We will not be dominated on the boards. If all the recruits make it here, we will be much better than this year in that area and I'm looking forward to that.

As I posted elsewhere, with this concern in mind versus the more physical teams I'm surprised we don't play a lineup of DJ, Walt, TJ or Nick, Reggie and Kadeem/Smith more often.    Why not play two of the bigger guys together, especially when Ivo is doing nothing.  I think had Kadeem got more minutes up to this point, he would've more more than serviceable to just rebound and play physical.  Wouldn't get you many points, but then again the guys playing the 4 spot aren't either and why not at least insert a guy that can help you bang/rebound when you're getting killed in that area?

Let's face it, when you play dj, offut and nick as much as we do you are undersized at the #3 position, add in a 4 who is not a terrific rebounder and what do you expect?  Good news is we can shoot the ball and offut can usually beat his man with speed to the hoop offensively.  As someone said, at this point, we are what we are.

No brainer decision in that when Ivo is playing the way we know he can play, he adds an element to the team nobody on the roster can replace.  Running the floor, attacking the room, driving/slashing---problem is, that guys been MIA for months.  I watched the tape of the Kent State game again yesterday and when the balls in the air Ivo's bailed out of the lane, especially on the offensive end.  In fact, he's running to the 3 pt. arch or releasing.  I will give TJ credit, when the balls in the air he's trying, but he's simply not a great inside player.  But if you watch, TJ is trying to add support. 

Your point is that statistically he's averaging a bunch of defensive boards.  I just think that if Ivo's not providing any offensive production, Kadeem would get all the rebounds Ivo's getting and more.  Kadeem doesn't have an offensive game that we've seen so far and just hangs around the basket.  Against teams like Kent and Akron that is an attribute we could use versus a guy who wants no part of the paint.

I just went and looked it up on statsheet.com and it appears Kadeem's DREB% this year is 18.2. Nearly identical to Ivo's. 

Frankly, I was thinking the answer would come from 1 or more of the new guys instead of anyone currently on the roster. I like J Smith a lot, but he has not been a scorer. Potentially we can get some scoring with the rebounds with any of the new tall guys . I know they will be new to the system JC is running this year, but the 2 JC guys aren't like guys just out of HS maturity wise and should hit the floor running, I hope. By the way, is Green not playing because of an injury or what?

I don't know.  How many?

Ohio is a smaller than average team built for speed and outside shooting.  The team gets out-rebounded by an average of 4 rebounds/game.  But, they average 4.3 steals/game more than the opponents.  In terms of possessions, it is even.  Plus, we have one of the best shooting percentages in the nation, coupled with making an average of 3.5 more 3 pt FGs/game than our opponents.  A team can lose one statistical category, but more than make up for it in another.  

Our recruiting classes may be full of large bodies built for rebounding, but with that comes a change.  We will not have nearly as many steals, assists or 3 point shots made.  I'm not saying I disagree with a bigger lineup, but it will shift where our strengths are.  

The stat that drives me nuts is FT shooting percentage.  If we are going to have a smaller lineup loaded with shooters, I think they should be able to make more than 69% as a team, especially when our big men shoot free throws pretty well.

 

Pretty sure we got dominated in rebounding last year too. 

Didn't seem to matter much.

Do you watch the games?  Or just read box scores?  I'm not trying to insult you by asking that question, but I think it's a logical question to ask with that type of reply.  Last time I checked, lane violations aren't a mainstream stat I can find on ESPN.com, either.  So that doesn't matter?  That point wasn't important in a game that goes to OT?  Bad passes that don't lead to turnovers aren't a stat, either...so they must not make any difference in a game, either.  Coach Christian even commended Walt in the post game interview for handling such a bad pass from Ivo.  Leaving your feet to pass the ball when you don't know where you're going with the ball is a horrible, horrible play in basketball.   It is not coached, ever.  There's a reason for that. 

I've said it before and I noticed it was said by Mick Cronin (UC coach) today: the team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins the game.  So, I think what some are saying is ivo seems to make a lot of mistakes (along with good plays).  For example, if he dosesn't have the lane violation (first for the team this year or for a while maybe?) maybe we win by one in regulation.  Maybe if he "hedges" better on defense we give up a couple fewer baskets. And, I tend to agree with driving the base line and NOT shooting.  Most of those passes resulted in turnovers (mistakes).  Sure you can make up for mistakes with great passes (assists) and steals (for turnovers).  Bottom line, I think we'd all like to see our team continue to make fewer errors than the opponents for 10 or so more games.

Really?  It didn't matter in the regular season?  We were only 10-6, correct, with some BAD losses?

It seems like Ivo is being singled out for criticism.  This started out as a thread discussing the need for better rebounding and quickly focused on Ivo.  He's not the only player underneath, and frankly he's not the only senior on the squad.  Where was Keely when Kent got 13 offensive rebounds Saturday?  Not boxing out properly on rebounds is something other seniors can be called out for, but haven't been singled out like Ivo has been.  And I haven't turned a blind eye to Ivo's failings.  I've been very frustrated this season that he hasn't manned-up against even some smaller guys like he should.  Maybe it's a mental thing.  Maybe it's a coaching thing.  I don't know.  But I've noticed some improvement over the last couple games (something that hasn't been recognized here); he's been around the glass quite a bit more, and the dunk trailing Kellogg's missed layup was awesome.  And he still leads the team in rebounds -- including a big edge in defensive rebounds -- and is second in assists, third in steals and third in blocked shots, despite having less playing time lately.  Yes, he's second in turnovers -- far behind DJ, tho -- but his scoring is about the same as last year.  Still, everybody on the team has issues. 

As for playing smarter, I think that can be said about anybody on the bench, including the suits.  The play at the end of regulation Saturday was just awful; they had about 3 seconds left on the clock with an inbound at midcourt but started the play 75 feet from the bucket.  DJ wound up chucking a half-court shot that even tho it hit the glass and the rim, it never had a chance to go in.  Sweet 16 deja vu all over again.  But they never even tried to run somebody up the court for a shorter shot. 

The point is, it's not just Ivo.  Everybody needs to play smarter.