Our biggest worry is going up against a big team that can rebound like we can. If we don’t get multiple shots per possession, we could have problems.
The right Big 10 matchup could be a real problem for us.
Idk if you can pull up shots made in the last 5 seconds of a shot clock but my guess is Caleb had by far the most of those on our team last year.
It’s not so much that not having him to hit clutch shots is a loss because he hit a lot of those in his career, but he was by far the best person on our team at getting a shot off completely on his own. Nine attempts isn’t really much to draw a conclusion off of. I’d feel more comfortable giving Caleb the ball and telling him to get a bucket than anyone else on our team. Caleb’s offense was kind of overrated because of how inefficient he was overall. But in terms of just taking the ball and getting a ~45% TS opportunity out of thin air, he was the best on our team by a good margin. When you are running down the clock to get a final shot that’s a good skill to have.
Mark is coming along, but it could be the return of Fabian that gets us to the Final Four.
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Yeah, his dependable mid-range shooting has been hard to replace.
We also seem to miss more layups than we should, but that may just be a perception.
coogman91. I agree on missed lay ups. The only stat I’ve seen on this had to do with missing fast break points and it didn’t appear very good.
your first point is correct , that mills ALWAYS took the game deciding shots last year, by design last year … my point is the results werent good
and that is a huge sample size as you only get 1 or 2 of those a game, and most games arent coming down to 1 shot…
missed the game winner in byu, smu, cincy, memphis…and it was turnover by him with 20sec left for the loss in the tulsa a game (to be fair tulsa did miss the freethrows, and sasser missed another chance with 4secs left) …he did hit a clutch shot with 49secs left vs uconn that likely decided that game…that is every game that came down to one possession with him on the court last season… that is 5 of our 8 losses, 6 of 7 games that game down to 1 score with 1 min to go… we put the ball in his hand 6 games with a chance to win it and he only came through once, and that one time we had 49secs left even if he did miss
(There was 1 more close game last season, but he was on the bench and grimes/dejon made clutch shots to end that one for a win vs usf)–totaling 2 1-possesion wins in 7 attempts …
i get your point that his skillset was the most suited for it, but he wasnt exactly clutch in the close games …
i agree that close games will be an issue as we arent a 1shot offense, and we might need a 1st shot to win…my point is id still feel that way with mills on the team with his track record
Does Fabian solve our shooting problems if he can play?
no.
actually maybe… from his scoring? no, he was an inconsistent shooter himself, likely adds to the not great numbers… but i want to change my answer to maybe, because if Sampson can find a way to play both Gorham and fabian together, without it being an issue defensively, we can likely space the floor a lot better, fabain isnt an automatic mid range, but good enough that you have to respect it, and you have to respect gorhams shooting…could open driving lanes for the guards
Jarreau is our closer. He remains the most effective creator on this team, and has been nails in his career late. Remember him completely taking over the home game against Cincinnati two years ago. Armoni couldn’t hit a thing, and they bottled up Corey late, but Dejon got to the rim whenever he wanted in the second half and closed that game out for us.
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Gee, I wonder if defense matters? Like last year in our Sweet Sixteen game. That analyst did not write
a full overview and missed half of what we are about.
I don’t recall Coogs or anyone else playing last year in Sweet16 game. 
Analysts are a dime a dozen.
Jarreau is SUPER consistent!!!He can put him down for 9 points,8 boards,5 assists,3 steals EVERY game. He is the glue that holds everything together. Having a great senior year. The change in him from 2 tears ago is remarkable. And he plays great D!
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I have to admit last year i had pretty much given up on Dejon and didn’t understand why Sampson was still dealing with him with all the talent we had. Now with Hinton and Mills gone, and Dejon being the cog that keeps the team going i will gladly eat crow and admit Sampson knows what he is doing. Kudos to Dejon for coming so far and taking the tough coaching.
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What are our shot attempts per game vs the opponents’?
The biggest question surrounding the team now is if the front court can hold up against the top front courts. This analysis feels like they did a kenpom deep dive without context or actually watching the team.
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This story is from early January. We look a lot different in the last 6 games.
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Not sure I’m agreeing with the Mills takes. I think Grimes and Sasser have both been very good at creating their own looks off the dribble this year. Maybe more off picks than in isolation, but neither of those guys need much space to get a shot off. I feel very confident with either of those guys having the ball in their hands for the last shot. Or at least as confident as I would feel with Caleb.
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The 70% something free throw just somehow bothers me more.
After last night’s performance, I wonder if he would have written the same article because one of our ancillary pieces hit nine (9) three point shots!!