Jaden Bradley

[Djcat]

That even with a favorable matchup, despite the metrics clearly favoring Bradley, I dont think you can make the move to start him.

My first thought - start Bradley - (despite Clemson not being Baylor) was the right one.

I have a feeling most of us would agree but Tommy is a players coach and won’t. Based on post games quotes from him, seems like he sensed his team has a fragile state of mind and was managing it hard all season.

Start Bradley and Boswell will definitely go into a funk completely.

[Winger]

That even with a favorable matchup, despite the metrics clearly favoring Bradley, I dont think you can make the move to start him.

My first thought - start Bradley - (despite Clemson not being Baylor) was the right one.

I have a feeling most of us would agree but Tommy is a players coach and won’t. Based on post games quotes from him, seems like he sensed his team has a fragile state of mind and was managing it hard all season.

Start Bradley and Boswell will definitely go into a funk completely.

I dont disagree with the last point above but I think my response might be: don’t think it matters.

There is a good chance you’re not going to get anything from Boswell in any game where the opposition has legit perimeter defense anyway so dont take the chance of getting off to a terrible start. If the season-long metrics show a clear and significant improvement in the play of the team when Bradley is on the floor and Boswell off put Bradley on the floor and take Boswell off of it.

My initial thought was based on the matchup with Baylor but the same held for Clemson.

Hindsight being 20/20 I believe Lloyd should have made this call weeks ago when the eye test coupled with the metrics aligned and called for it. FTR on the other site I posted several times that starting Boswell despite his troubles was the right call. Because: when he is good Arizona’s ceiling is higher. Seems like that ceiling difference narrowed (or I was wrong all along) and in the end it never was reached.

In a way both Arizona’s and Boswell’s apex occurred on November 10th.

[pc in NM]

That even with a favorable matchup, despite the metrics clearly favoring Bradley, I dont think you can make the move to start him.

My first thought - start Bradley - (despite Clemson not being Baylor) was the right one.

I have a feeling most of us would agree but Tommy is a players coach and won’t. Based on post games quotes from him, seems like he sensed his team has a fragile state of mind and was managing it hard all season.

Start Bradley and Boswell will definitely go into a funk completely.

"Start Bradley and Boswell will definitely go into a funk completely."

Maybe a short-term issue late in a season with a well-established rotation, that can be a concern.

BUT, when assembling a team, and building for another season, that should not even be a consideration.

CTL must communicate that fundamental message to every player as competition for the next season's roles begins; any player with that temperament needs to change or leave.

[TheCat]

That even with a favorable matchup, despite the metrics clearly favoring Bradley, I dont think you can make the move to start him.

My first thought - start Bradley - (despite Clemson not being Baylor) was the right one.

I have a feeling most of us would agree but Tommy is a players coach and won’t. Based on post games quotes from him, seems like he sensed his team has a fragile state of mind and was managing it hard all season.

Start Bradley and Boswell will definitely go into a funk completely.

I dont disagree with the last point above but I think my response might be: don’t think it matters.

There is a good chance you’re not going to get anything from Boswell in any game where the opposition has legit perimeter defense anyway so dont take the chance of getting off to a terrible start. If the season-long metrics show a clear and significant improvement in the play of the team when Bradley is on the floor and Boswell off put Bradley on the floor and take Boswell off of it.

My initial thought was based on the matchup with Baylor but the same held for Clemson.

Hindsight being 20/20 I believe Lloyd should have made this call weeks ago when the eye test coupled with the metrics aligned and called for it. FTR on the other site I posted several times that starting Boswell despite his troubles was the right call. Because: when he is good Arizona’s ceiling is higher. Seems like that ceiling difference narrowed (or I was wrong all along) and in the end it never was reached.

In a way both Arizona’s and Boswell’s apex occurred on November 10th.

Not sure about his apex occurring Nov. 10th since he scored a career high 2 games ago. The last half of the season was a struggle for Boz and I think that is why JB's minutes increased. This was a team loss but we will find the culprit.

[Merkin]

Outside of his high game, those sure don't look like starter starter stats.

Like the late great Bob Eubank used to say for MLB, you need to hit your weight.

[UAEebs86]

Like the late great Bob Eubank used to say for MLB, you need to hit your weight.

I think you meant Bob Uecker


By the way, Bob Eubanks (Newlywed Game) and Bob Uecker are both still with us.

[Merkin]

Nice catch Eebs! Bob Uecker was/is the best!

[TheCat]

Outside of his high game, those sure don't look like starter starter stats.

Like the late great Bob Eubank used to say for MLB, you need to hit your weight.

What about the 3 before the ones you highlighted? Point totals were significant in those games. Boz struggled no one is doubting that. Bradley had a great run late in the season and was our only reliable scorer against Clemson. No one is questioning that either. I think the coach will decide on what the best lineup for Arizona is and I trust him to make the right decisions. I also hope that Boz is a big part of that equation but his play and coach will determine that not the website warriors on this site.
We have always looked for a scapegoat on this site and it get old. Boz didn't shoot 3 for 23 or whatever it was. The team did that. Players struggle. Look at other teams. Take Marq as example one. This is hard and these guys need to embrace that, fill the sting and be driven by that. Get better and work on their weaknesses and understand their strengths don't read websites.

[Postmaster]

The FT stats stick out. Similar to Kriisa. Guys like LOVE and Boz need to penetrate and draw fouls. Probably a consequence of CTL’s offense. Maybe something the staff should think about.

[Merkin]

The FT stats stick out. Similar to Kriisa. Guys like LOVE and Boz need to penetrate and draw fouls. Probably a consequence of CTL’s offense. Maybe something the staff should think about.

Good catch, 39 FT attempts in 36 games is extremely poor. Had 142 2PT attempts this season only making 59.

We all got on Kriisa's case for sitting on the perimeter, but his last season at Arizona he had 60 FT attempts to go with 45 2PT attempts.

So at least Kriisa is better than Boswell at drawing fouls. Not that I miss Kriisa.

[Beachcat97]

The FT stats stick out. Similar to Kriisa. Guys like LOVE and Boz need to penetrate and draw fouls. Probably a consequence of CTL’s offense. Maybe something the staff should think about.

Good catch, 39 FT attempts in 36 games is extremely poor. Had 142 2PT attempts this season only making 59.

We all got on Kriisa's case for sitting on the perimeter, but his last season at Arizona he had 60 FT attempts to go with 45 2PT attempts.

So at least Kriisa is better than Boswell at drawing fouls. Not that I miss Kriisa.

I don't miss Kriisa. Like, even a little.

But I do miss having guards whose first offensive instinct is to get to the rim or to get into the lane, draw defenders, and find the open man. Love has the ability to do this, but he doesn't do it nearly often enough. Our guards are much too in love with the 3, and when the guys shoot the ball like Purdue's guards, it's fine. But our reliance on the 3, and our occasional ice cold shooting from out there, was just waiting to kill us.

[RawleArenas]

The FT stats stick out. Similar to Kriisa. Guys like LOVE and Boz need to penetrate and draw fouls. Probably a consequence of CTL’s offense. Maybe something the staff should think about.

Good catch, 39 FT attempts in 36 games is extremely poor. Had 142 2PT attempts this season only making 59.

We all got on Kriisa's case for sitting on the perimeter, but his last season at Arizona he had 60 FT attempts to go with 45 2PT attempts.

So at least Kriisa is better than Boswell at drawing fouls. Not that I miss Kriisa.

I don't miss Kriisa. Like, even a little.

But I do miss having guards whose first offensive instinct is to get to the rim or to get into the lane, draw defenders, and find the open man. Love has the ability to do this, but he doesn't do it nearly often enough. Our guards are much too in love with the 3, and when the guys shoot the ball like Purdue's guards, it's fine. But our reliance on the 3, and our occasional ice cold shooting from out there, was just waiting to kill us.

Good point. I would have rather had Love, Larsson and Boswell fall in the love with dunk than the three (less so with Boswell on the dunk). Because with the dunk you're driving, being aggressive and looking for contact to draw fouls. Interesting stat: we shot FIVE threes before we fed Ballo the rock in the Clemson game. That's how we started the game. Barkley said that even if Ballo wasn't making his free throws you keep feeding him the ball to draw as many fouls as he can so that those who can make free throws can get to the line.

[Postmaster]

Jim jackson said that during the game. Team fouls help everyone else.

[Beachcat97]

Barkley said that even if Ballo wasn't making his free throws you keep feeding him the ball to draw as many fouls as he can so that those who can make free throws can get to the line.

Exactly. While it would be lovely if Ballo could hit more FTs, it's still a great strategy to keep going to him and letting the other team rack up fouls. It strains their roster depth and ultimately gets more FTs for our whole team. Had we done this more against Clemson, I really don't see how we'd have lost.

From the beginning of the season, it kinda seemed like part of Tommy's recruiting pitch to Caleb was, "if you come to AZ, you have a green light every time you touch the ball." I know it's not the sort of thing you can imagine Tommy, let alone most coaches, saying to a player, but think about it: wasn't that how Caleb played this past season? He took a ton of shots, and many of them were long 3s.

[LuteIsGod]

The FT stats stick out. Similar to Kriisa. Guys like LOVE and Boz need to penetrate and draw fouls. Probably a consequence of CTL’s offense. Maybe something the staff should think about.

Good catch, 39 FT attempts in 36 games is extremely poor. Had 142 2PT attempts this season only making 59.

We all got on Kriisa's case for sitting on the perimeter, but his last season at Arizona he had 60 FT attempts to go with 45 2PT attempts.

So at least Kriisa is better than Boswell at drawing fouls. Not that I miss Kriisa.

I don't miss Kriisa. Like, even a little.

But I do miss having guards whose first offensive instinct is to get to the rim or to get into the lane, draw defenders, and find the open man. Love has the ability to do this, but he doesn't do it nearly often enough. Our guards are much too in love with the 3, and when the guys shoot the ball like Purdue's guards, it's fine. But our reliance on the 3, and our occasional ice cold shooting from out there, was just waiting to kill us.

Good point. I would have rather had Love, Larsson and Boswell fall in the love with dunk than the three (less so with Boswell on the dunk). Because with the dunk you're driving, being aggressive and looking for contact to draw fouls. Interesting stat: we shot FIVE threes before we fed Ballo the rock in the Clemson game. That's how we started the game. Barkley said that even if Ballo wasn't making his free throws you keep feeding him the ball to draw as many fouls as he can so that those who can make free throws can get to the line.

Agree

I think coach needs to promote the idea of easiest shot is the best shot and style points don’t count.

I hope that coach doesn’t change the uptempo offense and I hope he finds a way to play 8-9 guys with an uptempo/aggressive defense.

[pc in NM]

The FT stats stick out. Similar to Kriisa. Guys like LOVE and Boz need to penetrate and draw fouls. Probably a consequence of CTL’s offense. Maybe something the staff should think about.

Good catch, 39 FT attempts in 36 games is extremely poor. Had 142 2PT attempts this season only making 59.

We all got on Kriisa's case for sitting on the perimeter, but his last season at Arizona he had 60 FT attempts to go with 45 2PT attempts.

So at least Kriisa is better than Boswell at drawing fouls. Not that I miss Kriisa.

I don't miss Kriisa. Like, even a little.

But I do miss having guards whose first offensive instinct is to get to the rim or to get into the lane, draw defenders, and find the open man. Love has the ability to do this, but he doesn't do it nearly often enough. Our guards are much too in love with the 3, and when the guys shoot the ball like Purdue's guards, it's fine. But our reliance on the 3, and our occasional ice cold shooting from out there, was just waiting to kill us.

Good point. I would have rather had Love, Larsson and Boswell fall in the love with dunk than the three (less so with Boswell on the dunk). Because with the dunk you're driving, being aggressive and looking for contact to draw fouls. Interesting stat: we shot FIVE threes before we fed Ballo the rock in the Clemson game. That's how we started the game. Barkley said that even if Ballo wasn't making his free throws you keep feeding him the ball to draw as many fouls as he can so that those who can make free throws can get to the line.

Agree

I think coach needs to promote the idea of easiest shot is the best shot and style points don’t count.

I hope that coach doesn’t change the uptempo offense and I hope he finds a way to play 8-9 guys with an uptempo/aggressive defense.

I think Caleb was the best at penetration from the perimeter - making physically-contested shots, getting fouled AND making assists. Both Pelle and KJ were good, also.

And, "easiest shot" should ALWAYS include open catch-and-shoot threes - just as with this season (when the offense was operating smoothly).

I think CTL's focus on up-tempo and transition off of good defense and rebounding is in his DNA - not changing!