The Bobcat Nation

Massive test for the ladies tonight. You have to think this is where the win streak ends, but maybe BYU will overlook them a bit and Binford can manage to keep it close.

Shooting and rebounding woes continue, but BYU is too big and athletic for us.

This will not be a popular opinion. The women play much better as a team when Darian is on the bench. That is not good. Binford needs to get this addressed.

In my opinion the players for BYU were not all THAT much better than the players for MSU. I just have to say that this BYU team is EXTREMELY well coached. There is an old saying in basketball that the player cannot run as fast as the ball can be passed. BYU was incredibly efficient at passing and ball movement. Much more so than the MSU team when on offense. The BYU team was also very solid when it comes to boxing out and on defense.

As an example, when Katelyn Linardo hit two quick three pointers in the first quarter, the BYU defense clamped down on her so hard she could hardly breathe. BYU is now 10-1 and only has one loss against Oklahoma in OT. I thought it was interesting that Coach Binford did not come out for the coach's interview on the broadcast at the end of the game tonight. The fact that the Lady Cats gave up almost 90 points is not good, but again, I attribute that more to the outstanding passing and ball movement that the BYU team has. It is an incredibly well-coached team. Obviously, the Lady Cats will not be facing teams this talented in the Big Sky, so time to move on.

rivercat wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:50 pm

This will not be a popular opinion. The women play much better as a team when Darian is on the bench. That is not good. Binford needs to get this addressed.

You are not the only one who has noticed.

nevadacat wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:45 pm

rivercat wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:50 pm

This will not be a popular opinion. The women play much better as a team when Darian is on the bench. That is not good. Binford needs to get this addressed.

You are not the only one who has noticed.

Darian plays all out. She gives it 100 per cent. She has an uncanny ability to drive and penetrate. But what I would like to see more of is after she penetrates the lane, to kick it out to someone open. It seems to me that Darian used to hit a higher percentage of those little 10-15 foot jumpers than she is hitting now. She is also excellent at drawing fouls, so she has to really concentrate to make all of her FTs. I think if she kicked it out more the other players would appreciate her more. But my gosh she is a hustler

darian is the heart and soul of this team along with kola, the main problem with this team is it's a three point shooting team that can't make threes. our assists to field goals is bad due to poor shooting and one on one play, in league play i think they will win most home games and split away, hopefully by boise they will put it together i think they have the talent to do so

We gave BYU a good run down there last year. They are a bit better, we aren’t right now. Our starting lineup was taller almost player for player, but they were all quick.

bobcat2651 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:51 pm

darian is the heart and soul of this team along with kola, the main problem with this team is it's a three point shooting team that can't make threes. our assists to field goals is bad due to poor shooting and one on one play, in league play i think they will win most home games and split away, hopefully by boise they will put it together i think they have the talent to do so

The three-point line being moved back is, I think, bothering a lot of shooters. Especially at the top and the high wings, since the corners aren’t a lot different — although I’ve seen us step out of bounds a few times in the corners due to diminished three-point real estate.

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:04 am

bobcat2651 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:51 pm

darian is the heart and soul of this team along with kola, the main problem with this team is it's a three point shooting team that can't make threes. our assists to field goals is bad due to poor shooting and one on one play, in league play i think they will win most home games and split away, hopefully by boise they will put it together i think they have the talent to do so

The three-point line being moved back is, I think, bothering a lot of shooters. Especially at the top and the high wings, since the corners aren’t a lot different — although I’ve seen us step out of bounds a few times in the corners due to diminished three-point real estate.

We recently did a deep dive into the league 3 point shooting. You can check it out at www.bigskybreakdown.com under the league analysis tab. We think you will be surprised by the numbers.

aucat wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:15 pm

nevadacat wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:45 pm

rivercat wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:50 pm

This will not be a popular opinion. The women play much better as a team when Darian is on the bench. That is not good. Binford needs to get this addressed.

You are not the only one who has noticed.

Darian plays all out. She gives it 100 per cent. She has an uncanny ability to drive and penetrate. But what I would like to see more of is after she penetrates the lane, to kick it out to someone open. It seems to me that Darian used to hit a higher percentage of those little 10-15 foot jumpers than she is hitting now. She is also excellent at drawing fouls, so she has to really concentrate to make all of her FTs. I think if she kicked it out more the other players would appreciate her more. But my gosh she is a hustler

It’s ok to discuss Darian’s play without being critical of Darian. She is the heart and soul of the Bobcats, but the team would be better if Darian would focus on distributing the ball. BYU’s assist numbers were off the charts! Their passing was amazing! They had a ton of easy lay ups due to their team play. MSU needs to continue to improve, but change how they use Darian!

Ilikecats wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:42 pm

aucat wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:15 pm

nevadacat wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 4:45 pm

rivercat wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:50 pm

This will not be a popular opinion. The women play much better as a team when Darian is on the bench. That is not good. Binford needs to get this addressed.

You are not the only one who has noticed.

Darian plays all out. She gives it 100 per cent. She has an uncanny ability to drive and penetrate. But what I would like to see more of is after she penetrates the lane, to kick it out to someone open. It seems to me that Darian used to hit a higher percentage of those little 10-15 foot jumpers than she is hitting now. She is also excellent at drawing fouls, so she has to really concentrate to make all of her FTs. I think if she kicked it out more the other players would appreciate her more. But my gosh she is a hustler

It’s ok to discuss Darian’s play without being critical of Darian. She is the heart and soul of the Bobcats, but the team would be better if Darian would focus on distributing the ball. BYU’s assist numbers were off the charts! Their passing was amazing! They had a ton of easy lay ups due to their team play. MSU needs to continue to improve, but change how they use Darian!

Exactly, my original observation that they played better as a team with Darrian on the bench is just an observation that is true. That is a coaching problem more than a problem with any player. MSU has the talent to play competitively against the most D1 programs but they are not playing to their potential. Defense can be very good one minute and have a missed assignment or lack of effort the next minute. And I'm still baffled at what the offense is trying to do about half the time. One thing is for sure, relying on hitting 3's is not a consistent formula for winning.

I agree the offense could use an upgrade. I do believe we are a very talented team, but Binford should make some adjustments. I watched the BYU game and agree the talent difference wasn’t great……. It was that BYU played as a team. The passing irritated me because it was so precise and unselfish. The pressure put on Darian to carry the team is unnecessary……… it was clear her freshman season that Darian is a special player, but there was 4 other players on the floor who were just as dangerous! The last two seasons, teams have made adjustments to contain Darian…… our strategy has not changed, I think Darian would be the best player in the big sky if her focus was to get other players involved…… which means she should shoot less….. pass more!!! Let’s also be honest…. Her shooting percentage would improve if she focused on distribution instead of scoring! BYU had 23 assist….. we had 12! In my eyes their unselfish team first strategy was fun to watch……

BigSkyBreakdown wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:00 am

Bobcat4Ever wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:04 am

bobcat2651 wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:51 pm

darian is the heart and soul of this team along with kola, the main problem with this team is it's a three point shooting team that can't make threes. our assists to field goals is bad due to poor shooting and one on one play, in league play i think they will win most home games and split away, hopefully by boise they will put it together i think they have the talent to do so

The three-point line being moved back is, I think, bothering a lot of shooters. Especially at the top and the high wings, since the corners aren’t a lot different — although I’ve seen us step out of bounds a few times in the corners due to diminished three-point real estate.

We recently did a deep dive into the league 3 point shooting. You can check it out at www.bigskybreakdown.com under the league analysis tab. I think you will be surprised by the numbers.

Thank you!