***OFFICIAL LOYOLA MARYMOUNT AT MINNESOTA GAME #2 IN-GAME THREAD!!!***


He really brings nothing to the team.
It all starts with omersa gong for a block he’s not going to get. At this point in time give up the layup to protect the back side rebound on a miss.
That was actually Curry's man to box out. Once Omersa goes to help on the shot, the backside defender (Curry) has to find that other big and get a body on him. That's pretty basic help defense on the weak side. He didn't do that. Let the big guy in to make the shot and hacked him in the process. Those are the little things that Minnesota has to do better on the defensive side.

On the positive side, Minnesota did get 3 big stops in a row between the 3 and 1:46 marks and got help when LMU missed free throws. That was encouraging!
 






Gabe needs to see a sports psychologist. He isn’t even close to making 3s. Really difficult to watch. Feel bad for him.
agreed. he is clearly in his head at this point and it's too bad. you could see him talking to himself late in the game after he missed those couple back to back. form looks good, just something isn't right. perhaps he's trting to "aim" it in which never ends well
 

That was actually Curry's man to box out. Once Omersa goes to help on the shot, the backside defender (Curry) has to find that other big and get a body on him. That's pretty basic help defense on the weak side. He didn't do that. Let the big guy in to make the shot and hacked him in the process. Those are the little things that Minnesota has to do better on the defensive side.

On the positive side, Minnesota did get 3 big stops in a row between the 3 and 1:46 marks and got help when LMU missed free throws. That was encouraging!
what bailed us out more? our free throw defense or Marcus hitting shots?
 

The offense is simply putrid, other than Carr.
Love Mashburn - he will be a great player here if he sticks around.
Robbins is a big guy, just not a lot of offensive skill.
Gach is a good player. Fun to watch.
Not sure about Johnson - I dont see much offense at all. Defense appears ok.
Gabe - Feel very sorry for him. Something is really off kilter with him, and has been for some time.
Tre - really like him. Great D and can hit shots. I think he just needs more PT and some confidence.
Ihnen - I really like him on D. Needs more PT on O.
 



Well, looks like we're going to be like Purdue with Carsen Edwards a few years ago or Michigan State many years ago with Scott Skiles. We'll live or die based on him with Gach as the second option.

I hope Pitino doesn't start dog housing Ihnen like he's done with some players in the past. I know he's had a slow start but stick with him and give him some minutes.

Not a great game for the Gophers but tonight was Curry's best game so far.
 

That was actually Curry's man to box out. Once Omersa goes to help on the shot, the backside defender (Curry) has to find that other big and get a body on him. That's pretty basic help defense on the weak side. He didn't do that. Let the big guy in to make the shot and hacked him in the process. Those are the little things that Minnesota has to do better on the defensive side.

On the positive side, Minnesota did get 3 big stops in a row between the 3 and 1:46 marks and got help when LMU missed free throws. That was encouraging!
Agreed they need to rotate better but when you don’t you give up those rebounds.

my point was there was no reason for omersa to go up for the block when he was late to the rotation. Omersa is late then curry is late recognizing it and then he’s late finding the extra man that needs to be coxed out. If omersa simply stays with his man he’s there to get the rebound or at least gets fouled going for the rebound.
 

Holy crap was that an awful game. I was going to be concerned about this team for real if they didn't win easier than they did on Saturday, and they were lucky to escape with a win at all. You are at home with the (theoretically) better athletes playing the same team for the second time in a row, this should not have been a problem.

This is going to be a very long year if things don't drastically improve on both ends of the floor. I hate the lack of phsyicality from our bigs and the lack of shooting as a team overall. Both had some moments, Johnson flashed, Curry made a few key plays midway through the 2nd when it looked like the Gophers would pull away, but for the most part guys didn't put much good on tape. Marcus Carr saved this team (specifically this coach) from a really brutal loss.
Looking forward to Pitino's tweet referencing the pandemic like every tweet mentioned being "young" last year.
 

I wouldn’t doubt he is already seeing one.

he needs to stop seeing a psychologist and have a beer

Yeah, am sure gabe is so deep in his head that would need a spelunker to help him find his way back out. Only questiin is do you continue let him try to shoot his way out of it or sit him more. I have no idea.
 



Yeah, am sure gabe is so deep in his head that would need a spelunker to help him find his way back out. Only questiin is do you continue let him try to shoot his way out of it or sit him more. I have no idea.
You keep letting him shoot because even though he’s a bad shooter...he is a pretty good player in other aspects of the game

and even at 1-11 I trust him more than most other guys on the team LoL
 

Holy crap was that an awful game. I was going to be concerned about this team for real if they didn't win easier than they did on Saturday, and they were lucky to escape with a win at all. You are at home with the (theoretically) better athletes playing the same team for the second time in a row, this should not have been a problem.

This is going to be a very long year if things don't drastically improve on both ends of the floor. I hate the lack of phsyicality from our bigs and the lack of shooting as a team overall. Both had some moments, Johnson flashed, Curry made a few key plays midway through the 2nd when it looked like the Gophers would pull away, but for the most part guys didn't put much good on tape. Marcus Carr saved this team (specifically this coach) from a really brutal loss.
Looking forward to Pitino's tweet referencing the pandemic like every tweet mentioned being "young" last year.
If they miss the NCAA tourney Pitino has to be gone...
Covid and budget restraints be damned
 

Yeah, am sure gabe is so deep in his head that would need a spelunker to help him find his way back out. Only questiin is do you continue let him try to shoot his way out of it or sit him more. I have no idea.
Shooting his way out of it has been a wish for a year now. If you sit him more you may lose some D however may gain some O. Kid's shooting is brutal.
 

what bailed us out more? our free throw defense or Marcus hitting shots?
I would say that the 3 straight defensive stops at under 3 minutes bailed Minnesota out and set up the big 3 by Carr at the end. Especially when you consider that LMU was killing the Gophers on the high post screen and cut in the previous 3 minute segment of the game.

Suddenly, we started defending that better, forced some tough shots and got back into the game. If we don't defend, we wouldn't have been close enough for Carr's shot to make the difference.

That non-box out by Curry and the foul the gave LMU the And-One near the end was something that you can't let happen in a tight game.
 

You keep letting him shoot because even though he’s a bad shooter...he is a pretty good player in other aspects of the game

and even at 1-11 I trust him more than most other guys on the team LoL
More than Tre Williams? I want to see Mutaf play as well, maybe he could give us some decent minutes.
 

Not sure that robbins is justifying his wooden award nomination at this point. He is apparently working back from injury so hopefully that is part of the reason. Hard to get a read on johnson as in so much foul trouble, but feels lije he will be fine. Hated the officiating tonight both ways.
 

I would say that the 3 straight defensive stops at under 3 minutes bailed Minnesota out and set up the big 3 by Carr at the end. Especially when you consider that LMU was killing the Gophers on the high post screen and cut in the previous 3 minute segment of the game.

Suddenly, we started defending that better, forced some tough shots and got back into the game. If we don't defend, we wouldn't have been close enough for Carr's shot to make the difference.

That non-box out by Curry and the foul the gave LMU the And-One near the end was something that you can't let happen in a tight game.
That wasn't Curry's fault, Omersa stupidly left his man to try and block an already contested shot and left his guy alone under the rim. Then he fouled him on top of that.
 

Gabe reminds me of Markelle Fultz. Never thought about his shot, just shot it and it went in. Something happened and now when he shoots it looks like he goes through a 100 step process on how to do it (IE The yips) once you go down that path it is almost impossible to get out of your own way. I will agree with a previous post, I think he just needs a beer!
 

This game, again, highlighted that our offensive system is extremely problematic.

We set a down screen and then watch Marcus Carr dribble. It's similar to our offense last year (but we would occasionally dump it down low to Oturu) and really similar to two years (weave and rely on Amir). This is a major systemic failure. I think Pitino is confusing shooting a lot of 3's with running an efficient offense.

The types of shots are one thing (eliminate long 2's, get to the basket, shoot 3's, shoot FTs). However, we also need ball movement. Less dribbling and more passing.

I'm not making excuses for Gabe or any of the other shooters who are struggling but with our current system we aren't going to be a good three point shooting team and it's not just bad luck.
 


Gabe reminds me of Markelle Fultz. Never thought about his shot, just shot it and it went in. Something happened and now when he shoots it looks like he goes through a 100 step process on how to do it (IE The yips) once you go down that path it is almost impossible to get out of your own way. I will agree with a previous post, I think he just needs a beer!
The difference is Gabe's shot looks fine and Fultz developed a weird hitch into his shot. It's completely mental for Gabe whereas Fultz's mechanics are still a complete disaster.
 

This is a 6 win B10 team if they play anywhere near this in a couple weeks

I don’t see how you get 6 wins playing like this. They’ll lose games by 50 when you have Ihnen and Omersa trying to defend good bigs. Gotta learn quick this year
 

Agreed they need to rotate better but when you don’t you give up those rebounds.

my point was there was no reason for omersa to go up for the block when he was late to the rotation. Omersa is late then curry is late recognizing it and then he’s late finding the extra man that needs to be coxed out. If omersa simply stays with his man he’s there to get the rebound or at least gets fouled going for the rebound.
Omersa leaving his man gives his man inside position for the rebound.
 

Agreed they need to rotate better but when you don’t you give up those rebounds.

my point was there was no reason for omersa to go up for the block when he was late to the rotation. Omersa is late then curry is late recognizing it and then he’s late finding the extra man that needs to be coxed out. If omersa simply stays with his man he’s there to get the rebound or at least gets fouled going for the rebound.
Help defense generally means, that when your guard gets beat, you step up to challenge the shot by trying to get a hand in the face of the shooter. We could discuss whether Omersa should have left his guy earlier or jumped at the shooter or not forever, I'm not gonna argue with trying to make a strong challenge on a close-in shot, whether you have a realistic chance to block or not. The key is getting a hand up in the guys face. The thing that will get pointed out in the film session tomorrow is Curry watching the ball instead of stepping in to find and box off the weakside post and giving up a putback.
 

Not sure that robbins is justifying his wooden award nomination at this point. He is apparently working back from injury so hopefully that is part of the reason. Hard to get a read on johnson as in so much foul trouble, but feels lije he will be fine. Hated the officiating tonight both ways.

Terrible. They called 40 fouls in 30 minutes.
 


One issue I have seen versus other big ten teams is a lack of big bodies to set good picks. Also pretty easy to defend if no one can hit the three.
 




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