After thinking about that game, I realized that I had seen this before...or at least something very similar.
This game was very reminiscent of many games we watched during Smart's second, and final, season at OSU. We had 1 guy (Evans) who was clearly the best player on the floor (like Smart) and was basically trying to win the game all by himself. He was surrounded by a bunch of other players, who were not having a consistently good game, but had proven themselves in the past. OSU was not playing as a team. The star was going it solo with 4 other guys standing and watching. The coach, either felt this was best, or didn't know how to put a stop to it.
If you go back and watch the 2nd half, Underwood rested Evans with about 16 minutes to go in the game. During that time, OSU extended its lead with him on the bench. He came back in with about 12 minutes to go, and things went downhill from there.
The loss is not all on Evans, and I am not implying that. I also realize that this is only 1 game and he has been awesome. But, it does worry me a little bit. Evans is going to be in the NBA next season, and Smart knew he was going to be in the NBA after his Sophomore season. HCBU is going to need to do what Ford was unable to do, and get him to not try to go it alone if the team is going to maximize its potential this season. Ford failed to do that with Smart, and the season fell apart. I am not too worried just yet, because I think Evans is not as prone to selfish play or as stubborn. But, warning bells did go off after watching last night's game.
This game was very reminiscent of many games we watched during Smart's second, and final, season at OSU. We had 1 guy (Evans) who was clearly the best player on the floor (like Smart) and was basically trying to win the game all by himself. He was surrounded by a bunch of other players, who were not having a consistently good game, but had proven themselves in the past. OSU was not playing as a team. The star was going it solo with 4 other guys standing and watching. The coach, either felt this was best, or didn't know how to put a stop to it.
If you go back and watch the 2nd half, Underwood rested Evans with about 16 minutes to go in the game. During that time, OSU extended its lead with him on the bench. He came back in with about 12 minutes to go, and things went downhill from there.
The loss is not all on Evans, and I am not implying that. I also realize that this is only 1 game and he has been awesome. But, it does worry me a little bit. Evans is going to be in the NBA next season, and Smart knew he was going to be in the NBA after his Sophomore season. HCBU is going to need to do what Ford was unable to do, and get him to not try to go it alone if the team is going to maximize its potential this season. Ford failed to do that with Smart, and the season fell apart. I am not too worried just yet, because I think Evans is not as prone to selfish play or as stubborn. But, warning bells did go off after watching last night's game.
