Guard play and distraction

[orangenauburn]

ever since 'the mall incident' this team has had little cohesion or focus.

The guard play has been questionable
The talent is there - is the focus or effort?

 

[anomander]

got off to a great start, and feel they lost focus. temple quickly figured out the zone, fran made a couple adjustments to counter JB's adjustments, and we could never get that stop to get close. The refs certainly didn't help, but good free throw shooters shooting ridiculously bad spells out lack of focus. not just on the foul line, but also this was the most defensive lapses i have seen in a long time. hopefully this was a wake up call. it also doesn't help we only have 2 guards. could fatigue have played into poor ft shooting, and lazy defense at the end?

 

[BuffOrange]

Does Grant have a good enough handle/shot to play spot minutes at the 2? That would make for a big lineup obviously but I'm not thrilled with one of Triche/Cooney having to be on the floor at all times.

 

[jdubs30]

Does Grant have a good enough handle/shot to play spot minutes at the 2? That would make for a big lineup obviously but I'm not thrilled with one of Triche/Cooney having to be on the floor at all times.

So your solution is instead putting a guy there who's a worse shooter, passer, and ball handler than both Triche and Cooney?

 

[Cusefan0307]

Triche is our second leading scorer. He's going to play 35 minutes a game. He had 17 today on 7 of 14 shooting, and the last game was the only game he wasn't in double figures. If you want to decrease his minutes where is that production coming from?

 

[anomander]

So your solution is instead putting a guy there who's a worse shooter, passer, and ball handler than both Triche and Cooney?

not saying grant should be the 2, but grant > cooney is every category when it comes to basketball, even if he was forced to play 2. which will never happen as much as i would like it to

 

[jdubs30]

not saying grant should be the 2, but grant > cooney is every category when it comes to basketball, even if he was forced to play 2. which will never happen as much as i would like it to

I 100% trust JB when it comes to PT.

Guess what, Cooney is going to help us way more than Grant will once Big East play starts. We need that 3rd G; while Southerland or Grant at the top of the zone sounds cool, they aren't quick enough to stay with Big East guards. And Cooney is still the best shooter on the team, he just has to work on his nerves.

 

[anomander]

I 100% trust JB when it comes to PT.

Guess what, Cooney is going to help us way more than Grant will once Big East play starts. We need that 3rd G; while Southerland or Grant at the top of the zone sounds cool, they aren't quick enough to stay with Big East guards. And Cooney is still the best shooter on the team, he just has to work on his nerves.

oh i totally agree with everything until cooney is the best shooter on the team. He is shooting under 30% on the season, as had thrown up more air balls on wide open looks i have ever seen from a alleged good shooter. his mechanics doesn't even give the impression he is a good shooter. but your right neither will help us once big east play starts, but grant will be huge next year, while cooney may never see the light of day once this season is done.

 

[jdubs30]

oh i totally agree with everything until cooney is the best shooter on the team. He is shooting under 30% on the season, as had thrown up more air balls on wide open looks i have ever seen from a alleged good shooter. his mechanics doesn't even give the impression he is a good shooter. but your right neither will help us once big east play starts, but grant will be huge next year, while cooney may never see the light of day once this season is done.

1) Correct me if I'm wrong, hasn't Gerry said he's the best pure shooter he's ever seen? His mechanics look fine to me, I think he's just rushing a bit and is too anxious, which is normal for someone in his situation. He makes them in practice, it will translate to games soon enough.
2) I love Grant's potential, I thought he'd get redshirted this year, but he's forcing JB to give him minutes with how well he's played (didn't get much run today, obviously)
3) Cooney will get major PT next year, there is no doubt about that. MCW is gone. Triche is gone. We get Ennis next year but he will slide into the PG role. Our only other commit guard is Ron Patterson, and no way in hell he's getting the starting spot. Gbinjie will be there, so I'd assume him and Cooney will battle for the 2, but Cooney will still see around 25mpg next year.

 

[anomander]

1) Correct me if I'm wrong, hasn't Gerry said he's the best pure shooter he's ever seen? His mechanics look fine to me, I think he's just rushing a bit and is too anxious, which is normal for someone in his situation. He makes them in practice, it will translate to games soon enough.
2) I love Grant's potential, I thought he'd get redshirted this year, but he's forcing JB to give him minutes with how well he's played (didn't get much run today, obviously)
3) Cooney will get major PT next year, there is no doubt about that. MCW is gone. Triche is gone. We get Ennis next year but he will slide into the PG role. Our only other commit guard is Ron Patterson, and no way in hell he's getting the starting spot. Gbinjie will be there, so I'd assume him and Cooney will battle for the 2, but Cooney will still see around 25mpg next year.

I've heard mix reports about Cooney's ability to make 3's during shooting drills, and then in live game situations. And of course Gerry isn't going to bad mouth him the kid needs all the confidence he can get. I'm hoping Ennis is at pg and silent G takes the 2 with Patterson and Cooney coming off bench.