it is amazing how many excellent guards are out there playing on other teams. Guys that are lightening quick with great cross-overs who get to the rim and finish. Guys who create shots off the dribble, who can pull up and hit from 17. Guys who can make 3's. Must have seen two dozen guys better than anyone we have. Why? Everything doesn't begin and end with wingspan. Seems like we have been a poor shooting team for most years. Very frustrating.
From watching Conf tourneys...
- Thread starter Madbiker
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Just think (in their own unique ways) Malachi and potentially Kid Mamba could change all of that for SU. Altho both are very long w great wingspan, they have other very valuable skills that the Cuse is in need of imo
The pieces all fit in 2010 (w AO) and 2012 (w Fab) and 2013. They didnt fit nearly as well the last 2 years. But imo once we get Malachi and then if we get Bryant or Battle the pieces will fit very well again. Go Cuse!
LennX6
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When you think about it, it seems like we saw one of these types of guys play against us at least every other game...
longislandcuse
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All we do is zone zone zone no matter what. If we recruited these talented little dudes, they'd score, create and stick around more than 2 years. Unfortunately our defense would be garbage.
longislandcuse
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Is it weird that I kind of hate the spin move? It seems dudes who drop the spin move ALWAYS drop the spin move. I'm half convinced Roberson would put a spin move on the air if he had a straight line drive to the basket.
OrangeFair44
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I'm sure he learned from KJs reverse 180 spin in air that it just makes the shot easier to block.
SoBeCuse
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OP is right. I posted somewhat about this the other day. Guards galore everywhere making plays. All that basic stuff like dribbling is a given. All these guards look so good with the ball and we have guys who can't dribble and look so amateur with the ball in their hands.
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yeah, we had suck guards like Ennis, MCW, and Waiters. Let's see where all these great guards you are talking about get drafted. The bloom would come off their rose very quickly if you watched them play 30 times.
SoBeCuse
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Who cares about getting drafted? The offense sucked with Ennis Feb-on and wasn't that much better with MCW. Last time I checked the Wisconsin guards, Pangos, TJ McConnell, etc. aren't going to be NBA players or high on the NBA radar. I could name like 50 other guards like these.
kirbivore
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We're the Joey Knish of college hoops
jec1521
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I feel your pain, but we just went to a Final Four 2 years ago (and were very close to getting to the NC game.)
Our problem is that since the LeMoyne game, we have not played one play of man to man defense, so JB started to recruit just for the 2-3. While we CAN win with this defense-first strategy (see 2013 Final Four team), there are also 2 problems with it:
1) We recruit athletes ahead of basketball players. (Height and wingspan over Shooting and BBall IQ)
and
2) That same athleticism that we recruit for makes our guys more enticing to NBA scouts because of their potential.
That, to me, is what is so frustrating.
RF2044
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College basketball is backcourt-driven. When you have an exceptional backcourt, even if you don't have "great" bigs, you can be a dangerous team.
This year, our guards were quite pedestrian. A lot of that had to do with KJ not being ready. But it is a huge disadvantage in college basketball. Just think back to our outstanding team in 2012, where we had Scoop / Triche / Waiters, or how dominant MCW / Triche were during our 2013 final four run.
Guards drive the bus.
pfister1
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We had those guys when we had Johnny and Devo at the top of the zone. Our offense was a lot better, but out defense was mediocre. JB values defense over offense theses days. There is no secret in that.
2010 and 2012 would have played for the title with AO/Fab. I have no doubt about that. 2013 made the Final 4. We had a dip this year because of injuries and unexpected early departures. Don't overreact.
That said, Kaleb needs to spend the entire offseason bulking up, learning how to drive and finish, and working on his shot. He has a long way to go
That said, Kaleb needs to spend the entire offseason bulking up, learning how to drive and finish, and working on his shot. He has a long way to go
orangejunkie
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Watched Notre Dame yesterday. They talked about their point guard who had a very mediocre freshman year and has come on this year to have a great season. I couldn't help but think about the comparison to Joseph and our hopes for next year with his development.
LennX6
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In a way recruiting athletes instead of players has been our MO since 1980. Sometimes a GMac, Cooney, AO, Edelin come through.
LennX6
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Agreed , Jerian Grant was pedestrian for his first 2 yrs then started showing flashes last year before his year ended early...
It's not about getting drafted. Villanova's guards aren't getting drafted but they are damn good and they can all shoot. Same with Wisconsin. I'm not belittling the guys you named. Though neither Ennis or MCW were much of a perimeter threat. Our back court this year was dreadful. I'm merely making an observation that there are a lot of guards out there that are good perimeter shooters and good penetrators and finishers and it would be nice if a higher status program like SU could get some guys like that. And yes, i'm hopeful Malchi Richardson will provide that.
Our back court was dreadful this year because we had a weak pt guard who should not have been playing at this stage in his development. My point is that guys often look a lot better when you only see them once in a while rather than every game.
SoBeCuse
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MCW was great for us. We just didn't have the C presence we had this year and MCW couldn't shoot so teams played off of him and packed it in. It's my opinion though that it is irrelevant in terms of production and longevity for a team if their guards are NBA players.
