THWG: Ugag Game Thread

[lv20gt]

3) how did we get that last offensive foul call? I think we caught a break on that one. We never get that call.

Smith was in legal guarding position at half court establishing himself as a primary defender. This allows him to move his feet and does not require him to be set to draw a charge. The UGA player clearly initiated the contact lowering his shoulder and leaning in. Because the speed they were going, Smith getting knocked off balance caused him to tumble out of bounds. While that level of contact often goes uncalled because the defender just gets bumped back a little. Because Smith was so greatly influenced a call had to be made.

We were fortunate in the sense that usually refs swallow the whistle in those situations but it was pretty clearly the right call on replay.

 

[MtnWasp]

Smith had established a plane parallel to the ball handler and he never broke that plane. The UGA guard tried to round the corner but Smith never let him. The ballhandler broke Smith's plane. If the ball handler managed to get a shoulder past Smith when he tried to turn the corner, then it would have been blocking on Smith. But Smith beat the UGA player to the spot. It was a good call, but I agree that it was not a common call. Phenomenal defensive play.

Still trying to figure the team out. Sometimes they can shoot and play offense, sometimes they can't. Sometimes they can defend, sometimes they can't. They have a lot of holes. Some guys that we have counted on to produce and are getting minutes, are not producing. Howard facilitates on the offensive end, but can't defend the rim.

A new hole showed up against UGA: our difficulties with the zone defense. Franklin was lost. I thought Moore could be a guy in the middle but he kept tryign to dribble down into the double team. I'm thinking to try Smith down there. he can shoot from 8 feet. Or how about Kelly in the middle of the zone. He is 6'6" and our most creative player on offense. Even Deebo there. I guess you stash Franklin (or Howard) on the baseline.

The biggest mystery so far this year is Howard. Not only did he get off to a rough start he wasn't even playing! I wonder what Howard at the 5 and Franklin at the 4 on the floor together would look like.

We're a weird team right now. Things are still not settled, but we have a core of talented players: Smith, Kelly and Moore, on which to build.

We are currently ranked 193 in offensive efficiency (average) and 113th in defensive efficiency (32nd percentile which is good not great).

Fun game.

 

[UgaBlows]

I was at the game with my daughter last night, our first GT basketball game, what a nailbiter! We had a great time, it was a really fun atmosphere and our throats are sore from yelling so much. uga fans were pretty subdued and lowkey except for when Coach Key spoke and he shut them down pretty good. I agree about the offense needing to flow thru Kelly, he is a very smooth shooter and that 3-pointer and then drive for 2 with the clock winding down were clutch as hell! I was pretty disturbed that Pastner took so long to adjust defensively to the uga guard penetrating to the rim SO many times, but it worked out. THWG!

 

[orientalnc]

I made a contribution to Raphael Warnock and today got a text message, "You helped make Georgia a winner." My initial thought was, "Hell no. I would never do that!" Then I noticed it came from the campaign.

 

[Jack]

One thing I know as fact when it comes to cbb officiating is there's no such thing as "clear" offensive charging.

That's what makes the call we got so strange. They usually just ignore it or botch it.

The telltale sign in a charge is the push off with the arm and that is what happened last nite

 

[gdamian]

When we were recruiting him, I said he was one of those players that likes to "try sh!t"...that is, he's creative in the way he gets to the bucket or opens up space to get a shot off. I think he's starting to get more confidence that he can be successful "trying sh!t". That's good, because at this level you have to find a way to be successful. GT needs that...and we need others that can do that as well.

This is still a young team. A good majority of this team were role players last year, and now they're stepping into a role of being a starter or playing more minutes. As I said earlier in the season, this team will be much better later in the season than they are now. Some of the games so far have been ugly, but that's to be expected due to our youth and roster composition. Hopefully we can iron out the wrinkles as we approach league play.

Except that four of the eight guys in the rotation are seniors. I like the other four but we need more horses than that.

 

[Rzunz]

Lots of key moments. The 3 by Kelly down 4 with just over a minute remaining was probably the biggest (and the drive to take the lead). The Dwags had 3 possessions at the end with 0 points. Way to go guys!

 

[orientalnc]

The telltale sign in a charge is the push off with the arm and that is what happened last nite

When you lower your shoulder into the opponent's chest, it is almost always a charge. Some calls are close, but that was an easy one for the ref. And, a nice defensive play by Smith who got called called for blocking earlier in the game on a similar play.

 

[lv20gt]

Except that four of the eight guys in the rotation are seniors. I like the other four but we need more horses than that.

I don't think young is a good descriptor overall.

Ideally, Howard and Sturdivant would be make up the core with maybe Franklin and one of the sophs stepping in as well while the other sophs would be role players. Instead that is reversed. The sophs (Coleman, Kelly, Smith, Moore) are the core that are driving the team while the upperclassmen are the supporting cast (which is what you need). We'll lose Franklin next year and Howard/Sturdivant/Terry the year after, but if we keep those 4 sophs together until they are seniors that will be a great core for us. You're right that we need more than just those 4, but I think one of our two biggest issues at the moment is that group is developing the sense of how to control the game. When to get the ball, how to force the issue, how to generate the looks we need, etc etc. That's where I would say "we are young".

The second issue, and I think this somewhat ties to the first, is the coaching staff needs to adjust to the team. Forcing the high post look with this team just doesn't make sense. It doesn't really suit Howard of Franklin, and we're much better with the ball in the hands of our wings and guard. Pastner needs to adjust. I know the "team is the star" but the reality is the stars on this team are going to be those sophs. The rest can shine here or there but those need to be the focal points that we play off of.

 

[Root4GT]

I don't think young is a good descriptor overall.

Ideally, Howard and Sturdivant would be make up the core with maybe Franklin and one of the sophs stepping in as well while the other sophs would be role players. Instead that is reversed. The sophs (Coleman, Kelly, Smith, Moore) are the core that are driving the team while the upperclassmen are the supporting cast (which is what you need). We'll lose Franklin next year and Howard/Sturdivant/Terry the year after, but if we keep those 4 sophs together until they are seniors that will be a great core for us. You're right that we need more than just those 4, but I think one of our two biggest issues at the moment is that group is developing the sense of how to control the game. When to get the ball, how to force the issue, how to generate the looks we need, etc etc. That's where I would say "we are young".

The second issue, and I think this somewhat ties to the first, is the coaching staff needs to adjust to the team. Forcing the high post look with this team just doesn't make sense. It doesn't really suit Howard of Franklin, and we're much better with the ball in the hands of our wings and guard. Pastner needs to adjust. I know the "team is the star" but the reality is the stars on this team are going to be those sophs. The rest can shine here or there but those need to be the focal points that we play off of.

Howard/Sturdivant/Terry have a Covid year left if they want. There is zero assurance they will be at GT next year. Smith is also a Covid Sophomore, actually a 3rd year college player. The 3 true sophomores are showing signs they can be good ACC BB players. If they can be more consistent they can form a solid core for the team. Getting there but still have a ways to go yet.

 

[MWBATL]

When we were recruiting him, I said he was one of those players that likes to "try sh!t"...that is, he's creative in the way he gets to the bucket or opens up space to get a shot off. I think he's starting to get more confidence that he can be successful "trying sh!t". That's good, because at this level you have to find a way to be successful. GT needs that...and we need others that can do that as well.

This is still a young team. A good majority of this team were role players last year, and now they're stepping into a role of being a starter or playing more minutes. As I said earlier in the season, this team will be much better later in the season than they are now. Some of the games so far have been ugly, but that's to be expected due to our youth and roster composition. Hopefully we can iron out the wrinkles as we approach league play.

Hard to iron out being a small team.

 

[MWBATL]

I made a contribution to Raphael Warnock and today got a text message, "You helped make Georgia a winner." My initial thought was, "Hell no. I would never do that!" Then I noticed it came from the campaign.

I know your intentions were pure, but politics is illegal on this board...(LOL)

 

[orientalnc]

I know your intentions were pure, but politics is illegal on this board...(LOL)

In a thread with THWG in the title I should be OK saying I helped defeat Herschel Walker.

 

[1979jacket]

Kelly gives me hope. Smith can do some things with speed and as a defender. What concerns me is a lack of size in a difficult conference. Although Howard can be a clog to the motion offense, we are going to have to play him for rebounding and rim protection. Nice W last night but we really should have a little more talent for a coach in his seventh year. I'm pulling for the guys. They do play hard for CJP.

 

[GTJason]

It looks like everyone is starting to maybe figure out their roles a bit. I think we are a Deebo Coleman away from being pretty good. He's a great basketball player but doesn't really know his role on the team yet. IMO it looks like we have more talent at most positions (at least 1-4) than we've had in a while but getting everyone to play as a team on offense and play some of our complicated defensive sets is going to take some time. We managed to get out of the first part of the season without a bad loss and the losses are starting to look like they were to good teams which is okay. We just need to avoid the really bad losses in conference now to UL and FSU. It's obviously too early to think about dancing but with a down conference this team might be able to put together a resume... or I'm crazy.

Also regarding the offensive foul last night. Their PG was shoving Smith all night, most of the time into the set screen which is one of the reasons it was so effective. I'm surprised they called it and I hate inconsistency but it worked out for the good guys

 

[Peacone36]

One thing I’d like to see is Deivon control the throttle a bit better. It’s great that he’s fast, he can be a home run hitter and that’s great but just because you’re a race car, doesn’t mean you always have to run in the red. He needs to learn to be fast when it puts us in a position to benefit from that speed, and not get himself into trouble.

That lob in the first half that Giannis couldn’t have come down with is a decent example. Just playing too dang fast.

Two quote Dennis Hopper from True Romance, “slow it down, man!”

 

[alagold]

I was flipping around nervously with sound down, afraid I’d bring bad luck. Finally locked in, turned up sound, we hit a 3, kept the lead for a close win.
Gotta watch the replay now, easier knowing the outcome.
Ok so we’re struggling, but a game like this is something you can build upon.
To hell, to hell, to hell with Georgia, the cesspool of the south, btw.

Yep, I wait and tape every game so I know the score going in,Great for my nerves.

 

[alagold]

Good win to say the least. BUT--its scary that we shot that well ,hit FTs and had good TOs/.assts and still almost lost at home vs an avg team. Still guys made plays which is very positive.

 

[bke1984]

The more I watch Moore the more I want to watch more Moore.

I honestly think he’s the best talent on the team. He reminds me of Moses without the overwhelming confidence that Moses had when younger. If he builds that confidence, Jalon is going to be a VERY good player.

 

[bke1984]

Good win to say the least. BUT--its scary that we shot that well ,hit FTs and had good TOs/.assts and still almost lost at home vs an avg team. Still guys made plays which is very positive.

They pretty much beat us in every phase of the game except turnovers and free throws. Gutsy win. We played harder than they did and the crowd affected them down the stretch. Welcome to college ball. TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!