VinyVango

Sims is fighting his man on defense but we have zero backside help or boxing out by anyone else ... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And he (febres) is being used as our 2nd big expected to defend a forward and grab a defensive rebound when he had no desire, ability, or idea how to body up and box out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These announcers are on point about the lack of movement, spacing, and filling the lanes on offense ... you can put your weakest player on febres and Jones ... they just stand at the 3 point line all possession Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The lineup with sims and baker on the court showed some life on offense but that’s the first time we’ve tried it all season and they were confused about who was played the opposing big men on defense ... no rhyme or reason ... febres averaging about 1 good offensive game every 9 games doesn’t justify him being on the court so much ... billy Donovan come on down Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s interesting to watch providence running their offense ... off ball screens ... screens down low to free up wings ... and we play the high pick roll with 3 guys standing still every possession Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This 4 guard lineup is not cutting it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well said. The soft-serve pre-conference schedule has done what it was intended to as far as wins and losses, though it seems like a lot of valuable teaching moments, player development, and line-up/set play experimentation opportunities were ignored. We are about to hit big-boy time when the opposing players will match-up to our players' physical abilities. Then it will boil down heavily upon coaching. No good excuses left for finishing behind Baylor and Tech and still maintaining the current coaching staff another year. Shaka looks like he is going to ride the 3-point shot and heavy guard usage to his longhorn destiny this year. He's been stubbornly resistant thru 10 games to work any meaningful low post options into the game plan or attempt to develop his front court players. I am pessimistic of our odds against well coached teams who use our predictability against us. It's going to take some good shooting games from the guards to fight for a top 3 finish in conference.

Yep. There is an unmistakable stench in the room... and the injuries, team youth, new system excuses are all way past their expiration dates.

Telling, really bad stats for this team include FTs per game, 3 point shot percentage, and rebounding margin. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that taking a missing a ton of 3 point shots results in not getting to the FT line and reducing the odds of an offensive rebound. We also tend to favor a line-up with 4 guards, which plays into more 3 point heaves and getting out rebounded on both ends of the court. The scary thing is that our really bad rankings in those areas has been against pretty mediocre to outright poor competition. Opponents in the Big-12 are going to encourage Shaka to play a small line-up and jack up rushed 3 pointers. We need Bobby Knight level stressing to our players at this point that they are expected to drive into the paint at all costs to at least draw contact and get to the line, and only shoot a 3 if it's late in the shot clock and they are wide ass open. We also need more Kai and less Febres. Kai has show a lot of positives and Febres has been consistently poor in shot selection, shot percentage, and defense. I think most of our other players have been up and down, so I don't have any real qualms about who starts. Just give more minutes to whoever is playing well during each game. I think the defense has been noticeable improved this year. I'm not feeling the love for our offensive assistant coach yet. The high screen with everyone standing at the 3 point line, with no variants, deception, or off-ball movement is high school stuff. I wish we had a Brad Stevens, Billy Donovan, or Tony Bennett. I dread another year where Lon Krueger, Jamie Dixon and Scott Drew look like Wooden against us or where Okie state, K-state, or West Virginia take games from us with duct-taped line-ups of clumsy 3 stars and jucos. This team can easily make the NCAA tournament if they are coached up on getting interior shots and if they get over the small ball lineup and "be like Steph" infatuation.

It is a huge concern to see a regress back to the stagnant stand-around-the-three point line offense with few drives and no guard ever looking to pass inside to a big (when one is inside). I felt optimistic with the improved fluidity and movement during the NIT games on offense... Where the fuck did that go? Why are we back to the 1 level pick and stand there offense with absolutely nothing happening off the ball 95% of the time? Frustrating. The lack of trips to the FT line, lack of any attempt to show a post-up option to defend, and weak rebounding (after Sims) will be a major problem against teams ranked below 100.

Hamm has his head up his ass... give baker some run to rest sims Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This agg team is worse than Cal Baptist and Northern Colorado by far... we should be pounding it inside even if it’s just to have sims or baker kick it out to an open man Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Too much standing around on offense and zero off ball screening... our offense is basically Intramural level (and that’s an insult to good intramural teams)... I like the energy on defense Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I honestly don't know anything about the Aggies team. In looking just now at their roster, it looks like most of the minutes go to "tweener" types who will be taller and wider than our line-up if we go with the 4-guard set-up and out-sized if we play Kai Jones and Sims at the same time. I'm not sold yet on Shaka's substitution patterns (though last game was much improved). If he tries to adjust his line-ups to who the Aggies have on the floor, it could be more competitive that we want it to be. I think we should start Coleman, A Jones, Liddell, K Jones, and Sims and substitute freely as needed if any of those guys are making boneheaded decisions on shot selection and ball protection. Sub in Ramey liberally, Febres with a short leash, and Williams and Hamm in small doses to give the starters a breather. If we get up 12-15 points, spin the tires on Hepa, Baker and/or Cunningham (for more than a 1 minute garbage time cameo) to see if any of those guys are hungry for playing time.

like the Mona Lisa with Mr. Bean's face on it.

Kai Jones has earned a lot more minutes with his hustle and energy in my opinion Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The lineups / substitutions have been better this game ... much less of the 4 guard - no board lineup Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

When Ivar got a prominent role, the acting level became borderline comedic, and the series took a major turn for the worse. It was much better during the first couple seasons.

Time for the Febres bell cow experiment to be shelved. He needs about 20 mins max a game (until he proves otherwise) and should never be playing as the 2nd big in our line-up. Give Liddell, Williams and Cunningham a significant chunk of Febres minutes. That 4 guard line-up is ass. Draw Sims outside the paint to defend and there is nobody worth a shit who can grab a board or play interior defense. McNeese did it perfectly right before Ramey saved the day with FTs. The window is closing to get Baker, Hepa and Cunningham comfortable with game speed, teammates, and game pressure up to a passable level. I can't see why any of them would want to stay it out at Texas watching Febres trying to emulate Steph Curry without repercussion. I think our starting 5 currently should be Coleman, Ramey or A Jones, Liddell, K Jones or Hamm, and Sims. I'd like to see a line-up with K Jones and Baker playing the 4 and 5.

I was hoping we would see a lot front court players in the first few games so that we could develop a semblance of confident/comfort/familiarity with teammates in live action for Hamm, Baker, Hepa, Kai Jones, and Cunningham. Instead, Shaka has chosen to go with a small line-up and let Febres shoot out of his slump (he's shooting .294 for the season so far and is leading the team in minutes per game). Baker, Hepa, Kai Jones, and Cunningham are a collective 0-17 and have taken just 1 shot inside the 3-point line. I didn't expect those guys to be all Americans, just would've liked to have seen them play through some of their ruts/mistakes rather than get the quick hook. I think Baker and Kai Jones could create some problems for opponents if they get more than 5 mins/game to get acclimated. Looks like Hepa is destined for cheerleading on the sideline. When we play a team with a couple of good players over 6'8" / 180 lbs, I feel that small ball line-up will be even more exposed for it's weak rebounding, poor interior defense, and lack of movement on offense.

Personally, I like Williams getting a lot more of Febres' minutes, until the later shows more movement and shot-clock / situation / match-up iq on the offensive end. Williams has shown good energy, the willingness to drive the lane, and he can even hit a 3 pointer. Baker needs some serious coaching about the fact he's a giant and needs to post up, if for no other reason than make the defenders work and stay honest.

Anal fissure Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You'd think the GOP would at least get an attorney at these hearings that could sit still for 5 seconds without making an odd facial expressions. He has a perpetual squinting, head-bobbing, toddler filling a diaper look going on. Odd as fuck.

I knew that part... just wondered if there was anything about him or his resume that those who hired him were saying supported the decision from a soccer coach standpoint.

Castor has that odd, Nixon-esque head shake and tempo when he asks questions.