Worse probably comes before better
Let's face it, the Utes are not suddenly going to get tougher anytime this season.
That much is clear in the wake of their disastrous 70-57 collapse - at home! - to the UNLV Rebels. This team is way too fragile and way too lacking in leadership to hope for that. No, it's looking like the best this team can hope for is a home victory over New Mexico next weekend to stay out of the play-in game for the Mountain West Conference tournament, then maybe- maybe - one win in that tournament.
"Right now, we're taking steps backward," coach Ray Giacoletti said.
Yes, they are.
Defense and toughness have been obviously huge problems - 18-0 and 16-0 runs by UNLV, after Air Force hit them with a 16-0 run in a dominating win last week - but it also hardly seems like anybody's on the same page, offensively.
Case in point?
Guard Johnnie Bryant and forward Shaun Green both have said in recent days that they feel as if the Utes have not been shooting well lately because they have been trying too hard to get the ball inside to center Luke Nevill against less frequent double-teams, thereby passing up open outside shots.
Yet Nevill said after the loss to UNLV that he felt that his teammates too often take bad shots from the outside without looking inside first.
"You know, we make a basket inside - we go inside - and we come down and instead of doing the same thing and trying to get the same thing, we'll take an easy shot. We might take a quick shot," he said. "And then we don't get back on defense, and it just fuels" the other team.
Sounds like a huge disconnect, to me, and one - along with defense - that Giacoletti is going to have to straighten out before this team is going to get any better. But don't expect that to happen in the next three weeks. No, this team already is playing for next season.
That much is clear in the wake of their disastrous 70-57 collapse - at home! - to the UNLV Rebels. This team is way too fragile and way too lacking in leadership to hope for that. No, it's looking like the best this team can hope for is a home victory over New Mexico next weekend to stay out of the play-in game for the Mountain West Conference tournament, then maybe- maybe - one win in that tournament.
"Right now, we're taking steps backward," coach Ray Giacoletti said.
Yes, they are.
Defense and toughness have been obviously huge problems - 18-0 and 16-0 runs by UNLV, after Air Force hit them with a 16-0 run in a dominating win last week - but it also hardly seems like anybody's on the same page, offensively.
Case in point?
Guard Johnnie Bryant and forward Shaun Green both have said in recent days that they feel as if the Utes have not been shooting well lately because they have been trying too hard to get the ball inside to center Luke Nevill against less frequent double-teams, thereby passing up open outside shots.
Yet Nevill said after the loss to UNLV that he felt that his teammates too often take bad shots from the outside without looking inside first.
"You know, we make a basket inside - we go inside - and we come down and instead of doing the same thing and trying to get the same thing, we'll take an easy shot. We might take a quick shot," he said. "And then we don't get back on defense, and it just fuels" the other team.
Sounds like a huge disconnect, to me, and one - along with defense - that Giacoletti is going to have to straighten out before this team is going to get any better. But don't expect that to happen in the next three weeks. No, this team already is playing for next season.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 4:08 PM |
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