Coffey 2nd Half Disappearing Act Concerning

So you guys are telling me...you pass the ball to Murphy and he goes into his signature offensive arsenal and you can count on him to score?

Facing up and bullrushing the defender is Murphy's move....on nights when the refs allow him to do that he has an offensive game. Otherwise he's an awesome garbage man posting double doubles routinely.
But he does not achieve that in a way that a coach can say we are going to get Murphy the ball at his spot on the floor and we know he'll score. If he is the first option he has a tendency to turn the ball over.
If he receives a pass off a teammates drive he finishes, if he or someone else throws it up he'll chase the rebound and put it back in. Yes, he's excellent, awesome and can be relentless at that and yes, that is his offensive game but in my answer to Selection Sunday I was just saying he doesn't have a go to game...exception noted above and not available last night and also typically a part of his continual foul jeopardy.

I like Murphy! He's good! I do not feel he has an offensive game in the way I think of somebody who does. In a sense he is tougher to plan for...you gotta keep him off the boards to keep him from scoring and that is rarely possible for an opponent. But, he doesn't scare you when he catches the ball somewhere other than next to the basket. Just my opinion...which gives you guys something to ridicule. Enjoy.

Not sure how you consider that to not be an offensive game. He is actually quite similar to Happ in that he has excellent post moves in a one-on-one game close to the basket. He’s certainly not a great ball handler as his turnovers in traffic demonstrate. He also lacks the height, but has more power and leaping ability than Happ . Post moves and powerful finishes with good touch represent an offensive game. Maybe the best on our team.


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Your logic also means Shaq didn't have an offensive game even though he scored between 25-30 pointes per game for 10 seasons. If Murphy gets the ball relatively near the basket, there's a really good chance he's going to score, and that fact has led him to average 15 points per game this year (and 17 last year). He's very good at finishing around the rim even when he's not dunking, which are both forms of scoring.

Good grief...Shaq posted up near the basket. You threw him the ball and he scored. Murphy does not have even any comparison to that kind of size or strength and has not shown any ability to post up on the block, receive an entry and score. Murphy's entries are 8 to10 to 15 feet at the free throw line from the hoop. How are their games remotely similar? Murphy gets the ball the great majority of the time near the basket off a drive and dish, lob, putback or scramble situation. Not by posting up near the hoop and using his Kevin McHale or Shaq footwork...not happening. Yes, he's good at finishing near the rim...he did not get there posting up...typically.
It's a bullrush lower the shoulder drive if he gets there on his own...again typically.

Again, where the heck did I ever say he didn't score? We are arguing about how he does it. I am defending Pitino and the criticisms of why our offense isn't like some other teams. Our guys don't have some of those same strengths. Just trying to point out that Murphy is not an orthodox scorer ... watch Tuesday. He doesn't compare to Mo Walker, Kevin McHale, Happ or Shaq etc in the post...he doesn't shoot from 10-15 feet with consistency either...but, yes he scores around the basket and a good portion from the free throw line.

Nice player, hard to run a play for against tough inside defensive teams.
 

Coffey needs to drive the lane, dish or get a foul. He is the leader, need a strong 35 minutes from him.

Hard to do that consistently when you still can't take more than 2 dribbles with your right hand.


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This Gopher half court offense with the aimless weaving 18-22 feet from the basket looks a lot like the one the Gophers were reduced to using the year that Al Nolen got hurt at Michigan. They tried Hoffarber at point guard and played a series of ugly grinder games in the 50's. At least Coffey can get into the lane.
 

Good grief...Shaq posted up near the basket. You threw him the ball and he scored. Murphy does not have even any comparison to that kind of size or strength and has not shown any ability to post up on the block, receive an entry and score. Murphy's entries are 8 to10 to 15 feet at the free throw line from the hoop. How are their games remotely similar? Murphy gets the ball the great majority of the time near the basket off a drive and dish, lob, putback or scramble situation. Not by posting up near the hoop and using his Kevin McHale or Shaq footwork...not happening. Yes, he's good at finishing near the rim...he did not get there posting up...typically.
It's a bullrush lower the shoulder drive if he gets there on his own...again typically.

Again, where the heck did I ever say he didn't score? We are arguing about how he does it. I am defending Pitino and the criticisms of why our offense isn't like some other teams. Our guys don't have some of those same strengths. Just trying to point out that Murphy is not an orthodox scorer ... watch Tuesday. He doesn't compare to Mo Walker, Kevin McHale, Happ or Shaq etc in the post...he doesn't shoot from 10-15 feet with consistency either...but, yes he scores around the basket and a good portion from the free throw line.

Nice player, hard to run a play for against tough inside defensive teams.

Teams don’t double team players that have no offensive game whatsoever. Or whatever the hell you said.

Is he a refined big man? Nope. But he’s got an offensive game. And my proof is his points, accolades and attention he gets on that side of the court.

Take the L.
 
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I swear we could win a national championship and someone would post something to be "concerned about" right afterwards on this sub
 

I swear we could win a national championship and someone would post something to be "concerned about" right afterwards on this sub

Why not? Team still needs to improve. Its not like we just beat Duke or Kansas on the road. Wisconsin sucked
 


Good grief...Shaq posted up near the basket. You threw him the ball and he scored. Murphy does not have even any comparison to that kind of size or strength and has not shown any ability to post up on the block, receive an entry and score. Murphy's entries are 8 to10 to 15 feet at the free throw line from the hoop. How are their games remotely similar? Murphy gets the ball the great majority of the time near the basket off a drive and dish, lob, putback or scramble situation. Not by posting up near the hoop and using his Kevin McHale or Shaq footwork...not happening. Yes, he's good at finishing near the rim...he did not get there posting up...typically.
It's a bullrush lower the shoulder drive if he gets there on his own...again typically.

Again, where the heck did I ever say he didn't score? We are arguing about how he does it. I am defending Pitino and the criticisms of why our offense isn't like some other teams. Our guys don't have some of those same strengths. Just trying to point out that Murphy is not an orthodox scorer ... watch Tuesday. He doesn't compare to Mo Walker, Kevin McHale, Happ or Shaq etc in the post...he doesn't shoot from 10-15 feet with consistency either...but, yes he scores around the basket and a good portion from the free throw line.

Nice player, hard to run a play for against tough inside defensive teams.

Wait, what? Who compared Shaq to Murphy? I used Shaq as an example of your flawed logic. Just because a player does their scoring around the basket doesn't mean they don't have an offensive game.

The goal on offense is to score, therefore, if you consistently score a lot of points, you have an offensive game. Murphy does that.
 
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Your logic also means Shaq didn't have an offensive game even though he scored between 25-30 pointes per game for 10 seasons. If Murphy gets the ball relatively near the basket, there's a really good chance he's going to score, and that fact has led him to average 15 points per game this year (and 17 last year). He's very good at finishing around the rim even when he's not dunking, which are both forms of scoring.
Shaq was 7’1”, not 6’6.” His points are spot on. The difference between Murph and Happ. Happ gets the ball in his spot and he will most likely score. Murph May score, but if the opponent has some height and he is not allowed to go NFL down low, he may get snuffed. He is a great rebounder, but he is limited offensively. He was passing out of the doubles beautifully earlier in the year.
 

Offense was down the list of priorities vs Wisconsin. Position D and rebounding came first. It’s why Hurt and Stull played more minutes ahead of others because they excel in the fundamentals. Because of this the offense suffered. Of course we want better offense but the gameplan called for making sure Wisky didn’t get easy looks or putbacks and it was well executed.


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This said, it was still overall a strong performance from Amir. He did take the initiative for large part of the game. I can live with "off" stretches like this, but he needs to be the protagonist for us in all games - can't afford off days like an underclassmen. NBA players are consistent.

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Your logic also means Shaq didn't have an offensive game even though he scored between 25-30 pointes per game for 10 seasons. If Murphy gets the ball relatively near the basket, there's a really good chance he's going to score, and that fact has led him to average 15 points per game this year (and 17 last year). He's very good at finishing around the rim even when he's not dunking, which are both forms of scoring.

Shaq had really, really good footwork in the low post.
 




Wisconsin hard-hedged or switched every ball screen in the second half. It forced the Gophers to initiate the offense 25+ feet from the basket on multiple occasions. Reverse the ball enough and you'll get a mismatch. They did that and Oturu got a couple good looks, but missed.

Not having Murphy the last 4 minutes changed everything offensively. That said, Coffey should have been more assertive. There were 2 specific trips that he did, went to the line and made 1-2. The other he was called for a charge. But the strategy was to win the game on the defensive end, which they did. Playing Wisconsin is always going to be a bogged down, bar fight of a basketball game, especially in Madison. I would much rather learn and move forward from a win than after having a 15-point lead and having it melt down.
 

Teams don’t double team players that have no offensive game whatsoever. Or whatever the hell you said.

Is he a refined big man? Nope. But he’s got an offensive game. And my proof is his points, accolades and attention he gets on that side of the court.

Take the L.

I'm afraid you are wrong...teams double or dig it out of the paint irregardless of who has it. The basic principle of many defenses is to keep the ball out of the paint. There are many defensive drills worked on in practice to dig the ball out or double if it gets in there. The defensive goal is to keep the ball out of the paint....does not matter who has it. This is tempered by the opponents ability to pass out of the paint to an open three point shooter...if they only have one, rotations and assignments are simpler. If they are more dangerous as a team from three than the person with the ball in the paint you might not come or if you have an exceptional post defender but otherwise it's basic...ball in the paint, we are digging it out. So, that has nothing to do with who has it. We don't want our post defender in foul trouble and in theory it's easier to score from three feet than fifteen, plus the danger of passing it out to an open three if it gets in there means we are making the first order of defense to keep the ball out of the lane, second create panic if it gets in there to dig it out and hopefully force a turnover which you see often...it's a factor who has it but far greater is the location of the ball...ball in the paint means the defense broke down...alarms are going off, security is heightened, intensity is ramped up....not Murphy has the ball...they show Oturu the same respect.
 

Incredible that a poster said Murphy has no offensive game to speak of and he’ll end his career top 2 or 3 in program history in scoring.
 

No one has mentioned the first bucket of the game where the gophers isolated Murphy against a preseason all American and he scored using solid offensive moves.

Do coaches set that play up for a player with no offensive game?


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I'm afraid you are wrong...teams double or dig it out of the paint irregardless of who has it. The basic principle of many defenses is to keep the ball out of the paint. There are many defensive drills worked on in practice to dig the ball out or double if it gets in there. The defensive goal is to keep the ball out of the paint....does not matter who has it. This is tempered by the opponents ability to pass out of the paint to an open three point shooter...if they only have one, rotations and assignments are simpler. If they are more dangerous as a team from three than the person with the ball in the paint you might not come or if you have an exceptional post defender but otherwise it's basic...ball in the paint, we are digging it out. So, that has nothing to do with who has it. We don't want our post defender in foul trouble and in theory it's easier to score from three feet than fifteen, plus the danger of passing it out to an open three if it gets in there means we are making the first order of defense to keep the ball out of the lane, second create panic if it gets in there to dig it out and hopefully force a turnover which you see often...it's a factor who has it but far greater is the location of the ball...ball in the paint means the defense broke down...alarms are going off, security is heightened, intensity is ramped up....not Murphy has the ball...they show Oturu the same respect.

So that’s why Bakary and Gaston couldn’t score in the post[emoji12]


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0-3 in the Big 10 by a mile without Coffey!

He has really turned it up in Big 10 play.
 

Incredible that a poster said Murphy has no offensive game to speak of and he’ll end his career top 2 or 3 in program history in scoring.

Um ... ain't the first incredible thing he has posted.
 

Incredible that a poster said Murphy has no offensive game to speak of and he’ll end his career top 2 or 3 in program history in scoring.

I'm glad I can pump up the ego of all you guys up to be the expert commentators. Context to words might be relevant. Never said Murphy didn't score. It was obvious to even me he has been one of our leading scorers in a great career. He set a college record for double doubles...that requires at minimum 10 points per game. He works tirelessly on the boards and is a rebounding machine. However, in describing him I'll double down, I don't feel he has an offensive game that translates to making him a frequent go to option...unless the refs are allowing him bullrush to the hoop...on those nights he has an unstoppable offensive game.

So disagree, pick it apart and have fun... I'll be here all season.:clap: Go Gophers! Gotta love my fans! Happy New Year fellas!
 


Hyperbole alert!

Ok- maybe 3. In all honesty I've watched to see if he finishes ever with a right handed drive to the bucket and haven't seen one in the games I've watched this year.


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