If we can get open shots to shoot
Yep. The two teams that have been committed to making our best shooters uncomfortable on the catch out to 23/24 feet have handled us pretty easily. There are many teams in the B1G that can do this. I’ll be interested to see how/if we adjust.
I like the coach a lot. He turned the culture and put in a system immediately. The lack of bigs and that they are a 3 point shooting team will make winning on the road tough in conference. The next step will be to upgrade the talent above this years Mid Major all stars. He'll have to recruit a lot from the xfer portal again next year. I think recruiting could be his downfall. We'll see. Just one big would have been such a difference for the team. Imagine if Ware was on this team.
I don't get the Reed Bailey negativity. He is really skilled and probably a SF being used as a big. My only disappointment in him is I thought be more of a 3 point shooter and open up the paint even more for cuts to the basket.
He can't play the 4 in the big ten either.
Depends on who the other teams 4 is. He's going to struggle against a back to the basket big who is good in the paint. I think TKR would destroy him and he'd foul out in 12 minutes. If it's a perimeter oriented 4, then he'll be fine. It was a monumental miscalculation to think you could get by with him at the 5, especially in the B10. I like him and his skillset if you have someone who can protect the paint on D. I think we'll put Tucker on TKR when we play PU and I think he'll do better than Bailey will.
I think if I was CDD I'd be working on a zone and trap pressure for this years team.
Problem with Bailey is he can't shoot or finish at the rim with any sort of pressure. Have you noticed he either has a wide open dunk, gets blocked, misses, or gets fouled at the rim? When there is anyone contesting him he never makes the play, especially against decent big guys. KSU big guys were atrocious. If he could shoot then his ball handling and driving ability would be valuable, but just sag off him and dare him to take a contested shot at the rim. Not to mention he is one of the worst rebounders I have ever seen.
Can you tell Im a huge fan of his??
@sig I understand why people are down on Bailey, but I've always contended the failure was in CDD thinking he could get by with him defending the post. I would like to see him take open 3s more because his shot still looks good, but his driving and passing are great, and a good compliment to the shooters we have. I'm just not going to blame a guy for playing out of position, which is what he's being asked to do. That's on the coach for not constructing a better roster.
@kkott He and Alexis have VERY weak hands. Both of them get balls knocked away regularly, they don't secure rebounds well, and neither finishes through contact. Alexis is a little more stout defending the post, and has a pretty good little bump and jump hook move. Bailey is quite a lot better on the perimeter in just about every way. Neither of them even try outside shots, so that's not an advantage for either.
I really think for handfuls of stretches, CDD should try playing them together. Neither of them need to shoot 3s, I haven't seen a single defender "sag" off Bailey, he's too good with the ball to do that. Most teams will pressure him out to the 3 point line, and try to effect his ability to pass and drive the ball.
There's no getting around that compared to high major, physical bigs, Bailey is soft...when he's having to play them head up, when he's relied upon to anchor the defense and rebounding efforts, etc... When he's moving all around, playing on the perimater, catching lobs and dump offs, he's either finishing or getting fouled on a really good percentage of his attempts. He doesn't get hardly any And-1s, but he often catches the ball cleanly, and draws fouls.
The part I hate the most about how he, and Alexis, are playing is how frequently the ball gets poked, slapped, wripped, out of their hands. Reminds me of the first couple years of Christian Watford. He had to have had the weakest hands for an elite level player, I've ever seen. I don't think either Bailey or Alexis are on Watford's level, inside or outside, but man... they all sure do struggle with having a good solid grip on the ball and finishing through contact.
@iunorth yes, I'd love to see them play together, that's what I think Bailey needs, but again, that then goes back to the roster issue of not a single post player on the bench. Even though he didn't have good stats, I liked that he finally started Alexsis, but just wish he'd tried it earlier before conference play. I think Bailey coming off the bench is better, and he should get more looks as some of the starters are rested. It's just a shame to me, because I think if we had a solid post player/rim protector to play along with Bailey, we could take full advantage of his offensive skills. Having him defend the 5 is always going to be a problem in the B10.
I haven't noticed anything great when they have played together. Admittedly that hadn't been a lot.
@openwheel To me, its more to prepare for playing a different way, for stretches, against teams like Purdue and Michigan. I actually like what Enright brings to the table, overall, but I don't think taking him off the court, and replacing him by playing Alexis and Bailey together, is a huge difference outside shooting wise. And I'd say Bailey is probably not a huge drop off from a ball handling and passing perspective.
The obvious risk is post depth. Playing them both, at the same time, without really having ANY backups, is risky.
But 10 minutes or so a game of them playing together, seems like something CDD should try more of.
@openwheel To me, its more to prepare for playing a different way, for stretches, against teams like Purdue and Michigan. I actually like what Enright brings to the table, overall, but I don't think taking him off the court, and replacing him by playing Alexis and Bailey together, is a huge difference outside shooting wise. And I'd say Bailey is probably not a huge drop off from a ball handling and passing perspective.
The obvious risk is post depth. Playing them both, at the same time, without really having ANY backups, is risky.
But 10 minutes or so a game of them playing together, seems like something CDD should try more of.
Don't think it's going to happen.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1999179206622679379
"Neither of them need to shoot 3s, I haven't seen a single defender "sag" off Bailey, he's too good with the ball to do that. Most teams will pressure him out to the 3 point line, and try to effect his ability to pass and drive the ball."
You aren't seeing Bailey very well. Garrison wrecked our offense over and over by helping and sagging off of Bailey because he can't or won't shoot.
Here are clips. Kentucky never guards Bailey closely outside of 15 feet. In one of the clips, Garrison is off Bailey by AT LEAST 20 feet, and Bailey just cuts right at the ball, wrecking any spacing.