A few observations 5 games in

[Marsh01]

I really hope that MCW starts making perimeter shots because if he does...unstoppable.

Our best big man right now is BMK and its not even close.

If it wasnt out already it is now. James is a weapon and you cant let him catch and shoot it. I hope he continues to make shots all year. He has been amazing.

It started last night already here. "James should start". Just stop. 30-1 last year with Dion coming off the bench and he played a ton of minutes. Last night James played 32 minutes...and was in major foul trouble. Please stop with these posts. They are embarrassing.

I am a little worried about Rak. Not overly concerned but he seems lost on the offensive end and just had a poor game last night. I hope his play improves.

I cant wait until BT, Trevor and MCW start finding their grooves behind the arc.

 

[tbonezone]

BT,Trevor and MCW (and Fair) are a combined 9 of 52 from treytown. not so good.

 

[personalbias]

MCW could have had more assists had others converted.
If and when SU finds its outside shot beyond James they will be formidable
Without a consistent outside shot SU is a monster
Chemistry under development, leader's appear when needed however they make too many mistakes to kill the mop posing team early
MCW, James, Triche hierarchy so far
SU does well taking it to the hole and being aggressive

 

[RF2044]

I really hope that MCW starts making perimeter shots because if he does...unstoppable.

Our best big man right now is BMK and its not even close.

If it wasnt out already it is now. James is a weapon and you cant let him catch and shoot it. I hope he continues to make shots all year. He has been amazing.

It started last night already here. "James should start". Just stop. 30-1 last year with Dion coming off the bench and he played a ton of minutes. Last night James played 32 minutes...and was in major foul trouble. Please stop with these posts. They are embarrassing.

I am a little worried about Rak. Not overly concerned but he seems lost on the offensive end and just had a poor game last night. I hope his play improves.

I cant wait until BT, Trevor and MCW start finding their grooves behind the arc.

The frustrating thing is that we should have the raw materials to be a solid shooting team from beyond the arc, with plenty of guys capable [on paper] of complimenting Southerland on the perimeter. Problem is, noone is making shots other than James.

I expect ebbs and flows from game to game, but we need Triche to be better from three [he sure made some important ones last night, in fairness], and MCW / Cooney have to begin proving that as complimentary threats from deep they can hurt you.

 

[Orangezoo]

Lots of good points all around and too many threads to follow
thOne thing I am noticing about this group is that they are a bit of a enigma in that they change each game relative to the opponent. I am not sure if thats a good thing or a bad thing at this point. Despite no proven success inside, teams are trying to overplay the ballhandler and deny the entry pass into the post or double/triple team it. Because of this MCW has been so important in controlling games and simply just being a point guard making the right play vs running a particular type of offense.

Going back to 03 - we really kind of just went with what was working because of the talent we had. It feels a little bit like that this year. We aren't perfect on defense, but do a good job blocking shots. The production from the 5 spot is dependant upon the opponent but can be very effective at times, and finally we send four players at you in waves whether its in the pain, off the bounce, from the perimeter or with the pass. Like 03- I don't think we are going to be blowing out mediocre/good teams. We will often be in control but not dominant. Five games in I don't see this team as anything like last year or the 09-10 team. If anything its fun having the unknown and I expect we are in for a wild ride this year.

 

[omniorange]

Our best big man right now is BMK and its not even close.

Am I the only one who is concerned about this statement? I know it's early still, but if that statement holds true into the Big East season, that is a huge flaw of this team, not a strength. In my opinion, BMK was not good last night at all. And the fact that he played so much because Rak and DC2 were considerably worse doesn't give me "warm fuzzies".

Cheers,
Neil

 

[tee1222]

I really hope that MCW starts making perimeter shots because if he does...unstoppable.

Our best big man right now is BMK and its not even close.

If it wasnt out already it is now. James is a weapon and you cant let him catch and shoot it. I hope he continues to make shots all year. He has been amazing.

It started last night already here. "James should start". Just stop. 30-1 last year with Dion coming off the bench and he played a ton of minutes. Last night James played 32 minutes...and was in major foul trouble. Please stop with these posts. They are embarrassing.

I am a little worried about Rak. Not overly concerned but he seems lost on the offensive end and just had a poor game last night. I hope his play improves.

I cant wait until BT, Trevor and MCW start finding their grooves behind the arc.

Excellent points all around. BMK is our best big man right now, and I thought he altered a bunch of shots in a three or four minute stretch, second half. Amazing how he got right up to the guy when they had the ball so deep in the post and really made it difficult for them to get a good look. Did anyone see this, when he looked like a one man trap? He might not have done this the whole game, but in the second half, when things got tight, Triche came around and it was this time frame when BMK played well.

 

[br801]

The frustrating thing is that we should have the raw materials to be a solid shooting team from beyond the arc, with plenty of guys capable [on paper] of complimenting Southerland on the perimeter. Problem is, noone is making shots other than James.

I expect ebbs and flows from game to game, but we need Triche to be better from three [he sure made some important ones last night, in fairness], and MCW / Cooney have to begin proving that as complimentary threats from deep they can hurt you.

Triche took over 40% of his shots from beyond the arc his first three years here and hit about 35%; he's streaky, but will be fine eventually from there. I do hope he continues to focus on his mid-range and inside game and doesn't evolve into a volume 3-point shooter.

I think MCW will be streaky from out there as well (think Scoop), but I'm not concerned since he can score in other ways and does so many other things well.

Cooney needs to see a few 3s fall through and maintain his focus on defense. Right now he seems to be hurrying his shot, but there is no question the kid can shoot. He will need to contribute at times, but in slower tempo close games I believe MCW and Triche will be on the floor almost exclusively in the second half.

 

[Jake]

I'm not concerned about the bigs. That game was one step ahead of an AAU game stylistically. Hard for bigs to look good, get touches and keep up. It's not surprising that our most mobile big man looked best. Our bigs will develop in December.

I'm most concerned about keeping MCW out of foul trouble. He might need to forego some rebounds and blocked shots to stay on the floor. When he's on the bench, it weakens the ball handling at both guard positions. It's not good.

Mcw and Brandon are the only players who can beat their man off the bounce and when Brandon does it, it's 90% of the time for his own shot.

 

[heresjohnny88]

Not concerned with Coleman at ALL. In fact, there were times last night I thought he looked pretty solid for a freshman. Always active on the boards. Christmas probably concerns me the most out of our big guys, but as Jake said, last night as not the type of game for our bigs. It was like a McDonalds All-American game at times. Not a lot of opportunities to run a half-court offense where we can feed our bigs down low.

 

[Madbiker]

I'm beginning to think that playing Christmas at two positions is hurting him. If he only played center, his best position, he may develop faster. He still looks lost at PF much of the time and in JB's system forwards have to score and he just doesn't have face up skills at this point. He is going to get yanked early all year to get Southerland's offense in the game. He seems much more comfortable at center but only gets a handful of minutes there a game. BMK is still a stringbean and while he looks good against smaller teams, he will get pushed around by most Big East big men.

 

[CusefanATL]

MCW could have had more assists had others converted.
If and when SU finds its outside shot beyond James they will be formidable
Without a consistent outside shot SU is a monster
Chemistry under development, leader's appear when needed however they make too many mistakes to kill the mop posing team early
MCW, James, Triche hierarchy so far
SU does well taking it to the hole and being aggressive

he gets that triple double if rak doesnt splurge himself on the dunk... that led to an easy arkansas dunk at the beginning of the game.

 

[pearl31]

In my opinion, BMK was not good last night at all.

huh?

 

[omniorange]

huh?

This isn't a hard concept to grasp. None of the bigs played well last night. So, the fact BMK played the best of the three doesn't mean anything to me.

As Jake points out above, it was a game that was going to be hard for our bigs to look good anyway. We'll see how the rest of the season goes.

Cheers,
Neil

 

[pearl31]

This isn't a hard concept to grasp. None of the bigs played well last night. So, the fact BMK played the best of the three doesn't mean anything to me.

As Jake points out above, it was a game that was going to be hard for our bigs to look good anyway. We'll see how the rest of the season goes.

Cheers,
Neil

hmm, guess I'm not sure what you're expecting from Baye then

 

[orangefan13]

I still think Rak is our best big man all around. I think Baye is our best man up defender, but Rak is a better rebounder, scorer(to Dajuan makes it obvious), and alittle more physical. The one play where a ark. player rolled off of him in the second half put Rak on the bench until Keita got in foul trouble. But he didn't push Rak around he was a undersized player that rolled off him. Rak weighs 25 pounds more then Keita and that is going to show. Maybe not last night but it will. He got called for a phantom body foul in the first half he made a nice block on, the way they were calling the game it was hard to block shots yesterday. Maybe that led to Rak not trying to block that ark guy on the spin move he put on him in the second half.

Also offensively I feel Rak has more chance to break out offensively then DC in the next few months. DC2 could jump pass him by March though.

I think Rak will prove to be a key foundation to this team as it goes along. What Rak gives up in readyness he adds in athleticism. Kinda like MCW needing to be a SG not just a PG. He has the tools and the athleticism is going to come out.

I can't remember how many times late in the first half I was screaming MCW take the ball to the rim we are in the double bonus. And for a 7 minute stretch he brought the ball up broke the press, and didn't reset the offense and drive getting to the line. MCW and James are further along then Dion Joseph as a scoring duo. Thats the best thing this team has to offer offensively.

 

[omniorange]

hmm, guess I'm not sure what you're expecting from Baye then

My expectation of Baye is that he be a solid back-up for about 12-15 minutes in a game. If he becomes the pre-dominant big man in our line-up getting the bulk of the minutes (or in your words "our best big man now and it's not even close"), then that's more a reflection on Rak and DC2, imho. Maybe I took the tone of your comment the wrong way, but it seemed to me you were saying that like it was something to boast about and that Baye is playing out of his mind.

Baye's a back-up, pure and simple. And he simply played like a back-up last night, albeit one that got starter type minutes. In other words, using SWC's upside/downside take, I wouldn't even mention Baye's game last night in the upside myself, but I would mention Rak and DC2's performance as part of the downside. It appeared to me the way you phrased your post, that after Southerland and MCW, Baye was some big game changer last night. I didn't see it that way and I commented on it.

But I'm probably overreacting. It's just that this season, like the season Duke beat Butler, we have a team capable of winning it all and I just hope it doesn't come down to us winning it with BMK the main big man, but rather in the role that suits him best, which is back-up.

Peace, and as always, Cheers,
Neil

 

[reedny]

I think in time, our bigs will be experienced enough to handle a team as small and quick as Arkansas. But they sure didn't defend well tonight, especially in transition. And 9 points inside for the whole game, from 3 players?? Wow. I know Keita is not out there for offense, and he understands the zone better than the other 2. But this game wouldn't have been close if we had a little better interior defense and a little more inside offense. Rak looked lost at both ends of the floor. DC2 had some defensive lapses (and got benched). Later, he managed to come in an play better, especially rebounding the ball. But no way Powell gets 19 points inside against last year's team.

Have to credit JS's shooting, and Bt and MCW ... who were able to penetrate against a variety of defenses and provide the inside scoring our bigs weren't able to give us. MCW is an amazing playmaker. When he got into foul trouble down the stretch, we took a big step down with TC. I know it's only his 5th game and he does hustle on defense. But right now, he's an offensive trainwreck. MCW has to be careful with his fouls.

Bottom line, even though there were a lot of possessions in this fast-paced game, I thought our transition and half-court defense left a lot to be desired -- especially the bigs. They're leaving their feet, fouling instead of establishing position, getting beat down the floor in transition (mostly Rak and DC2 here), rotating too slowly on help... tons of work ahead here.

 

[orangejunkie]

Baye is not going to score points. On a good offensive night he will get 6-8 points. He is a defensive role player. He is extremely active in the paint and is very disruptive with his footwork and long arms. Defensively he plays the position at a high level. His contributions don't always show up on the stat sheet. He is a poor mans Dieng from Louisville. He had a 2-3 really nice rebounds in traffic last night. I thought he had a nice game. The fact that Boeheim left him in there for long stretches says a lot. Christmas has more potential but is not aggressive enough. Coleman offers more on the offensive end but no where near as good on the defensive end.

 

[tee1222]

Baye is not going to score points. On a good offensive night he will get 6-8 points. He is a defensive role player. He is extremely active in the paint and is very disruptive with his footwork and long arms. Defensively he plays the position at a high level. His contributions don't always show up on the stat sheet. He is a poor mans Dieng from Louisville. He had a 2-3 really nice rebounds in traffic last night. I thought he had a nice game. The fact that Boeheim left him in there for long stretches says a lot. Christmas has more potential but is not aggressive enough. Coleman offers more on the offensive end but no where near as good on the defensive end.

I also think BMK has been the best post defender these first 5 games. I also think we've seen flashes of decent offensive play from Rak and DC2 although not often enough. But you know, Rak is going to build confidence in his defense. The guy has already sent back a few dunks and will be valuable and provide physical intimidation as he plays more. I just hope this comes around by conference play.

 

[tbonezone]

i am more than pleased with the mooseman's productivity thus far. leads the team in fg% and hustle.