Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

Merganzer wrote:

Duck07 wrote:If it takes someone having a Buddy Hield type night we should be alright. I still think this is the same team from the beginning of the year and were seeing the improvement we expected. Expectations remain the same: fight for a tournament bid and then wreck havoc.

I agree. The defense has been consistent all season, sometimes that has been consistently giving opponents easy access to the basket, but the communication/ shifting are now rounding in to shape. Rebounding has been pretty good all season. In the last couple of games the offense has become more effective, in that it's more than just passing the ball around the perimeter until somebody, usually E. Brown sends up a 3. They are now setting screens, running pick and roll; creating shots. If Cage can continue his play from last night it will be a big help.

It seems like rebounding is noticeably better this year. Maybe I am just seeing Troy Brown in place of Brooks (who had surprisingly low rebounding numbers). Even though I've hated on E Brown, his shooting numbers are actually the best of his college career by a large margin, and that's with him still pressing. I have a feeling that should he continue to relax into the system, he will be very well liked by seasons end. I still see huge growth potential for this team. We a are starting to see some nifty alley oops, because the guys are starting to learn how to play with each other, and I look for that to continue.

bigsugarduck wrote:

Merganzer wrote:

Duck07 wrote:If it takes someone having a Buddy Hield type night we should be alright. I still think this is the same team from the beginning of the year and were seeing the improvement we expected. Expectations remain the same: fight for a tournament bid and then wreck havoc.

I agree. The defense has been consistent all season, sometimes that has been consistently giving opponents easy access to the basket, but the communication/ shifting are now rounding in to shape. Rebounding has been pretty good all season. In the last couple of games the offense has become more effective, in that it's more than just passing the ball around the perimeter until somebody, usually E. Brown sends up a 3. They are now setting screens, running pick and roll; creating shots. If Cage can continue his play from last night it will be a big help.

It seems like rebounding is noticeably better this year. Maybe I am just seeing Troy Brown in place of Brooks (who had surprisingly low rebounding numbers). Even though I've hated on E Brown, his shooting numbers are actually the best of his college career by a large margin, and that's with him still pressing. I have a feeling that should he continue to relax into the system, he will be very well liked by seasons end. I still see huge growth potential for this team. We a are starting to see some nifty alley oops, because the guys are starting to learn how to play with each other, and I look for that to continue.

Your perception is accurate. Rebounding is considerably better this year on the defensive glass. 42nd in the nation vs in the 100's last year. Troy Brown is the best rebounder on the team per minute. His defensive rebounding is at a higher rate than Jordan Bell's was last year(though nowhere near Bell's offensive rebounding rate).

Our FT shooting is also VERY good this year. Last year it was average.


Things that are worse this year:
-We are fouling a LOT. Like Huskies under Romar bad(250+). Last year we fouled 12th least in the nation.
-We are forcing very few TO's on defense.
-2 point shots we are shooting a considerably worse %.

The fouls are easily the largest problem. Has gotten better the last 2 games, but still an issue.

duckduckgoose wrote:

nogerO wrote:I love Dana, but it's going to be a long season I'm afraid.

Based on what?

Personal opinion. I'll revisit this thread in February.

Got a chance to watch the game, Jordan Howard was incredible!

Anyway nice to open pac12 play at home. A sweep of Utah and Colorado would be fabulous.

nogerO wrote:

duckduckgoose wrote:

nogerO wrote:I love Dana, but it's going to be a long season I'm afraid.

Based on what?

Personal opinion. I'll revisit this thread in February.

1. In College Basketball, a long season is technically a good thing.

2. It depends how you define expectations. Might we be a borderline NCAA/NIT team this year? Sure. To me the loooong season that we don't like is a season where we have say a losing record in conference. I don't believe that's going to happen. Stanford/Cal are both really down. We avoid the mountain trip this season. ASU is really the only team that's markedly better.

MJ Cage and Keith Smith post-game:


Dana Altman post-game: