zonagrad wrote:During the off-season, the nightmare scenario was that Dylan Smith would play major minutes. (Yes, this post is about to present some really damning evidence of Smith's struggles. If you're tired of the Smith bashing, I'm sorry. I think he's probably a great teammate and he represents the program well. It's not personal. But he just doesn't belong.)
With the expected arrival of Nico Mannion and Josh Green -- the prospect of having a dynamic backcourt of Brandon Williams and Mannion together was mouth watering. If Williams were healthy -- the prospects for Mannion learning on the go were bright. The loss of Williams for the entire season seems to have been forgotten. And then there's Devonaire Doutrive. Regardless of his issues with the coaching staff and buying in to the program -- his flirtation with transferring and then coming back when Williams was lost due to injury seemed like the silver lining. Doutrive showed flashes that he would eventually be a fan favorite over his four year career. Well, that flamed out with a suspension and then dismissal from the program. Which leaves us, unfortunately, with Dylan Smith.
The focus of this team has been the three freshman and why the hell aren't they carrying Arizona to a conference title and a deep tourney run. And this is totally unfair. Call it another excuse. Or a curse. Or whatever. Blame Miller or don't blame him. But that's the situation. If Arizona had Williams or Doutrive, this would be a completely different team at this point in the season. Nico Mannion wouldn't have to be shouldering so much. Williams could be and would be able to shoulder taking some tough, late game shots. Making some big defensive plays. Doutrive would be getting a key offensive rebound or finishing off a pass.
Instead, Dylan Smith is the subject of our ire because he's the guy out on the floor. He's the guy that nobody wants to see play. But play he does because the one thing he does halfway decent is play better defense than Max Hazzard of Jamarl Baker. But Smith is killing everyone else. The worse he plays on offense, the more other players press to pick up the slack. We're asking freshmen to carry a 5th year senior. If Smith were a steady contributor, it might not be so bad. But the bigger the game, the tighter the score, the worse he plays.
His stats the last four games:
4-27 FG, 1-18 3pt. FG. That's horrendous.
His Pac 12 conference stats:
32% FG
28% 3pt. FG
58% FT
This is no way to be an elite team. It's the worst kind of Catch-22 for the coaching staff. You'd love to have Smith's defense, Hazzard's three point shooting and Baker's play-making and passing all in one player. But you can't have all three at once. So Miller subs all three and hopes for the best.
This is Arizona's Achille's Heel. The problem isn't going away. Sure, Mannion, Zeke and Green are all going to have better games the rest of the way. But this is similar to the lack of a Pac 12 caliber point guard in '18. Eventually, it's going to be exposed. Not all opponents will have the personnel to follow UCLA's blue-print. But defending Arizona becomes much easier when you only have to worry about 4 players beating you.
This x 1000
Miller can’t afford to lose Smith on the defensive end. That’s his only saving grace. You can’t replace Smiths defense with Hazzard (5’10” and is stopping opponents from passing him as well as a 1987 ford escort in a nascar race), or Baker (listed are 6’4”, but about as defensively consistent as My toddler’s mood). They’re offensive improvement over Smith is not making up for the lack of production on the other end.
Williams Would have solved this. Doutrive is a maybe if we follow the pre season rumblings of him buying in defensively. but, you can’t live in what-if land. Williams is not playing this year. Doutrive is a selfish little asshole, who’s parents coddled him and made him think he was the greatest player ever. We could use Brandon’s overall skills and Doutrive’s length, rebounding, and athleticism. But those aren’t delicacies we are afforded.
This team needs to get their heads out of their asses and play hard. If this team played with heart/effort the sky’s the limit. I’m still naively holding my breath. I have faith in CSM. I know he will eventually bust down that final four wall. I’m rooting for him to do it here. But I understand the frustration and pressure building. If he doesn’t get out of the first weekend he will likely be on the hot seat after all the hype this team had. Gotta do something this year or next.
That has to be true. I saw him at a couple parties before games. 
