Here is the fifth set:
People talk about how Westbrook should have guarded Rose last year, with Luc on CDR. But then who was Collison going to guard? Their power forward? Or is the idea that we wouldn’t have played Collison much, with Westbrook, Shipp and Luc at the 1-2-3 (and no subs)?
He would have guarded Antonio Anderson.
Collison’s ballhandling looks really suspect this year. He handed the ball right to Michigan in the most important possession, and generally just looks like he has trouble keeping his dribble under control. Are you seeing the same thing?
No, I’m not. But I think Collison has some holes in his game when it comes to ball distribution. His vision isn’t great, and that is why he is turning the ball over so much.
Everyone seems to say Michael Roll is a bad defender, but I actually think he’s pretty good, especially at keeping his man in front of him. I feel like people just assume he must be too slow because he’s white. Thoughts?
I don’t care if he is purple. He’s not a great defender, but he is better than people give him credit for. He is maxing out on his athletic ability, and he understands defensive concepts well, so that makes up for any foot speed issues he may have.
Until last year (in regards to Love not touching the ball enough) I had never heard of the concept of players “not being good post entry passers,” and I watch plenty hoops. Is it really that tough? Or is it just Howland’s offense making it tough?
I don’t think it is that difficult to pass the ball inside. I think it is more an issue of what it is important offensively. It was never important to get the ball inside before Love arrived, and so far this season there is no effort made to get the ball into the low post unless J’mison Morgan is in the game. There is an art to feeding the post, but it shouldn’t be that big of an issue.
Can you please describe the “motion offense” in basketball? This seems like sort of a vague term. What does a team like, say, UNC run?
The motion offense does not have any plays in it. A point guard usually comes down and calls out a play (in UCLA’s case, coach Ben Howland usually calls if from the bench), and then the play is run. In the motion offense, it is a series of passes, screens and cuts to the basket with no one player being set up to shoot the ball. A shot is attempted when the player feels he is open to shoot, and plays aren’t run for an individual.
Do you ever leave comments to this blog anonymously, say when you really want to get something off your chest and would prefer to leave journalistic decorum aside? For example, leaving an anonymous comment like “None of you idiots know what you’re talking about.”
No. If I have something to say, I have no problem putting my name on it. I don’t need to hind behind the cloak of anonymity.
Speaking of Roll, is he overrated as a shooter?
Depends who is doing the rating. He was a career 36.4 percent shooter form the 3-point range entering the season, so I don’t expect him to be a great shooter.
Neuheisel’s public reaction to Tom Craft’s comments were very benign. Is UCLA’s staff privately upset about what papa Craft said?
I wasn’t at practice Wednesday to ask Neuheisel about it, and I didn’t write the story. However, I don’t think this staff cares that much what a parent has to say, especially when the numbers speak for themselves.