Following a 58-54 sleep-inducing home loss to Kent State over the weekend, fan concerns over the lack of offense from this years team have ratcheted from mild concern to near abandon ship status. The Cougars scored just 16 points in the first half of that game and the season numbers paint an even bleaker picture of offensive clumsiness.
The 2013-14 Charleston Cougars rank in the bottom ten teams nationally in both scoring per game (61.5) and assists per game (9.3). Their free throw shooting as a team (63.8%) is also perilously close to falling to the bottom of the barrel. The season statistics only confirm what fans this year have seen on the court (especially at home): the Cougs look clunky and slow on offense, take too much time to get into their sets and can't finish plays with made baskets to justify milking the clock for so long. They also have the habit of giving the other team an average of 14 extra possessions each game via turnovers. Coupled with poor free throw shooting this has inflated deficits against up-tempo teams like Louisville, SDSU and Charlotte.
In the above video Coach Wojcik is asked about the team's struggles on the offensive end and offers his reasoning. The team, and I'll agree with this, does create open shots for themselves when they are not turning the ball over. Part of the problem is that they aren't hitting these shots. The team is probably too dependent on freshmen scoring production and all three first year guards are hitting a wall. The most efficient player on the team, Adjehi Baru, is getting too few shots per game and players like Canyon Barry and Anthony Stitt are probably shooting too much.
It's frustrating for the fan base because the Cougars have gotten back to a top-tier defense since struggling early. They hold opponents to season-low scoring and field goal percentage numbers. They often win the rebounding battle and can take out opponents' best scoring options. But all that is for naught if the Cougars can't crack 60 points to finish off these dismal shooting teams.
The way I see it there are three basic strategies that could help to jump start the offense. They all have their pros and cons but something has to happen before CAA play kicks in or the Cougars are in for a long and disappointing season.
The first option seems to be the one that CDW teased closest to in the Marist and Kent State games: shake up the rotation to give more minutes to offensively talented players like Johnathan Burroughs-Cook, Theo Johnson and Nori Johnson. With the three guard backcourt struggling to hit shots at a decent percentage, Wojcik tried to alleviate some pressure from Barry and Chealey by bringing them off the bench and instead starting spark plug Cook and all-around utility guy AT to try and create some points. I would ask him to go a step further and also give some shooting guard minutes to the Johnsons. Senior Nori Johnson has completely fallen out of the rotation this year but many fans will remember his career high 27 points against Kent State just a few seasons ago. Theo has proven he's capable of creating points for himself and others.
The reasoning behind this strategy is simple, you give fewer minutes to the guys who are either defenders or struggling with their shots and give more minutes to shot creators like Cook and Nori Johnson or a guy like Theo who can score off cuts, steals and open threes. In this case you live with these three players' questionable defense and hope that a lineup anchored by Wishon and AT can give you enough of a defensive presence to offset any scoring swing. The problem is that even the teams best catch and shoot players are streaky. There is not a consistent three-point shooter on the team aside from Willis Hall and the inefficiencies in ball handling and ball movement are enough to warrant not playing the aforementioned shooters.
The second option is perhaps the most radical and deals with implementing an almost totally new offense and tempo that could better fit the athletes on the team: run and (cautiously) gun. Baru, Thomas and Barry are all starting caliber forwards who can sprint the length of the court better than most of their peers. Unfortunately we don't see it enough in the teams slow and deliberate sets. Getting in transition off missed baskets would rid the team of wasted clock time they experience from over-thinking and over-passing the ball. The team has been victim to a number of shot clock violations after too many dribble hand offs and probing the paint. Asking the guys to stop thinking so much and get to the rim after the numerous missed shots they force seems like an easy fix for offensive woes.
But this potential solution comes with a multitude of problems. First of all it's a little late in the game to change strategies even that much and expect a turnaround this year. The team already has a turnover problem running a half court set. The few times they have been able to get out on the break they look lost and the pressure to score in the open court could backfire tremendously. The second issue is that despite the great defense the Cougars are capable of playing, it's not the type of system that ends in steals or blocked shots. Wojcik's defense is more of a sagging, contesting, force tough shots and secure the rebound type of game plan that rarely results in the Cougars running the other way with a man advantage.
The third option is likely the one we see implemented this season: the wait and see approach. We all know Doug Wojcik's military background comes out in what can be perceived as stubbornness. He offered a welcome glimpse of flexibility with the lineup changes last week but he will more than likely role with what he's got the rest of the season.
The thinking behind this is you get better as a team by the individual players getting better as the season goes on. As guys like Canyon and Joe Chealey continue to acclimate themselves to the college game the entire Cougars squad gets a boost. You wait and hope that this is a stretch of bad shooting and you trust that the system can work if guys just hit the shots when open.
It's tough to stay positive and easy to lose faith when we see the same problems occur in each loss: namely poor free throw shooting, sub 40% shooting and turnovers. Teams have gotten by with stellar defense and less than mediocre offense but the Cougars really need to boost the ol' scoring average to start tallying up the win column. Conference play is just a few weeks away and a little Christmas miracle for some well-behaving Cougars would be an appreciated gift for fans and players alike.
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