Could our physical training actually be hurting our shooting?

[pimo1]

Here's what I do know. Weightlifting the day before, or less, of active bow (compound) shooting - NOT A GOOD IDEA. In short, DO NOT do it. I did and learned the consequences. At this level there is NO EXCUSE.........period. You CANNOT enter a finesse game the day after a weight work out...it's flat our counter intuitive. Period. Barnes is his own worst enemy if he's doing that. I heard "last year", the day before the sweet 16, he had a full out practice...they went balls to the wall. WTF? Why would you ever do that...I "think" he's smarter than that but that said. "If" he did go balls to the wall a day before....WHY? It's stupid. For one he lost, fact!,...not saying he wouldn't any way............but that is just STUPID. But with respect to Barnes...yes, his azz would do something as dumb as that. If he did at all. He's that mentally "challenged".

I am not like on the team or anything but I am pretty sure that not only in football but all sports teams are generally not doing heavy lifting in season. They do conditioning/flexibility type stuff during the season. What practice and weightlifting looks like in the offseason and in season is totally different. Offseason your build in season they maintain. If they are playing on a Saturday they are not likely lifting on Friday or Saturday.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

I am pretty sure our teams' strength coaches have read those same articles and maybe even written some of them. These guys sort of do this for a living. Not only that most are specialised in specific sports.

Pretty sure isn't for sure, tho.
Something is up in regards. Especially when you consider there are teams with very similar defense production as ours but have way better shooting. Also, when you have situations like ZZ and Igor’s best games of the season coming off extra rest, it seems more than coincidence.
I believe it's easier to be "pretty sure" our hyper-focusing on defense is affecting our offense.
How and why this is exactly happening is pretty much the only thing in question, IMO.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Here's what I do know. Weightlifting the day before, or less, of active bow (compound) shooting - NOT A GOOD IDEA. In short, DO NOT do it. I did and learned the consequences. At this level there is NO EXCUSE.........period. You CANNOT enter a finesse game the day after a weight work out...it's flat our counter intuitive. Period. Barnes is his own worst enemy if he's doing that. I heard "last year", the day before the sweet 16, he had a full out practice...they went balls to the wall. WTF? Why would you ever do that...I "think" he's smarter than that but that said. "If" he did go balls to the wall a day before....WHY? It's stupid. For one he lost, fact!,...not saying he wouldn't any way............but that is just STUPID. But with respect to Barnes...yes, his azz would do something as dumb as that. If he did at all. He's that mentally "challenged".

I'm not sure either which is why I said I would love to be able to see some video ( or at least a written/verbal account) of exactly what is our defensive training regimes and the times and methods of our overall training. Especially in correlation with our offense shooting training.
Additionally, what kind of flexibility and fluidity training we are doing to counter our physical training.
This would yield some very insightful data, IMO.

 

[Okie]

Him and Igor lit it up off a rest. Could be some over-training, but that also could be the fact they have to play a lot of minutes because of a very short bench. That's more of an excuse for ZZ than Igor tho.

I went to Oklahoma during the mid 80's. BillyBall was a good as it gets for me. Billy Tubbs teams would score 90+ almost every game and just wear out opponents. They spent a huge amount of the offseason on stamina conditioning, making sure that every player who put on a uniform could go full speed for the whole game if needed.

The arena temperature would start out in the mid 70s, even during a snowstorm, and adding 10k fans just increased the heat. The temperature, combined with the pace, wore most teams out. If it didn't, it kept their starters on the bench a while resting.

After the games, we would walk back to the dorms without our coats on in the winter because we were so hot from the game. A bit of a precursor to Arkansas fast paced ball in the 90's with Nolan Richardson. Great times to be a CBB fan. A different era, for sure.

 

[pimo1]

Pretty sure isn't for sure, tho.
Something is up in regards. Especially when you consider there are teams with very similar defense production as ours but have way better shooting. Also, when you have situations like ZZ and Igor’s best games of the season coming off extra rest, it seems more than coincidence.
I believe it's easier to be "pretty sure" our hyper-focusing on defense is affecting our offense.
How and why this is exactly happening is pretty much the only thing in question, IMO.

Let me be more clear as I was being sarcastic. I am 100% sure every strength and training coach at the D1 level and most well below that know all the things you're talking about. They literally have specific degrees in most cases. For example for UT men's basketball.

Garrett Medenwald Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance Garrett Medenwald - Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance - Staff Directory - University of Tennessee Athletics has masters in Kinesiology
Medenwald graduated from Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2013, earning a bachelor’s degree in health, human performance and recreation while minoring in athletic coaching education. He then received his master’s degree in kinesiology from Texas in 2016.

In case you didn't know kinesiology is the study of human movement. He has been running the basketball side of S/C here at UT for over 10 years. “Garrett’s methods and approach to elite performance training are on another level,” Barnes said. “He’s a star in his profession, and our students enjoy not just how he trains them, but also the personal relationship he develops with each of them.”

He has forgotten more about sports science than any of us will ever know.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Let me be more clear as I was being sarcastic. I am 100% sure every strength and training coach at the D1 level and most well below that know all the things you're talking about. They literally have specific degrees in most cases. For example for UT men's basketball.

Garrett Medenwald Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance Garrett Medenwald - Director of Men's Basketball Sports Performance - Staff Directory - University of Tennessee Athletics has masters in Kinesiology
Medenwald graduated from Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2013, earning a bachelor’s degree in health, human performance and recreation while minoring in athletic coaching education. He then received his master’s degree in kinesiology from Texas in 2016.

In case you didn't know kinesiology is the study of human movement. He has been running the basketball side of S/C here at UT for over 10 years. “Garrett’s methods and approach to elite performance training are on another level,” Barnes said. “He’s a star in his profession, and our students enjoy not just how he trains them, but also the personal relationship he develops with each of them.”

He has forgotten more about sports science than any of us will ever know.

You could be 1000% or even 10, 000% sure they know what they are talking about, and it wouldn't necessarily mean you or I know what's going on at Tennessee for sure in regards.
Like I said, we would need some of the data I mentioned earlier to help us form any necessary conclusions one way or the other.
( Incidentally, I know all about Medenwald's credentials. This thread, and the things that have been said in it, weren't meant to disparage or even question his knowledge. His training either, for that matter).

A point I think you missed is,
The questioning was in regards to things like :
Is it possible there have been some sacrifices taking place with us hyper-focusing on obtaining and maintaining an elite defense that is arguably the best in the nation?
This is an extremely hard thing to achieve, so IMO some extreme approaches may have come into play, opening up the possibility for mistakes.

The strength and conditioning coach ultimately is under the head coach. If Barnes wants a certain objective met that might not necessarily align with Medenwald's approach or training, he may be willing to supercede Medenwald's regimen/advice.
He may even want to tweak it a litte in favor of a specific desired result, or even maybe something like the timing of training.
In short, it's possible he believes he knows a better or less nuanced way in a specific area or two. We just don't know without all the data, tho.

We've seen many celebrities and people of power use their rank/authority to get things from Dr.'s/professionals that may actually go against their fundamental training.
We've also seen highly skilled Dr's and professionals like Garrett be willing to capitulate and alter their methods in order to serve the wishes of a person in a position of more power. Especially in lieu of what I just mentioned.
But again, hard to say anything conclusive without knowing the exact dynamics of their coaching relationship.

I guess my fundamental point is something seems off. Year after year we seem to have real trouble shooting at times. It seems to be more times it's happening than not this year, too.
There are other teams that are able to strike a balance between intense defensive physical training/play, and proper offensive shooting/training. They are not letting the one effect the other as we seem to be.

This fact alone should cause any inquisitive person to ask or at least wonder why this is?
Moreover, some of the surface data also seems to back what I just said up. These coupled together, IMO, make any questions in respect entirely valid to pose/inquire about.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

I went to Oklahoma during the mid 80's. BillyBall was a good as it gets for me. Billy Tubbs teams would score 90+ almost every game and just wear out opponents. They spent a huge amount of the offseason on stamina conditioning, making sure that every player who put on a uniform could go full speed for the whole game if needed.

The arena temperature would start out in the mid 70s, even during a snowstorm, and adding 10k fans just increased the heat. The temperature, combined with the pace, wore most teams out. If it didn't, it kept their starters on the bench a while resting.

After the games, we would walk back to the dorms without our coats on in the winter because we were so hot from the game. A bit of a precursor to Arkansas fast paced ball in the 90's with Nolan Richardson. Great times to be a CBB fan. A different era, for sure.

Another one that comes to mind is Jerry Tarkanian and UNLV's Running Rebels.
He took fast paced basketball to another level.
What's funny in regards to this thread (and specifically my last post) was Jerry didn't believe in stretching really. Didn't want to waste any of the ball-busting practice time on it. lol

 

[pimo1]

You could be 1000% or even 10, 000% sure they know what they are talking about, and it wouldn't necessarily mean you or I know what's going on at Tennessee for sure in regards.
Like I said, we would need some of the data I mentioned earlier to help us form any necessary conclusions one way or the other.
( Incidentally, I know all about Medenwald's credentials. This thread, and the things that have been said in it, weren't meant to disparage or even question his knowledge. His training either, for that matter).

A point I think you missed is,
The questioning was in regards to things like :
Is it possible there have been some sacrifices taking place with us hyper-focusing on obtaining and maintaining an elite defense that is arguably the best in the nation?
This is an extremely hard thing to achieve, so IMO some extreme approaches may have come into play, opening up the possibility for mistakes.

The strength and conditioning coach ultimately is under the head coach. If Barnes wants a certain objective met that might not necessarily align with Medenwald's approach or training, he may be willing to supercede Medenwald's regimen/advice.
He may even want to tweak it a litte in favor of a specific desired result, or even maybe something like the timing of training.
In short, it's possible he believes he knows a better or less nuanced way in a specific area or two. We just don't know without all the data, tho.

We've seen many celebrities and people of power use their rank/authority to get things from Dr.'s/professionals that may actually go against their fundamental training.
We've also seen highly skilled Dr's and professionals like Garrett be willing to capitulate and alter their methods in order to serve the wishes of a person in a position of more power. Especially in lieu of what I just mentioned.
But again, hard to say anything conclusive without knowing the exact dynamics of their coaching relationship.

I guess my fundamental point is something seems off. Year after year we seem to have real trouble shooting at times. It seems to be more times it's happening than not this year, too.
There are other teams that are able to strike a balance between intense defensive physical training/play, and proper offensive shooting/training. They are not letting the one effect the other as we seem to be.

This fact alone should cause any inquisitive person to ask or at least wonder why this is?
Moreover, some of the surface data also seems to back what I just said up. These coupled together, IMO, make any questions in respect entirely valid to pose/inquire about.

What youre saying is sort of silly. You are operating under an assumption that something is different at UT. EVERY Barnes coached team focuses on defense beyond all else. Always, forever. This aint new.

The issues this team have are obvious and existed before the season started. They were exacerbated by the injury to JP Estrella and the departure of Cameron Carr.

We gave functionally 9 players on our team. The fact that even given that Boswell gets minimal minutes its really 8. This means the team has leas options. Less answers. Is less flexible. Having a few guys at the end of the bench not inly gives you options it allows your top guys to go all out.

Even at the NBA level true 2 way guys are rare. This us because playing good defense takes a lot more energy both physically and mentally. Think really hard about basketball players in history that were elite on both ends consistently. Wait ill be nice think of players who were consistently elite on one end and really good on the other. That list is short and ends in the hall of fame.

Its hard enough under normal situations to play defense at the kevel we do and have the energy to dominate offensively. Now you have no depth too? In the past Barnes could sit guys and leave what let others step up eat some fouls and hit some shots. We start 2 guys that are offensive liabilities this year. And we only have one offensive spark off the bench. Last year all 5 of our starters could legit drop 20 on you. Not get lucky and have a good night but if called on drop 20. Plus we had Gainey so 6. This year we have 4.

Unless you totally ignore them Okpara and Mashack are not offensive threats. Philips maybe. Dubar probably wouldn't get much PT if Estrella was healthy or Carr was still rostered. No idea what the deal is with Boswell.

No amount of realistically attainable strength and conditioning changes this. Maybe if we go back in time and put all our players on the Lebron James workout plan? Honestly i think even his deal is more about genetics anyway.

Whats even crazier is next season. We will return at best 4 players. Okpara, Philips, Estrella, and Boswell.

Short story. Unless there is a huge light that turns on for Boswell and Dubar AND Lanier cones out of his slump AND we suffered no major injuries. Unless all those things work out this season ends in disappointment for most fans. I personally am very impressed by what this team us accomplishing despite all that. Remember this rant. If we get past the furst round this narrative will be picked up. This team has excelled in spite of being criminally shorthanded all season.

 

[pimo1]

This week off might be a game changer for our vols. Lets guys rest and get healthy and maybe Dubar and Bishop can unlock something?

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

What youre saying is sort of silly. You are operating under an assumption that something is different at UT. EVERY Barnes coached team focuses on defense beyond all else. Always, forever. This aint new.

The issues this team have are obvious and existed before the season started. They were exacerbated by the injury to JP Estrella and the departure of Cameron Carr.

We gave functionally 9 players on our team. The fact that even given that Boswell gets minimal minutes its really 8. This means the team has leas options. Less answers. Is less flexible. Having a few guys at the end of the bench not inly gives you options it allows your top guys to go all out.

Even at the NBA level true 2 way guys are rare. This us because playing good defense takes a lot more energy both physically and mentally. Think really hard about basketball players in history that were elite on both ends consistently. Wait ill be nice think of players who were consistently elite on one end and really good on the other. That list is short and ends in the hall of fame.

Its hard enough under normal situations to play defense at the kevel we do and have the energy to dominate offensively. Now you have no depth too? In the past Barnes could sit guys and leave what let others step up eat some fouls and hit some shots. We start 2 guys that are offensive liabilities this year. And we only have one offensive spark off the bench. Last year all 5 of our starters could legit drop 20 on you. Not get lucky and have a good night but if called on drop 20. Plus we had Gainey so 6. This year we have 4.

Unless you totally ignore them Okpara and Mashack are not offensive threats. Philips maybe. Dubar probably wouldn't get much PT if Estrella was healthy or Carr was still rostered. No idea what the deal is with Boswell.

No amount of realistically attainable strength and conditioning changes this. Maybe if we go back in time and put all our players on the Lebron James workout plan? Honestly i think even his deal is more about genetics anyway.

Whats even crazier is next season. We will return at best 4 players. Okpara, Philips, Estrella, and Boswell.

Short story. Unless there is a huge light that turns on for Boswell and Dubar AND Lanier cones out of his slump AND we suffered no major injuries. Unless all those things work out this season ends in disappointment for most fans. I personally am very impressed by what this team us accomplishing despite all that. Remember this rant. If we get past the furst round this narrative will be picked up. This team has excelled in spite of being criminally shorthanded all season.

Lanier had 21 today and played well

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

What youre saying is sort of silly. You are operating under an assumption that something is different at UT. EVERY Barnes coached team focuses on defense beyond all else. Always, forever. This aint new.

The issues this team have are obvious and existed before the season started. They were exacerbated by the injury to JP Estrella and the departure of Cameron Carr.

We gave functionally 9 players on our team. The fact that even given that Boswell gets minimal minutes its really 8. This means the team has leas options. Less answers. Is less flexible. Having a few guys at the end of the bench not inly gives you options it allows your top guys to go all out.

Even at the NBA level true 2 way guys are rare. This us because playing good defense takes a lot more energy both physically and mentally. Think really hard about basketball players in history that were elite on both ends consistently. Wait ill be nice think of players who were consistently elite on one end and really good on the other. That list is short and ends in the hall of fame.

Its hard enough under normal situations to play defense at the kevel we do and have the energy to dominate offensively. Now you have no depth too? In the past Barnes could sit guys and leave what let others step up eat some fouls and hit some shots. We start 2 guys that are offensive liabilities this year. And we only have one offensive spark off the bench. Last year all 5 of our starters could legit drop 20 on you. Not get lucky and have a good night but if called on drop 20. Plus we had Gainey so 6. This year we have 4.

Unless you totally ignore them Okpara and Mashack are not offensive threats. Philips maybe. Dubar probably wouldn't get much PT if Estrella was healthy or Carr was still rostered. No idea what the deal is with Boswell.

No amount of realistically attainable strength and conditioning changes this. Maybe if we go back in time and put all our players on the Lebron James workout plan? Honestly i think even his deal is more about genetics anyway.

Whats even crazier is next season. We will return at best 4 players. Okpara, Philips, Estrella, and Boswell.

Short story. Unless there is a huge light that turns on for Boswell and Dubar AND Lanier cones out of his slump AND we suffered no major injuries. Unless all those things work out this season ends in disappointment for most fans. I personally am very impressed by what this team us accomplishing despite all that. Remember this rant. If we get past the furst round this narrative will be picked up. This team has excelled in spite of being criminally shorthanded all season.

It's not silly at all for someone ( especially Barnes) to question if Barnes teams are being ove-trained on defense and possibly bleeding over to poor shooting practice/mechanics.

When your dog-arsed tired you not only tend to have bad form, but all the mechanics you've are building/practicing can often go out the window.
I think it's fair to say Barnes may need to dial it back with the the uber-intensive defensive training, and spend at least a little more time working on mechanics/ fluidity with every single shot that goes up. Few less sets of bench press and maybe a few more reps with the ol' shot coach so to speak.
in addition ( and if nothing else), make sure he we aren't expending too much enegy with practicing too hard in season.
Finding that balance shouldn't be that difficult to regulate/guage, because in practice they should notice the point guys start missing shots because of fatigue. Well, they should be able to notice it because even we fans can easily notice in game time situations. Also, do some trial and error and see if shifting the balance I mentioned above yields to better shooting averages in practice and season.

Is our shooting woes all because of less men to rotate in this year?
Maybe, but even if, that doesn't explain everything we've talked about in this thread in respect to prior years. We've had years we were necessarily deeper, but still tended to see shooting like we got in the first half today. We lucky today Vandy cooled down in the second half. We ended up needing every single extra attempt we were able to muster to pull that win out today.

At the very least we should attempt to see how a team like Houston was able to improve their shooting whilst still maintaining their defensive prowess/intensity/production.
Wouldn't hurt to check out to see what Duke could be doing this differently, either.

I don't see what you stand to gain for examining nothing in respect. Pretending you're doing absolutely everything right when your shooting so poorly in too many games would quite frankly be the epitome of arrogance.

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

This week off might be a game changer for our vols. Lets guys rest and get healthy and maybe Dubar and Bishop can unlock something?

Igor and Zakai played great after sitting

 

[pimo1]

Lanier had 21 today and played well

Thats nice but....Since SEC play started he has disappeared a lot. There is a direct correlation to Lanier not scoring and us losing. In our 5 losses he has scored 10, 17,10, 15, 10 and shot 10-38(26%) from 3and 20-65 (30%) from the field. Note 3 of those losses were single-digits (8 points total). Him hitting a couple more shots could have been the difference in all but one of our 5 losses.

I am not saying Lanier is the reason we lost 5 games. I am saying if you're the designated scorer/shooter on a defensive team you cant put up 10-point games. As Barnes said his job is to shoot and he does that for sure. he just has to hit a few more shots. He has one job....literally. he is shooting 40% from 3 for the reason but its like 60% one game and 20% the next. It's not all on him the only other player shooting well from 3 for the season is Mashack hilariously enough. but Mashack only shoots like 1 three a game he rarely shoots more than 4 times a game period..

Consistency is the name of the game and honestly, the most consistent guy on the team right now IS Gainey.

 

[pimo1]

It's not silly at all for someone ( especially Barnes) to question if Barnes teams are being ove-trained on defense and possibly bleeding over to poor shooting practice/mechanics.

When your dog-arsed tired you not only tend to have bad form, but all the mechanics you've are building/practicing can often go out the window.
I think it's fair to say Barnes may need to dial it back with the the uber-intensive defensive training, and spend at least a little more time working on mechanics/ fluidity with every single shot that goes up. Few less sets of bench press and maybe a few more reps with the ol' shot coach so to speak.
in addition ( and if nothing else), make sure he we aren't expending too much enegy with practicing too hard in season.
Finding that balance shouldn't be that difficult to regulate/guage, because in practice they should notice the point guys start missing shots because of fatigue. Well, they should be able to notice it because even we fans can easily notice in game time situations. Also, do some trial and error and see if shifting the balance I mentioned above yields to better shooting averages in practice and season.

Is our shooting woes all because of less men to rotate in this year?
Maybe, but even if, that doesn't explain everything we've talked about in this thread in respect to prior years. We've had years we were necessarily deeper, but still tended to see shooting like we got in the first half today. We lucky today Vandy cooled down in the second half. We ended up needing every single extra attempt we were able to muster to pull that win out today.

At the very least we should attempt to see how a team like Houston was able to improve their shooting whilst still maintaining their defensive prowess/intensity/production.
Wouldn't hurt to check out to see what Duke could be doing this differently, either.

I don't see what you stand to gain for examining nothing in respect. Pretending you're doing absolutely everything right when your shooting so poorly in too many games would quite frankly be the epitome of arrogance.

Its not overtraining its becuase they have 9 players dude lol. It's one thing to play guys 30 mins when you need to. We play guys those minutes because there is no choice. People don't get how those 2-5 mins some guys get off the bench add up to the guy they are giving a breather and long minutes add up over a season. It's the whole idea behind load management in the NBA. We have 5 guys averaging over 27 minutes a game and a 4th right at 25. The last time we had anything close to that was 2019-20 a year we lost 14 games and had a similar but not as drastic depth problem.. that year Davonte 'Ticket' Gaines played 10 mins a game and we had 6 guys averaging 30 mins a game because our depth was that bad. But that year we at least had options.... it was a lack of talent then its a lack of bodies now.

 

[pimo1]

Igor and Zakai played great after sitting

Igor and Zakai have played well period all season. They are both very consistent. The problems happen when one of them plus Lanier has an off night. One or both of them can have an off night but not when Lanier does also. Both of them contribute a lot more than just scoring. When ZZ is not scoring he is still distributing the ball and causing turnovers. Igor more often that not is on the boards and getting blocks if he's not scoring. They both contribute more than just points. Also, Igor's 'bad' rebounding nights normally come when Okpara has good nights because unlike points rebounds are finite and require folks to miss shots. Sadly we are not a good offensive rebounding team so if we shoot badly it goes badly. Also 3 pointers make rebounding numbers weird because a lot of long rebounds to guards.

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

Igor and Zakai have played well period all season. They are both very consistent. The problems happen when one of them plus Lanier has an off night. One or both of them can have an off night but not when Lanier does also. Both of them contribute a lot more than just scoring. When ZZ is not scoring he is still distributing the ball and causing turnovers. Igor more often that not is on the boards and getting blocks if he's not scoring. They both contribute more than just points. Also, Igor's 'bad' rebounding nights normally come when Okpara has good nights because unlike points rebounds are finite and require folks to miss shots. Sadly we are not a good offensive rebounding team so if we shoot badly it goes badly. Also 3 pointers make rebounding numbers weird because a lot of long rebounds to guards.

Both were crazy cold shooting prior to that.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Its not overtraining its becuase they have 9 players dude lol. It's one thing to play guys 30 mins when you need to. We play guys those minutes because there is no choice. People don't get how those 2-5 mins some guys get off the bench add up to the guy they are giving a breather and long minutes add up over a season. It's the whole idea behind load management in the NBA. We have 5 guys averaging over 27 minutes a game and a 4th right at 25. The last time we had anything close to that was 2019-20 a year we lost 14 games and had a similar but not as drastic depth problem.. that year Davonte 'Ticket' Gaines played 10 mins a game and we had 6 guys averaging 30 mins a game because our depth was that bad. But that year we at least had options.... it was a lack of talent then its a lack of bodies now.

I guess you didn't read my whole post.
I said it could explain some of this year (possibly even all of it), but this isn't just a this year problem. That's a point you've missed again.
And for a 3rd time, you can't necessarily say there is no over-training going on without at least viewing our training/necessarily knowing our training regimen. Same for knowing if our offensive training in respect to mechanics/flexibility/fluidity is propotional to our defensive training. As far as I know we have no access to this.
Like I said originally, one year would be one year but when it continues to happen, it is pattern that probably deserves some thought and reflection.

 

[CLT MAN]

Igor and Zakai have played well period all season. They are both very consistent. The problems happen when one of them plus Lanier has an off night. One or both of them can have an off night but not when Lanier does also. Both of them contribute a lot more than just scoring. When ZZ is not scoring he is still distributing the ball and causing turnovers. Igor more often that not is on the boards and getting blocks if he's not scoring. They both contribute more than just points. Also, Igor's 'bad' rebounding nights normally come when Okpara has good nights because unlike points rebounds are finite and require folks to miss shots. Sadly we are not a good offensive rebounding team so if we shoot badly it goes badly. Also 3 pointers make rebounding numbers weird because a lot of long rebounds to guards.

This is the most sane post that I have read on this site in weeks!

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

This is the most sane post that I have read on this site in weeks!

Says the Igor Milicic Jr. bandwagon top hype- man.
Just teasing, man. I bet you were on suicide watch the first half of the Vandy game this weekend. lol

In all seriousnes, him knocking down more 3's lately is going to be huge for us going forward.
Playing that stretch 4 should really open things up for us. That's one play in the 2nd half where the defender had to run towards Igor and then he gave him a little head fake and drove to the basket is something I've been waiting to see all season!

 

[walkenvol]

Igor and Zakai have played well period all season. They are both very consistent. The problems happen when one of them plus Lanier has an off night. One or both of them can have an off night but not when Lanier does also. Both of them contribute a lot more than just scoring. When ZZ is not scoring he is still distributing the ball and causing turnovers. Igor more often that not is on the boards and getting blocks if he's not scoring. They both contribute more than just points. Also, Igor's 'bad' rebounding nights normally come when Okpara has good nights because unlike points rebounds are finite and require folks to miss shots. Sadly we are not a good offensive rebounding team so if we shoot badly it goes badly. Also 3 pointers make rebounding numbers weird because a lot of long rebounds to guards.

From my perspective, Igor is the one guy we’re still not getting his full offensive potential production from. He’s started finally hitting his 3’s closer to his historical rate which is great. We need more offense and he still passes up too many open looks and plays too timid around the basket. He’s a good free throw shooter. Dunk the ball or shoot FT’s.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

From my perspective, Igor is the one guy we’re still not getting his full offensive potential production from. He’s started finally hitting his 3’s closer to his historical rate which is great. We need more offense and he still passes up too many open looks and plays too timid around the basket. He’s a good free throw shooter. Dunk the ball or shoot FT’s.

Definitely improving as the season goes on. Just needs be less timid around the basket. A couple of times in the Vandy game he caught it in the paint and could have took it right to the rack but was hesitant or even looking to pass.
We need big games out of him going forward. I think he is capable of delivering.

 

[pimo1]

From my perspective, Igor is the one guy we’re still not getting his full offensive potential production from. He’s started finally hitting his 3’s closer to his historical rate which is great. We need more offense and he still passes up too many open looks and plays too timid around the basket. He’s a good free throw shooter. Dunk the ball or shoot FT’s.

Igor is hot and cold on offense. thing is he does so much more than just offense. Lanier is a scorer... nothing else. If Lanier gets a rebound or assist or steal its gravy. Igor scores when we decide to feed the post. he is giving us 11pts and 8 boards and chucking in almost a block and a steal per game along with 2 assists. On average, he contributes more to wins than Lanier. At this point I think the team could more easily deal with losing Lanier than ZZ or Igor or Mashack, or Gainey or Okpara.

Don't get me wrong when he is on he is a huge boon to the team and makes everyone's job easier. The problem is, in SEC play, that's only half the time. He is giving you 20+ of hotness or 10 from the masonry convention rarely anything in between.

 

[CLT MAN]

Says the Igor Milicic Jr. bandwagon top hype- man.
Just teasing, man. I bet you were on suicide watch the first half of the Vandy game this weekend. lol

In all seriousnes, him knocking down more 3's lately is going to be huge for us going forward.
Playing that stretch 4 should really open things up for us. That's one play in the 2nd half where the defender had to run towards Igor and then he gave him a little head fake and drove to the basket is something I've been waiting to see all season!

Top hype-man? Yessir. I’m guilty as charged!

 

[CLT MAN]

Top hype-man? Yessir. I’m guilty as charged!

But I have been on the Igor bandwagon for 3 years…at least 2 more years before you guys had ever heard of him.

 

[cgrish]

I don’t think so. Players get stronger as they grow, even if they don’t lift a lot of weights. In addition, they do most of their heavy lifting in the off season workouts. I do think that players need to work less on long workouts as the season progresses and I think we observed that with ZZ when he took a game off. I believe the biggest problem is we do not take shots early in out possessions. When we do that, we find the clock running down and we are forced into taking rushed/off balanced shots. The second biggest problem I see is we have become very sloppy in our passes which causes turnovers and/or disruptions in the shooter’s shooting motion. How many times have we seen Igor, for example, not take a wide open shot and pass to a tightly covered ZZ and Gainey. The other thing I would do is, that you have shoot a minimum or 50 free throws for every free throw missed in a game using correct form

I have also noticed, we pass up some pretty good shots early in the shot time clock, and settle for a much worse shot.