Quick Reaction: North Texas 70 South Florida 74
We asked for a close enough game so Je’Shawn Stevenson could have a shot to carry the squad. We got what we wanted, and also learned the lesson that if you need your main man to be a superhero to win, you won’t win a lot.
North Texas shot 9/20 from the free throw line, while USF made 27 of 36 (75%). USF had 19 second chance points, including a back-breaking bucket late when NT could have had a chance to tie or go up one.
This was another game where a basketball fan would find it difficult to enjoy the proceedings. The refs let the players play, and when they played it was just a lot of throwing themselves at each other. North Texas is a physical team, and early on that nullified Izaiyah Nelson inside. Later on, that didn’t work as well as Nelson was able to get the NT bigs in foul trouble, and use his athleticism in the open court.
I’m reminded of the Kobe Byrant quote about accidental basketball where teams drive-and-kick. He talks about that in comparison to the Triangle offense but the main takeaway for me is about how some teams let the game happen to them, instead of making it work in your favor.1
North Texas does run an offense, it just doesn’t look super crisp. The screens are not set hard, the cuts are not sharp, and the ball-handling is not there. North Texas relies on individual brilliance — hero ball, and then hustle for a rebound. It has worked, especially as the defense helps keep the game close. It is accidental or more accurately, leaving it up to chance in that we are simply hoping a guy makes a tough shot.
The idea of getting the ball to a closer is ideally about getting the ball in the hands of a man who can win his 1-on-1 battles, and make great decisions if doubled. Basically, being a plus player when you absolutely need buckets. It is not about generating tough two-pointers and hoping for a rebound if it doesn’t go in.
At its core, this is a skilled game. You can have lots of athletes but you still need the skill of shooting the ball, passing the ball, and handling the ball. North Texas missed too many free throws, turned the ball over too much, and didn’t make enough shots.
Add to that the overly-aggressive defense leaving back cuts and second-chance points? Well that’s how you lose at home to a solid team.
Next up: Sunday at Wichita State.
The Triangle sets were frequently broken by Kobe and Shaq, and before that, Mike Jordan. But you could argue that supports his point in the structure being there to help everyone else and raising the floor, while he raised the ceiling.