The two things you posted are in no way, shape or form contradictory.Adriacus Peratuun said:bear2be2 said:Adriacus Peratuun said:bear2be2 said:Adriacus Peratuun said:bear2be2 said:Big12Fan2024 said:
Seems like there are too many comments and projections in this thread based solely on offense. Much bigger concern for the past 5 years has been and should continue to be defense. If that doesn't improve, we're back in 13th or worse next year and taking double digit beatings routinely in the conference (over half our losses in the Big 12) again. And I won't single them out but the projected roster contains 3 guys with defensive metrics (you can go through Torvik, KenPom, EvanMiya or any service and they are essentially the same) and the ratings are in the Weak rating category, 2 guys with Average metrics, 1 guy with slightly Above Average metrics and 4 guys who have never played so there's no legit rating for them.
Hopefully those 4 will show up with at least average defensive skills for Big 12 level players when we get to early November. Or, hopefully we'll pick up at least one defensive specialist to go along with the shooting guard you guys are wanting and we get to 12 roster spots.
After 5 consecutive years, I would hope Drew and staff don't go into the season with only 10 scholarship players when our history now shows we lose at least 2 guys each year either before or during the season and the physical Big 12 play results in game-to-game injuries that eliminate 1-2 more, and that statistic is common with other teams not only in our conference but across all the High Major conferences. If we have another season where we only have 6 or 7 available players because we only carried 10 scholarship players who can actually be called upon when needed, then Drew and staff should be charged with coaching malfeasance.
Obi had Weak defensive metrics and his detailed offensive metrics showed significant fall off when facing Above average or better defensive opponents. Drew is a big proponent of metrics. Obi was never coming back.
I've largely given up on our ability to field a good defensive team, which means we had better be able to score our way to wins -- something we did with moderate success in 2023 and 2024.
And this team is currently short on scoring if it hopes to get back to that level.
I think our defense will improve some simply by adding a couple of true rim protectors to the mix in Bodo Bodo and Chatman. But we'll likely hand out open 3s like candy ... because that's what we do.
So we need to add offense -- and especially shooting -- from that two spot so we can we keep up with the Big 12 teams capable of taking advantage of that.
Currently, Decker and Celiscar are the only potential quality perimeter shooters on this roster -- and both will be experiencing significant jumps in competition level/opposing defense next season.
We need more offense if we hope to be competitive next year.
Which "offense focused" teams have finished in the top four of the B12 over the past five years?
Hard enough to do when B12 was in two time zones. With current travel burden, legs fresh enough to jump shoot a team to road victories in February will be in very short supply.
Why are we talking about finishing in the top four of the Big 12 right now? We haven't done that in almost half a decade and just got done finishing 13th in a 16-team league.
With what we're returning and have added so far, the goal for next season should be a return to our 2023 and 2024 level, which will be a big enough challenge at this rate.
Our program is a shell of what it was at the beginning of this decade. It's going to take time, a **** ton of effort and more luck than we probably deserve to get back to a place where we're competing for conference titles again.
And yet you are arguing for basically giving up on D and "score our way to wins".
Neither Baylor nor any other team is going to shoot their way to winning in the B12 without solid D.
What part of Winning in the B12 Requires D is difficult?
If you've ever read my posts here, you'd know that I'd never argue for giving up on defense. I've probably been more frustrated by our **** defense the last four years than anyone who posts here regularly.
But looking at the roster we have currently and what we likely have to spend to fill out the remaining two or three spots, I see little reason to believe that any move we make between now and the beginning of the season will turn this into an elite defensive team. And if we don't add more offense, we'll be more likely to finish in the bottom four of the Big 12 again than we will be to climb into the top four.
I would love for us to focus more on defense and fix things on that end of the floor. But that ship has likely already sailed. Like I said, I think we can (and will) be better because our interior guys our better. But it would be easier at this stage to try to close the gap on the offensive end than it would be on defense, where Drew's teams have consistently struggled outside of a three-year period that's likely not even repeatable in the current CBB landscape.
I think this team, as currently constructed, will be a bubble team next year. The goal at this stage should be returning to the tournament. Our program has fallen that far. It's going to take work and time to get it back to the level that fans here are expecting. Adding some defense-first wing from Radford or Cal Poly isn't going to make this team a Big 12 title contender.
Wishing we were better defensively and not believing enough in Scott Drew's abilities as a defensive coach to sacrifice offense for defense are perfectly compatible notions.
Like I said, I would love for us to be good defensively again. But from a team- and roster-building perspective, I have way more faith in Scott Drew's ability to build a winning offense than a winning defense and thus believe it would be foolish to invest what little resources we have left in defense-first players given the roster we're currently set to enter the season with.
I have no delusions that next year's team will be a Big 12 title contender/second weekend tournament threat. I just want us to get back to the tournament. And that will require more offense/shooting than we currently have committed to play for us next season.
Baby steps. We can worry about building an elite defense again when we can stop worrying about finishing in the bottom half of our league and out of the tournament picture.
