Shulman Gets It? Or Have I Been Wrong All Along?

"Do I want Keegan and Omar to shoot the ball? That's no doubt...can they shoot it? No doubt. But they are going to get much better shots later in the shot clock than the ones we were taking. You shoot it quick, you have to defend longer. We got worn out defending. Time of possession is not a stat in basketball, it should be. Throwing the ball inside in basketball is the equivalent to running the football. We never ran the ball last year. We have to establish our running game which is throwing the ball inside."

This is a quote from Shulman.

If you asked me a question like that, then I would pretty much have said the same thing. This is something that I have said many times. I said a lot of times that the Mocs needed to shoot more two pointers than three pointers, and they did not shoot enough twos. They needed to pound the ball inside to Jefferson and Saffore, and even Early, to get more easy looks and more free throws.

Yet, the Mocs didn't do it nearly often enough for my preference.

But what were the problems? Well, everyone knows them by now. Jefferson struggled to catch the ball down low- and Saffore really struggled catching the ball (not to mention getting his arms over his head).

Now, with Mason, Zlovaric, Early, and the freshman give the Mocs plenty of inside options. Bell has always been an excellent passer. If he can get the ball inside to those guys, then this team could be completely different. It sounds like the Mocs are going to play that way this year.

So is this what Shulman has always wanted? Is this what his plan has always been, but he just hasn't had the inside presence to accomplish it? Now that he has the players, we may see a completely different style out of Shulman this year.

The key will be their offensive contributions. Doaks and Hartwell were a decent inside presence, but Hartwell was not much of an inside presence. If Mason, Zlovaric, and Early can play inside offensively, and if Taylor, Bell, and Wattad can continue to light it up from outside, then the Mocs could be special offensively.

The Mocs players (especially Wattad and Bell) have lost a lot of weight and everyone has been dedicated to getting into excellent shape. This team could be really special.

I am very excited about finding out how this team will perform. Indiana and Butler will lead off the season, which is going to be tough. Let's hope the Mocs can keep them entertaining...

GO MOCS!