Does playing poor teams produce poor habits?

In a video on redstormsports.com Justin Burrell talks about the toughness of the Big East in comparison to the Mac. He said there are things you can get away with playing lesser talented teams.

Mac- Don't need to box out just jump and grab boards
BE- If you don't box out and drive your guy out you aren't getting a rebound

Mac-fight right through screens
BE- you might get your head knocked off fighting through screens

I know we didn't have the toughest OOC schedule this season but does playing some of the worst teams in the country give us good practice or just poor habits?

As an athlete myself I can say 100% that playing poor opponents gets you in bad habits.  JB is right here when you play bad teams and players you can get away with not doing the little things and not using good technique.  When playing against good talent technique is usually much more important than things like athleticism.  Im very happy JB is realizing that he needs to step up his game like he did yesterday and needs to get back to what made him a good player last year.

Yea but shouldn't they as atheltes do what they are supposed to do and do it to a higher level against lower competition? This is why we see the better teams in the country destroy OOC competition.

It's one thing when have you have a roster like those at UCONN Pitt or Notre Dame. Outstanding ballplayers will always be outstanding ballplayers. It's quite another kettle of fish if you have less talented people and there are still big question marks in regard to important areas of their game. I believe that we should have a schedule that gets increasingly more difficult as we approach BE competition. Start off with two three or four cupcakes and finish with a couple of Division I teams of consequence. By then you'll have a much better idea of who has what it takes to rise to the occasion and what rotation works best.

I think even with the good rosters, playing poor teams builds bad habits.  Especially for a team of guys who don't have a track record of good wins.  That said, playing good teams doesn't always make you crisp - think of DePaul last year.  Played a tough schedule and still were in the bottom half of the BE.

It's about fundamentals whether you are playing a weak team or a strong team. Lesser teams allow you to build confidence and allow the younger guys a chance to get on the court earlier in the games. If you are not boxing out because you are playing a MAC team then the coaching staff should be on their ass for that! That's what good coaches do.

next game will be huge in seeing if nd was a fluke or if this team will play tough the entire season...idt anyone on here expects to beat pitt but keeping it in single digits all game would be a great sign

I hope the light switch turns on for these kids in a sense that they beat a top tier team while commiting 18 turnovers. They can play better....much better then yesterday but the key is improving individually and as a team and stop turning the ball over so much. I expected STJ to be 1-1 in the BE at this point and they are.

In a video on redstormsports.com Justin Burrell talks about the toughness of the Big East in comparison to the Mac. He said there are things you can get away with playing lesser talented teams.

Mac- Don't need to box out just jump and grab boards
BE- If you don't box out and drive your guy out you aren't getting a rebound

Mac-fight right through screens
BE- you might get your head knocked off fighting through screens

I know we didn't have the toughest OOC schedule this season but does playing some of the worst teams in the country give us good practice or just poor habits?

Look at how Kennedy played against Providence. He would try to take 2 guys on the dribble, and by the time he was ready to score the d had caught up to him, and it was ugly.

Against LIU is worked.

It's about fundamentals whether you are playing a weak team or a strong team. Lesser teams allow you to build confidence and allow the younger guys a chance to get on the court earlier in the games. If you are not boxing out because you are playing a MAC team then the coaching staff should be on their ass for that! That's what good coaches do.

This is what I was going to say, it has to do with the Staff & the correction they make on bad habits .I think we should schedule high mid majors instead of the bottom feeders so we can get pushed & get a quality win out of it. We could pick up a win while gaining confidence.

I hope the light switch turns on for these kids in a sense that they beat a top tier team while commiting 18 turnovers. They can play better....much better then yesterday but the key is improving individually and as a team and stop turning the ball over so much. I expected STJ to be 1-1 in the BE at this point and they are.

Agreed. My forecast was the same at this point. Although the Win and Loss prediction was flip flopped on me.