@Hawk8086
Good point!
Yeah… we have to stay focused on the advantages we have in some of these mismatches more than the disadvantages.
If they want to run two big then we need to go at them for fouls and to tire them out. Keep the pace moving… substitute a lot, including using Dwight for real minutes.
Contrary to what many traditional basketball enthusiasts think… mismatches often appear like the big man has the advantage (and probably does as long as the other player/coach buy into it).
Josh can go all over the floor and can help his team. Swanigan has to stay in the post to do his team some good. So what happens when Josh sits on the trey line waiting to nail treys? Will Swanigan go after him? And how? Josh can run circles around him.
What we have to realize is we can take Swanigan out of this game EASILY (with foul trouble) by bringing guards into his space and using shot fakes to get him to commit. Heck… just have our guards body into him on their shots and that will usually draw fouls because refs have never been fair to the bigger defender concerning foul calls.
I hope we take a proactive plan into this game. If we can draw fouls on Swanigan, Purdue is toast! If we think of the game like this… we just go after him from the opening tip and within a few minutes, we already take a huge advantage in this game. Stick two fouls on Swanigan by the 15-minute mark of the first half? Force Purdue to bench him until the second half? Then Swanigan is out of his game, even if he comes back the second half. And of course, we will go right after him then, too. And what can he do? The only thing he can do to play it smart is to become less aggressive, on both sides of the floor.
MESSAGE TO LANDEN LUCAS: Do the right thing… and sell the call to the refs. No one wants you to pull phony flops. Just be willing to go backwards on certain contact and get the calls! Part of why you haven’t been properly respected by refs this year is because you play every game with ZERO theatrics! Selling calls is part of the game.
Just one call can make the difference of becoming a National Champion or not.
