|
|
Post by BSU Card Fan in AZ on Dec 29, 2022 11:11:41 GMT -6
Road wins in conference are difficult if playing a decent team. Toledo obviously fits that mold. I don't expect one. Hope they just out hustle them and see what happens.
|
|
|
|
Post by williamtsherman on Dec 29, 2022 12:15:30 GMT -6
The Sparks free throw situation is remarkable. Last year he was slightly above average...70%. I can't remember a case of a high volume FT shooter getting so much worse from season to season. What the hell happened?
He shoots approx 8 FT per game. The difference between shooting these at 45% instead of 70% is around 2 points a game. That's a difference that will almost certainly change a couple wins to losses over the course of the MAC season.
I'm sure the coaching staff realizes this and is taking measures. But they haven't worked. What do you do for a player in this situation?
|
|
|
|
Post by someguy on Dec 29, 2022 13:28:31 GMT -6
Since everyone is showing Sparks so much love, I would ask what has changed since last year? One would assume he is the same kid, with the same drive, desire, and work ethic. Assuming that is true, what is different that could be affecting him? The other serious question, how many games do you win without him?
|
|
|
|
Post by realitycheck on Dec 29, 2022 15:08:07 GMT -6
Since everyone is showing Sparks so much love, I would ask what has changed since last year? One would assume he is the same kid, with the same drive, desire, and work ethic. Assuming that is true, what is different that could be affecting him? The other serious question, how many games do you win without him? I think the biggest change for Payton and the rest of the team is accountability and terror. Last year under Mr. Rogers, it was a calming and soothing experience and the pressure/stress level was at about a 2 so I think Sparks was chill. This year, he is being counted on more, challenged more, yelled at more than at any time in his whole life and he's playing for Oscar the Grouch, which is freaking awesome by the way. Lewis is so refreshing and has a total of zero f*cks for excuses or any pussy bullsh*t. (Sorry, I was channeling him for a moment there.) The pressure and intensity level under Mike is about 12. Good news is the guys are adjusting to it and have not wilted but rather are actually growing some calluses and shockingly, are BETTER! Wow, good thing we stopped listening to the apologist, kumbaya, status quo, we can't afford a better coach crowd and actually grew a pair! All that said, if Sparks doesn't dig his head out of his ass and start manning up at the line it will start costing us games. We've been super lucky to win five in a row with with him hitting less than 50% considering he leads the league in FT attempts. This is all a mental block = lousy technique = missed shots = here I go again brain clamp for #5 and he just has to fix it because it is not happening like this in practice. He's shooting a bunch and hitting an acceptable percentage in practice. In addition to fixing this issue, our bench has to get better and more consistent. Windham is the only scoring threat and he is streaky. Jihad might give you 4 but not much more most of the time and Bumbalough is going to lose minutes to Owens-White now. Maybe he can throw in a few but our lack of bench scoring depth is gonna bite us. |
|
|
|
Post by bsucardinalfan on Dec 29, 2022 17:18:56 GMT -6
I’ll say it again. I think sparks is soft. He should be averaging 16-17 per game if he would just hit 70-75% from the line. He took some shots yesterday that almost looked like he’s trying to avoid getting fouled.
I don’t think he boxes out well.
In short, I think he’s used to just being bigger than his opponents and now that they have a lot of tape on him, college teams know how to play him.
He’s very lucky he stayed at BSU, he would not get time at IU as was rumored when he went into the portal.
Having said all that - we need him and I think he will get better, and I’m glad he came back.
|
|
|
|
Post by coastalcard on Dec 29, 2022 17:36:54 GMT -6
When you are 6’9” and bring the ball down to knee level, EVERYONE on the opposing team can play defense against you.
Just my observation.
|
|
|
|
Post by comet on Dec 29, 2022 18:20:36 GMT -6
After looking at his stats, perhaps I was being too hard on Sparks. It's just that he isn't the most graceful looking player on the court. I think the FT's are also jading us. His season stats to date: 13.5 PPG 8 RPG 61.8% FG 2 APG (27 total) Only 20 turnovers - that one surprises me, as it seems like he turns it over a lot more than that 47/100 FT's is the glaring weakness. He looks extremely awkward at the line. We are shooting 76.3% FT as a team if you take out Sparks' numbers, but 67.6% with his numbers. One recent observation: I'm not so sure Coleman likes to pass the ball to Sellers. I will keep watching this one as the season wears on to see if this is accurate or just my perception based on a couple of possessions or games. Interesting information there. I personally think you guys are being too hard on Sparks and I do think it has to do with his free throw shooting. His numbers ain't that bad and he had the game against Georgia Southern where he only had four points. Not the most athletic kid in the world and agree that his defense really needs to improve, but he is getting FULL attention of the opposition and is really handling it pretty well, at least I think he is. The free thing is really a bit worse than what the statistics so as he is missing some front ends of the 1 and 1. Still learning on what to do with the ball and I agree with what someone said about pulling up and taking the five footer. Too, let's give him a break in that he's only a sophomore and we're expecting a lot. One last thing, I think the fre shooting is limiting his touches. I'm convinced Lewis would love to take the ball inside more often, but there ain't no use in him getting fouled if he's only going to shoot 47%. Heck, you don't want him to get fouled if he's gonna shoot that poorly. On the second point, I hadn't noticed that, but I think your keeping an eye on it will be interesting. |
|
|
|
Post by williamtsherman on Dec 29, 2022 18:45:37 GMT -6
Steve Sax Syndrome
Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base in 1983, committing 30 errors that season.[6] This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome", the fielder's variant of "Steve Blass disease," named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics (also known as "The Yips"). As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection.[7] (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder pressed into service at third base in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me", while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.")[8] By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage[9] and double plays.
|
|
|
|
Post by mattg on Dec 29, 2022 19:48:27 GMT -6
Steve Sax Syndrome
Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base in 1983, committing 30 errors that season.[6] This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome", the fielder's variant of "Steve Blass disease," named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics (also known as "The Yips"). As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection.[7] (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder pressed into service at third base in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me", while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.")[8] By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage[9] and double plays. Reminds me of how Chuck Knoblauch had the hips at 2B for the Yankees. I think there’s a lefty pitcher in MLB right now who can’t throw over to 1B as a pickoff move. I forget who it is but he has the tips that way which is funny. Back to Sparks though, I feel like his shot naturally has a funky little hitch to it. It’s subtle, so I’m not sure if he’s trying to stop it and it’s making it worse? Or should he embrace it and see if that works better while sacrificing technique? Something needs to change soon though. |
|
|
|
Post by mattg on Dec 29, 2022 19:49:24 GMT -6
Steve Sax Syndrome
Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base in 1983, committing 30 errors that season.[6] This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome", the fielder's variant of "Steve Blass disease," named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics (also known as "The Yips"). As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection.[7] (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder pressed into service at third base in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me", while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.")[8] By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage[9] and double plays. Reminds me of how Chuck Knoblauch had the hips at 2B for the Yankees. I think there’s a lefty pitcher in MLB right now who can’t throw over to 1B as a pickoff move. I forget who it is but he has the tips that way which is funny. Back to Sparks though, I feel like his shot naturally has a funky little hitch to it. It’s subtle, so I’m not sure if he’s trying to stop it and it’s making it worse? Or should he embrace it and see if that works better while sacrificing technique? Something needs to change soon though. Damn autocorrect phone. Yips, Hips, Tips, etc |
|
|
|
Post by lmills72 on Dec 29, 2022 21:09:11 GMT -6
Reminds me of how Chuck Knoblauch had the hips at 2B for the Yankees. I think there’s a lefty pitcher in MLB right now who can’t throw over to 1B as a pickoff move. I forget who it is but he has the tips that way which is funny. Jon Lester had some issues throwing to bases, not just pickoff moves but even just fielding a batted ball. |
|
|
|
Post by bsutrack on Dec 29, 2022 21:27:01 GMT -6
Steve Sax Syndrome
Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base in 1983, committing 30 errors that season.[6] This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome", the fielder's variant of "Steve Blass disease," named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics (also known as "The Yips"). As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection.[7] (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder pressed into service at third base in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me", while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.")[8] By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage[9] and double plays. Reminds me of how Chuck Knoblauch had the hips at 2B for the Yankees. I think there’s a lefty pitcher in MLB right now who can’t throw over to 1B as a pickoff move. I forget who it is but he has the tips that way which is funny.The pitcher you are thinking of is the former Chicago Cub (and Boston Red Sox) pitcher Jon Lester who is now retired. www.businessinsider.com/jon-lester-first-base-throws-bounce-yips-2018-3"Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester can't throw the ball to first base in what is thought to be a strange case of the yips. On Sunday, Lester showed a new method he's working on — bouncing the ball to first like a bounce pass in basketball." |
|
|
|
Post by bsutrack on Dec 29, 2022 21:29:14 GMT -6
Reminds me of how Chuck Knoblauch had the hips at 2B for the Yankees. I think there’s a lefty pitcher in MLB right now who can’t throw over to 1B as a pickoff move. I forget who it is but he has the tips that way which is funny. Jon Lester had some issues throwing to bases, not just pickoff moves but even just fielding a batted ball. You beat me to the answer. We must both be Cub fans. |
|
|
|
Post by villagepub on Dec 30, 2022 14:13:30 GMT -6
Steve Sax Syndrome
Though never regarded as one of the top fielding second basemen in the league, Steve Sax inexplicably became incapable of making routine throws to first base in 1983, committing 30 errors that season.[6] This is referred to in baseball terminology as "Steve Sax Syndrome", the fielder's variant of "Steve Blass disease," named after the Pirates pitcher who suffered a similar breakdown of basic mechanics (also known as "The Yips"). As his accuracy suffered, fans sitting behind the first base dugout began wearing batting helmets as mock protection.[7] (Teammate Pedro Guerrero, an outfielder pressed into service at third base in 1983, once reportedly stated that his first thought whenever he was in the field was "I hope they don't hit it to me", while his second thought was "I hope they don't hit it to Sax.")[8] By 1989, however, Sax seemed to be completely "cured", leading the American League in both fielding percentage[9] and double plays. Sometimes when you mentally start focusing on NOT missing free throws, you end up missing more. Same goes with pitching and throwing. Got to focus on the target and positive execution of the shot or throw. |
|
|
|
Post by UHaveCardinalNv on Dec 30, 2022 17:00:37 GMT -6
Channeling my inner Michael Lewis or Steve Sarkesian: get fcking focused on basketball and stop using bad fcking baseball metaphors for dudes with poor free throw technique.
|
|
