Jim French Stepstool

I thought OSU going to the zone in the 2nd half really limited Storr being able to get to the hoop & caused a lot of hesitation/indecision from everyone else. It had a 1-3-1 look to it, so the FT line area was blanketed & that's where you usually want to get the ball to vs a zone. Then when the ball got into Wahls' hands it was the last thing you want to see vs a zone--dribbledribbledribbledribble......... In the 1st half I think you're right, OSU didn't look very good defensively & it was a 40-some point half for UW waiting to happen if not for the turnovers. It almost looked as if they rebounded better out of the zone, which is strange. Anyway, changing up the defense was the last good move from Holtmann, until he gets his next job in the Horizon League or Mid-American or wherever.

So last nights' game in Madison was Chris Holtmanns' swan song as Ohio State fired him today. Former UW assistant & current South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris is rumored to be on the short list. He's an Ohio native. I think they'd get better in a hurry if they're able to land him. Had a chance to briefly chat with him at a high school game once; very impressive guy with a really engaging personality. Hopefully the Gamecocks pony up enough that he stays put.

This is the way I'd go. I don't get very hopped up over the idea of Ashby working out of the BP. Let him get stretched out in the minors; I really don't care how long it takes or how cautious they need to be. Unless health/durability deems it impossible, he's a starter.

The middle ten to twelve minutes before & after halftime were pretty entertaining. But they still can't shake the early turnovers, and the 1-3-1 OSU went to in the 2nd half led to some really ugly possessions. It neutralized Crowl, who pretty much had his way in the 1st half, and really upset the whole flow. Took Storr away as well. Terrific line for Hepburn. Seven assists in 39 minutes w/zero turnovers & five rebounds. Two steals, and some questionable calls kept him from having one or two more. And a late dagger. Easily the player of the game. I thought we were aided by some pretty ugly halfcourt play by Ohio State, but you can't complain when the defense gives up 54. Well, one complaint: Wahl inexplicably kept losing Mahaffey. Don't know if he was over-helping or what, but if he simply plays him honestly OSU doesn't break fifty. Counting the days til the return of Blackwell & McGee. Minimal bench contributions tonite. A little spark from Winter, but a couple bad TOs too. I would have to think the door is wide open for Ilver if he can step through as Gilmore is scuffling.

At Mackey Arena on Senior Day is a TALLLLLLLL order. I like the way you think though.

Water under the bridge, but after acquiring Hoskins & looking at the other roster hopefuls it makes me a little sick that we have Jake Bauers & not Jace Avina in the organization.

I really don't think there's a locker room issue. Of course unless you're there you never know, but the only frustrations I see are related to what's going on between the lines & never seem to linger. To me it's the boring, coachspeak stuff-----The defense started out scary bad at times, trended upward, and is now inexplicably going south again. That stuff is scouting, preparedness, learning tendencies, then go out & hustle & move your feet. They've done it. Do it again. The defensive rebounding hasn't been horrible but disappears at the worst times. Consistency. And the TOs, usually at the start of games, is maddening. I put all that stuff on the list ahead of shooting, because that can come & go. It'll get better. The other stuff has to be a bedrock. Oh, and get a little healthier.😁

🤢.😄.

On the offensive end I thought he was OK today, in that he didn't always settle for the jump shot, tried to probe. Should've had a nice assist on a drive-and-dish but someone---I don't remember who---couldn't finish. He'll never be a great ballhandler, but it seems like he's starting to show a little 'completeness' to his game. You'd always like to see him make more shots because that's what he brings. Defensively, It seems to me he's getting a little better. But in Rutgers' last possession of the half, he was subbed out for Isaac Lindsay. That tells you something.

Well, at least we can stop talking about Providence being their worst game of the season. Greg Gard said in pregame they tweaked a couple things on the defensive end. If by "tweaking" he meant we're going to back off & give their guards 10-12 ft jumpers & floaters in the lane, I'm on it. It was the perfect storm for a game in that building-come out turning the ball over, let them grab early momentum & make some shots, and when you DO get a miss, for Gods' sake whatever you do don't corrall the rebound. I'm not looking to make an excuse--we were terrible in just about every way--but when it rains it pours. We've all seen it. When a team isn't playing well, the breaks don't go your way either. This was an offensively-challenged opponent, that made 10-17 from deep. The kid who made 5-5 was shooting 29% on the year from three. But all that did was make what would've been an 11-12 point loss, 22. Our worst game of the year, and I suspect their best. Crowl maybe looks a little better today. But then he runs into a 13 rebound, 8 block game from Omoruyi, who's been running hot & cold all year. Of course. We can't do anything to slow down Williams & Blackwell isn't available, so Klesmit picks up 2 early fouls. Of course. At times, Winter looked OK. He had one nice wall-up, forced the miss, blocked out & got the rebound. Showed some intermittent toughness. That's about all I got for positives. Was hoping to throw confetti over Chris Hodges making a free throw or two late. But, of course........

Apologies if I missed commentary on it, but has anyone seen Boys in the Boat, and if so, whaddya think?

I like it. It has a little more pizazz than "I TOLD you I was sick".

Blacks' defense would be the decider in that scenario. I feel much better about him in a corner than 2B. So if Turang hits enough, there ya go. If not, your idea of him being in a more-or-less Counsell type role is a good one.

I'm sure this is me living on Fantasy Island, but if you aren't injured & sit out a bowl game you forfeit any funds owed for that season. If you're Iron Jock & you still insist on paying Braelon Allen, your merchandise is relegated to Fleet Farm.

If the return is somewhere in the neighborhood of what's being proposed above & they feel good about Uribes' command (and feel what Megill showed in the 2nd half is for real & sustainable), then I think there's sufficient depth in the BP, so go ahead & do it. And if they aren't contending, you still may get some value from a team having a sudden need at SS (injury, lack of production) for Adames at the deadline. I agree with the premise of the article.

Crowl is a very good passer out of the post. Trouble is, that passing ability is stunted when he's not scoring down low. So, it hurts us in two ways when he isn't getting something done. Like you said, even the shot attempts are rare. Needs to figure out a way to keep folks honest. I've always liked a kickout after a feed into a double-team, followed by an immediate re-feed. There's probably a little bit of "standing around" after Storr gets the ball. Not good, but kinda understandable given the shot volume. If Klesmit & Hepburn get back to guarding better I think the 17-18ppg they've been giving us is sufficient. But they have to get back the defensive mindset. If that takes more out of them so be it, then the bench has to provide minutes. Even if it means a few from Lindsay. Again, this is where McGee is missed. Some of the best perimeter defense I've seen this season was when he played alongside Hepburn for a stretch.

Definitely. Rutgers is always a challenging place to visit. But honestly, I don't care who the opponent is right now. It's more important we get back to doing the things necessary to be more competitive. Do that & the wins take care of themselves. But yeah, PU was always viewed as the safest bet to win it, even when we were a sliver ahead of them. This might sound strange after yesterday, but I don't see one team we can't beat in the next eight games. Not one*. But we need to see the return of the team that went away about 5 minutes into the second half in Lincoln & hasn't returned. During the Brewers' season I liked using the phrase that it's not so much who you're playing, but how. That doesn't translate quite as well to college BB but still fits. Right now the on again, off again defense & defensive boards concern me, maybe more than the 3pt slump. Crowl has been poor. He's being played aggressively & needs to respond. It would help if Blackwell & Winter haven't hit a "freshman wall" (keeping fingers crossed on that one). And I think they miss McGee a little more than many think. * Brain cramp. No, I don't think they'll win in West Lafayette.

I've felt the higher the seed, the better chance you have of maybe getting a little easier game in the 2nd round due to an upset. IOW, if you're a 3 or 4, you may benefit from a 12-5 or 11-6 upset. But truly, as the years have gone by it's more about matchups than seed #s anyway. Like you said, getting hot at the right time is most vital.

No, it seldom is. That's why you need to bring intensity on the defensive end, and put an end to the early-game turnover fest. Fall behind by 8 or 9 there, you feel like you're having to scale Everest.

That was Gards' biggest complaint in postgame, not stopping the ball defensively, followed closely by too many turnovers. I would add Michigan made some clutch shots they usually don't make. Outrebounded by 11, allowing 25 FT attempts. Those things can't happen. Still, this crap happens to a lot of teams for a week or two. The most important thing is how they respond to it. Need to defend much better Saturday, unless they think they're going to go into Piscataway & light up the scoreboard. That seldom happens.

We are, when we give ourselves more of a chance. Some of the shot choices in the 2nd half, a defense that's intermittent, no consistency on the defensive boards. On the road, that's all it takes to open the door for a team that's had little success closing out games. Had a chance to take command with the 4 point lead & proceeded to give up the next 8 or 10 points or whatever it was. Michigan played better overall on both ends than they have in a long time. But that's nothing to complain about when you draw a boatload of fouls in the 1st half, score 40 points in the paint, and still find wisdom in shooting 19 three pointers. We asked for it.

Might want to see Klesmit on McDaniel in the 2nd half if McDaniel continues to get all he wants. He showed nice activity on the offensive end, but today they could use shutdown-on-D, no-points Hepburn. So frustrating to see the 1st half turnovers, again. Post ups seemed none too promising so far (Crowl, ugh). Drive the ball, live at the FT line. OK, AJ? Overall, a mostly crappy 1st half vs a team that seems to be a better 1st half team. So, hopefully they correct things & take control. Ilver entering ahead of Gilmore was interesting.

I like that, a lot. A stipulation that may allow the athlete to leave if the coach leaves during his/her tenure could perhaps be hammered in. What's tricky is NIL money is, at least on the surface, not supposed to be coming from the school. How closely can that be monitored? As the powers-that-be try to create some sort of reasonable framework, I see educrats, I see politicians, I see lawyers, and now I see the NLRB. And I see a lot of sports fans who preferred college sports to the pros having their patience severely tested.

I can't fairly comment on the guy, because every time I see his name I can't help but think of Jeff Juden.

My guess is no better than anyone elses' & probably worse than most as to how this whole mess plays out. But I think it's interesting that the focus in the article is on a lower-level (athletically) Ivy League school that, while in a conference of private schools, has an athletic dept that will almost certainly never finish in the black. If there was a stipend that was a relatively modest amount that was given out evenly to revenue-sport athletes I could live with that. There was talk of that decades ago. But in an NIL-based world that's a pipe dream.