BT

[Francis03]

Thank God we only have 3 quality guards this year instead of four. It should hold down the "why didn't ----- play more minutes at guard last night" to 50 replies instead of 100. :bat:

Isn't Mookie coming back supposedly? If so you can look forward to those classic "Mookie should've played" post

 

[realorange]

Isn't Mookie coming back supposedly? If so you can look forward to those classic "Mookie should've played" post

Now I'm going to lay awake all night thinking about that!

 

[RandygoCuse]

Because BT was the starting SG last year and will probably be again this year.

Also the competition for the starting guard spot next to BT is between MCW and Cooney. MCW is the clear winner for that spot. And since MCW is a pg, BT will continue in his role as SG while MCW is in. When MCW goes out and Cooney comes in, BT will probably assume the pg role.

Well put...The good news is that if MCW is getting pressured, BT will be able to help him out. Not all schools have this luxury.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Two things I want to see from MCW: more consistent J, and stronger handle bringing the ball up court. Too few people appreciate how smooth Scoop was. I hold my breadth with MCW's mad dash, herky jerky, stop and go technique. It is reminiscent of early Triche. By comparison, we have had so many smooth PG's like Z, Pearl, Edelin etc. MCW is not in that league. For the sake of appeasing the over reactors, MCW has great half court skills and he is only a soon to be Soph.

I almost expect Triche to have a breakout year.

 

[orangefan13]

. By comparison, we have had so many smooth PG's like Z, Pearl, Edelin etc. MCW is not in that league.
I almost expect Triche to have a breakout year.

Triche will never reach the showtime household factor for fans of other teams. But he could be a rautins silent worker type if he shows he can play aggressive D longer then he has in the past and is more consistant on offense. MCW on the other hand is going to look cool as heck to fans of other teams when its all said and done no doubt in my mind. MCW does have some smoothness but he also has ease, hustle and swag. Thats saying alot. I feel CJ has the same type of game. Hes got such a motor on both ends of the court and he doesn't test himself on the court he just plays.

People want to compare CJ to Paces scrappyness. MCW belongs in that same catagory.
Thets see how active MCW is on D, and for how long. He might surprise alot of heads.

I think alot of people are guessing MCW's wasn't ready when in fact he was sitting primarily because of Scoop and because Dion and Triche were more experienced scorers then he was. If MCW played all this year I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he would have entered the draft whereas Triche would not have.
Dion and Melo and Rak were all pretty raw as freshmen. Not sure I believe MCW was as raw as any of them and I would go as far to say MCW would have been more ready then Dajuan will be as a fresh. And, hes a point guard thats a tough position to learn it takes experience ,and can be tougher to find leadership as a point then at some other positions.

I see MCW as Fab Melo's impact where he could tear a game open. Only MCW could be a much much much more experienced version this year. I really think hes going to tear some teams apart this year. You can blame me for the hype but the kid just looks to have it to me
People wanted to compare MCW with Lamb from Uconn. I think MCW will show he is Much more aggressive in the longrun. Going back to my CJ Josh Pace comparisons.


I think alot of the points in my post speak for others opinions on this board.
Agree with your point hes good in the halfcourt as well. Not saying your wrong just debating with a completely different guess. My expectations are sky high for the guy. Expectations are nothing more then what you see in someone there is no luck involved.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I hope MCW succeeds and is a star for us but the evaluation of his talent based on token minutes against St Johns is hilarious.

 

[arbitragegls]

Interesting because I always thought it was 'Cuse players that made the team not players for 'Cuse. I have utmost belief in BT as being the leader this coming season. I feel he will play well and two more baskets a night get him between 13-15 points a night. MCW has displayed a terrific ability to pass and dribble in the less than 5 minutes games. If MCW can carry that through 15-20 minutes or more and have Triche there with him and Cooney off the bench...this team's backcout will be better than last years...and the reason is 'Cuse guards will be better shooters, passers and defensively. Scoop pounded the ball way to much and passed in the closing seconds of the clock leaving shooters little time to adjust and shoot. MCW is a pass first guard and so is Triche.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Mentally better? Based on what exactly? His huge gaffe that got him pulled in that game. Or his reaction to it by getting in JBs face? Or was it his tweets during the NCAAT whining about being on the bench? Or was it the ridiculousness surrounding the NN fiasco?

MCW can use some growing up. So far he has exhibited all the maturity of a 19 year old kid. That needs to change. And I think it will. MCW's time will come.

But it seems like some people have trouble accepting that the '12-'13 squad is going to be under the leadership of BT. He has earned it. He has been on teams averaging 30 wins per year. He has paid his dues and is now responsible for the leadership role. Why the hate?

Thank you. Summed up my thoughts perfectly.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Brandon Triche scored 94 percent of his points last year in transition, shooting after a pass, or making a drive immedietely off of catching a pass. Unlike pounding the ball or driving well beyond the three point line those are SG skills.

The other 6 percent was with him not driving immedietly, pulling up with a guy in his face, or pounding the basketball. THOSE WERE BEFORE BE PLAY and are point guard skills.
Can you run with a pg without alot of isolation or without the abilitiy to beat a really good defender when the pressure is on? Sure but he probably won't be a NBA point guard if so and could be the death of a team eventually in march.

MCW has a ton of point guard potential. He is a amazing passer he throws the ball rediculously on target even from a distance with great court vision. imo EASILY our best passer of the last decade and he showed it a few times last year and at the MCD skill challenge. No offense to Billy or Johnny.

I predict our weakest guard lineup will be with Triche at the one and Cooney at the two barring Cooney doesn't beat out Triche at the one. You proabably wont see Rak and Keita on the floor together in that lineup. But, I also feel Triche could get better in isolation in the offseason. Thats the one thing he needs to add to his game unless he becomes a bullseye shooter.

Peremiter isolation driving and shooting could be a issue next year if MCW, Triche, Fair and Grant don't step it. Or if Southerland Cooney don't show the ability to create their own shot with the ball in their hands.

Your posts could use a little editing before hitting that post reply button. You are all over the place and lack the organization that would help you actually make your point.

Here is what I find funny about this post. You start off by telling us (inaccurately apparently based on the correction seen later in the thread) how BT scores his points and that makes his not as effective as a PG. Then you go on to tell us how amazing MCW will be because of his court vision and his better than Magic Johnson passing ability. So what makes a great PG in your mind? I think its both, but the truth is you focused on different attributes for each guy.

Brandon tallied 2.6 assists per game last year while serving primarily as the team's shooting guard. He had roughly the same as Dion, while sharing the minutes for that spot.

I think MCW can be a great PG and I hope he does. But I also expect BT to step up big this year. And if they do, it will be another great year.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I didn't see confidence issues on the court. I heard people on here say that, but to me it looked like he was defering to teammates. When needed, like in the OSU game when Dion was out with foul trouble, BT stepped up and became more aggressive. I anticipate more of that type of aggressive play now that it becomes his role on the team.

What did you see on the court that makes you think BT has confidence issues?

I know this will flame this thread even more, but I thought I saw Brandon having confidence issues from time to time - a lack of confidence in the Philly boys getting BT the ball in situations where he could score. Not all the time, but there were a lot of passes from Scoop that got there a half-second too late. I'm not saying it was intentional, just maybe Scoop lacked the confidence BT would make the shot - which at times was a fair assumption. Maybe not so much with Dion, but then again, there were a few games where Dion didn't want to give the ball up to anyone. I guess if you're the best player on the court that will happen though.

 

[SoBristol]

I know this will flame this thread even more, but I thought I saw Brandon having confidence issues from time to time - a lack of confidence in the Philly boys getting BT the ball in situations where he could score. Not all the time, but there were a lot of passes from Scoop that got there a half-second too late......

What "situations where he could score" do you mean? Not the game/time situations, but just generally? Usually people mean when BT was at the 3-point line, calling for the ball (not clear for what purpose) -- but Scoop went the other way to Kris, our all-league forward.

"A half-second too late" -- sorry, but I don't get this either. The more evident problem is that BT has a good set of skills, but isn't all that great at beating his man and making his own shot. On occasion, he showed a good pull-up mid-range jumper; on occasion he could drive and finish with a floater or lay-up.

It just seems wrong to blame Dion or Scoop -- seems more like excuses for BT not advancing his own game. But, we will see. Maybe he will blossom with MCW.

 

[orangefan13]

Your posts could use a little editing before hitting that post reply button. You are all over the place and lack the organization that would help you actually make your point.

Here is what I find funny about this post. You start off by telling us (inaccurately apparently based on the correction seen later in the thread) how BT scores his points and that makes his not as effective as a PG. Then you go on to tell us how amazing MCW will be because of his court vision and his better than Magic Johnson passing ability. So what makes a great PG in your mind? I think its both, but the truth is you focused on different attributes for each guy.

Brandon tallied 2.6 assists per game last year while serving primarily as the team's shooting guard. He had roughly the same as Dion, while sharing the minutes for that spot.

I think MCW can be a great PG and I hope he does. But I also expect BT to step up big this year. And if they do, it will be another great year.

All above average PG's should have isolation qualities. They should be able to attack the paint without a high post up threat. They shouldn't need to depend on the pick and roll to drive. Some even have the ability to attack the paint off the dribble come back out of the paint and go back in like Flynn or Jordan could. And they should have the court vision and smoothness to pass off the dribble and understand what to do depending how the secondary defender is playing.

Thats the problem with assist numbers you give a good post up guy or a forward who attacks off the dribble and just about anyone can make a pass to them. Tired of hearing about a guard who can make a pass to a post up guy fronting in the high post and being loved for it. Tired of hearing look at the assist numbers because he passed to a forward who drives immedietly like KJO or CJ wide open in the post. What made Scoop even better this season was he added the dribble penetration without a true high post threat and found long passes to the low post at times. He didn't have that the previous seasons. That will really up his draft stock.
MCW will be light years ahead of Triche in making the low post pass from a few feet beyond the three point line.


I do think Triche could be a good solid PG in a lineup with a solid high post threat like Dajaun/CJ, and Cooney or Southerland on the perimeter though. When he has the isolation scorers around him. Infact that may be better for the team because Triche is more of a 3rd scoring option then a first. We actually had some trouble with our starting lineup when he was the 2nd scoring option. In came Dion and it was a different story. Also the fact that SG's should be teasing the 1st or 2nd scoring options on a team in many cases. It just makes sense especially in Cuse's system.

I just am not sold on Triche being ready for the degree of toughness to run the point while clearing out the lane. Asking him to break down another PG with the dribble drive in isolation is alittle like a bull in a china shop. Look how long it took scoop to learn that. Not saying couldn't get it done but it would surprise me. Its just not his game. Now MCW on the other hand is a different story.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

What "situations where he could score" do you mean? Not the game/time situations, but just generally? Usually people mean when BT was at the 3-point line, calling for the ball (not clear for what purpose) -- but Scoop went the other way to Kris, our all-league forward.

"A half-second too late" -- sorry, but I don't get this either. The more evident problem is that BT has a good set of skills, but isn't all that great at beating his man and making his own shot. On occasion, he showed a good pull-up mid-range jumper; on occasion he could drive and finish with a floater or lay-up.

It just seems wrong to blame Dion or Scoop -- seems more like excuses for BT not advancing his own game. But, we will see. Maybe he will blossom with MCW.

Okay, so you are questioning why a shooting guard, standing wide open at the 3-point line, would call for the ball. Interesting how you set that up. I know Kris was all league, but that doesn't mean he played that way every game. Heck, his shooting slump this year was far longer than BTs.

A half second too late. Let me explain a bit if I can. A lot of the plays on offense included Brandon running the baseline, coming off a screen by one of the bigs, and turning to get the ball on the wing - which would place him into a position to shoot or drive the ball. Too many times, Scoop would miss the initial moment to pass where Brandon was most open to do either of those things - shoot or drive. A half-second is all a decent defender needs to catch up to a guy after being picked. And that's what I mean by a half-second too late.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

All above average PG's should have isolation qualities. They should be able to attack the paint without a high post up threat. They shouldn't need to depend on the pick and roll to drive. Some even have the ability to attack the paint off the dribble come back out of the paint and go back in like Flynn or Jordan could. And they should have the court vision and smoothness to pass off the dribble and understand what to do depending how the secondary defender is playing.

Thats the problem with assist numbers you give a good post up guy or a forward who attacks off the dribble and just about anyone can make a pass to them. Tired of hearing about a guard who can make a pass to a post up guy fronting in the high post and being loved for it. Tired of hearing look at the assist numbers because he passed to a forward who drives immedietly like KJO or CJ wide open in the post. What made Scoop even better this season was he added the dribble penetration without a true high post threat and found long passes to the low post at times. He didn't have that the previous seasons. That will really up his draft stock.
MCW will be light years ahead of Triche in making the low post pass from a few feet beyond the three point line.


I do think Triche could be a good solid PG in a lineup with a solid high post threat like Dajaun/CJ, and Cooney or Southerland on the perimeter though. When he has the isolation scorers around him. Infact that may be better for the team because Triche is more of a 3rd scoring option then a first. We actually had some trouble with our starting lineup when he was the 2nd scoring option. In came Dion and it was a different story. Also the fact that SG's should be teasing the 1st or 2nd scoring options on a team in many cases. It just makes sense especially in Cuse's system.

I just am not sold on Triche being ready for the degree of toughness to run the point while clearing out the lane. Asking him to break down another PG with the dribble drive in isolation is alittle like a bull in a china shop. Look how long it took scoop to learn that. Not saying couldn't get it done but it would surprise me. Its just not his game. Now MCW on the other hand is a different story.

How many times did Scoop do any of this not coming off the pick and roll? Seems like 90% of his drives were off a pick set up by Fab, most of which Scoop blew off the screen and took it between defenders.

I also don't understand how you can state that Triche doesn't have the toughness and MCW does. First off, we haven't seen MCW do that in regular minutes in a BE season, and his thin body has to be a worry if you think he's going to be an attack first PG. He sure as heck isn't built like a Chris Paul. Secondly, Triche is. He's far stronger than MCW at this point. He's so big that he got way too many charges called against him - half of which were bullshit.

What is comes down to is that I think you and are pretty set in our opinions - which is fine. I never liked Scoop. Even when he was winning games, his style of play irked the out of me. Even in one of his highlight videos posted on youtube, I found fault with him not finding open guys (not just Triche) that would have led to easier buckets. The only thing I ever truly appreciated about Scoop is the fact that he could finish at the rim, without ever playing over the rim. If he got within a couple feet, he was going to make the layup. That was a true talent.

I hope MCW is everything you think he will be. I personally am hoping he is that pass first PG you've been selling that is stout enough to do everything expected of him and make it through his soph season without an injury. And I hope Brandon gets his chance to show off everything that he can do.

 

[SoBristol]

Okay, so you are questioning why a shooting guard, standing wide open at the 3-point line, would call for the ball. Interesting how you set that up. I know Kris was all league, but that doesn't mean he played that way every game. Heck, his shooting slump this year was far longer than BTs.

A half second too late. Let me explain a bit if I can. A lot of the plays on offense included Brandon running the baseline, coming off a screen by one of the bigs, and turning to get the ball on the wing - which would place him into a position to shoot or drive the ball. Too many times, Scoop would miss the initial moment to pass where Brandon was most open to do either of those things - shoot or drive. A half-second is all a decent defender needs to catch up to a guy after being picked. And that's what I mean by a half-second too late.

No -- I am questioning whether BT, calling for the ball, was actually the best way for Scoop to start a play. My observation is that BT would show he wanted the ball, the defense was well aware of it, and when the pass was made, nothing much would happen. Nothing wrong with that, early in the clock; but it wasn't the only thing you want your PG to consider. Kris on the left wing was at least an equally good option -- threat to drive, threat to shoot. So, I have no problem with how Scoop started a lot of plays to get Kris involved, or made his own drive and distribute. BT was one option.
Do you think Scoop was a half second too late only when BT was the potential option? But always on the money when distributing to Dion or Kris or Fab or CJ?

I am a fan of all our guys and would like to see BT elevate his game. A good share of that is up to him. Excuses about lack of confidence, or a PG not passing in the right split second -- well, enough of that.