Path to the Hall of Fame

[Wayne23]

It's situational. If I thought I had the better team and no major foul trouble I'd go for the 2. If I didn't have the better team or felt like we were done due to fouls or fatigue, the 3 is the call.

[randy]

12/23/93: Prairie View (4-6) @ Sam Houston St (8-3)

Prarie View is on a 2 game win streak, while we have lost the last 2

Keys to the game
[INDENT]1. Their 5 is a dominant scorer at 20 ppg; no other player averages in double figures
2. Not surprisingly, they like to score inside
3. PTS/100: Sam Houston: 114, Prairie View: 97.
[/INDENT]
Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets (Free): Auto (75%)
2. Defense Sets (Int): Man to Man (7); double their 5; switch Majerus to guard their 5, so that Cook won't get into foul trouble early
3. Press Sets (Freq): HC Trap (6)
4. O/D Reb Int: 9/10
5. Off Pace (Focus): 4 (Heavy Inside)
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)


14:00, Up 13-5
They called a time out. Carr has 3 FGs, all drive to the basket. We have 4 blks already. Their star C is 1-5, the lone FG is a J. Coulibaly has 2 PFs, and has to sit down

11:51, Up 19-7
I'm happy with effort shown on D,and efficiency on offense (7-10 FG). Majerus picked up his 2nd PF

9:55, Up 25-7
They called another time out. Our backup PG, Johnson has been perfect: 3-3 FG and 2-2 FT; never mind his 2 PFs, I'm keeping him the floor

8:52, Up 25-12
They had a mini 5-0 run. I called time out just to stop their momentum. Both teams in the penalty


Halftime, Up 43-26


Key stats
[INDENT]1. Their star C is having a awful game: 3 pts, 1-6 FG, 2 tos, and several shots blocked. Their bench actually did the scoring; 2 of their subs combined for 17 pts.
2. Carr is 7-9, 14 pts; his mindset today is drive strong to the hoop. Cook is 5-6 FT; 7 pts.
3. Johnson is having a career game; 14 pts, 5-6 FG, 4-4 FT, and no turnovers in 16 mins
4. Subtracting our 15 FTMs, current ratio of points scored is 24:4 (inside:outside) which explains our 61% FG
[/INDENT]


Start of 2nd Half

No adjustments on strategy

18:19, Up 50-26
We go on 7-0 run to start the 2nd. They call an early time out. To make matters worse, their star C has been called for his 3rd PF.

15:37, Up 58-30
Best performance I've seen so far from my team. This could be an early night for our starters. I praised them during the media time out

11:36, Up 62-32
Took out Carr for the 1st time in this game. No need for him to come back. The other starters will soon follow.

7:47, Up 66-37
The 3 Cs are already cooling their heels on the bench


Final score: Prairie View - 53, Sam Houston St - 82
This was the closest thing to a perfect game (offensively and defensively) this team has played so far. If we can be consistent on the road, this will be a season to remember.

Box Score

[INDENT]Carr 16, 2, 2, 8-11 FG, 5 tos (*)
Johnson 16, 2, 4
Cook 14, 9, 1
Coulibaly 9, 1, 0
Majerus 8, 3, 1
Thomas 4, 1, 1
Hatter 4, 2, 0
Smith 3, 2, 0
Jackson 3, 1, 0
Granville 2, 4, 1
Griffin 2, 4, 3
Belton 1,0,0
Waddell 0, 0, 0

12 players scored!
[/INDENT]
Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG%: 56 - 37
REB: +6
TO: -8
Paint: +20 (38-18)
2nd Chance : +4
Fast Break: +2[/INDENT]


Other Notes

[INDENT]1. Their star C fouled out in the game, finishing with 5 pts (15 below his average), 2-8 FG

2. We only attempted a single 3-PT shot, by our 3rd string PG, during garbage time; the shot went in.

3. Our "hustle stats" for the game: 8 stls, 6 blks.

4. A total of 41 fouls were called (18 on us), resulting on 47 FTAs; we made 23-28 FT

5. Our final inside:outside points ratio for the game is 1.8:1. My target ratio is about 2:1 (inside:outside). Considering the game is practically over midway in the 2nd half, and my players were hoisting shots everywhere during garbage time, I think we did pretty well on achieving this objective.

[/INDENT]

[randy]

From now on, I will use the acronym ISR to indicate the ratio of inside points scored as compared to outside shots scored.

I'm not sure how will I incorporate FTMs in this metric. You can be fouled either inside or outside (while taking a J). I reckon majority of the fouls happen inside the paint. But just to simplify the calculation, I won't be considering FTMs.

Inside Points = Points Scored in the Paint, as reported in the Team Stats section

Outside Points = Total Points Scored - FTMs - Inside Points

ISR = (Inside Points) : (Outside Points)

Currently, after making the adjustments I listed in one of my posts above to increase inside scoring, my ISR goal is 2:1. I am not sure though how achievable this is.

I will try to have this metric reported after each game.

[randy]

12/27/93: North Carolina Central (7-5) @ Sam Houston St (8-3)

Our last non-conference game for the season. NCCU is 5-5 at home, but 2-0 on the road. They won their first 7 games, and lost the last 5.

Keys to the game
[INDENT]1. Leading scorer for them is their 6-5 PG, at 16 ppg. Their C can score as well.
2. Stop their fast breaks. During their 7-game win streak, they are averaging almost 18 fast break points per game; on their 5-game losing streak, it is less than 7 fast break points per game.
3. PTS/100: Sam Houston: 115, Prairie View: 104. If we're not careful, they can score many against us
[/INDENT]
Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Freedom: Auto / 75%
2. Defense Sets / Intensity: Man to Man / 7'; switch Majerus to guard their C
3. Press Sets / Frequency: HC Trap / 6
4. Off/Def Reb Intensity: 7/10; prevent their fast breaks
5. Off Pace / Focus: 4 / Heavy Inside
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:33, Down 9-11
They are hitting from the outside, 3-4 3-PT. We have zero rebs. I showed concern during the media time out

Cook called for his 2nd foul. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night for me.

11:36, Up 21-14
They went ice cold after hitting their 4th 3. We picked up our offense. Majerus has 8, taking up the scoring cudgels vacated by Cook who may not see action for the rest of the half

6:44, Up 28-26
Their bench gave them a boost

3:38, Up 36-28
The 3 Cs are all on the bench. We just have to hang to the lead until the half is over


Halftime, Up 42-34
Our bench did hang on to the lead

Key stats
[INDENT]1. NCCU has 11 tos, but we haven't converted much on fast break points (only 6 so far)
2. Taking time to setup the offense allowed us to have better shot selections; 15 assists on 18 FGM; 64% FG
3. Cook has been on the floor for only 5 minutes
[/INDENT]



Start of 2nd Half

Adjust Off Reb intensity: +1

17:59, Up 46-34
It's only a 4-0 run, but the opposing coach senses momentum swinging heavily our way. They started with 2 tos on their first 2 possessions

13:36, Up 50-36
They have scored only 2 pts in more than 6 mins of play. They now have 18 tos.
As much as I like Carr's drive-first mentality, he needs to cut down on his tos; he has accounted for 4 of our 6 tos thus far. I'll let him rest for a while, and experiment with a 3-guard lineup (Johnson, Coulibaly, Granville)

8:35, Up 59-44
Granville has 3 fouls, but not alarming at this point. We're playing good in my opinion, but somehow we can't put this team away for good
I put in my seldom-used guards, Jackson and Thomas.

5:41, Up 67-51
It's still not a safe lead, but I will clear the bench at this point. Tougher (conference) games ahead


Final score: North Carolina Central - 62, Sam Houston St - 79

Box Score

[INDENT]Majerus 16, 6, 2, 8-12 FG (*)
Griffin 13, 2, 1, 5-7 FG
Coulibaly 11, 2, 3
Carr 9, 5, 3, 5 tos
Cook 9, 2, 2 (only 18 mins)
Johnson 8, 1, 4, 3 stls
Granville 6, 2, 3, 3 stls
Belton 4,2,0
Smith 3, 1, 0
Jackson 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 58-38%
REB: -5
TO: -9 (11-20)
Paint: +16
2nd Chance : -9
Fast Break: -2[/INDENT]


Other Notes

[INDENT]1. Our ISR for this game is 0.9

2. They had 10 fast break pts in the 1st half; but only 2 in the 2nd

3. Their star PG played only 16 mins due to foul trouble; he ended up with 12 pts, all on 3-PT

4. It marked the first game that someone outside of the 3 Cs was named best player of the game (Majerus)

[/INDENT]

[randy]

After the non-conference games.


Team Name (W-L), RPI, AD's expectations

Sam Houston St. (10-3), 47, Finish Top 3
Central Arkansas (8-5), 97, Finish Top 3
Nicholls St. (8-5), 106, Finish Top 3
Texas Arlington (8-5), 197, Don't Finish Last
Texas St. (8-5), 220, Finish in Top 3
Texas A&M CC (4-9), 236, Win Conf Tourney + Win 15 games
Texas San Antonio (5-8), 296, Win Conf Tourney + Win 15 games
Lamar (7-6), 303, Finish Top 3

[randy]

1/1/94

Academics
1. Tutoring for Reed (1.5), Carr (2.2), and Waddell (2.9)
2. Study More for Johnson (3.4; graduating SR)

Recruiting Prospects / Scouting
1. Justin McClinton, PG JuCo, rank #28, ATH=A, OVR=A, Interest=Low

We will scout McClinton live more often to increase interest

[Wayne23]

You're kickin' some butts, Coach!

[PointGuard]

Reed seems to have a brick for a brain.

[randy]

1/3/94: Texas A&M Corpus Christi (4-9, 0-0) @ Sam Houston St (10-3, 0-0)

Pre-game Notes
[INDENT]1. They are not a good offensive team: 61 ppg, 40% FG, 30% 3FG, 15 FTA. If we play our normal offensive game, I don't think they can match our scoring
2. They are a poor offensive rebounding team; we'll allow our guards to gamble a bit to get fast break opportunities
[/INDENT]
Initial instructions
[INDENT]1. Offense Sets / Freedom: Auto / 75%
2. Defense Sets / Intensity: Man to Man / 6 (they are weak in offense)
3. Press Sets / Frequency: HC Trap / 8
4. Off/Def Reb Intensity: 9/7
5. Off Pace / Focus: 4 / Heavy Inside
[/INDENT]


Tip off (1st Half)

15:33, Up 10-2
They are 1-5 FG. I noticed they run a lot of low post plays for their massive (6-10, 275) center. Switching Majerus to him, plus double team.

11:10, Up 16-3
They can't score inside nor outside (0-4 3FG); heck, not even on FT (1-4 FT)

6:22, Up 29-7
Getting ugly now. They even misses a breakaway dunk. Carr has 10, 4-4 FG, 2-2 3PT


Halftime, Up 42-16

Notes
[INDENT]1. Carr is perfect from the field, 5-5 FG, 13 pts
2. Difficult to find a flaw on a game like this. Minor issue though is that we only have 1 off reb; we had 10 missed FGs, so I reckon we could have gotten more off rebs
[/INDENT]


Start of 2nd Half

Adjust Off Reb intensity: +1 (already at 10)

18:20, Up 42-20
I called time out, just to stop their mini 4-0 run. I reminded the players that there is an eternity of basketball ahead. Increased def intensity to 8

11:16, Up 54-35
They suddenly began hitting shots. Over confidence on our part? I put in some fresh legs

7:19, Up 62-43
The lead actually went down to 15 earlier, 58-43. Cook scored 4 straight pts.

4:03, Up 63-52
WTF?! I called time out

2:32, Up 67-59
They hit another 3. We'll switch to 1-2-2

Carr hits a clutch 3. Up 11, 2:08

They turned it over. Carr hits another 3 (his 5th of the game). Up 14, 1:42. We scored 7 more pts


Final score: Texas A&M Corpus Christi - 59, Sam Houston St - 80
We went on a 13-0 (10 from Carr) run in the final 2:32


Box Score

[INDENT]Carr 25, 3, 2, 10-11 FG, 5-5 3PT (*)
Cook 19, 6, 1
Majerus 18, 4, 1
Coulibaly 12, 7, 0, 4 stls
Granville 2, 3, 8
Griffin 2, 5, 1
Belton 2, 1, 0
Johnson 0, 1, 4
Thomas 0, 0, 0
Smith 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Team Stats Comparisons

[INDENT]FG: 59-44%
REB: +6
TO: -5
Paint: +10
2nd Chance : -2
Fast Break: -5[/INDENT]


Other Notes

[INDENT]1. Prior to our 13-0 run to finish the game, we were getting outscored in the 2nd half 43-25 .... by arguably the worst scoring team in the conference!

2. Majerus is averaging 17 ppg in the last 2 games.

[/INDENT]

[Wayne23]

Hey, it's a win! And a lopsided one at that.