re: Alabama Basketball Megathread | 26-7 (16-2)

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DAMN CHAD WASP STEALIN THAT THUNDAH

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I’m ready for him to get his arse back in here, this sucks.

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Nate Oats:

"Jahvon Quinerly was a lot better in the second half. He was an integral part of that comeback. Aggressiveness, getting in the paint, moving the ball around, it was all key to us making that run. I think he's one of the best PG in the country"

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I think this is one of those talking to your players through the media things.

And I'm not dogging JQ. I agree he played really well Saturday and seems to be coming out of his slump. That's good news for this team going forward.

It sounds like Coach speak, but really though, the way they have been touting him and selling him to recruits, I think they honestly believe it. He’s not saying his play thus far indicates he’s one of the best PGs in the country (hence why he’s coming off the bench), but that his skill level is up there with the best in the country.

Even if we take a loss for sitting him it’s worth it IMO to get him back 100%

Yeah he's buffed up. I hope he can keep Snowden around.

We opened at -10 vs South Carolina but now it's down to -8, probably due to Herb being questionable.

Idk if that worked or not

I think he starts at the 5 game 1 next year if he adds about 5-10 more pounds

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I said this last week. These other teams know how to play us now. If you cant dribble drive in this offense, you are easy to guard. This isnt just about a slump. Primo should be replaced by Ellis because he isnt as good of an all around player. Primo might be the best shooter on the team, but he is easy to guard. The defender just has to stand there with him. Petty has the same problem, but he is more aggressive than Primo. Ellis needs to be on the court 75% of the time. And Gary needs to be on the court more too. Both of those are getting better with playing time. The only screens we do are for the point guard, so unless we change that, I dont see why Primo should play until he grows into this game. He is basically a high school kid. And, we need to sink or swim with Quinnerly at point. He made some nice plays at the end that should have won the game. I dont get playing Herb at point. Just bad results.

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In discussing the game with the guys over at Crimson Crossover, I talked about the screening issue. We are going to have to start manufacturing some 3-point looks for Petty/Primo/Ellis/Shack/JQ with off-ball screens.

Most of our screens involve the 5 coming up for an on-ball screen to try to get the ball-handler 1v1 with a mismatch and either take it to the rim for a layup/foul, or get the D to collapse and open up an open kick-out 3 ball.

Mississippi State laid the first real blueprint for stopping this where you guard us on the drive 1v1 and stay on the perimeter with the shooters. No collapsing and no help to take away the kick-out 3s.

You are content to take your chances on the 1v1 at the rim for a block/foul/miss/make. Due to poor finishing and blocks as of late, we aren't converting these at a high enough rate to sustain our offensive success.

I do think a lot of it has to do with the health of Herb. We were at our most lethal when he was healthy. You can't play healthy Herb 1v1 driving the lane. You can play JQ/Shack/Petty/Primo 1v1, but a healthy Herb 1v1 is going to bully a smaller guard and blow past a big, and he was finishing at a high clip. But he is obviously hobbled and become less effective at that since his injuries, and Coach Oats even says he has to find a way to get him healthy, and it shows how much it has affected our offense.

Herb's offensive stats prior to MSU back injury:

FGA: 8.9
FG%: 48.1%
2PA: 7.3
2P%: 48.2%
3PA: 1.5
3P%: 47.8%
FTA: 4.2
FT%: 79.4%
AST: 2.1
TOV: 2.6
PTS: 12.6

Herb's offensive stats since the back injury v. MSU (differences in parenthesis):

FGA: 7 (-1.9)
FG%: 40% (-8.1%)
2PA: 5.4 (-1.9)
2PT%: 37% (-11.2%)
3PA: 1.6 (+0.1)
3P%: 50% (+2.2%)
FTA: 4.6 (+0.4)
FT%: 69.6% (-9.8%)
AST: 4.4 (+2.3)
TOV: 3 (+0.4)
PTS: 9.6 (-3)

Our team offense since Mississippi State:

Points: down 10.8 ppg
2PA: the same
2P%: down 4.5%
3PA: down 4.5 per game
3P%: down 1.4%
FTA: down 4 per game

Looking at the big picture and knowing that all 2P shots in our offense come at the rim, you can see that either Herb is having trouble getting to the rim and finishing, or he is being less aggressive, or both. He is attempting 2 less rim runs per game since he has been hurt, and his conversion is down 11.2%, and because of the ineffectiveness of him and others driving the lane, it's taking away our 3 point looks (down 4.5/game).