The view from Row Z

Being it was the first time in a while I had a Sunday night off that featured something to do, I thought I'd make the drive up from Kenosha to the BC for this game. I was lucky enough to find a lower-level seat and I watched the disappointing proceedings. Some thoughts:

1. For a team that has been touted as guard-oriented and quick, the lack of movement on offense is STAGGERING. Now some of that may be on Crean for the offensive system he has in place, but the lack of simple movements...things like hard cuts, holding the picks and for tonight (and what will likely be repeated throughout Big East play), just an outright refusal to drive and kick from the top to the middle was troublesome.

You could have counted on one hand the number of times James tried to split the defense going from the top of the key. You probably could have also counted on one hand the number of times he penetrated, period. There were some plays that worked... i.e., the penetration along the baseline when there was a filler in the middle and also, the parallel drop pass to the alley (McNeal got it to Barro once, as did Matthews).

For all the talk Crean has made of "reversing the ball", there also has to be sharp-angle, 45-degree passes that get a defense to lean or become off-balance. Passing it along the perimeter without those sharp cuts (example... DJ is at the top of the key, DC is on the wing... if Wes jab cuts in, then pops out, then that mid-range jumper is open on that pass from DC) to a player who comes along the baseline off a screen against a 2-3 zone defense is not as effective. If you're going to play the perimeter game, you must create space to squeeze the shot off.

2. This relates to James exclusively. Out of the 3-pointers everyone else attempted while it was a contested game, I would say almost all of them were within a sneaker's length of the 3-point arc. McNeal may have fired a deep one off... but James apparently his figured out where the NBA 3-point line is on the MU hardwood and is hellbent on showing his range. That is why he's 1-for-15 from beyond the arc in his last two games. I thought his form was fine, he's just too deep.

3. I liked the fact Crean started Lazar tonight with the upstate N.Y. thing, and he gave good minutes. While he's not a post-up "4", he's a gamer and a scrapper. He'll get his confidence back with his outside shot soon enough, but at least he likes to get his nose in there on the offensive glass. I think that starter's spot is going to be his permanently by the end of the month.

3a. Fitzgerald seemed a half-step slow and indecisive. Just shoot and miss, get it out of your system. Shooters shoot, and they keep shooting until they get hot again.

4. I realize the "Three Amigos" are the best offensive option on seemingly every play. But their inability to even keep the defense honest with a low-post entry pass is one of the reasons that leads to contested 3-point shots and in turn, lower 3-point percentages. I'm not saying do it on every possession, but you have to at least make the effort to look inside.

I think there were maybe five 45-degree entry passes into the low post on the block the entire game. Barro had a nice sweeping hook shot on one of them early in the second half, why not go back to him again? Just getting Burke and Lott touches could do wonders for the spacing for the three guards.

5. I thought Barro held his own defensively tonight against Watkins and Roberts. He held his ground fairly well more often than not and didn't seem to be caught out of defensive position due to poor footwork.

6. While I will fight to the death for Tony Miller's "10" to be raised to the rafters, I couldn't ask for a better person to be wearing it than David Cubillan. I love his defense, it's so textbook and pure when it comes to slides. His outside shooting is better than average for a freshmen, and he's starting to figure out driving to the basket. I didn't mind the charge he took because he was attacking the basket.

7. I think the free throw woes have been well-documented. I concur the three misses up 39-37 were damaging to the psyche. McNeal's 0-for-2 didn't help either. My only suggestion would be old-school. Everybody on the team gets 10 attempts... you must make 8. Anything below that, everyone runs gassers.

8. I think some of Matthews' cool, calm and collected style has rubbed off on McNeal. I think he made maybe three bad decisions, max on offense and the pull-up jumpers were nice to watch. And Matthews is just a treat to watch, almost like a smaller version of Luke Walton.

While 0-2 is far from ideal, and the upcoming schedule is not promising, I think this team can turn it around, but it has to start with all "Three Amigos" having one good game together, because right now, it's the only way they're going to be able to win.