Can't judge until we see Thorpe

[Townie72]

Jeesh have to say this board has been somewhat of a downer lately...

Ha!

Think it's a "downer" now?

Just wait till SU loses a game.

The usual suspects will emerge filled with blame and their own recommendations on how things ought to be done.

This criticism, we are told, is their right as fans.

 

[reedny]

I hope the young man is ready to contribute at a fairly high level. As I said I"m not judging based off last night's BS feed and limited viewing, but I don't think the two Howard's eating up lots of back court minutes bodes well for a successful year.

I know it's been asked but what is realistic for him in the ACC?

If I said this reminds me of, "Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard", would I date myself?

 

[orange79]

If I said this reminds me of, "Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fine, Doctor Howard", would I date myself?

Yes. Yes, you would.

 

[AZOrange]

Auburn lost to a D2 school last night.

Michigan State trailed against Ferris State most of the game and eeked out an 8 point win at the end while shooting 34%. They are the number 2 team in the country.

Interesting.

I’m not convinced that we are below average. I think we have the chance to be very good defensively and if we are we could be right there.

 

[reedny]

I’m not convinced that we are below average. I think we have the chance to be very good defensively and if we are we could be right there.

After re-watching the scrimmage last night, I had a crazy thought about FH at shooting guard. While no one's going to mistake him for Dion, he's improved on D and can score off the ball. AT PG he's a head case. He overthinks and over dribbles. SG just seems to suit him better -- he doesn't have to run the offense. He's got a good handle, his outside shot has improved enough to make him an outside threat, he can get to the rim and he's not too bad as a playmaker. So suddenly I'm not aghast at him playing SG.

This forces TB to play the 3, but so what. Who else, besides OB, can score that position? We're going to get virtually no offense out of MM or MD, so they're destined to be backups. I think at his height, OB's suitable for the 4. He can rebound and is plenty athletic next to Chukwu or Sidibe. And he can stretch the floor. TB's undersized for the 3, but he might be the best option there given that we have only 1 forward big that can score.

This team will be decent on D. But JB's going to need a lineup that puts 4 scorers on the floor. That may mean Thorpe/HW at PG (HW seems to have a good enough shot to play backup PG) and FH at the 2, with Battle playing SF. Battle can slide between the 2/3 depending on matchups. Interesting to see if something like this is going to appear the next few games:

PG - Thorpe / HW backup;
SG - FH / TB backup;
SF - TB / Dolezaj backup;
PF - OB / MM backup;
C - PC / Sidibe backup