I didn't realize that a power forward was expected to make 3s. As far as scoring off the dribble, he didn't do it a ton this year because that's not what he was asked to do...but when needed, I saw him do it several times. More importantly, he rebounded...got a ton of put backs...and helped keep teams from totally selling out to stop Shawn.
I can only think he was playing outside to lure their 4 man out the paint and open up the lane more for Shawn. But they would have to respect his outside shot to succeed.
...btw...we had 3 point shooters who couldn't make 3 point shots. I sure as hell didn't look to Washington to make any.
And Washington still got 10 rebounds, 7 offensively.
There are several things they do that make them better than us but I'll mention 2. One, they play great pressure defense. They play in the mold of someone like a Duke where they extend out and pressure man to man while playing good help side defense. This makes even good offensive players feel uneasy and press when they shouldn't.
Two, they take care of the ball. They move the ball around and get consistent production from quite a few guys on the court because they play smart. The big guy had around 10 points and they were a product of our defense being broken down with penetration and the guard making great passes so he could finish.
It was clear to me that they were the better team. This was the first time I saw them play all year but I can see how they were so consistent all year. It doesn't hurt to have a guy like Hagins who you can go to when you need a bucket but they are a team with chemistry. Good luck to them moving forward although they have a really tough matchup with Iowa State.
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