Everyone, including the coaches, recognizes the horrible play of the front court. Anson Winder, has played his butt off, but he is not a power forward. He is being asked to play defense against guys that have 4-8 inches on him, and it is too much to ask of him. Injuries forced some of these issues, but there are other big players sitting on the bench that could be utilized in games like yesterday. They have more than enough firepower with the backcourt, that they do not need for the front court to provide anything like Brandon Davies and Noah Hartsock used to provide.(although it would be nice) Solid rebounding with smart shot selection of the big men, could easily provide 4-10 shots for most of the starters and 1st players off the bench. Which brings me to my next point; I am an absolute fan of Dave Rose, both on a personal and professional level; but his offense only works when the star players are hitting everything and playing like a team. During wins, the guys do share the ball, but all too often, if they fall behind or Haws is off, a lot of the others being to play like they think they are Jimmer, and shot selection becomes horrible. When they are really passing the ball to find the right shot, and not just the first open 26 foot 3, this team is as good offensively as nearly any in the country. Unfortunately, there are a lot of players that have developed bad habits with the green light that Rose gives, and they will shoot the ball from anywhere regardless of someone else having a better shot, regardless of how bad of shooting night they have been having(love him, but Fischer is one of the worst, with Halford and Nelson being a close 2nd and 3rd), or if another player is hot.
I feel completely bi-polar when watching these games, because I am either ticked off at the selfishness of a player shooting a long 3 with 30 seconds on the shot clock, and a 4 point lead with less than a minute to go; or cheering like crazy because they are scoring faster than just about any college team that I have ever seen. There is just no consistency, and while I really love Dave Rose and want him to stay for as long as he wants, I just wish that he would pull back the green light for every player, and help them realize what their role on the team is. If a player is hot, feed him till he is not; but there is no reason for any player to be 1-12 from the 3 point line. There is also no reason, that any player, outside of Tyler or Kyle, to ever have more than 15 shots a game, unless they are seriously feeling it. When a guy like Fischer or Winder is hot, shoot away, but when they are cold, someone please tell them to either pass the ball or go to the hoop. (Winder is great at going to hoop) The hole theory of shooters need to continue shooting, is fine and dandy; but how about a 8-14 ft jumper or layup, instead of a 3?
On Defense, why are so many players getting lost and losing their man? USD was better than most people will give them credit for, but they are not nearly as good as BYU made them look. Some people are trying to claim that they are better than schools like Purdue and other AAC teams, but I watched Purdue yesterday, and they are a lot better than USD. USD is a team with a ton of heart, but BYU's sloppy D and fast paced offense with poor shooting, allowed USD back into that game. BYU was very selfish that last 10 minutes of the game, and their big men were completely non-existent on both sides of the court. Luke may be a great person, but he has no business playing D1 ball right now. Maybe for a smaller school, but he would not play for Weber St(I would love to have ANY of their big men right now, which says how desperate I am for a big man that plays defense and doesn't bullrush on offense) or any other school in the state, except for maybe SUU or UVU. He would have been better served, along with Kafusi, to have stuck with the football scholarships that either BYU or Wisconsin was offering him. He is tall, but with his feet and size, he could probably have been a really good lineman. He was one of the top recruits in his state and the country, if I remember correctly; but went with basketball instead. He is mobile enough for football big men, that he could probably do well. He is just too slow for basketball, and does not have the skills to make up for it on either end of the court. He tries really hard, and he's got heart, but he should if not for injuries and Mika's mission, would he be on this team?. He had a good White/Blue game, against our own guys, and it should now be seen for what it really was and not that he was the next Hafa. I am sorry if I sound too negative, but this team has way too much talent for losing to a team like USD. I would love to blame it on coaching, but it goes to more of the players needing to be a little more humble, learning their roles, needing a player to step up and tell another player to stop shooting or play better D, and playing within the actual system. Roses' system is fast paced and can put up a ton of points, but it should not look like a D'antoni coached team on the other end of the court.