Howard The Last Two Games

[AZOrange]

His dribblin is awful

 

[SoBeCuse]

He's a SG forced to play PG on a team with nobody to pass to. On a good team, he'd be no better than average. We all get that but he is not the main problem this team has. Put Pearl on this team and we still suck.

Tyus was terrible today. Worse than Frank. We got zero production from anyone else. OB disappeared. Centers can't score literally 3 feet from the rim. Moyer has one leg. Marek is a toothpick without a jumpshot. Howard is the scapegoat. He's a factor in the team's struggles, he's not the cause.

Tyus at least drove by a few guys and had a few assists. Granted Tyus had a lot of boneheaded plays too. The one drive Frank had like all game Lammers packed it. I did turn away a couple of times to re-up on IPAs so I may have missed a rare Frank drive.

 

[Ghost]

His dribblin is awful

I think his dribble is adquate - he's just not clever with the ball at all.

Like with Battle, Battle does a stutter step, or goes between his legs and he'll be backing the defender off. Howard doesn't do anything that really backs the defender away, so his moves, like that god-awful behind the back, just open him up to getting his pocket picked.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I think his dribble is adquate - he's just not clever with the ball at all.

Like with Battle, Battle does a stutter step, or goes between his legs and he'll be backing the defender off. Howard doesn't do anything that really backs the defender away, so his moves, like that god-awful behind the back, just open him up to getting his pocket picked.

I don’t what it is. Obviously he is slow but sometimes it looks like he is on ice or roller skates with that rock. It’s odd.

 

[Brooky03]

Tyus at least drove by a few guys and had a few assists. Granted Tyus had a lot of boneheaded plays too. The one drive Frank had like all game Lammers packed it. I did turn away a couple of times to re-up on IPAs so I may have missed a rare Frank drive.

You're right, I was wrong to say Tyus was worse than Frank today, he wasn't. But relative to expectations/needs, Tyus was terrible. Both guys were locked down most of the game. Frank couldn't beat the smaller, quicker guard and Tyus couldn't beat the bigger - but still quicker than Tyus - guard more than a couple/few times.

 

[SoBeCuse]

You're right, I was wrong to say Tyus was worse than Frank today, he wasn't. But relative to expectations/needs, Tyus was terrible. Both guys were locked down most of the game. Frank couldn't beat the smaller, quicker guard and Tyus couldn't beat the bigger - but still quicker than Tyus - guard more than a couple/few times.

Rough all around no doubt.

 

[SoBeCuse]

It was also embarrassing how he yelled and raised his arms at Chukwu after he tried to lob it over Lammers but didn’t get it high enough.

 

[HakAttack]

Marking this thread and will gladly dish out the crow in due time.

It won’t come. He’s not a PG at a power 5 level. He’s just not.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Howard is annoying, mostly because his turnovers are of the “why did he do that”, unforced error variety.
The bigger issue right now is Brissett. He’s played like dried horse manure for about 5 games now. His confidence and shot have deserted him, and frankly, he’s a shadow of the player we saw earlier in the year.
At least Frank’s been consistently inconsistent. Oshae’s just regressing.

 

[Newhouser]

It was also embarrassing how he yelled and raised his arms at Chukwu after he tried to lob it over Lammers but didn’t get it high enough.

He yells at everyone but battle. Marek and PC get the Frank wrath every game. I'd hate plating with him

 

[SoBeCuse]

Howard is annoying, mostly because his turnovers are of the “why did he do that”, unforced error variety.
The bigger issue right now is Brissett. He’s played like dried horse manure for about 5 games now. His confidence and shot have deserted him, and frankly, he’s a shadow of the player we saw earlier in the year.
At least Frank’s been consistently inconsistent. Oshae’s just regressing.

I hear ya but Oshae is being asked to do too much as well. He’s a true frosh. Frank is a junior. Still, Oshae’s missed shots at point blank range are concerning. He should try to dunk everything. Oshae’s new favorite move seems to be like a Kris Joseph-esque behind the back dribble then a step back long jumper...makes me nervous!

 

[Brooky03]

I hear ya but Oshae is being asked to do too much as well. He’s a true frosh. Frank is a junior. Still, Oshae’s missed shots at point blank range are concerning. He should try to dunk everything. Oshae’s new favorite move seems to be like a Kris Joseph-esque behind the back dribble then a step back long jumper...makes me nervous!

My only assumption with Oshae is that he's not quite physically ready, which is obviously understandable for a freshman. To be successful at the rim in D1 ball, you have to seek out the contact, plan for it, and finish through it. I think he tries to avoid contact as much as possible. That's never going to have consistently good results. Hopefully, the weight room will do him a lot of good in the off season.

fwiw, he actually shot the ball alright tonight. 4-10 from the field and 1-3 from behind the arc, with a good number of boards (8?). He wasn't on fire but, compared to Tyus and Frank's percentages, he looked like Wilt Chamerlain.

 

[SoBeCuse]

My only assumption with Oshae is that he's not quite physically ready, which is obviously understandable for a freshman. To be successful at the rim in D1 ball, you have to seek out the contact, plan for it, and finish through it. I think he tries to avoid contact as much as possible. That's never going to have consistently good results. Hopefully, the weight room will do him a lot of good in the off season.

fwiw, he actually shot the ball alright tonight. 4-10 from the field and 1-3 from behind the arc, with a good number of boards (8?). He wasn't on fire but, compared to Tyus and Frank's percentages, he looked like Wilt Chamerlain.

Agreed. My assumption as well. I think he’ll solve those issues next year and be a beast. If we have similar PG play then it might be null and void.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Howard being compared to Scoop is a major disservice to Scoop! I only worried about Scoop a couple games a year. I worry about Frank on every damn offensive possession.

Really? I worried about Scoop before he walked into the locker room.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

It was also embarrassing how he yelled and raised his arms at Chukwu after he tried to lob it over Lammers but didn’t get it high enough.

? It was high enough. Chewy decided not to jump. But hey, he got one later from Tyus, so I think that makes Chukwu one for the season for lobs.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Really? I worried about Scoop before he walked into the locker room.

Ha. I worried about Southerland’s tear gas.

 

[SoBeCuse]

? It was high enough. Chewy decided not to jump. But hey, he got one later from Tyus, so I think that makes Chukwu one for the season for lobs.

Really? I thought it was short and low. I’m not going to back and watch it. Pathetic, regardless.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Really? I thought it was short and low. I’m not going to back and watch it. Pathetic, regardless.

It was low, but I can think of about 100 previous SU centers, including Craig Forth who would have converted it.

You know what though, it really is Howard's fault. Were I him, I'd tell Chewy to stand at half court and stay the hell out the way. There is simply no reason to ever pass to him.

 

[Arangeman]

C'mon. Howard should know how limited Chuk is by now. He constantly throws him passes we all know he can't or probably won't handle.

Howard is as much of a pg as Stevie Thompson. Square peg, round hole. I can't imagine Howard running the point in a sweet 16 game in crunch time. Good lord.

 

[OttoMets]

I found it sort of amusing that Alvarado slapped at Brissett's arms for like 8 seconds after the one rebound, and never got called for it. I think Howard (maybe Battle) got called for a tie up earlier where he actually may have gotten all ball. I would have picked up a tech after watching that too. Stupid scrappy players can get away with anything.

This was the possession before the Howard T...gotta say, the kid's got more self-control than I do. Probably not as much self-control as his team needs him to have, unfortunately.

 

[OttoMets]

I hear ya but Oshae is being asked to do too much as well. He’s a true frosh. Frank is a junior. Still, Oshae’s missed shots at point blank range are concerning. He should try to dunk everything. Oshae’s new favorite move seems to be like a Kris Joseph-esque behind the back dribble then a step back long jumper...makes me nervous!

This is a horrible, horrible shot for a kid who looks like he's out of energy. I mean, it's like a 0% shot.

Same goes for Battle. He can make the occasional step-back, but when he's stepping back with his heel on the line at the end of a game where he's gasping for breath, I know even this challenged bunch has a higher-percentage option.

 

[blust2i3d4]

More than unfortunate.

He is still above average point guard, just not Lottery pick. People need to settle with the mentality that we no longer are the king of Big East but a bribe maid to UNC and Duke. Life will be happier with the mentality.

 

[MikeSU02]

Since my other thread was deleted. I guess I’ll just stick to the numbers. They’re bad enough so I guess extra opinion isn’t needed.

6-27 from the field. 0.75 assist/TO ratio. 17 points.

Not good.

#3 in P5 MPG. Behind #1 Tyus Battle and #2 Oshae.

He's a solid D1 P5 player. He's not a robot. As I've stated all along, these minutes were going to catch up to the team.

Add that to our "don't shoot" offense and, well, you get what you get.

 

[Jasoncuse]

He is what he is. While we can opine about his turnovers, decision making, shooting, etc, I can't fault him too much. He's not a PG. He's not a player that should play 38-40 mpg at this level. He's doing the best he can, but just doesn't have the ability/skill to play the role he's being asked to play. That's not his fault. That's on the staff being unable and possibly unwilling to bring in higher level guards. Frank's ability is probably closer to a mid-major level, but since he's 6'5", he's at SU.

 

[orangecuse]

C'mon. Howard should know how limited Chuk is by now. He constantly throws him passes we all know he can't or probably won't handle.

Howard is as much of a pg as Stevie Thompson. Square peg, round hole. I can't imagine Howard running the point in a sweet 16 game in crunch time. Good lord.

Well, before Howard usually throws that pass, he's generally out of control himself, so instead of him turning it over with the onus on him, he delegates it by making such an improbable pass/conversion and then points the finger...seen him react this way most of the year.