I will say that, while I think DJ is a phenomenal player and, freshman to junior seasons, he's been pretty solid, he has some limitations. He gets the whiney face too much and too quickly when a call or a play doesn't go his way. He should turn that into a fire that will ignite more inspired play, but it happens that he takes himself out of the game with his attitude. He's also not the most explosive leaper. He was stoned (no biblical references or chronic references please) right on the rim a couple of times last night.
So, while I think he could rebound outside of his zone better than he does, he's not the most athletic 4/5. He may be the most polished power 5 we've had in terms of strength and post moves, but I think Lance Goulborne was a much better rebounder at the 4 position. Lance could go get rebounds outside of his zone. Siakam - same thing. They also had hands like a vise. If they got their hands on the ball, it was theirs. Someone posted something similar to this and I agree: 85% of rebounding is "want-to." You can't coach that (or I should say you can't coach it with Luke being out). Stallings could send a message to Dame and not start him, but we don't have that option now, and Dame doesn't always respond to benching.
So, we have what we have in terms of rebounding. I will also say that rebounding is a TEAM effort and the guards are too busy looking to get a run-out to crash the boards and grab those loose ball rebounds we always seem to lose. Those are hustle plays and when your momentum is carrying you toward your basket, you will be a step or two away from those loose ball rebounds.
You got to put a body on your man - at the free throw line or wherever. This team seems to feed from its offense. Offense comes and goes, but you can give the same level of intensity every night on D and on the boards. I had that preached to me from a young age, and, even as a point guard, I took it seriously. I have seen this team put it together, even when they weren't scoring. The first of of the KU game was the best team defense I have ever seen from a Vanderbilt team. They SMOTHERED Kansas. Then, inexplicably, when KU hit some shots and VU missed some, their defense started suffering. Some of that is human nature, but there is no excuse for some of the mental lapses that happen when a team is making a run. You reset, and play harder on D and crash the glass.
Like Stallings said, their defense has to be good enough to lift them to a win when their shots are not fallings. They almost got it done against KU. The Baylor game, I actually thought they were worse than the KU game from a defensive intensity standpoint. Last night, Dayton was begging to give us the game down the stretch, but we refused to simply reach out and take it.
This one really hurt, because Luke isn't getting off that bench for several weeks, and things aren't going to get easier.
So, while I think he could rebound outside of his zone better than he does, he's not the most athletic 4/5. He may be the most polished power 5 we've had in terms of strength and post moves, but I think Lance Goulborne was a much better rebounder at the 4 position. Lance could go get rebounds outside of his zone. Siakam - same thing. They also had hands like a vise. If they got their hands on the ball, it was theirs. Someone posted something similar to this and I agree: 85% of rebounding is "want-to." You can't coach that (or I should say you can't coach it with Luke being out). Stallings could send a message to Dame and not start him, but we don't have that option now, and Dame doesn't always respond to benching.
So, we have what we have in terms of rebounding. I will also say that rebounding is a TEAM effort and the guards are too busy looking to get a run-out to crash the boards and grab those loose ball rebounds we always seem to lose. Those are hustle plays and when your momentum is carrying you toward your basket, you will be a step or two away from those loose ball rebounds.
You got to put a body on your man - at the free throw line or wherever. This team seems to feed from its offense. Offense comes and goes, but you can give the same level of intensity every night on D and on the boards. I had that preached to me from a young age, and, even as a point guard, I took it seriously. I have seen this team put it together, even when they weren't scoring. The first of of the KU game was the best team defense I have ever seen from a Vanderbilt team. They SMOTHERED Kansas. Then, inexplicably, when KU hit some shots and VU missed some, their defense started suffering. Some of that is human nature, but there is no excuse for some of the mental lapses that happen when a team is making a run. You reset, and play harder on D and crash the glass.
Like Stallings said, their defense has to be good enough to lift them to a win when their shots are not fallings. They almost got it done against KU. The Baylor game, I actually thought they were worse than the KU game from a defensive intensity standpoint. Last night, Dayton was begging to give us the game down the stretch, but we refused to simply reach out and take it.
This one really hurt, because Luke isn't getting off that bench for several weeks, and things aren't going to get easier.
