We look good, though. Lots of open shots and lanes opening up.

According to scout, his other offers were George Washington, SMU, Northwestern and Santa Clara. Not exactly Florida, Sparty, and UCLA.

i thought it was down to unlv and oregon for lyod?

[Brophdog88]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiti ... id=5125077

its not like Oregon was the only one after Lloyd, toss in UCLA, Washington State, Oklahoma, Florida, Michigan State, he had a ton of name schools after him, not all recruits pan out, Loyd is best served as a spark, and Jabari transferring so quickly hurt one of the ballhandlers (he was going to be playing PG some here). In the meantime, we have Artis long term, and once he gets over his injury this offense will improve, and Loyds place on this team will be much more fitting. His hand injury certainly isnt helping matters

I don't think any of the information is true.

Regardless, our offense seems to have gone back to normal now that Singler has started bringing the ball up the court. Lets hope Dana sticks with that. It's kind of a shame that it took so long to try it. We look good, though. Lots of open shots and lanes opening up.

According to scout, his other offers were George Washington, SMU, Northwestern and Santa Clara. Not exactly Florida, Sparty, and UCLA.

and according to Rivals he had offers from Oklahoma, Florida, TCU, UNLV, Northwestern, Virginia, so yeah, Ill take the multiple sites,

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/ap ... da-michig/

[Brophdog88]

that scout doesnt show an offer from Creighton says their list is off

[woundedknees]

Not that Nevada is a huge hot bed of D-1 talent (although they always seem to produce some gems), but Loyd earned Gatorade Player of the Year, his senior season.

http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml ... =204965535

"Earned Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year recognition as a senior … Was also named 2009-10 Class 4A Boys Basketball Player of the Year according to the Las Vegas Review Journal"

"Earned most valuable player recognition at the 2009 Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C."

Not like the kid was unheralded.

[Brophdog88]

yeah, really, if he can start knocking down shots, the offense will be fine with him...but I get the feeling he is gonna miss a game now