Rak has really stepped up to the plate

[hoopsupstate]

Rak is the only player on this team that has shown improvement since the start of the season. (Grant's free throws have also gotten a lot better.) We are getting very little penetration from our guards and that's part of the problem with our offense right now. Cooney has to start attacking the basket to set up teammates and not just to score. Tyler hasn't done a whole lot of getting into the lane to find people either. We are playing a lot of east and west. Penetration can be with the pass as well as the dribble. If we start getting the ball to Rak he can also kick it back out for our shooters.

I think we also have the ability to set some back screens for Cooney and Fair. Teams are working hard to keep the ball away from Cooney and I think we can throw the ball over the top to him with back screens. He can catch and finish around the rim. I was surprised last night that we didn't take advantage of Ennis against their 5'7" guard.

The biggest problem with our offense right now is tired legs. We have to find a couple of spots during the game to give CJ a quick blow. Grant also rebounds better when he sits for a couple of minutes. The loss of Coleman has really added minutes to Grant and CJ's minutes. We haven't used Bye and Christmas together since early in the year. It might be another way to give our forwards some rest. Bye should be back on Wednesday.

 

[Rocco]

Rak is the only player on this team that has shown improvement since the start of the season. (Grant's free throws have also gotten a lot better.) We are getting very little penetration from our guards and that's part of the problem with our offense right now. Cooney has to start attacking the basket to set up teammates and not just to score. Tyler hasn't done a whole lot of getting into the lane to find people either. We are playing a lot of east and west. Penetration can be with the pass as well as the dribble. If we start getting the ball to Rak he can also kick it back out for our shooters.

I think we also have the ability to set some back screens for Cooney and Fair. Teams are working hard to keep the ball away from Cooney and I think we can throw the ball over the top to him with back screens. He can catch and finish around the rim. I was surprised last night that we didn't take advantage of Ennis against their 5'7" guard.

The biggest problem with our offense right now is tired legs. We have to find a couple of spots during the game to give CJ a quick blow. Grant also rebounds better when he sits for a couple of minutes. The loss of Coleman has really added minutes to Grant and CJ's minutes. We haven't used Bye and Christmas together since early in the year. It might be another way to give our forwards some rest. Bye should be back on Wednesday.

I don't know, Ennis continues to amaze me... but I see what you're saying.

I also think Mike G's play, albeit limited, has improved as well.

 

[OttoMets]

You guys seem surprised? Kid was a McD ALL AMERICAN. Amazing what he can do when you pass him the ball and don't yank him after 1 minute.

Some of us have known he had this ability for awhile. Worst threads of all time on this board were the ones that said "Rak needed that FIRE." Okay I'm exaggerating, but they drove me nuts

No, the worst threads were those in which the resident experts said "Christmas has no offensive skills" and you and Ghost and a couple others tried to educate the masses about Rakeem's extensive and well-developed skill-set.

That's cool, though. We'll see some revisionist history on here: Christmas has improved by leaps and bounds, Boeheim's management of his minutes has made this possible, blah, blah blah.

 

[rrlbees]

No, the worst threads were those in which the resident experts said "Christmas has no offensive skills" and you and Ghost and a couple others tried to educate the masses about Rakeem's extensive and well-developed skill-set. That's cool, though. We'll see some revisionist history on here: Christmas has improved by leaps and bounds, Boeheim's management of his minutes has made this possible, blah, blah blah.

You don't think Rak has improved by leaps and bounds offensively? You think he came in as a skilled or even good offensive player? He was as raw as raw can be. That has been his greatest improvement.

 

[Rocco]

You don't think Rak has improved by leaps and bounds offensively? You think he came in as a skilled or even good offensive player? He was as raw as raw can be. That has been his greatest improvement.

He has improved by leaps and bounds, but I think he was just trying to make a statement about how drastic people's opinions differ.

 

[OttoMets]

You don't think Rak has improved by leaps and bounds offensively? You think he came in as a skilled or even good offensive player? He was as raw as raw can be. That has been his greatest improvement.

He has improved quite a bit on offense; his footwork and positioning are the two skills that appear most dramatically improved to me.

As far as catching and finishing with both hands and shooting 12-footers (both facing the basket and turning around), I was shocked to see him come in with those skills. I don't follow recruiting, but I understood that he came in with the reputation of a defensive menace, excellent rebounder, and raw (the word you used, too) on offense.

Given that, I was surprised with the offensive flashes he showed from his first game.

 

[timkay99]

All these comments and not one person has mentioned that Rak is the 2nd best passer on this team next to Ennis. He is the guy that always finds Cooney in a spot for him to shoot.