Disturbing trend under Steele

[xuwin]

Is it a surprise to anyone that the player with the most free throws attempted is Jones* (45) and he is shooting them at a .578 clip.

The next closest player is Marshall (33) and he is shooting at a .758 percentage.

Some other stats
Freemantle (21) and .810
Carter (19) and .947
Bishop (14) and .308
Scruggs (10) and .800
Goodin (9) and .444
Moore (6) and .857

*Jones went 7 for 15 against UConn, but still finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in that win.

I don’t think that missing free throws is a team wide problem. It’s more a problem with just a couple of players.

One other thing...X is shooting FTs at a lower % than the opposition, BUT they have still MADE more than the opposition overall.

It's unusual that with Goodin's strength and athleticism and ability to penetrate he doesn't have a knack for drawing fouls.

[xuwin]

Is it a surprise to anyone that the player with the most free throws attempted is Jones* (45) and he is shooting them at a .578 clip.

The next closest player is Marshall (33) and he is shooting at a .758 percentage.

Some other stats
Freemantle (21) and .810
Carter (19) and .947
Bishop (14) and .308
Scruggs (10) and .800
Goodin (9) and .444
Moore (6) and .857

*Jones went 7 for 15 against UConn, but still finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in that win.

I don’t think that missing free throws is a team wide problem. It’s more a problem with just a couple of players.

One other thing...X is shooting FTs at a lower % than the opposition, BUT they have still MADE more than the opposition overall.

It's unusual that with Goodin's strength and athleticism and ability to penetrate he doesn't have a knack for drawing fouls.

[Muskie]

I think that's why people are so against him taking 3's,when he could drive the basket.

[scoscox]

Is it fair to question a trend? Sure. It is a valid point brought up here, that Steele's teams haven't been great shooters....or haven't gotten to the line enough...or don't this or that. I mean, afterall it is what a message board is all about. What I have trouble with is people who assume they have they answers to the problem. It's not like it's a surprise that this team doesn't shoot particularly well. We all knew that was not an area of strength coming in. I'd think a good coach is one who deals with issues that a team has and creates an attitude, game plan, and style of play that gives the players he has the best chance of winning. At the end of last year (even with improvement throughout the year) the team ranked 102 in Defense according to KEN POM. This year they are #16. The offense is slightly improved at 56 to 48. So yeah, the free throws, the 3 pt shooting, the turnovers are all concerning. BUT the coaching seems to me, to be pretty good. He has brought guys who play hard and get after it on D. There is more depth. Shooters seem to be on the way (Moore? Tandy? Odom? Wilcher?) But for now, Steele is taking what he has and putting them into position to win. 7-1 and a three pointer away from a 17 pt. comeback and potential win. We may not be comfortable with the way it looks, but I think Steele is doing a helluva job.

Odoms not a shooter. That’s the weakest part of his game. Wilcher is a sniper and I think jones is pretty competent as well

[scoscox]

There is always a reason.

There is a reason some players keep taking bad shots.

There is a reason some players continue to make stupid passes.

There is a reason some players make less free throws than they ought to.

it is up to the coach to figure it out and fix it.

Sometimes coaches need to step in and help show their players how to do things the right way instead of just telling them again and again that they are doing specific things the wrong way.

“These were bad shot you took here and here in these games and this is why... and these are good shots taken in this game and these are the reasons why.”

“This is a good pass... and this is a bad pass.”

“These are the reasons you are missing a bunch more of your free throws than you should be and these are a few simple changes that should help you make more of them.”

Either Steele and his staff are not doing enough to fix these specific trouble areas or some of these players are just not willing to listen and work at it hard enough to get better.

Note: The free throw shooting isn’t quite as bad as it seems. Only Q, Bishop and Jones are struggling.... and Jones is not expected to shoot much better from the line than he currently is (59%).

Not that the coaches are blameless but they really haven’t had much choice until this point. Our guys would take bad shots and travis would tell them they needed to take better shots (he atleast talks about it after almost every game) but none of them had a viable backup so what could he really do. This year that’s not the case, so if it continues I think the criticism is valid.

Your last point is very true. Besides bishop, q, and tyrique were actually shooting very well from the line. Even naji is at 75%.

[IM4X]

Not that the coaches are blameless but they really haven’t had much choice until this point. Our guys would take bad shots and travis would tell them they needed to take better shots (he atleast talks about it after almost every game) but none of them had a viable backup so what could he really do. This year that’s not the case, so if it continues I think the criticism is valid.

Your last point is very true. Besides bishop, OH q, and tyrique were actually shooting very well from the line. Even naji is at 75%.

No question Steele and staff are dialed in to the few glaring problem areas of the team and making it clear (at least to us fans) what those areas are.

What we have yet to see though, is a team actually confirming those are indeed problem areas or for that matter, a team who collectively looks dialed in to improving those problem areas. Heck, Naji was playing down some of these obvious and consistent problem areas (3s, turnovers, etc). It has been a little off putting, especially since the biggest culprits are juniors and seniors.

This is especially frustrating because We are talking about a team who could beat with anyone, if they could just take the few issues that ha e plagued them more seriously this season. Just admit it is a problem and then work like a dog on ways to fix it.

[XU 87]

There is a reason some players make less free throws than they ought to.

it is up to the coach to figure it out and fix it.

Sometimes coaches need to step in and help show their players how to do things the right way instead of just telling them again and again that they are doing specific things the wrong way.

““These are the reasons you are missing a bunch more of your free throws than you should be and these are a few simple changes that should help you make more of them.”

I realize your post addressed other areas, but as it relates to shooting free throws, if only it were that simple.

[XU 87]

Not that the coaches are blameless but they really haven’t had much choice until this point. Our guys would take bad shots and travis would tell them they needed to take better shots (he atleast talks about it after almost every game) but none of them had a viable backup so what could he really do. This year that’s not the case, so if it continues I think the criticism is valid.

One of the assistants was interviewed after the last game, and I think he said something to the effect of, "If a player doesn't want to do it the right way, we have plenty of people on the bench who can take his minutes"

I don't think they could say that to players last year. "Naji, you're going to be losing minutes to Welage" doesn't seem to be a serious threat.

[scoscox]

No question Steele and staff are dialed in to the few glaring problem areas of the team and making it clear (at least to us fans) what those areas are.

What we have yet to see though, is a team actually confirming those are indeed problem areas or for that matter, a team who collectively looks dialed in to improving those problem areas. Heck, Naji was playing down some of these obvious and consistent problem areas (3s, turnovers, etc). It has been a little off putting, especially since the biggest culprits are juniors and seniors.

This is especially frustrating because We are talking about a team who could beat with anyone, if they could just take the few issues that ha e plagued them more seriously this season. Just admit it is a problem and then work like a dog on ways to fix it.

when has naji directly played down those concerns? i don't remember that. i can remember a few of the players occasionally talking about making better decisions

[noteggs]

One of the assistants was interviewed after the last game, and I think he said something to the effect of, "If a player doesn't want to do it the right way, we have plenty of people on the bench who can take his minutes"

I don't think they could say that to players last year. "Naji, you're going to be losing minutes to Welage" doesn't seem to be a serious threat.

Interesting...