shear_j wrote:dthomas=ddixon wrote:Why is it so funny? TP deserves MVP just for all the undeserved blame & flack he takes. He was forced to bring the ball up & create his own shot (Hes only FIVE FREAKING SIX remember?) in an offense that was non existent. I feel bad for the kid. Had to spend 3 years as the scape goat for a coach that couldn't coach his way out of a wet paper back.
Ya I felt bad for him. He started in an offense that suited his skills his freshman year and then the whole program fell down around him when everyone graduated.
I just would get frustrated when he'd force up 10 threes a game and only hit one when there may or may not have been better options. He may set the record for threes but he has to have the record for misses.
That said, I agree with TK in that nobody really deserved it. I mean TP got benched what, 2 or 3 times this yr. I feel that Armstead or Dunigan if he could've been more consistant were def the MVP's this yr.
I share your frustration when the 3 ball is forced. However, I place that frustration on the coach and the TEAM in general. Think back the past couple years and look at our play. I have some Q for you to answer, or anybody on this thread for that matter.
1) What play have you seen the Ducks run that gives you confidence when the shot clock gets to under 10 seconds? Armstead can penetrate sometimes but is not very consistent with this yet, especially when the clock is winding down and the D is collapsing on the guards. I personally don't think he even has the conditioning to do this on a regular basis. How many times have you seen Armstead penetrate and kick with under 10 seconds? Think real hard.
2) Humph: cannot penetrate and draw on a consistent basis, esp. if nobody "bites" on the fake 3.
3) Sim: most of his passes go AWAY from the basket. He rarely creates an open look for anybody, and cannot create his own shot at this time. He relies on Armstead or Porter to break down the D b/c others cannot
4)Longmire: can sometimes create his own shot but has an inconsistent jumper and no pull-up skills at this point. He does have the skills to attack the rim and draw fouls.
5) Entire Post Play: if they can't get position for the first 30 seconds, what are the odds they force their way into the post when the D collapses, and then receive a quality pass from the perimeter
6) Foul Line: Singler. He is our best passer at the foul line at this point. (Catron had these skills but he is not avail.)
I cannot think of any other player on our team that gives us great hope when the clock is under 10 seconds and everybody is still standing on the perimeter.
7) Porter: again, collapsing D on a 5-6 inch guard = turnovers in the passing lanes or difficult shot. So, Why not let Porter pull up. If he shoots nearly 25% on a 3 in that scenario, those are fairly good odds for the potential reward of 3 pts. Remember, 33.3% on threes = 50% on twos. So, with our poor "offensive sets", we are lucky to even have an option of a 3 pointer with a prayer. This lies on Ernie and the rest of the team as much as it does on Porter.
* with all of these shortcomings listed, I still think this squad has what is needed to make the NCAAs Next Yr. Everybody will need to improve, and most will. I don't buy into the theory that post players don't improve under Kent either. Jacob has improved since the beginning of this year. Dunigan is much better than last year even though his footwork is still poor. Singler is doing great.
Kent has a lot of room to improve in regards to Xs and Os, but he should be congratulated for people he has attracted to Eugene. I find it VERY easy to cheer for our players. They appear to be quality people. I am proud to have them represent our university (minus a few BB guns). If any of you had the misfortune of being on campus with guys like David Gurley (sp?) from the Monson era (I believe), then you would understand what I am talking about.
Again, would love to hear your option as the clock goes down?
