Go on record; are we back?

[OttoinGrotto]

I don't think a lot of you understand.

The point isn't to be right, or declare we're back when you're certain that's true.

The point is to be first.

There's no downside to being wrong. If you're wrong, our team isn't good. We've already all lost.

It's like some of you have never been on the internet.

We're so back.

 

[McCuse]

Kyle has shown himself to be a key "win" for Alex Kline identifying diamonds in the rough in the recruiting portal.

He's only about 6-9 in shoes -- that is the only part of your post that is even directionally accurate.

He can jump right out of the dome! Leaper!

 

[Marsh01]

encouraged but lets see how we fare against Houston, Kansas, Tennessee amongst others before we pop the champagne

 

[Orangezoo]

Not much to add of what others have said but the best news is that the entire team got real evidence of the blueprint from an intensity standpoint that is required against Binghamton. Even then there is another few levels above that given some lapses we saw but that is the minimum you have to give for 40 minutes.

 

[AZOrange]

Just put $50 at +4000 on acc title and $50 at +20000 for a chip

 

[baggerbob]

Last night was encouraging. And the defensive effort was quite refreshing!

The key to this team having a good season is will they stay committed to playing hard on the defensive end all season? If they do that this team with the athletic ability, could be special at the end of the year.
Defense will keep you in games, when your shots aren't falling. And that enables you to steal a few games you should lose.

 

[Surfan06001]

I don't think a lot of you understand.

The point isn't to be right, or declare we're back when you're certain that's true.

The point is to be first.

There's no downside to being wrong. If you're wrong, our team isn't good. We've already all lost.

It's like some of you have never been on the internet.

We're so back.

This is what I’m talking about. Hedging is for cowards.

Let’s goooooooo

 

[baggerbob]

Agree! I see Kyle as more of a big PF, although he's 6'9 with athleticism, his long arms allow him to play much bigger.

I'm intrigued by Soure... love what I see from him, but he's also more of a PF too. Wondering what the chances are of him being redshirted? I think he clearly can play in the current rotation... What do you think?

Too much talk about guys being power forwards, DC never had a problem with great centers . Those centers can't guard quick leeping guys on defense. 7 ft 245 doesn't do you any good on defense if you are still on the floor, when the other guy gets up quicker, and posterizes you.

 

[Orangezoo]

The key to this team having a good season is will they stay committed to playing hard on the defensive end all season? If they do that this team with the athletic ability, could be special at the end of the year.
Defense will keep you in games, when your shots aren't falling. And that enables you to steal a few games you should lose.

As well as being committed to running an offense that will continuously go over the top because we have the athletes and then attack the lane with skilled scorers and drivers. As the 3 pt shooting normalizes and Kingz gets his chances as teams defend more around the rim and in the lane you then have an identity with the ability to shuffle pieces to attack matchups.

Add to that using Donnie more in the post and even Kyle when he can seal his man.

Having an identity that everyone else must try and matchup against is a must. It’s up to Red to stick with it and be better tactician to tweak things within that identity vs flip flop.

All this with knowing you have a PG who can run pick and roll in his sleep which is also a part of the offense to utilize which I expect we will see some more of against better opponents.

 

[tptcuse]

The key to this team having a good season is will they stay committed to playing hard on the defensive end all season? If they do that this team with the athletic ability, could be special at the end of the year.
Defense will keep you in games, when your shots aren't falling. And that enables you to steal a few games you should lose.

And hopefully the new approach to strengthening and conditioning will allow this to happen.

 

[OrangeinDC]

Too much talk about guys being power forwards, DC never had a problem with great centers . Those centers can't guard quick leeping guys on defense. 7 ft 245 doesn't do you any good on defense if you are still on the floor, when the other guy gets up quicker, and posterizes you.

Might have missed my point.. I agree with this 100%. Give me two really good athletic forwards, I'll beat your great center for the reasons you stated in most cases. Kid has "skills" period, don't put him in a box looking for him to be a pure center, cause he's not, nor does he have to be.

 

[Shrmdougluvr]

The size and athleticism look top tier. Didn't love the shooting performance and need to see how that translates against bigger/more physical teams.

 

[McCuse]

Agree! I see Kyle as more of a big PF, although he's 6'9 with athleticism, his long arms allow him to play much bigger.

I'm intrigued by Soure... love what I see from him, but he's also more of a PF too. Wondering what the chances are of him being redshirted? I think he clearly can play in the current rotation... What do you think?

Source will be important this year to give Kyle rest spells. I love his effort, very aggressive defensively.

The key to this team having a good season is will they stay committed to playing hard on the defensive end all season? If they do that this team with the athletic ability, could be special at the end of the year.
Defense will keep you in games, when your shots aren't falling. And that enables you to steal a few games you should lose.

Totally agree! Everything comes from defensive effort. It shows whether a team really wants to win or not. Good offensive breaks will come from good effort on D!

 

[007]

There was a night and day difference in the Bing game to how the team executed M2M concepts compared to anything we have seen the past 2 years. I'm not talking about intensity - but that uptick was great to see. The players - finally - looked like they knew what to do, were willing to do it, and, for the most part, did it correctly.

Huge first step in the right direction...

 

[Orangezoo]

There was a night and day difference in the Bing game to how the team executed M2M concepts compared to anything we have seen the past 2 years. I'm not talking about intensity - but that uptick was great to see. The players - finally - looked like they knew what to do, were willing to do it, and, for the most part, did it correctly.

Huge first step in the right direction...

It also helps when you have multiple guys capable of defending on their own 1v1 and handling weak screens not having to always hand their man off but doing so effectively when they have to switch as well as when that switch includes handing off a cutter or roller.

 

[Sherman20]

We're going to lose some games. I like that they're going inside, but they can't go away from it for so long at a time, especially when the inside game is working!

We have guys who can make threes, but didn't.

If I was a coach, I'd have a rule. "If you miss back-to-back threes, your next shot has to come inside, or you're sitting down for a while"

We have to play better offensively. Our defense was SO much better. They have to bring that every night. I like that Autry is playing so many guys. Lots of combinations, everybody getting some run.

I definitely agree they should focus on driving inside and trying to score in the paint. That will open up the perimeter if they’re successful in the paint.

 

[shu 49]

I have to disagree. Some of our zone teams were menacing. If a ball went to the sideline and even better the corner, players were absolutely swallowed up. And, the other players knew how to rotate and get steals off of that.

Thats when we corner trapped and after 2012 or 13 we started rotating up top and not down to corners which honestly just left a perimeter guy open for shot or drive in lane. We never went back to corner traps and our defense really suffered. I have asked about this multiple x here and know one has told me why we switched. Still dont have an answer. I loved our zone until we double uptop.