Saturday, December 22, 2012

KCP Has Fixed His Form

Bravo. 

I don't know if anyone else noticed, but Kentavious used to let his elbow flare out to the right on his release.  That action created a rightward spin on the ball which caused the ball either to drift to the right or twirl out of the bucket.  I mentioned it before the season as an area for improvement, and you can see it on the Georgiadogs.com video I linked back on August 2, 2012.

Now, he's keeping his elbow tucked, and consequently his shooting percentage will go way up.

I first spotted the change in his form when he was shooting free throws (I think it was in the first half).  Great work.

Since I started this post, KCP has hit 3 more contested jump-shots.  He ended the game shooting 10 of 14 from the field, averaging 71 percent, by far his highest shooting percentage for any game (his career shooting average is 39 percent).

Nemi is Struggling

Coach Fox:  Do not put Nemi in during crunch time.  For the first half, Nemi is shooting 0 for 1 with 0 points, 0 rebounds and 3 turnovers (half of UGA's turnover total). 

Note:  I'm not trying to be unfair to Nemi, because I didn't want people analyzing my every move either.  What I am suggesting is a way to get Nemi's confidence back. 

In that light, if Coach Fox must play him a lot more minutes than Brandon Morris (hint:  Coach Fox, you don't), at least give Nemi a chance to break out of his slump by playing him spot minutes during the middle of the half, not the end.

Coach Fox should play the percentages.  Brandon shoots 50 percent from the floor, and 74 percent from the line.  He gets 2 free throw attempts per game, and even better, averages 1 free throw attempt for every shot attempt.

In contrast, Nemi is shooting 30 percent from the floor.  Although Nemi shoots the same percentage from the line as Morris, Nemi gets to the line a lot less (right at 1 free throw for every 4 shot attempts). 

The bottom line is that Morris puts more pressure on the defense and is a lot more efficient offensively.  In that light, why would Coach Fox give Nemi 2 1/2 times the minutes that Brandon gets? 

Nemi can help in the right situation.  I like him playing the top in our pressure package.  Since he's struggling on offense, flip the roster utilization and let Brandon play twice the minutes that Nemi gets, at least until Nemi gets his confidence back.

Huh?

Anybody care to explain why Fox doesn't line up two guys to rebound when we're at the free throw line shooting the 1 and 1?  We're a terrible free throw shooting team.  Why not at least have a chance to rebound a carom?

Friday, December 21, 2012

Turn-Around Game for the Dawgs?

Maybe it was last game against Mercer.  Who knows?  All those kids could have brought the UGA hoops squad a season's worth of good luck. 

In any case, if the Mercer game wasn't the turn-around game for Georgia's 2012-2013 campaign, then the USC game tomorrow might be. 

Georgia is going up against an under-achieving Southern Cal team.  We're 3 and 7 on the year and they're 4 and 7.  We've had our share of bad losses and so have the Trojans.  In their last game, USC lost to the Cal-Irvine Anteaters (!) by a score of 71 to 64.

UGA definitely has a shot at winning this game.  We're at home.  They score just 63 points per game and their back-court play has been spotty.  USC went 6 and 26 last year, so if we jump on them early they might give up.

Winning won't be automatic, though.  They have some size, including 3 players at 7 feet or over, and some impressive athletes. 

Their big guys, however, aren't that impressive.  All three score 7 points or less per game.  Although USC can bring in off the bench two high-risers in Ari Stewart, a Metro Atlanta guy who transferred from Wake Forest, and Renaldo Woolridge, a UT transfer, Stewart and Woolridge have arguably regressed at USC.  Ari and Renaldo average 2 points between the two of them.

We can beat USC.  We'll have to play smart basketball, limit their second-chance shots, and get up and down the floor.  If Fox plays Charles Mann and Brandon Morris big minutes and Kenny Gaines provides a spark off the bench, then UGA should be at 4 and 7 by this time tomorrow. 

Beating a big-name team like USC might just be the catalyst for a UGA win streak.  Let's get it done.

John Cannon Video

Liked the video.  John has some skills.  He seems committed to running the floor, so his hustle and good hands will lead to some easy buckets. 

I'd like to see him put on 10 or 15 pounds of muscle, though.  You can score points in the SEC as an under the rim player, but you have to be physical enough to get and maintain position.

Cannon

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Great to Win One!

I know some will say that we ought to beat Mercer.  And we should.

But getting it done takes execution.  We had just enough today.  UGA wins 58 to 49.

There were a few good signs. 

1)  We hit our free throws. 

We went 13 of 16 (81%).

2)  Fox used his roster more effectively

Shooting free throws well is good.  But to hit'em, you gotta get'em.  In other words, we're not going to go to the line if we just pass the ball around the perimeter.  We have to attack the basket so we can get fouled in the first place.  Charles Mann will do that.  About time he got the start.  Brandon Morris will do that.  Better to give Morris major minutes than to trot Marcus Thornton out there on bad wheels.  John Florveus got some key minutes.

3)  Shot selection was better

We attempted 44 shots from the field.  Only 12 were three-pointers.  That's huge.  Nemi didn't take any long-distance tries.  If we shoot the three off of the drive and kick action, then we're more likely to make them.  We hit 7 of 12. 

4)  KCP was Huge

Guy had 17 points, 9 boards and 3 steals, while shooting 5 of 10 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the line.

There were a couple of concerns, however.  We will need buckets from Cannon, Morris and Donte Williams.  If those three go a combined 0 for 6 against decent competition, UGA will more than likely lose the game.  Besides that, fifteen turnovers is way high. 

All in all, though, a good result for the Dawgs.  We're now 3 and 7.  Let's go on a streak.  It's not too late.





Calling Out Kenny Gaines

Hate to put it so plainly, but Gaines is a big-time player.  We don't have time for him to get acclimated to college ball.  He needs to play big now.  Otherwise this season will come undone.

We know what we'll get from KCP.  Charles Mann is starting to drive the ball effectively.  Brandon Morris has been playing well the last two games.  Gaines is the x-factor.  He can score and we have to have it now.