Thank You, Southern Cal?

by Achilles on Jan 25, 2010 10:31 AM PST

I've seen the following observation elsewhere and Nestor has alluded to it -- though if he came out and said it overtly I might have missed it:

Could it be that the biggest reason the Bruins played better in its last two games and beat Washington and Washington State is that we got blown out by SC and the team responded simply by playing harder and more focused for 40 minutes than it had all season?

Maybe it isn't that Jerime Anderson isn't playing or that the influence of Drew Gordon is finally fading or that Mustafa Abdul-Hamid is a previously undiscovered diamond or that we fully committed to the zone?

Maybe it was nothing more than a good old fashioned trip to the wood shed (what Mike Leach calls "an hour in the electrical closet") courtesy of our cross town rivals that focused the team and coaxed 40, focused minutes out of the team. Maybe sometimes all you need is an embarrassing kick in the ass to put your season into a higher gear?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Hamid/Anderson

I think lot of people will think simplistically that replacing Anderson with Hamid was the magic formula. It’s obviously lot more nuanced than that.

Haven’t closely taken a look at the numbers. But at the top of my head I am assuming stat wise Anderson’s numbers are not completely horrible (with relation to rest of his team-mates). Hamid’s performance (offensively) against Washington State and UDub was seductive. However, don’t forget that against Cal Anderson also knocked down some huge clutch shots.

I do think Hamid brings something to the game that Anderson doesn’t have. He played with confidence. At least that’s the sense I got watching with my own eyes. I am not ready to give up on Anderson. He has been banged up all season and he is still just a sophomore (I give him a little more room than you know who … who has been around for four seasons).

I do think the Bruins played better D last two games however they came against two really really mediocre teams. I don’t think we can reach any conclusions yet until we see how we play on Thursday night in a tough venue and follow it up on Saturday. Just can’t get my hopes up yet.

by Nestor on Jan 25, 2010 10:37 AM PST reply actions

Statistically ...

Anderson isn’t too bad.

He’s got a decent shooting percentage (better than most of the team) and his assist to turnovers ratio is solid. (Hamid has 8 assists and 8 turnovers — not too good.)

Specific to those two — I would have to say that when Anderson is healthy he is going back into the lineup either starting or as the sixth man. But possibly Hamid is going to be getting a few more minutes than he was going into this weekend.

Back to my original point: I don’t read too much detail into two wins over a couple of average teams. But execution aside, the effort was much better these past two games and that could be the residue of the prior week’s butt-kicking.

Going into Oregon, I want to watch for not only how well they play, but how hard they play. I want to see another set of complete 40 minute games with tip to buzzer intensity.

by Achilles on Jan 25, 2010 10:42 AM PST up reply actions

Pretty much agree

Question for you: would you have Anderson in your lineup on Thursday night if he is not 100 percent healthy?

by Nestor on Jan 25, 2010 10:49 AM PST up reply actions

No ...

but I don’t think he should start, period.

If he’s healthy enough to play, I put him back in the rotation. I also play Hamid a bit.

by Achilles on Jan 25, 2010 11:05 AM PST up reply actions

Sounds right to me

by Nestor on Jan 25, 2010 11:40 AM PST up reply actions

It's all about the shooting threat

Anderson has gone entire games this year without attempting more than a couple field goals. Sure that keeps his stats decent. But it also means he’s not an offensive threat, and the other team doesn’t have to worry about him, especially on the perimeter (where he’s been extremely shy. Makes defending us a that much easier 5-on-4 affair.

Hamid is no answer. But he can shoot, and he will take the open shot with confidence, and that alone makes a ton of difference on this team. Just goes to show how something so simple — like a point guard making his open shots — can mean so much.

by bluebland on Jan 25, 2010 12:38 PM PST up reply actions

Hamid

If you watched him in one of the exhibition games it was painful. I’d like to see how he will play against better guards or guards that pressure him more. That said, he works his tail off. He was in Pauley the night before the $c game putting up shots

by lil eg not cs on Jan 25, 2010 11:55 AM PST up reply actions

Yeah

I only saw the second exhibition game and using the verb “seeing” is charitable because it was through the horrible online feed.

by Nestor on Jan 25, 2010 12:01 PM PST up reply actions

That first game was painful

But look: we only have four total players at guard. So even with Anderson playing, Hamid can also spell minutes at the 2, which he was doing when in with Lee this week.

by bluebland on Jan 25, 2010 12:42 PM PST up reply actions

Oh no

I’m all for him playing. Jerime will and should play more just for the fact that he can dribble. I like Mustafa’s shot though and if the guards aren’t pressuring the point to much then I’m ready to give Mustafa more minutes.

by lil eg not cs on Jan 25, 2010 5:14 PM PST up reply actions

I don't think

myself and the other Abdul-Hamid supporters see him as what you’d necessarily expect from a Pac-10 guard. Nonetheless, within our very limited pool of guards it’s a battle of whose play is least painful. On that standard, I’d say we’re better off with MA-H than JA as our third guard/first-option back-up PG.

After a few more games, I might even consider using TH as somewhat of a point-forward. I know CBH wouldn’t do that (though we said he’d never play zone!), but his ball-handling skills are probably already the best on the team.

by KSBruin on Jan 25, 2010 1:10 PM PST up reply actions

Im not saying don't play Mustafa

I was just saying that he seems to have trouble when the defense puts a lot of pressure on him. I don’t think with extended minutes that he would do better than Jerime though.

by lil eg not cs on Jan 25, 2010 5:15 PM PST up reply actions

Agreed

Howland’s first Final Four team was also sparked by its humiliating loss to U$C. I remember our team was completely different defensively after that game. We retained that lockdown intensity all the way until the end.

May be this was the wake up call we needed. It certainly was for Howland (via his admittance to not change the defensive strategy earlier).

by HK Bruin on Jan 25, 2010 10:55 AM PST reply actions

yup

we vacillated between 11 and 19 in the rankings a lot of the year without ever really stringing together really solid runs – a few games on, then a letdown game. After the $C game that year we really pulled it together (the seniors in particular, IMHO)

by britishbruin on Jan 25, 2010 11:34 AM PST up reply actions

Hamid

A couple thoughts on Hamid after watching him all season. Agreed that in the exposition games he looked lost and scared. However, what I saw in the last two games was a kid who suddenly has confidence – both because he has hit some shots and because he is MUCH more comfortable defending in the zone. I think you can ascribe his poor early play to a kid who is not used to playing real minutes. He’s comfortable now, and comfortable in how he is being used, and his play is 180 degrees from where he was in the early games.

To be honest, Anderson looks uncomfortable most of the time and has no confidence in himself offensively or defensively (in zone or M2M). As someone noted, his shooting percentage may look okay but compare his points per minute played with Hamid’s in the last two games and Hamid is the more serious offensive threat. Considering how little offensive ability this team has, if Hamid can keep it up, he could increase the offensive production of the whole team. If teams have to cover his shot (instead of ignoring Anderson’s), then Roll and Dragovic and Lee start getting better looks.

I would start Lee at the point and rotate Hamid in for about 20 minutes a game at either point or shooting guard depending on game situations. When Anderson is healthy, he should get some minutes, but not to the detriment of the team. If he can produce, then he can play, if not, give Hamid a chance.

by TigerBruin on Jan 25, 2010 1:23 PM PST reply actions

IMHO

we have had many embarrassing kicks in the ass all season. What we’re seeing is a UCLA team recently playing much better defense and learning to create offense, instead of passing the ball aimlessly around the perimeter.

Troy is burning

by bruinbasketball on Jan 25, 2010 1:50 PM PST reply actions