2023: 3s and Put Backs

[Wayne23]

11/14: My PG, Pat Ture pulled me aside after dinner.

“So what’d you think of my game, Coach?”

“Overall you played really well but be careful with the ball and with the fouls. 4 fouls is not good. I need you in the game. And 8 TOs. Yikes!”

“Hey, 2 of those were good passes that the guys dropped.”

“Okay, I’ll give you that, but the other 6 weren’t, and 6 is too many. Just be a little more careful with the ball. I loved that you took 8 threes. Keep shooting the three.”

“I only hit 3 of them.”

“That’s 9 points. 3 out of 8 is fine. Remember, hitting 3 threes is like hitting 4 ½ twos, pointwise.”

“Yeah, so I’ll keep shooting them then.”

“Look, you’re my PG, Pat. The TOs will lessen as you get to know the other guys and how they move. But I need you on the floor so watch the fouls.”

“I got it, Coach.”

“Let’s kick some Purdue butt tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me!”

Game time!

Close early. Down 1 after 10 minutes. We press a little more and go on a big run. 65-41 at halftime. We’re on fire on O. Only 5 threes though so my strategy isn’t working so far. No complaints though. 20 and 10 for Pugh, 12 for SG Paul Howe. Good bench play and +28 in the paint. Big lead, 34 points. Then we relax and they cut into it a lot.

119-109 but the game wasn’t really that close. 33 for Howe, 8-12 on threes. 20, 11 for Pugh. 16-34 on threes, which is fantastic!

(Author’s notes: I forgot to go “Heavy Outside” and am now checking “Look for threes.” Did the latter for the 2nd half and we took 29!)

#11 seed UAB in the semifinals. Their SG tore his ACL in tonight’s game. You hate to see that even though it helps us. Their PF is excellent.

[jksander]

I like that the three-point shooting and fast pace is working for you! This has been something that I rarely could get to work in previous versions ...

[Wayne23]

11/17: We build an early lead again and are shooting lots of threes. Now that I have the kinks out this strategy is magic! 61-38 at the half. 13-28 on threes. My starting guards have hit 7 threes. Pugh is playing his usual solid game at PF. UAB is trying to make a 2nd half run but we’re holding them off.

100-88. We are a scoring machine! 21-47 on threes, just what I was looking for! 25, 5, 3 for Ture, but he fouled out. 16, 5, 3, 3 steals, 5 blocks for SG Paul Howe but he only played 22 minutes due to fouls. #3 guard Pete Coop played 23 very good minutes, 8, 3, 9. 1st big off the bench Sam Call also played well. My starting bigs all hit double digits and rebounded. This team is smokin’!

#4 seed, #11 ranked UCLA for the Coaches Classic title. They’re a heavy favorite but I think if we do what we’ve been doing we’ll be okay.

We’re first in PPG and almost last in PPG allowed but it’s working so far. Only 40th in RBs though, but a 9.7 advantage.

Had a long chat with my bench coach Rob Prin at the hotel last night. We talked about just about everything related to the guys and how they’re doing. We agreed that we need to work in practice on rebounding and on playing good D without fouling so much. We also agreed to keep taking those threes.

[Wayne23]

11/19: We start fast again. Up only 5 after 10. They can play! 49-38 at the break. 11-27 on threes, 6 by our starting guards. Howe has 14, Pugh has 12. Their C can really play. Brad Kitt has his hands full but he’s holding his own.

“I need more from my bench. Nobody’s in foul trouble so play good, hard, smart D and keep shooting those threes!”

UCLA is staying within reach early on. Up 7 with 10 to play.

90-82. The threes weren’t falling in the 2nd half, which is going to happen on some nights. Overall we were 13-37, 35.1%. Given my theory that a three is 1 ½ times as valuable as a 2, 35.1% winds up as almost 53% if they were twos, so I’ll take it. Hey, we won, and we won the tournament! Can’t wait to see where we’re ranked tomorrow!

23, 4, 4 for Howe, 19, 12, 4 blocks for SF Todd Toon. The bench didn’t give us much tonight. We didn’t dominate inside but we did fine.

I’m regretting our easy non-conf. schedule. Knowing what I know now I would have scheduled a lot more challenging games. Oh well.

Lots of conversations on the plane heading to our next game at Drake. The kids were so pumped and they wanted to talk. Pug Shor, our #4 guard, is kind of the team clown and he had everybody in stitches. He wants more minutes but he knows that the minutes just aren’t available right now. I love his attitude!

11/20: Ranked #10! 3 road games in a row coming up but the competition isn’t much.

SG Paul Howe is averaging 20.5, mostly on threes, and PG Pat Ture gets 16.3. PF Mike Pugh gets 16.3 and C Brad Kitt gets 15.5. Our other starter, SF Todd Tune, gets 10.0. The bench is doing its share most nights, too.

Only one recruit signs early but I’m not worried. They’ll all sign in time.

[Wayne23]

11/23: At Drake, 1-2. Fast start then they catch up. Up 7 with 10 left. 48-45 at the half. The threes aren’t falling, 8-25, and the D isn’t there at all. Both of my guards have 2 fouls, which doesn’t help. I was pretty loud in the locker room.

Up 10 with 10 to go. We finally wake up late.,

93-76. 12-44 on threes, 27.3% Again, that kind of night will happen. We had enough to win, which is what counts. Howe was immense, 36, 4, 3, 4, 8-12 on threes. 13, 10 for Kitt, 11, 11 for Pugh. Pug Shor needs more time. I’m moving him up to #3 guard.

(Author’s Note: I need to play out every game. There’s no other way to check “Look for Threes,” at least no way I can find. Also, Look for Threes unchecks itself for some reason. I need to keep an eye on it.)

Shor moves to #3 guard and I am playing him a lot. I put him at SG and move Howe to SF, sitting Toon. Ton and Shor get equal minutes for now.

[Wayne23]

11/26: At 0-3 Loyola-Marymount. They seem strong inside.

Fast start! We’re kicking their butts. 58-37 at the half. 13-28 on threes. 23 for Howe, 5-7 on threes.

111-80. 26-61 on threes. 40 points for Howe, 10-17 on threes. Terrific bench play for Shor, 17, 3, 6, and Call, 16, 3.

(Author’s Note: Gary seems to indicate that checking “Look for Threes” is only meant for use near the end of the half or end of the game. I am only going to check it then, which will, no doubt, hurt my effectiveness.)

Pug Shor was funny when he wasn't playing much. He's hilarious now that he's getting significant minutes. I have to settle him down at times but mostly, I love it.

[Wayne23]

11/30: At 3-1 Chattanooga. They have a good outside game.

It’s close, then they go on a run. Down 12 after 10. 46-57 at halftime. They shot 64.5% and I am LIVID! We were 7-19 on threes, not good. 12 for Ture but none of the other starters did much. Good bench play. Hopefully I lit a fire at halftime.

They’re holding their lead. We play better later, down 3 with 10 left.

96-90. Whew! I checked Look for 3s with 3 ½ left and we hit 2 late. 12-36 overall. 19, 2, 7 for Ture, 12, 6 for Howe. 16, 2, 4 for Shor, 13, 3 for Call, 11, 3 for Holl, so the bench pretty much saved us. Our starting bigs didn’t play well, and our D was awful inside.

We finally head for home tonight and that will help, I’m sure.

We’re 7-0, ranked #9.

[Wayne23]

12/3: 1-5 Charleston is here.

The place is sold out, which they tell me hasn’t happened in at least 8 years! We are the hottest ticket in town!
It’s close early. Up 3 after 10. We go on a run. 50-37 at the break. 9-19 on threes. 15, 7 for Howe, 12 for Pugh, 8 for Call. We’re playing good D tonight but they’re
controlling the paint. I talk about that at halftime and remind my big guys of the things we practice.

Up 21 with 10 to play.

94-80 but it wasn’t that close. 22, 5 for Pugh, 17, 9, 4, 4 for Howe, 14, 4 for Kitt, 12 for Call. Shor played well again. We did better in the paint in the 2nd half.

The crowd was amazing! My guys couldn't stop talking about it after the game.

I’m going to start Shor at SG and move Howe to SF. Toon will sit.

[Wayne23]

12/7: Still at home, vs. Fresno ST, 1-3. This is not a great team.

We jump out to a HUGE early lead. Up 16 after 10. Then a BIG run. 57-28 at halftime. The big guys are doing it tonight, 16, 7 for Howe, who tells me he likes the shift to SF, 12 and 9 for Pugh. Toon didn’t do much from the bench. #3 assistant Rob Prin has a better relationship with Toon than I do and I saw him talking to him. With his arm around Toon’s shoulder, as we headed back to the court after halftime. I have great assistants!

Up 25 with 10 to play. This is a romp.

96-73. Only 9-31 on threes but we were dominant. 25, 14 for Pugh, 19, 7 for Howe, 16, 6, 12 for Ture, a great game. 12, 3, 7 for Shor. Toon was little better in the 2nd half but I need more from him. Rob Prin says he’ll work with him. We totally controlled the paint.

[Wayne23]

12/10: At 3-4 Austin Peay. They don’t have a go to guy. Everybody tries to do their share.

On the flight there I spoke with my #1, recruiter Dustin Ford. We talked about potential recruits for next year. We have 4 guys graduating, 2 guards and 2 bigs. Dustin is already making connections with some kids and has a long list of possible recruits.

We take the lead right away. Up 13 after 10 minutes. My bench is doing great things. 53-38 at the break. 14, 5 for Howe. We’re 8-13 on threes. I encourage the guys to take more of them. +16 in the paint though.

We start very strong in the 2nd. Up 23 with 10 left.

107-91. It was never a game. 23, 7 for Howe who has been consistently terrific all season. He leads the MAC in scoring. 14, 3, 7, 3 for Ture, who leads the conf. with 7.7 assists per game. Good bench play.

I talked to Mick Pugh after the game. He was in foul trouble all night and didn’t give us much. I talked about not committing silly fouls.

“We can get back the two points; we need you on the floor.”

I need to mention my #2, Rob Full. His scouting reports are great and they’re a huge help to Dustin and me as we prepare. I had no doubt he’d do an excellent job.