Bear Down Wildcats

RichardCranium wrote:Lauri Markkanen and the plane ride that may land Arizona in the Final Four

The Finnish phenom is, potentially, an all-timer. A towering sharpshooter, Markkanen comes from a basketball family, bolstered in promise by Möttölä’s tutoring. Markkanen could be the puzzle-solver. He could be the guy to lift Arizona coach Sean Miller to the first Final Four of his career, and he could be the next European-born NBA superstar. But beyond that, most importantly, he could change basketball’s popularity in his home country forever. Because truly great hardwood players don’t come from the Nordic. Not until now.

Speaking to him by phone, I ask him what Helsinki was like, what he misses about Finland.

“One thing I like to do, but I haven’t had a chance, is I like playing hockey with my friends,” he said. “I like to watch it, too. It’s been a long time.”

A few seconds go by.

“I wish I had a chance to do that again. It’s been three or four years.”

Now imagine the 7-footer on skates. And dominating.

Umm. Doesn't UA have a pretty decent club hockey team? He couldn't play for real of course, too dangerous, but he might be able to coach if he's any good.

The Roadrunners minor league team will probably be the nail in the coffin for the Wildcats (previously Ice Cats) hockey team, but they did sweep D1 ASU last weekend.

I like the fact that Lauri/coaching staff have made concerted efforts to spread his impact over the entire half-court floor. Next step, not hyper-focusing on playing back to the basket when inside the 3 point line. Throw in some face-ups. He can knock those down in his sleep and he is obviously more comfortable facing the basket when he has the ball.

rgdeuce wrote:I like the fact that Lauri/coaching staff have made concerted efforts to spread his impact over the entire half-court floor. Next step, not hyper-focusing on playing back to the basket when inside the 3 point line. Throw in some face-ups. He can knock those down in his sleep and he is obviously more comfortable facing the basket when he has the ball.

Lauri is really good offensively, but I agree with the point about him tending towards a single focus.

When he is able to seamlessly integrate the postup with facing and playing in the pick and roll game...that's the final form Lauri will take offensively. A lot of that is maturity and experience. Learni g how to be aggressive and attack in all phases is when he becomes that dominator.

We may not see it here, but a guy can hope.

What is going on with him? I understand foul trouble....but the second half of the season hasn't been anything close to what we saw from him early. When him and Ristic are on the court together the interior is as soft as a pillow. No blocks, no boards, no anything. Okay...he will make a good stretch 4 in the league because they don't play defense. But man, all the talent we saw and the attention he started to get and he has fallen off a cliff. Miller did a nice job recently against weaker teams going inside to him. But today we really needed him to step up and he seemed more like a liability.

Personally I don't think Lauri and Ristic should see the court at the same time. Neither can defend or board. The soft interior was the major reason for the loss to UCLA tonight. Show me more Pinder and Comanche. I know they can't score but right now I don't see Lauri or Duece lighting it up either. We need some more hard nosed interior play.

Really hoping Lauri turns it around. Maybe he needs to play more of the 3 like he did with Trier out. I don't know the answer...I hope Miller does. But we need to toughen up inside.

He's scared to shoot the 3, and his confidence is shaken. He ball fakes every time he pick and pops (which isn't much considering he usually pick and half ass rolls most the time now) instead of letting it fly. He needs to shoot it if it's there , his stroke will come back. If someone runs at him then u ball fake and go to hole.

And as bad as he schooled leaf first time around, he got schooled just the same this time.
He could use another year of seasoning but I doubt we get it.

At this point I wouldnt rule it out. His stock is coming back down to earth. Aside from his shook confidence, he is not nearly as explosive as he was earlier in the year and he looks a whole gear slower. This was a guy who was defending 3s and doing a solid job and now there arent many 4s he can hang with. Guys are fully recovering when he drives. His rebounding has been spotty. Looking very one dimensional these days.

Still seems too weak for the NBA right now, and still adjusting to the college game. The NBA won't be any easier than college either. So dumb these kids leave when they're not ready, have professional coaching at their beck and call to get better, yet prefer to go on a destiny of 2-3 half ass nba seasons then to Europe. Lauri's from there so maybe he doesn't care if he leaves early and washes out, which I think he will at this point.

PennZona20 wrote:He's scared to shoot the 3

Extremely obvious end of the game. He should be calling for the ball instead of passing it off to a worse shooter. Oh those wasted seconds.

TheGreatCatsby wrote:Still seems too weak for the NBA right now, and still adjusting to the college game. The NBA won't be any easier than college either. So dumb these kids leave when they're not ready, have professional coaching at their beck and call to get better, yet prefer to go on a destiny of 2-3 half ass nba seasons then to Europe. Lauri's from there so maybe he doesn't care if he leaves early and washes out, which I think he will at this point.

His game is actually suited better for the NBA than college. And he will still be a top pick because he's tall and can shoot real well. NBA teams won't pass on a prospect as good as him. But he has definitely fallen off.

As to him winning Pac12 player of the week it was against sub-par competition and he was playing inside. He cannot do that against good interior big men and his shot hasn't been falling.

As I mentioned earlier If I were Miller right now I WOULD NOT be playing Lauri and Ristic at the same time. They both have the same weaknesses. Especially against teams who are decent inside.

Miller needs to drill it into Lauris head to keep shooting as he did w Parker.

Hopefully his shot comes back by tourney like pjcs has. He had that perfect trail 3 w 42 seconds left that if he hits it's 75-73 and we can play D instead of fouling (which worked anyway since they missed)

When Lauri rolls off the pick it's half assed and useless. If he's gonna roll like that he needs to pop 95% of the time. Or watch Chance roll. Chance cuts hard to hoop and sometimes is rewarded w a free dunk off the pick and roll.

While some of his 3s are way off, he's had a lot of in and outs during this slump and his pull up from 16-17 feet is still wet. He's not that far from being a marksman he was before. He needs to keep shooting and shooting w confidence.

billk78 wrote:
As to him winning Pac12 player of the week it was against sub-par competition and he was playing inside. He cannot do that against good interior big men and his shot hasn't been falling.

Who are these good interior big men? Meeks, Bolden, Haas, Karnowski. Who am I missing? With those big men, you want to take them away from the rim, and otherwise run them off the court with the kind of lineup you can put together with Lauri as your 5. Lauri continues shoot the ball well in motion and from mid-range despite troubles from behind the arc.

See Kaminsky. The only concern one could have w Lauri at the 5 is foul trouble, rebounding and defense, but really, rule out defense and rebounding because the guy who starts at the 5 right now cant do either. We got two excellent and athletic freshmen who Miller is struggling to even get on the floor for 20 and 15 minutes a game each and neither for long enough to get in any sort of rhythm. Im rarely critical of Miller but it is completely asinine that those guys have averaged about 30 minutes a game combined the last two games while Ristic, Comanche and Lauri have averaged well over 70. The substitution patterns and combinations have been bad too. Its the end of February and this team still doesnt know which way it is headed. Can you imagine how bad tonight would have been had Trier not played his best game in an Arizona uniform?

I agree. Dusan needs his playing time cut and cut now. That was the worst game I saw him play. There are still minutes for him but if he's gonna get out-hustled and out worked by a good even matchup for him like Welsh either give his minutes to Chance or throw out an Oregon lineup w 4 guards/wings and Lauri.

I've changed my mind :

PJC
Trier
Allen
Alkins
Lauri

That should be our staring lineup and Kobi needs starter minutes.

If Duse or Chance want starter minutes they got to go earn them in the time they get. If Dusan starts against Oregon if we see them again I won't be happy.

I don't mind reducing Dusan's time, but at least account for the fact that a big man with a hurt ankle is not 100%

As much as I want him to score down low more, we need his 3pt shooting back to open driving lanes for the guards. We have no other consistent socring threat from deep.

He's struggled in Feb, 5-26 from 3.

Euro legs adjusting to the US game? He's missing short a lot.

It's so weird seeing him now looking scared to take 3s when such a short time ago he was almost automatic. He needs to get out of his own head. It's all mental right now

Alieberman wrote:It's so weird seeing him now looking scared to take 3s when such a short time ago he was almost automatic. He needs to get out of his own head. It's all mental right now

This. Legs matter, but you don't have that dramatic a dropoff. Plus, legs matter more over the course of a game than a season.

PJC stole his mojo

LM is 5 for February. Contrast that to January where he had a streak where he had games where he made 4,4,5,3 and 4 3s per game.

Arizona Wildcats star Lauri Markkanen's shot is off, but he's still remarkably productive
Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star Mar 2, 2017 Updated 6 min ago


“I’ve had those before,” Markkanen said. “Everyone’s gonna have a little bit tougher time but I’ve gotta keep working and get better. I’m trying to focus on different things, rebounding the ball, playing defense. I’m not worried about that.”

“He’ll bounce back,” Miller said. “We have to do a better job of getting him good looks but he’s done everything that we’ve asked. He’s rebounding, he’s scoring better around the basket. He’s really an improved defensive player and when he gets a couple of good looks he’ll bounce back for sure.”

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcat ... 3d240.html" target="_blank

Is there any chance Lauri comes back one more year? Heard his dad wants him to.

After the UCLA game none of our bigs deserve to start.

PJC
Trier
Allen
Alkins
Pinder

Irish27 wrote:Is there any chance Lauri comes back one more year? Heard his dad wants him to.

I would say considering the type of prospect he is, the Chances are astronomically great he could comeback compared to the normal chances of a top 10 kid coming back.


Which still only puts the chances of a return around 20% overall lol.

He's missing terribly on 3s, not even close. Had 3 airballs today.

3 blocks though

Lauri was a microcosm of the team as a whole. Couldn't shoot for shit. Turned up the volume on every other part of his game.

I hope Arizona suddenly can shoot again during the tourney.

LM sure had fresh legs blocking those shots, but they sure turned dead on the perimeter.

I was thinking if this was Lute's team he would tank the PAC tourney, then rest the team for the NCAAs.

Looked more energetic and refreshed out there today. I think the shots will start to fall. He looked a step quicker today and had more confidence than Ive seen in a while. Ristic on the other hand...

NYCat wrote:He's missing terribly on 3s, not even close. Had 3 airballs today.

3 blocks though

which team are they saying the house belongs to?

PieceOfMeat wrote:

NYCat wrote:He's missing terribly on 3s, not even close. Had 3 airballs today.

3 blocks though

which team are they saying the house belongs to?

McKale North of course....it's a very ugly extension to our Mansion in Tucson.....kind of like a shitty cabin up North only to escape the elements ......sadly there is a real scumdevil infestation that pops up every 5 years or so.

Shot under 20% from three on his last 31 attempts. I remember when it was surprising when he missed.

rgdeuce wrote:Shot under 20% from three on his last 31 attempts. I remember when it was surprising when he missed.

That number is depressing....any other factors that could be influencing this?

I would like to know how he is shooting it in practice.

Bangkok Wildcat wrote:

rgdeuce wrote:Shot under 20% from three on his last 31 attempts. I remember when it was surprising when he missed.

That number is depressing....any other factors that could be influencing this?

Announcers were alluding that playing on the Finnish national team was too much before a grueling NCAA season.

No legs anymore.

Tired legs. But those blocks yesterday outstanding.

I think it's in his head. He sure seemed to be plenty spry on his drives and the defensive end.

I know we're supposed to say it's his legs, but he's a hell of an athlete who's played 30 games in 4 months, and we're not seeing anyone else's legs affect their shot to this degree.

He's got the yips.

Longhorned wrote:I know we're supposed to say it's his legs, but he's a hell of an athlete who's played 30 games in 4 months, and we're not seeing anyone else's legs affect their shot to this degree.

He's got the yips.

This. Plus, legs don't take you from 50% to under 20%. He's noticeably hesitating. He needs to fire it up.

Plus one of airballs appeared to miss to the right rather than short. I do think his frustration with his shit has added some much needed aggression to his game. If he can mix the two of them I doubt there would be a better player in the tournament.

Jefe wrote:PJC stole his mojo

Why oh why are we so easily ruling out this.

We need a comedy movie starring Lauri in search of his 3pt shooting mojo, and along the way he finds himself. Turns out that was the key.

NYCat wrote:

Jefe wrote:PJC stole his mojo

Why oh why are we so easily ruling out this.

We need a comedy movie starring Lauri in search of his 3pt shooting mojo, and along the way he finds himself.

Who is playing Fat Bastard?

RaisingArizona wrote:Plus one of airballs appeared to miss to the right rather than short. I do think his frustration with his shit has added some much needed aggression to his game. If he can mix the two of them I doubt there would be a better player in the tournament.

I know I tend to get aggressive too when I'm frustrated with my shit.

UAEebs86 wrote:

NYCat wrote:

Jefe wrote:PJC stole his mojo

Why oh why are we so easily ruling out this.

We need a comedy movie starring Lauri in search of his 3pt shooting mojo, and along the way he finds himself.

Who is playing Fat Bastard?

Ex Hoya/Bruin Josh Smith

it's legs

millers defense has the poor guy sprinting between the paint and the perimeter like a 7' ping pong ball 20 times a game. after 30 games it adds up - his shooting has fallen off a cliff. he's lost a bunch of $$$ over the past month.

Lauri Markkanen was better before Trier's return.

His only two really good games recently were @ the Washington schools. In that road trip, the team was without Allen - Wash. w/o Ristic as well.

RiseAndFire wrote:it's legs

millers defense has the poor guy sprinting between the paint and the perimeter like a 7' ping pong ball 20 times a game. after 30 games it adds up - his shooting has fallen off a cliff. he's lost a bunch of $$$ over the past month.

I don't know how to respond to this other than to say it's literally the stupidest thing I've read in a month. And that's hard to imagine given the news I read every day!

Puerco wrote:

RiseAndFire wrote:it's legs

millers defense has the poor guy sprinting between the paint and the perimeter like a 7' ping pong ball 20 times a game. after 30 games it adds up - his shooting has fallen off a cliff. he's lost a bunch of $$$ over the past month.

I don't know how to respond to this other than to say it's literally the stupidest thing I've read in a month. And that's hard to imagine given the news I read every day!

Me: "I can't help but wonder what the cause of increased cancer rates around the country might be."

R&F: "Sean Miller's stubborn refusal to implement a zone defense."

Chicat wrote:

Puerco wrote:

RiseAndFire wrote:it's legs

millers defense has the poor guy sprinting between the paint and the perimeter like a 7' ping pong ball 20 times a game. after 30 games it adds up - his shooting has fallen off a cliff. he's lost a bunch of $$$ over the past month.

I don't know how to respond to this other than to say it's literally the stupidest thing I've read in a month. And that's hard to imagine given the news I read every day!

Me: "I can't help but wonder what the cause of increased cancer rates around the country might be."

R&F: "Sean Miller's stubborn refusal to implement a zone defense."

Puerco wrote:

RiseAndFire wrote:it's legs

millers defense has the poor guy sprinting between the paint and the perimeter like a 7' ping pong ball 20 times a game. after 30 games it adds up - his shooting has fallen off a cliff. he's lost a bunch of $$$ over the past month.

I don't know how to respond to this other than to say it's literally the stupidest thing I've read in a month. And that's hard to imagine given the news I read every day!

I'd hope that it isn't playing man to man for 30 mpg twoce a week. When Lauri's in the NBA, they also play man. They just do it 30+ mpg 3-4 times a week including back to backs.

Frankly, the CBB season is easier than the summer circuits, etc. that recruits are used to.