Bear Down Wildcats

EVCat wrote:what is with this playing ASU twice in the first 6 conference games?

@ Oregon
@ Oregon St.
Utah
Colorado
@ ASU (????)
@ Washington

Then, finally, a chance to take a breath, maybe, vs the Cougs, but that is at Pullman so don't get too loose.

Gauntlet time. I see getting out of that 6 game run at 4-2 as being a positive result.

It's good to get tested in conference for the first time in a bit.

dmjcat wrote:

EVCat wrote:what is with this playing ASU twice in the first 6 conference games?

@ Oregon
@ Oregon St.
Utah
Colorado
@ ASU (????)
@ Washington

Then, finally, a chance to take a breath, maybe, vs the Cougs, but that is at Pullman so don't get too loose.

Gauntlet time. I see getting out of that 6 game run at 4-2 as being a positive result.

I agree and the key game for me is the OSU game. We haven't played well on the road and OSU is playing very well at the moment. I will not be surprised if we are swept this week.

OSU is playing very well? If you say so. That 49 points they put up against a 6-6 Texas A&M team a few games ago must be proof of that. Their 1-3-1 zone killed Colorado I'll give you that, but outside of their win against CU this past weekend their best win all year is against 7-6 Iowa State.

I think we can agree that OSU has been a tough out for us in Corvallis. But we have the personnel to react to whatever they have going on, and are superior at every matchup...they have two guys who can be better than us on any given night in Tinkle and Thompson, but they aren't better than their opponent straight up.

While we know Tinkle can impact a game, it is Thompson that worries me more and is the key player to shut down from my POV. Thompson has been very efficient and scoring in bunches lately, save the A&M debacle. Dude has started every game in his 3 years in Corvallis, and is one of those players who can get hot out of nowhere. This season, his FG% is at 47.9, but that is pretty deceptive based on what he has been doing lately, as he started off the year with a series of high shot volume disasters. He has hit 36-62 (58%) in their last 6 games (including the 2-8 brickfest vs A&M), scoring over 20 in 4 of their last 6, while dishing 5 assists a game (30) vs 2.6 turnovers (16), so right about 2:1 ATO. 3 point shooting is alright (8 of 20 during this 6 game lookback, but 3 games of 0-fer). He has gotten better each year,, and while Tinkle will do all the dirty work and get the "hard worker" awards (hmm), Thompson gets shots up, has the ball in his hands with threat to score or pass, and is a very effective rebounder for a guard with nearly 5 per game.

Oregon is the big one. But we need to make Thompson uncomfortable early in the 2nd half of this trip. We shouldn't lose in Corvallis, but they are good enough to make us pay if we aren't ready to go after Oregon.

Any time you get two guys in these sleepy road games who can get hot for an overmatched opponent, you have to stay aware. But we should be able to wear Thompson out

2-0 this week. It's happening.

Beachcat97 wrote:2-0 this week. It's happening.

Co-signed

I think people fall into the trap that this years "good" teams are as good as previous years "good" teams...but to be honest just look at the BB landscape...being #1 was a curse until Gonzaga hit it at the right time (and will hold it until the end)...major teams have lost to unranked teams every week this season...

So going into Eugene or Corvallis thinking that this years Oregon trip is going to be tougher than ever is an illusion...the Ducks are always good at home, but they don't have any super stand out player that we can't match up against...and we just saw Mannion handle his business against one of the most experienced PG's in the Pac 12, Remy got his 20 but at the expense of the rest of the starters scoring only half that much...when you make the game about one set of match ups then its the rest of the team that makes the difference and frankly OSU is weak with no outstanding player as is Oregon...maybe a blip here or there, but no Josh Green/Zeke level and definitely no Baker/Hazzard/Kokolo/Gettings depth...

Our bench is the difference this year...take it to the bank.

Altman will have a game plan against Zeke, and the first half will look dismal...but we've been there before and the second half will be ours...look for a Dylan Smith go to the rim kind of game.

OSU will throw zone at us, because everyone still believes the misconception that we don't handle zone well, but between Jeter and Zeke we will dismantle that illusion...

I also have a really good feeling about this road trip.
The OSU game has that traditional feel of a trap game. But I think in reality, we are just gonna work them.

I would expect Tinkle to have a field day if Nnaji is guarding him. I could see him going for 30 if that is the case.

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:2-0 this week. It's happening.

Co-signed

I think people fall into the trap that this years "good" teams are as good as previous years "good" teams...but to be honest just look at the BB landscape...being #1 was a curse until Gonzaga hit it at the right time (and will hold it until the end)...major teams have lost to unranked teams every week this season...

So going into Eugene or Corvallis thinking that this years Oregon trip is going to be tougher than ever is an illusion...the Ducks are always good at home, but they don't have any super stand out player that we can't match up against...and we just saw Mannion handle his business against one of the most experienced PG's in the Pac 12, Remy got his 20 but at the expense of the rest of the starters scoring only half that much...when you make the game about one set of match ups then its the rest of the team that makes the difference and frankly OSU is weak with no outstanding player as is Oregon...maybe a blip here or there, but no Josh Green/Zeke level and definitely no Baker/Hazzard/Kokolo/Gettings depth...

Our bench is the difference this year...take it to the bank.

I hope you are right. We are 1-6 in the "Matt", and that is a tough roadie against a very good and tested team. We haven't handled the tests well so far. Hopefully, the discipline of the ASU game carries over, but we have to eliminate the missed opportunities. Seems weird to say given the final score, but there were so many bunnies/easy points left on the table, and there was a time when I was worried about that coming back to bite us...very early in the 2nd half. Then we crushed their will to live. Against Oregon, we can't get blocked at the rim 17 times, or miss layups on drives/alley oop dunks.

We won't be favored, and we shouldn't be. But we can win if we value taking the right shot, be it early in offense or late. Just make it the right shot, not the "I can make this" force

StickItInTheyFace wrote:I also have a really good feeling about this road trip.
The OSU game has that traditional feel of a trap game. But I think in reality, we are just gonna work them.

would be far worse if we played them Thursday ahead of Oregon

StickItInTheyFace wrote:I also have a really good feeling about this road trip.
The OSU game has that traditional feel of a trap game. But I think in reality, we are just gonna work them.

If you look at OSU getting beat downs it was always against uptempo teams(OU/TaTM...and also where the post game dominated (Utes beat the crap outta them in the post)...if they throw a 1-3-1 they will get dunked on at ludicrous speeds...

We need a near flawless defensive game vs. Oregon. Really gotta make Pritchard uncomfortable, which isn't easy.

Beachcat97 wrote:We need a near flawless defensive game vs. Oregon. Really gotta make Pritchard uncomfortable, which isn't easy.

If the refs do the typical "home cooking" style game there it could be the "X" factor...

I've noticed a lot of that this year, higher ranked teams get the benefit of the call in disproportionate amounts...inconsistency and then at the end a bunch of meaningless "make up calls" to even out the ratio...

Miller has made an emphasis on guarding without fouling and I noticed in the ASU game when Dylan picked up his 3 foul he didn't even look at Miller he just went straight to the bench, but on his fourth foul Miller was encouraging him...I have never been on the Dylan Smith fanwagon...but he does bring stuff to the table that is intangible and I trust Miller...I can guarantee Pritchard is going to go straight at Zeke to take him out of the game...if Jeter plays smart he can get a bunch of charges and turn the tables a bit.

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:..I can guarantee Pritchard is going to go straight at Zeke to take him out of the game...if Jeter plays smart he can get a bunch of charges and turn the tables a bit.

Based on our last game and Miller saying they need to take it to the rim... I am a little concerned we might be overly aggressive early and fall into the same trap. Hopefully Miller is telling them that Oregon will be ready inside.

baycat93 wrote:

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:..I can guarantee Pritchard is going to go straight at Zeke to take him out of the game...if Jeter plays smart he can get a bunch of charges and turn the tables a bit.

Based on our last game and Miller saying they need to take it to the rim... I am a little concerned we might be overly aggressive early and fall into the same trap. Hopefully Miller is telling them that Oregon will be ready inside.

I was looking at Oregons loss to UNC/Zags/Buffs...one thing was common in all three games, oregon got beat on the boards...when they beat Michigan the rebounds were tied at 32...

UNC took them to school on rebounds...Zags and Buffs barely beat them there even with a low 3pt % UNC almost never trailed...this game will be determined on the backboards.

The only time Oregon has won this year when they didn't rebound was some games where the opponent did not guard the three and they shot above 56% from 3pt range...

If we control the boards and guard the three point line we win.

CatFanOneMil wrote:
If we control the boards and guard the three point line we win.

Need to hit FTs, too. We were horrible vs. ASU.

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:2-0 this week. It's happening.

Co-signed

I think people fall into the trap that this years "good" teams are as good as previous years "good" teams...but to be honest just look at the BB landscape...being #1 was a curse until Gonzaga hit it at the right time (and will hold it until the end)...major teams have lost to unranked teams every week this season...

So going into Eugene or Corvallis thinking that this years Oregon trip is going to be tougher than ever is an illusion...the Ducks are always good at home, but they don't have any super stand out player that we can't match up against...and we just saw Mannion handle his business against one of the most experienced PG's in the Pac 12, Remy got his 20 but at the expense of the rest of the starters scoring only half that much...when you make the game about one set of match ups then its the rest of the team that makes the difference and frankly OSU is weak with no outstanding player as is Oregon...maybe a blip here or there, but no Josh Green/Zeke level and definitely no Baker/Hazzard/Kokolo/Gettings depth...

Our bench is the difference this year...take it to the bank.

Altman will have a game plan against Zeke, and the first half will look dismal...but we've been there before and the second half will be ours...look for a Dylan Smith go to the rim kind of game.

OSU will throw zone at us, because everyone still believes the misconception that we don't handle zone well, but between Jeter and Zeke we will dismantle that illusion...

I don’t feel good. Still taking to many bad shots IMO. Nico got 7 assists but threw it away 4 times in the first half. He needs to value our possession’s more.

I do agree that if we guard the 3 ball well and rebound we have a shot. Can’t remember when we have done that in tandem at Oregon though.

Huge Miller fan so I am hoping these kids turn the switch and start playing like we all know they are capable of.

azcat49 wrote:

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:2-0 this week. It's happening.

Co-signed

I think people fall into the trap that this years "good" teams are as good as previous years "good" teams...but to be honest just look at the BB landscape...being #1 was a curse until Gonzaga hit it at the right time (and will hold it until the end)...major teams have lost to unranked teams every week this season...

So going into Eugene or Corvallis thinking that this years Oregon trip is going to be tougher than ever is an illusion...the Ducks are always good at home, but they don't have any super stand out player that we can't match up against...and we just saw Mannion handle his business against one of the most experienced PG's in the Pac 12, Remy got his 20 but at the expense of the rest of the starters scoring only half that much...when you make the game about one set of match ups then its the rest of the team that makes the difference and frankly OSU is weak with no outstanding player as is Oregon...maybe a blip here or there, but no Josh Green/Zeke level and definitely no Baker/Hazzard/Kokolo/Gettings depth...

Our bench is the difference this year...take it to the bank.

Altman will have a game plan against Zeke, and the first half will look dismal...but we've been there before and the second half will be ours...look for a Dylan Smith go to the rim kind of game.

OSU will throw zone at us, because everyone still believes the misconception that we don't handle zone well, but between Jeter and Zeke we will dismantle that illusion...

Not I don’t feel good. Still taking to many bad shots IMO. Nico got 7 assists but threw it away 4 times in the first half. He needs to value our possession’s more.

I do agree that if we guard the 3 ball well and rebound we have a shot. Can’t remember when we have done that in tandem at Oregon though.

Huge Miller fan so I am hoping these kids turn the switch and start playing like we all know they are capable of.

It felt like most of those turnovers were on fast breaks too, trying to force it to Josh Green. I understand the want to do that since he is nearly unstoppable in transition, but it felt like they (Nico especially) made some foolish attempts to force it to him on the break when nothing was there instead of taking what they were giving.

You are right Gronk, those 4 possessions don’t mean anything against ASSU but will factor in mightily against the next 4 teams and especially Oregon

azcat49 wrote:

CatFanOneMil wrote:

Beachcat97 wrote:2-0 this week. It's happening.

Co-signed

I think people fall into the trap that this years "good" teams are as good as previous years "good" teams...but to be honest just look at the BB landscape...being #1 was a curse until Gonzaga hit it at the right time (and will hold it until the end)...major teams have lost to unranked teams every week this season...

So going into Eugene or Corvallis thinking that this years Oregon trip is going to be tougher than ever is an illusion...the Ducks are always good at home, but they don't have any super stand out player that we can't match up against...and we just saw Mannion handle his business against one of the most experienced PG's in the Pac 12, Remy got his 20 but at the expense of the rest of the starters scoring only half that much...when you make the game about one set of match ups then its the rest of the team that makes the difference and frankly OSU is weak with no outstanding player as is Oregon...maybe a blip here or there, but no Josh Green/Zeke level and definitely no Baker/Hazzard/Kokolo/Gettings depth...

Our bench is the difference this year...take it to the bank.

Altman will have a game plan against Zeke, and the first half will look dismal...but we've been there before and the second half will be ours...look for a Dylan Smith go to the rim kind of game.

OSU will throw zone at us, because everyone still believes the misconception that we don't handle zone well, but between Jeter and Zeke we will dismantle that illusion...

I don’t feel good. Still taking to many bad shots IMO. Nico got 7 assists but threw it away 4 times in the first half. He needs to value our possession’s more.

I do agree that if we guard the 3 ball well and rebound we have a shot. Can’t remember when we have done that in tandem at Oregon though.

Huge Miller fan so I am hoping these kids turn the switch and start playing like we all know they are capable of.

Nico was uncharacteristically sloppy early. A few of those were good idea/high risk kick aheads on the fast break. Even with that, we only had 12 total TO's.

Nico looks in a bit of a slump, but that's not weird. Working out of adversity is an important skill for a freshman. He can do it, he just has to get there.

CatFanOneMil wrote: I was looking at Oregons loss to UNC/Zags/Buffs...one thing was common in all three games, oregon got beat on the boards...when they beat Michigan the rebounds were tied at 32...

UNC took them to school on rebounds...Zags and Buffs barely beat them there even with a low 3pt % UNC almost never trailed...this game will be determined on the backboards.

But...zones are magically superior and have absolutely zero downside...

...and they are a technical win....every time.

EVCat wrote:

CatFanOneMil wrote: I was looking at Oregons loss to UNC/Zags/Buffs...one thing was common in all three games, oregon got beat on the boards...when they beat Michigan the rebounds were tied at 32...

UNC took them to school on rebounds...Zags and Buffs barely beat them there even with a low 3pt % UNC almost never trailed...this game will be determined on the backboards.

But...zones are magically superior and have absolutely zero downside...

Zone is basically an admission your team can't match up or you have to many fouls...there are some teams that use it effectively, but if it is not your primary defense you're either using it as a practice or are admitting defeat.

Sean is having some fun this year

84Cat wrote:Sean is having some fun this year

Maybe he had the key to a FF all along...lighten up, enjoy the game, have some fun...its good to see him more relaxed, he is ALWAYS a bit nuanced though...

Greg Hansen’s column about Oregon-Arizona & Altman-Miller comparison.

Sean Miller won 129 conference games in the decade, the fourth- best total in the post-Wooden years. It puts him in company with Ralph Miller and Olson, which often goes unappreciated.


Also from Hansen:

Arizona 129-51; five league titles.

Oregon 112-68, two league titles.

UCLA 109-71, one league title.


So, Miller is one open Jamelle Horne jumper or one bad offensive foul call on Nick Johnson being a legendary coach. That’s it.

Imagine if Miller said something like this. I guess Roy is just trying to set up an excuse for when they don’t make the tourney.

North Carolina is off to an 8-6 start to the season, and in the wake of a 96-83 loss to Georgia Tech on Sunday, a frustrated coach Roy Williams called his squad "the least gifted team I've ever coached in the time that I've been back here."

"We stunk, OK. We were not very good," Williams said. "The crazy thing about it is, our team, and we've had some very gifted teams, this is not a very gifted team. It's just not."

ByJoveByJingle wrote:Imagine if Miller said something like this. I guess Roy is just trying to set up an excuse for when they don’t make the tourney.

North Carolina is off to an 8-6 start to the season, and in the wake of a 96-83 loss to Georgia Tech on Sunday, a frustrated coach Roy Williams called his squad "the least gifted team I've ever coached in the time that I've been back here."

"We stunk, OK. We were not very good," Williams said. "The crazy thing about it is, our team, and we've had some very gifted teams, this is not a very gifted team. It's just not."

I think Miller made comments to that effect last year.

CaliWitch Nat'l Ranks
Brown 19
Williams 34
Shareef 41
Doutrive 72
Akinjo 90

Interesting. Don't know when Akinjo committed to UCONN or Coleman came in... but would the program have been better off having Akinjo on last years roster than Coleman and backing up Mannion this year? We might not have gotten the commitment from Baker subsequently but goes to show Miller chasing some higher *'s should at least get some consideration.

baycat93 wrote:Interesting. Don't know when Akinjo committed to UCONN or Coleman came in... but would the program have been better off having Akinjo on last years roster than Coleman and backing up Mannion this year? We might not have gotten the commitment from Baker subsequently but goes to show Miller chasing some higher *'s should at least get some consideration.

Akinjo was committed to UCONN when we had commitments from BWill and Quinerly. We prioritized him the second he became available, he chose Gtown, we ended up with Coleman instead.

If we add Ziaire and by some miracle keep Zeke, we are going to have a NOICE roster next year. Even without Zeke, it's not too shabby. Not sure how the rest of the Pac is looking for next year.

My thing is this: we get so many of these elite recruits. Like, the only programs who consistently get more are Duke, UK, maybe Kansas, maybe UNC. We are a recruiting juggernaut. Ayton, Gordon, Markkanen, S. Johnson, Mannion, Hollis-Jefferson, Trier, Alkins, Ashley, Tarczewski...I mean, Sean is indeed a witch.

At some point, though, the recruiting success has to produce a bloody Final Four. It's exciting to look ahead to a roster with Brown, Akinjo and possibly Z. Williams. But until Sean gets a win in the Elite Eight, he'll remain a part of the Gene Keady Club, along with John Chaney, Mike Brey, and Chris Mack.

For me, Akinjo is more evidence Miller is more flexible than most give him credit for.

He's begun heavily mining the traditional transfer market. Akinjo and Brown this year. Before that, Gettings, Jeter, Baker, Smith and Anderson. And of course, TJ. All so far have been legit contributors.

I like traditional transfers. They begin with a min of 2 years experience. It's like a free redshirt. In an environment where teams get less and less experienced, traditional transfers build an experienced roster.

Miller isn't getting scraps, either, he's getting ex-McDonalds AA's. From a cold perspective, traditional transfers also create roster stability because they can't really leave again.

Honestly outside of Dylan Smith, Miller's transfers have all been guys from the west coast that he literally finished 2nd for the first go around or they went to a school he has recruited players from in the past. It's a recipe that's working for him.

zonagrad wrote:Greg Hansen’s column about Oregon-Arizona & Altman-Miller comparison.

Sean Miller won 129 conference games in the decade, the fourth- best total in the post-Wooden years. It puts him in company with Ralph Miller and Olson, which often goes unappreciated.


Also from Hansen:

Arizona 129-51; five league titles.

Oregon 112-68, two league titles.

UCLA 109-71, one league title.


So, Miller is one open Jamelle Horne jumper or one bad offensive foul call on Nick Johnson being a legendary coach. That’s it.

Nick Johnson missed the shot

PHXCATS wrote:

zonagrad wrote:Greg Hansen’s column about Oregon-Arizona & Altman-Miller comparison.

Sean Miller won 129 conference games in the decade, the fourth- best total in the post-Wooden years. It puts him in company with Ralph Miller and Olson, which often goes unappreciated.


Also from Hansen:

Arizona 129-51; five league titles.

Oregon 112-68, two league titles.

UCLA 109-71, one league title.


So, Miller is one open Jamelle Horne jumper or one bad offensive foul call on Nick Johnson being a legendary coach. That’s it.

Nick Johnson missed the shot

The whistle blew. And Rondae had the offensive rebound. Watch the play.

plus, if the whistle had been for the player stepping into Nick, he would have been at the line.

No whistle = easy RHJ put back
Whistle against D = Nick at the line needing 1 to tie
Whistle against O = What happened. And absurd every single time you see it.

Nick missed the shot because he was bumped. And every other potential outcome but a bad offensive foul call puts us in an advantage play.

ChooChooCat wrote:Honestly outside of Dylan Smith, Miller's transfers have all been guys from the west coast that he literally finished 2nd for the first go around or they went to a school he has recruited players from in the past. It's a recipe that's working for him.

Or from the Pitt area (Luther, TJ) or from Alabama (Coleman, Dylan).

gronk4heisman wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:Honestly outside of Dylan Smith, Miller's transfers have all been guys from the west coast that he literally finished 2nd for the first go around or they went to a school he has recruited players from in the past. It's a recipe that's working for him.

Or from the Pitt area (Luther, TJ) or from Alabama (Coleman, Dylan).

Touche. Have no idea where the Alabama connection has come from lol. Coleman was a Peters guy and I think Smith was just a guy available looking for an upgrade.

EVCat wrote:plus, if the whistle had been for the player stepping into Nick, he would have been at the line.

No whistle = easy RHJ put back
Whistle against D = Nick at the line needing 1 to tie
Whistle against O = What happened. And absurd every single time you see it.

Nick missed the shot because he was bumped. And every other potential outcome but a bad offensive foul call puts us in an advantage play.

That will always be the play that that ref reached in like he were the hand of God to destroy an entire game to determine who was going to the Final Four. It was the second time that season the same ref pulled that (earlier he did it against Syracuse v. Duke), but the scale of the consequence at the end of the Elite Eight game was incomparable. Of course it had to happen to Arizona.

On a much less consequential scale, the worst call I've ever seen remains the time Trier raced down the court on a fast break with nobody between him and the basket, and a trailing defender pushed him from behind, and the official called an offensive foul on Trier. I don't remember who it was against because it was in the first half and didn't impact the game.

Longhorned wrote:

EVCat wrote:plus, if the whistle had been for the player stepping into Nick, he would have been at the line.

No whistle = easy RHJ put back
Whistle against D = Nick at the line needing 1 to tie
Whistle against O = What happened. And absurd every single time you see it.

Nick missed the shot because he was bumped. And every other potential outcome but a bad offensive foul call puts us in an advantage play.

That will always be the play that that ref reached in like he were the hand of God to destroy an entire game that determine who was going to the Final Four. It was the second time that season the same ref pulled that (earlier he did it against Syracuse v. Duke), but the scale of the consequence at the end of the Elite Eight game was incomparable. Of course it had to happen to Arizona.

On a much less consequential scale, the worst call I've ever seen remains the time Trier raced down the court on a fast break with nobody between him and the basket, and a trailing defender pushed him from behind, and the official called an offensive foul on Trier. I don't remember who it was against because it was in the first half and didn't impact the game.

It was a blocking foul, but maybe not bad enough to call with two seconds left in a point game in overtime in the Elite Eight. And then Johnson pushed off because he was being bumped. It should have first been a no call. But if a call was to be made, it was a blocking foul. We got the worst of all scenarios and it cost us a Final Four. What’s more frustrating is that we were the better team that year. It shows how the tournament is such a crapshoot and one ill timed call can kill your season.

ChooChooCat wrote:Honestly outside of Dylan Smith, Miller's transfers have all been guys from the west coast that he literally finished 2nd for the first go around or they went to a school he has recruited players from in the past. It's a recipe that's working for him.

The fact that this has happened consistently is maybe the greatest evidence of Miller's recruiting prowess. You have guys going to other power 5 programs, even Kentucky and Duke, that are valuing the relationship they made with Miller that much, even 1 to 2 years after they were recruited.

People can say what they want to about Jeter being soft. But I'm sure as hell happy he's here and that we got him when we did. Last year was tough, but I couldn't imagine it without him. Easily a sub .500 year, which is mind blowing. Guys like this will help create stability within the team and our program has and will continue to benefit greatly from it.

StickItInTheyFace wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:Honestly outside of Dylan Smith, Miller's transfers have all been guys from the west coast that he literally finished 2nd for the first go around or they went to a school he has recruited players from in the past. It's a recipe that's working for him.

The fact that this has happened consistently is maybe the greatest evidence of Miller's recruiting prowess. You have guys going to other power 5 programs, even Kentucky and Duke, that are valuing the relationship they made with Miller that much, even 1 to 2 years after they were recruited.

People can say what they want to about Jeter being soft. But I'm sure as hell happy he's here and that we got him when we did. Last year was tough, but I couldn't imagine it without him. Easily a sub .500 year, which is mind blowing. Guys like this will help create stability within the team and our program has and will continue to benefit greatly from it.

Good point. Miller isn’t a sore loser when he loses a recruit to another program.

EVCat wrote:plus, if the whistle had been for the player stepping into Nick, he would have been at the line.

No whistle = easy RHJ put back
Whistle against D = Nick at the line needing 1 to tie
Whistle against O = What happened. And absurd every single time you see it.

Nick missed the shot because he was bumped. And every other potential outcome but a bad offensive foul call puts us in an advantage play.

RHJ would have been boxed out if Nick Johnson missed

Nick not getting a shot off in time is the far bigger crime than the call the ref mad a little earlier

PHXCATS wrote:

EVCat wrote:plus, if the whistle had been for the player stepping into Nick, he would have been at the line.

No whistle = easy RHJ put back
Whistle against D = Nick at the line needing 1 to tie
Whistle against O = What happened. And absurd every single time you see it.

Nick missed the shot because he was bumped. And every other potential outcome but a bad offensive foul call puts us in an advantage play.

RHJ would have been boxed out if Nick Johnson missed

Nick not getting a shot off in time is the far bigger crime than the call the ref mad a little earlier

Bullshit.

I don’t how any cat Bb fan can think otherwise.

Bullshit bailout call was clear as day.

I don’t get the shot off in time? Was there a shot clock violation? You see refs swallow the whistle all the time but this guy decides he was going to be the reason the fans bought tickets so we could all watch him. Bad bad time for a whistle. He never would have called a block do why call the charge when it was 50/50 at best. Should have been a play on

azcat49 wrote:I don’t get the shot off in time? Was there a shot clock violation? You see refs swallow the whistle all the time but this guy decides he was going to be the reason the fans bought tickets so we could all watch him. Bad bad time for a whistle. He never would have called a block do why call the charge when it was 50/50 at best. Should have been a play on

After the offensive foul, Wisconsin throws the ball in and it deflects off Wisconsin with 2.3 seconds left. Johnson get the ball in bounds and cannot get the shot off before the clock hits 0.00. That is far worse than the call against Johnson.

Nick Johnson clearly pushes the defender away with his left arm extended. It is not as bad of a call as you all want it to be

PHXCATS wrote:

azcat49 wrote:I don’t get the shot off in time? Was there a shot clock violation? You see refs swallow the whistle all the time but this guy decides he was going to be the reason the fans bought tickets so we could all watch him. Bad bad time for a whistle. He never would have called a block do why call the charge when it was 50/50 at best. Should have been a play on

After the offensive foul, Wisconsin throws the ball in and it deflects off Wisconsin with 2.3 seconds left. Johnson get the ball in bounds and cannot get the shot off before the clock hits 0.00. That is far worse than the call against Johnson.

Oh OK got it. I thought you were speaking to the initial play. Agreed it needed to be launched but the game was lost on the prior call even with that make up call by the refs giving us a second shot

PHXCATS wrote:Nick Johnson clearly pushes the defender away with his left arm extended. It is not as bad of a call as you all want it to be

Thanks for putting this in front of my eyes again. The worst call I saw there was the in bounds play with 2 seconds left. Why would you draw up a play that pulls your target player away from the basket with 2 seconds left. Johnson clearly was the intended recipient from the get go as he breaks toward half court away from the basket.

God that call is awful. That's one reason it's a good thing that refs otherwise let the contact go on the final shot of games. A defender can't run his body into a driver, bump him off course, and press against him. And if you're not going to call that foul, that's fine and usual on a final possession, but don't force the shooter to call it quits instead of making his own space to get his shot off while he's getting mugged.