My thoughts on the game

[chinngiskhaan]

1. Smith is a better coach than Young, at least he was tonight. He drew up several good plays (one of the coaches did anyway), and the team played stellar defense the entire game. He may be an awful recruiter, but he’s a better in-game coach than KY.
2. Good players:
– Ausar: super timid first half, passed several wide open layups for questionable passes. Don’t know what happened, but he came alive in the second half.
– Madsen: LOL, just kidding, I’ve never seen someone play worse tbh.
– Lovering: He was the best big man on the floor tonight, and it wasn’t close.
– Sharavjamts: He didn’t do much on the stat sheet, but he is a coach’s dream when it comes to running an offense. He sees the floor amazingly well, and didn’t force anything tonight (with the one exception being the end of regulation, and that was a good idea, it just got deflected).
3. Thoughts on Dawes – He is clearly a good player, but I can see why Smith doesn’t like playing him in favor of some of the other guys. Dawes stands around with his hands down A LOT. He is either lazy on defense, or he simply has no idea what is going on. He doesn’t move around nearly as much on offense as the other guys. I can see why he would muck up the flow of the offense Smith wants to run. That being said, he needs to play more.
4. FREE THROWS!!!! Anyone paid to play basketball (these guys pretty much all get paid) should shoot 65% from the line MINIMUM. If a giant like Wemby can shoot damn near 90% for the year, nobody has any excuse. It is a lack of effort or a severe mental issue. I see guys like Lovering, who have a different free throw stroke every time they shoot and I just can’t help but be livid. These guys should all be able to hit 70% of their free throws with their eyes closed. We should have won that game by 10 in regulation.
5. Watching Big12 refs make CBB a lot more fun than it was with Pac12 refs. They let a lot of things slide and the game flowed much better.

[AlohaUte]

To be fair to Young, he’s been a head coach for 1/2 a season.

And a Big 12 caliber player should be minimum 80% FT shooter

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Great win. Smith coached a good game and we matched up athletically with the cougars. Might be the only other team in the Big 12 we match up with. Our bigs played physical and caused them problems. Hopefully this win will shut them up for a day or two. Haha

[NashvilleUteFan]

I disagree on Smith’s in game coaching. Having Dawes in at the end of OT in an obvious fouling situation for BYU was just downright awful. He’s our worst free throw shooter!!! That easily could’ve cost us the game. But I am stoked about the win, and it tastes even sweeter knowing their roster costs probably 5x more than ours. Nice investment Ryan.

[Charlie]

One of those nights. In crunch time they left Dawes open for a 3, that is not his shot, and we needed a bucket. I thought oh no, but he drained the shot.

[Holladay Ute]

Isn’t he a 70%+ free throw shooter? Based on how our team shoots free throws, that’s got to be one of the best percentages on our roster?

[chinngiskhaan]

Are you a child or just mentally challenged? Shouting something on the internet doesn’t make it true. Dawes is NOT our worst FT shooter, not by a long shot. Lovering is worse by a substantial margin. Dawes is a 69% FT shooter, which isn’t good, but it isn’t awful either. As bad as our team is from the line, I’d wager to say he is one of our better FT shooters, which is likely why he was put in the game at the end. He is probably our best FT shooting “big.”

[NashvilleUteFan]

I stand corrected. I made that comment without even checking the actual stats, just went off memory. He’s third best on the team percentage wise. My bad Craig!

[chinngiskhaan]

Hey, it happens. Don’t worry about it

[Minnesota Ute]

ahem… Keanu is a 69% (27/39) FT shooter.. worst…? really…

Caleb 31% (yeah you heard that right) 5/16
Keller 40% 4/10
Lovering 42% 23/54
Mongo Mike 50% 9/15
Ezra 60% 59/98 (he has actually really improved, at least he got above 50%)
Jake 64% 16/25
Mason 66% 6/9 (pretty small sample)

He’s basically the same as Miro who is 27/38 (71%), and only Gabe (85%) and Hunter (87%) are better.
In fact, statistically, Keanu is really good in a lot of facets of the game and I just can’t understand why he is not getting more PT. He may seem a little clunky at only 11 min per game. But look at how Ezra started he didn’t do s**t in the first half. You can’t give limited and inconsistent PT and call that definitive. He has shown statistically that when he plays over 20 min, he is an impact player.

[Minnesota Ute]

I largely agree with your thoughts with this exception:

Ezra started timid in the first half but came alive in the second, true.
Keanu stands around that’s why he isn’t playing, false.

See the irony? Ezra played 31 min and Keanu played 11. For the first half, Ezra didn’t do s**t but in the second half, he got in the flow and blew up. Somewhere in a parallel timeline, Keanu got those 31 minutes and blew up bigger than Ezra because he can actually make FT in addition to grabbing boards and dunking basketballs.

IF you look at per 40 min, so it’s equal min. Keanu has 13.6 reb to Ezra’s 9.4 (and is higher in both offensive and defensive rb)
2.6 steals vs 1.8;
1.6 blocks to 0.5;
Turnovers 2.4 to 2.8;
2.6 assists to 1.8;
eFG% 69.9% vs 53.1% (and higher on all individual FG % 2pt, 3pt, & FT; hell he is shooting 80% from 2pt).

There are only two categories statistically that Ezra wins over Keanu, FT attempted at 12.3 vs 6.8, however the funny part is that Ezra has been so bad at the line that the point differential in ft made is only 2.7 points per 40 min. And the other is total points per 40 where Ezra is 22.5 and Keanu is 21.1, a whopping 1.4 point diff despite Keanu’s limited and inconsistent minutes.

Smith has a huge blind spot where Keanu is concerned and I for one don’t understand it.

Edit Add: Interestingly, Keanu still had the second highest BPM at 8.8 in only just those 11 minutes. Only Ezra (23.2) and Hunter (17) were higher. What a weird game, if you’d have told me that Hunter and Ezra were going to be our best players, and that Gabe would be a disaster, I would have predicted a 20pt loss. That said, Lawson had a really good game that somehow doesn’t translate into BPM (5.5).

[GameForAnyFuss]

It’s worth pointing out that Lawson’s BPM of 5.5 is still really good. That’s NBA All-Star level. And if Ezra and Hunter were able to maintain their BPM, they would both be All-Americans.

The highest BPM over the course of an entire NBA season was Jokic in 2021-2022. His BPM was 13.7.

[Minnesota Ute]

I hear ya, good point. And to this point in the season, the BPM looks like this:

Keanu: 8.2
Lawson: 7.8
Wahlin: 5.2
Mason: 5.2
Mongo: 5.3
Gabe: 3.3
Ezra: 2.2
Miro: 2.1
Hunter: 1.9
Keller: 0.7

And the DBPM still has Jake, Laswon, Mongo, & Keanu in the top 4 spots, but Mason and Gabe fall down the list and Miro & Hunter jump up.

So my question is: How can you justify not starting Jake, Lawson, Keanu, & Mongo; then pick your poison between the guards; and bring Ezra off the bench for the 11 min a game Keanu is getting?

I see the comment in the thread about the things the coach may be trying to teach that maybe Keanu isn’t getting or doing. I call bs because whatever he is doing or not doing, it’s not showing up in the statistics. At some point, you have to look at the results and realize that you not using someone who is highly productive. I challenge anyone to look at his game log and find a game where he got over 20 min that he wasn’t highly productive. TT was probably the closest but that was a weird game statistically for everyone. After the two games he had against OSU and TCU, how does he only see 11 min against BYU?

[Yergensen]

Good stuff.

Would be interesting to see minutes per game added to the side of BPM in your list. This would highlight possible underuse of certain high impact players and possible overuse of certain low impact players.

[Minnesota Ute]

I use this site, click on any header to sort on that stat

[Yergensen]

Player BPM / MPG
Keanu: 8.2 / 15.3
Lawson: 7.8 / 23.2
Wahlin: 5.2 / 21.6
Mason: 5.2 / 18.7
Mongo: 5.3 / 21.9
Gabe: 3.3 / 28.6
Ezra: 2.2 / 19.9
Miro: 2.1 / 21.5
Hunter: 1.9 / 21.3
Keller: 0.7 / 10.4

[Minnesota Ute]

Keanu def underutilized (IMO), which is why I’m harping on it.

On the other side, Gabe it could be argued is grossly over utilized. But then you look at Miro & Hunter, and think meh, good to see Mike being increasingly utilized. Beyond him the other guards are a toss up. It does make more sense that Craig is using Wahlin more frequently as a combo guard.

[Yergensen]

Mason also underutilized and I think his recent game minutes are below his season average, not trending the right way.

It looks like we have an efficiency problem at guard. One of the reasons why Craig has gone with big lineup as of late?

[Minnesota Ute]

It is certainly arguable that Mason could be taking some more minutes in the guard line, but you hit the nail on the head, we just don’t have that solid guard to anchor the line-up so why not go with the bigger lineups. Our options at guard are really a combination of “pick your poison” and “let’s roll the dice to see who’s hot”.

[Charlie]

The stats are all a big part of understanding but not all. Not in any box score / stat sheet are all the little things specific to position and switching, on both offense and defense. Coaches like for example Rick, can get very specific about what they want players to do. They practice and go over the concepts that are not so much for every coach but specific for what a coach wants to do against specific opposition. Much of this is not at all apparent to the fans and are also up to debate. Still, coaches will prefer or demand these little things to gain playing time. It was interesting to watch Majerus coach a game. Players would go in and out and he would keep a open chair by him to teach. I could watch the team run a play, watch him sub a player, watch him do 30 seconds of intense teaching but have no idea what it was he was correcting. Rick was known to stop practice, point to a spot on the court to move a player a foot or two and then repeat the drill. As I look at playing time and rotations, I always wonder about specific little things having impact that I don’t see. But then coaches also have to be able to let go in the right situations and go with results no matter how they come about.

[Tony (admin)]

Dating myself here, but remember when we used to lead the nation in free throw percentage?

[Kellso]

While they have a 5 minute time out late in the game to explain the upcoming play. Finish the huddle and send the boys out on the court. The assistant coach was instructing the players as they were ready to play. The boys looked confused and were moving around like they didn’t know where to go. It happened twice. Anyone know what that was about?

[utefansince79]

The Huntsman Center is a wonderful building when it is packed and the atmosphere was incredible last night. Significant number of vocal Cougar supporters but Ute fans were much louder.

Hope that Utah fans (including the students) can come out for some of the other BIG12 games as we need that home advantage against the likes of Baylor, Kansas, and others who will be paying a visit.

[The Miami Ute]

It seemed like there were a lot fewer BYU fans at this game compared to the one last year.

Anyways, once again, this was a game, like many last season, that Utah should have won easily in regulation if the Utes were a mediocre FT shooting team. At the end of the game, BYU’s defense was reduced to a “Hack-a-Lovering” or “Hack-a-Auser” and it worked!!! I would be f**king death on all of these players until they started shooting FTs at a tolerable rate. You just cannot leave so many points on the table game after game. It’s really a damning statement on both the players AND Smith’s inability to make them better.

G. Madsen…the guy’s stepped into an elevator shaft. At the level he’s playing now, he’d have a hard time making the Starting Five on a high school team. I don’t know if he has physical or mental issues, but last night Utah won in spite of him. He’s got to snap out of it soon or this feel good trend will come to an end in a moment.

The referees…well, the best I can say is that they called the game both ways and let the players play…I have seats relatively close to the floor and I have to say that, well, I guess that traveling isn’t a thing in the Big XII. If I had a dollar for the times I saw players shuffling their feet, trying to get position closer to the basket and where nothing got called, well, I wouldn’t be a rich man but I’d be doing well.

My expectations are very tempered because the next game is an away trip to #10 Houston. If we can keep that game close and competitive, I’ll be happy.

[Utopia]

I believe the issue with Gabe is that he is a spot-up catch-and-shoot rhythm shooter and as the competition has gotten better, he has lost his open catch-and-shoots and has had to resort to creating shots off the dribble, which are much more contested. Spot-up shooting and shooting off the dribble have very different mechanics and rhythms. Last year there was Carlson drawing double-teams in the post and Deivon drawing help on his drives, both of these creating kick-out open 3’s. Those dynamics don’t exist with this year’s team.

What I’ve noticed in the last three wins is a lot of effective two-man play between the bigs that is creating a lot of layups/dunks, such as quick touch passes from the high-post to another big back-cutting to the basket. This team lacks in athleticisim and individual scoring talent, but they actually execute sets and pass really well. Gabe stopped forcing shots in the 2nd half and we played much more through the post and we were better off for it.

[Charlie]

The FT shooting was frustrating, no doubt. Not an excuse but several players did get gassed. FT% in the first half was acceptable, but not great. Second half it dropped but not much. But the OT period we were 4-12 which is god awful while the Y was 0-1 in OT. Still, for the game Utah was 53% vs 40% for the Y. We noticed every FT in overtime and noted that they wanted to foul Lovering. If the Y was holding a small lead in OT we likely would have seen the reverse since they were even worse. When Erickson air balled a FT it seemed clear that everyone playing was tired. Still, yes if you want to hold a small OT lead you better be able to hit FTs. I have felt the same about FTs this year but for some reason, this game, I saw it as fatigue. I do agree though that we need to do better.

[The Miami Ute]

This is the second time that I’ve seen Erickson airball a FT. He did it last year as well. I’m almost 60 years old and have been watching organized basketball since the mid-70s and had never seen another player do that, either in the pros or college.

[Charlie]

I don’t mean to pitch Erickson, he is just a guy. But he has got his FT% up to the high 80s this year. He did airball a FT but the game ended with the 3 he hit and 3 for 4 at the line in the last minutes for out last points. Not all league but no other all league guys showed up to end the game. By rule, I gota say thanks to anyone that helps get a win over the Y. Goodness knows how we keep it going.

[Holladay Ute]

I’ve seen a lot of players shoot air balls in college and the NBA. It’s obviously rare, but it happens. Props to him for hitting the 3 and making 3/4 free throws w/ all the pressure of the world on his shoulders. I have criticized Erickson for his entire tenure w/ us. He made the clutch plays to win us this game = he deserves nothing but love for quite a while. After the game, Coach Smith said he’s proud of how Erickson has improved his game. I agree. He has clearly improved his game. And whereas I used to think he didn’t deserve minutes unless it was garbage time, I actually think he deserves time in the rotation now depending on the matchup.

[Utes 69]

just think if Utah can make free throws, they win by twenty,

if Utah had 2 to 3 players score in double digits they win by twenty.

again Dawes sit the bench most of the game ! props to Auser and Lawson.

Smith coaching needs improvement at best.

[Author]

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