THE SKY IS FALLING, THE SKY IS FALLING

Com’on guys let’s look at the big picture, no, the sky is not falling and I’m as disappointed as anyone but....I have never seen a Grizzly team with as much quickness as this years and they will only get better as we get into conference play. As was stated by another poster Creighton is not a mid major but a top 25 team. They will play Gonzaga tough for at least a half and maybe more if they continue to shot 60% + from the three.
Rorie did not play anywhere near what he is capable of and as much as I think Moorehead is the glue that holds this team together I was very disappointed in his last few games. Without seeing the stats I’m almost ready to have Bobby coming off the bench. And when Akoh coming back and maybe moving Pridgett into the 4 spot and playing Timmy at the other starting position we should do very well with our quickness against the Big Sky teams. Michael and Timmy are very good rebounding guards despite their height disadvantage. I love Mac’s court awareness and he has the potential to be a Griz great once he adds some weight and learns to speed up his game. I thought Kelby would be a bigger contributor this year I now think he needs more time to develop. He looks a little lost out there. So the sky is not falling in my estimation. And the refs will always be the bad guys but we get homer calls at home too. So that’s my call and I welcome any and all input.

I agree. TD needs to figure out how to get his teams to make free throws. When Mid-Major teams play the Power conferences the you see they are more consistent in and out. The Griz go cold too may times in games to hang with a Creighton (they shot out of their minds). Loved the hustle and athleticism this team has and Akoh would have made a huge difference. The Griz need to play the Creighton's of the world every year!

putter said:

I agree. TD needs to figure out how to get his teams to make free throws. When Mid-Major teams play the Power conferences the you see they are more consistent in and out. The Griz go cold too may times in games to hang with a Creighton (they shot out of their minds). Loved the hustle and athleticism this team has and Akoh would have made a huge difference. The Griz need to play the Creighton's of the world every year!

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Really no excuse for the poor free throw shooting.
Practice shooting them until you don’t even have to think about making them. Just like scratching an itch, you just do it, it’s automatic.
Our guys are really good. They should be shooting 70-75% FT
Go Griz!

GottaluvGriz said:

,,, Really no excuse for the poor free throw shooting.
Practice shooting them until you don’t even have to think about making them. Just like scratching an itch, you just do it, it’s automatic.
Our guys are really good. They should be shooting 70-75% FT
Go Griz!

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Practicing free throws is boring, excruciatingly boring ... so no one wants to put in the time. And that's what it takes.

Rick Barry (I know, love him or hate him) can make 90% of his free throws blindfolded -- and he still can, last I heard -- so I think 70-75% is really too low to aim for.

But there's a quandary. According to NCAA stats, teams average about 20 free throw attempts per game. (I know, it seems like more, but that’s what the numbers say.) If the team shoots 70%, that means you score 14 points. Crank that percentage up to 90%, that’s 18 points. That begs the obvious question: How much time should the team spend to gain 4 points?
On the other hand, how often have we seen teams foul a known poor foul shooter, late in the game, knowing the player will likely miss? (And refs hardly ever call an intentional foul.) That's basically a turnover, which can be huge down the stretch.

What a difference a free throw can make. I believe it was the No. Colorado game in the semifinals of last years BS tournament and the score was tied and we fouled one of their big men at the rim with less than three seconds to play. He clunked two free throws and the rest is history. Not only did we win in overtime and go on to beat Eastern but advanced to the NCAA tournament. Making just one free throw could have made a significant difference.
I don’t doubt that Travis is addressing this and by conference time we should be up in the 70%+ area. 90% is a bit over achieving but no reason we can’t be in the high 70’s.

Season is young, Falls and Akoh not in the lineup. Still need to clean up free throws.