Balbay V. OSU

caryhorn

caryhorn

5,000+ Posts
NOt his best game. He made his first poins at the 17min mark of the 2nd half. OSU is not guarding him till he's within 12 feet or so of the hoop. Any other guard on the team gets guarded from the 3 point line on in. Including Lucas.

All our opponents now are sagging down, off Balbay and making our inside game much tougher. TT's stats reflect this. And we are forced to take more long range shots. Ham's inside game almost disappears when Balbay is in.

I would like to see J'co getting more minutes. Whether he takes shots or not, it opens up shots for Ham and TT and Johnson Closer to the hoop.

Don't think this will hurt us much against the likes of osu. But it will in the March tourney.
 
Our team's offense and the other teams approach to defending our team. Not bashing on Balbay. I love balbay. He is a great leader, hustler and team player.

But other teams, who match up well with us, like we will see in March, will take advantage of the situation I describe in the OP.
 
So what you're saying is Balbay being in the game takes away opportunities inside, correct? Well, it looks to me like TT, JH, and JCB all have sweet touches from the outside, so I don't see why that's such a huge problem.

Besides, taking away balbay could force Texas into a shootout. Texas' specialty this year has been, as always, defense. So why would you bank on the horns winning a game via something we're not as adept at?

And doesn't the mantra go, "Defense wins championships"?
 
With Balbay starting the opponent usually has the clock hit double digits in minutes before they hit double digits in points. With him starting we have lead start to finish for 6 straight games. Just saying stats may be for losers, but in this case they don't lie. Balbay sets the tempo on defense and by the time the other team recovers, it's ball game.
 
Balbay's stopping of opponents scoring leaders and his presence to alter shots and penetration counts as points for us. Think of the guys he has blanked or kept WAY below their average. That's like scoring, no?

And he has shown that he can drain some shots and he can penetrate the paint and either score or dish off for an assist, maybe even set up a trey.

I hope teams do overplay/underplay him and underestimate him.
 
So wait a second... you're telling us that our opponents are "NOW" sagging off? When did that start happening? I haven't been paying attention yet, because last I noticed they were really zoned in on denying him the jumper. I guess it was only a matter of time before someone actually scouted him...
 
The point that Balbay needs to get back to driving to the hole and scoring a few buckets is a valid point. He is very explosive with great elevation. He can often beat his man to the rim and then either score it, dish to Thompson/Johnson or kick it out. He doesn't need to do it that often just enough to make the opposing defense respect him on the court a little more. He has been doing a better job this season of doing this at times but as mentioned the last 2 games he has not done this.
 
That's exactly the point that was made. The last 2 games he hasn't taken it to the hoop and made the opposing defense respect him on the offensive side. It could hurt in tournament play if he were to continue to do this. I am pleased though that I have seen him do this in other games this year, compared to last year, and now I know he has it in him. Not too worried.
 
Wow, you're very argumentative lately. I will buy you a virtual beer. Cheers.

Balbay is a beast defensively, no doubt.

hookem.gif
 
OSU wasn't stupid. They knew of the kind of havoc Balbay wreaked in previous games. They denied him driving lanes. I kept waiting for him to drive and he stopped short time and again because it wasn't there. Balbay is smart. When was the last time he was called for an offensive charge? (On the other hand, J'Covan gets called for it in every other game.)

When the defense sags off, he now gives up the ball to Joseph or Hamilton and looks for rebounding opportunities. I think OSU defended Balbay pretty well because they paid close attention to him. I'm sure that made it easier for the other guys to step up.

By the way, is it just me or does J'Covan have much better 3-pt. shot accuracy from the right side of the basket? I cringe when he shoots from the left side of the basket and he seems to miss every time.
 
And he still got his 5 pts. Which works for me in the grand scheme of things. He does so much on the defensive side.
hookem.gif
 
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