"The Bucking Bronco"
If the WCC conference is any indication of how the NCAA tournament might play out this year - fasten your seat belts!!
WAIT A MINUTE....Portland beats both Gonzaga and BYU, then loses to then cellar dweller San Diego, while USF wins 4 of its first 5 games without Cody Doolin. Loyola and Pepperdine also beat BYU - then WE beat both Portland and St. Mary's - AT St. Mary's - for the first time in the Kerry Keating era as a result of 2nd half shooting, where we were so HOT, we shut down the Moraga electrical grid!!
THEN - last night, we took the Zags to the final 2 seconds - before.....Well you know....
THEN - last night, we took the Zags to the final 2 seconds - before.....Well you know....
Got it? I'm glad you do....The WCC is the "Forest Gump" conference of NCAA Men's Basketball....Cause you never know.....
Which brings me the Broncos. My preseason league conference record prediction was
W 7 - L 11.
I'm thinking maybe 1 or 2 wins shy of that. St. Mary's aside, the Broncos have been - well, inconsistent is a little too kind. Flashes of brilliance of a team they CAN become, followed by "ruts" that even Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge's great scoring can't dig them out of. Are we just ONE player away from competing for a title??
Maybe this will just be a "bi-polar" season.....
I don't need to tell you, the fans, the story - you know. Short Version - we have been unable to shoot, defend (especially the paint), and rebound with the consistency required to challenge for the middle position in the League.
I should pause here - these are my observations and recap of the stats. After meeting with Coach Keating before the Conference games started (a subject of a future article) and despite my requests, he is unavailable during the rest of the season for comments.... So you'll have to live with mine.
Some Relevant Stats: WCC Games Only - as of 1/29/14
W 7 - L 11.
I'm thinking maybe 1 or 2 wins shy of that. St. Mary's aside, the Broncos have been - well, inconsistent is a little too kind. Flashes of brilliance of a team they CAN become, followed by "ruts" that even Brandon Clark and Jared Brownridge's great scoring can't dig them out of. Are we just ONE player away from competing for a title??
Maybe this will just be a "bi-polar" season.....
I don't need to tell you, the fans, the story - you know. Short Version - we have been unable to shoot, defend (especially the paint), and rebound with the consistency required to challenge for the middle position in the League.
I should pause here - these are my observations and recap of the stats. After meeting with Coach Keating before the Conference games started (a subject of a future article) and despite my requests, he is unavailable during the rest of the season for comments.... So you'll have to live with mine.
Some Relevant Stats: WCC Games Only - as of 1/29/14
- FG% - Offense 42.8% - 9th in WCC
- FG% - Defense 48.0% - 10th in WCC
- 3Pt % - Offense 38% - 5th in WCC - we have tried 50 more 3pt shots than next highest team
- Scoring - 69 points per game - 9th in WCC
- Scoring Defense - 73.7 points per game - 10th in WCC
- Offensive Rebounding - 10th in WCC
- Defensive Rebounding - 9th in WCC
- Turnover Margin - 3rd in WCC
- Total Ave. Attendance - 9th in WCC
For more WCC Stats follow this link:
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On the individual side, Jared Brownridge and Brandon Clark are ranked 2nd & 3rd in points per game and have been terrific. Brownridge is a "stone cold shooter", over 51% from the floor and 46% behind the 3pt line. He's putting up these numbers even though EVERY opponent knows to put him in "lockdown".
Last night, the Zags used a very creative "baseline" zone to limit his touches and it worked - only 7 shots.
Most people probably thought - oh no! We lost at the buzzer - but IMHO we lost it from the 15:44 -10:40 mark in the 2nd half - 7 empty offensive possessions and 2 critical offensive rebounds by the Zags turned into points. Add Gary Bell's clutch shooting during that span - that was big. We fought back - HARD - but the Zags have what all really good teams have and what we NEED - a 4th or even 5th option.- a Sam Dower.
Brandon, just flat out competes... Making the tough shot, the right pass - full out...
Last night, the Zags used a very creative "baseline" zone to limit his touches and it worked - only 7 shots.
Most people probably thought - oh no! We lost at the buzzer - but IMHO we lost it from the 15:44 -10:40 mark in the 2nd half - 7 empty offensive possessions and 2 critical offensive rebounds by the Zags turned into points. Add Gary Bell's clutch shooting during that span - that was big. We fought back - HARD - but the Zags have what all really good teams have and what we NEED - a 4th or even 5th option.- a Sam Dower.
Brandon, just flat out competes... Making the tough shot, the right pass - full out...
Evan has been slower to get into mid season form. Things just seem a little off - the shot, the pass, the timing of those - I wonder if the back is balking...but last night he finally played "like Evan".
When I say "are we ONE player away" - yes, one for sure and maybe two. Not guards...I'd love to see at least one John Bryant type in a Yannick Atanga body...Power, touch, AND agility. My wish list.
With our remaining games, I see NO "gimmies". I'd say LMU, but we don't seem to play well in their building - weird particles or some kind of Voodoo spell...
One thing I do know - for us to grow - it needs to be an "inside job".
With our remaining games, I see NO "gimmies". I'd say LMU, but we don't seem to play well in their building - weird particles or some kind of Voodoo spell...
One thing I do know - for us to grow - it needs to be an "inside job".
Another classic loss to Gonzaga, we get up for the game but fail to execute when it really matters.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting stats on how we stack up to the rest of the WCC. Very telling that even though we are a "3 point shooting team" we barely crack the top 5 in the conference. I agree that an inside player would do wonders. Even to just force the defense to space the floor better and provide spacing for our shooters to whip the ball around the perimeter for more open looks.