The Bigs really passed well tonight, that could lead to good things...

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Sparlimb

Sparlimb

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I was really happy with the way all 3 bigs played tonight. Maybe we could have gotten more outside shots out of Sampson, but both Iverson and Mbakwe passed really well down low for easy buckets. There were plenty of times that Iverson was dribbling outside the 3-point area, which scares the heck out of me, but overall they really helped Blake out as well. Hoffarber certainy was still able to get his points, and Hollins hitting free throws is nice, since no one else besides Hoffarber can. We should lose by 20 on Saturday, so I'm excited to see if we can shock the world...
 

I agree Sparlimb - all three Bigs passed very well and really fed off each other. There were some great "touch" passes between the three.

The zone was very effective tonight with Rodney up top. He and Trevor can cover so much ground in a zone. Despite only scoring a few points, I thought Rodney played a very nice game.

Hollins also played a great second half and gave us some nice minutes.

Go Gophers!!
 

I really like some of Rodney's game

But there were points when he looked just lost on offense, spinning around looking for someone to pass to rather than putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket. If we play the three bigs, we could really benefit from having a second ball handler on the floor with Hoff. Austin really looked good and played his best minutes of the season in that role.
 

bigkahunaiii said:
But there were points when he looked just lost on offense, spinning around looking for someone to pass to rather than putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket. If we play the three bigs, we could really benefit from having a second ball handler on the floor with Hoff. Austin really looked good and played his best minutes of the season in that role.
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That's for sure. I was thinking it might eventually end up benefiting Rodney because he might be forced into handling it more with the big lineup. They sure didn't set any picks for Hoff when he brought the ball up. I thought they might do more of that.
 

One of the reasons we were able to deal with their zone better in the second half was Williams. Blake was looking for him whenever they pressured him. Rodney really didn't dribble much, but he was in the right spots to get the pass and then mostly made good decisions with the ball. We're still a work in progress but Al's injury is going to benefit some guys. Saw some of that tonight, especially in the second half.
 


No question the bigs were huge tonight, literally and figuratively. Great seeing the teamwork among RS3, Mbakwe, and Iverson...touch passes, crashing the glass; it was fun to watch.
 

Tomorrow's Strib head line, curtesy of SGL

ShowinGoldyLove said:
No question the bigs were huge tonight, literally and figuratively. Great seeing the teamwork among RS3, Mbakwe, and Iverson...touch passes, crashing the glass; it was fun to watch.
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BIGS WERE HUGE
 

bigkahunaiii said:
But there were points when he looked just lost on offense, spinning around looking for someone to pass to rather than putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket.
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I think this might have been one of Rodney's top 2 or 3 games of the year. He didn't score a bunch but he didn't need to. He played, and scored, within the flow of the offense. In the second half he was very good at recognizing where the pass had to go against the 1-3-1. Defensively he was very active up top in the 2-3. The thing that impressed me the most tonight about Rodney was his hustle when NW got a break away. He motored down court and more than once contested layups.

As for "putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket" that isn't very effective as a guard against the 1-3-1 because you're usually double teamed (unless you have Nolen quickness and can split it). Rodney did mostly what he should have against that 1-3-1...pass the ball into the lane or along the baseline.
 

Rodney gave me hope he will eventually be an NBA shooting guard after last night if he keeps working hard. His ball handling and post passing was the best I have seen from him. There's not a ton of room to drive the lane with the 3 bigs. I'd rather see another guard and one big come off the bench. Against a more athletic team the bigs will get beat up and down the floor (Sampson and Iverson).
 



march madness said:
Rodney gave me hope he will eventually be an NBA shooting guard after last night if he keeps working hard. His ball handling and post passing was the best I have seen from him. There's not a ton of room to drive the lane with the 3 bigs. I'd rather see another guard and one big come off the bench. Against a more athletic team the bigs will get beat up and down the floor (Sampson and Iverson).
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Agreed. Without scoring much, I thought he was really effective.
 

To me it seemed like our guards were too afraid to pass to the bigs, even when they were 'open' whereas the other bigs would toss it in there.
 

If Rodney and the bigs can keep passing even close to that, we should be in good position. I guess it helps to play against undersized, weak, and unathletic bigs though. Either way, I'm very intrigued.

march madness said:
Rodney gave me hope he will eventually be an NBA shooting guard after last night if he keeps working hard. His ball handling and post passing was the best I have seen from him. There's not a ton of room to drive the lane with the 3 bigs. I'd rather see another guard and one big come off the bench. Against a more athletic team the bigs will get beat up and down the floor (Sampson and Iverson).
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