Get off Tyrone Garland's back

[lasalle69bestever]

I think everyone is getting on Tyrone's back way too much.

Just think how it must be out there when he's on the court with Sam Mills and DJ Peterson.
Neither of whom have any offensive inkling whatsoever and simply will not take shots.

Just who the hell is supposed to shoot when you are effectively going 3 against 5 on offense and Duren/Wright/Zack are covered?

Don't fault him for trying to get some offense going in that scenario - which is NOT unusual.

IMO, our post season hopes rests on his averaging 15 points in the A-10 tournament. Hopefully he gets hot.
Because Mills won't take any more than 4 shots per game and we'll be lucky to get two per game from DJ.

Good defense by both is FAR, FAR from enough. My opinion only.

[lasallescreamer]

Agree completely.He should relax and play his game, and hopefully that's good enough.

[SICguy84]

Rightly or wrongly, G's been hard on Garland all season and that may take a toll.

[lasalle69bestever]

Feb 8, 2014 20:37:11 GMT -5 SICguy84 said:

Rightly or wrongly, G's been hard on Garland all season and that may take a toll.

That is far from my point.

If I hear one more time that Mills is one of La Salle's top percentage 3 point shooters, I'm gonna puke.

At this juncture, Dr. G should take Mills aside and tell him to do what is necessary to get in position for a spot up three pointer and take it. Also take DJ aside and tell him that when he gets a pass on the outside that his first instinct should be to think about shooting instead of passing.

We have to get a three point shooting game going or else we're looking at a .500 season.

[calsufan]

I disagree. I was at the game and he took some bad, forced shots. I'm not "on his back", but he took shots that he shouldn't have during some crucial points in the game. With that being said, Sam (and DJ) to a lesser extent clearly passed up open looks. They should be shooting more.

[las71]

DJ and Sam have become too one dimensional and I agree with Screamer that Garland has to be on the floor for us to win. Others have complained about G's use of Wright and I think he treats Garland the same way. Whenever either of them has a defensive lapse he yanks them and while their defense can be frustrating I can't see us succeeding without both of them playing major minutes. Most coaches tend to punish defensive lapses but seem to forgive offensive weakness. DJ needs too much time to get his shot, Khalid is not a shooter and Mills just doesn't want to shoot yet they are playing major minutes. Also a little disappointed at G's courtside demeanor. While some may think thistype of demonstrative behavior is evidence of intensity, I think it just is a way of showing up your players.

[lasalle69bestever]

Feb 8, 2014 20:52:46 GMT -5 calsufan said:

I disagree. I was at the game and he took some bad, forced shots. I'm not "on his back", but he took shots that he shouldn't have during some crucial points in the game. With that being said, Sam (and DJ) to a lesser extent clearly passed up open looks. They should be shooting more.

I'm not particularly talking about just this game. It is a season long thing.

[calsufan]

Feb 8, 2014 20:59:16 GMT -5 lasalle69bestever said:

Feb 8, 2014 20:52:46 GMT -5 calsufan said:

I disagree. I was at the game and he took some bad, forced shots. I'm not "on his back", but he took shots that he shouldn't have during some crucial points in the game. With that being said, Sam (and DJ) to a lesser extent clearly passed up open looks. They should be shooting more.

I'm not particularly talking about just this game. It is a season long thing.

I think he's taken some bad, selfish shots in several games this year. I'm guessing that sometimes he takes some of those shots, because he's trying to get something going, but other times, there are just no reason for his launching a 3 during a critical time in the game when there's plenty of time left on the clock.

[lasalle69bestever]

Here is Sam Mills' shooting "stats" for today. In 33 minutes of play 1-1. A three pointer. Gee, with this contribution to the offense in 33 minutes it's no wonder he is such a high percentage 3 point marksman. Heck, he shot 100% on his "three's" today. Must be working hard to get open as a senior veteran.

I'm sorry for the sarcasm, but somebody's gotta shoot.

[stlexplorer]

I love what Ty brings and the energy he plays with. That energy is contagious at times and the whole team feeds off it. The problem is, that energy at times causes him to play like he's the only player on the court as he will have stretches of possessions where he is the only player who touches the ball.

I've said before there should never be more than a couple possessions in a row that don't run through Tyreek and at times Garland controls the ball for numerous consecutive possessions.

I agree Mills/Peterson at times make it tough to play with as it appears they aren't engaged on offense like Duren/Garland. But I picture after several possessions of working hard on defense and running back and forth down the court only to watch Ty force up a contested/low % shot and repeat has to drain the other players on the court.

[stlexplorer]

I think it's a situation where our best team is about 20% less Garland and 20% more Mills/Peterson than we've gotten this year. This is a flawed team, obviously more than we knew coming into the year but they clearly have the ability to play at a high level. We just need them to peak at the right time come Brooklyn.

[sweat83]

The problem (with TG) is that its a complete 360 in his performance from last year. When he came off the bench last year, you knew he would generate some scoring and some excitement. Now, its just painful to watch. As soon as the ball leaves his hands, its either going to be blocked from close in, or way off from 3 pt distance. He has his good moments (late against VCU), but we need alot more of them, and more consistency.
I still have not given up hope. The close games against VCU and STL show that we can still compete against the best in the league. But the blow outs are disconcerting. We need to get a good run going now and finish strong, and get some confidence going into the A-10 post season. Anything can happen then.
Let's beat St. Joe's and dash their hopes a bit, and just get something going.

[23won]

I think there a few things affecting Tyrone's productivity:

1) With Galloway jacking and making long 3s last year, defenses were far more extended. This year, this is no 3 threat, so defenses are packed in tighter, leaving less room for Tyrone to find a seam and by being packed in, it is easier for his defender to get second man help, so he often has two players defending his shot from close in.

2) Ramon tended to draw the best defender last year. This year Tyrone is getting that.

3) Our offense has no motion or purpose and we flail around the perimeter. Yesterday many of our TOs were on soft passes against moderate pressure outside the 3 line, which led to runouts, which made the difference in the outcome. As noted, Sam and DJ rarely make an offensive threat and pretty much pass when the ball swings to them. This leaves Ty and Reek as the major shooting options. Tyrone's perimeter shot selection leaves a lot to be desired and he should be coached not to take a three. He doesn't make 3s, his mechanics are awful and there's not enough time to relearn how to shoot a 3 with 7-9 games left in his career.

He 'd be more effective with initiating a shot fake from 3, getting his man off the ground, dribbling in 4 feet and taking an open jumper for 2, where his shooting is much more effective. He has the time and opportunity to do this ... if the coaching staff did their job and counseled him to do this

[ltrain38]

I think the criticism against Garland has definitely gone too far, but there's a point where it's ok. He does need to take shots for us to win and sometimes he does force them. But it's also true that he finds himself on the court with a guys who often don't want to shoot the ball or need to be wide open to take the three. So he's forced into driving and using the possession a lot. But he really shouldn't take so many threes - he's not the guy we want to take that shot. The problem with Mills and Peterson, as far as I can tell, is that they need too much space to get a shot, and our offense in general (not just these two guys) has no movement at all. We stand still around the perimeter. And in the nine years I've been watching this program, that's always been the case.

[victoriouslasalle]

Gut wrenching loss yesterday that still hurts about as much today. I think I heard Legler mention during his game play by play that Coach G indicated to him that we were 1 or 2 "shooters" short this year. A prophetic comment per this game. We did so many things right, including our overall shooting pct. We really came to play but guards shooting deficits from a distance kept us from creating any margin for victory.

And of course, If only we closed out the 2nd half with the kind of end game play as we did the first. At the end of the first half we got a defensive stop with some interesting deception on D and took the ball the length of the floor in roughly 4 secs to score.

Got to tip my hat to the opposition that guy number 5 was a difference maker. He was not ready to go home with an L. Time after time in the second half he picked our D apart to drive the lane and deliver a V for his team. Gut wrenching!

[talkinbball]

I believe Garland is the most explosive offensive player on the team and is being hurt by G's constant substitutions. The fact that K. Lewis, a borderline A10 level player to this point, is taking minutes from him is beyond comprehension. G did Tyrone or the team no favors yesterday by keeping him on the bench for long stretches then, when trailing by 7 late in the game finally inserts him and expects instant offense when he was not into the flow of the game.

[fvp47]

I think 23won is on the mark. With not real consistent offensive threat from the outside and a Ramome who draws tow guys to him the middle if much more conjested and his opportunitis are limited but he make the attempt none the less as he is fearless.
When "the guy" is gone players who got good looks and open lanes when he was there are not going to get as many and they become "the guy" defenses will key on.

[blueandgold]

I don't remember Garland being particularly good from 3-pt range last year either.. so why force a 3 off the pick and roll? Did anyone else notice yesterday (or as Steve racked up double-doubles over the past month and a half) that Zack has an advantage over almost everyone on the floor with his long arms that make it extremely difficult to defend his shots? I would rather have Garland and Lewis toss it over to Wright or Zack off the pick, then move to an open spot for a possible 3... rather than try to force some shot in a defender's face during the switch... or drive in and throw the ball up at the backboard.  I can't stand Lewis trying to shoot this year, but I love watching him handle the ball as long as he dishes it off when he's done.  I third, fourth, fifth, etc. the sentiment that Galloway took some of the defensive heat off Garland/rest of team last year.

I think part of the "infinitesimally small" difference between winning and losing is smarter, more athletically gifted guards.