Cooney...a thought.

[moqui]

Reggie Miller, Larry Bird, Gmac, Kevin Durant , JJ Redick

hmmm . . . one of these things is not like the others . . .

but you might be on to something. While I think his numbers will recover (regression to the mean works both ways), Cooney has certainly not been as good a deep shooter as we thought he'd be coming in, but he has been much better taking it to the tin and finishing than we thought, too. He's starting to remind me a bit of Brandon Triche - not as an overall player, but in the shooting department - good finishers at the rim, good free throw shooters, mediocre deep threats. And Triche's weightroom rep was frequently brought up against his three point shooting, too.

 

[jekelish]

Been pointing to this as a big reason for his struggles for awhile now.

When you get too bulky it hinders your fluidity and flexibility. Go look at some weight lifters - the bigger the arms, the less mobility they have in them.

 

[moqui]

on the other hand, the weight room work is essential to his getting better. the book on Cooney was made clear last season: he'll kill you if you let him shoot unmolested, but he can be easily bothered by a physical defender.

it's a Devil's Bargain: if he doesn't get stronger, he'll continue to be abused by defenders and his shooting percentage will suffer; but if he gets strong enough that physical defenders don't bother him, his shooting mechanics are off

 

[djcon57]

on the other hand, the weight room work is essential to his getting better. the book on Cooney was made clear last season: he'll kill you if you let him shoot unmolested, but he can be easily bothered by a physical defender.

it's a Devil's Bargain: if he doesn't get stronger, he'll continue to be abused by defenders and his shooting percentage will suffer; but if he gets strong enough that physical defenders don't bother him, his shooting mechanics are off

Yep. Cooney would be perfect with a team with a 2nd lights out shooter, a dominate low post player, or dynamic driver.

We have none of the above...so he is what he is. I don't expect to see any improvement in his game this year with the team we have. I wish he'd play less mins so he could have his legs at the end of games, but JB seems to disagree.

 

[moqui]

I wish he'd play less mins so he could have his legs at the end of games, but JB seems to disagree.

I don't understand why people keep harping on this. It's not like he's shooting 45% over the first 25 minutes and then misses everything else. He's missing early and late and its very early in the season. There is no support for the tired legs theory.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

There is no support for the tired legs theory.

The dreaded potato leg.

 

[Eagles20]

I don't understand why people keep harping on this. It's not like he's shooting 45% over the first 25 minutes and then misses everything else. He's missing early and late and its very early in the season. There is no support for the tired legs theory.

I also haven't him noticed him running around as much as last season. With the offensive strategy to feed the post, he isn't coming off as many screens throughout each offensive possession. He is mostly setting up on the weak side when the ball is entered into the post. I just feel like he doesn't have any rhythm what so ever and his shots are coming sporadically. In the games he was hot last year, he was getting looks often and in rhythm and made shots at a high percentage. I'm also not buying into the muscle mass has changed his shot. He isn't that big where it should affect him and change his flexibility and i'm hopeful the training staff wouldn't allow him to get to a point where it would change his shot negatively. Its not like he got David Boston big where it killed his football career and caused injuries.

 

[jordoo]

"Trevor! Yo! Trevor. Turn off your brain and just let it flow, pretend its a practice shot. You are already missing so its worth a try."

 

[jekelish]

"Trevor! Yo! Trevor. Turn off your brain and just let it flow, pretend its a practice shot. You are already missing so its worth a try."

Yeah, I was never a particularly great shooter or anything (except for free throws) but when things are going wrong, and it feels like your mechanics are off or you're tight, you can get into your own head easily and it's hard to get back out, so you start thinking about the process ("Elbow in...extend...follow through..." while you're shooting) and shooting means turning your brain off and letting muscle memory do its thing, not thinking about it while you're letting fly. I remember my senior year, while I've been an 80-85% free throw shooter my whole life, for a stretch of about two weeks of practice I couldn't make a free throw to save my life because I was thinking about it, and couldn't stop thinking about it, and screwed myself up by overthinking it.

Again, I was hundreds of miles away from Cooney in terms of shooting skills, but it can happen to anyone. It's like getting a case of the shanks (see the movie: Cup, Tin). Once you start thinking about what you're doing wrong, that's ALL you're thinking about.

 

[AZOrange]

The dreaded potato leg.

yep. It befell baye last season

 

[AZOrange]

I wish Trevor would use his guide hand a little bit more. Watch him in warm-ups and then watch him in live game situations. It's a nice, fluid stroke in warm-ups where everything is in-sync. In game situations, he takes his guide hand off the ball way too early. Would explain why he is missing shots left and right of the basket, even when he is lined up and perfectly balanced.

yep I've been beating the left hand drum for awhile. It's a mess at all stages IMO. I've seen pics where at the outset it's completely in front of the ball. Then it comes off early

 

[jekelish]

yep I've been beating the left hand drum for awhile. It's a mess at all stages IMO. I've seen pics where at the outset it's completely in front of the ball. Then it comes off early

I'm at least as concerned about his feet. They're rarely square, and generally twisted up underneath him. He never really gets set properly when he's coming around screens, for example.

 

[jgeorge322]

i think andy rautins put on significant muscle and improved his shooting.

 

[jordoo]

i think andy rautins put on significant muscle and improved his shooting.

He did but he never looked bulky. Cooney looks a little bulky in the shoulders to me.

IMO he just needs to make shots instead of missing them. I tell him to make them when I watch but he insists on missing most of the time.

 

[jgeorge322]

i think cooney runs around like a tazmanian devil and is too dizzy to shoot straight.

 

[jgeorge322]

He did but he never looked bulky. Cooney looks a little bulky in the shoulders to me.

IMO he just needs to make shots instead of missing them. I tell him to make them when I watch but he insists on missing most of the time.

cooney was bulky when he got here. rautins went to rail thin to having some definition.

 

[jekelish]

i think cooney runs around like a tazmanian devil and is too dizzy to shoot straight.

He should probably stop snorting coke off all those stripper arses in the locker room before games, too. That can't be beneficial, other than helping provide ultimate Cooney face.

 

[cuseguy]

I raised the question of Cooney's excess lifting and the possible connection to his poor shooting with Mike Waters in a recent chat. Mike acted as if he had never heard of this theory and seemed to dismiss the idea. He said players are on a disciplined workout regimen and are monitored by the strength and conditioning people.

My thought: I think there's a connection.

 

[moqui]

Romy says he should take all his change and put it in his left pocket

 

[dollarbill44]

Brandon Triche had to see Robert Drummond to help tone down after his freshman year. Bulking too much from the weight room seriously impacts the mechanics of a basketball players shot and fluidity. I think Jake may possibly be on to something.

I'm sorry, but Cooney is FAR from jacked (then again that is a subjective term). The muscles that would impact a shot (pecs and biceps) are nowhere near big enough on Cooney to influence his mechanics. Gaining moderate muscle size does not hinder flexibility or muscle fluidity. The reasons his shooting is suffering are that his footwork is terrible when setting up a shot and he doesn't appear to know how to shake a defender. He rarely goes straight up for his shots or even step into them. He is almost always moving laterally or backward when shooting.

 

[dundundun]

For what it's worth, Cooney really isn't THAT big. I think it's a mental issue.

 

[Millhouse]

I'm sorry, but Cooney is FAR from jacked (then again that is a subjective term). The muscles that would impact a shot (pecs and biceps) are nowhere near big enough on Cooney to influence his mechanics. Gaining moderate muscle size does not hinder flexibility or muscle fluidity. The reasons his shooting is suffering are that his footwork is terrible when setting up a shot and he doesn't appear to know how to shake a defender. He rarely goes straight up for his shots or even step into them. He is almost always moving laterally or backward when shooting.

maybe he's overtraining or something. it's not that he's too big but maybe he's working too hard in the weight room to practice effectively.

i also think he's just not very good. i'll believe any combo of explanations

 

[orange2win]

My theory is a lot simpler. He has four advisors, each who played the same position at SU, whispering in his ear, telling him what to tweak and all will be well. Unfortunately he has been listening to them and his head has now exploded. Trevor - go back to what you were doing last Feb and all will be fine.

Last year he was the leading scorer on the team 7 times. This year - 0 times so far. Clearly there's a problem.