Gafford fouling

[PigPusher]

Watched a discussion on television today about Gaffford being a really good player, but his fouling is killing him for being useful throughout a game. For those that have basketball smarts here goes the obvious question. How does one teach a player how to play without drawing a bunch of fouls? Is it really only carelessness and not thinking through a particular action sequence during a game? Or, is it something that has to be so automatic that there is not time to think?

[King]

Do you mean Gafford

[PigPusher]

Yes.

[BannerMountainMan]

Barford has only been in foul trouble once

[PigPusher]

Barford has only been in foul trouble once

Oh, really these guys suggested he was frequently in foul trouble and it caused the coaching to be conservative with him. If what you say is true good news.

[factchecker]

Barford has a total of 13 fouls called against him through 6 games.

That equals a little over 2 fouls per game.

Nothing.

Gafford must have been the intended focus of the conversation.

[PigPusher]

Sorry went back and checked content of the discussion and it was Gafford.  From this idiot that never played a dribble of organized basketball in his life.

[3kgthog]

Two of Dan's fouls today could be considered the equivalent of breathing on someone.

[alohawg]

Two of Dan's fouls today could be considered the equivalent of breathing on someone.

Not to mention a called jump ball when the guy was over his back, bigly.

[Kevin McPherson]

Covered Dan a lot in HS, and what I see now are some of the same issues he had in HS: He'll get 3 fouls almost every game like this ... 1. When he misses on a reb or basket and is out of position to regain possession of the ball, instead of consistently running to the other end he's got a habit of lingering and making unnecessay contact, almost like a frustration foul ... 2. Slaps/chops down on block-shot attempts, which inevitably leads to a whistle ... 3. When he tries to stand his ground and/or reach his arms straight up to establish verticality, he actually has a tendancy to lean in and that will almost always result in a foul call on any contact around the basket.

Those are the big 3 issues Dan has regarding fouls, IMO, would bet CMA and crew are working with him on correcting all of that.

[The_Bionic_Pig]

He will eventually adapt to the zebras given time.  It is also another reason he will never start.  I agree though that 2 of those fouls yesterday were touch fouls and UCONN player's whining.

[Dominicanhog]

He will eventually adapt to the zebras given time.  It is also another reason he will never start.  I agree though that 2 of those fouls yesterday were touch fouls and UCONN player's whining.

Never? or do you mean this year?

[BRHogfan]

I think he has another problem with footwork.  Walton actually pointed it out, too.  When you're as big and athletic as Daniel is, you can cover a lot of problems.  As he progresses, you will see a big shift in his offensive footwork which will help him score a lot, but he will also need to do it on the defensive end to get good positioning for rebounds and to be able to play tough defense down low without fouling. 

[HogInThaGrove]

He is a little over-aggressive when out covering in space. He has a tendency to go for every rebound, which in itself isn't a bad deal, but he has to be smart about when to do so.  When the defensive player has position on him, he needs to be smart enough to realize that and back off.  Best bet is that it's still a habit from high school when he was taller and far more athletic than most of the kids he played against.  He will adjust with time. 

But, I also believe the refs are looking for him, for whatever reason.  2 of the fouls he got yesterday were borderline phantom calls.  His arms straight up call was bogus, but the one that got me was the phantom reach-in that the ref all the way across the floor called instead of the ref right in front of the action.  And lets be honest, he's getting pounded inside whenever he goes up and is rarely getting the calls.  But he also has to learn to finish through contact.  I can't count how many and-1's he should have had by now only for the ball to roll off or him not to use the board and go for the swish.  He needs to watch tons of film of the "big fundamental" and realize he could be just like Timmy, but even more athletic.  His shot looks better and his foot speed and quick twitch reactions are spectacular.

[jackflash]

he just a freshman give him a break  he going to be  a very special player

[hogsanity]

Covered Dan a lot in HS, and what I see now are some of the same issues he had in HS: He'll get 3 fouls almost every game like this ... 1. When he misses on a reb or basket and is out of position to regain possession of the ball, instead of consistently running to the other end he's got a habit of lingering and making unnecessay contact, almost like a frustration foul ... 2. Slaps/chops down on block-shot attempts, which inevitably leads to a whistle ... 3. When he tries to stand his ground and/or reach his arms straight up to establish verticality, he actually has a tendancy to lean in and that will almost always result in a foul call on any contact around the basket.

Those are the big 3 issues Dan has regarding fouls, IMO, would bet CMA and crew are working with him on correcting all of that.

I was going to mention your 1 & 2. IF he stops doing those things he will be on the court much more.

[cityhog]

Not to mention a called jump ball when the guy was over his back, bigly.

That's the one that blew my mind.

[phadedhawg]

Gafford shouldn't have fouled out yesterday but he has to cut down on earned fouls bc a couple bad calls had him on the bench early. 

I'm not really worried about it.  Mike will get him sorted. 

[hogsanity]

Gafford shouldn't have fouled out yesterday but he has to cut down on earned fouls bc a couple bad calls had him on the bench early. 

I'm not really worried about it.  Mike will get him sorted. 

alot of it is just being young and needing to adjust to the college game. Not really concerning, but something he needs to work on.

[PigPusher]

And, you know I will bet that our illustrious coach knows all of this very well.  Very nice problem for the coaching to have. Rough diamond that needs to be faceted and polished. Great to see someone like this on the team as it makes it so much more fun to watch.

[OS2 (SW) Razor Back]

He is a freshman, he has played in 6 games.

That is all.
Carry on.

[mhuff]

Barford has a total of 13 fouls called against him through 6 games.

That equals a little over 2 fouls per game. 

Nothing.

Gafford must have been the intended focus of the conversation.

He fouled out of one game and was taken out for almost a half in another. When Gafford goes down we are weaker.

If you want to teach defense , players have to be taught to move their feet and not reach in. You want your players to be aggressive but not hack. You want them to tip balls away, but you can't hit wrists. Many times players don't move their feet and get out of position and reach in. One foul he got was because he went through his man to try and get a ball. You have To go  around not over your opponents shoulder.
Different subject but both teams had balls picked off because their low post men did not go out to meet the passes. Basketball 10101

[alohawg]

That's the one that blew my mind.

The refs thought Uconn was UNC for a minute.

[draftkings33]

He is drawing attention to himself by having two arms up at all times.  This is causing him to hip check people.  He really has no clue how to move at times right now.  Only been playing basketball a few years.  The good thing is I think he is two and done instead of one and done.

[Pigsfeat]

I have felt that it has been beneficial that we have been short-handed, due to early season suspensions, and Gafford has gotten plenty of playing time. Hopefully, these added minutes will speed up his maturity for the college game.

[Boss Hog in the Arkansas]

They've changed the game to the point that almost every type of defensive move draws a foul. It's near impossible to play efficiently as a big without fouling out. Moses struggled with it at times too

[hogsanity]

They've changed the game to the point that almost every type of defensive move draws a foul. It's near impossible to play efficiently as a big without fouling out. Moses struggled with it at times too

Not it is not impossible. They allow arm bars, they allow hands on. They allow ALOT of stuff by defensive bigs. But when you go to block a shot and slap down, or join the paratrooper club on a shot fake, you are going to draw a lot of fouls.

And, as someone pointed out, Gafford has a bad habit of getting fouls making frustrated plays. HE did that a couple times last weekend. On one he missed a rebound, then reached in and tried to make a steal 80 ft from the basket. No need for that at all.

Again, young player, learning the game, is going to make some fouls this year that he won't make next year. Heck, he has made some fouls already that he won't make by the time the SEC schedule gets here.

[gmarv]

He is drawing attention to himself by having two arms up at all times.  This is causing him to hip check people.  He really has no clue how to move at times right now.  Only been playing basketball a few years.  The good thing is I think he is two and done instead of one and done.

hope your right on the two years,he gets a full year under his belt and just d#*n he will be fun to watch.

[ErieHog]

A lot like young Moses  he is, in that respect-- Kingsley, not Malone.

[Dominicanhog]

A lot like young Moses  he is, in that respect-- Kingsley, not Malone.

Right, Moses couldn't stay on the floor.. DG just does more when he's out there...

[AlmaHog2011]

He gets a bs call or two against him. He will always be foul prone because he plays the entire game, Defense he's always involved and on offense he goes after every rebound. IMO he's really got some weak calls.
He does need to not get a silly foul or two in every game that is something he can clean up. But man he has gotten tagged with a foul every time he contacts somebody seems like.

[PolishPigPower]

Footwork, untimely aggressiveness, and bad positioning with his arms were the calling cards in high school that are carrying over to The Hill.  He leans over defenders, wants to hang around when missing a rebound that leads to sloppy hacks, and can't get out of or into the way quickly enough due to footwork.  These are all correctable, but anyone who has followed him has seen this for quite awhile.

In high school, when facing opponents of similar talent, he frequently got in foul trouble.  When there was no one who could match up with him, he got away with these issues.  Please don't just discount this as him being a freshman.  These are habitual tendencies that will be hard to break, and while they should definitely improve, I don't believe these bad habits will go away quickly or easily.

[hogsanity]

Footwork, untimely aggressiveness, and bad positioning with his arms were the calling cards in high school that are carrying over to The Hill.  He leans over defenders, wants to hang around when missing a rebound that leads to sloppy hacks, and can't get out of or into the way quickly enough due to footwork.  These are all correctable, but anyone who has followed him has seen this for quite awhile.

In high school, when facing opponents of similar talent, he frequently got in foul trouble.  When there was no one who could match up with him, he got away with these issues.  Please don't just discount this as him being a freshman.  These are habitual tendencies that will be hard to break, and while they should definitely improve, I don't believe these bad habits will go away quickly or easily.

I mentioned him being a FR because the coaches have not had a lot of time to try to correct these things since they have been busy trying to get him and the others to learn their system and get ready to play. I could see those things being a huge focus in the off season if he decides to come back for his soph year.

I talked to a guy last week that reffed many of his HS games and he said the same things you did. Gafford, like many hs players, often got away with his bad habits because he was just that much better than anyone on the floor.

[PolishPigPower]

I mentioned him being a FR because the coaches have not had a lot of time to try to correct these things since they have been busy trying to get him and the others to learn their system and get ready to play. I could see those things being a huge focus in the off season if he decides to come back for his soph year.

I talked to a guy last week that reffed many of his HS games and he said the same things you did. Gafford, like many hs players, often got away with his bad habits because he was just that much better than anyone on the floor.

Your guy is spot on.  And you're right with him being a true FR, and hopefully we'll see a jump between now and next year.  I've seen Coach Watkins in his ear during each game, as Daniel frequently has a seat reserved next to him.  We've obviously developed big men in the past (Moses, Portis), and hopefully Gafford will be next in line.

[Iwastherein1969]

Covered Dan a lot in HS, and what I see now are some of the same issues he had in HS: He'll get 3 fouls almost every game like this ... 1. When he misses on a reb or basket and is out of position to regain possession of the ball, instead of consistently running to the other end he's got a habit of lingering and making unnecessay contact, almost like a frustration foul ... 2. Slaps/chops down on block-shot attempts, which inevitably leads to a whistle ... 3. When he tries to stand his ground and/or reach his arms straight up to establish verticality, he actually has a tendancy to lean in and that will almost always result in a foul call on any contact around the basket.

Those are the big 3 issues Dan has regarding fouls, IMO, would bet CMA and crew are working with him on correcting all of that.

those things are easily broken....and right now, before SEC play rolls around the coaching staff must do it...it's like the final breaking of a 2 year old thoroughbred who's got all the talent in the world but things like not changing leads, looking around in the stretch because of the noise that good horsemen know how to fix before he runs in the big races as a 3 year old...my whole point is this, every time he commits a foul that is 94 feet from the basket, he comes out, (except for attempting to board), or if he slaps down on the ball while blocking a shot, he needs to sit briefly...on the offensive end all you want to do with a talent like Gafford is teach him footwork, maybe show him the drop step, the head fake and tell him to dunk the ball EVERY chance he gets...nothing will clear the lane for the kid like him dunking on opponents....all that to say this, we have a stallion in the middle who is close to being broke and when he learns all the nuances of the game, he will be literally able to score and/or go to the line at will...we are sitting on a gold mine folks

[PigPusher]

Guys, having originally started this post with a question on Gafford's fouling I want to thank you for all the knowledgeable comments. Too, it helps me learn just a little bit more about the game of basketball. I tried my best in the seventh grade to be a part of the basketball team, but not to be. The coach told me after a few days that I needed to stick with football.

[Youngsta71701]

Watched a discussion on television today about Gaffford being a really good player, but his fouling is killing him for being useful throughout a game. For those that have basketball smarts here goes the obvious question. How does one teach a player how to play without drawing a bunch of fouls? Is it really only carelessness and not thinking through a particular action sequence during a game? Or, is it something that has to be so automatic that there is not time to think?

Half of the fouls he has been called for weren't fouls. He'll be ok. Most of the time he either goes straight up or he stands there with his hands straight up. I think it's actually hard on the officials because they aren't used to seeing a big his age play such good fundamental defense without fouling. They are like man, that has to be something.

As his reputation grows most of those will start being no calls. If you jump straight up or stand there with your hands straight up it is not a foul. Whenever you get through. These refs have to know or learn that. I hate it when someone plays absolutely great defense and gets called for a foul. It burns me up. I'm sitting there like, what the hell is he supposed to do.

[Youngsta71701]

They've changed the game to the point that almost every type of defensive move draws a foul. It's near impossible to play efficiently as a big without fouling out. Moses struggled with it at times too

This. It's almost hard to play good defense for anybody. Now a days to play good defense you almost have to flop.

[Like it is]

ALOT of it is the lack of discipline/ coaching he got in high school . He makes some of the silliest decisions on his fouling . He also is terribly out of position because he was never taught about court awareness! He was so much longer than most high school , it was never noticed ! Now playing D1 basketball, it shows !!! Not to mention his head coach was too scared to give him any constructive criticism. Ask anyone who watched ElDorado Basketball last year ... they'll tell you !!!!!

[Like it is]

I heard someone mention Gafford only playing 2 years & going to the league.. Are you out of your mind ? His fundamentals are miles behind .. not to mention his ego being as big as the airplane flying back from Houston.
He was taught NOTHING in High School !