Does Monte lack confidence in his shooting?

Everybody does. The long 2 is pretty much a worthless shot in this age of college basketball.

I could care less about Monte's long range shooting. While it would be nice if he was great at it (you could say that about everyone), I'm much more concerned about Monte's ability to consistently finish at the rim. Moreover, I think Monte cedes a lot of opportunities to seize the lane and make something happen. I think Monte has displayed a pretty good runner/floater (not on the level of Kane perhaps) this year and I don't think we see enough of it. When struggling to finish near the rim, this is a great way to utilize the lane and get a higher percentage shot.

Where I'm the most disappointed in Monte is his ability to draw fouls and get to the line. While his percentage is the greatest this year, he's probably the best natural FT shooter we have on the team. Despite playing 5 more minutes and controlling the ball much more in this year's offense, he's only shooting .5 more FT attempts a game. That's not just terrible, it's pathetic. That needs to be closer to 4.5-5.

Monte has that ability, he just needs to exploit it.

how exactly is it pathetic that he is not drawing fouls? He doesn't call them.
 
Good point, last night you could really see our guys "freeze up" when they got in no man's land (10-15 ft from the hoop) think of all the bad passes we had after guys penetrated and got into the paint. That was the story of the game IMO, Morris in particular had a rough time with this. I don't think he's lacking confidence, he's just a pass first guy and the one weak spot in his game is he's not very physically strong. That can make him reluctant to take the ball to the hoop in traffic. Last night was as indecisive as I've seen him, a lot of that was due to how KU defended him.

Frank Mason on defense was pushing him around....
 
I think one thing that doesn't get talked about much is I think Big XII defenses are figuring out a bit that ISU avoids taking long 2's. I think some teams are really aggressive at guarding the 3 point line and then depend on help around the rim. If a defender doesn't have to worry about a player like MM occasionally taking a couple dribbles to a pull-up J you can guard him a lot closer.



That's good cause that exactly what Fred wants.

For a "small" team we're usually outstanding at points in the paint.
 
That's good cause that exactly what Fred wants.

For a "small" team we're usually outstanding at points in the paint.

Yeah, it's the key to Fred's offense. It just is easier to execute for consistent finishers like Niang, Ejim, or Kane. Morris and BDJ just have to be a little more creative with some floaters/pull-up Js and have good vision to find the open man. Plus, the help defense changes considerably when McKay is in the game and isn't a threat from the outside.

It's not impossible but last year's team was built perfectly for it because everybody could shoot the 3 and finish strong at the rim. IMO, this year's team just hasn't been able to do it as consistently from game to game yet.
 
These threads are beyond idiotic.

needling a now full time starter, who almost never comes out of the game, leading the universe in assists to TO ratio, is one of our best defenders....because his shooting percentage has dropped as a sophomore compared to his freshman year? And ignoring that all of his other stats are all up.......but you're going to single out just his 3 point shooting?....from a point guard. Smh.

Brilliant work.
 
Funny that most of the people actually bring valid points to a thread and then there are a few who feel it is worth your time to call a thread idiotic etc.

The drop in percentage from 3 is noticeable, but that wasn't really what the question was based around. My observation was him not stepping into shots from 3 and instead take a dribble or two in for a long 2. Like a previous poster said, this could be from other teams running State off of the 3 point line (which is a great point).

Pretty tough to have an intelligent conversation on here with responses like that. You can disagree with the observation and I completly understand. But how you start and finish the post is sophmoric imo.



These threads are beyond idiotic.

needling a now full time starter, who almost never comes out of the game, leading the universe in assists to TO ratio, is one of our best defenders....because his shooting percentage has dropped as a sophomore compared to his freshman year? And ignoring that all of his other stats are all up.......but you're going to single out just his 3 point shooting?....from a point guard. Smh.

Brilliant work.
 
What player couldn't stand to improve his 3 point shooting a little bit?
 
Funny that most of the people actually bring valid points to a thread and then there are a few who feel it is worth your time to call a thread idiotic etc.

The drop in percentage from 3 is noticeable, but that wasn't really what the question was based around. My observation was him not stepping into shots from 3 and instead take a dribble or two in for a long 2. Like a previous poster said, this could be from other teams running State off of the 3 point line (which is a great point).

Pretty tough to have an intelligent conversation on here with responses like that. You can disagree with the observation and I completly understand. But how you start and finish the post is sophmoric imo.

I think the general consensus of responses in this thread pretty clearly indicate how idiotic the thread is.

What intelligent conversation can you have?! OP found ONE category that is down (the rest are up) to question whether the kid has lost confidence? Sorry...that's dumb.

and 10% is noticeable?

It it could be a million things:
MM could be exhausted playing 35 minutes a game
Could be defenses don't leave him like they did last year as a freshman,
running him off the line
extending defenses latelyetc, etc


ORRRRRRR.......it could be....maybe.....you're making a big deal over Morris missing 5 less three pointers over 21 games, that would put him at 40%.... Where he was last year. 5 shots.
 
I think the general consensus of responses in this thread pretty clearly indicate how idiotic the thread is.

What intelligent conversation can you have?! OP found ONE category that is down (the rest are up) to question whether the kid has lost confidence? Sorry...that's dumb.

and 10% is noticeable?

It it could be a million things:
MM could be exhausted playing 35 minutes a game
Could be defenses don't leave him like they did last year as a freshman,
running him off the line
extending defenses latelyetc, etc


ORRRRRRR.......it could be....maybe.....you're making a big deal over Morris missing 5 less three pointers over 21 games, that would put him at 40%.... Where he was last year. 5 shots

Obvious you have done some research for your responses. Idiotic thread tho right? And I wasn't really making a huge deal about it. More like generating discussion

Of course his percentage is going to vary easily because the fact is that he doesn't take many 3s. What does that have to do with anything?

Again, the observation was that he seems hesitant to pull the trigger lately. Just one fan's take
 
I think the general consensus of responses in this thread pretty clearly indicate how idiotic the thread is.

What intelligent conversation can you have?! OP found ONE category that is down (the rest are up) to question whether the kid has lost confidence? Sorry...that's dumb.

and 10% is noticeable?

It it could be a million things:
MM could be exhausted playing 35 minutes a game
Could be defenses don't leave him like they did last year as a freshman,
running him off the line
extending defenses latelyetc, etc


ORRRRRRR.......it could be....maybe.....you're making a big deal over Morris missing 5 less three pointers over 21 games, that would put him at 40%.... Where he was last year. 5 shots

Obvious you have done some research for your responses. Idiotic thread tho right? And I wasn't really making a huge deal about it. More like generating discussion

Of course his percentage is going to vary easily because the fact is that he doesn't take many 3s. What does that have to do with anything?

Again, the observation was that he seems hesitant to pull the trigger lately. Just one fan's take

oh and it could be hesitation....but it may be more due to that he's just such a good facilitator, his mindset is just passing. IMO it's really hard for a pg to be both an elite floor general, setting guys up, and a great shooter.....not impossible....but difficult.

His last 5 games he's at just a smidge over 40%.....so who knows.
 
He lacked confidence vs KU at KU on Monday that was easily seen. The first layup he missed turned into 7 and he seemed slightly intimated for some reason. Was strange. He shouldn't, dude is GOOD.
 
He lacked confidence vs KU at KU on Monday that was easily seen. The first layup he missed turned into 7 and he seemed slightly intimated for some reason. Was strange. He shouldn't, dude is GOOD.


You guys know you can be perfectly confident in every shot you take and they still not go in right? Some nights they just don't rattle in.....happens. This "he's lacking confidence" bit is really silly.

I'm guessing if you asked monte or CFH if MOrris is having confidence issues.....after they stopped laughing.....would say...uhh...no.

All of his stats are up except 3 PT shooting...and even in the last 5 games those numbers are back at 40%.....
im waaaaay more concerned about why we get nothing from our bench besides McKay, what exactly we are going to get from BDJ from night to night, why this unit thinks they are good enough to look past teams, and how we will cover up some of these warts, and peak here in the last 10+ games to do what this program wants to accomplish.
 
how exactly is it pathetic that he is not drawing fouls? He doesn't call them.

2.5 FTA/33 minutes indicates he's not doing the things he should to be drawing fouls. So he got hit a few times in Lawrence and they weren't called, big deal. That doesn't detract from the year long problem of him not getting to the line nearly enough.

That's a HUGE potential advantage that he's not exploiting. So yeah, that number is pretty pathetic.
 
He and McKay are so slight of build they are not going to getting a lot of calls trying to bull-rush people.

Everyone else that plays is pretty sturdy, you got to play to your strength.
 
Not concerned about Monte one bit, but this thread did get me thinking. Seems as if Gesell gets fouled way more than Monte ever does, but I have absolutely no stats to back that up. Imagine that his size doesn't lend him to going into the trees too often and he has a sweet pull up floater at times that is less apt to get blocked, much less an open guy to possibly dish to.
 
Not concerned about Monte one bit, but this thread did get me thinking. Seems as if Gesell gets fouled way more than Monte ever does, but I have absolutely no stats to back that up. Imagine that his size doesn't lend him to going into the trees too often and he has a sweet pull up floater at times that is less apt to get blocked, much less an open guy to possibly dish to.

It is a valid point. He is very creative finishing around the rim though. Guys like Gesell and White bull their way into the lane looking for contact with two free throws in mind. I don't think Monte necessarily tries to initiate contact because he is much more talened than players like that and knows he can finish on his own without the whistle.

Teams are going to take the Kansas approach with him going forward. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts his game if the refs aren't going to set an early precedent with the physical contact....
 
2.5 FTA/33 minutes indicates he's not doing the things he should to be drawing fouls. So he got hit a few times in Lawrence and they weren't called, big deal. That doesn't detract from the year long problem of him not getting to the line nearly enough.

That's a HUGE potential advantage that he's not exploiting. So yeah, that number is pretty pathetic.

pathetic is a bit strong, even if your argument made sense.

But your argument is one of the most idiotic I've seen on here. Monte drives to the basket multiple times per game. He usually makes those shots. He can't control if a player fouls him or if a ref calls a foul.

How ow exactly do you suggest he increase the number of fouls?
 
You guys know you can be perfectly confident in every shot you take and they still not go in right? Some nights they just don't rattle in.....happens. This "he's lacking confidence" bit is really silly.

I'm guessing if you asked monte or CFH if MOrris is having confidence issues.....after they stopped laughing.....would say...uhh...no.

His body language indicated that the ball rolling off the rim again was definitely getting to him. Late in the game he was standing out of bounds shaking his head after a missed layup - definitely un-Man-man-like. I imagine having his best teacher/harshest critic* in the house might have had something to do with that. Sometimes (like Kane in Morgantown) having those you love in the house for a game can make you put unneeded pressure on yourself.

*I mean that only in a good way. She taught him the game and helped him set very high standards for himself by having him play against older competition all the while he was growing up.