Good articlon the Troy Nunes site indicating DC has improved his offense

[tee1222]

I get the positive vibe thing. I do. But, we all understand this a summer rec league in Utica, right?

Yes, I know. But still, 5 of our guys past, present and future were to play in this, so it sparks my interest.
Sadly though, Chino and Mookie Jones didn't seem to show up, at least not in Week 1 results.
http://www.kingofkingsutica.org/#!week-1-results/c6kj

Chino was supposed to be on Utica Select and Mookie on Blessed Ballers.
http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2013/06/five_players_with_syracuse_bas.html

 

[cusetown1]

I get the positive vibe thing. I do. But, we all understand this a summer rec league in Utica, right?

What did Utica ever do to you?

 

[cusetown1]

Yes, I know. But still, 5 of our guys former and future were to play in this, so it sparks my interest.
Sadly though, Chino and Mookie Jones didn't seem to show up, at least not in Week 1 results.
http://www.kingofkingsutica.org/#!week-1-results/c6kj

Chino was supposed to be on Utica Select and Mookie on Blessed Ballers.
http://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/index.ssf/2013/06/five_players_with_syracuse_bas.html

It's still a damn good summer league. A lot of good players.

 

[tee1222]

Couple of stats:
CJ had 21 points in his first game, 13 rebounds
DC2 had 15 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and it looks like he was matched up against
Rak 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
http://www.kingofkingsutica.org/#!mens-division-leaders/c1bny
Impressive numbers for all three considering these are usually guard-oriented games.

I wonder if either had any blocks against the other. Would be a really good sign if DC2 is doing that against another D1 big man. It was mentioned that he looked to be in really good shape, lost some weight again.

I don't want to give up on either of these guys.

 

[cusetown1]

Couple of stats:
CJ had 21 points in his first game, 13 rebounds
DC2 had 15 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and it looks like he was matched up against
Rak 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks
http://www.kingofkingsutica.org/#!mens-division-leaders/c1bny
Impressive numbers for all three considering these are usually guard-oriented games.

I wonder if either had any blocks against the other. Would be a really good sign if DC2 is doing that against another D1 big man. It was mentioned that he looked to be in really good shape, lost some weight again.

I don't want to give up on either of these guys.

I believe Josh Henderson is Vandy's center, Coleman hasn't gone against him yet. Arizona's guard Mark Lyons is another notable. Can't seem to find the rosters, just going off stats from the 1st games. I believe they will have have rosters up soon.

 

[orangefan13]

Yeah he looks alittle skinnier in these pictures

 

[tee1222]

I believe Josh Henderson is Vandy's center, Coleman hasn't gone against him yet. Arizona's guard Mark Lyons is another notable. Can't seem to find the rosters, just going off stats from the 1st games. I believe they will have have rosters up soon.

Oh, I meant he went up directly against Rak I'm guessing.

 

[tee1222]

Yeah he looks alittle skinnier in these pictures

Nice pics, man.
Looks like an absolute BEAST!
We already knew he was a Hulk.

 

[pfister1]

My two favorite observations/comments in that article.

[On Christmas] He didn’t show me anything in an admittedly small sample size to suggest he has improved his offense this summer, but there is still plenty of time to work on his game before Boeheim and company roll out the balls for October preseason practice.
-written as thought there is still time for Rak to learn something before JB starts rolling out the balls and the teaching stops...because everyone knows that all JB does is roll out the balls. (I know the writer didn't intend this.)


All three players started the game, and early on Takeover (coached by Brandon Triche's father/Howard's brother Melvin Triche) made it a point to get the ball to Coleman in the post.

- I appreciate that someone has taken time to try to explain the familial relationships between SU royalty, next he needs to take on the Colemans.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

My new stance on paying college athletes. If you have a tattoo, that means you have too much disposable income, so you don't need a stipend. Don't cry poor and say you can't buy a pizza, when you have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in ink up and down your arms. If that makes me a crotchety old curmudgeon (or is that redundant?), so be it.

 

[RandygoCuse]

My new stance on paying college athletes. If you have a tattoo, that means you have too much disposable income, so you don't need a stipend. Don't cry poor and say you can't buy a pizza, when you have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in ink up and down your arms. If that makes me a crotchety old curmudgeon (or is that redundant?), so be it.

Maybe he consulted with Ohio State players on how to "barter" for them

 

[edowd26]

Maybe he consulted with Ohio State players on how to "barter" for them

He promised not to "Hulk Smash "their tattoo shops... free ink for life.

 

[billsin01]

Sure, Rak can play C. As a stretch 4, he can slide over. I certainly like him better moving over than the other forwards because of his strength an athleticism. It's not like he sucks. But once our taller/beefier 5's are functioning properly in there, Rak will be assuming his natural position at PF.

Unfortunately, as you point out, he has a forward's body and a 5's mentality. That works in the fall against mid-majors, but later on, when we play conference or tournament teams with legit centers ... he's overmatched. The two kids from Seton Hall pushed him all over the lane. Adams (a freshman) pushed him around. He played cooley almost even in that one game you mentioned, but got killed on the boards last time we played ND. Obviously, he was overmatched against Michigan.

At forward, I agree with you (and said above) that Grant is able competition. He's probably more productive offensively, while Rak develops his shot and handle. But we're better ... and Rak's better ... when he plays along side a center instead of pretending to be one. He'll start at PF and JB will pray once again that the light goes on. If he doesn't produce, Grant will eat up his minutes. Or he can play spot duty in the middle against smaller teams ... but as DC2 comes up to speed and with Keita playing very well, Rak had better put his PF cap on if he wants PT. It's big boy time.

I don't know -- I gotta say I'm more in Sgt's camp on Rak. I don't think the question is as much "stretch 4" vs. "true 5" as it is that Rak simply hasn't played terribly well anywhere he's been. At the very least he hasn't been consistently good anywhere. I mean, you act like getting pushed around by DC2 is something that happens to a lot of players. Meanwhile DC2 had trouble creating space and getting shots off against November cupcakes.

I think we have what we have in Rak and while it may be interesting to debate if he's truly better with a good center playing next to him or playing the 5, it's all probably immaterial. There's no way Grant and Fair are going to be on the pine much in games that matter. Baye has proven his worth as at least a smart, athletic hustle guy for around 15 mpg and DC2 certainly has more upside offensively if he can somehow manage to go from a black hole defensively to something approaching adequate.

So, in games that matter, Rak is going to be in a dogfight for minutes with Baye and DC2 and his time will be determined mostly by his effort and focus. When engaged and physical Rak can be ... solid ... not great, IMO, but solid. When he's wandering around or getting pushed under the basket on offense he's a liability.

But, this is all a long way of saying that his playing time largely rests on his ability to play the 5, whether it's his best position or not.

 

[CaliCuse]

I don't know -- I gotta say I'm more in Sgt's camp on Rak. I don't think the question is as much "stretch 4" vs. "true 5" as it is that Rak simply hasn't played terribly well anywhere he's been. At the very least he hasn't been consistently good anywhere. I mean, you act like getting pushed around by DC2 is something that happens to a lot of players. Meanwhile DC2 had trouble creating space and getting shots off against November cupcakes.

I think we have what we have in Rak and while it may be interesting to debate if he's truly better with a good center playing next to him or playing the 5, it's all probably immaterial. There's no way Grant and Fair are going to be on the pine much in games that matter. Baye has proven his worth as at least a smart, athletic hustle guy for around 15 mpg and DC2 certainly has more upside offensively if he can somehow manage to go from a black hole defensively to something approaching adequate.

So, in games that matter, Rak is going to be in a dogfight for minutes with Baye and DC2 and his time will be determined mostly by his effort and focus. When engaged and physical Rak can be ... solid ... not great, IMO, but solid. When he's wandering around or getting pushed under the basket on offense he's a liability.

But, this is all a long way of saying that his playing time largely rests on his ability to play the 5, whether it's his best position or not.

Its difficult to point finges but Rak is a quality athlete. If he works on a short jumper and close hook enough he will jack up his game significantly. The jumper needs to be no further than 15' A hook within 10' He doesn't need to forget about jams and put back .Getting 1-15 point out of him is not unreasonable along with his boards and block.Then he makes himself invaluable for Jimmy and the team as a whole.

 

[Frozen]

My new stance on paying college athletes. If you have a tattoo, that means you have too much disposable income, so you don't need a stipend. Don't cry poor and say you can't buy a pizza, when you have hundreds if not thousands of dollars in ink up and down your arms. If that makes me a crotchety old curmudgeon (or is that redundant?), so be it.

Agreed. I love when players complain that they have no money, yet seemingly 80-90% of all college basketball players wear $300 Beats by Dre headphones during the shootaround or on their way into /out of the arena.

 

[reedny]

I don't know -- I gotta say I'm more in Sgt's camp on Rak. I don't think the question is as much "stretch 4" vs. "true 5" as it is that Rak simply hasn't played terribly well anywhere he's been. At the very least he hasn't been consistently good anywhere. I mean, you act like getting pushed around by DC2 is something that happens to a lot of players. Meanwhile DC2 had trouble creating space and getting shots off against November cupcakes.

I think we have what we have in Rak and while it may be interesting to debate if he's truly better with a good center playing next to him or playing the 5, it's all probably immaterial. There's no way Grant and Fair are going to be on the pine much in games that matter. Baye has proven his worth as at least a smart, athletic hustle guy for around 15 mpg and DC2 certainly has more upside offensively if he can somehow manage to go from a black hole defensively to something approaching adequate.

So, in games that matter, Rak is going to be in a dogfight for minutes with Baye and DC2 and his time will be determined mostly by his effort and focus. When engaged and physical Rak can be ... solid ... not great, IMO, but solid. When he's wandering around or getting pushed under the basket on offense he's a liability.

But, this is all a long way of saying that his playing time largely rests on his ability to play the 5, whether it's his best position or not.

Ok, Bills, all good observations. And we'll see how Rak plays this year and where he fits in. We seem to agree he'll be fighting for minutes against Grant at PF, or against the other centers if JB tries to move him over. I think JB will start him at PF and see what happens, much like last year. Hopefully, this year will be different.

DC2's struggles (esp against smaller teams) had nothing to do with his size. He has plenty of that. It's getting used to defending in the zone, the help rotations, etc.. So there's another WIP that will be interesting to observe this year.

Thanks for your viewpoint.

 

[reedny]

Nice pics, man.
Looks like an absolute BEAST!
We already knew he was a Hulk.

Tee, that ball in his R hand looks like a softball .. lol

 

[tee1222]

Tee, that ball in his R hand looks like a softball .. lol

Haha, didn't even see that. Yikes he's a beast!
Man, if one or more of DC2/Cooney/MikeG step up, we're going to all have to put on our dancin' shoes...and keep them on for a while.

 

[orangefan13]

I think we will have better luck with Rak being a Kristoff at the four, then a slightly below Fab(on defense) or Rick Jackson (on offense) at the five. His offense would be easier for him at the college level going against smaller players. We haven't seen that aggressiveness of a Kristoff, Paul Harris, or Rick Jackson from him... YET and imo he has a higher verticle leap then all of them

He really needs a motivator that can see his success at the four totally ignoring the 5. Someone to teach him what he doesn't see in himself. Get DC or Wallace out there with him and teach him to only focus on the four, coming out of his safety zone at the five. Teach him to learn to play the four without the five as its crutch.

 

[orangefan13]

DC 2 has a pretty good dribble with his head up and court vision. He possibly could show a slight touch of point forward off the bounce in the high post. Scary thought given his strength.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

I always thought a stretch 4 was a guy who was more of a 3 who was big enough to play some low post D, for example Shane Battier or Robert Horry. I would think Christmas would be the opposite of that.

 

[SWC75]

I never doubted DC's offense, except for his tendency to bring the ball down to the level of the defenders. I expected that to clear up. Defense will determine his playing time. if he can't defend, not only will JB not want him out there but if he does play him, DC will be in constant foul trouble. He'll never be an athletic defender like Rak or Baye. DC's template on defense is AO. Learn to stay in front of people and use your big bock to block the route to the basket.