Wednesday, February 24, 2010
STOP EVAN TURNER
I'm sure coach Ed DeChellis will have a few more points on his bulletin board before this evening's game with ninth-ranked Ohio State, however I think everyone knows what the main goal is.Ohio State will come into the Jordan Center tonight not only boasting a top-10 national ranking, but also a Player-of-the-Year contender in Evan Turner. Turner, a versatile junior point guard, has been heating up in 2010 since missing a month of play in December with two broken vertebrae.
Since Penn State has been spreading the scoring around (finally), Turner now leads the Big Ten Conference with averages of 19.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, and is second in assists at 5.8. He led Ohio State (21-7, 11-4) in a key win at Michigan State on Sunday. For the record, Talor Battle is in second averaging 19.0 points per game.
Turner has been relentless over his past few games (averaging just under 25 points over the last two, earning his sixth Big Ten Player of the Week honors), and it's obvious the Lions will have their work cut out for then. However, as the defense has been tightening things up over their last two road wins, they might just be peaking at the right time.
The Ohio State point guard hasn't taken as many three-point attempts this year as in year's past, however that doesn't mean Penn State's zone can relax with him at the top of the key. The key to limiting Turner's chances will be the Penn State big men tightening the middle of the zone, and the guards helping trap Turner in the corners. Similar to Coach Jim Boeheim's style of zone up north at Syracuse, the Lions will have to play with increased energy, constantly shifting to take away passing lanes - especially to the inside. It's obvious the Lions don't have the height or length as Syracuse's 2-3 zone, and have had trouble shifting in the past, however there's no reason to believe they haven't improved over weeks past.
In the Lions 13-point loss to the Buckeyes back in January (which was much closer than the score shows), Turner lit up the scoreboard for 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting, hitting 9 of 11 free throws. If PSU is going to keep the overall score low (which is always their goal), they'll need to limit Turner's opportunities without giving him an easy 10 from the free throw line. As he cuts to the basket with relative ease, quick hands and feet for Penn State will be dire.
All facets of the Penn State defense have shown signs of improvement, including Drew Jones who held his own against Michigan's DeShawn Sims. Sims, who averages 17.5 points per game, was held to only 10 points on Saturday. If everyone on the defensive end can play as aggressive tonight as they did against Michigan, a third-straight Big Ten victory might just be in the cards for the Nittany Lions.
If the scoring and rebounding can stay as balanced as they have been over the last week, I'd double those chances.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
WHAT LOSING STREAK?
What's better than winning your first Big Ten conference game? Winning two in a row. More than just doubling its win total in conference, Penn State's victory on the road against Michigan on Saturday symbolized the killing of two demons with one stone.
First, the Lions earned a tough road win in a place that has always given them problems. Secondly, Penn State finally won one of those close games that has tortured the team all season. The season isn't saved, not yet, but after twelve straight losses the start the Big Ten schedule, back-to-back wins have allowed this team and its fans to exhale.
The four point victory against the Wolverines wasn't much for aesthetics, but it was evidence of a team that finally conquered, at least for one game, the late game collapses that has become its trademark. A final look at the play-by-play from Saturday revealed another such drought, but this time, despite scoring just four points in the last 9:57 of the game, the team's defense and rebounding proved to be enough to steal a much-needed win.
The two straight wins weren't without their flaws, and nearly all of them, if not corrected, will be exposed by the Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday. It sounds strange to say given its struggles, but this team needs to continue to be motivated by its new-found success rather than relaxed by it. Sure, some of the pressure is off after shedding the "0-for-" label, but the Lions have three big dogs remaining on their schedule and can throw a monkey wrench into the conference standings if they can pick at least one of them off.
Not all of what has led to the change in fortunes of the squad can be explained on a whiteboard, but there are noticeable differences in the way the team has played. The Lions hoisted an average of 19.8 three-pointers per game during the 12-game losing streak but shot only 17 against Northwestern and tied a season-low with just 13 attempts against Michigan. This has been made possible by a seemingly concerted effort by the guards to get the ball in low with entry passes to the front-court players early in the shot clock. This attempt at balancing the floor has resulted in some easier buckets and an apparently more confident Jeff Brooks and Andrew Jones.
Sure, the turnovers continue to be a problem and opponents still get wide open looks due to late rotations, but it is encouraging to see the team correcting the problems that plagued it to start the season. If only it could have engineered this turnaround six weeks ago.
First, the Lions earned a tough road win in a place that has always given them problems. Secondly, Penn State finally won one of those close games that has tortured the team all season. The season isn't saved, not yet, but after twelve straight losses the start the Big Ten schedule, back-to-back wins have allowed this team and its fans to exhale.
The four point victory against the Wolverines wasn't much for aesthetics, but it was evidence of a team that finally conquered, at least for one game, the late game collapses that has become its trademark. A final look at the play-by-play from Saturday revealed another such drought, but this time, despite scoring just four points in the last 9:57 of the game, the team's defense and rebounding proved to be enough to steal a much-needed win.
The two straight wins weren't without their flaws, and nearly all of them, if not corrected, will be exposed by the Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday. It sounds strange to say given its struggles, but this team needs to continue to be motivated by its new-found success rather than relaxed by it. Sure, some of the pressure is off after shedding the "0-for-" label, but the Lions have three big dogs remaining on their schedule and can throw a monkey wrench into the conference standings if they can pick at least one of them off.
Not all of what has led to the change in fortunes of the squad can be explained on a whiteboard, but there are noticeable differences in the way the team has played. The Lions hoisted an average of 19.8 three-pointers per game during the 12-game losing streak but shot only 17 against Northwestern and tied a season-low with just 13 attempts against Michigan. This has been made possible by a seemingly concerted effort by the guards to get the ball in low with entry passes to the front-court players early in the shot clock. This attempt at balancing the floor has resulted in some easier buckets and an apparently more confident Jeff Brooks and Andrew Jones.
Sure, the turnovers continue to be a problem and opponents still get wide open looks due to late rotations, but it is encouraging to see the team correcting the problems that plagued it to start the season. If only it could have engineered this turnaround six weeks ago.
Friday, February 19, 2010
T-E-A-M
For the first time since Penn State's thrilling run in the NIT Tournament last March, the squad was able to put together a full 40 minute team effort, which in-coincidentally resulted in their first Big Ten win of the season.
After relying on the prowess of Talor Battle all season, the rest of Ed DeChellis' squad decided to show up and bail the junior out on a night he was struggling from the floor (2-8, 1-6 from three). All five Lion starters scored in double figures, and it was the first time since Penn State had two players score at least 20 points since January 24th of last year.
Leading the charge were F David Jackson and G Chris Babb, who both had career games after heavily under-performing for the majority of the season. Jackson, who has struggled to find his rhythm on the floor this season, played with confidence as he recorded his seventh straight double-digit scoring game. Jeff Brooks and Andrew Jones added 12 and 10 points respectively, on a night the Lions hit 56% from the floor and 41% from behind the arc.
However, as the Lions are traveling to Ann Arbor tomorrow (a place they've only won once in their previous 15 tries), they can't get caught up celebrating their first Big Ten victory. When Michigan made the trip to State College in early January, the Lions blew a 17 point lead, eventually losing by 9 in front of a paltry crowd of just over 5,000.
But, if they can build off Wednesday's performance, the Lions should be in good shape to contend for their second straight victory. With the exception of Babb (the only player in double figures), the Lions shot horribly from the floor against Michigan on January 7th. The Wolverines (13-12, 6-7), utilize a mix of a 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone which the Lions have traditionally struggled with, however against Northwestern on Wednesday, PSU had their way with the 1-3-1. Jones and Andrew Ott were consistently able to get inside the center of the zone, and Battle and freshman Tim Frazier had no trouble beating the Wildcats on the baseline or with the backdoor cut. While Michigan is holding their opponents to only 57 points over the past 10 games, the Lions will come into the Crisler Arena with the same game plan they had against Northwestern - get the ball to the middle forcing two guys to cover the ball, and kick out for an open look.
While Michigan's offense, led by DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris, is certainly more dynamic than the Wildcats, Penn State was able to keep them to 16 points during the first half of their last contest. If Penn State's 2-3 zone can successfully extend to keep Michigan from getting open looks from three, the inside three should certainly be able to hold their own on the defensive glass.
It's not very often you see Battle have two sub par games in a row, so you can look for him to come out hungry off the opening tip. If his supporting cast can come out with the same enthusiasm and confidence they had earlier in the week, the Lions should be able to stay close until the final whistle. Hopefully it'll be a flight home the TEAM can be proud of, not just Battle.
After relying on the prowess of Talor Battle all season, the rest of Ed DeChellis' squad decided to show up and bail the junior out on a night he was struggling from the floor (2-8, 1-6 from three). All five Lion starters scored in double figures, and it was the first time since Penn State had two players score at least 20 points since January 24th of last year.
Leading the charge were F David Jackson and G Chris Babb, who both had career games after heavily under-performing for the majority of the season. Jackson, who has struggled to find his rhythm on the floor this season, played with confidence as he recorded his seventh straight double-digit scoring game. Jeff Brooks and Andrew Jones added 12 and 10 points respectively, on a night the Lions hit 56% from the floor and 41% from behind the arc.
However, as the Lions are traveling to Ann Arbor tomorrow (a place they've only won once in their previous 15 tries), they can't get caught up celebrating their first Big Ten victory. When Michigan made the trip to State College in early January, the Lions blew a 17 point lead, eventually losing by 9 in front of a paltry crowd of just over 5,000.
But, if they can build off Wednesday's performance, the Lions should be in good shape to contend for their second straight victory. With the exception of Babb (the only player in double figures), the Lions shot horribly from the floor against Michigan on January 7th. The Wolverines (13-12, 6-7), utilize a mix of a 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone which the Lions have traditionally struggled with, however against Northwestern on Wednesday, PSU had their way with the 1-3-1. Jones and Andrew Ott were consistently able to get inside the center of the zone, and Battle and freshman Tim Frazier had no trouble beating the Wildcats on the baseline or with the backdoor cut. While Michigan is holding their opponents to only 57 points over the past 10 games, the Lions will come into the Crisler Arena with the same game plan they had against Northwestern - get the ball to the middle forcing two guys to cover the ball, and kick out for an open look.
While Michigan's offense, led by DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris, is certainly more dynamic than the Wildcats, Penn State was able to keep them to 16 points during the first half of their last contest. If Penn State's 2-3 zone can successfully extend to keep Michigan from getting open looks from three, the inside three should certainly be able to hold their own on the defensive glass.It's not very often you see Battle have two sub par games in a row, so you can look for him to come out hungry off the opening tip. If his supporting cast can come out with the same enthusiasm and confidence they had earlier in the week, the Lions should be able to stay close until the final whistle. Hopefully it'll be a flight home the TEAM can be proud of, not just Battle.
Monday, February 15, 2010
HISTORY IN THE MAKING?
When it comes to basketball, it's quite rare to think of anything that Penn State has done as historical. Then again, the team did set the school's all-time record for victories in a season and raised a banner in the Bryce Jordan Center with last year's NIT Championship run and is currently is on pace to become the only school, other than Northwestern, to ever lose every game in a Big Ten basketball season since Woodrow Wilson was president.Fans that have paid attention to this year's squad knows that it probably is a good deal better than its record would indicate, but the record books won't make any special designation to that fact. All that history will preserve is the zero in the win column, a distinction that will rank the Lions with the Wildcats teams from 1999-2000, 1991-1991, 1923-1924 as the only teams to go the entire season without an in-conference win in the last 85 years.
Penn State has seven games left, including a first round game at the Big Ten tournament, and the desperation to stop the losing will grow with each half of basketball it plays. Only three of its remaining contests are home games and only one of those is against an unranked foe. Ironically, the best chance for the Lions to get that elusive first win might be in one of its two remaining matchups against Northwestern, the program it's hoping to avoid joining for all eternity as the ultimate losers. However, should the Lions lose the rest of the games it plays this season (conference tournament games don't count towards a team's conference record), its final mark of 0-18 would officially be worst in the history of Big Ten basketball. What a difference a year makes.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
THE WINNING RECIPE
It's plain to see, even to Joe Paterno and his new surgically enhanced eyes, that something needs to change for Penn State basketball. The first six weeks of conference play have provided exactly zero victories and shoved the Lions into the basement of the Big Ten standings. However, as the recent slide by Saturday's opponent Michigan State has shown, things can change in this league in a hurry.
Just because the Lions haven't won yet, doesn't mean they can't or won't - it just means that they'll have to make some changes to get over that hump that looks more like Mount Everest after eleven straight losses. So, in the midst of what amounts to a bye week, we're taking the opportunity to look forward instead of backwards and breakdown what has to be done if Penn State is going to salvage what's left of the season.
PUSH THE BASKETBALL
Nobody will confuse this Penn State team with the slow, plodding types so often associated with Big Ten basketball. It's brutally painful to watch this team try to execute in the half-court with an offensive arsenal that consists of ball screens 25 feet away from the basket, an occasional staggered screen for Talor Battle or Chris Babb or my personal favorite, bleeding the shot clock dry to run a clearout for Battle to try and take his man off the dribble. When you have a roster like Penn State's, without a true back-to-the-basket post player, why not try and use your guard strength to create tempo and get some easy buckets off of the other team's misses.
One of the problems with this proposal is that the guards aren't available to receive the long outlet passes since they are the ones rebounding the basketball. Still, you should be able to leak out a guard to try and push the ball up the floor and if the bigs aren't the ones snaring the rebounds, then they should be able to fill the lanes on fast breaks or clear out space for open looks from the other guards on the secondary break.
GET IN THE ZONE
This team is struggling to defend teams man-to-man. It can't seem to stop the ball on penetration and the help defense is too often late, causing major problems when the defense has to rotate to find the open shooter. Ed DeChellis, master of the 1-3-1, should take some of his own advice and employ a trapping 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2. At the very least, Penn State should use these defenses after made foul shots just to give the opponent something to think about. A player like Tim Frazier would be perfect on the baseline of a 1-3-1 and playing zone would help keep Battle fresher for the offensive end.
The danger with playing zone defense would be open looks from three for the other team off of skip passes or the lack of rebounding assignments. However, the Lions are already the worst defensive three-point team in the conference and the rebounds it does collect are often from the guards crashing the glass. A good mixture of trapping, aggressive zone defenses and man-to-man pressure could give Penn State a psychological advantage and help to create more turnovers that lead to easy buckets.
THEY'RE CALLED FREE FOR A REASON
There's just absolutely no excuse for Penn State to be making less than 70% of its foul shots. Shooting free throws is more muscle memory than anything and being successful comes from repetition of a sound routine. The routine starts with finding the middle of the floor with your lead foot and ends with the ball going through the hoop. I've always felt that practice time is too precious a commodity be wasted on foul shots. The players who are really struggling need to be putting in extra time so that when the opportunity does arise in the games, it's an automatic two points.
INBOUNDS PLAYS
Whatever playbook the Lions are using to get their inbounds plays from needs to be torn up. Then thrown away. Then lit on fire. Then have the ashes put in a cannon and shot into outer space towards the Sun.
Counting to three and then launching a soccer style toss into the backcourt for your guard to chase down isn't just unproductive, it's embarrassing. I find it hard to imagine that the team and the coaches have yet to find away to consistently pass the ball to somebody within shouting distance from the hoop. Every inbounds play doesn't necessarily have to result in a slam dunk. But it really should be more than just an upper body exercise for the man throwing it in.
It's been a excruciatingly tough start for the Lions, but with seven games remaining and the magical elixir known as the Big Ten tournament exactly one month away, the team is running out chances to do something positive with the momentum it built in Madison Square Garden last spring. This Saturday against the slumping Spartans is the perfect stage to unveil some of the magic that made last season so special and prove that this squad will be a tough out in Indianapolis.
Just because the Lions haven't won yet, doesn't mean they can't or won't - it just means that they'll have to make some changes to get over that hump that looks more like Mount Everest after eleven straight losses. So, in the midst of what amounts to a bye week, we're taking the opportunity to look forward instead of backwards and breakdown what has to be done if Penn State is going to salvage what's left of the season.
PUSH THE BASKETBALL
Nobody will confuse this Penn State team with the slow, plodding types so often associated with Big Ten basketball. It's brutally painful to watch this team try to execute in the half-court with an offensive arsenal that consists of ball screens 25 feet away from the basket, an occasional staggered screen for Talor Battle or Chris Babb or my personal favorite, bleeding the shot clock dry to run a clearout for Battle to try and take his man off the dribble. When you have a roster like Penn State's, without a true back-to-the-basket post player, why not try and use your guard strength to create tempo and get some easy buckets off of the other team's misses.
One of the problems with this proposal is that the guards aren't available to receive the long outlet passes since they are the ones rebounding the basketball. Still, you should be able to leak out a guard to try and push the ball up the floor and if the bigs aren't the ones snaring the rebounds, then they should be able to fill the lanes on fast breaks or clear out space for open looks from the other guards on the secondary break.
GET IN THE ZONE
This team is struggling to defend teams man-to-man. It can't seem to stop the ball on penetration and the help defense is too often late, causing major problems when the defense has to rotate to find the open shooter. Ed DeChellis, master of the 1-3-1, should take some of his own advice and employ a trapping 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2. At the very least, Penn State should use these defenses after made foul shots just to give the opponent something to think about. A player like Tim Frazier would be perfect on the baseline of a 1-3-1 and playing zone would help keep Battle fresher for the offensive end.
The danger with playing zone defense would be open looks from three for the other team off of skip passes or the lack of rebounding assignments. However, the Lions are already the worst defensive three-point team in the conference and the rebounds it does collect are often from the guards crashing the glass. A good mixture of trapping, aggressive zone defenses and man-to-man pressure could give Penn State a psychological advantage and help to create more turnovers that lead to easy buckets.
THEY'RE CALLED FREE FOR A REASON
There's just absolutely no excuse for Penn State to be making less than 70% of its foul shots. Shooting free throws is more muscle memory than anything and being successful comes from repetition of a sound routine. The routine starts with finding the middle of the floor with your lead foot and ends with the ball going through the hoop. I've always felt that practice time is too precious a commodity be wasted on foul shots. The players who are really struggling need to be putting in extra time so that when the opportunity does arise in the games, it's an automatic two points.
INBOUNDS PLAYS
Whatever playbook the Lions are using to get their inbounds plays from needs to be torn up. Then thrown away. Then lit on fire. Then have the ashes put in a cannon and shot into outer space towards the Sun.
Counting to three and then launching a soccer style toss into the backcourt for your guard to chase down isn't just unproductive, it's embarrassing. I find it hard to imagine that the team and the coaches have yet to find away to consistently pass the ball to somebody within shouting distance from the hoop. Every inbounds play doesn't necessarily have to result in a slam dunk. But it really should be more than just an upper body exercise for the man throwing it in.
It's been a excruciatingly tough start for the Lions, but with seven games remaining and the magical elixir known as the Big Ten tournament exactly one month away, the team is running out chances to do something positive with the momentum it built in Madison Square Garden last spring. This Saturday against the slumping Spartans is the perfect stage to unveil some of the magic that made last season so special and prove that this squad will be a tough out in Indianapolis.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
