Clearly it’s too early to make judgments about our two newest members, but the games on Wednesday certainly gave us A-10 fans a taste of what to expect.
Personally, I partly discount the Butler loss. The Bulldogs looked very much like a work in progress and a team searching for its identity.
Start with the offense. I didn’t see the normal sharp cuts, crisp passing and ball motion I associate with Butler. Clarke and Dunham looked for their shot too quickly and they hoisted some contested treys after a few dribbles. That’s why they didn’t shoot so well.
The guards need to move the ball first, try to set up teammates and shoot within the flow of the offense. It’s a lot easier to hit a trey behind a good screen than shooting in the face of a defender. Quick shots by the guards also leads to other players standing around. It happened last night.
Yes, it would help if Butler showed a better inside game, but a good team doesn’t have to have a consistent post presence to run a crisp offense. Ball movement and player movement – the Butler way! - is critical. That was mostly absent last night.
The defense, for its part, was subpar. Frankly, I cannot remember the last time an A-10 team started two white guys in the backcourt. Dunham especially looked like a freshman on defense - couple of picks almost knocked him to the floor. Clarke isn’t known as a great defender, either.
That's going to be a problem all year long. Neither one of those guys can guard a topflight A-10 PG like Williams or Duren and so forth.
The Butler frontcourt was beaten up pretty good by Xavier, too. The Bulldogs don’t have great length and athleticism inside. Doesn’t mean players can’t box out, however.
The good news is that Xavier actually has more length and athleticism in its frontcourt than a majority of A-10 teams. Still, Andrew Smith is not going to dominate in our league. He tends not to play well against big, athletic frontcourts. Marshall is not a go-to post player, either.
I expect Butler to show lots of improvement over the year, and Hinkle will prove to be a very tough place for most A-10 teams to play. Finishing in the top 5 of the league, however, won’t be easy. Not at all.
Personally, I partly discount the Butler loss. The Bulldogs looked very much like a work in progress and a team searching for its identity.
Start with the offense. I didn’t see the normal sharp cuts, crisp passing and ball motion I associate with Butler. Clarke and Dunham looked for their shot too quickly and they hoisted some contested treys after a few dribbles. That’s why they didn’t shoot so well.
The guards need to move the ball first, try to set up teammates and shoot within the flow of the offense. It’s a lot easier to hit a trey behind a good screen than shooting in the face of a defender. Quick shots by the guards also leads to other players standing around. It happened last night.
Yes, it would help if Butler showed a better inside game, but a good team doesn’t have to have a consistent post presence to run a crisp offense. Ball movement and player movement – the Butler way! - is critical. That was mostly absent last night.
The defense, for its part, was subpar. Frankly, I cannot remember the last time an A-10 team started two white guys in the backcourt. Dunham especially looked like a freshman on defense - couple of picks almost knocked him to the floor. Clarke isn’t known as a great defender, either.
That's going to be a problem all year long. Neither one of those guys can guard a topflight A-10 PG like Williams or Duren and so forth.
The Butler frontcourt was beaten up pretty good by Xavier, too. The Bulldogs don’t have great length and athleticism inside. Doesn’t mean players can’t box out, however.
The good news is that Xavier actually has more length and athleticism in its frontcourt than a majority of A-10 teams. Still, Andrew Smith is not going to dominate in our league. He tends not to play well against big, athletic frontcourts. Marshall is not a go-to post player, either.
I expect Butler to show lots of improvement over the year, and Hinkle will prove to be a very tough place for most A-10 teams to play. Finishing in the top 5 of the league, however, won’t be easy. Not at all.