Wily Low / AP
Quick bright spot: There’s a lot of talent on this team. We’re only four games into the Pac-10 season and there’s time to right the ship. That said, anyone who tells you the ship is on course right now is full of baloney.
Three straight losses to three unspectacular teams. I’d say I’m baffled, but I’m not. When many of your wins come in unspectacular fashion at the expense of smaller conference schools, is it any wonder that similarly ho-hum efforts against Pac-10 teams may not end well?
Really, the Huskies haven’t necessarily performed worse in their five losses than in many of their 10 wins. The competition has just been better in the games we’ve lost.
I was hoping, as we were playing just a notch above teams like Montana and San Jose State, that stronger competition would bring out the best in these Dawgs. So far, it’s been the exact opposite, and what we’re seeing is that this team’s “second gear” is either very difficult to conjure up, or simply non-existent.
Here’s some more thoughts after watching the Huskies get thrashed by Arizona:
I don’t expect too much out of FSN’s game coverage which is very much hit-or-miss. But, Dave Sitton and Corey Williams just sounded unprepared tonight. They mispronounced Pondexter for the entire first half (“Poindexter”) and consistently called players by the wrong names, a sure sign they didn’t do enough prep for the game.
I did hear one interesting point, though. Williams mentioned that the harder you make Quincy Pondexter work on defense, the less potent he tends to look on offense. It’ll be interesting to see whether this trend continues through the Pac-10 season, but certainly looked to be the case this weekend as Quincy contended with a host of tough defensive assignments, looking generally anemic on the offensive end.
Quincy just looked dazed Sunday. I get the sense that, as the team’s lone senior, he’s having a tough time with the harsh reality that, try as he might, this team may not be a championship-level squad. As the team’s leader, though, if he can’t bring the energy night in, night out, they definitely won’t be dancing in March.
Speaking of dancing: Since his one-night stint in the Nutcracker ballet on December 24th, Pondexter is averaging 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists — all below his season averages.
MBA’s confidence is really low right now, and it’s tough to watch. He’s a sensitive kid and I don’t get the sense that he’s going to be very productive at all if Coach is indeed now committed to Tyreese Breshers as the main scoring option in the post. Sad, because, as we all know, the raw material is there, but he hasn’t been able to show it in his play consistently.
Anyone else think Venoy Overton isn’t as effective on the defensive end this year? Looks to me like he’s having a lot more trouble keeping guys in front of him.
I try to measure how bad things are going for a team by how many straight wins it would take to change the entire atmosphere to something positive. Right now, I’m saying four.
If you watched Sunday’s game without any way to see the score, I think it would’ve looked like a 35-point win for Arizona. The Huskies allowed a very mediocre team to look like worldbeaters.
So, if you’re Coach Romar, what do you do? I’m struggling to think of a drastic change that makes sense. On the other hand, these guys are a few bounces away from being 0-4 (The six-point Oregon State win was hardly convincing, considering the Beavers lost at home by 51 to Seattle U. a week later.)
Here’s a few minor suggestions:
On the defensive end, I’d like to see some more full court pressure, and then a zone that we can drop into as a “change-up” at times. If we’re going to start two freshman and a 5’8″ shooting guard, there’s going to be nights when an exclusively man-to-man defense puts us at a disadvantage.
On the other side of the ball: our four true “bigs” (MBA, Breshers, Darnell Gant, Clarence Trent) only account for 21% of our points, and we need more out of those two spots. Let’s officially make Quincy the “4″ and ask him to play a bit closer to the rim. Quincy’s a physical specimen, and in the smaller-than-usual Pac-10, he’s a perfectly adequate power forward. This will allow us to play to our strengths, potentially putting three scoring options on the floor along with Pondexter.
Also, 6’6″ Quincy might be our best rebounder. If last night is any indication (Arizona outrebounded UW, 40-23), a rededication to the boards may well be in order anyway.
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
Thanks for coming!
Tags: Arizona Wildcats, Post-game story
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I agree with everything you suggest. Of course right now, they have to try something different. For our offense to work, we have to have an low post prescense, which we don’t. Last year, Brockman required a double team which opened up options for IT, Dentmon and QP. Like you said, we need QP down low as that person. Lastly, I liked the way Gaddy played but even he said we were playing “rat ball”
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Great post, MM. I agree with your assessment of Quincy at the 4. I have another changeup….IT starting at point. He doesn’t have to play there all game long, but he is a great passer and having him start at the one gives us a little more firepower in the game early on.
With the lineup below, we are a much better offensive team. Not sure how we would do defensively, but it can’t get much worse than it has been.
How about:
IT
Suggs
Turner
Pondexter
MBAThat would be my starting 5 on this homestand just to see what happens. Shake it up, LoRo!
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The glaring problem I see is no guard penetration. Gaddy and Overton look like they can’t wait to pass to ball to the wing. The defense picks them up 10 feet past half court. They need to beat them off the dribble and make them pay for extending the defense. This creates easy buckets by dishing off to bigs or to open shooters. Until this happens, there will not be any easy baskets and they will continue to struggle. I haven’t seen them penetrate in the half court set more than a dozen times all year. IT is the only one who does it, and he is usually shooting, not dishing. Of corse, the bigs and shooters have to rotate to the right spot too.
Bottom line in these losses is that they are taking tough shots and the other team is generating wide open looks using penetration (see Oregon)and screens (see Arizona and ASU).
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I was at both games this weekend, which were my first two husky games in person this season and what struck me was their extreme lack of fire. And this wasn’t just evident during the game, but from the outset. During warmups the players looked lackadaisical. Even Romar seemed to have little energy on this road trip. The Dawgs have often fed of the energy of their home crowd, but they need to figure out how to manufacture that energy on the road. Until they do that, we are going to have similar results the rest of the season.
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I miss Jon Brockman.
Agree with you on Venoy. Everything he did last year started with using his feet to keep defenders from going where they want to go, which is hard work. This year, he seems content to gamble, relying on his hands to poke at the ball rather than working for position first. It’s putting the cart before the horse and being lazy. Only works against mediocre ball handlers.
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It seems like Brockman’s leadership is sorely missed. I haven’t seen a real leader on the court yet. It’s supposed to be QP as captain but I dont think he’s really that guy. Who can lead on the court? Gaddy as point? Isaiah is more of the team clown I think.
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I like Q at the 4…none of the post players are playing particularly well right now, in any category. If they would just rebound and play D I would be happy, but they’re not even doing that.
Q at the 4 opens a spot for Suggs or Turner to start the game. Both are decent defenders, at least decent enough that they wont hurt us, and both are the best shooters on the team. Our lack of outside shooting is killing us again. But this year we don’t have a Brockman caliber post player that commands a double team or rebounds well to offset that.
I want Romar to come out on Thursday with
Gaddy
IT
Suggs or Turner
Q
Whichever big will play D and rebound, not force shots and commit stupid fouls…Right now Darnell Gant seems like the best option for our lone big. He’s quicker than MBA and Breshers, and he doesn’t seem to pick up all the stupid fouls Breshers does. He wont turn into the black hole like MBA when he gets the ball, which would be fine if he was converting, but he’s not…does anyone else REALLY miss Jamaal Williams? I do. More importantly, Gant has played the role of the dirty work guy before. All he needs to do is block out/hit the glass, contest shots, and run the floor. He doesn’t have to block 5 shots or score 10 points…just play D, rebound and run to the floor. MBA is a head case right now, Breshers is too slow and probably still getting back into game shape, and Trent is an undersized freshman. Gant has to be the big guy to step up IMHO. Oh and Gant hits free throws.Something has to change…
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That is a fascinating line-up recommendation g-stache.
My initial reaction was, “no way”…but really…I would be curious how those five would do.
I.T. at point…which I’m beginning to wonder might not be where he belongs right now…Sugg and Turner at the wings, both capable of hitting the long ball but can also create…- I agree that thsoe five probably bring the most offensive potential combined with solid defense.
Have we seen those 5 on the floor at the same time for any period of time? I don’t think we have.
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I think the answer is Josh can’t leave the country any more. Correct me if I’m wrong but the wheels were still on when you were around.
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IT actually had a great ‘point guard’ game against the cats. Hit a few outside jumpers, drove and finished and drove and dished(5 assists) AND led the team in rebounds(for shame).
However I think Romar has made the total committment to Gaddy as the point. He had over 30 minutes for the first time this year and, if we could shoot, might have had some assists to go with his decent scoring. If he improves his ability to drive he could really be good but I don’t think he’s used to the powerhouse bigs in the pac10 yet.
My broken record plea is to give Trent some pt. None of our bigs have been even average so far(Qpon excluded). Trent leads the team in rebounds per minute played and has been really good on the offensive glass.
One thing for sure-Romar needs to shake it up.
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Thank you MM for pointing out what appeared obvious all weekend, namely when things get tough, QPon disappears. Gaddy said after the game that when the team gets down it goes into panic mode. I disagree. To me, it appears a few of the guys go into pouting mode, particularly Quincy. 3 RB’s? That’s inexcusable for a senior “leader.” When Brockman struggled with his shot (which he often did) the other parts of his game didn’t suffer.
IT is the team leader and should stay at the 2 where he can still be a focal point of the offense. Gaddy needs to continue to get minutes at the point and grow into the roll he’ll play for hopefully many years to come. As much as he’s disappointed and failed to assert himself, I’d start MBA at the 5. He’s more experienced, and seems to play with more confidence when he starts. This teams needs scoring from its back court, and if we’re starting Tyreese b/c for a few more points early in the game from the block we’re going to have too many games where he vanishes early due to foul trouble. After this it’s a tough call. I’d probably leave QP at the 3 and Gant at 4 since Gant gives us experience there and QP can rebound from that position.
Ultimately, I’m not sure lineup issues are as much to blame as our offensive philosophy. At times we look like an NBA offensive where we try to clear out for QP or try to get Gant a baseline look. What struck me about our last three opponents is that they did a much better job of moving the ball around and getting good looks. Unfortunately, they’ve hit many of those shots, but we will too as we gain more confidence.
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I suggested to you last summer that this line-up with Gaddy, Isaiah, Turner, Quincy and either of the three bigs was what Washington should do and you said then that you thought that against post players at a Pac-10 level that Quincy would be too small. I’ll take the other side of this argument now. Why is Quincy big enough to handle the 4-spot from the jump?
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I remember that, Jim!
I think that with Quincy’s play this year (his rebounding early on, particularly), and seeing how few teams field two solid bigs, I’ve come around to think he can handle it.
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Gaddy needs to drive. I remember reading a recruiting article about a camp that said something like “Gaddy seemed to be able to get into the lane any time he wanted”. That is so far from what we are seeing and is exactly what we need. Time to step up youngster.
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