Shack's Jumper?

[rdk4121]

He had the highest shooting percentage of all starters last night. He knows his role on this team. I’ve said in every post that I hope Dubar finds his role on this team. We will be better for it but it isn’t coming at the expense of mashack’s minutes period. And it absolutely shouldn’t. I’m done talking about this. Thx.

4 of 6 of his shots were from 1 foot from the basket and he blew a wide open layup as well. Him not taking shots lead to far worse shots for the rest of the team. That's my point. If they can figure out ways to keep using him as the roll man in PnR, then I think it's fine. Outside of that though, he's going to have to figure out how to gain confidence in his shot. Hard to play 5 on 4 on offense. We're going to be playing far better teams than Illinois in conference play this year anyway.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Mashack is a top defender in the country, not a top defender on the team. That doesn’t show up in a defensive ranking. Switching in our defense means he covers mismatches and handles the hardest covers. He contributes to the offense in many ways besides shooting, obviously. He does not turn the ball over, he works the offense, and doesn’t take bad shots. All that noted, he suffers from the same perfection syndrome Josiah had. He doesn’t take early looks in the clock. Some of this is residue from pre Knecht when Barnes really pushed the team to milk the clock for an elusive perfect shot. We all remember the times Admiral was benched for putting up a three that wasn’t perfect. Obviously he persevered and got to a place where he took those shots with permission and confidence. Mashack has obviously earned the right to take an open shot, but is still cautious. We can’t fault Underwood for seeing that or exploiting it. We as a team have to adjust and Mashack has to take those shots. There was a timeout where Barnes grabbed Milicic last night, looked at him and said “keep shooting”, and he did. He hit zero percent from three, but felt safe shooting through it. He missed again. Somehow, Mashack has to feel good about those looks. Underwood thought he’d freeze and fold and he did. Just to be on the record, I see Mashack as the most coachable, hardworking, loyal kid. You can’t ask for a better kid on your team, on and off the court. Obviously Barnes is going to lean on him to shoot. If we see it, he sees it more. More than any of our other (great) assistants of the last decade, Clark is the best at getting players to be confident inside this offense. I think they’ll get him there. Anyone arguing to lessen Mashack’s minutes doesn’t understand his value. Dubar will be important. That’s fine. They aren’t giving up on Mashack over him not shooting enough yesterday. That game was a great learning experience for the whole team. We lost every statistical category and still won. I’ll take that lesson and my money is on Mashack to learn from it and grow.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

He did and conference coaches will do the same. If Dubar keeps improving he will cut into shacks minutes. He is an elite defender but there’s gonna be nights we need scoring too.

There’s no way I see Dubar getting some of JM’s minutes. He may get some of Okpara’s minutes though.

 

[walkenvol]

Okpara appears to be trying to give minutes away as of late!

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Okpara appears to be trying to give minutes away as of late!

He is on the “bust” bubble in my opinion. I know that’s harsh and I’m hoping he gets it turned around. He’s got to give this team something and that starts with staying on the floor out of foul trouble. We just need him to be rebounder, rim protector, garbage disposer and alley-oop finisher. Right now he’s not an even swap for Aidoo.

 

[lostsheep]

He is on the “bust” bubble in my opinion. I know that’s harsh and I’m hoping he gets it turned around. He’s got to give this team something and that starts with staying on the floor out of foul trouble. We just need him to be rebounder, rim protector, garbage disposer and alley-oop finisher. Right now he’s not an even swap for Aidoo.

Hard to argue against your take on Okpara.
My understanding early on was that he was limited offensively, but brought more to the table than Aidoo did defensively. I'm not seeing it so far. Had Estrella not been injured I imagine he would be taking lots of Okpara's minutes right now.

 

[sami]

He might have to cede some minutes to Dubar. Dubar is at least a willing jump shooter. Mashack is back to his freshman self where he will barely look at the rim.

Look at what he brings defensively, on the break, and as a passer, screener and cutter on offense. A guy like that doesn't cede minutes to anyone - anything he gives us with his jump shot is a bonus.

 

[Lankykong]

You talk about making layups and free throws, but Mashack was one of the major culprits in that. Passing up easy shots to take harder shots is also bad offense. There's no doubt that Mashack is a fantastic defender, but we can't have too many people on the court that are non factors on offense. Okpara already is not much of a factor. Cade also depends mostly on assisted baskets or put backs.

We don't have much depth right now anyway, so he's playing regardless, but if Dubar gives you similar defense and improved offense then you have to at least give him 4-5 minutes more a game. Dubar is also a fantastic rebounder.

Dubar can’t give similar defense, he doesn’t have the foot speed. Mashack is basically like Roberson for OKC right now except he can make free throws and drive (and 3PT from his spots if he will take them) so it’s easily worth it to play him.

 

[Pride85]

He might have to cede some minutes to Dubar. Dubar is at least a willing jump shooter. Mashack is back to his freshman self where he will barely look at the rim.

Except he is a complete lock down defensive player. This fanbase is so annoying. Absolutely HAVE to find something to complain about the NUMBER 1 RANKED and UNDEFEATED VOLS. SMH.

 

[rdk4121]

Okpara appears to be trying to give minutes away as of late!

He already did, two games in a row he's been a non factor. Weirdly enough Cade didn't really get many more in the Illinois game even though I thought he was playing alright.

 

[rdk4121]

Look at what he brings defensively, on the break, and as a passer, screener and cutter on offense. A guy like that doesn't cede minutes to anyone - anything he gives us with his jump shot is a bonus.

I've been saying they're going to have to use him as a screener if he's going to play the minutes he's playing (and not shoot). I've said for years he's the best defensive player I've seen in my lifetime at UT, but at the same time, being a severe negative on offense isn't going to work against better competition. He's going to have to play like a PF (pick and roll guy) rather than a wing player if he's not going to shoot.

 

[sami]

I've been saying they're going to have to use him as a screener if he's going to play the minutes he's playing (and not shoot). I've said for years he's the best defensive player I've seen in my lifetime at UT, but at the same time, being a severe negative on offense isn't going to work against better competition. He's going to have to play like a PF (pick and roll guy) rather than a wing player if he's not going to shoot.

Wing player, PF - it doesn't matter what you call the position, Mashack is going to play the same way. With three shooters on the floor with him, he'll never be a negative, much less a "severe" negative. You ever wonder why Barnes always has him on the floor in the biggest spots?

 

[rdk4121]

Wing player, PF - it doesn't matter what you call the position, Mashack is going ro play the same way. With three shooters on the floor with him, he'll never be a negative, much less a "severe" negative. You ever wonder why Barnes always has him on the floor in the biggest spots?

Well we only have like 8 players right now, and only 1 wing off the bench. Not sure who else would even play. They were essentially double teaming off him in the first half, which is part of the reason the offense looked like that. As the game went on, we used him more as a roll man which worked out fine, but the point is you can't have a wing player that won't look at the basket.

My main point about the offense is he has to take the open shots. Passing up wide open shots is bad offense. The rest of the season he's been fine to good on offense, last night he was not good at all on offense (at least in the first half).

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Well we only have like 8 players right now, and only 1 wing off the bench. Not sure who else would even play. They were essentially double teaming off him in the first half, which is part of the reason the offense looked like that. As the game went on, we used him more as a roll man which worked out fine, but the point is you can't have a wing player that won't look at the basket.

My main point about the offense is he has to take the open shots. Passing up wide open shots is bad offense. The rest of the season he's been fine to good on offense, last night he was not good at all on offense (at least in the first half).

 

[sami]

Well we only have like 8 players right now, and only 1 wing off the bench. Not sure who else would even play. They were essentially double teaming off him in the first half, which is part of the reason the offense looked like that. As the game went on, we used him more as a roll man which worked out fine, but the point is you can't have a wing player that won't look at the basket.

My main point about the offense is he has to take the open shots. Passing up wide open shots is bad offense. The rest of the season he's been fine to good on offense, last night he was not good at all on offense (at least in the first half).

The rotation is short right now due to Dubar just getting back and Carr yet to return. The point is that Mashack is essentially positionless, as he can guard 1-5 and his role on offense is being a distributor, cutter, screener, and offensive rebounder. Barnes lives with his lack of shooting because of all the other things he offers, even on the offensive end.

I'd like to see him shoot more and make them pay for playing off him, but to be honest I'd much prefer Lanier, Milicic, Gainey, Dubar, and Z taking those open looks. If he's got 3-4 shooters on the floor with him we don't need him to be a shooter.

 

[GBO18]

Mashack don’t worry about scoring. Keep playing elite defense. That’s all this team needs from you. We should be more balanced scoring this year with Gainey, Igor and of course Chaz. Your 5-6 pts at night driving the ball will be more than enough. Thank you.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

Mashack don’t worry about scoring. Keep playing elite defense. That’s all this team needs from you. We should be more balanced scoring this year with Gainey, Igor and of course Chaz. Your 5-6 pts at night driving the ball will be more than enough. Thank you.

Would you like me to deliver this message now, or do you want to draw a picture to go with it?

 

[GBO18]

Would you like me to deliver this message now, or do you want to draw a picture to go with it?

Just give him a hug for me.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Mashack is a top defender in the country, not a top defender on the team. That doesn’t show up in a defensive ranking. Switching in our defense means he covers mismatches and handles the hardest covers. He contributes to the offense in many ways besides shooting, obviously. He does not turn the ball over, he works the offense, and doesn’t take bad shots. All that noted, he suffers from the same perfection syndrome Josiah had. He doesn’t take early looks in the clock. Some of this is residue from pre Knecht when Barnes really pushed the team to milk the clock for an elusive perfect shot. We all remember the times Admiral was benched for putting up a three that wasn’t perfect. Obviously he persevered and got to a place where he took those shots with permission and confidence. Mashack has obviously earned the right to take an open shot, but is still cautious. We can’t fault Underwood for seeing that or exploiting it. We as a team have to adjust and Mashack has to take those shots. There was a timeout where Barnes grabbed Milicic last night, looked at him and said “keep shooting”, and he did. He hit zero percent from three, but felt safe shooting through it. He missed again. Somehow, Mashack has to feel good about those looks. Underwood thought he’d freeze and fold and he did. Just to be on the record, I see Mashack as the most coachable, hardworking, loyal kid. You can’t ask for a better kid on your team, on and off the court. Obviously Barnes is going to lean on him to shoot. If we see it, he sees it more. More than any of our other (great) assistants of the last decade, Clark is the best at getting players to be confident inside this offense. I think they’ll get him there. Anyone arguing to lessen Mashack’s minutes doesn’t understand his value. Dubar will be important. That’s fine. They aren’t giving up on Mashack over him not shooting enough yesterday. That game was a great learning experience for the whole team. We lost every statistical category and still won. I’ll take that lesson and my money is on Mashack to learn from it and grow.

 

[Raiford62]

Defense, Rebounding, and some inside scoring, that is what Mashack does. His defense is so important, to me, just as important as Lanier's offense. He makes life so miserable for the opposing team. I promise you if you take him out that defense will not be the same.