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Originally posted by Augieholic
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Yeah, it is not a typical Kaminsky team. I got sucked into believing due to their offensive skills. The defensive problems are now very evident. They play at a rapid pace this year, which partly explains the high point totals surrendered, but you can't give up 100+ two home games in a row and expect any kind of success. Kaminsky certainly knows how to coach defense, so my hope now is that the team listens and learns, and are a much tougher team in February than they are at the moment. -
Watched this one last night. God, Northern shot great. Obviously it was a team effort with a total of 14-25 from 3, but holy hell Josh Dilling! In his last 7 games he's shot 30 of 38 from 3, 78.9%. And at least for the BSU game, those 5-5 were all off the dribble (IIRC)! I want to look more into how many of these shots are coming off the dribble, because if it's a majority then that's just wild. (On the other hand, almost all of Gus Reede's triples are catch-and-shoot. He's turned it on from 3 recently, too, minus the St. Cloud game.)Originally posted by Mark Emmert's Burner View Post
Having seen them twice now, I'm still a little concerned at how two-man heavy their offense is. Feels like on 7 out of 10 trips they're gonna run that Dilling-Moni PNR with a kickout-for-Reede option. And that can work (as proven in their last two games)! And I understand why they do it, as none of their other guys are real threats to drive (including Reede) or shoot well from distance (not including Reede). But does that become stagnant for them down-the-stretch? It's already leaving them a middling 8th in PPG.
Moni's coming off an excellent weekend, is shooting really well from deep (39.7% on 6.3 att/g), and is getting to the line at a much better clip than previous years (5.5 FTA/g vs. 2.0 last year and 2.7 in 21-22, and he hits them at a great clip, 85.5%). But a weird trend has been seeing his FG% on 2-point tries go down. In 21-22 it was 58.7%, last year it was 61.8%. This year: 46.1%. That's strange! He's got the height advantage on so many guys, and has historically had nice touch around the rim. But I think his touch has been a bit off this year, and I think he's not getting to his spot on the block as much as he wants (case in point: how Gabe Myren guarded him very stoutly on switches in the MSUM game). I do think this part of Moni's game will turn around, and he'll start hitting more of those close-to-midrange shots, but it's a disconcerting start.
Defensively, they're middle-of-the-pack or worse in every defensive metric. I don't see that changing, really.
So yeah, if Northern can keep shooting like they did this weekend, and that Dilling-Moni offense keeps chugging, they'll do fine. But their ceiling feels low unless one of these other guys can start popping for them, and I've seen nothing that indicates they will, so far.Comment
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As for Bemidji...Originally posted by Mark Emmert's Burner View Post
I've seen them play their last two games, both losses against good teams. So maybe that's coloring my perception of this team, but so far I'm a little underwhelmed by them. They're still doing a few things well, namely rebounding the hell out of the ball (43.3 RPG, +12.1 margin; Albrecht 11.1 RPG, Sutherland 9.4 RPG). And Sutherland is still doing his thing, getting to his spots, showing off his touch around the basket. He's being keyed on by the defense even more this year, and he's doing a nice job of looking for his perimeter shooters when that happens.
The problem becomes when those guys get the ball. Non-Sutherland shooting has come in at 42.9%, which would rank 14th in the conference. They shoot the 3rd most 3-pointers per game, and they rank dead last at 31.1%. Not good, Bob! Albrecht is shooting almost twice as many 3PT/G as he did last year, but is hitting less of them (34.0% from 40.5% last year). It does feel like the offense has become 'hope Sutherland gets a good look, but if they double him we're not confident.' (The one exception being Brayden Williams, who's hitting a nice 38.3% on 4.7 att/g.) And with the big 3PTA numbers comes low FTA numbers, as they're dead last with only 15.0 attempts per game. And even when they get to the line, they're only sinking 60.7% of them (13th in conf).
And they commit too many turnovers, ranking 5th in the conf. per game. Because Sutherland is being focused on his TO numbers are up (3.4 per game, and 11 total this past weekend). In general, it doesn't feel like that have an "initiator" guard on offense that can take advantage of a dribble-drive and kick out (lack of FTAs back that up, too).
They also have no rim protection (only 14 blocks in 10 games).
I still think they can turn it around, as their next 4 games (UMary, St. Cloud, SMSU, Sioux Falls) are against teams with a combined 7-13 conf. record so far, and 3 of which are in the bottom 4 of the conf. in opponent 3-pt%. So if they can start hitting shots and maintaining their rebounding ferocity, they can work things out. But they gotta move quick, as after that slate they'll have both Mankato & Winona twice, and Moorhead, Northern, & Duluth once each down the stretch.Comment
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Dragons handle crookston fine. Were effective on offense in the first half. Not real good in half two on offense. Msum may need to play a little more inside out at times, especially when they go to their bigger lineup. Blaze was killing msum in the pnr. Might need to have a hard hedge/double team in the bag a tricks to slow that down in future. 11-0 is pretty good. Keep it up.Comment
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More good team ball by the Mavs tonight. Up 85-54 with 5:00 to go and end up winning 89-64. Five guys in double figures and more efficient offense.Comment
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Winona got taken to school as expected. Shot of reality. Mankato has an excellent basketball team.Originally posted by Purple Mav Man View PostComment
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Winona social media interviewing a player after a blowout loss is an interesting decision...Originally posted by DapperDan View PostComment
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I've had my heart broken so many times in the past seasons, but what I've been most impressed about during this winning run IS the team ball. They are playing together and having fun. I hope that they can keep this up.Originally posted by Purple Mav Man View PostComment
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It is easily the most enjoyable Maverick squad to watch since the glory days of Corvon Seales and Kelby Kramer in 2019-2020Originally posted by laker View PostComment
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Mavs beat a much improved CSP program today in the Taylor Center. Mankato is now 12-0, and 6-0 in conference. Extremely happy with the start of the year here.
1 more game against Duluth on Tuesday before the Christmas Break.
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How are we feeling at the break?
I know how the Mavs are feeling, but I'm curious about everyone else. A lot of Basketball left to be played, and I'm hoping the Mavs don't lose momentumComment
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Obviously dragon fans feeling good, but most know this team has squeaked by in a handful of games this season. Still think this team needs to play a little better. Big question is how many teams NSIC gets into regional. I’m guessing 3, but 4 is a real possibility with strong showing prior to conference play.Last edited by Moorhead123; 12-24-2023, 01:01 PM.Comment
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Have any of you watched a game with St. Cloud? I'd like a take on how Quincy Henderson's team looks compared to last year.
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Henderson gets his team to play hard. They are young and don’t have a lot of size. Henderson, like most coaches, can be successful if he is able to get some of the top area recruits to pick scsu. Plenty of talent in the area, but Duluth, Northern, Msum, Augustana, etc. seem to win more of those recruiting battles in the past. Scsu also needs to upgrade facilities, which have fallen behind over the years.Comment
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