kc1121 said:

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Mentioned on other site:

Earlier in the week, Cal reported that Lee Dort will be out for another couple weeks as he continues his recovery. A reasonable target for his return is the home game against Stanford on February 21st

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sycasey said:

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6956bear said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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…that we will be seeing moving forward.

Back from the game. The Clemson coach did his homework. He watched videos from recent games and decided that against Cal he would extend the defense to the max and dare us to drive to the hoop. With all of our players on the perimeter, including Ilic, very rarely on a drive did our player have an option to dish on his way to the basket. Also minimal chance of a follow up put back because our guys are all standing outside. Now I realize that Clemson is a very good defensive team, but don't be surprised if our upcoming opponents don't try to do exactly what Clemson did today. Just my gut reaction to what I saw

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Cal wants to shoot 3s and have the 2 guards take guys off the dribble. The guards would normally be able to get to the rim and score, get fouled or kick to an open 3 point shooter because of help defense.

Clemson was able to guard Cal individually without fouling. Force tough shots or block them while not helping and giving Cal an outlet. The 3 point shot attempts (and makes) were about half the normal amount. And the FT attempts were down as well.

Clemson did a superb job of taking away what Cal wants to do. But this is how Clemson plays. They are a top 3pt shooting defensive team. This was not just a one game plan. Pippen and Ames did not impact the game the way they usually do.

I will be surprised if every remaining team can play the way Clemson did on defense. This is what Clemson is. Will teams try to take away the 3 point line? I am sure they will. They get into you on defense and Cal could not respond.

The first half was men vs boys.

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There was a play in the first half where Cal swung the ball multiple times to shooters on the outside, including once to a wide open Bell and the Clemson defender came from inside the key out to him in a flash and blocked it. At that point I just thought, "Uh oh." They were able to cover too much ground and we couldn't get any easy looks. Combine that with lack of Dort's inside presence and Clemson shooting very well and it was a long day.

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6956bear said:

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sycasey said:

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6956bear said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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…that we will be seeing moving forward.

Back from the game. The Clemson coach did his homework. He watched videos from recent games and decided that against Cal he would extend the defense to the max and dare us to drive to the hoop. With all of our players on the perimeter, including Ilic, very rarely on a drive did our player have an option to dish on his way to the basket. Also minimal chance of a follow up put back because our guys are all standing outside. Now I realize that Clemson is a very good defensive team, but don't be surprised if our upcoming opponents don't try to do exactly what Clemson did today. Just my gut reaction to what I saw

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Cal wants to shoot 3s and have the 2 guards take guys off the dribble. The guards would normally be able to get to the rim and score, get fouled or kick to an open 3 point shooter because of help defense.

Clemson was able to guard Cal individually without fouling. Force tough shots or block them while not helping and giving Cal an outlet. The 3 point shot attempts (and makes) were about half the normal amount. And the FT attempts were down as well.

Clemson did a superb job of taking away what Cal wants to do. But this is how Clemson plays. They are a top 3pt shooting defensive team. This was not just a one game plan. Pippen and Ames did not impact the game the way they usually do.

I will be surprised if every remaining team can play the way Clemson did on defense. This is what Clemson is. Will teams try to take away the 3 point line? I am sure they will. They get into you on defense and Cal could not respond.

The first half was men vs boys.

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There was a play in the first half where Cal swung the ball multiple times to shooters on the outside, including once to a wide open Bell and the Clemson defender came from inside the key out to him in a flash and blocked it. At that point I just thought, "Uh oh." They were able to cover too much ground and we couldn't get any easy looks. Combine that with lack of Dort's inside presence and Clemson shooting very well and it was a long day.

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Bell is a very good shooter. But his release is slow. He should have been able to get that shot off. Godfrey did make up a lot of ground and I think that along with his length surprised Bell. But Bell is really mostly just a catch and shoot guy. He is not a confident ball handler and rarely even tries to take guys off the dribble. Godfrey felt confident in challenging the shot as he has little to no fear that Bell is going to shot fake and reset to either drive the ball or move away to get a better look.

Cals lack of post offense hurts but Bell and Camden need space to shoot. They do not do a good job screening for open looks, most of what they get comes off penetration and kickouts or transition looks before the defense sets. Clemson did as good a job of retreating on defense and getting set quickly as anyone Cal has played.

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