ND

[ToxicShock]

Can anyone give me the scoop on notre dame? I didn't get to see the game today but they apparently handled IU with ease. They seem to be flying under the radar and the only thing I know about them is harangody.

I'm a little worried about tomorrow night's game as we didn't play as well as I thought we should have and ND won by almost 40 over a traditional bball power. What do they do well besides their big man? Are their guards any good? Is IU that bad?

Thanks

 

[Third Coast]

I only caught part of the game, but IU is not a good basketball team. Crean should get things turned around eventually, but this is going to be a tough year. Sampson left that program in shambles.

 

[Hornoholic]

IU is a very bad basketball team right now and ND is pretty damn good. They're ranked 8th, right behind us.

Harangody is a solid college basketball player

Their pg (Jackson) is very underrated imo. I think he led the big east in assist last year. Very scrappy.

They have a pot head (McAlarney) (not that there's anything wrong with that

) with absolutely unlimited range.

and a couple of big time shooters in Ayers and Zeller (a former mcdonald's AA whose brother is a freshman at UNC)

That being said IU posed absolutely no defense today. It's easy to shoot when no one's around

And, in turn, ND's defense is very suspect. Soft man-to-man. I look for them to mix in a little zone vs Texas.

We'll see. Should be a good game. I don't anticipate a blow out by either team

Our offense is still trying to find an identity w/o Augustin and their defense blows imo. So who knows...

 

[TexanWolv]

Yeah...don't let the Indiana name fool you. IU has 8 freshman, including 3 walk-ons. They have 3 transfers and I don't think they are from any noticable programs either. They were terrible.

ND looked solid but I think Texas should take them provided we don't keep handing the ball to them on the offensive side of the ball.

 

[Third Coast]

6 pm CST (2 pm Maui) on ESPN and ESPN360.com

Should be a good one.

 

[SL Xpress]

My kuestions for this game...

On offense:

- will Texas run any ball screen? People complain about the lack of dribble penetration, but the style of offense isn't helping any. Augustin would have had a much tougher time with dribble penetration in the motion system we've seen so far

- will Texas take better care of the ball? I get they're not going to lead the nation in fewest turnovers again, but they've been really sloppy so far.

Of course, Notre Dame is one of the worst teams in the country at creating turnovers, so if Texas can't cut down on the turnovers against the Fighting Irish, they'll have a tough time with teams like UCLA and Michigan State, not to mention a possible UNC skuad.

- will the big men do a better job of converting? I think Chapman has potential, but he needs to do something at some point in time. Missing bunnies over and over isn't doing anything to ingratiate himself with the fans, or to reward the team for emphasizing getting the ball inside. Same thing to a lesser extent for Pittman, Johnson, et al..

- on a related note, is there any chance some of these guys could think about passing it out to an open man if they're doubled down low? The passing out of the post is abysmal unless it's Atchley. Of course, this has always been the case with Barnes' teams through the years, so I doubt it will change. I think Barnes likes his big men being aggressive with the ball, thinking even if they don't make the shot, they'll draw the foul --- which is often true.

- will Atchley please play a predominant part of the first half? He missed significant time against both Stetson and St. Joe's. It's no coincidence those were the worst two offensive halves in terms of appearance, of the year.

- will Justin Mason score? He's starting to piss me off. Take a ******* shot, Justin! 3.7ppg after 3 games is abysmal. He looks like a ***** out there, and he's no *****. Time to let them hang.

- will Ward and James calm down a little? They both have talent --- James NBA lottery talent. They look to anxious on the offensive end.

- will Wangmene earn more minutes? His 9 minutes against St. Joe's were staggeringly effective. He's inconsistent, but that kind of productivity --- especially given the state of malaise the team was in at the time --- deserves to be rewarded.

- how many minutes will Pittman receive, and how productive will he be? I didn't think he'd only be playing 12 minutes a game. Can he have success against Harangody? It'd be nice to get Harangody in early foul trouble.

- can AJ continue his torrid shooting from the 3 point line? With only Atchley and James as the other Longhorns making one from that distance, the team looks like it's going to rely on Abrams for long range scoring more than it ever has.

On defense:

- how will UT's pressure affect an opponent with multiple ball handlers that loves transition? If Texas can force Notre Dame to turn the ball over, it goes a long ways towards securing a victory, because NO ONE turns Notre Dame over with any consistency. They're one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country.

- can Harangody be slowed down? Last year, Notre Dame was more dependent on Harangody for shots and scoring than any other team was dependent on any other single player. He's a complete player, with an advanced back to the basket game, and a good face up game, too. I'll be shocked if he doesn't score 20. It might be classified as a good defensive effort if Texas can keep him under 30 with 15 rebounds.

A big part of defending Harangody will be perimeter pressure to make it tougher to get the ball inside.

- how well will Texas defend the 3 point line? This Texas team has been amazing at defending the 3 point stripe --- the best by far I've seen under Barnes. They're very aggressive in pressuring the ball on the perimeter, and their close outs are tremendous, and intimidating. Notre Dame is an elite 3 point shooting team, with shooters all over the floor. Ironically, their point guard, Tory Jackson, is the one guy I don't worry about from outside, but the rest of their starters can convert from that distance, even though Harangody doesn't attempt much from out there.

- Can Texas improve its transition defense? And watch out for defending the 3 point line in transition.

As a Duke disciple, Brey has no problems with his team pulling up behind the arc in transition and letting it fly. Given how hard Texas pressures the ball in the half court, that may be ND's best chance to get open looks from out there.

Texas has not done a great job with transition defense. That's to be expected with a team that's been as aggressive on the ball full court as Texas has the 1st three games, and it's paid off. Now they're playing a team that wants to play at a high tempo. ND is actually at their weakest at a slow tempo, as Washington State showed last year in the NCAA tournament. Well, that's not the Longhorns' game, so whatever pressure UT exerts, they're going to have to be cognizant of getting back and getting on shooters or else they're going to have their pressure defense thrown right back in their face with easy buckets on the other end all night long.

Texas needs to come out of this tournament 2-1. I don't mind a loss to Notre Dame --- they're a legitimate top 10 team that matches up well with Texas in many regards. However, they have no business losing to Oregon if that were the case. A win over Notre Dame gives them a puncher's chance versus North Carolina, and another excellent test in the early season.

Anyway, those are a few things I'm thinking about going into tonights game. We'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Vasherized]

SL,

I'm taking up a fund to get you a new keyboard with a functioning Q for Christmas.

As for your kuestions, here are my thoughts:

This team is still trying to settle in its own skin without Augustin. Abrams isn't a vocal leader even if his teammates have confidence that he can bail us out of a jam.

I have no answers for why Damion is so jumpy and Mason is so hesitant but I have to think it's temporary. I think Mason steps up tonight and plays up to the competition instead of drifting around the perimeter playing hesitant basketball -- it's certainly not his M.O.

Chapman needs to assert himself as well. He has the talent but is similar to Atchley in his early days that he lacks confidence in his abilities. He's one of those guys that drains every shot in practice and turns pale in live action.

Ward and Balbay will hopefully settle down as well.

This is one downfall to playing an honest 11 man rotation, it's going to take the new guys longer to gel with the different rotations on the floor.

I'd like to see Barnes reign that in a bit and go with the guys playing well right now, i.e. Johnson and Wangmene, to see if it carries over to the next game.

Pittman hasn't been fully unleashed. He should be getting 17 minutes a game and it looks like he's still getting the kid glove treatment. He's a difference maker in there and needs to impose his will early on against Harangody like he did with the Stanford twins.

Brey encourages to shoot at every open look and I'm worried how our team claws back if they if those shots are falling and we're facing an early double digit deficit. We haven't been tested yet this year and that's where a heady Augustin can regroup the guys, hit some deep 3's and say "I got this".

Balbay certainly doesn't exude that cool and calm demeanor. I'd love for him to knock down a few shots just to settle his nerves and play the game like he can.

I'm not expecting a win tonight but I do think Damion James is capable of dominating at anytime and that alone could keep us in it if the role players do their part.

We have to force a lot of turnovers from their guards without giving up too many ourselves.

 

[SL Xpress]

Yeah, this "cue" thing is bugging the heck out of me. I keep avoiding words like "skuad" or "ekualizer" or "kualifying."

I think I'm going to copy a "cue" to a document, and then just copy and paste it when I need one.

 

[Vasherized]

Or unequivocally disappointing half court offense.

And more questionable shot selections by Damion James.

A very quiet night from Connor Atchley.

That finish put me in a quarrelsome mood.

 

[GemStateJim]

In reply to:

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[SL Xpress]

yep, but this is a laptop, and I don't feel like going through the hassle of hooking up a keyboard to it. At some point I'll get a new laptop, and the problem will be solved.