San Diego State Game Thread

[cujaysfan]

It took how long for Ash to fit in on a veteran team?

This isn't a vet team compared to last year. We just have too many new pieces to expect for them to be clicking from go.

Here's hoping that Mac does his usual voodoo and we're figuring things out by BE play.

There are certainly issues with shooting - passing - the four spot productivity.

But I will keep my bourbon supply full and hope that this version of CU hoops gets it figured out.

[Chicagojayfan]

It took how long for Ash to fit in on a veteran team?

This isn't a vet team compared to last year. We just have too many new pieces to expect for them to be clicking from go.

Here's hoping that Mac does his usual voodoo and we're figuring things out by BE play.

There are certainly issues with shooting - passing - the four spot productivity.

But I will keep my bourbon supply full and hope that this version of CU hoops gets it figured out.

Well put, only point of contention would be that I keep a supply of Scotch instead of Bourbon

I can't think of a Mac team that didn't improve over the course of the season and we have reason to have some optimism here.
- Ash will be back earlier than I had originally thought (I was worried it would be a 1-2 month injury!)
- Isaacs is playing well, and is a guy who plays well in a team scheme as well, so I think his performance will just get better
- Our shooting will improve. While the 4 spot has been just bad so far, McAndrew clearly can shoot, and will only improve, and we know Miller and Traudt can shoot it as well. Green has struggled, but the player we saw down the stretch last year is there still and will come out
- Teams have rightly figured out that their best bet is to do anything and everything to not allow Kalkbrenner to have shots, but when he's gotten touches he's been great, and when the 4 spot guys hit some shots he'll get openings

I won't sugarcoat it, with Ashworth out our depth at Guard is limited, and it also means Isaacs needs to run the point more with even fewer shooters around him (not just the 4's, but also Neal who is more limited than we hoped offensively). But this also means Davis gets thrown into the fire to learn how to play college level ball all that much faster. While his shooting just isn't there yet, he doesn't look out of place while handling the ball or playing D (low turnover rate for a true Frosh handling the ball that much)

It will get better, but it's going to take some time, and some guys need to step up

[blueblood]

This offense is set up for 2 things. Get the ball to Kalk and drain the open 3. The current roster is shooting 28% from the 3 point line. Kalk has shot maybe 4 times against the 2 games with real competition. Hard not to improve on that. There are several players that have had their 2 years to learn the offense that are total busts.

[Realhoops]

It took how long for Ash to fit in on a veteran team?

This isn't a vet team compared to last year. We just have too many new pieces to expect for them to be clicking from go.

Here's hoping that Mac does his usual voodoo and we're figuring things out by BE play.

There are certainly issues with shooting - passing - the four spot productivity.

But I will keep my bourbon supply full and hope that this version of CU hoops gets it figured out.

Well put, only point of contention would be that I keep a supply of Scotch instead of Bourbon

I can't think of a Mac team that didn't improve over the course of the season and we have reason to have some optimism here.
- Ash will be back earlier than I had originally thought (I was worried it would be a 1-2 month injury!)
- Isaacs is playing well, and is a guy who plays well in a team scheme as well, so I think his performance will just get better
- Our shooting will improve. While the 4 spot has been just bad so far, McAndrew clearly can shoot, and will only improve, and we know Miller and Traudt can shoot it as well. Green has struggled, but the player we saw down the stretch last year is there still and will come out
- Teams have rightly figured out that their best bet is to do anything and everything to not allow Kalkbrenner to have shots, but when he's gotten touches he's been great, and when the 4 spot guys hit some shots he'll get openings

I won't sugarcoat it, with Ashworth out our depth at Guard is limited, and it also means Isaacs needs to run the point more with even fewer shooters around him (not just the 4's, but also Neal who is more limited than we hoped offensively). But this also means Davis gets thrown into the fire to learn how to play college level ball all that much faster. While his shooting just isn't there yet, he doesn't look out of place while handling the ball or playing D (low turnover rate for a true Frosh handling the ball that much)

It will get better, but it's going to take some time, and some guys need to step up

Unfortunately, you just lost all credibility that you have spent years developing on here. Scotch is ver bourbon? Criminal …

[Angry Dan]

The second coming of Christ—-ian Laettner—Cooper Flagg—is shooting 26% from 3… just sayin.

Cooper Flagg is an excellent player, but even Cooper Flagg needs time to develop

The new players struggling is understandable. But they have shown potential.

I agree with Blueblood, the veteran players, all at the 4 spot, Green, Traudt and Miller, should be doing better and they would be the first to tell you. I still like all three, I see potential.

I still think there is potential for the whole team and the season

Sorry if I sound too much like Ted Lasso

I can only get through a season of Bluejay hoops if I act like a goldfish

[WBR Tom]

"I hope we shoot our way out of it. That's what this team is built on." That from Mac after the game -- the confidence is admirable even if the numbers don't justify it at the moment. And the numbers are really, really bad.

More on those numbers, plus quotes, highlights and more in the Morning After recap over on WBR:

https://whiteandbluereview.com/morning- ... ego-state/

[NUgradCUfan]

"I hope we shoot our way out of it. That's what this team is built on." That from Mac after the game -- the confidence is admirable even if the numbers don't justify it at the moment. And the numbers are really, really bad.

More on those numbers, plus quotes, highlights and more in the Morning After recap over on WBR:

https://whiteandbluereview.com/morning- ... ego-state/

For Mac being the numbers guy that he is (even to his fault sometimes it seems), going against the grain on what the numbers are telling you your team is from a shooting standpoint is pretty wild to me.

[cujaysfan]

I can only assume that Mac is taking into account the numbers from practice as part of the story.

because the other thought is unpleasant.

of course - as i mentioned - that's why we have bourbon!

[Jaybird]

"I hope we shoot our way out of it. That's what this team is built on." That from Mac after the game -- the confidence is admirable even if the numbers don't justify it at the moment. And the numbers are really, really bad.

More on those numbers, plus quotes, highlights and more in the Morning After recap over on WBR:

https://whiteandbluereview.com/morning- ... ego-state/

For Mac being the numbers guy that he is (even to his fault sometimes it seems), going against the grain on what the numbers are telling you your team is from a shooting standpoint is pretty wild to me.

We're 313th in 3-point shooting in this morning's NCAA stats. If we shoot lights out today, we might catch Lipscomb and Rider, but Northern Kentucky and Georgetown are sneaking up on us in the rankings, so we'd better be careful.

The irony is, we're shooting 65% from inside the arc. So our answer to that apparently is, shoot more threes! The majority of Creighton's shots have been from distance. Seems to me that for a team built on shooting, what we're doing so far this season is roughly the same thing as giving up 85 points per game when a team's built on defense.

[Alphawalt]

I wonder about the optimism of this comment:

I hope we shoot our way out of it,” McDermott said on the postgame radio show. “That’s what this team was built on. You know, some teams are built with athleticism, and we’ve built this team on shooting. That’s what we’ve done most of my time at Creighton. I still believe in some of the guys that aren’t shooting it really well. We’ve just got to continue to instill confidence in them, and remind them that the next shot is the only one they should worry about — not what happened in the past. If we can do that I think we can turn the corner.”

In my view, the only true pure form smooth motion three point shooters are Jackson, Ash, and sometimes Pop. Jackson looks like he will be a stud shooter for as long as he is at CU and become a cornerstone player. Ash, he is really good if has time to set up his shot. Unfortunately, he is also slower than a typical PG, and the opposing defender can frequently recover and make it a tough shot for Ash. Pop, he is definitely a streak shooter, and when his shots are not falling, he tends to rush his shots and that’s where most of his misses occur. Pop needs to do more fakes and either go to rim or shoot mid-range shots. Too many threes when they are not falling is a recipe for losing. We need more driving to basket. That could also loosen up some of the double teaming of Kalk. Bottom line is I don’t see this years team as a team “built on shooting “ so we have to have a plan B when shots are not falling.