Obviously like everyone else I am extremely disappointed in the effort and performance of our collective basketball team. Quite frankly UNI "outworked" our Cyclones last night and that is always disappointing. More so when you consider that our current team is made up of a large number of upperclassmen. I can understand a young team getting "outworked" by less talented but savy veterans. However our team is not young.
In McDermott's post-game press conference he indicated that this team hasn't learned how to win yet and that he will need to take "more control" in late game situations. In my mind that is a direct "call-out" of Diante Garrett. I have always been and will continue to be a Diante proponent. His outside shot is extremely suspect but he can get to the rim against any opponent. Finishing sometimes is a different story. However, Diant bails this team out alot in the last ten seconds of the shot clock. But Diante's pass/shot selection in the last five minutes against both UNI/Northwestern has been subpar. You know that Lucca is a shooter and will shoot the ball the minute he catches it. You know that Dendy is inexperienced in late-game situations. Don't put the ball in their hands until you have placed them in a situation to be successful. As an All-American you know that Craig Brackins wants his touches. Get him some easy touches. Break your man down and get him an easy layup when his defender rotates to help. "Doing more" to help your team as a point guard does not mean jacking up a 18 foot shot just because your our open.
That being said Diante is one of the top 20 point guards in the country when his head is on straight. He is the equivalent of Byron Eaton. When Eaton was going well and distributing the ball the Cowboys were damn tough. When he was in foul trouble or chucking up 20 foot jumpers they were very average. Diante holds the key to this season and he did an incredible job in the Drake and St. Louis game of running the team. However in the Northwestern and UNI game he settled way too many times. It is a difficult role because Diante is a scorer and wants to be a scorer but he has to sacrifice for the good of the team. If Diante averages 8-10 points a game this year and has 7-8 assists a game then we will go to the NCAA tournament. If Diante averages 14 shots a game...well we won't even sniff the NIT and he will have a new coach as a Senior.
Brackins, Lucca and Gilstrap need to understand what their roles are and value each and every possession. If you want to go to the NCAA tournament and that is the reason everyone came back then you have value possessions and take good quality shots.
The California game will tell us alot. I think this a difficult game to win however I think a road trip is what this team needs. The UNI game hurt the fans alot but I guarantee you it hurt CB, DG, Lucca and MG even more. Let's hope we can find some leadership and toughness before we hit Berkley.
In McDermott's post-game press conference he indicated that this team hasn't learned how to win yet and that he will need to take "more control" in late game situations. In my mind that is a direct "call-out" of Diante Garrett. I have always been and will continue to be a Diante proponent. His outside shot is extremely suspect but he can get to the rim against any opponent. Finishing sometimes is a different story. However, Diant bails this team out alot in the last ten seconds of the shot clock. But Diante's pass/shot selection in the last five minutes against both UNI/Northwestern has been subpar. You know that Lucca is a shooter and will shoot the ball the minute he catches it. You know that Dendy is inexperienced in late-game situations. Don't put the ball in their hands until you have placed them in a situation to be successful. As an All-American you know that Craig Brackins wants his touches. Get him some easy touches. Break your man down and get him an easy layup when his defender rotates to help. "Doing more" to help your team as a point guard does not mean jacking up a 18 foot shot just because your our open.
That being said Diante is one of the top 20 point guards in the country when his head is on straight. He is the equivalent of Byron Eaton. When Eaton was going well and distributing the ball the Cowboys were damn tough. When he was in foul trouble or chucking up 20 foot jumpers they were very average. Diante holds the key to this season and he did an incredible job in the Drake and St. Louis game of running the team. However in the Northwestern and UNI game he settled way too many times. It is a difficult role because Diante is a scorer and wants to be a scorer but he has to sacrifice for the good of the team. If Diante averages 8-10 points a game this year and has 7-8 assists a game then we will go to the NCAA tournament. If Diante averages 14 shots a game...well we won't even sniff the NIT and he will have a new coach as a Senior.
Brackins, Lucca and Gilstrap need to understand what their roles are and value each and every possession. If you want to go to the NCAA tournament and that is the reason everyone came back then you have value possessions and take good quality shots.
The California game will tell us alot. I think this a difficult game to win however I think a road trip is what this team needs. The UNI game hurt the fans alot but I guarantee you it hurt CB, DG, Lucca and MG even more. Let's hope we can find some leadership and toughness before we hit Berkley.