Seton Hall game thread

[longliveskip]

sat right behind the basket on Xavier's bench side. here are my thoughts from the game:

1. we still struggle defensively to keep guys in front of us. Seton Hall is quicker than us, especially at the 4/5 spot. but our guards were getting beat at times as well.

2. SHU doesn't (or at least didn't last night) shoot the 3 very well. they were actually, if you can imagine, even worse than us at it last night, so we should have been inviting that shot from some guys. not "giving" it to them like teams would with Hunter but not giving up the drive so often.

3. our team is BIGGER than them, and it especially was when Sean had Hunter, Free and Nunge out there all at once (not saying that lineup is really good but we are bigger and longer and when you're sitting 3 rows back you can REALLY see it.

4. we didn't shoot the 3 very well and we had some "shake my head" turnovers on passes. Souley was "contained" in the 2nd half as well. all that being said, we didn't let SHU make any big "runs" or even get a real lead. we answered when we needed to at times and delivered in the end when our offense sputtered a bit.

5. not sure on the FT that was rebounded if Kunkel was supposed to get the shooter and didn't, then didn't go after the rebound and they go it - but Souley was going AFTER him. I've never seen Souley that pissed. and so was Sean in that next timeout. i thought his head was going to explode.

either way, take ANY Big East win and MOVE ON.

a week to get ready for St. John's.

Merry Christmas everyone!


GO MUSKIES!

[skyhops]

All good points. Kunkle didn't boss out a few times and Milelr was pissed. Our perimeter defense is the worst in the league and they have been getting blown by for the last few years. Last night would have been a good time for a zone since SH can't shoot and might have saved some fouls. I guess Jones was really sick, so good for him for battling through and playing well. We need a backup PG because Claude just can't cut in currently against good teams. He might have shot the worst air ball on a fast break I've seen in years. We will need Craft to hit some shots as well. He was the 4th highest ranked freshman. Steele recruiting.

[longliveskip]

All good points. Kunkle didn't boss out a few times and Milelr was pissed. Our perimeter defense is the worst in the league and they have been getting blown by for the last few years. Last night would have been a good time for a zone since SH can't shoot and might have saved some fouls. I guess Jones was really sick, so good for him for battling through and playing well. We need a backup PG because Claude just can't cut in currently against good teams. He might have shot the worst air ball on a fast break I've seen in years. We will need Craft to hit some shots as well. He was the 4th highest ranked freshman. Steele recruiting.

this is the one thing that baffles me on Sean and i don't get it. i understand, he's got the track record so who am i to tell him what defense to play but i get it. some coaches believe - we need to get better and improve on what we're going to do as a team so they don't like throwing in things that they don't work on very often because then they're just "average" at two things instead of getting "above average" at what they're gonna do 90% of the time.
i'm not saying we need to turn into a "zone" team but i'd love a 1-3-1 with Colby at the top, Free in the middle and Nunge low with Des/Kunkel/Souley on the wings. even if just to throw something different at them for a possession or two.

just my take.

#inSeanwetrust

[ChitownSteve]

Seem to recall Coach Miller, in response to a recent question on the Monday night radio show, referencing that the team has not yet practiced zone all that much.

He did not scoff at the question, nor indicate introducing a zone defense was not in the offing, only that to be good at facets of the game a team can only work on so much at a time. Makes sense as the team absorbs all aspects of Coach Miller’s offensive and defensive schemes. Anyone else recall same?

My hunch is that they are now practicing a zone and we may see it in game action in the near term.

[XU_2011]

Great offense can mask bad defense, but only for so long. No one fears going inside on our bigs and athletic combo guards feel that they can blow by our guards most of the time and get to the rim, without much resistance in the paint. A win is a win in conference play but letting maybe the most inefficient offense in the BE score at will inside for much of the game is troubling.

[skyhops]

All very good point and I to believe that a zone would have helped especially since SH doesn’t shoot well from 3. The 1/3/1 does typically lead to sone deflections and fast breaks. I can’t imagine what UConns, Providence, and other bigs will do to Nunge especially on road. The poor defense on dribble drives is something we are stuck with since AK and Boum are just not that big.

[Anti-Homer]

I have not read through the game thread yet because six minutes is very valuable to me. If my take mirrors yours, you can feel good that you had an accurate one. As I’ve said after watching them for two games, this team will have to win by outscoring others. Two guys I like a lot who play 30+ minutes a game have a hard time guarding a folding chair: Freemantle and Kunkel. Freemantle always loses his man after the 2nd pass, and also on pick and rolls….and 90% of other sets. Kunkel isn’t physically strong and concedes the path the of guy he is guarding, and often fouls. His man gets to the rim at will. Fortunately, both are playing so well offensively (rare off night for Kunkel yesterday) that they are a clear net positive. That wasn’t the case with Free at Portland.

First chinks in the armor showed last night with Miller. It’s too bad because he was trending at a 9/10 with 10 days left until the mid-point but now has dropped a solid point to 8. His two most glaring deficiencies are his refusal to play zone despite the fact, not opinion, that Jones is the only starter who consistently stays in front of his man. Hunter does as well, and Claude to a decent degree. SH shoots worse than any of Steele’s teams from 3 and overall, but consistently got into the lane where they did a lot of damage. They shot 25% from 3 and missed a bunch of free throws, or they would have won. UC’s comeback was fueled by driving aggressively into the lane as well. Georgetown also went to the line over 30 times, and if they hit 70% of them, it would have been a much closer game. It ain’t a secret on how to beat X.

His lack of developing Kraft in particular, as well as Edwards will hurt this year, and more so next. Edwards made a couple of mistakes, and he got pulled. Against UC, he brings Tandy in cold, and he missed a three, and while he rushed it, he was wide open. Pulled. Kunkle made four errors in a five-minute span, and he stays in. Miller has coached like he is in the final year of a contract where he must make the Tourney to get renewed. This has been his style since the Nike Tourney. He called some great offensive sets yesterday and all year, but unless he strategically adapts to the defensive deficiencies, they will lose some winnable games in the BE.

Also, I could not believe he did not foul with St. J having the ball under 4 seconds, nor put Nunge on the inbounder. He threw an unobstructed clean pass, and though it was a difficult shot, the guy had a clean corner shot. That’s one Kunkel can make. Did he forget about the OSU game in 07’? Lastly, he runs out of timeouts with about five minutes left or longer every game. X almost had a five-second count until Jones threw it to Kunkel at the last second, or the game could have gone in a different direction. Again, I’m still a big SM fan, so he can breathe a sigh of relief, but he has been put on notice.

[skyhops]

AH, good points as always but Miller does not coach like this is a CYO team. He has always had a quick trigger to pull someone and usually had a limited bench. Miller is also not real comfortable with a zone, but SH would have been the game to test it out. Craft was one of the highest recruits in the BE and I could have been used to spell AK, who had a terrible game. That was probably the best Free we are going to get, so I will take it. Nunge played as tough as a few of my Y teamates a few years ago. I'm glad AH is on board with Miller we can sleep better tonight. I thought I saw him with Vanilla Ice in the box at the West Virgina game.

[longliveskip]

I have not read through the game thread yet because six minutes is very valuable to me. If my take mirrors yours, you can feel good that you had an accurate one. As I’ve said after watching them for two games, this team will have to win by outscoring others. Two guys I like a lot who play 30+ minutes a game have a hard time guarding a folding chair: Freemantle and Kunkel. Freemantle always loses his man after the 2nd pass, and also on pick and rolls….and 90% of other sets. Kunkel isn’t physically strong and concedes the path the of guy he is guarding, and often fouls. His man gets to the rim at will. Fortunately, both are playing so well offensively (rare off night for Kunkel yesterday) that they are a clear net positive. That wasn’t the case with Free at Portland.

First chinks in the armor showed last night with Miller. It’s too bad because he was trending at a 9/10 with 10 days left until the mid-point but now has dropped a solid point to 8. His two most glaring deficiencies are his refusal to play zone despite the fact, not opinion, that Jones is the only starter who consistently stays in front of his man. Hunter does as well, and Claude to a decent degree. SH shoots worse than any of Steele’s teams from 3 and overall, but consistently got into the lane where they did a lot of damage. They shot 25% from 3 and missed a bunch of free throws, or they would have won. UC’s comeback was fueled by driving aggressively into the lane as well. Georgetown also went to the line over 30 times, and if they hit 70% of them, it would have been a much closer game. It ain’t a secret on how to beat X.

His lack of developing Kraft in particular, as well as Edwards will hurt this year, and more so next. Edwards made a couple of mistakes, and he got pulled. Against UC, he brings Tandy in cold, and he missed a three, and while he rushed it, he was wide open. Pulled. Kunkle made four errors in a five-minute span, and he stays in. Miller has coached like he is in the final year of a contract where he must make the Tourney to get renewed. This has been his style since the Nike Tourney. He called some great offensive sets yesterday and all year, but unless he strategically adapts to the defensive deficiencies, they will lose some winnable games in the BE.

Also, I could not believe he did not foul with St. J having the ball under 4 seconds, nor put Nunge on the inbounder. He threw an unobstructed clean pass, and though it was a difficult shot, the guy had a clean corner shot. That’s one Kunkel can make. Did he forget about the OSU game in 07’? Lastly, he runs out of timeouts with about five minutes left or longer every game. X almost had a five-second count until Jones threw it to Kunkel at the last second, or the game could have gone in a different direction. Again, I’m still a big SM fan, so he can breathe a sigh of relief, but he has been put on notice.

ya gotta coach a near PERFECT game to move up in Anti-Homer's mind.

wow.

[X-lucidity]

Love the last post by Sonoma, just for starters. Because it emphasized the positives. AH, as usual, you detail some excellent points. However, I believe you are nitpicking SM a bit too much. X does not even sniff a dub versus The Hall with many other coaches at the helm. X was flat and not shooting well as they had. The 2nd half down the stretch Seton Hall's players started feeling the vibe like they owned us. With 3 min to go that's anyone's game and they had the mo. Games are not won on paper. Nor do the Vegas lines mean all that much once the ball is tipped. This was a war. A war where some of our weapons were misfiring. To find a way to grind, push the right buttons, and most importantly, to challenge our player's very manhood during timeouts, is what was called for to prevail. Just ask any Iowa fan if they would be complaining in any way about only beating Seton Hall by 3....... I realize we are all just sharing our thoughts and respectful critiques and that is what this board is all about. I for one though was amazed by how Sean steered a wobbly ship successfully across the finish line. Out of the 1,700 decisions and communications he had to make on the fly, I would say he was batting about 97%. Now a very much needed break for the kids. Merry Christmas to us all