The Amanda Pflugrads…
(In my view, that’s code for all of the aspects of over-rated hype that is the Quack Attack)
Anyhow, I won’t be able to watch much if any of the game today, so you will probably all be spared any post-game non-analysis, but here are the things I’ll be looking for during whatever look-ins I can muster.
1) Casto, Casto, Casto. Will Tony put De Angelo back in the starting line up after his 6 minute performance against the Beavs? I sure hope so. Even if Casto isn’t up to it right now, there’s NO WAY that we compete with SC, UCLA, Arizona, and Washington without the athleticism he provides. So, if Tony wants to play hardball with him, then fine. But we NEED him in that line-up.
2) Baynes, Baynes, Baynes. Think Oregon was small last year? Well, at least last year they had Marty to extend Baynes out. This year, they have nothing to counter Aron. This is a game where Baynes should just go off. If not, then there will be plenty of opps for some WIDE OPEN jumpers.
3) Three Point Shooting from the 3 Spot. Who’s going to play at the small forward/wing guard spot today? Personally, I’m looking for some production out of Abe today since I stinking love the look of that kid’s shot.
And, I think we all would like to see Daven build from Thursday’s big three point shot. But if Nick gets a bunch of time here today, then I think we have to be really worried about next week. As I’ve said, I think Nick can be a GREAT energy player, but if he gets a whole bunch of time, then look out.
4) Don’t-Help Defense. The recipe for beating Oregon is to not let them kick out for wide open threes. So, if Porter beats us off the dribble, then let him shoot a contested shot over Baynes or Casto. What we don’t need is to dive in from the help side and let those shooters have wide open looks on the perimeter. We did BETTER with this against CAL, but not so much against Washington.
5) Ball Control. I’ll be looking for Oregon to extend the D at times to take the Ball out of Taylor’s hands. So, look to see how Thompson handles the ball (including how badly he telegraphs his passes) as well as how Caper’s does with his dribble–which I think is much, much to high (up towards his armpits, we need the ball below his belt all the time). UCLA and Arizona are going to extend on us big time in the coming weeks, so this will be a big test to see how we’re progressing…
Prediction:
Ugly is as Ugly does. This game scares me, but I think we eek out another one.
Cougs 57 Ducks 52
Enjoy the game!!
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