The thing that concerned me most were comments by Shayok and Wigginton in the post game press conference about lack of chemistry/needing to get their chemistry back. As others have mentioned, I also thought it odd players didn't come to NWB when he was down on the court.
I would be understandable and natural for jealously or selfishness to arise on this team. We had 4 "starter level" players injured or suspended early in the season. During that period the 3 freshman and Lewis stepped in and we played great ball. So blending it all back together, with players getting playing time they felt earned, was going to be a hard task for Coach Prohm.
There are probably some X's & O's that can be done to get this team playing well again, but IMO it comes down to 2 fundamental things:
- Guys have to accountable on defense. Guys need to be strong on-ball defenders. Help defense is great if it is the exception, but IMO our guys don't take it personal if the guy they're guarding gets past them. Also, too many uncontested jump shots. It's unfathomable at this level to see guys closing out without arms up.
- On offense we have a lot of talented scorers. Guys like Shayok, Wiggninton and Tucker-Horton can make the tough shot. But that isn't sustainable over 40 minutes. Guys have to be willing to pass the ball, guys have to set SOLID screens so that their teammates can get great shots. The game announcer highlighted our lack of assists a number of times. We played 5 guards close to 160 minutes and they had 9 assists yesterday.
In the post game press conference it was hard to tell if Coach Prohm is thinking about shaking things up. His comments left me thinkng, he is at a loss on how to reach this team.
Regarding Lard. I hope he can come back, but I based on his play yesterday I think Conditt should be our first post player off the bench. One suspension can be overlooked, but getting suspended a 2nd time, IMO he is starting over to earn PT.