Mr. Yost

November 13th, 2012 at 9:55 PM ^

He's definitely become a leader. I'll be honest, he was a selfish player last year. But this year it's been a 180, he clearly doesn't care about the NBA, stats, or any indiv. recognition.

It's okay to say something negative about players guys, especially when they've said it about themselves.

Mr. Yost

November 13th, 2012 at 9:44 PM ^

Do we take anything from the lack of execution and turnovers when CSU went zone and brought up the pressure?

It was an issue last year that we didn't have any help for Burke. In my eyes, no panic, but definitely need to work on it.

So many BAD, I mean TERRIBLE shots in the 2nd half.

Wendyk5

November 13th, 2012 at 9:52 PM ^

I don't know much about basketball, but is it possible that a good team loses interest when they're playing a team that doesn't challenge them? It just seems like in such a fast-paced game, if you don't have good push back from the other team, it would be easy to get complacent. 

Mr. Yost

November 13th, 2012 at 9:58 PM ^

But we weren't good vs. pressure last year, whether it was zone or man pressure. When teams took the ball out of Burke's hands --- we couldn't really function.

IMO we've still got to get better with this. Also, I think using 2 PGs is a good idea when Burke can really shoot the ball. This way if Burke has to give it up, Spike can start the offense and Burke just plays the 2.

You wouldn't do this all the time, but CSU --- like most teams, go small against us when trying to pressure.

Needs

November 13th, 2012 at 9:52 PM ^

I think they just have to remember to move and to keep the ball moving. There was a bit too much ball stopping against the zone trap and that allowed the zone to get set, rather than forcing it to adjust.

Mr. Yost

November 13th, 2012 at 9:50 PM ^

Whether he starts or not, I think minutes is the important number.

I think he'll get 8-10 miunutes a game no matter if he starts. I could see him playing until the first media timeout each half.

It'll depend on Stauskas getting better on the defensive end too, he looks below average tonight and Vogrich's experience showed, he was in help side and grabbed boards. Stauskas right now is offense only. That should/will change as the season goes along and you'll see him minutes go up and Vongrich's minutes come down.

Needs

November 13th, 2012 at 9:56 PM ^

I agree. The disappearance of the shooting stroke of the guy who was pretty universally regarded as the best shooter in the nation when he came out of high school is a mystery, but right now, he's reliable on defense, gets some steals and tough rebounds, and is generally a calming presence. At this point, it's probably too much to hope that he rediscovers his shooting stroke to be a 45% 3-point guy, but he'll serve a very useful role on this team.

MGoBender

November 13th, 2012 at 9:49 PM ^

I hereby proclaim Mitch McGary "King of the Chest Pass."  Dude has superhuman wrists and forearms. Those passes are on frozen ropes with no effort.

Mr. Yost

November 13th, 2012 at 9:53 PM ^

When he gets a better feel for the college game, he's going to be VERY good. I see him learning a lot this year. Next year I think he'll come into his own. And his Junior year, that's when I think he becomes an NBA first round type player that's not just drafted off potential.

He's got to develop some post moves, he's got to catch those passes cleaner downlow. Right now he looks like he's still learning how to play in his body and he's still a little raw. Give him a couple years of natural progression and we've got a Hansbrough/Sullinger type player on our hands.

TTUwolverine

November 13th, 2012 at 10:13 PM ^

we are averaging a cool 35 point margin of victory... today being our closest game yet at 30.  If you want to include exhibitions, that number moves to 33.8.  There is only one thing we can conclude from this evidence.  We play down to our competition.  SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.

Michigan4Life

November 13th, 2012 at 10:43 PM ^

But told ya Butterfield. Cleveland State is not good at all and Michigan blew them out of the water like a top 5 team should do. The first real test will be Pittsburgh. They're not as good as they used to be but still a solid team.

Drbogue

November 13th, 2012 at 10:47 PM ^

Best quote of the night from the color guy tonight: (talking about Denard Robinson) "preparing for the Hawkeyes this weekend. I believe if they win they'll win the Big Ten Title." If only...

Cold War

November 14th, 2012 at 6:23 AM ^

OT a bit. What's happened to the quality of this tournament? Scanning the list of participants, it seems a far cry from some of the fields I recall.