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Ohio Basketball Topic
Topic: The difference between this year and last
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berniebobcat
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Posted: 3/9/2020 9:03 PM
This team has improved defensively and the coach has given them more to work with as well. The occasional zone and trap press have resulted in confusion and turnovers and the man-to-man is quicker as well. Reading up on Boals, he has been characterized as emphasizing defense in prior stops and it shows. Rebounding has improved as well and when things are clicking, ball movement is better too.

Whatever happens in Cleveland, to my eyes we have fundamentally improved compared to the recent past. Add a couple more pieces and I believe we will be a really good team, maybe as early as next year.
bigtillyoopsupsideurhead
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Posted: 3/9/2020 9:30 PM
berniebobcat wrote:expand_more
This team has improved defensively and the coach has given them more to work with as well. The occasional zone and trap press have resulted in confusion and turnovers and the man-to-man is quicker as well. Reading up on Boals, he has been characterized as emphasizing defense in prior stops and it shows. Rebounding has improved as well and when things are clicking, ball movement is better too.

Whatever happens in Cleveland, to my eyes we have fundamentally improved compared to the recent past. Add a couple more pieces and I believe we will be a really good team, maybe as early as next year.
Your eyes tell you the defense is better, but by any actual metric the defense is worse this year. It just seems better because we are scoring more and not playing from behind as much.

It's actually our offense that saw a great improvement this year.

Defensive efficiency went from 101st last year to 199th this year.

Meanwhile offense efficiency went from 278th last year to 165th this year.
JSF
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Posted: 3/9/2020 9:35 PM
But the defense has improved. It was threatening to drop below 300 a couple months ago.
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OUVan
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Posted: 3/9/2020 9:50 PM
JSF wrote:expand_more
But the defense has improved. It was threatening to drop below 300 a couple months ago.
Exactly right. Boals even said as much. Take a look at the defensive metrics from the Ball State game forward.
berniebobcat
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Posted: 3/9/2020 10:16 PM
Stats aside, it was obvious to me that as the year progressed, we got better. I don’t recall Saul’s teams ever pressing and rarely if ever changed up with a zone. The last 3 1/2 minutes of the Miami game would not have happened last year. When we ramp up the intensity, other teams struggle. My point really is that Boals emphasizes defense more than Saul did.
BillyTheCat
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Posted: 3/9/2020 11:21 PM
The defense has drastically improved, the entire team has improved. But the biggest improvement as the year has progressed has been the Free Throw Defense.
Last Edited: 3/9/2020 11:29:51 PM by BillyTheCat
OhioCatFan
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Posted: 3/9/2020 11:29 PM

BillyTheCat wrote:expand_more
The defense has drastically improved,Mathews entire team has improved. But the biggest improvement as the year has progressed has been the Free Throw Defense. 

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GoCats105
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Posted: 3/9/2020 11:53 PM
To me, I've just never seen this team's breaking point. Last year, if the opposition got out to a double digit lead with a certain amount of time left, it felt like the game was over and it usually was. I didn't feel that way this year.

They're just tougher. Plain and simple.
Andrew Ruck
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Posted: 3/10/2020 8:16 AM
To me the biggest difference is obvious. Last year at point guard we had a turnover machine that could neither make good passes nor shoot from outside. This year at point guard we have an elite distributor of the ball who is also developing an outside shot. It's really that simple.
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OUVan
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Posted: 3/10/2020 10:48 AM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
To me the biggest difference is obvious. Last year at point guard we had a turnover machine that could neither make good passes nor shoot from outside. This year at point guard we have an elite distributor of the ball who is also developing an outside shot. It's really that simple.
I think Preston's patience at PG also plays into our improved defense because the other team has to work hard for full possessions. Playing defense tires teams out considerably more than playing offense. Last year we had too many one or two touch possessions to count. Another factor is our freshmen missed a ton of time early in the season so it's taken them some time to get acclimated to the defensive (and offense).
Alan Swank
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Posted: 3/10/2020 11:00 AM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
To me the biggest difference is obvious. Last year at point guard we had a turnover machine that could neither make good passes nor shoot from outside. This year at point guard we have an elite distributor of the ball who is also developing an outside shot. It's really that simple.
I'll add this. Based on the last few games Preston has greatly reduced the number of times he's left his feet with the ball.
allen
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Posted: 3/10/2020 11:06 AM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
To me the biggest difference is obvious. Last year at point guard we had a turnover machine that could neither make good passes nor shoot from outside. This year at point guard we have an elite distributor of the ball who is also developing an outside shot. It's really that simple.
I'll add this. Based on the last few games Preston has greatly reduced the number of times he's left his feet with the ball.
Boals seems to be a greater teacher, our guards are more disciplined. He is also a better game planner, while the record is not much different, we are much more competitive than we were last year, minus an all-Mac big and depth lost due to transfers.
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Obc2
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Posted: 3/11/2020 11:23 AM
A big difference is Jordan playing this year.
FearLeon
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Posted: 3/11/2020 11:59 AM
I'll simplify it and this is not to rattle the Saul supporters, because this season on the board has been the best in several years. One of the big differences from this year to last year is in-game coaching. Not only from a schematic point of view, but getting in guys faces as well. Boals does not hand out participation trophies and it's obvious. I've seen him punch his hand through the scorers tables five times this year. You want that passion out of your coach.

Regardless of what happens Thursday, year one of the Boals era has been a monumental success.
#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT #NoMissesAllowed #NoOtherTeamInAmericaFlexesLikeOhio #11Months
FearLeon
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Posted: 3/11/2020 12:04 PM
Alan Swank wrote:expand_more
To me the biggest difference is obvious. Last year at point guard we had a turnover machine that could neither make good passes nor shoot from outside. This year at point guard we have an elite distributor of the ball who is also developing an outside shot. It's really that simple.
I'll add this. Based on the last few games Preston has greatly reduced the number of times he's left his feet with the ball.
This is a hell of a great point.
#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT #NoMissesAllowed #NoOtherTeamInAmericaFlexesLikeOhio #11Months
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