Braden Bayer -- break emergency glass

[721Comstock]

Let's hope he's our very own Random White Guy(tm) off the bench who stuns the opponent crowd and has them all saying "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Where did this guy come from??!!"

It could happen.

 

[RF2044]

So, Bayer is intriguing because he's not a typical walk on. Here is the best case scenario, under these admittedly last resort circumstances:

• Bayer is 6-4 190 pounds -- not scrawny, ideal size to play up top in zone
• Zone might help to mask lack of athleticism / lateral mobility
• Kid can shoot -- he's got a good stroke from 3
• Although admittedly at a lower level of play, he had numerous 10+ assist games as a freshman -- so he should be able to at least provide some minimal passing
• He has a season of play at the collegiate level under his belt, including a handful of starts
• He sat out last season as a transfer, so he's been in our system for a year-and-a-half -- and should at least understand his defensive assignments
• He's the only walk on who has meaningful playing experience against a higher level than HS, so we need to find a way to scrape 4-6 minutes of time to spell the starting backcourt

The ultimate silver lining:

• Yes, desperate times call for desperate measures, but this kid has good size for the zone, and could infuse an anemic offense with a much-needed dose of three point shooting

Now, for the cons:

• Kid played a full season at the collegiate level, but it was against D3 competition
• He posted some chin scratching numbers at Grennell, but toss those out the window because of their Loyola Marymount-esque system, which renders comparison irrelevant
• He's only logged three minutes of game time this year
• He's a walk on -- if he were capable of being a contributor, he would have seen the floor already

Hopefully the answer is somewhere in the middle, skewed toward the "pros." I think we're going to need him to at least provide a modicum of production. Would be great to see him hit an early shot, and then settle down. Given that the other backcourt walkons are 5-10 and 5-8, this kid is the only choice. He needs to contribute, even in a limited capacity, just to help spell the starters.

Head's up, kid -- time to get pushed out of the nest.

 

[tbonezone]

kid's gonna be a poster child

the splinter olympics

 

[moqui]

• Kid can shoot -- he's got a good stroke from 3

don't know about his stroke, but the numbers say he's not a good shooter. he was 27/88 (.307) in 25 games. against d3 defenses. ft shooting is also a good indication of shooting ability and he shot just .567 from the line in nearly 100 attempts.

if he sees the court (and barring foul trouble or another injury, he won't ), i just want him to be competent on defense and solid with the ball. anything other than that is gravy.

 

[realorange]

Last week's surprise was Bourama. This week it could be Bayer!

 

[RF2044]

don't know about his stroke, but the numbers say he's not a good shooter. he was 27/88 (.307) in 25 games. against d3 defenses. ft shooting is also a good indication of shooting ability and he shot just .567 from the line in nearly 100 attempts.

if he sees the court (and barring foul trouble or another injury, he won't ), i just want him to be competent on defense and solid with the ball. anything other than that is gravy.

Basing that more on his performance in the inter-squad scrimmage and practice observations, than on data from two years ago. But that is good information to add to the equation.

 

[GoCuse14]

So...I’m a NY transplant here in Iowa. I wrestled and played football at William Penn...who before they became an NAIA school, we were in the same conference as Grinnell. Their entire strategy was to only defend the 3, and shoot as may 3’s as possible.

So...at least he has taken a good amount of those shots. Lol. I do not know how proficient he was at that though.

 

[SWC75]

He was obviously their point guard so he could potentially play either guard position.
Grinnell College - Season Statistics

 

[two3zone]

Role reversal for once. We are the ones with injuries but overcome it for the W. Teams with injuries usually burn us. And Bayer is the random unknown white kid, walk-on who rains 3s for double digits. It's happened to us enough times through the years, why can't Bayer do it for us this time? I want an alternate universe for once!

How many times has a walk on scored double digits against us? 0? 1?

 

[moqui]

How many times has a walk on scored double digits against us? 0? 1?

it's kind of a technicality, but i believe andre drummond did it all 3 times he faced su in 2011-12 season

 

[longislandcuse]

Just gonna be super positive about this until proven otherwise.

Bayer is Jimmer Fredette, only this time he plays for us due to extenuating circumstances and isn't a Mormon that we sent to BYU.

 

[Orangezoo]

Defend the 3, move the ball, hit a shot or two and he will have done his job. At this point that has to be the hope and best expectation. Anything more would be gold, less .. well then pray no injuries or foul trouble beyond what we have.

 

[TexanMark]

Book it!!! 12 minutes played...4 made threes!! :rolling: Haha!! I need to stop drinking!!

Wake up from your dream...that only happens against us.

 

[two3zone]

it's kind of a technicality, but i believe andre drummond did it all 3 times he faced su in 2011-12 season

Yeah. We won't count him

 

[Dinkyspond]

Yeah. We won't count him

I probably overexaggerated but Louisville always seemed to have an unknown scorch us. I remember the last game ever at Freedom Hall when that kid knocked down 3 after 3, he was a walkon and then one year they had that Cornell transfer who played little otherwise and did something similar. These are just off the top of my head, I could be wrong.

 

[CusefanATL]

I didn’t know who he was when I saw him on the floor in Tallahassee, now he’s part of the rotation. He played for Grinnell, a team that plays super fast and scores 100+ every game, so he has to be able to shoot pretty well.

He just needs to give us 5-10 minutes of good defense, no turnovers, and an occasional made basket. Maybe he can turn into a perimeter shooting threat, who knows.

In the rotation? YOu ever watch BOeheim coach?

He wont see a minute until someone hits 3 fouls in first half.

 

[Funk Doc]

In the rotation? YOu ever watch BOeheim coach?

He wont see a minute until someone hits 3 fouls in first half.

Seriously...HW barely cracked the rotation and he was playing okay. At this point, I don't even know if three first half fouls would get Bayer in. I think JB would go with the fingers crossed method before playing him!

 

[OttoMets]

In the rotation? YOu ever watch BOeheim coach?

He wont see a minute until someone hits 3 fouls in first half.

I think that's right. Obviously the kid is way closer to court time than he was before this week, but his route to minutes involves a) Battle or Howard with 3 fouls in the first half, b) Battle or Howard fouling out (or maybe Battle or Howard picking up a 4th foul at some preposterously early time, like before the under-12 timeout), or c) Battle or Howard getting dinged up.

And even if it happens, I can't see the guy getting the green light to shoot in a million years. It'll be like Cooney at the end of the Final Four game...Bayer's out there to defend and make no mistakes.

 

[bigmike]

I anticipate we'll be in the box and none by the final buzzer.

JB's gonna channel his inner Norman Dale and shout out "my team is on the floor".

 

[Ryand877]

In the rotation? YOu ever watch BOeheim coach?

He wont see a minute until someone hits 3 fouls in first half.

Agree. He's not gonna play unless its a necessity IMO, such as 3 1st half fouls or injury as stated above. There will be no such thing as "rest" for Battle and Howard going forward, not that they had much up to this point anyway lol.

 

[rrlbees]

I think that's right. Obviously the kid is way closer to court time than he was before this week, but his route to minutes involves a) Battle or Howard with 3 fouls in the first half, b) Battle or Howard fouling out (or maybe Battle or Howard picking up a 4th foul at some preposterously early time, like before the under-12 timeout), or c) Battle or Howard getting dinged up.

And even if it happens, I can't see the guy getting the green light to shoot in a million years. It'll be like Cooney at the end of the Final Four game...Bayer's out there to defend and make no mistakes.

Until Moyer is back healthy you have to include brissett and Dolezaj with Howard and battle when talking serious foul trouble or getting dinged up during the game. Their backup right now is battle going to the 3, thus bayer entering the game.

 

[Ryand877]

Until Moyer is back healthy you have to include brissett and Dolezaj with Howard and battle when talking serious foul trouble or getting dinged up during the game. Their backup right now is battle going to the 3, thus bayer entering the game.

On that point, here is another situation I was thinking about:
Say Frank does get 3 1st half fouls and has to sit for a few (I really hope not). Does Bayer come and play point, or does he come in at the 2 and Battle tries to play PG? (I know we have Autry as well .)

 

[OttoMets]

Until Moyer is back healthy you have to include brissett and Dolezaj with Howard and battle when talking serious foul trouble or getting dinged up during the game. Their backup right now is battle going to the 3, thus bayer entering the game.

Situationally, I wonder what Boeheim's more comfortable with: Battle at the 3 and Bayer at the 2, or Sidibe playing a wing and Battle remaining at guard? I would think that Sidibe isn't healthy enough to run around at forward, but stranger things have happened.

 

[IthacaBarrel]

If the kid isn't a complete stiff and doesn't panic when he gets in there, he should be able to at least provide 6-8 minutes. 3-4 minute break for Battle and whoever else. It's not that hard, play defense, scrap, run the floor, if there is a open 3 take it. I have seen 14 year old kids make 6 of 7 from 20-21 feet in JV basketball games.. Not saying he will make much impact but if he's got a decent head on him he will be fine. Not asking him to play 30 minutes.. not yet anyway..

If all goes well he wont see a minute of PT anyway

 

[rrlbees]

On that point, here is another situation I was thinking about:
Say Frank does get 3 1st half fouls and has to sit for a few (I really hope not). Does Bayer come and play point, or does he come in at the 2 and Battle tries to play PG? (I know we have Autry as well .)

My gut says battle at PG.