Yeah, Irvin needs to do a much better job of keeping his dribble alive and/or not committing to drives when nothing is there. Maintain aggressiveness but be smarter.
Definitely struggling in that area, but the ball screen game is such a read-react thing that thereās always an adjustment. Irvin certainly doesnāt always see that adjustment, but there have been plenty of games where something changes at halftime and he starts making the right read and finding the roll man.
Iād actually be surprised if Irvin leads the team in PnR (restricted to scoring)ā¦when accounting for updated numbers, really struggling to finish. Then again, he does use more PnR possessions, or at least I assume he does.
But heās also the only one on the team really who can hit the pick and roll three, which certainly helps efficiency in the ball screen game.
Donāt necessarily think its Zak making bad decisions or overcommitting to drivesā¦he simply lacks the verticality to finish at the rim. This is where athleticism is paramountā¦Irvin is simply a below average athlete and thatās not going to change. Floater would do him wonders. Heās been a different player since getting rejected at the rim vs. Villanova last year, prior to that he was looking to dunk everythingā¦since then everything is a soft layup, and the results have reflected that.
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MAARās pass to Doyle in the PnR was a thing of beauty and something that wouldnāt have happened a while back.
Very good point, guess I was thinking more above drivesā¦but the 3 is certainly a weapon in PnR as well
I donāt think thereās any question that his back isnāt 100% either.
Huge area of growth. He had 9 dimes at Maryland too, most off the ISO drive and dish. Wasnāt in his game earlier this year.
I tend to agree, but notwithstanding the injury, he was a different finisher post-Villanova last year. Even with the injury, weāre almost in Marchā¦the injury thing is no longer a valid reason IMO at this point.
Assist rate up to near 15%ā¦not great by any stretch, but trending the right direction.
When you put yourself in the air under/behind the backboard and the other team knows to take away the passing lanes, thereās very little even the most athletic college basketball player can do. Driving into the teeth of a double team is bad decision making. Decision-making and athleticism arenāt mutually exclusive issues. Heās athletic enough at his height to be more effective in college basketball than heās been at times.
Matt he needs to rely on his pull up again. He has a good one
A mixed bag, heās thrown up a few air balls this year. Much better off the dribble from midrange as opposed to distance.
You can thank our coach for that, that is a designed play that opposing defenses have adjusted to. Unfortunately, JB has yet to make a counter for Zak in that regard. So IMO, its not Zak with a bad decision, as much as it is Zak doing what JB designs.
No, Beilein has talked about the need to avoid that very thing, including what needs to be done, i.e., keeping the dribble alive, staying in a position where you can score the ball, etc. But if you really think that JB keeps asking Zak to leave his feet behind the basket, okay.
He may have talked about it, but it is HIS job to fix itā¦IE make a counter that avoids putting a player with no finishing ability in a position to be under the rim. You canāt keep your dribble alive if you donāt have real estate, or said player is out of bounds. I donāt think JB instructs anyone to leave their feet behind the basketā¦but if you know Zak is simply too slow to create separation, and he lacks the verticality to finishā¦why continue to run the same set and expect a different result? Seems quite foolish IMO
First, if you donāt get all the way under the basket or keep your dribble alive and can thus score the ball if left alone, those are counters. Indeed, Zak scored the other game by doing just that and scoring on the other side of the basket. This is also accomplished by reading the situation and not committing ā i.e., pulling back on the drive ā if itās not there.
Second, as JB has seen Zak struggle with the counters, he does seem to have taken Zak out of the situation. If you watch closely, youāll have noticed that particular problem hasnāt come up much the last couple games. As this looks to be the 4th out of the last 5 years weāll have a top 20 offense, including two #1 finishes, Iām pretty confident we donāt have foolish offensive minds on the bench. But the decision-making issues for Zak ā being aggressive but smart ā have persisted in other scenarios too.
By the way, hereās what JB had to say about Zakās verticality in November: āWhen we test him (against) his vertical jumps from before the injury, heās not near where he was.ā If you donāt think his back surgery still affects him, okayā¦
Great conversation all around. Thanks guys! The one thing that I really do not agree with was just brought up by umhoopsfan. There is no way that Irvin is 100%. I wanted to mention it before because I feel that I have been vocal lately that MAAR should be getting more opportunities at Irvinās expense. I did not mean to knock Irvin. He has been a warrior. It is not possible to have back surgery and then work yourself into shape during the season while being a high usage player. Irvin is worn down. By next year, he should get his explosion back in a way that will be sustainable throughout the course of the season, in my opinion. He can be reevaluated then. I think he will make another impressive leap.
Not indicting JB on a general level, simply stating that JB has not implemented a counter to combat Zaks issues with TOs in the baseline drive and kick.
Not picking up your dribble/over committing are not counters, those are individual decisions. The distinction being that a set counter provides a different action to the set (IE receiving the pick from a different spot on the court, off ball players cutting to a different location once the D commits) depending on the defensive reaction. What you are referencing is not that.
Essentially you are saying that Zaks needs to have better decision making within JBs set (although there are no counters in terms of actual action) whereas I think JB needs to alter the action of that set relevant to Zaks or simply abandon Zaks running that set.
Last, I know what JB said in NOVEMBER - it is now Marchā¦the injury thing doesnāt hold as much weight although Iām sure it has an impact to a certain extent. That being said he was still a poor finisher and below average athlete prior to the injury so Iām not sure it really makes a functional difference