Bear Down Wildcats

Ok, this will be the last thing I post in frustration, but for the NCAA, I think it's as simple as that. We played about 30 decent minutes in both our games in the Pac tourney, and it showed us exactly the outcome you get with that. You can beat the bubble teams and you lose to the good teams.

What will it be in the tourney? We were down 29-27 and gave Oregon a 15-2 run to end the half. I think it's just that simple for the tourney. We don't play 40, bye.

Look the team has been incapable of doing it most of the season. I don't see that magically changing in Oklahoma City or wherever they ship us to for the first rounds.

Or have York actually show up and get hot from deep, another avenue we have to possibly sweat out a key win or two.

Nothing against these guys, but Ristic and Anderson are just not athletically skilled enough to be Sweet 16-worthy.

And don't get me started on Mark Tollefsen. Not tonight.

The guards are too limited to pick up their slack. We have an off night shooting, we go home. Pretty simple.

Its not going to change. This team is what it is. Lessons arent learned. How different is this game without that complete meltdown to end the second. I mean complete, embarrassing, hand in ur jersey and get on the bus meltdown and effort. And then they get it down to four, all the momentum in the world, then let off the gas and its back to double digits. And then Oregon literally hands us the game. Hands it to us. We still dont want it. Im not sure ive ever seen an Arizona team handed a game like that. Ever. That doesnt happen to us. Its not like the Cal game, when we actually nutted up and got stops and Gabe hit three unbelievable shots.

And this team is going to live and die with Gabe York. Thats just how I see it. After the first round, the first night Gabe has his 5-16 night we go home. If he has a great game we advance.

rgdeuce wrote:Its not going to change. This team is what it is. Lessons arent learned. How different is this game without that complete meltdown to end the second. I mean complete, embarrassing, hand in ur jersey and get on the bus meltdown and effort. And then they get it down to four, all the momentum in the world, then let off the gas and its back to double digits. And then Oregon literally hands us the game. Hands it to us. We still dont want it. Im not sure ive ever seen an Arizona team handed a game like that. Ever. That doesnt happen to us. Its not like the Cal game, when we actually nutted up and got stops and Gabe hit three unbelievable shots.

And this team is going to live and die with Gabe York. Thats just how I see it. After the first round, the first night Gabe has his 5-16 night we go home. If he has a great game we advance.

Most likely we'll fall victim to the same plague. This team reminds me a lot of 12-13, where we had talent but flaws and a tendency to have horrendous 5 minute stretches. Everybody remembers Laquinton Ross, but it was our 5 minute flat start to the 2nd half that killed us.

But hey, it's the tourney. We've had bad luck with better teams, so why not catch fire, put together 40 minute games and roll on to Houston?

Regardless of the outcome, I'm just at the point where I think that will be the sign that the reaper's in the house. One lapse like we've had too often and the bell tolls.

why can't I squeeze any more blood out of this rock!

A team only has a finite amount of energy to give in 40 mins. It's been uneven all year, and no adjustments . at some point you stop blaming the players effort (cop out) and make an adjustment or two to suit your team/personnel

I think Miller is still waiting for Tollefson and Anderson to morph into Aaron Gordon facsimiles

RiseAndFire wrote:why can't I squeeze any more blood out of this rock!

A team only has a finite amount of energy to give in 40 mins. It's been uneven all year, and no adjustments . at some point you stop blaming the players effort (cop out) and make an adjustment or two to suit your team/personnel

I think Miller is still waiting for Tollefson and Anderson to morph into Aaron Gordon facsimiles

The best poker player in the world cannot turn 2 pair into a royal flush.

why can't I squeeze any more blood out of this rock!

A fool only has a finite amount of drivel to post in a year. It's been the same schtick all year, and no adjustments . at some point you stop blaming the coaching (cop out) and wake up and pull the stick out of your ass

I think RiseAndFire is still waiting for Miller to morph into Boeheim with a zone

rgdeuce wrote:Its not going to change. This team is what it is. Lessons arent learned. How different is this game without that complete meltdown to end the second. I mean complete, embarrassing, hand in ur jersey and get on the bus meltdown and effort. And then they get it down to four, all the momentum in the world, then let off the gas and its back to double digits. And then Oregon literally hands us the game. Hands it to us. We still dont want it. Im not sure ive ever seen an Arizona team handed a game like that. Ever. That doesnt happen to us. Its not like the Cal game, when we actually nutted up and got stops and Gabe hit three unbelievable shots.

And this team is going to live and die with Gabe York. Thats just how I see it. After the first round, the first night Gabe has his 5-16 night we go home. If he has a great game we advance.

Agreed and have felt this for so long now......with our obvious and painful deficiency at the 3 (just think if we had gotten Damion Lee or a healthy Smith! Ughhhh) we will live and die by the streakiness of Gabe.....just hope he gets hot enough to get us to the Sweet 16 OR at least avoid an embarrassing first round exit.

No way do we lose in the first round. Second round might be problematic depending who we play, but we should be able to take care of business in the first game.

Spaceman Spiff wrote: I think it's just that simple for the tourney. We don't play 40, bye.

I think we can get by playing 38 minutes

Alieberman wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote: I think it's just that simple for the tourney. We don't play 40, bye.

I think we can get by playing 38 minutes

unacceptable. 40 minutes. no more, no less.
i hope none of our games go into OT.

If this team played a hard and focused 25 they would be fine against most teams honestly.

The thing that's bothered me is that our "off" stretches occur on both offense and defense.

In the past, we would be able to handle several consecutive bad offensive possessions by keeping the other team from scoring. It seems this year we experience bad stretches on both ends of the court.

We're going to lose to the first team that has some quick guards. That's our biggest issue - stopping penetration from the perimeter. Which is odd considering it's exactly what the packline is designed to stop.

Puerco wrote:We're going to lose to the first team that has some quick guards. That's our biggest issue - stopping penetration from the perimeter. Which is odd considering it's exactly what the packline is designed to stop.

Brilliant analysis. Thanks.

Zero?

Maybe four?

The team finished the year how they started. The guard play simply was not there this year. For all of the praise given to York, he was very much a one-dimensional player, and an inconsistent one at that. He represented AZ well and could really light it up at times, but had way too many cold streaks, had no mid-range game, and was ineffective driving to the rim. The point guard position was really lacking; PJC is not a bona fide D1 point guard, and Allen was very underwhelming throughout much of the season. Perhaps it would have been different had the team been able to rely on Smith and Trier for an entire season, but even so, the guard play wasn't there. It was a funky season with injuries, inconsistent stretches, and an overall sense that this team was a step down from the recent greatness AZ has put on the floor the past couple of seasons. A lot of depth returns and some great prospects are coming in, so there is a lot to be excited about moving forward.

The teams effort all year is what kills me. With a half assed effort most of the year, hell, we only played a full two halves once or twice in an entire season, scrub teams included. If we went out and played tonight and wichita state played their D and had a hot night, so be it. But thats not what happened. If this team actually bought in to Arizona basketball, or learned from their mistakes, or played like they had a chip on their shoulder and lost, so be it. This team didnt learn one thing all year. They didnt get better all year. Wichita State was the better team tonight and they are the better team period, but thats only because of will, effort and pride. If this team had their hearts we would have been at worst a two seed and conference champs. I dont care what anyone else says.

rgdeuce wrote:The teams effort all year is what kills me. With a half assed effort most of the year, hell, we only played a full two halves once or twice in an entire season, scrub teams included. If we went out and played tonight and wichita state played their D and had a hot night, so be it. But thats not what happened. If this team actually bought in to Arizona basketball, or learned from their mistakes, or played like they had a chip on their shoulder and lost, so be it. This team didnt learn one thing all year. They didnt get better all year. Wichita State was the better team tonight and they are the better team period, but thats only because of will, effort and pride. If this team had their hearts we would have been at worst a two seed and conference champs. I dont care what anyone else says.

All true. Some players just have it and some don't. I don't think we had anyone this year that just hated to lose and will fight tooth and nail, we really lacked leadership in that area.

midnightx wrote:PJC is not a bona fide D1 point guard

I actually think CSM's biggest mistake tonight (besides playing Dusan, he literally should not have seen 1 second of game action against WSU) is that he played Kadeem over PJC. The only time we played well all night was when PJC was in. Went on a huge run, and then CSM took him out with like 7 minutes left and put Kadeem back in and we went back to being awful. It wasn't all PJC, but he definitely held his own tonight when in there and I think he needs to learn how to find his shot more because he can't be a guy who only takes a 3 off of kick outs. He is too good of a shooter and needs to figure out how to take threes off of the dribble. It's the only way he will be able to penetrate and use his vision.

dcZONAfan wrote:

midnightx wrote:PJC is not a bona fide D1 point guard

I actually think CSM's biggest mistake tonight (besides playing Dusan, he literally should not have seen 1 second of game action against WSU) is that he played Kadeem over PJC. The only time we played well all night was when PJC was in. Went on a huge run, and then CSM took him out with like 7 minutes left and put Kadeem back in and we went back to being awful. It wasn't all PJC, but he definitely held his own tonight when in there and I think he needs to learn how to find his shot more because he can't be a guy who only takes a 3 off of kick outs. He is too good of a shooter and needs to figure out how to take threes off of the dribble. It's the only way he will be able to penetrate and use his vision.

Yes.... exactly... PJC was the only one out there that looked like a natural point.. the ball zipped around and moved... he found open people... he should work on making pull up 2's.... sometimes he had open lanes enough to make a run and pull up for a 2 like damon stoudamire did. When he goes all the way to the board is when he can't get a shot off... too short.

This is what a team full of Brandon Ashely's looks like

I think we drank a 40 and went home.

The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

We had too much to replace from last year, Miller had to roll the dice with senior transfers from inferior programs, and the recruiting class had too many projects. An easy schedule provided many wins, but against the elite competition, including tonight, this year's team typically fell short.

Dave wrote:The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

First thing the former players are blaming it on.

Merkin wrote:

Dave wrote:The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

First thing the former players are blaming it on.

I'd say intensity and focus more than heart and effort. We tried, but we would just not be locked in for large stretches, and it caught up with us. There's a difference between working hard and working hard and being 100% focused at the task at hand.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Dave wrote:The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

First thing the former players are blaming it on.

I'd say intensity and focus more than heart and effort. We tried, but we would just not be locked in for large stretches, and it caught up with us. There's a difference between working hard and working hard and being 100% focused at the task at hand.

"Don't mistake activity for achievement."

-John Wooden

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Dave wrote:The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

First thing the former players are blaming it on.

I'd say intensity and focus more than heart and effort. We tried, but we would just not be locked in for large stretches, and it caught up with us. There's a difference between working hard and working hard and being 100% focused at the task at hand.

Yep. And having the chemistry on top of it all. This team rarely played cohesively and fluidly, too much one on one ball and hero 3's from York, etc.

UAEebs86 wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Dave wrote:The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

First thing the former players are blaming it on.

I'd say intensity and focus more than heart and effort. We tried, but we would just not be locked in for large stretches, and it caught up with us. There's a difference between working hard and working hard and being 100% focused at the task at hand.

"Don't mistake activity for achievement."

-John Wooden

Yes, basically that.

Pokinmilk, yep, this team wound up reminding me of 2012-13 in terms of a talented team that never converted that to results and suffered a lot of in game lapses of focus.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

Merkin wrote:

Dave wrote:The last thing I am going to blame this season on is heart and effort.

First thing the former players are blaming it on.

I'd say intensity and focus more than heart and effort. We tried, but we would just not be locked in for large stretches, and it caught up with us. There's a difference between working hard and working hard and being 100% focused at the task at hand.

I think it can be all four and is. I think all four can be intertwined too.

And Merkin, those tweets from the former players speak volumes.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketb ... le-bracket" target="_blank


3 BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

1. Arizona

Sure, Wichita State winning its second game in three days wasn't exactly a stunner, and sure, everyone was well aware that this Arizona team wasn't of the caliber of the last two that Sean Miller has taken to the dance. Still, the way the Wildcats went out without much of a fight on Thursday night was awfully surprising, and more than a bit disappointing.

Arizona's point total in the 65-55 loss was its lowest of the entire 2015-16 season, and it also snapped a streak of 40 consecutive NCAA Tournament games in which the Wildcats had scored at least 60 points. One more 60+ point performance would have made 'Zona's streak the longest in college basketball history.

Merkin wrote:http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketb ... le-bracket


3 BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

1. Arizona

Sure, Wichita State winning its second game in three days wasn't exactly a stunner, and sure, everyone was well aware that this Arizona team wasn't of the caliber of the last two that Sean Miller has taken to the dance. Still, the way the Wildcats went out without much of a fight on Thursday night was awfully surprising, and more than a bit disappointing.

Arizona's point total in the 65-55 loss was its lowest of the entire 2015-16 season, and it also snapped a streak of 40 consecutive NCAA Tournament games in which the Wildcats had scored at least 60 points. One more 60+ point performance would have made 'Zona's streak the longest in college basketball history.

I'm not sure I really count the 13-14 Wisconsin game.