Vanderbilt dropped its second game of the season Saturday in Miami to North Carolina State, 80-65.
The entire focus from the basketball media and the Nashville community has been the season ending injury to freshman sensation, Darius Garland. Not only was he the top option for this offense, he also set the table and guarded the ball on the other end.
This was the Commodores’ second game without him. Nobody really knew what to make of this team going into the matchup on Saturday, and as the team makes its way back home, I don’t believe we still know what to make of this team.
Yes, there were lots of parts of this game that could were definitely not positives, but the reason I say I don’t what to make of this team is that this team doesn’t know what they are or who they are yet. Here are some of my thoughts from both sides of the ball in Saturday’s contest.
Offensively
Vanderbilt scored 31 points in the first half and 34 in the second. That seems consistent, but in retrospect, the scoring came in spurts. The team hit hot streaks early on in each half, but couldn’t continue the production.
Saben Lee and Simi Shitti both scored 15. Maxwell Evans was the third player in double figures with 10. Matt Ryan and Aaron Nesmith both added 9. The rest of the Vanderbilt lineup was 3 for 15.
Vanderbilt shot 39.3 percent overall which will not win games, but the big reason for that was putrid 3-point shooting. The team was 19 of 34 for 55.9 percent inside the arc. They were a miserable 3 for 22 for 13.6 percent from behind it.
Ryan, Joe Toye, and Nesmith entered the game with long ball reputations. They were 1 for 5, 1 for 4, and 0 for 4 respectively.
So first, why the bad outside shooting? The Wolfpack played pressure defense. Their goals are to speed teams up, harass the ball handler, and not let anyone get a clean look because of the overplays. They succeeded with all of the above. There weren’t a whole lot of open looks, and when they had them, the comfort level had long left them.
Why would you take 22 three’s if you don’t have good looks? This offense is built around playing fast, playing in space, and playing with freedom. But the decision making is poor. They simply just don’t know how to turn it off.
Poor shot selection hurt this team in every way imaginable. Shots were not in tempo and were forced. I felt the ball movement was much better early than when I saw them in person two weeks ago against Alcorn State. But then the shots got quick. Ball reversals became extinct, and quick heaves became the norm. Shittu picked and popped instead of rolling to the bucket off the initial ball-screen for Saben Lee. He ended up shooting three very deep ones from NBA range that had no shot of going in. Evans shot one falling down in he corner. Toye fired a couple after holding the ball for an extended time while being guarded. Yanni Wetzell shot back to back three’s.
True, the quick and bad shot selection kept down the shot percentages and cost the team points. But it also kept the Commodores from moving the ball and running good offense, which I think they could have done.
Which brings me to the conclusion that they don’t have an identity on the offensive side of the the ball. They can do some good things, but they shot the ball so quickly we don’t know what their strengths could be.
Here is what we know. Saben Lee is really good off the ball-screen. He explodes to the rim. Of course in this game, North Carolina State was going to pressure and go over the screen. As he is scouted in league play, expect opponents to go under and make him shoot jumpers. One look I would have liked to see him recognize better is the two-man side ball-screen on the wing when the whole side is cleared out. Shittu was open several times on the roll from the wing and Lee didn’t see him.
In that ball-screen action, Shittu is now setting better screens so the ball-handler can turn the corner. Against Alcorn, he whiffed just about everyone of them. But as teams adjust, he and Saben remind me of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers in the same look. Neither one are particularly good outside shooters. The defender simply goes under and the defensive post just plays back in the lane to take away the roll. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Matt Ryan start setting the screen and then pop for the three. I think that would be a pick your poison situation.
Shittu was tremendous in the open floor when he caught the ball in the middle of the press. He is dynamic in the open floor and a magnificent finisher. Speaking of the press, the Wolfpack jumped into the amped up version every time Lee went to the bench for a breather. I do think Evans gave good time in the backup role. He had two turnovers, but I don’t think he put the team in a bad situation when he was running the show.
Because they play so fast on offense and at times out of control, the energy was there. They pounded the offensive boards for 12 rebounds. This was a big reason they made a second half run, even when they couldn’t make the first shot of the possession.
Defensively
Where do we begin? The defense was bad in all phases. Here are some of the notes I took during the game.
They simply can’t keep the ball in front of them. That has been a big problem against lesser opponents and manifested itself again Saturday in a big way.
Not only is that part bad, the defense breaks down right off the bat in the ball screen action if Shittu’s man sets the screen. I know he is a freshman, but he is lost on the defensive end. He might show on the ball screen he might not. Several times, he was nowhere around when Lee ran into the screener and had no help to contain the dribbler as he turned the corner.
There were also too many automatic switches on the ball-screen when the defense was not in danger and the switch did not have to be made. These were big to little screens and created immediate mismatches.
I do like Drew’s strategy of icing the ball-screen. In other words, the defender plays between the ball and screen, forcing the ball-handler away from the screen. State’s strategy was to dribble toward the post and force the switch, which once again created mismatches.
Drew went to a big lineup in the second half which featured Shittu, Clevon Brown, and Matthew Moyer. This was another time they had trouble containing the dribble because they had post players matched up with guards.
One other worrisome problem was the poor defensive transition defense. There was no sprinting back, matching up or communication. On a couple of occasions, defenders decided to take the wings and leave the bucket unguarded, giving up a pass for a breaking lay-in.
The proper technique is to take away two things. Guard the ball and guard the bucket. If they kick to a wing on the fast break, the coach can live with that. Then the team will match-up and close out to the shooter. Just don’t give away a layup.
One other thing. In the low post, Vandy’s bigs must understand positioning. Shittu got caught on the wrong side several times, which would be on the top side of the post player. He then was not able to get around to take away the baseline drive. Wetzell also gave up layups because he chose to front when the ball was on top and his man was up the lane toward the foul line. That gave up easy buckets on the lob.
Finally, Drew may have to play some zone when his team is getting riddled due to penetration. But Shittu is lost in zone coverages. I’m not so sure they can run that with him on the floor.
The entire focus from the basketball media and the Nashville community has been the season ending injury to freshman sensation, Darius Garland. Not only was he the top option for this offense, he also set the table and guarded the ball on the other end.
This was the Commodores’ second game without him. Nobody really knew what to make of this team going into the matchup on Saturday, and as the team makes its way back home, I don’t believe we still know what to make of this team.
Yes, there were lots of parts of this game that could were definitely not positives, but the reason I say I don’t what to make of this team is that this team doesn’t know what they are or who they are yet. Here are some of my thoughts from both sides of the ball in Saturday’s contest.
Offensively
Vanderbilt scored 31 points in the first half and 34 in the second. That seems consistent, but in retrospect, the scoring came in spurts. The team hit hot streaks early on in each half, but couldn’t continue the production.
Saben Lee and Simi Shitti both scored 15. Maxwell Evans was the third player in double figures with 10. Matt Ryan and Aaron Nesmith both added 9. The rest of the Vanderbilt lineup was 3 for 15.
Vanderbilt shot 39.3 percent overall which will not win games, but the big reason for that was putrid 3-point shooting. The team was 19 of 34 for 55.9 percent inside the arc. They were a miserable 3 for 22 for 13.6 percent from behind it.
Ryan, Joe Toye, and Nesmith entered the game with long ball reputations. They were 1 for 5, 1 for 4, and 0 for 4 respectively.
So first, why the bad outside shooting? The Wolfpack played pressure defense. Their goals are to speed teams up, harass the ball handler, and not let anyone get a clean look because of the overplays. They succeeded with all of the above. There weren’t a whole lot of open looks, and when they had them, the comfort level had long left them.
Why would you take 22 three’s if you don’t have good looks? This offense is built around playing fast, playing in space, and playing with freedom. But the decision making is poor. They simply just don’t know how to turn it off.
Poor shot selection hurt this team in every way imaginable. Shots were not in tempo and were forced. I felt the ball movement was much better early than when I saw them in person two weeks ago against Alcorn State. But then the shots got quick. Ball reversals became extinct, and quick heaves became the norm. Shittu picked and popped instead of rolling to the bucket off the initial ball-screen for Saben Lee. He ended up shooting three very deep ones from NBA range that had no shot of going in. Evans shot one falling down in he corner. Toye fired a couple after holding the ball for an extended time while being guarded. Yanni Wetzell shot back to back three’s.
True, the quick and bad shot selection kept down the shot percentages and cost the team points. But it also kept the Commodores from moving the ball and running good offense, which I think they could have done.
Which brings me to the conclusion that they don’t have an identity on the offensive side of the the ball. They can do some good things, but they shot the ball so quickly we don’t know what their strengths could be.
Here is what we know. Saben Lee is really good off the ball-screen. He explodes to the rim. Of course in this game, North Carolina State was going to pressure and go over the screen. As he is scouted in league play, expect opponents to go under and make him shoot jumpers. One look I would have liked to see him recognize better is the two-man side ball-screen on the wing when the whole side is cleared out. Shittu was open several times on the roll from the wing and Lee didn’t see him.
In that ball-screen action, Shittu is now setting better screens so the ball-handler can turn the corner. Against Alcorn, he whiffed just about everyone of them. But as teams adjust, he and Saben remind me of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers in the same look. Neither one are particularly good outside shooters. The defender simply goes under and the defensive post just plays back in the lane to take away the roll. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Matt Ryan start setting the screen and then pop for the three. I think that would be a pick your poison situation.
Shittu was tremendous in the open floor when he caught the ball in the middle of the press. He is dynamic in the open floor and a magnificent finisher. Speaking of the press, the Wolfpack jumped into the amped up version every time Lee went to the bench for a breather. I do think Evans gave good time in the backup role. He had two turnovers, but I don’t think he put the team in a bad situation when he was running the show.
Because they play so fast on offense and at times out of control, the energy was there. They pounded the offensive boards for 12 rebounds. This was a big reason they made a second half run, even when they couldn’t make the first shot of the possession.
Defensively
Where do we begin? The defense was bad in all phases. Here are some of the notes I took during the game.
They simply can’t keep the ball in front of them. That has been a big problem against lesser opponents and manifested itself again Saturday in a big way.
Not only is that part bad, the defense breaks down right off the bat in the ball screen action if Shittu’s man sets the screen. I know he is a freshman, but he is lost on the defensive end. He might show on the ball screen he might not. Several times, he was nowhere around when Lee ran into the screener and had no help to contain the dribbler as he turned the corner.
There were also too many automatic switches on the ball-screen when the defense was not in danger and the switch did not have to be made. These were big to little screens and created immediate mismatches.
I do like Drew’s strategy of icing the ball-screen. In other words, the defender plays between the ball and screen, forcing the ball-handler away from the screen. State’s strategy was to dribble toward the post and force the switch, which once again created mismatches.
Drew went to a big lineup in the second half which featured Shittu, Clevon Brown, and Matthew Moyer. This was another time they had trouble containing the dribble because they had post players matched up with guards.
One other worrisome problem was the poor defensive transition defense. There was no sprinting back, matching up or communication. On a couple of occasions, defenders decided to take the wings and leave the bucket unguarded, giving up a pass for a breaking lay-in.
The proper technique is to take away two things. Guard the ball and guard the bucket. If they kick to a wing on the fast break, the coach can live with that. Then the team will match-up and close out to the shooter. Just don’t give away a layup.
One other thing. In the low post, Vandy’s bigs must understand positioning. Shittu got caught on the wrong side several times, which would be on the top side of the post player. He then was not able to get around to take away the baseline drive. Wetzell also gave up layups because he chose to front when the ball was on top and his man was up the lane toward the foul line. That gave up easy buckets on the lob.
Finally, Drew may have to play some zone when his team is getting riddled due to penetration. But Shittu is lost in zone coverages. I’m not so sure they can run that with him on the floor.
