Bowdens game

#26
#26
walkenvol said:
I don’t see what your seeing.

His weakness this season appears to be an inability to hit open jump shots at the same rate he’s done his prior three seasons. Yes, he did miss 3 close shots last night but that’s not been his norm. He’s been jump shooting so poorly that a few games back it’s like he decided to drive more and it appears to be helping somewhat.
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I assure you he has been shooting poorly at the rim when he attacks all season. Not an isolated issue last night. If we had a shot chart with his FG% by zone we could see hard evidence. His jumper has not been consistent as last season. That is also true. But I think some of that is the way he is being defended, the quality of the looks he gets, and some just old-fashioned shooting slump.
 
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#28
#28
heck, I'm just tickled he's finally finding his "shooting" game...need him badly to help us run the table...:D

GO BIG ORANGE!
 
#29
#29
BruinVol said:
Bowden’s shooting woes are a direct result of playing a hell of a lot of minutes and playing so hard on D
it’s natural the shooting has been hurt
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Bowden has had shooting slumps every year. I don't think the minutes / defense are the reason. It's mental.
 
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#30
#30
VEKZY said:
Bowden has had shooting slumps every year. I don't think the minutes / defense are the reason. It's mental.
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Those slumps have come in the grind of every season where he is wearing down a little. It’s very possible the much increased minutes are causing his slump shooting even more so this year
 
#31
#31
VEKZY said:
Bowden has had shooting slumps every year. I don't think the minutes / defense are the reason. It's mental.
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Agree. I might buy fatigue being more of an issue if his slump had been skewed toward the latter half of the season, but he has struggled since early December shooting the ball. He is averaging about 6 more minutes/gm than he did last year, which is significant, but he shouldn’t have been suffering from fatigue in December.

He has slumped each of the past two years and both times, the slump lasted half a season. He may be creeping out of it, right now, and if so, the timing couldn’t have been better.
 
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#32
#32
gainesvol82 said:
The curl action flat out stopped for about a month. Last night was the first time I've seen it in weeks.
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The curl action didn't stop. They try to run it regularly every game. Maybe it's been defended better prior to last night, but Barnes' is pushing that and driving hard, if for no other reason than to get fouled.
 
#33
#33
BruinVol said:
Those slumps have come in the grind of every season where he is wearing down a little. It’s very possible the much increased minutes are causing his slump shooting even more so this year
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Last season, his slump was to start the season. He shot 34% from 3 during the pre-SEC slate, and shot 39% during the conference and postseason portion of the schedule. He was 17-39 (43.5%) from 3 during March, last season.
 
#34
#34
cardvolfan said:
The curl action didn't stop. They try to run it regularly every game. Maybe it's been defended better prior to last night, but Barnes' is pushing that and driving hard, if for no other reason than to get fouled.
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And his foul shots have increased significantly over the past 6 games; 24-31 (77.4%). He has shot 31 of his 84 total FT attempts over the last 6 games.

Over the previous 18 games, he averaged 2.94 FTAs/gm. In the last 6 games, he has averaged 5.16 FTAs/gm.
 
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#35
#35
lostsheep said:
I appreciate the career of Bowden and all that he's done for the program.

However, there's no denying he's in the middle of a monumental slump. As has been stated ad nauseam, he's just not an alpha dog and has a much better game when he's scoring option 3 or 4, instead of option 1.

Love the kid, and glad he's a Vol!
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Truth is his 3-point shooting has been horrendous, which was an area we needed him to perform at least adequately in this year due to our lack of low post issues. The other areas have been less than good as well.....too many turnovers and bad decisions, especially for a senior.

He does drive to the hole with authority, but has missed too many in close. His effort is unquestioned, and he plays with passion. He gives us some spurts on occasion, but has missed the mark in important situations a lot. Sometimes, we have valleys, and I think the valleys make us stronger.
 
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#36
#36
therickbol said:
His offensive game attacking the basket is his weaknesses on offense. And it has adjusted how he gets defended. Opponents have a good scout on him and he has not been very effective counteracting it. The biggest reason is his lack of ability to make plays off the bounce. He struggles to finish at the rim and does not pass well off his attacks. Don't see many players with his size, ballhandling and leaping ability that struggle like he does attacking the basket. Maybe his quickness is not elite which could be part of it. But mostly I think it's just 'feel' and 'confidence' that cause him to struggle attacking the basket. It's a shame because the other aspects of his offensive game are very strong. But with defenders not respecting his ability to drive it is easier for them to take away his strengths. It's the same idea but in reverse when you got a player that is great attacking the basket but can't shoot and so defenders stay 2 ft off of them when they have the ball on perimeter. I have seen him be more intentional about finding and taking shots to attack. And he has finished a little better in the last couple weeks so that has helped.
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I think his mid-range game is decent at this point, but his finishing has been average at best. His long-range game has been abysmal, period. I have noticed that last night, and the few home games prior, that when the shot clock is starting to wind down, that every player plays "hot potato" and tries to get the ball to Bowden. That leaves him in a predicament to pull a shot out of the butt to save the day. He's already having a tough year, but then has to be the savior as the shot clock winds down.
 
#37
#37
cncchris33 said:
And his foul shots have increased significantly over the past 6 games; 24-31 (77.4%). He has shot 31 of his 84 total FT attempts over the last 6 games.

Over the previous 18 games, he averaged 2.94 FTAs/gm. In the last 6 games, he has averaged 5.16 FTAs/gm.
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The numbers do tell the story. Good stuff. Thanks.
 
#38
#38
BruinVol said:
Those slumps have come in the grind of every season where he is wearing down a little. It’s very possible the much increased minutes are causing his slump shooting even more so this year
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Disagree. He is playing more minutes now than earlier in the year, but in prior years he was playing less, but still having the slumps. It just so happens that this year he is having the mother of all slumps.
 
#39
#39
utbffan said:
I feel that he not looking for his shot enough. When he dribbles hea angles lateral to the basket not facing or heading toward the basket. Also all the a defender has to do is be in the area and he won't shoot. He has to be more aggressive than that.
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I agree, when he’s been hitting threes in the past he was good at catching and knocking down contested 3s. This year if anyone is within 5 feet of him he doesn’t shoot it. I truly believe it’s a confidence thing, and if he could knock down a couple in a row he could get hot fast, and we could make a run to close out the season.
 
#40
#40
Bowden is consistently inconsistent and that is who he is. He can be a difference maker when he is on but can also disappear far too often as a senior. Defensively he is always on and he does seem patient offensively and by and large takes good shots so in my opinion a lot of it is his mental makeup. Stats don’t lie. 37.2% FG and 26.5% for 3 pt FG % is not impressive for a senior, a junior, a sophomore or a frosh. Both of which are among the worst shooting percentages in his 4 year career. He simply needs to be a 3rd or 4th scoring option in our lineup, but due to need we require him to be our 1st or 2nd option. That is the issue.

All Vol however and a good teammate so hope he can string together these last 7-8 games where he is performing at his highest level. Do that and miraculously get us to the NCAA and his name will go down in UT lore. Would be quite a legacy for his hometown.
 
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#41
#41
He’s honestly not having that bad of a season. That’s fact. Some fans set their own expectations that are unrealistic and if the team/players don’t match it, they’re suddenly terrible. Same with JJJ. He was “terrible” until he got injured. Now we all of a sudden need him greatly. I’ve even seen “this is the worst team ever”. Some of you are unreal.
 
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#42
#42
Namorto1 said:
Bowden is consistently inconsistent and that is who he is. He can be a difference maker when he is on but can also disappear far too often as a senior. Defensively he is always on and he does seem patient offensively and by and large takes good shots so in my opinion a lot of it is his mental makeup. Stats don’t lie. 37.2% FG and 26.5% for 3 pt FG % is not impressive for a senior, a junior, a sophomore or a frosh. Both of which are among the worst shooting percentages in his 4 year career. He simply needs to be a 3rd or 4th scoring option in our lineup, but due to need we require him to be our 1st or 2nd option. That is the issue.

All Vol however and a good teammate so hope he can string together these last 7-8 games where he is performing at his highest level. Do that and miraculously get us to the NCAA and his name will go down in UT lore. Would be quite a legacy for his hometown.
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Assists, rebounds, points average, and steals are all career bests this year...why’d you choose to leave those out?
 
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#43
#43
ScottyP5 said:
Assists, rebounds, points average, and steals are all career bests this year...why’d you choose to leave those out?
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I left them out because they are marginal improvements if none at all. Bowden is averaging 21% more minutes on the court this year than he did his junior and sophomore years and 48% more minutes than he did his freshman year so of course, he should be rebounding more, assisting more, etc...in total, but his productivity levels are basically insignificant improvement in all of them. Pretty simple.
 
#44
#44
Think where we would be without Bowden. I really like the kid and how he represents our university. The entire season has not been ideal so I don't fault him for things not going as well as hoped for him.

Being a good person/teammate means more to me than an extra 10% on his shooting percentages in a transition year for us. Future seasons will reap the benefits of the example he has set for our freshmen.
 
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