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  • Does Willie need to be getting more shots?

    by
    LarryVaught1
    Published on 01-16-2014 02:17 PM
    2 Comments Comments
    By: LARRY VAUGHT



    Sophomore center Willie Cauley-Stein was a non-factor in Tuesday’s loss at Arkansas when he had two points, six rebounds and one blocked shot before fouling out after he played just 18 minutes.

    However, Arkansas coach Mike Anderson knows how important Cauley-Stein is to UK.

    “He plays the game unselfishly. I think he presents a problem. As you look at him each year, from last year to this year, he’s so much more established,” Anderson said.

    “He’s athletic, he can come out on the floor, he can run the floor like a deer. And he’s got a great feel for the game. He’s a good passer.

    “So he presents a problem from you can throw it in there, he can make passes, he can come from the blindside to block shots or straight up. So he’s a very versatile, big guy for a 7-footer.”

    Cauley-Stein leads UK with 57 blocked shots and 17 steals. He’s second in rebounding with 7.6 per game and fifth in scoring at 8.9 points per game.

    He is hitting 65.6 percent from the field (61 of 93) — but averages only about six shots per game.

    James Young (38.8 percent) has taken a team-high 188 shots while Julius Randle (53.4) has 161, Aaron Harrison (46.3) 160 and Andrew Harrison (37.4) 115. Alex Poythress, a 52 percent shooter, has put up 75 shots.
    1. Categories:
    2. Basketball
    Comments 25 Comments
    1. CatQuick's Avatar
      CatQuick - 01-16-2014, 01:46 PM
      Yes, he was noticeably missing, but I wasn't sure if it was lack of aggression on his part or there isn't enough focus to get him the ball.
    1. KeithKSR's Avatar
      KeithKSR - 01-16-2014, 01:50 PM
      Willie becomes more of a post threat when Randle is out of the game. He really needs to look to post more.
    1. CitizenBBN's Avatar
      CitizenBBN - 01-16-2014, 01:51 PM
      in short, yes.
    1. Padukacat's Avatar
      Padukacat - 01-16-2014, 01:58 PM
      Yes, he should be 4th in shots
    1. StuBleedsBlue2's Avatar
      StuBleedsBlue2 - 01-16-2014, 02:25 PM
      Yes. Not just for Willie, but any shot in the paint is better than most of the 3's that we have put up in games past. I think we're most successful when we limit our 3 pt attempts, so by default, it would mean that Willie needs more shots.
    1. VirginiaCat's Avatar
      VirginiaCat - 01-16-2014, 02:44 PM
      Willie does not handle contact well. I noticed several times in the game he gives to contact and that throws him off. I cannot remember the exact sequence but he received ball around paint and simply needed to use his height and athleticism to go to the rim..and instead dumped it out...

      Willie has the opposite problem of Julius..Julius thinks if he has the ball around the paint he has to shoot....Willie thinks pass first...
    1. Edward100's Avatar
      Edward100 - 01-16-2014, 10:06 PM
      It’s hard to shoot a ball you don’t have. When Willie does get a chance to shoot he has done very well. I would like to know how many times he touched a ball compared to the other players. It looks like the plan is whoever has the ball, charge toward the basket. However, this may result in a free throw we don’t make. In effect it’s like a turnover for us.
    1. cattails's Avatar
      cattails - 01-16-2014, 10:55 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by KeithKSR View Post
      Willie becomes more of a post threat when Randle is out of the game. He really needs to look to post more.
      That my friend is exactly right, Randle is option #1 in the post. I would like to see Randle post high and allow WCS to work close to the basket with the baby hook from either hand more than we do. Randle will get his shots but WCS needs more chances to score.
    1. Hoss's Avatar
      Hoss - 01-17-2014, 05:16 AM
      He probably should get a few more plays...but he was in foul trouble the entire Ark game. You would think he would get more touches with the triple teaming of Randle. I realize that the double usually comes from a sagging perimeter player, but that third guy comes from Willie's man sometimes.

      It's the dilemna of having so many capable scorers on one team. Which, ironically, is probably why our offense is struggling. We have a bunch of guys who are capable of scoring 20+ points every night. Then the problem, with the exception of Young, is that they sometimes look hesitant to be aggresive on offense. I think they are trying to be good teammates and not look to be selfish. I'm not saying Young is selfish, he just doesn't have a problem putting up shots.

      They're still learning how to play together in a proper flow...where it becomes easy and instinctive. They have spurts of it, usually in the second half, after they start to get into the rhythm of the game. That's why it's been so hard on them to start good. It's not because they aren't great players, or coachable, or any of that garbage. It's seems to be just lack of familiarity still. I mean 80% of the time, there are 4 freshmen and a sophmore out there, and frequently 5 freshmen.

      They were all bigtime scorers in high school, and their teams were dependent on them putting up a lot of shots. Now they've come to a team where Cal emphasizes and emphasizes and emphasizes that AD and MKG took the 4th and 5th most shots on the Nat'l Championship team on a daily basis. They're coming along though, it's just going to take time. Hopefully, we're going to have enough of it to make it all happen. When it does, Willie and everybody else will be getting just the right amount of shots and etc.
    1. ebarbaau's Avatar
      ebarbaau - 01-17-2014, 05:34 AM
      his shooting percentages and overall inside moves should answer this question
    1. ajp40505's Avatar
      ajp40505 - 01-17-2014, 07:36 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Hoss View Post
      It's the dilemma of having so many capable scorers on one team. Which, ironically, is probably why our offense is struggling.
      I don't think our offense is struggling at all. And I certainly disagree with Oscar Combs that we are not any good in our half-court offense. I think we are better in half court sets than we are in transition offense and that is because we are such a poor passing team. The more this team drives to the basket to score or be fouled and the less we rely on three points shots the better we will be.
    1. badrose's Avatar
      badrose - 01-17-2014, 07:53 AM
      I'd just read or watched several videos about dogs on Facebook before coming here to see this thread title. It took me a moment...
    1. cattails's Avatar
      cattails - 01-17-2014, 08:00 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by badrose View Post
      I'd just read or watched several videos about dogs on Facebook before coming here to see this thread title. It took me a moment...
    1. Hoss's Avatar
      Hoss - 01-17-2014, 08:15 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by ajp40505 View Post
      I don't think our offense is struggling at all. And I certainly disagree with Oscar Combs that we are not any good in our half-court offense. I think we are better in half court sets than we are in transition offense and that is because we are such a poor passing team. The more this team drives to the basket to score or be fouled and the less we rely on three points shots the better we will be.
      You don't think our offense is struggling?

      Do you think it has an easy flow to it?

      You don't think that there is indecisiveness on the perimeter?

      Do you think that they show a comfortable ease playing with each other?

      I guess being ranked 213th in assists per game means they are playing well together as a unit?

      I understand that they drive to the basket a lot, but is that an offense? (that's not all the DDM is about) Or, is that just a bail out because they get low in the shot clock and the options suddenly become limited? Surely somebody could dish the ball off to a cutter on those drives, or kick it out to an open shooter a little bit more?
    1. bigsky's Avatar
      bigsky - 01-17-2014, 08:40 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Hoss View Post
      You don't think our offense is struggling? Do you think it has an easy flow to it? You don't think that there is indecisiveness on the perimeter? Do you think that they show a comfortable ease playing with each other? I guess being ranked 213th in assists per game means they are playing well together as a unit? I understand that they drive to the basket a lot, but is that an offense? (that's not all the DDM is about) Or, is that just a bail out because they get low in the shot clock and the options suddenly become limited? Surely somebody could dish the ball off to a cutter on those drives, or kick it out to an open shooter a little bit more?
      plus one
    1. blueboss's Avatar
      blueboss - 01-17-2014, 09:23 AM
      For the life of me with all of the size we have, obviously including WCS, and how Randle is typically dbl/triple teamed when he posts up, and then with our big backcourt guys constantly driving the lane and getting collapsed on, where are all the lob opportunities that we enjoyed with AD and NN. It seems like we should have a lob every other drive into the paint with WCS, Poythress, twins etc. Young on the wing for 3 should be the third option, or at least until the defense adjusts for the lob then loosen it back up shooting/hitting 3's.

      How many lobs/game did we average with the 2012, and even the NN/WCS 2013 teams? I'm guessing lobs were good for 6-10 points every game and now they are few and far in between with a team that is built to feast off of lobs???
    1. Edward100's Avatar
      Edward100 - 01-23-2014, 03:03 AM
      You got that right, Hoss.
    1. ajp40505's Avatar
      ajp40505 - 01-23-2014, 09:13 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Hoss View Post
      You don't think our offense is struggling? No I don't think our offense is struggling.

      Do you think it has an easy flow to it? We attack the rim. We are shooting more free throws than anyone in the country. The goal is to either score or get fouled.

      You don't think that there is indecisiveness on the perimeter? No I don't. What you see as indecisiveness I see as the guards looking for opportunities to drive to the rim.

      Do you think that they show a comfortable ease playing with each other? I do.

      I guess being ranked 213th in assists per game means they are playing well together as a unit? You focus on assists. I focus on the number of free throws that we shoot and our national leading percentage of offensive rebounds.

      I understand that they drive to the basket a lot, but is that an offense? (that's not all the DDM is about) Or, is that just a bail out because they get low in the shot clock and the options suddenly become limited? Surely somebody could dish the ball off to a cutter on those drives, or kick it out to an open shooter a little bit more? I guess we are watching two different teams. I see the guards dishing to ball on drives and I see Randle kicking the ball out.
      This team's problems are on defense, not offense.
    1. Bakert's Avatar
      Bakert - 01-23-2014, 09:17 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Hoss View Post
      You don't think our offense is struggling?

      Do you think it has an easy flow to it?

      You don't think that there is indecisiveness on the perimeter?

      Do you think that they show a comfortable ease playing with each other?

      I guess being ranked 213th in assists per game means they are playing well together as a unit?

      I understand that they drive to the basket a lot, but is that an offense? (that's not all the DDM is about) Or, is that just a bail out because they get low in the shot clock and the options suddenly become limited? Surely somebody could dish the ball off to a cutter on those drives, or kick it out to an open shooter a little bit more?
      Let me go two ways with this. First, UK is ranked 10th in the country in offensive efficiency which is defined as "An estimate of the offensive efficiency (points scored per 100 possessions) a team would have against the average D-I defense." While we like assists, the goal is to score baskets. And they count the same whether they come from one guy going one-on-one or from Eddie Sutton's "five passes before a shot" offense. So while I will agree the offense may "look" bad I also believe it has begun to look better. Ultimately, the only thing that matters is the score and in 18 games this year we have scored more than our opponent.

      On the other hand, you raise a number of interesting points. I think, even more so than the 2012 team, Cal has gotten himself into a pickle in the sense that he has a team that is really built to play in the late 70s/early 80s but is having to play in 2013. Cal *wants* to play DDM but has WCS, Dakari, and Randle who are not really going to help you out doing that. In another post you mention lobs. It's happening less now than early in the season, but early there were 3 or 4 times/game where it was obvious Andrew was trying to throw a lob but no one was going to get it. Whether Cal has asked them not to do that anymore and plan on getting fouled (the Archie Goodwin offense) or they have realized no one is going to get it, I don't know. Julius, for as good as he is, is much better when he has the ball in his hands. He does not move well without the ball which is something AD and MKG and even Terrence did well. You can't throw a lob it the person meant to catch it isn't going to the basket. Honestly, Alex is about the only guy we have who seems to try to position himself to accept a lob after a drive by the guards.

      I also agree that we could/should do a better job getting the ball back out on the perimeter. In fact, we see that some which is a tenet of the DDM. But what I want to see is Randle realize that just because he touches the ball it doesn't mean he has to shoot it. He has to more quickly recognize the double/triple and know where it is coming from and where to pass it. Then he needs to realize a shot may be going up and position himself to rebound. And let me be clear, I'm not picking on Julius who has played great, only that he is the only guy in the post who is going to attract that sort of defensive attention. I'm a huge fan of playing inside/out. But with that comes more perimeter jumpers, something this team is not terribly good at right now.

      Ultimately, I would argue that it's not our offense that needs work but rather our defense. We were horrible the other night defending pick-and-rolls and ball screens. Horrible. We simply must get better at that if we have any chance of moving beyond the third round of the tournament.
    1. UKHistory's Avatar
      UKHistory - 01-23-2014, 10:06 AM
      Defense is the most glaring weakness of this team. Willie's energy and effort on defense makes us look better than we are. If Willie does not play at that level energy wise, our defense really looks poor.

      Our offensive execution is not that great either. The team is improving and the offense is looking better but it is both ugly and not as good as it should be. And costly turnovers is an example of a poorly run offense.
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