#8 AP

[jncuse]

^ LOL. Comedic gold.

I'm thinking more of the garbage variety type looks. I think we can get more than normal against Gonzaga

 

[OttoinGrotto]

F Gonzaga

They're a nice team. That's it.

 

[moqui]

Since playing OK State on Dec. 31 they have played only 1 good team in their last 17 games...a 1 pt. loss to Butler.

that was a tough game on Butler's home floor, and the Zags were absolutely robbed at the end. Holding a one point lead with the ball and just 3.5 seconds left, all they had to do was inbound the ball and it was over. But the Butler defender just pushed the Gonzaga player out of the way, stole the ball and drove for the winning bucket. I'm not one for blaming losses on the refs, but look at the video and see for yourself

 

[reedny]

Absolutely correct ... I saw the 'push' -- pretty big gaffe by the officials (although it's end-game).

 

[Scotch]

True.

Rak could be playing a bunch of stoned jockeys in the paint and he still wouldn't get the ball passed to him.

Don't you think there might be a reason for that? Rak isn't exactly Hakeem Olajuwon down there. I agree we need more paint touches, but Rak isn't even a good passer out of the post. He is a great athlete, but we don't run plays to get him the ball because he can't do anything with it once it gets there. Boeheim sees this every day in practice.

Rak just needs to be more consistent with what he does well - defend, rebound, run the floor, and get buckets in transition and on put backs.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Don't you think there might be a reason for that? Rak isn't exactly Hakeem Olajuwon down there. I agree we need more paint touches, but Rak isn't even a good passer out of the post. He is a great athlete, but we don't run plays to get him the ball because he can't do anything with it once it gets there. Boeheim sees this every day in practice.

Rak just needs to be more consistent with what he does well - defend, rebound, run the floor, and get buckets in transition and on put backs.

So we can only feed the post when we are feeding it to a future top ten player in NBA history?

I see your point, to a degree, but so many people here only see this as black and white; only the extremes. We aren't looking for the guy to shoot 65% and drop 25 and 10.

TC supposedly lit it up in practice. Not always a correlation between practice and the games, especially depending on match-ups.

 

[Scotch]

So we can only feed the post when we are feeding it to a future top ten player in NBA history?

I see your point, to a degree, but so many people here only see this as black and white; only the extremes. We aren't looking for the guy to shoot 65% and drop 25 and 10.

TC supposedly lit it up in practice. Not always a correlation between practice and the games, especially depending on match-ups.

My point is that Rak isn't an offensive threat in the post. You throw it into the post to players that can do something with it. Rak can't.

That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing CJ and Grant get more paint touches (whether it's off of curls, or a flash to the FT line). Neither has a well-defined post game, but at least they are a threat off the dribble and can hit the mid-range jumper.

One thing I think we can both agree on - this team needs more paint touches and needs to stop jacking up 25 threes a game.

 

[moqui]

My point is that Rak isn't an offensive threat in the post. You throw it into the post to players that can do something with it. Rak can't.

That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing CJ and Grant get more paint touches (whether it's off of curls, or a flash to the FT line). Neither has a well-defined post game, but at least they are a threat off the dribble and can hit the mid-range jumper.

One thing I think we can both agree on - this team needs more paint touches and needs to stop jacking up 25 threes a game.

Southerland at the high post has been effective in the past, but it is a set that seemingly has been abandoned.

 

[chlywtr]

i remember seeing grant post up against seton hall scoring and i thought "well would you look at that, a post move from the freshman....awesome".....this followed shortly-there-after by the most awkward post move i have seen in some time by grant

growing pains indeed, but the kid has been the most pleasant surprise this year

 

[GardenOrange]

Harris would sit on the foul line and pick a part our zone. Not sure why people in the past have said they aren't afraid of Gonzaga. Makes no sense.

Good coach + decent talent + players who can score from the foul line = SU loss.

I would like our chances against them. I do think they are decent though. They are a solid top 20. Don't think top 5.

 

[bevosu]

I think Gonzaga is a very good offensive team. They have the horses on offense. They aren't a one trick pony (equine analogies abound) on the offensive end.

One thing I do like about them, they play smart basketball on offense. Something that seems to be severely lacking in most of the top 25 teams.

 

[RF2044]

My point is that Rak isn't an offensive threat in the post. You throw it into the post to players that can do something with it. Rak can't.

That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing CJ and Grant get more paint touches (whether it's off of curls, or a flash to the FT line). Neither has a well-defined post game, but at least they are a threat off the dribble and can hit the mid-range jumper.

One thing I think we can both agree on - this team needs more paint touches and needs to stop jacking up 25 threes a game.

In another year or two, Grant is going to give us a stellar post up option. Especially when the kid adds a little strength and gets his weight up to 225 or so [he's easily got the frame to pack on some muscle without affecting his athleticism].

Right now, he's a little too light. Watch him during games--he's fearless, and has no issue taking it strong. But he also falls down several times a game. Needs to add a bit more strength.

But I predict that he'll be out best post-up 4 since Hakim eventually.