Cooney and Back court

[SoBristol]

A couple of themes in this thread.

Change the team -- so we have good perimeter shooters in addition to Cooney, plus more post presence. Not likely, is it, with what we have in 2014-15? Unless Johnson matures quickly.

Cooney might add some 2G skills to his game -- so he can get shots without running marathons. Fake a shot & drive. Add just a little flexibility in his finishing moves. He has a pull-up off a quick dribble move to his right (rare occasions), can he expand on that? Or a step-back as Andy & Wes showed.

Not expecting him to be Boatright, but would be good to see more than curl, catch & shoot, or catch, hold & return pass.

 

[Madbiker]

A couple of thoughts:

1. Everybody talks about Cooney having good athleticism. He doesn't have good basketball athleticism. He shows very limited ability to drive and finish to the hoop or to create separation to for a pullup J. He just shows a flash here or there - nothing consistent.

2. He literally runs himself into the ground every game trying to create space to get off a rushed trey attempt. It is no wonder to me that he had no legs by the end of the season. He needs to be more of a spot up three point shooter even if it means he only gets off a couple of attempts per game. It is patently obvious that trying to force the issue of getting off more treys after he has run himself ragged does not work. I would much rather he went 2 for 5 than 3 for 10 from distance.

Bottom line for me - he has one great skill, which is only great when properly utilized. He simply has mediocre athleticism and nothing will change that. Either we find a way to let the game come to him or he will remain a mediocre player.

What would help the most is to have 2 other players on the floor at the same time as Cooney who are true 3 pt threats. And I don't mean guys that shoot 27% from the arc like we have had for several seasons now. The game has changed and the real successful teams now put multiple 3 pt shooters on the court...3 and even 4 at a time. Check out even UConn withnot just Napier but Boatwright, Daniels and Giffey. Looks like we will have more of the same problem next season. Maybe Joseph will be a better 3pt shooter than Ennis, don't really know, but none of our forwards appear to be able to shoot the 3. That needs to change.

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

My prescription would be for Cooney to practice everything BUT the 3-pt. shot this summer -- driving to the hoop, teardrops, runners, finishing around the basket with both hands, mid-range jumpers -- all with an eye to: (1) making him more versatile, (2) taking mental pressure off his 3-pt. shot, and (3) getting him to the FT line more often, which in turn gets him into a successful shot-making groove. The 3s will come naturally enough, given all the practice he's had to date and the fact that if he has a more well-rounded game, defenses won't be able to hound him as closely and he'll have more time for a clean shot.-VBOF

 

[rrlbees]

My prescription would be for Cooney to practice everything BUT the 3-pt. shot this summer -- driving to the hoop, teardrops, runners, finishing around the basket with both hands, mid-range jumpers -- all with an eye to: (1) making him more versatile, (2) taking mental pressure off his 3-pt. shot, and (3) getting him to the FT line more often, which in turn gets him into a successful shot-making groove. The 3s will come naturally enough, given all the practice he's had to date and the fact that if he has a more well-rounded game, defenses won't be able to hound him as closely and he'll have more time for a clean shot.-VBOF

Not the complete list you made but JB said he'll be working hard on his handle to become a better dribble shoot player and driver to the basket. JB sounded confident he'd get there.

 

[Dave85]

Cooney struggled because he had to run a marathon every game.

If Ennis had been more of a drive and kick out passer, or we had gone inside/out with one of our forwards, Cooney could have gotten more good looks where he wasn't forced to run off numerous screens.

I tend to agree with your comment. There were some aspects of Ennis's game I found frustrating. He would operate with only one speed the entire game even on fast breaks.