I agree with the assessment that we’re well balanced and that we’re not overplaying anyone. I always find it funny when 18-23 year old college players, who play 40-minute games twice a week, talk about overplaying when often older (and sometimes MUCH older) NBA players play 48-minute games, almost twice as often in a much longer season can handle it. 18-23 year olds are resilient, as long as they’re not playing 35-40 minutes a game more than twice a week, usually they’ll be fine.
It was interesting to see Haugh on Condon on the floor down the stretch over Samuel and Handlogten. Last time we played Georgia, Micah was a beast. Today he got manhandled. I think Golden divides the minutes up very well and plays the hot hand in crunch time.
Jeff, stop using all this logic and reason. It's the same after any loss... people start imagining things that aren't there. - Coach ordered the team to slow down - Players were tired from practice three weeks ago - Player XYZ is unhappy and disinterested - Coach is in over his head - Administration only cares about academics This Chicken Little mentality doesn't help anything.
Irregardless, 3 guards over 30 minutes, one over 35 and Aberdeen only had one minute yesterday. I don’t recall him ever going in at all. I didn’t think we looked tired but we were missing shots in the 2nd that were falling in the first.
Pullin's last 4 shots were all short. He didn't make a FG the last 12+ minutes of the game. We play a 3 guard lineup and only play 4 guards. That doesn't cut it. He keeps the bigs fresh, why not the guards as well? Keeping the bigs fresh is why we are so relentless on the boards imo. Anyway, Golden chastised the team on their defense at halftime, but if he wants great defense he is going to have to manage minutes better. You can't expect Pullin to play great defense and run the offense and break the press for 38 minutes.
Are you just going to ignore the big shots Pullin made this season late in the game having played similar minutes? It was an anomaly, and players will miss shots. This is not a simulation. In real life, circumstances dictate events.
Are you going to ignore Pullin's scoring going down in the 2nd half being a trend as his minutes have increased? Just look at the last 3 games. He doesn't get into the lane with authority like he does in the 1st half and early 2nd half. A guy can only run on adrenaline for so long. In a big game I can see him pushing through the pain, but it is going to cost us as teams can see that a tired ZP means the Gator offense is probably going to stall.
Yeah, I wanted to mention this too. I think Condon/Haugh were in the game for the last 4min. Samuel might not have played at all during that stretch. Golden musta been going on something, maybe the trend of the game.
Yes, I am going to ignore it, because I don’t think it’s a real issue, nor is it one that has stopped us from winning.
I can’t speak to what anyone else meant when discussing tired legs and the impact it had on 2nd half play. I do think there’s something to it, if nothing more than mental fatigue. I don’t think it’s a “ sky is falling “ issue. It’s more of, “ can we coach & play in a way to prevent it/ lessen it”. Due to our inability to close, in previous seasons, I’m probably hyper-reactive to it. The difference from previous seasons is, I think TG will/ can do something about it. We did look fresher down the stretch yesterday, even though our offense still dragged a bit. While I like discussing what we see and throwing around ideas of what “ we think” can be done about it, the discussion losses traction when it turns into a negative narrative. All that being said, thought TG & staff called a great game yesterday & I really liked the player rotations. To ride with Haugh & Condon, in tough spots was COACHING. This is going to sound like a bash, but it’s not. If MW were coaching us yesterday, we’d have lost a close game. He just would not have pushed the right buttons, in either player rotation or offensive & defensive attacks. Color me as “ Enjoying the Heck out of the ride”. I still think Bama, TN and Auburn are the three best “ tournament ready “ teams, we’re right there with a little more seasoning. Haugh & Condon’s continued growth along with our improved adjustments to pressure yesterday, were a welcomed sight.
I will just add this and you can rebut and have the last word. After ZP played 41 minutes two games in a row (OT games) we had our worst offensive performance against A&M and Pullin shorted a 3 to win the game at the end. OK I am done. Go Gators, beat the hell out of Bama!
I know that the Billy D mythology is strong on this board. He was a great coach and when he first got to Gainesville he HAD to employ a fast paced "fun" game so that he could recruit kids. Kids love to play that way. But his best teams (2006, 2007, 2014) were incredible on D. After the 2006 season was over many people thought that Noah could be the #1 pick. Not for his offense but for his ferocious D. Everybody remembers his blocks during The Dance that year. Incredible. And then there was the 2000 Sweet Sixteen game where he went zone late to take down Duke. Lots of folks think that he wore them down and they had "tired legs" and they couldn't shoot over the zone. Possible explanation but not what I thought happened. Switching to a zone took Duke out of their offensive rhythm. Wrong guys taking shots or right guys taking not their normal shots. It usually takes college teams a few possessions to adjust to a new D thrown at them. Duke adjusted poorly and then it was panic mode for them as they had everything to lose and we didn't. Tired legs or mind game. I am thinking more mind game. YMMV.
Back to the Billy Ball that many folks on this forum wanted. Billy's best teams executed high ball screen offenses with lots of reads in the half court. Not the frantic "Billy Ball" that they remembered.
Actually, the Dukes WERE tired. They were bending over, grabbing hold of their own shorts, sucking and blowing, wheezing and gasping, red-faced and glassy-eyed. They looked less like the Dukes and more like the Pukes. And shorting all their shots.
