Bear Down Wildcats

gumby wrote:

Hater.

The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.

The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.[/quote]

It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.

Airizona wrote:The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.

It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.

File this under the Road Games thread. All road wins are big, however this was not a "huge" game.

Olsondogg wrote:

Airizona wrote:The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.

It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.

File this under the Road Games thread. All road wins are big, however this was not a "huge" game.

In the future I'll be careful not to misuse "huge" ..."big" is much more accurate, thanks for the correction

Airizona wrote:

Olsondogg wrote:

Airizona wrote:The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.

It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.

File this under the Road Games thread. All road wins are big, however this was not a "huge" game.

In the future I'll be careful not to misuse "huge" ..."big" is much more accurate, thanks for the correction

If you don't get it, then you don't. A huge game is not one that is poorly attended and broadcast on FS1.

Airizona wrote:The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.

It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.[/quote]

Eh. ASU has won one NCAA tourney game this century, if I remember right. We win more than their last two decades worth of tourney wins each year.

We have one big rival in conference, and it's UCLA. Add in the flavor of the moment (Colorado, Utah, etc.) and that's it.

It was a good way to start, but we did what we should have done to them.

Olsondogg wrote:

Airizona wrote:The only part I have an issue with is making it seem like a big game. We have played and will play tougher road games this year. Gonzaga was three times the example of all those things.

But yes, our basketball program does have an awesome culture.

It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.

File this under the Road Games thread. All road wins are big, however this was not a "huge" game.

We all have our own definitions. I think preventing 3 losses in a row at McKale North was HUGE.

What about gargantuan games? colossal games? enormous games?

It would have been a bigger loss than it is win, but it is real nice to get a win at ASU and start out Hurley's PAC experience with a loss.

Airizona wrote: It was a huge game. We lost there the past two years with better teams and ASU's home record is nothing to scoff at.

Agree. And when it was 28-19, I was beginning to wonder if it was going to be three straight. Not ashamed to say I was thrilled.

Huge, but not Yuge!

"Great program win" is usually reserved for no name programs and programs on the rise, no? Not an unarguable top 10 program and the king of the west over the last 30 years, or a Sean Miller led program who has been one of the big dogs the last three years. Our Sweet 16 win vs Duke during Millers first UA tourney run, yes. Or when we finally win one of those elite 8 games with Miller and get him over that hump, sure.

I saw that tweet last night and laughed at that.

It would've been a HUGE win for ASU. But for Arizona, nah, not at all.

Tough crowd. Even the compliments get picked apart.

Does this Rothstein guy know anything about the history of Arizona basketball? I can't fathom sending out a tweet like that. If Arizona beats UCLA Thurs. at Pauley, does that constitute a "great program win"?

The only "Great Program Win" Arizona is gonna have this season is the one that clinches a 3rd straight Pac 12 title and an Elite 8 win that moves us to the Final Four.

gumby wrote:Tough crowd. Even the compliments get picked apart.

No kidding. Usually the same crowd that is having a meltdown after a loss...gotta disagree or be mad about something

gumby wrote:Tough crowd. Even the compliments get picked apart.

Airizona wrote:

gumby wrote:Tough crowd. Even the compliments get picked apart.

No kidding. Usually the same crowd that is having a meltdown after a loss...gotta disagree or be mad about something

Not necessarily. I liked the rest of what he said and he has had a few tweets this year that I have liked or agreed with (still think hes an asshat), but it comes across as a backhanded compliment. He knows our history and he knows what "big program win" means in college sports.

gumby wrote:Tough crowd. Even the compliments get picked apart.

Fair. It's just that our program doesn't need it. We're recruiting top classes, making Elite Eights, winning Pac titles and a top ten fixture nationally.

When he says a great program win, it implies we're a program that needs confirmation. 2011 Duke was the last time we had one of those. That was the signal that we were fine post-Lute.

It's a good win, but it's just a good game with no larger significance. We aren't battling ASU for recruits or respect.

RockyRaccoon wrote:Of course he is already one of the best players on the team. He was raised in Europe where they actually teach basketball as opposed to America where the game is bastardized by the AAU and the NBA Draft rules.

I remember all this hype for Ristic. Was going to be a one and done.

Saw a tweet today that Ristic is the only player on the team from 2 years ago. But PJC is a junior too.

Ristic's progression parallels that of Anu Solomon on the football side. So much promise as a freshman. Now can't hit a 2 foot shot.

Every season needs it's whipping boy...

He has played like shit so far, but I think he's better at matching other bigs than he is at playing against smaller players. Hopefully Miller puts Pinder on him in practice and forces Ristic to get comfy making moves on shorter, athletic players.

Last year Brian Jeffries said that Ristic lost his confidence in practice having to guard Zeus every session, which is understandable.

Not sure what his deal is this year. Maybe his summer boxing lessons changed the muscle structure in his arms.

YoDeFoe wrote:He has played like shit so far, but I think he's better at matching other bigs than he is at playing against smaller players. Hopefully Miller puts Pinder on him in practice and forces Ristic to get comfy making moves on shorter, athletic players.

Dusan is who he is. He does well against players like him because he has solid post moves and needs a defensive matchup where he doesn't have to cover a ton of area. As long as he can work in the post and play straight up at the rim, he is ok. When he has to hedge and recover or play in space, he struggles. He has trouble with quick defenders because most of his post play requires him to maneuver into the shot.

It is what it is. We have Chance, Lauri and Pinder for the teams that are a bad matchup for Dusan. It doesn't mean he won't contribute. So far the teams we face have not lent themselves to being a good match.

YoDeFoe wrote:He has played like shit so far, but I think he's better at matching other bigs than he is at playing against smaller players. Hopefully Miller puts Pinder on him in practice and forces Ristic to get comfy making moves on shorter, athletic players.

dusan may prefer matching up against other bigs, but we'll see if the results are any different. i don't mean this in a pejorative way, but he seems like the type of player who doesn't necessarily rise up psychologically in response to getting yelled at or being put on a short leash or constantly and intensely challenged, and that it's easy for stuff to get into his head when things don't go right. not a knock, that's just who he is. which is why i'm looking forward to seeing him mix it up with karnowski in a couple of weeks -- if what @YoDeFoe says rings true, it could be the confidence-booster that dusan desperately needs.

Merkin wrote:Last year Brian Jeffries said that Ristic lost his confidence in practice having to guard Zeus every session, which is understandable.

Not sure what his deal is this year. Maybe his summer boxing lessons changed the muscle structure in his arms.

Dont care to look to see if I said it in this thread or another, and I got shredded here when I said Jordin Mayes was a "mental midget," so I will sugar coat this one. It is all mental with Ristic. Last year he went on that roll, and we initially felt it was just because of the inferior competition, but he then he did it against UNLV(?). Then he fell off. His freshman year, he had less playing time, but we saw flashes of greatness and then extended periods of WTF. Look at him on defense. He just looks like he is lost, in a daze, a lot of the time. He is slow to make decisions and looks like a deer caught in headlights. He is not a dumb kid, I'd bet my next paycheck that he is exceptionally bright. But the smartest people can still be the ones who brain fart all the time and crumble under adversity if their head is not in the right place. If the Zeus thing is accurate, it still points to mental makeup.

That is why I am not buying the "he does fine against similarly situated post players but struggles against the short, quicker guys." The short guys should not be posing any problems to him. These guys are giving up height and weight to him. Establish good position and just go right over them. He has NBA-level touch with both hands. Just go right over them. When they start cheating, pump fake, get em in the air, and then go up when they are coming down, or take a dribble and finish. He gets under the bright lights and he doesn't know where he needs to be on defense or offense. He goes into robot post move man, which is fine in a vacuum, but kills him when he is out of that comfort zone. Throw a double at him, it's panic deer in headlights Dusan or robot post move Dusan with no success. It's like he is in this permanent habit of having to put the ball on the floor multiple times before he can do his thing. He doesn't need to do that, he doesn't need more than a dribble or two at most to be deadly and keep post defenders honest as a "change up," but that should be it, a change up and not the norm (and add a few more dribbles) . If its not there, kick it back out, reestablish better position and call for it again immediately. He could fix 90 percent of his offense problems right now by having an awareness of where he needs to be on the floor, working hard to get there, and then fighting to keep that position. Some of this is on his teammates too and a lack of a concerted effort to feed him when he is in the right spot. If that is how things are going to be, there is absolutely no reason he should be on the floor instead of Chance outside of giving Chance a breather.

@Dirtbags I'm looking at that Karnowski matchup as well. I think Dusan's game is perfectly suited to posting that big boy up.

Double double in one half (less 1 pt).

Encouraging, but rebounding needs to be a team effort. Don't see an elite board man, like Ryan Anderson or Aaron Gordon, on this squad. Alkins and Simmons need to get in there and mix it up more. So many rebounds are balls that are first tipped. Then it's all about scrapping for it.

I share the concerns with the rebounding. We were +7 against Sacred Heart despite shooting 9% better from the field, and they had 11 offensive boards. CSUB game, we shot 6% better (and they took 13 more attempts than us) and were only plus 6 and they had 10 offensive boards. I was surprised to see us even with Michigan State because I was screaming at the TV almost all game about the rebounding, so I think Michigan State's very poor shot selection tilted those numbers to even. Chico State actually out-rebounded us.

A lot of the boards we do grab make me nervous. Maybe we can chalk it up to youth/inexperience. We have a lot of guys getting big minutes who are still figuring out team defense and the packline.

Team isn't rebounding well, but finally have the players willing to go on the floor for loose balls, even in blowouts.

TJ excepted of course.

Miller lit up Ristic early in that game during a time out. Did the whole point and "you, you're out" thing with him.

I am expecting Miller to do more than that about Ristic this season if he continues to defend pick-and-roll plays like that bronze statue guarding Crete in Jason and the Argonauts.

catgrad97 wrote:I am expecting Miller to do more than that about Ristic this season if he continues to defend pick-and-roll plays like that bronze statue guarding Crete in Jason and the Argonauts.

Hi you're new to following Arizona Basketball apparently and haven't noticed Dusan Ristic play over the past 3 years.

He's a big slow stiff 7-footer - that's just who he is. Complaining about his defense 25' from the basket is like knocking 5'9" PJC for not being able to contain a 6'7 wing in the post.

Miller needs to put his players in position to succeed instead of ranting and raving at the players that don't fit into his one-size fits all defense.

I really wish RiseAndFire was coaching this team. He has it all figured out.

RiseAndFire wrote:

catgrad97 wrote:I am expecting Miller to do more than that about Ristic this season if he continues to defend pick-and-roll plays like that bronze statue guarding Crete in Jason and the Argonauts.

Hi you're new to following Arizona Basketball apparently and haven't noticed Dusan Ristic play over the past 3 years.

He's a big slow stiff 7-footer - that's just who he is. Complaining about his defense 25' from the basket is like knocking 5'9" PJC for not being able to contain a 6'7 wing in the post.

Miller needs to put his players in position to succeed instead of ranting and raving at the players that don't fit into his one-size fits all defense.

Ok honey, just show us on the Sparky doll where the bad man touched you...

RiseAndFire wrote:

catgrad97 wrote:I am expecting Miller to do more than that about Ristic this season if he continues to defend pick-and-roll plays like that bronze statue guarding Crete in Jason and the Argonauts.

Hi you're new to following Arizona Basketball apparently and haven't noticed Dusan Ristic play over the past 3 years.

He's a big slow stiff 7-footer - that's just who he is. Complaining about his defense 25' from the basket is like knocking 5'9" PJC for not being able to contain a 6'7 wing in the post.

Miller needs to put his players in position to succeed instead of ranting and raving at the players that don't fit into his one-size fits all defense.

Yeah, he should shank the head coach of any team that tries to put Dusan in a pick and roll.

How many times is RiseandFail going to get burned on this one specific thing?

"Ok Dusan, you see this restricted area circle right here. I need you planted here at all times. I dont care if your man goes out to set a ball screen for the other team's point guard, you stay here. I don't care if Parker gets buried in that screen and their point guard has a wide open 3 and lane to the basket, you stay here. This is where you are strongest for us."

rgdeuce wrote:How many times is RiseandFail going to get burned on this one specific thing?

"Ok Dusan, you see this restricted area circle right here. I need you planted here at all times. I dont care if your man goes out to set a ball screen for the other team's point guard, you stay here. I don't care if Parker gets buried in that screen and their point guard has a wide open 3 and lane to the basket, you stay here. This is where you are strongest for us."

He's trying to turn this into a zone thing. He's ignoring that going zone is a bad decision for a team already only so so on the glass. He's ignoring that some players (Kobi) have tons of potential in a m2m system and that you don't base your whole scheme off one guy. He's ignoring that if Dusan really can't hack it vs a particular opponent, we always have Chance and Pinder off the bench.

I guess he doesn't have the green light from deep anymore. 4/5 as a frosh and 3/8 last year

Dusan will sit a lot against certain teams. I like Lauri at the 5. Can pull opposing bigs away from hoop. If there aren't any, he can still guard.

gumby wrote:Dusan will sit a lot against certain teams. I like Lauri at the 5. Can pull opposing bigs away from hoop. If there aren't any, he can still guard.

Lauri and Pinder is our lineup vs a smaller team. Maybe Rawle as a super small 4. Ray could have been it, but...

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

gumby wrote:Dusan will sit a lot against certain teams. I like Lauri at the 5. Can pull opposing bigs away from hoop. If there aren't any, he can still guard.

Lauri and Pinder is our lineup vs a smaller team.

I'd like them against a bigger team.

Longhorned wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

gumby wrote:Dusan will sit a lot against certain teams. I like Lauri at the 5. Can pull opposing bigs away from hoop. If there aren't any, he can still guard.

Lauri and Pinder is our lineup vs a smaller team.

I'd like them against a bigger team.

I do too. But then again, I'm partial to that Lauri, Chance, Ristic lineup we've been throwing out there.

Now imagine Deandre Ayton in Ristic's place........

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:How many times is RiseandFail going to get burned on this one specific thing?

"Ok Dusan, you see this restricted area circle right here. I need you planted here at all times. I dont care if your man goes out to set a ball screen for the other team's point guard, you stay here. I don't care if Parker gets buried in that screen and their point guard has a wide open 3 and lane to the basket, you stay here. This is where you are strongest for us."

He's trying to turn this into a zone thing. He's ignoring that going zone is a bad decision for a team already only so so on the glass. He's ignoring that some players (Kobi) have tons of potential in a m2m system and that you don't base your whole scheme off one guy. He's ignoring that if Dusan really can't hack it vs a particular opponent, we always have Chance and Pinder off the bench.

i wouldnt be so sure. When we started this last year he flat out was talkin about man

rgdeuce wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:How many times is RiseandFail going to get burned on this one specific thing?

"Ok Dusan, you see this restricted area circle right here. I need you planted here at all times. I dont care if your man goes out to set a ball screen for the other team's point guard, you stay here. I don't care if Parker gets buried in that screen and their point guard has a wide open 3 and lane to the basket, you stay here. This is where you are strongest for us."

He's trying to turn this into a zone thing. He's ignoring that going zone is a bad decision for a team already only so so on the glass. He's ignoring that some players (Kobi) have tons of potential in a m2m system and that you don't base your whole scheme off one guy. He's ignoring that if Dusan really can't hack it vs a particular opponent, we always have Chance and Pinder off the bench.

i wouldnt be so sure. When we started this last year he flat out was talkin about man

Well, maybe I gave him too much credit. In man, that's a flat out moronic statement. Even in zone, you can't just plant a guy, but in man, the other team isn't dumb. They can figure out who to attack.

It's like counting on other teams not to realize PJC is not our best post defender. They aren't stupid.

Nice game against Santa Clara.

Good match-up for Dusan, and he took advantage. Probably his best game as a Cat.

He was open several more times too and the no one was able to get him the ball.

gumby wrote:Good match-up for Dusan, and he took advantage. Probably his best game as a Cat.

He can make a positive impact. Dusan will always have limitations, but he has upsides that he brings. That's why you keep working with him instead of just rolling to Chance (who has really been struggling).

Merkin wrote:He was open several more times too and the no one was able to get him the ball.

Except Lauri. He could improve how he demands for the ball though. A subtle "woooh" and putting an insecure looking arm up obviously isn't getting the attention of most of the team. I'm guessing he is being so hush hush about it to avoid the double teams that have been killing him. He really got going after what was a pretty ugly start, which was nice to see. He has been doing some things on the low block this year that do not make any sense and actually makes his shot attempts more difficult (ie: pivoting into the middle of a double team, and pivoting to his left into the defender when the right hand is wide open). He gave up at least two or three easy offensive boards in the first half that made me scream. When he gets going though it really opens everything up for the other scorers and he doesnt miss much already.

On the flip side, like Spliff said, Chance has been really struggling these past few games. His defense has been really bad and his head is in la la land half the time. So we are going to be riding or dying with Dusan for the foreseeable future.

rgdeuce wrote:

Merkin wrote:He was open several more times too and the no one was able to get him the ball.

Except Lauri. He could improve how he demands for the ball though. A subtle "woooh" and putting an insecure looking arm up obviously isn't getting the attention of most of the team. I'm guessing he is being so hush hush about it to avoid the double teams that have been killing him. He really got going after what was a pretty ugly start, which was nice to see. He has been doing some things on the low block this year that do not make any sense and actually makes his shot attempts more difficult (ie: pivoting into the middle of a double team, and pivoting to his left into the defender when the right hand is wide open). He gave up at least two or three easy offensive boards in the first half that made me scream. When he gets going though it really opens everything up for the other scorers and he doesnt miss much already.

On the flip side, like Spliff said, Chance has been really struggling these past few games. His defense has been really bad and his head is in la la land half the time. So we are going to be riding or dying with Dusan for the foreseeable future.

Chance seems like the reffing is really affecting him. If he picks up a foul, he lets it neuter him and he stops being aggressive. He was very effective early, but games like Santa Clara and Butler seemed to derail him and put him in a place where he's an either/or when it comes to being aggressive or not picking up cheap fouls all over the place.

We shouldn't be giving up on anyone. All our post players have positives, but all have some limitations. We need all of them tuned up for the time one falters. I like our rotation, but there are going to be games where we need all the guys ready.