2nd Half Starts - What would you do?

eyekwah

eyekwah

Well-Known Member
I'll admit I was unable to watch the game with UNF, but again a big lead evaporated in the first few minutes of the second half according to game summaries. The rhetorical question is "How many times is this going to continue without the coaching staff recognizing this as a problem?" The followup is "What could they do to address it?". I'm hoping some of you with basketball minds can offer Fran some options.

One option I will offer is coming out after halftime in a full court press with a unit that is able to perform it. Bringing back the game starters and returning to the conventional offense does not seem to be working. The opponent's coach makes the halftime adjustments and Fran has no surprise to spring on the opponent. Putting on different presses to start the second half will speed up the players and give opposing coaches a different twist to prepare for. Changing the lineup creates a degree of confusion for the opponent's coach to consider when making adjustments.

There are many theories on managing a game. Some break the game down into five minute segments with the goal of winning each five minute segment. I just know that the first five minutes of the second half often determines the result. When you have a 14 point halftime lead you should be able to control what happens during that first five minutes.
 
Fran always goes back to his 'starting' lineup. Eff that.......put the 5 most dangerous, energetic,
mentally tough guys out there to start the 2nd. Quit doing the same d*** thing that's not working
 
I'd skip half time -- from looks of how lethargic they've been coming out, they're having milk and napping.

Just have them gather in a circle under their basket. Tell them all to keep working hard and listen. Tell a few jokes, grab a drink, then go shoot around for 16 minutes.

Obviously not paying attention to anything coaches are drawing up, anyway. Might as well stay loose and have some fun.
 
Pretty sure Fran sings lullabys and has those little baby mobiles dangling from the ceiling in the locker room at half time.
 
I have not seen every game this year but from what I have seen and heard about and from the name of the droughts "scoring droughts" I would say the main issue is shooting and getting quality shots.

#1 I would have the players come out of halftime a little sooner and get some more shooting and maybe even 3 on 3 or layup drills.

#2 I like the above post about playing some trapping and press to make the hawks run and get a sweat quicker. I notice against ISU and UNI that both of those teams looked more aggressive, more energetic and faster so Iowa needs to match that.

#3 How to score- well when you are shooting poorly the best shot is a dunk or a layup. I also think Iowa is a lazy screening team so I think Fran should have them running motion offense with lots of hard screening and less dribbling. Screen, pass and dribble to get layups and dunks. All that work toward the basket will lead to open jump shots if needed.

But they need to do more of this the whole game
 
Sit the starters to start the 2nd half. Let them watch until the 1st TV timeout. Bobby Knight used to sit his starters for entire halves if he wasn't happy with their play. They might lose by 15 but they usually followed with some solid basketball. He sacrificed 1 game for the sake of the season. I'm not suggesting to go that far but let's see what happens...especially if we just ended the 1st half flat.
 
Get these guys some weed or something so they can relax. It seems to work for that other team to the West of us....allegedly.
 
I think all the suggestions are actually quite good (except post #7 of course).

The only thing I wouldn't agree with his backwards hawkeye who says to play the "most dangerous, energetic, mentally tough guys" we have.

We have some energetic guys. I'm pretty sure we're lacking on the others.
 
This goes back to last year for me.. We were always wondering if the constant swapping in and out of the lineups was hurting chemistry, not going with a set 8/9 etc.. I really think this is one of the biggest things that can cause issues during crunch time when things get tough.

I'd really like to see some more consistency with the lineups.. more hockey oriented - you see some teams go all small to beat ya with speed, some lineups are all big, and you just can't guard them etc... I've never really seen Fran do anything like this
 
Go with the 5 hottest players of the first half, regardless of position (substituting a PG to that list, if necessary). Play all guards, play all front court - it doesn't matter. Just play the 5 hottest players of the 1st half @ the start of the 2nd half. Then run with it. Attack the basket with force and determination.

Other than that, I think Gabe deserves to start the game, period. So, maybe have him at least bump the player his stats prove he continually out performs, in the 2nd half start.
 
Have the team do rainmaking dance ritual and walk over the hot coal. before the second half start.
images
 
eyekwah said:
I'll admit I was unable to watch the game with UNF, but again a big lead evaporated in the first few minutes of the second half according to game summaries. The rhetorical question is "How many times is this going to continue without the coaching staff recognizing this as a problem?" The followup is "What could they do to address it?". I'm hoping some of you with basketball minds can offer Fran some options.

One option I will offer is coming out after halftime in a full court press with a unit that is able to perform it. Bringing back the game starters and returning to the conventional offense does not seem to be working. The opponent's coach makes the halftime adjustments and Fran has no surprise to spring on the opponent. Putting on different presses to start the second half will speed up the players and give opposing coaches a different twist to prepare for. Changing the lineup creates a degree of confusion for the opponent's coach to consider when making adjustments.

There are many theories on managing a game. Some break the game down into five minute segments with the goal of winning each five minute segment. I just know that the first five minutes of the second half often determines the result. When you have a 14 point halftime lead you should be able to control what happens during that first five minutes.
Click to expand...

I would like to see Jok continue to start at the #2 spot. I would like to see Uthoff work more in the paint, and Woodbury work more from a high post position, feeding White and Uthoff. I would like Olesani to get about 22 minutes a game. I want to see Oglesby shoot a 3 every time he has the open look. He won't have many open looks, so he can't pass up any. I want to see more of that halfcourt zone defense with White at the top. I want to see Clemmons be very active on defense in zone traps and one on one, and I would prefer him driving more to the hoop than Gesell. I want to see more 3/4 zone press. Most of all, I would like to see very hungry, very agressive players, in every single game.
 
Do not goto locker room. Consider it a time out, make a couple adjustments as needed and get into your pre game warm ups. 2nd they need to start rocking that diamond press. That used to be extremely effective, now my 7th grade girls team could beat it.
 
I think confidence is a big issue. Iowa is basically missing "the guy" and nobody seems to be even attempting to fill that role.

Aaron White has had a great start to the season but he isn't a true scorer. White is great in transition and makes the hustle plays, but he isn't a guy that has been involved in the half court offense. Too often, Aaron's touches come along the perimeter, where he doesn't have the confidence and/or ability to consistently shoot it, so his defender can play off to defend against a drive or prevent an entry pass. To get White involved in the offense, I'd like to see him posting up and/or making some back-cuts.

Another issue is that the guards seem unable to get the ball to the forwards in the post. We need Woodbury, Gabe, and/or White with the ball in their hands in the post. With their size, they should be able to score if the defense doesn't help. If the defense helps, Woodbury especially is a good passer that could find a back-cutting White or an open shooter with their feet set on the perimeter.

The guards seem to be going through the motions, particularly in the second half. The ball is passed around the perimeter and nobody is looking to score or make a play. The offense is stagnant. Nobody can make an entry pass. Nobody can drive and finish or find an open shooter.

A big key is the finish part. When White or Gesell drive, they may draw a foul but they rarely put it in the bucket. If the refs are "letting them play" or if a lot of fouls have been called or if it's late in the game and the refs are swallowing the whistle, we need someone that can put it in the bucket, whether through contact, by a floater, quick jumper, circus shot, etc. Marble was that guy last year, we don't have that this year.

I think that is what is missing and would help prevent dry spells in the early second half and throughout the game. Someone that can draw the defense's attention and still make a play or get it to an open role player for a high percentage shot and then we have White going to the hoop to clean up the garbage on a miss.

I'm not a b-ball expert but those have been my impressions while watching virtually every Iowa game this year.
 
To clarify my previous post, I'm not saying that all is lost because we're missing "the guy." Instead, someone needs to emerge to run the offense through. Maybe it's Woodbury in the post or Gesell on the drive and dish or floater in the lane. The offense just needs to get on a page where everyone knows who the primary option is. It doesn't seem like anyone knows their role and everyone seems to be counting on a teammate making a play.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top