Can't be a Memphis

Tony Barbee is putting the Memphis style of basketball into UTEP's game plan. That's the mantra, all right. But it sure didn't look like it was working Saturday in the lost to ... Memphis.

Memphis' style is playing fast, fast, fast and crashing the boards. But at least Memphis can pass the ball around a little before taking a shot — a much better percentage shot than UTEP gets with its willy-nilly firing of the ball.

In the second half of a close game Saturday, UTEP was allllllll Stefon Jackson, and he couldn't do much. When he and Randy Culpepper drove head-strong to the basket, it was like a leaf hitting a floor fan. Or, it was Culpepper taking a wild shot. The percentages inevitabley caught up with UTEP and Memphis dominated the final 10 minutes.

Memphis, playing fast, fast, fast Memphis ball is not going to contend for many NCAA championships. UTEP isn't going to get the talent Memphis has to challenge for any national championships.

Look at the top teams every year: Duke, North Carolina, Oklahoma ... Texas and several others. They all show much more control. And they all have "basketball" players with height, speed, bulk and talent.

Fast, fast fast means "talented" players who try to play basketball.

Comments

[Jay Koester]

Oklahoma and Texas? You mean the two teams that end up behind Kansas every year?

[Rooster Martinez]

The dribble weave does work at UTEP which is the key element to Memphis' offense. What didn't happen were UTEP players getting to the line. How is the Nation's leading FT attempts and FT made not going to go to the line in the final ten minutes? UTEP has been in recent years a team that a lot of its offense comes from the charity stripe, so when the calls run dry so does the offense. As for, "a leaf in floor fan" if that leaf causes contact it is a foul but who's going to make that call, the Maytag repair man? Not on Sat, not even on the home court.
P.S. last time I checked 40 yard times don't matter in the NBA so "fast fast fast" doesn't equal talent if that was the case Osain Bolt would be the most talented athlete ever.....is he?

[2myeye]

Joe, cry me a river. The Miners got beat by a better team. And only by seven. Have you even checked what they did to the rest of the conference? Talk to Bill Knight. He will tell you about the destruction that Memphis leaves behind.
The Miners were plain out of gas in the last three minutes. Even the fans were tapped out.
I applaud the WHOLE Miner team. The coaches had a great game plan. Worked well in the first half. Coach Cal is master of the first four minutes of the second half. Ask Tony Barbee why that is so important. That is where we lost it.
Quit whining about the officiating. Nobody else is. Yeah, I know we did not get to the line much, but when Miner players are picking themselves off the floor after every drive to the bucket, you don't drive as strong come the end of the game. That is a good strategy if you ask me.
I thought Saturday's game was what college basketball is all about. Good crowd, good match ups, and good sportsmanship.
So Joe, do us all a favor. Go diss on anything you know something about.

[Plato]

I can't believe I'm bringing myself to say this, but Joe you have a good point. UTEP's style of play is just that "style", very few passes, picks, set pieces, or anything else that looks like an offense. I know Barbee has said many times that he wants to bring excitement to The Don, but I'll take a 38-35 Princeton, UTAH, Haskins, win any day over a 100-90 exciting loss.

Having said all that though, UTEP did play hard and the crowd was great.

[Ten]

All I have to say, is that if you put this UTEP team in the WAC this year they win it.

[javi]

hey JOE why do you only put blogs up after UTEP loses? THey won 3 games in a row and i was excited to see what you would write but nope nothing! why do you have to be so negative and focus only on the loses and not wins?

[Granger]

Ten,

Why even mention the WAC? We left that conference. And I don't buy your argument. We won one and lost one against NMSU of the WAC. Given the performance ON THE FLOOR, UTEP would not be at the top of that conference either. Period.

The Miners gave a great effort against a top team and lost. There's no shame in that. Even had the Miners beaten Memphis, we'd still need to win the CUSA tournament to go to the NCAA and maybe the NIT too.

[JohnDooright]

Come on, who really thought we were gonna beat memphis? Who would have bet the farm the day before the game that UTEP was gonna pull the upset?

Sure, barbee knows their offense, but Coach Cal knows our offense and I'm sure he coaches it better!

We tried running with them and that was a stupid strategy. We should have ran the four corner offense (or a game consuming offense), press every chance we got, and instead of yelling at our players give them a bit of bench confidence every now and then!

I'm afraid of SMU
watch out

[jack]

Your first paragraph has some grammar errors. You don't say "...Saturday in the lost to...Memphis..." You say "in the loss to Memphis." Texas isn't a top team every year either. You don't know jack about basketball. And I agree with Javi, how come you like posting blogs after losses rather than wins?

You can't say "Can't be a Memphis" or compare UTEP's program to Memphis. UTEP has its own unique tradition as does Memphis. It's not fair to either school to say one can't be the other. UTEP has some catching up to do in order to get the so called "athletic" players that Memphis always has (although they are indeed catching up fast). Memphis will never break the color barrier because it has already been done. Memphis had its shot at a national championship and blew it. UTEP had its shot at a national championship and won it.

Hey Joe, you should do some research as to why our Strength of Schedule is so low. We have played some great teams in UNLV, St. Mary's, Wake Forest, Arizona State and Memphis. We have also played some pretty good teams in UAB, Tulsa, New Mexico and Houston. Regardless of the outcome, I think our Strength of Schedule (not RPI) should be higher than a 76.

...wait I don't think you're capable of figuring it out, nevermind.

[jay]

Even when we win 3 games in a row, there isn't much to blog about. With the talent we have we should be blowing out the Marshalls, Tulsas & other Conference USA teams. If barbee thinks he can win without a solid offense, he is mistaken. I love watching Jackson & Randy play, but they needs to share the ball more. Barbee tends to give the green light on one on one play and 3pt shots and that is not going to win us many games. Barbee is a poor coach and his arrogance tends to alienate Utep fans.

[BOOGIEMAN]

Why doesn't UTEP run a set offensive scheme?
You know,... like, other teams do!
UTEP appears to run a willy-nilly type of offense, as Joe mentioned, where if either Stephon or Culpepper are open, they have the green light to just shoot the ball!
UTEP uses no picks or screens to get their guys open for a shot, why?
Are they afraid of getting knocked down?
UTEP doesn't use the rest of the team for scoring either, why? Doesn't UTEP have anybody else that can shoot the ball with any degree of accuracy?
In my personal opinion UTEP players are weak, and lack the mental toughness and attitude you need to be a winner!
They are just plain wusses!
Much the opposite of what Memphis' players displayed here!

[Toasted Whitebred]

I was at the game and it was a great game. Miners played well offensively and defensively in the first half. As a matter of fact, they out played Memphis.

With all due respect Joe, Memphis didn't dominate the last 10 minutes, they dominated the first 10 of the second half. The Miners came out flat, uninspired and got taken to task. Still, they played hard and with lots of heart. Stephon played great and so did Tavaris Watts. got to give props to him. One three would have put the miner back in the game with about 20 seconds left but it missed. We were that close to one of the best teams in the country.

Miners need to maintain their intensity for 40 minutes to move to a higher level.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Anyone who says UTEP does not run an offense is absolutely wrong. They screen for each other but the difference is it's not a traditional screen and roll. The screens are there to make room for a drive to the basket. Screening clogs the lanes so they are used at a minumum. Typically, the players are clearing out for a drive to the basket. You won't see our post players posting up because this would clog the lane as well. They instead move to the opposite side of the block to get a lob or an offensive rebound put back.

It is more sophisticated than people give it credit for. Contrary to popular opinion, UTEP has the perfect athletes to run this offense. It is reliant on beating a man off the dribble and who better than Jackson, Culpepper, and Stone to do just that.

The Miners offensive problems (If at 79 points a game you want to call it that) and Barbee's frustration comes from a lack of aggression from Britten, Moultrie and Cooper (until he left) because they need to attack with more confidence. They are capable post players who are barely figuring out what they are capable of.

Memphis has been a winner year in and year out for years now. They are coming off a national championship loss. We will learn from the experience and be better for it.

Memphis is not more athletic than we are. In one breath Joe will complain that we are too athletic and talented for Marshall and Rice and in the next, he'll say we'll never be as athletic and talented as Memphis. He is wrong about Memphis.

[Austin]

CLEO, while I admire your effort to defend what UTEP is running by calling it an "offense," you are completely mistaken. And to say UTEP has the perfect talent for the dribble drive weave is ridiculous. Did you watch Stone? The guy has the absolute worst ball handling skills I have ever seen on a D-1 guard. He is erratic, and absolutely no threat on offense (except a threat to turn the ball over).

UTEP's entire "offensive strategy" was to give the ball to Jackson and get the hell out of the way and pray he would make a miracle layup or get fouled. On one possession, Stone couldn't pass it to Jackson (with about 5 minutes in the half or so) and he didn't know what to do, so he called Timout! I have never seen anything like that, he couldn't get the ball to Jackson so he called timeout. There is no movement on offense, no offensive rebounding, only a hope and a prayer.

Culpepper is absolutely terrible. Aside from a miracle 3 pointer he made at the end, I couldn't get over how erratic a player he is. He has speed, but no idea how to manage it and how to use it to the benefit of the team.

I have defended Barbee in the past, but can't do so anymore. UTEP is fundamentally terrible. The team looks poorly coached in just about every facet of the game. That is on Barbee.

[Austin]

Oh and Cleo, how do you defend UTEP's ridiculous zone d in the second half? It was like Barbee was tempting Evans to shoot an uncontested 3 from the top of the arch on purpose! That's a McDonalds All American there, don't give him wide open looks by running a joke of a zone when the game is tight? How did he not get out of that quicker? Unbelievably bad strategy.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Stone is number 14 in the nation in assist to turnover ratio. So much for a turnover waiting to happen. Jackson leads the nation in free throw attempts. Teams can't handle his penetration so they resort to fouling. Culpepper is absolutely terrible at 18.1 points a game. We should get rid of him, right? Unbelievable.

I have been a critic of UTEP's defense all year. Our defense against them was good. It was our inability to rebound our defensive boards that did us in. Once again, our big men were not aggressive enough. Evans has not been a particularly good shooter all year. That has been his known weakness until saturday. Most of those jumpers were with a hand in his face.

I'm not a big Barbee fan but there is an offense being run at UTEP. It works well more often than not. My criticism has been that it relies too much on good outside shooting, but if our big men were more consistent rebounding, that would not be such a big issue.

[johndooright]

OMGoodness...

I want to know whose idea that zone defense was, that was a terrible strategy!

Austin is right! that's like daring Evans to shoot wide open 3's, and in "our" memphis offense that is exactly what memphis wanted.

And I give all the credit in the world to the fans!!!!!! It was the fans who made the first half, not the coaches!

UTEP offense is simple....something COACH HASKINS despised...

LIVE BY THE 3 and DIE BY THE 3

[Toasted Whitebred]

Cleo's right. You can't not run an offensive scheme and average 76 points a game - third best in conference a hair behind Memphis. However, the Miners are the worst shooting team in conference USA. Might have something to do with shot selection. We also don't have any pure shooters like Miguel Ayala. That will change next year hopefully. Miners also are not a great defensive rebounding team although they do well on the offensive boards. In order to win, the Miner have to really crank up their defensive effort.

[marcusg23]

im really done with talking about the game. but does anyone know where i can pick up a scarf. it was kinda hard to make it to the game when your stationed in maryland. if anyone on the blog has multiple ones and dont mind parting with one. let me know thanks

[Austin]

Cleo, I don't get how UTEP's offense relies too much on good outside shooting when the entire second half they took what seemed like 3 shots outside of the lane. All the others were kamikaze layups where Jackson penetrated and hoped for a foul or threw up a prayer. Did you see the offense when Jackson went cold in the last 15 minutes? It was the basketball equivalent of a hail mary. No set plays to get an open look for anybody. I didn't see Jackson or Culpepper penetrate and kick it out one time. Every time one of those guys drives its going to be a crazy layup. That's it.

Culpepper might score 18.1 points a game, but that does not mean he's a good team player. How many shots does he take to get those points? Why doesn't he start? Has he ever registered an assist? The guy is a tremendous athlete, and very fast, but when he is in the game HE IS THE OFFENSE. Nobody else gets involved (or can get a shot). Nobody else does anything on offense. The result of Jackson and Culpeppers play? There are always 3 other guys standing around doing nothing. That might get you 76 points a game but it also gets you in a whole lot of trouble when Jackson is cold. It gets you a middle of the pack team in an average at best basketball league.

Whitebread has a good point, maybe UTEP just doesn't have a good outside shooter (a la Ayala), but we can't know for sure because only two guys are shooting the ball.

Oh, and I don't care about Stone's stats. The guy is a terrible, terrible ball handler. Anybody who knows basketball knows that UTEP was never really ever in that game.

[Grease Fire]

Ten,
Please stop with all the, "if we were in the WAC..blah, blah, blah." You left because you thought it was the best thing for the program and the fans.
That has obviously proven to be wrong.

You guys couldn't sweep a VERY young NMSU team, much less, beat a fundamentally sound Utah St. or Idaho teams and the WAC is having a weak year.

[Toasted Whitebred]

Austin,

I have to disagree on a couple of points. First, Stone is a phenomenal player and brilliant passer. Among the conference leaders in assists, steals, d rebounds, assist to turnover. The only place he could help more is scoring. When he goes to the basket, which isn't often, he's almost unstoppable. Do you know how many miners have averaged more assists per game than Stone. One, Fili Rivera. Haskins would have loved this kid.

Secondly, the Miners had Memphis on the ropes in the first half. They really did outplay the tigers. We just didn't match their intensity in the early part of the second half.

[2myeye]

Toasted Whitebread 2 Austin 0. Stone is just a sophmore. And Randy Culpepper, and Britten, and others. If you have watched this team mature in the last two years, you would know what an improvement has really gone on. We lose DJ and Watts to graduation. Only those two. We have more hosses in the wings. Barbee is still in school too. Give him a break. He has reached out to this community. Has he felt the love back? Doubt it.
Remember, these are student athletes. Whadda ya want? Final four every year?