Here is my assessment of what is wrong with the bb team.
1) We don't have a "Go-To" scorer that can drive in the lane and get a critical basketball. Good teams have this: West Virginia (Jevon Carter), Oklahoma (Trae Young), etc. Our Go-To scorer is Michael Porter Jr and he has been hurt all year. If we had MPJ, we would have won the West Virginia game and the Florida game even with the bad officiating.
2) We turn the ball over too much, plain and simple. A big reason for this is due to the fact that we don't have a Go-To scorer and we have to pass the ball around too much looking for a open shot. And usually that shot is a perimeter shot. Granted, our PG play is not All-Conference caliber but they would be so much better with MPJ on the floor.
3) Defense. It hasn't been good enough and needs to get better. We are 87th in Adjusted Defense. And the opposing offenses we have played thus far are 60th in Adjusted Offense. The National Champion the past 16 years has never had an Adjusted Defense worse than 18th. If we are going to make the Big Dance and advance, the defense must be improved. And at both ends, interior D and perimeter D.
4) Cuonzo is too soft on the refs. He needs to be more vocal with the refs and stand up more for his players when the refs make crap calls like they did in the Florida game. The really great coaches are much more vocal than Cuonzo.
5) Coaching Staff. I think we have a good staff that prepares our team as to what to expect from the opposition. However, where is the focus on improving the talent we have? They have done nothing with Tillmon thus far and its late January. Overall, I'd give this staff a C and I think they are better than this.
Overall, I know a lot of Mizzou fans were Negative Nancy's after last night's game but Auburn is the real deal. And we have played the Top 3 teams in our conference this year in Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. The hardest part of our schedule is over.
1) We don't have a "Go-To" scorer that can drive in the lane and get a critical basketball. Good teams have this: West Virginia (Jevon Carter), Oklahoma (Trae Young), etc. Our Go-To scorer is Michael Porter Jr and he has been hurt all year. If we had MPJ, we would have won the West Virginia game and the Florida game even with the bad officiating.
2) We turn the ball over too much, plain and simple. A big reason for this is due to the fact that we don't have a Go-To scorer and we have to pass the ball around too much looking for a open shot. And usually that shot is a perimeter shot. Granted, our PG play is not All-Conference caliber but they would be so much better with MPJ on the floor.
3) Defense. It hasn't been good enough and needs to get better. We are 87th in Adjusted Defense. And the opposing offenses we have played thus far are 60th in Adjusted Offense. The National Champion the past 16 years has never had an Adjusted Defense worse than 18th. If we are going to make the Big Dance and advance, the defense must be improved. And at both ends, interior D and perimeter D.
4) Cuonzo is too soft on the refs. He needs to be more vocal with the refs and stand up more for his players when the refs make crap calls like they did in the Florida game. The really great coaches are much more vocal than Cuonzo.
5) Coaching Staff. I think we have a good staff that prepares our team as to what to expect from the opposition. However, where is the focus on improving the talent we have? They have done nothing with Tillmon thus far and its late January. Overall, I'd give this staff a C and I think they are better than this.
Overall, I know a lot of Mizzou fans were Negative Nancy's after last night's game but Auburn is the real deal. And we have played the Top 3 teams in our conference this year in Auburn, Florida and Tennessee. The hardest part of our schedule is over.
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