One thing I've noticed is that much of the time we set up Stevie near the hash along the right sideline which seems odd to me. It means that he is always dribbling to his left.

He's always been okay as a catch and shoot guy but struggles whenever he takes it off the dribble. Not a lot of kick outs his way this year. He did have a wide open one last night that he missed from the right side.

The previous regimes overestimated how much Stevie is capable of doing on the floor. Said it 2 years ago on this board and many disagreed with me at the time, but Stevie is strictly a 10-12 minute come off the bench back-up point guard.

Not his fault that he's been put in the position to play 30 minutes a game. Watching what is happening to our guard play makes you really appreciate DJ and Nick more. We don't have a point guard that can drive the lane, dish, create contact and get to the line. Guard play is the key to winning championships in college basketball. A team can overcome a ton of weaknesses if it has guards who understand the game, get others active and don't shoot 17% from 3-point range.

If the guards don't figure it out soon a .500 season will be tough to attain.
I'm understanding more why Coach Phillips talks about the future so much and how he sees the program and roster in 2-3 years.

It is what it is this year and nothing can be done to fix the point guard issue.

One true point guard (we think, though most of us have never seen him play) next year is better than none this year. Point guard is the hardest position to find, in my opinion. Few college teams have more than one truly true point guard. There are a lot of players who are called point guards because they are short.

I really wonder, once Ryan Taylor is recovered from his bout with mono, how long it will be that he starts at the 2, and Stevie or Bean come off the bench.

Can't break down a defense if you don't penetrate. And on top of that once you penetrate you have to be fully aware of ALL your options.

This is pretty much the bottom line. Plus he's been dealing with several minor injuries this year.

Taylor comes into the game shooting 7-41 (17%) from three and yesterday he goes 1-4. He hits the three and does that stupid spin and backpeddle by the bench and looks into the crowd all wide eyed running down the floor kinda hunched over and flexing like it was his 10th three of the game or something. Just stop it already! You made a three. Great.

Honestly, anything to get himself playing better is fine with me. He's a huge energy guy there and it's hard to be an energy guy if you're struggling as badly as he has been this season.