Dylan Smith

dovecanyoncat · Post by **dovecanyoncat** » Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:31 pm

If Miller is the control freak we bitch about then at this point in the season 80% of those (missed) WTF! shots taken, you know the ones that make us fans go crazy, are shots our team is meant by the coach to take. When players drift into the other 20% of WTF! shots they get benched and bitch-slapped by the coach. And then we bitch about that too.

CatFanOneMil · Post by **CatFanOneMil** » Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:56 pm

Dylan played his guts out tonite, there was no one going to stop Pritchard but he at least changed the game against him, Prickturd was eating Nicos lunch...and made Baker look like a child...Smith was the only player who could keep up with him...

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Sat Feb 22, 2020 10:29 pm

Just wanna give Dylan props for a huge game. He did everything he could to get us that win. Made several big shots and D'd up Pritch very nicely.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 7:53 am

Love that after all the shit talk, Dylan was the 1 guy who really brought it yesterday.

We need to start shit talking all our other guys

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:03 am

Alieberman wrote:Love that after all the shit talk, Dylan was the 1 guy who really brought it yesterday.

We need to start shit talking all our other guys

Just imagine if we could ever keep actual talented guys until they were upperclassmen how this team would look. It's a shame we'll never know.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:07 am

Beachcat97 wrote:Just wanna give Dylan props for a huge game. He did everything he could to get us that win. Made several big shots and D'd up Pritch very nicely.

Yes, overall a solid effort. But again, when it mattered most:

He took and missed Arizona’s last 3 shots in regulation before Green was fouled with :02.

Smith went 1-2 FT in OT.

Pritchard had 38 points. I’m not sure how you can say he played great defense on that.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:14 am

zonagrad wrote:
Beachcat97 wrote:Just wanna give Dylan props for a huge game. He did everything he could to get us that win. Made several big shots and D'd up Pritch very nicely.
Yes, overall a solid effort. But again, when it mattered most:

He took and missed Arizona’s last 3 shots in regulation before Green was fouled with :02.

Smith went 1-2 FT in OT.

Pritchard had 38 points. I’m not sure how you can say he played great defense on that.

Just looking for positives, man. FFS.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:38 am

Alieberman wrote:Love that after all the shit talk, Dylan was the 1 guy who really brought it yesterday.

We need to start shit talking all our other guys

For some odd reason I was hoping that Smith would be shooting free throws end of the game. No way he would choke as bad as Mannion, Green and Koloko did from the line.

He sure couldn't do any worse. 1-7 to end the game for those 3.

Lando05 · Post by **Lando05** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:38 am

I was at the game and I'll give credit when due his effort was great but he did give up over 30 to Peyton. The notion Dylan is good at defense is a myth. He plays hard doesn't mean your good at d.
He hit a couple big threes but then missed key free throws down the stretch.

More Dylan I thought Baker had his worst game of the year.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:44 am

Beachcat97 wrote:
zonagrad wrote:
Beachcat97 wrote:Just wanna give Dylan props for a huge game. He did everything he could to get us that win. Made several big shots and D'd up Pritch very nicely.
Yes, overall a solid effort. But again, when it mattered most:

He took and missed Arizona’s last 3 shots in regulation before Green was fouled with :02.

Smith went 1-2 FT in OT.

Pritchard had 38 points. I’m not sure how you can say he played great defense on that.
Just looking for positives, man. FFS.

Fair enough. Overall I’d agree he had a good game. Lotta blame on everyone missing FTs and not getting a key rebound.

pc in NM · Post by **pc in NM** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 9:12 am

Lando05 wrote:I was at the game and I'll give credit when due his effort was great but he did give up over 30 to Peyton. The notion Dylan is good at defense is a myth. He plays hard doesn't mean your good at d.
He hit a couple big threes but then missed key free throws down the stretch.

More Dylan I thought Baker had his worst game of the year.

He didn’t “give” him anything! He played really good defense, and, the team, overall, played better weak-side defense ahainst him too!

Pritchard had a career game; his performance was awesome; he’s a great player.... Jeesh!!!

prh · Post by **prh** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 5:45 pm

Pritchard didn't have a single drive against Dylan that wasn't to his right to the rim. It was predictable, over and over, and we still let him do it. Pritchard shot the lights out from 3, but I'd characterize Smith's defense as much more activity than productivity. Offensively though, that was probably his best game against a good team he's had as a Wildcat.

TheCat · Post by **TheCat** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:13 pm

He played good defense and when Prichard drove to the right they built a wall. That is how the final shot took place. Couldn't control the block, offensive rebound, dish , score game over accept for two missed free throws. Though he gave great effort. Prichard was not going to be denied.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Sun Feb 23, 2020 7:25 pm

TheCat wrote:He played good defense and when Prichard drove to the right they built a wall. That is how the final shot took place. Couldn't control the block, offensive rebound, dish , score game over accept for two missed free throws. Though he gave great effort. Prichard was not going to be denied.

Pritchard was also 8-8 from the free-throw line. We don't even have to trade that stat with even one of our starters--we can evenly distribute it among all of them--to win going away.

So it wasn't about his determination. He was exceedingly efficient--and smart.

Let's get a little more analytical and historical about this increasingly worrisome trend Arizona is having in its losses over the years.

In virtually every loss Arizona has had this season, the hot hand has generally had to shoot a high volume of shots to get his points. But the point is that every victor (save Gonzaga, in which we outshot the Bulldogs an astounding 78 times to 61, our opponent average in our other defeats) HAS outshot us--at a high volume.

ASU took 72 shots to our 57 in Tempe. That's not just losing the rebounding battle--that's allowing your opponent to have as many possessions and opportunities as they want.

UCLA owned us in offensive efficiency. The whole team made more than half its shots, and leading scorers Chris Smith and Tyger Campbell (who?) both had double figures with 6-10 and 5-10 performances from the field, respectively.

The loss at Oregon State was similarly ridiculous. ALL FIVE STARTERS not only scored in double figures, they combined to shoot 24 of 43 (.556) from the field.

St. John's had its chuckers, but again, shot volume (60) was exceedingly high. Like, 12 more shots than us.

Baylor and we were almost equally awful, but again, four more shots than us made the difference.

Even in the Arizona victories, there were generally efficient shooters. Like Stanford's Bryce Wills shooting 10 of 13 in his home loss to the Cats. Or USC's three double-figure scorers combining to shoot 22 of 33 in the McKale win.

My point is that Miller's pack line is not, in the least, disruptive to the opponent's offense--if it ever was--and no longer limits players from getting the opportunities at the basket--if it ever did.

And this young team (and, I suspect, more of our past teams that submit to similar statistical scrutiny) is falling victim to the statistical inevitably of losing to an opponent that is allowed every opportunity to shoot to win.

What Miller is doing on defense is only giving even a team on an off shooting night hope. And allowing them to keep chucking, and chucking...and chucking...until good players get their due.

Compare that with the blue bloods, or even Lute, who had situational defenses as well as offensive sets for pressure situations like last night's that actually worked. That, in many cases, never allowed the opponent an opportunity at the basket at all.

I mean, we could out-shoot a Gonzaga, or even a Buffalo of two seasons ago by two (this was mainly Trier and Ayton, who took almost 30 shots between the two of them).

But still, allowing said Buffalo team 62 chances at the basket? You could fill in the blank with any NCAA opponent and neither the percentages nor the odds would be on your side.

I don't know how true Choo's theory is that Arizona's current players don't care about this program. I DO know that, whether learned from AAU or Miller's system, they don't care about the ball. Or having it.

They don't value the ball nearly enough to win more of these close games, much less against Quad 1 opponents or ones in the NCAAs. And this has been going on since at least the Wichita State loss, where the Shockers outgunned us 59-48.

If I could be guaranteed that Arizona would get 12 more shots--and at least 60 total--against the remainder of its schedule, each game, you better believe I would lay money on the Cats to win. Every night.

I'm not "spoiled." I'm stingy. I'm jealous. I want that damn ball. And shots at the hoop. As often as possible. Much more than my opponent. The opposite is trending with this program, and trending badly.

U.P. Zona Fan · Post by **U.P. Zona Fan** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:08 am

Nice work on that 97. We appreciate the info and the effort put forth.

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:26 am

Great post, cg97.

Packline = poopline

Does Miller have even a single different card to play? Or are we meant to take DWWD as seriously as possible? Just seems like other coaches are less allergic to versatility.

ChooChooCat · Post by **ChooChooCat** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:26 am

catgrad97 wrote:
TheCat wrote:He played good defense and when Prichard drove to the right they built a wall. That is how the final shot took place. Couldn't control the block, offensive rebound, dish , score game over accept for two missed free throws. Though he gave great effort. Prichard was not going to be denied.
Pritchard was also 8-8 from the free-throw line. We don't even have to trade that stat with even one of our starters--we can evenly distribute it among all of them--to win going away.

So it wasn't about his determination. He was exceedingly efficient--and smart.

Let's get a little more analytical and historical about this increasingly worrisome trend Arizona is having in its losses over the years.

In virtually every loss Arizona has had this season, the hot hand has generally had to shoot a high volume of shots to get his points. But the point is that every victor (save Gonzaga, in which we outshot the Bulldogs an astounding 78 times to 61, our opponent average in our other defeats) HAS outshot us--at a high volume.

ASU took 72 shots to our 57 in Tempe. That's not just losing the rebounding battle--that's allowing your opponent to have as many possessions and opportunities as they want.

UCLA owned us in offensive efficiency. The whole team made more than half its shots, and leading scorers Chris Smith and Tyger Campbell (who?) both had double figures with 6-10 and 5-10 performances from the field, respectively.

The loss at Oregon State was similarly ridiculous. ALL FIVE STARTERS not only scored in double figures, they combined to shoot 24 of 43 (.556) from the field.

St. John's had its chuckers, but again, shot volume (60) was exceedingly high. Like, 12 more shots than us.

Baylor and we were almost equally awful, but again, four more shots than us made the difference.

Even in the Arizona victories, there were generally efficient shooters. Like Stanford's Bryce Wills shooting 10 of 13 in his home loss to the Cats. Or USC's three double-figure scorers combining to shoot 22 of 33 in the McKale win.

My point is that Miller's pack line is not, in the least, disruptive to the opponent's offense--if it ever was--and no longer limits players from getting the opportunities at the basket--if it ever did.

And this young team (and, I suspect, more of our past teams that submit to similar statistical scrutiny) is falling victim to the statistical inevitably of losing to an opponent that is allowed every opportunity to shoot to win.

What Miller is doing on defense is only giving even a team on an off shooting night hope. And allowing them to keep chucking, and chucking...and chucking...until good players get their due.

Compare that with the blue bloods, or even Lute, who had situational defenses as well as offensive sets for pressure situations like last night's that actually worked. That, in many cases, never allowed the opponent an opportunity at the basket at all.

I mean, we could out-shoot a Gonzaga, or even a Buffalo of two seasons ago by two (this was mainly Trier and Ayton, who took almost 30 shots between the two of them).

But still, allowing said Buffalo team 62 chances at the basket? You could fill in the blank with any NCAA opponent and neither the percentages nor the odds would be on your side.

I don't know how true Choo's theory is that Arizona's current players don't care about this program. I DO know that, whether learned from AAU or Miller's system, they don't care about the ball. Or having it.

They don't value the ball nearly enough to win more of these close games, much less against Quad 1 opponents or ones in the NCAAs. And this has been going on since at least the Wichita State loss, where the Shockers outgunned us 59-48.

If I could be guaranteed that Arizona would get 12 more shots--and at least 60 total--against the remainder of its schedule, each game, you better believe I would lay money on the Cats to win. Every night.

I'm not "spoiled." I'm stingy. I'm jealous. I want that damn ball. And shots at the hoop. As often as possible. Much more than my opponent. The opposite is trending with this program, and trending badly.

Great post.

Let me be clear in my "Arizona needs players who care about Arizona" statement. It's not that the guys don't care about Arizona, but they have their priorities, and while of course they would prefer to win the ultimate success of the team isn't their primary concern. Getting their reps to earn their shot at being a 1st rounder is the most important thing to our most important players.

UAEebs86 · Post by **UAEebs86** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 7:34 am

Fantastic

97cats · Post by **97cats** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:21 pm

Mannion 3-14 is the bigger story for sure, no question. his play had made it more difficult for everyone to have success.

Smith 1-9 with 3 turnovers had no shot.

i blame the PG

eoe · Post by **eoe** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:23 pm

97cats wrote:Mannion 3-14 is the bigger story for sure, no question. his play had made it more difficult for everyone to have success.

Smith 1-9 with 3 turnovers had no shot.

i blame the PG

Not his fault we couldn’t manage a roster or recruit better

Smith being a starter was never a good sign

Instead of fading off like we expected his role grew and grew

97cats · Post by **97cats** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:25 pm

Mannion has made the game difficult

eoe · Post by **eoe** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:31 pm

97cats wrote:Mannion has made the game difficult

I just do not see the play calls that work to utilize Mannion’s game?

What happened to those high pick and pops? The down screen and floaters?

It’s the same awful motion every single time down and Miller trots our 3 bulky guys in Stone Zeke and Lee at once trying to run up tempo?

We would have been up 6 at half if our transition game would actually click with good personnel

97cats · Post by **97cats** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:32 pm

side backboard way too many times - I can’t get past that right now

he makes the game difficult - Smith and others are at a disadvantage

he is really immature

eoe · Post by **eoe** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:37 pm

97cats wrote:side backboard way too many times - I can’t get past that right now

he makes the game difficult - Smith and others are at a disadvantage

he is really immature

Mannion took a 35 foot three down 5 with 6 min or so

The look on Miller’s face was incredible

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 9:29 am

Dylan Smith still did another Jamelle Horne though when he fouled the USC player end of the first half on a 3/4 court shot. I think the refs were so shocked the shot went in they forgot to call the foul.

97cats · Post by **97cats** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:30 pm

no idea what he is last 10 games now (it’s not good) but was 3-18 and 3-14 with six turnovers in the LA sweep

WildcatStunner · Post by **WildcatStunner** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:32 pm

Can't wait till he is gone.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:33 pm

Leave him in LA.

He dumb.

catgrad97 · Post by **catgrad97** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:36 pm

Had no business being on the floor in crunch time--clearly something we can no longer blame just Miller for.

The coaches are seeing something the fans aren't seeing, because what I see is the worst failure of senior leadership on this team since at least Ed Stokes.

IndianaZonaFan · Post by **IndianaZonaFan** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:44 pm

Noticed he couldn’t keep anyone in front of him. Even when Bill yelled, “nice defense!” About Dylan, he must have only seen the nice contention at the end, but not the easy drive he allowed for the shot to even occur. I’m not so sure he is even a decent defender. He’s just longer than our other options.

dmjcat · Post by **dmjcat** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:56 pm

catgrad97 wrote:Had no business being on the floor in crunch time--clearly something we can no longer blame just Miller for.

The coaches are seeing something the fans aren't seeing, because what I see is the worst failure of senior leadership on this team since at least Ed Stokes.

Don't insult Ed Stokes.

Ed was Aaron Gordon compared to Dylan.

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 8:03 am

One sad stat is no FT attempts in LA.

Just sit back and chuck awful shots.

Like someone else said in another thread, can't recall any UA player who is so bad getting so many minutes of playing time.

PieceOfMeat · Post by **PieceOfMeat** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 12:32 am

got his nose busted up and came out and brought us back to life in the 2nd half.

yeah yeah, he's got his faults

Heck of an effort on Senior night, Mr. Smith.

AZCatGirl · Post by **AZCatGirl** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 1:26 am

He seems like a really good kid. Wish him success in whatever comes after graduation.

azcat49 · Post by **azcat49** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 10:52 am

Tough kid. My hat is off to him. He cane back and not only played but played well. He has taken his lumps but now it’s time to give him a tremendous amount of credit for what he did yesterday in that second half

Merkin · Post by **Merkin** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 12:43 pm

azcat49 wrote:Tough kid. My hat is off to him. He cane back and not only played but played well. He has taken his lumps but now it’s time to give him a tremendous amount of credit for what he did yesterday in that second half

That is certainly a very good memory to have of him as he ends his career here. Hopefully he can carry that toughness into the tourneys and have it rub off on other players.

BBQ wildcat · Post by **BBQ wildcat** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 12:57 pm

Glad to see him have a really good game and hope it marks the end of his slump. And I'm proud of him for sticking with Miller and the UA through a few very difficult years. I wish him well.

zonagrad · Post by **zonagrad** » Sun Mar 08, 2020 1:14 pm

I’ve ranted and criticized Dylan Smith more than anyone. But he’s carried himself with class. More respect for him than others on this roster. At least he shows up to play. Not sure what Hazzard was doing there on senior day. If he’s not hurt, why on earth is he still allowed on the team?

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:52 pm

Beachcat97 · Post by **Beachcat97** » Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:56 pm

azgreg wrote:

He's gonna go full Rip Hamilton this week, guys. Get ready.

AZCatGirl · Post by **AZCatGirl** » Tue Mar 10, 2020 9:09 pm

Damn, now I wish I had picked him in RAP.

At least we can count on two players tomorrow.

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