3ontheway wrote:Early returns..... not necessarily written in stone. Ashworth is getting used to a new system and the speed of things. It could look different in January."
Ashworth has been a step slow on defense. He's been hesitant to pull the trigger on offense, hasn't made the correct reads, and doesn't look confident with the ball in his hands. But I'm not ready to completely write him off yet. It looks like he is overthinking instead of just reacting/playing. Mac's system is sophisticated and it will take time and reps for him to intuitively know where he is supposed to be, especially at PG. Transfers like Marcus Foster and Mo Watson hit the ground running, but they also had a full year off to learn the system. Baylor, Bello, and AOC all took more time to look comfortable on both ends of the floor, with Ryan Hawkins being the lone exception. Some people are already calling for Ashworth's minutes to be cut, but I think the opposite is needed for this team to hit its ceiling - he needs as many game reps as possible to learn the system before we get to games that really matter.
As always, excellent analysis from Jacob, and I agree with this sentiment:
JacobPadilla wrote:I come away thinking that game really was much more of everybody just having a bad day at the same time than some sign that this team is doomed to mediocrity.
Lets not forget Creighton was run out of MSG by Xavier at the end of last season and went on to play excellent basketball in the NCAA tournament games. That was also the second game on back-to-back days where our legs looked tired and we shot abysmally. Luckily, in the NCAA tournament, we will never have to play on back-to-back days.
I'm not trying to ignore this teams flaws because they do exist, but I still believe in this team and coaching staff. Outside of the game Thursday, hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Thankful for our Jays.