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Battle...

Popcorn and sodaYou know we will go somewhere between 9-9 and 11-7, be on bubble, miss tourney, and people here will be up In arms comparing us to some of the last 4 in teams

"we NEVER get the benefit of the doubt!"
 
I would hope that our performance would help us and prove we were deserving...plus I think the reality is if we get to 18/19 wins, our last 10 game record is probably better. But who knows -- hopefully we get a top 10/15 win in there somehow. The number of top 50 RPI teams in conference helps us too.
I don't think the committee puts extra value on the last ten games anymore.
 
Yeah, one would think other bubble teams who finish 9-9 in a major conference would have done SOMETHING positive in the OOC. That is one huge strike against us the fact that we pissed away the OOC with some really horrendous debacles. We need to go 11-7 to even begin to start to feel safe, IMO. Too much damage has been done.
I think if we go 10-8 in conference and win our first game in the ACC tourney we would have a decent shot. That would get us to 19 wins with multiple good wins based on the strength of the ACC. Last year we beat UConn and A & M out of conference and Duke in. Those were are three big wins. We play Duke, UNC, UVA and Ville x 2. If we went 1-2 against UNC, UVA and Duke then we would have a good win there and if we split with Ville we would have another good win.
 
Why not? 9-9 is the absolute minimum in my mind...and that figures 1 or 2 Top 10 victories. If they beat a Duke or UVA that'll help. The ACC is the top conference and finishing 9-9 IMHO means they get a look. Sure 10 or 11 wins are better...but 9-9 means they beat some very good teams.
No idea yet how the bubble will shape up but think a total of 19 wins after the ACC tourney is the minimum to give us a decent shot. So 9-9 means 2 wins in the ACCT.
Long way to go. At this point let's just focus on 3-1.
 
So will Battle get any minutes this year at PG - the position he was ostensibly recruited to play? Before anyone does a skills breakdown I know, I know. He hasn't shown pure playmaking ability and he is more a 2 or 3 than a 1. Certainly said the same of Gbinijie. But if Gillen picks up 2 quick fouls is it a foregone conclusion JB holds his nose and puts Frank in for the balance of the half?
 
So will Battle get any minutes this year at PG - the position he was ostensibly recruited to play? Before anyone does a skills breakdown I know, I know. He hasn't shown pure playmaking ability and he is more a 2 or 3 than a 1. Certainly said the same of Gbinijie. But if Gillen picks up 2 quick fouls is it a foregone conclusion JB holds his nose and puts Frank in for the balance of the half?

Out of necessity, I'd expect that he would. We can't play the entire season with only 2 backcourt players.

But him not having gotten any appreciable playing time at the 1 up until this point of the season demonstrates that his skill set wasn't that of a PG, and that him "ostensibly recruited to play" there was a overblown by a few posters who took some of JBs comments a bit too literally.
 
Good observation.

Several weeks back, I stated that the path to this squad's improvement was tightening the defense, especially the fundamentals (closing out, pressuring the ball in the high post, staying in front of ball-handlers, keeping hands up, etc.). As your post points out, the last two games have demonstrated what happens when players work hard to improve these fundamentals.

Battle has played well, but all five players have sharpened their attention to detail and kicked up their energy the last two games. For example, Lydon anchoring the zone allows his teammates to execute their responsibilities more effectively and to be more aggressive. In short, plugging players into their proper roles has helped maximize the team's potential (as it often does), though this team still has plenty of room to improve before the season concludes.

Offense may come and go. Defense should be constant. Fundamentals are forever.
Can't understate how much better Lydon is at the 5 than the wing. And White for all his deficiencies is playing decent now.
 
Can't understate how much better Lydon is at the 5 than the wing. And White for all his deficiencies is playing decent now.

When Thompson goes to the bench we get much better defensively in the middle but also on the wing since Roberson is a much better wing defender than Lydon. Roberson's defense of the basket coming from the weakside has been spectacular of late. White is obviously benefiting from being able to focus on playing one position in the zone. He's gotten much better and has learned what to prioritize. You can't be everywhere at once so when you are on the wing you have to know what your primary responsibility is in about 10 different situations. Then you have to learn to recognize those situations instinctively so that your body reacts. He seems to have finally started reacting rather than thinking, deciding and then acting. Its a very good sign.
 
Can't understate how much better Lydon is at the 5 than the wing.
Unfortunately, center is probably the most foul-prone position in the 2-3. And we really have nobody effective behind Lydon.
 
Unfortunately, center is probably the most foul-prone position in the 2-3. And we really have nobody effective behind Lydon.

I think that is one of the reasons Thompson will continue to start. He can eat up a foul or two early on. Even though he is a better offensive player than Roberson we still seem to get a spark from the way the defense has been energized the last couple of games when Roberson came in.
 
Out of necessity, I'd expect that he would. We can't play the entire season with only 2 backcourt players.

But him not having gotten any appreciable playing time at the 1 up until this point of the season demonstrates that his skill set wasn't that of a PG, and that him "ostensibly recruited to play" there was a overblown by a few posters who took some of JBs comments a bit too literally.

Yes - it was likely more of JB telling him stuff like:
"you'll have the ball in your hands a lot, you can handle and create shots for yourself and teammates",
and then reference Mali, Dion, etc as guys who have thrived for us doing just that.

I don't really see any PG skills from him, to date.

He's made a few nice passes here and there, but nothing that screams 'future PG'.
Of course, Silent G didn't look like a PG for a long time, but ended up being one for us. Sorta.
 

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