It would be great to have the actual stats to back this up, but I don’t have the energy this year. From memory only, it would seem as if we HAVE to get scored on at close range as much as any struggling team in the country. Games that guys like Happ, KBD, Bridges, can be expected on anyone on any given night, but those tall, athletic and skilled players feast on us and when we are forced to double them, guys like the Pretzel are left wide open and have season bests against us. The studs can go off on anyone, but it sure seems like they have career numbers on us because we don’t have the horses to give them resistance.
It’s no secret, you beat our pressure out top, get the ball to your bigs on the block or high post and we are simply hugely overmatched; we just don’t have the size and bulk to take away the paint. This also creates great opportunities for the 2nd tier bigs like the Garza’s of the world and others who most Big teams to have in plethora, and play well on us offensively and on the glass providing far too many 2nd chance possessions.
Obviously we need more talent, but I for one feel we don’t need it across the board and are a couple pieces away from taking a big step; the million dollar question is can we get those guys. BIG, ATHLETIC, STRONG, DEFENSIVE STOPPERS AND BOARD MONSTERS; unfortunately we all know we have none coming in YET.