Post by elp525 on Feb 23, 2011 8:48:49 GMT -5
Wednesday February 23, 2011
Backcourt tandem combined for 40 points in West Virginia's win against Notre Dame
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- There was bound to be a period of adjustment for West Virginia's basketball team during Casey Mitchell's three-game suspension ... and then again when the shooting guard returned.
Sure enough, the Mountaineers had misfiring moments during Mitchell's absence, with point guard Joe Mazzulla in the starting spot. Even upon Mitchell's return, WVU couldn't get Mazzulla and Truck Bryant, the team's other starting guard, going at once.
"They can't be more productive unless they're making shots," said Coach Bob Huggins, whose club plays Thursday night at No. 4 Pitt. "Joe's good at driving the ball to the goal, but unless we're making perimeter shots to get people spread out, he's got nowhere to go.
"The more shots we make, the more people have to come at us, which opens things up."
Part of that tandem's trouble was due in part to Bryant's extended shooting slump, but Mitchell's suspension and Mazzulla's escalation were possible solutions. If Mazzulla could get to the basket, then Bryant might have better looks and less attention from the defense.
Mazzulla was 8-for-10 in the first half of his first start without Mitchell and got to the basket almost at will against Louisville.
He took and missed two shots in the second half as the Cardinals sagged on defense to guard the lane - and the Mountaineers did nothing on the perimeter to discourage that tactic.
Mazzulla would score 16 points in the next game against Cincinnati, but needed 10 free throws to get there. He scored four points in the third game. Bryant totaled 11 points and two baskets in those two games.
Mitchell returned against Villanova and Mazzulla didn't score and the juggling began all over again. In the first six starts together, Mazzulla and Bryant scored in double figures just once, when they combined for 23 points against DePaul.
On Saturday, though, Mazzulla and Bryant started together for a seventh time and totaled 40 points in a victory against then-No. 8 Notre Dame.
Mazzulla made two layups and a rare 3-pointer in the first half for nine of his 16 points. Bryant then made four 3-pointers in the second half and scored 20 of his 24 points.
The second half started with a Mazzulla layup, and he assisted Bryant on threes on the next two possessions, one after a basket when he drove and passed and one in transition when Mazzulla was threatening the paint.
"We knew we could go by any of their guards at any time and we did and that helped us get a lot of open shots," Bryant said. "It opened everything up for me.
"When Joe drives like that, it can open everything for me, just like when I drive Joe's going to be open. The two of us in the game at the same time putting pressure on the rim is big."
As WVU's team-wide shooting struggled, the offense put an extra emphasis on getting to the basket, figuring 2-foot shots were easier for the Mountaineers to make than 20-footers. They gave forwards Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Jones 15 total shots against Syracuse, but three went in last Monday.
Mazzulla and Bryant are WVU's best off-the dribble scorers and WVU finished with 20 points in the paint against the Irish - 16 more than against Syracuse.
"When those guys play well, we're a heck of a lot better," Huggins said. "It would be nice if we got everyone better. Then we'd be real good."
An interesting thing happened as Mazzulla and Bryant took down Notre Dame's defense.
Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and was able to float around and freelance for points a lot like he did last year. Jones made two 3-pointers and scored twice on offensive rebounds. He made two threes the previous eight games combined and hadn't made two in a game since the win against then-No. 8 Purdue Jan. 16.
Mazzulla's constant assertion and Bryant's accuracy made things easier on Jones when things hadn't been coming so easily for him.
"I don't know why, but I guess sometimes when somebody is scoring or taking a lot of shots, you're looking at them instead of being aggressive yourself," Jones said. "For the most part (Saturday) everyone was aggressive and I think that's why we weren't going into scoring droughts."
As tough as it had been for WVU to get Mazzulla and Bryant scoring at once, it's been more unusual to have Jones producing with them. Saturday marked just the third time they've all scored in double figures - and the first time since the 68-64 win against Purdue. WVU is 3-0 when its starting guards and best all-around player are in double figures.
"It's not necessarily hard for us," Mazzulla said. "We just didn't force anything. Everything played into itself. I don't think we took too many ill-advised shots (Saturday). The shots the three of took were good shots. If you take good shots, the percentages of making them go up."
Backcourt tandem combined for 40 points in West Virginia's win against Notre Dame
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- There was bound to be a period of adjustment for West Virginia's basketball team during Casey Mitchell's three-game suspension ... and then again when the shooting guard returned.
Sure enough, the Mountaineers had misfiring moments during Mitchell's absence, with point guard Joe Mazzulla in the starting spot. Even upon Mitchell's return, WVU couldn't get Mazzulla and Truck Bryant, the team's other starting guard, going at once.
"They can't be more productive unless they're making shots," said Coach Bob Huggins, whose club plays Thursday night at No. 4 Pitt. "Joe's good at driving the ball to the goal, but unless we're making perimeter shots to get people spread out, he's got nowhere to go.
"The more shots we make, the more people have to come at us, which opens things up."
Part of that tandem's trouble was due in part to Bryant's extended shooting slump, but Mitchell's suspension and Mazzulla's escalation were possible solutions. If Mazzulla could get to the basket, then Bryant might have better looks and less attention from the defense.
Mazzulla was 8-for-10 in the first half of his first start without Mitchell and got to the basket almost at will against Louisville.
He took and missed two shots in the second half as the Cardinals sagged on defense to guard the lane - and the Mountaineers did nothing on the perimeter to discourage that tactic.
Mazzulla would score 16 points in the next game against Cincinnati, but needed 10 free throws to get there. He scored four points in the third game. Bryant totaled 11 points and two baskets in those two games.
Mitchell returned against Villanova and Mazzulla didn't score and the juggling began all over again. In the first six starts together, Mazzulla and Bryant scored in double figures just once, when they combined for 23 points against DePaul.
On Saturday, though, Mazzulla and Bryant started together for a seventh time and totaled 40 points in a victory against then-No. 8 Notre Dame.
Mazzulla made two layups and a rare 3-pointer in the first half for nine of his 16 points. Bryant then made four 3-pointers in the second half and scored 20 of his 24 points.
The second half started with a Mazzulla layup, and he assisted Bryant on threes on the next two possessions, one after a basket when he drove and passed and one in transition when Mazzulla was threatening the paint.
"We knew we could go by any of their guards at any time and we did and that helped us get a lot of open shots," Bryant said. "It opened everything up for me.
"When Joe drives like that, it can open everything for me, just like when I drive Joe's going to be open. The two of us in the game at the same time putting pressure on the rim is big."
As WVU's team-wide shooting struggled, the offense put an extra emphasis on getting to the basket, figuring 2-foot shots were easier for the Mountaineers to make than 20-footers. They gave forwards Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Jones 15 total shots against Syracuse, but three went in last Monday.
Mazzulla and Bryant are WVU's best off-the dribble scorers and WVU finished with 20 points in the paint against the Irish - 16 more than against Syracuse.
"When those guys play well, we're a heck of a lot better," Huggins said. "It would be nice if we got everyone better. Then we'd be real good."
An interesting thing happened as Mazzulla and Bryant took down Notre Dame's defense.
Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and was able to float around and freelance for points a lot like he did last year. Jones made two 3-pointers and scored twice on offensive rebounds. He made two threes the previous eight games combined and hadn't made two in a game since the win against then-No. 8 Purdue Jan. 16.
Mazzulla's constant assertion and Bryant's accuracy made things easier on Jones when things hadn't been coming so easily for him.
"I don't know why, but I guess sometimes when somebody is scoring or taking a lot of shots, you're looking at them instead of being aggressive yourself," Jones said. "For the most part (Saturday) everyone was aggressive and I think that's why we weren't going into scoring droughts."
As tough as it had been for WVU to get Mazzulla and Bryant scoring at once, it's been more unusual to have Jones producing with them. Saturday marked just the third time they've all scored in double figures - and the first time since the 68-64 win against Purdue. WVU is 3-0 when its starting guards and best all-around player are in double figures.
"It's not necessarily hard for us," Mazzulla said. "We just didn't force anything. Everything played into itself. I don't think we took too many ill-advised shots (Saturday). The shots the three of took were good shots. If you take good shots, the percentages of making them go up."
