You be the coach

#1
Rickster

Rickster

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#1
I see the frustration practically everyone feels with the current play of the team. If you were the coach, what changes to the offense and defense would you make and why would it be more effective. Please be specific and try to abstain from bashing…if you can.:peace2:
 
#3
#3
1-3-1 zone on D, with Russell NEVER allowed out of the paint.

have Russell shooting one bank hook shots till her arms fall off. Tired of seeing her bounce shots off the front of the rims..

play Middleton at pg more,
 
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#4
#4
gule said:
1-3-1 zone on D, with Russell NEVER allowed out of the paint.

have Russell shooting one bank hook shots till her arms fall off. Tired of seeing her bounce shots off the front of the rims..

play Middleton at pg more,
Click to expand...

good stuff. I liked the Ray Mears 1-3-1 zone.
 
#6
#6
Regardless of whether were in the man to man or zone I would go to no switching on defense. If your man beats you on the dribble then it will be up to Graves or Russell in the paint to defend the play. To many open threes to be had when were switching or double teaming in the half court. I want someone in the shooter face at all times on the perimeter. I'd rather give up ten layups than 10 threes because we are plus ten.
On offense a bad shot or failure to hit the open man finds you a seat on the bench. I want to see Nared and Diamond drive the ball take the 10 to 12 jumper. Quit throwing up threes neither can make them consistently. Designate three players as three point shooters and they would be Dunbar, Middleton, and Carter. I would limit threes based on early success or failure. It seems our players either have the range on certain days or are totally inept.
I think this team has to take more shots in the paint 10 to 12 feet from the basket and the post players have to be more mobile standing in one spot it is hard to make a good entry pass.
If I'm going to press going with the four guard lineup with Cooper joining Diamond, Nared, and Carter.
 
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#7
#7
Rickster said:
I see the frustration practically everyone feels with the current play of the team. If you were the coach, what changes to the offense and defense would you make and why would it be more effective. Please be specific and try to abstain from bashing…if you can.:peace2:
Click to expand...

They need to make outside shooting part of their game, not avoid it. The guards should be putting extra time in to work on their outside shots so that teams cannot sag off the shooters to double the post. Tiffany Mitchell and Moriah Jefferson were not good 3-pt shooters when they started college; now, they have burned many an opponent with some timely threes. Why can't Reynolds, Cooper, Carter, etc... replicate this?

Would also like to see them run some plays when they use screens to free up shooters (mid-range or long-range). The insistence on "inside-out...INSIDE-OUT!!!!!" makes them too predictable and too easy to defend.

As has been stated, would also like to see more of Middleton at PG. Of all the guards, her and Diamond have the best court vision. She needs to be on the court more...certainly more than Reynolds (who at this point shouldn't even be part of the regular rotation).

They should also be a better man-to-man defensive team, and if any emphasis is to be made on defense, it's to teach them to defend with their feet, stop getting beaten off the dribble, and getting setup for a wide open three when help defense comes along.
 
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#8
#8
Volfan2012 said:
Regardless of whether were in the man to man or zone I would go to no switching on defense. If your man beats you on the dribble then it will be up to Graves or Russell in the paint to defend the play. To many open threes to be had when were switching or double teaming in the half court. I want someone in the shooter face at all times on the perimeter. I'd rather give up ten layups than 10 threes because we are plus ten.
On offense a bad shot or failure to hit the open man finds you a seat on the bench. I want to see Nared and Diamond drive the ball take the 10 to 12 jumper. Quit throwing up threes neither can make them consistently. Designate three players as three point shooters and they would be Dunbar, Middleton, and Carter. I would limit threes based on early success or failure. It seems our players either have the range on certain days or are totally inept.
I think this team has to take more shots in the paint 10 to 12 feet from the basket and the post players have to be more mobile standing in one spot it is hard to make a good entry pass.
If I'm going to press going with the four guard lineup with Cooper joining Diamond, Nared, and Carter.
Click to expand...

I think your recommendation in another post about shooting 100 shots a day supervised is also a good input.
 
#9
#9
If I were the coach I would sit down with the players. I would look each of them in the eyes. And then I would offer up an apology to the whole team. I would take full responsibility for what has happened since practice started until right at that moment. Then I would tell the players I can't make you make shots. I can't make you make play selections. Bad passes. Bad defensive position. That's on you. But as your coach. As your leader. I will take responsibility for my part. But you need to step up and take accountability for your part. Then as coach I would have to take a look at my own coaching ability and staff. It's time for a new philosophy. Bring in some new blood to spark the bench. And if the problems persist. Then I step down at the end of the season and admit defeat.
 
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#11
#11
I'll offer up a few things:

1. I would make offense a priority from the first day of practice. Find the shooters and design plays to let them score then practice shooting from those spots. Shoot, shoot, and shoot some more to develop muscle memory.

2. I would consider a trapping zone as Gule suggested as a primary defense (not the only one though). A good trap defense requires activity practically all the time so it will require a deep bench and give players more of an opportunity to earn playing time.

3. I would go with a Pat substitution pattern and take players out when they do not do what they are supposed to do with the possible exception of the hot shooter(s) who I would roll with as long as the mistakes were not to egregious.
 
#12
#12
If I were CHW...

I'd work on some fundamentals again...boxing out, keeping your opponent in front of you on defense, not bringing the ball down for the posts, and some catching drills for Russell so she doesn't keep dropping passes and rebounds.

I'd also change the rotations a lot. Reynolds has brought nothing to the court for 2 years. She gets a seat wayyyyy down the bench. Give those minutes to Middleton and Jackson.

I'd make sure Elzy is working with Dunbar on defense so she can have more of a role on the court. Right now she's a liability on D.

I'd fire Law and bring in someone who can get Cooper up to speed. Right now her offensive decision making is still poor and she doesn't understand what it takes to play defense at the D-I level. She also needs her shooting mechanics fixed before it's too late (refer to Reynolds' shortcomings). Typical freshman, but she needs better coaching than what she appears to be getting. The second thing the new guard coach would be charged with is building up Carter's confidence.

I'd find a mentor from the men's game and get some offense teaching for myself.

I'd sort out what's happening with Jones and Moore. Redshirt or no? And I'd be talking to every respectable JUCO post in the country.

And I'd make sure all of my players knew it's my way or the highway. If they don't follow the game plan, they're on the bench. That includes DD.
 
#13
#13
When DD bounces a pass off a non-looking teammates head, I would allow her to enjoy the benefits of some solid pine.
 
#14
#14
I think the players who are consistently turning the ball over should be immediately pulled and get a nice ear chewing. This team keeps struggling with turnovers because there is no accountability or discipline when they do turn it over. That switching man to man has really hurt them though, so that would be another thing that would be a nice change. Maybe see a bit more zone?? I hope Holly can get this team to be more consistent, and play more like they did against Auburn today, minus the turnovers of course. This team is talented enough to beat South Carolina if they play to their capabilities..This season can still turn out very well, so go Lady Vols!!
 
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#15
#15
gule said:
1-3-1 zone on D, with Russell NEVER allowed out of the paint.

have Russell shooting one bank hook shots till her arms fall off. Tired of seeing her bounce shots off the front of the rims..

play Middleton at pg more,
Click to expand...

Middleton looked good today as did the guards in general.
 
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#18
#18
If we bring this same team every game we have a better than average chance of winning. At this point we cannot afford to take time off in any of the remaining games. Graves needs to be a little selfish and shoot the mid range shot more and not pass it up so much. Today Russell didn't look that bad but still soft. We her to control the paint. I would be on her ass so much in practice until she thought I was part of her body. We really need Jones because of her consistent toughness. It seems to me that Diamond's play really affects how well we play. I agree with other posters we seriously need to practice lay ups till we get it down. thumbsup:
 
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#19
#19
teacherdean said:
If we bring this same team every game we have a better than average chance of winning. At this point we cannot afford to take time off in any of the remaining games. Graves needs to be a little selfish and shoot the mid range shot more and not pass it up so much. Today Russell didn't look that bad but still soft. We really need Jones because of her consistent toughness. It seems to me that Diamond's play really affects how well we play.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Against everyone except South Carolina and UCONN and maybe Notre Dame.
 
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#20
#20
teacherdean said:
If we bring this same team every game we have a better than average chance of winning. At this point we cannot afford to take time off in any of the remaining games. Graves needs to be a little selfish and shoot the mid range shot more and not pass it up so much. Today Russell didn't look that bad but still soft. We really need Jones because of her consistent toughness. It seems to me that Diamond's play really affects how well we play.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Diamond's jumper was working, and she was successful driving to the hoop. They had to respect that...gave Bashaara some room to operate. Mercedes used her size nicely, but I agree she needs to get tougher. Tanner took a lot of rebounds away from her that she should have gotten by virtue of her height alone.

PG still looking shaky. That's two bad games in a row now by Carter, averaging 1 asst and 4.5 TOs. That needs to be better. Some of them she just flat out threw away. I think Alexa needs more time at PG. At least her TOs came with higher difficulties of pass; Carter plays safe and still throws it away.

I think the best looking lineup is Middleton/Carter, Diamond, Nared, Bash and Russell. The combination of these 6 players should be playing 80% of the minutes. No way should Cooper be playing more than Middleton right now, and no way Reynolds should be playing more than anyone other than Dunbar, Jackson and Moore.
 
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#21
#21
cwbytruckers said:
Against everyone except South Carolina and UCONN and maybe Notre Dame.
Click to expand...

Those three are, right now a cut above us, I don't know if anyone can beat UCONN, and USC and ND just have too many good players who bring it every game. I would like for our players to all bring it every game and see where it would take them. I still believe that if Russell had the toughness of Izzy, Diamond and Graves played as they did today, along with a good supporting cast, we could scare the daylight out of several schools in the top 10. We got the talent we just need to utilize it every game. This was a nice game, hopefully it is a vision of the future.
 
#22
#22
If I hadn't read the final stats, I would have thought the guard play was better today. Not much offensive production but the spacing looked better. Auburn traps a lot so it could have been much worse. I thought they handled it overall even if point production was not good and some of the turnovers were more attributable to bad decisions than good defensive play. I agree that Reynolds should be shooting layups and three footers for an hour each day if not more.
 
#23
#23
They did a better job of exploiting the high post today. They put a lot of pressure on Auburn flashing someone to the foul line. I would like them to do that more than all those cross court passes that take too much time to develop.
 
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#24
#24
Rickster said:
If I hadn't read the final stats, I would have thought the guard play was better today. Not much offensive production but the spacing looked better. Auburn traps a lot so it could have been much worse. I thought they handled it overall even if point production was not good and some of the turnovers were more attributable to bad decisions than good defensive play. I agree that Reynolds should be shooting layups and three footers for an hour each day if not more.
Click to expand...

I like that Cooper didn't shoot too much this game. Not a bad shot from her all game. She handled the press nicely and pushed tempo.

As much as I prefer to see Reynolds on the bench, she had probably her best game of the season: 4 pts, 4 rbs, 5 assts, 1 TO, 2 stl...those are solid numbers.

I thought Middleton played a very heady game and would have had a few more assists if players had finished layups or hadn't fumbled the pass.

Didn't see much of Carter in the 2nd half, it seemed. Or Nared for that matter.
 
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#25
#25
If I was the coach... hmm
I'm a firm believer in practice, and I also believe you should treat practice like a game, and set up game scenarios. First and foremost, nobody is in the practices currently, and we really don't know what is being worked on, other than what is told in interviews.
From what I've read from players and coaching, zone offense has been worked on (for sure as of late) rebounding and defenses, and a lot of video/teaching.

For me, I like video/teaching, but I don't live by it. It's good to give the player another view, but I think their are better results when you carry it over in a live format in practice. Practice doing things right, not watching what is right.
1) Implement no dribbling practice. You dribble, you're on the line and doing suicides. Passing has to become a priority for this team. In Auburn, we moved the zone defense out of position and got what Holly wanted, shots within 5 feet from the basket. Their doesn't need to be any dribbling against a zone
2) Shooting clinic. Form is worked on at the free throw line. Shots are worked on in drills. I averaged a 40% 3 point shot in my day, I don't have all the answers, but I know how to shoot and I know what I did to be a good shooter. I can tell you, majority of the work to being a good shooter is done outside of practice! But, no reason why Holly can't put some time (hour at most) into getting somebody in their to teach some technique. I will do it for free :)
3)Defending the 3. This has always burden us. To me this is more about communication on defense with the personal on the floor. I would implement some communication drills in practice, with emphasis on identifying shooters. Have the practice players put on mock jerseys of all the three point shooters the team has, put all 5 on and the goal is to not have them get a 3 point shot off in 25 seconds.

Most of our problems can be fixed in practice with rep's. Their was talk about attitudes and coaching and all this stuff. Nobody is in these practices, we just see the games and interviews. The frustration that we are seeing is a sign that the players/coach's care. If they didn't have these emotions after the losses, then I would be worried. We are not a perfect team, but expectations for the team by most of you, is that we should be. Parker's first full year actually playing wasn't perfect. She said multiple times after her first year playing she had to grow into her role. Welcome - Women's Basketball State
 
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