If I Had to Pick One Key for Us to Win.....

[Madbiker]

Cooney and G each make 5 treys.

 

[rrlbees]

If Cooney is the first option on offense, we are in trouble. He needs to be the 3rd or 4th option after G, Mal and Lydon and even getting the ball inside to Trevor of DC. If the rest of the offense is working, he'll get good, open shots. If it isn't, and TC has to carry the load ... We've seen that before many times and it very frequently doesn't work out well. My fear is that TC thinks he's GMac. He isn't.

He doesn't think much of you either.

We can't play 4 on 5. Maybe it works the other way. Trevor plays well, it creates opportunities for others.

 

[pulaski74]

Not really the time for the last remark. TC has played great in the last two games.

This guy is a pessimist in the bad way, tried to shame him but it doesn't work.

 

[two3zone]

He doesn't think much of you either.

We can't play 4 on 5. Maybe it works the other way. Trevor plays well, it creates opportunities for others.

Last Trevor game was pretty amazing. Think he racked up 4-5 assists all while rebounding the ball and hitting a great percentage of his shots? At least townie can predict the future while having pretty clear selective memory.

 

[pulaski74]

more than the other team. That is the ONLY key to victory.
Sometimes it's as plain as the nose on your face.

Score this!

 

[rrlbees]

He's been good. But he has been in a supplemental role. Not as the star of the show. The less pressure on him, the better he is. Except for those three drives to the basket in the 1H against MTSU

He took more shots than anyone except G. I don't know how that's a supplemental role.

 

[suinaustin]

I think one key will be the bigs foul situation. I think Sab can put a lot of pressure on both our bigs - chew up almost 10 fouls himself. We have had situations like that before.

I think/hope JB's strategy will be to attack and pressure Sab while he is on defense. Drive the guards early and often, maybe a couple dump off down to DC2 and see how they respond.

Two semi-quick fouls on Sab and the complexion of the game totally changes.

Will be interesting to see how Sab plays on D If we go at them. Does he stand his ground and maybe get some fouls? Or does he back off and we get some easy baskets? I like either scenario as long as Cuse plays a stifle D and smart on O.

 

[Dave85]

BYU beat Gonzaga, and we KNOW those guys are on a mission!!

If you ever get a chance see the play Book of Mormon in NYC make every effort! It is by far the funniest thing I've ever experienced in my life hands down.

 

[Townie72]

He doesn't think much of you either.

We can't play 4 on 5. Maybe it works the other way. Trevor plays well, it creates opportunities for others.

Who suggested playing 4 on 5?

If he starts jacking them up it's for one of two reasons.

1. Nothing else is working offensively. We saw a lot of that last year.
2. He wants to be GMac.

He's such an erratic shooter that this probably doesn't end well for SU.

He should be the third or fourth option. Then he can be more effective.

 

[Townie72]

He took more shots than anyone except G. I don't know how that's a supplemental role.

It's when he takes them in the offense that makes him a supplemental player. He should be the 3rd or 4th option. That is, if you are actually interested in winning (and not just a TC Soap Opera fan)

 

[Nicknack]

It's when he takes them in the offense that makes him a supplemental player. He should be the 3rd or 4th option. That is, if you are actually interested in winning (and not just a TC Soap Opera fan)

I'm glad I don't understand you. Seems like a very dark, unhappy place.

I'm with Cooney. He has been playing great and if we win, he will likely be a big part of the reason. We just don't advance without his CONTINUED good play.

 

[rrlbees]

It's when he takes them in the offense that makes him a supplemental player. He should be the 3rd or 4th option. That is, if you are actually interested in winning (and not just a TC Soap Opera fan)

I'd rather not be one of the bash Cooney and Coleman soap opera fans like you seem to be. I see you gave them both kudos for playing great against mtsu. Not.

 

[SU94]

it would be Roberson continuing to pound glass & getting double digit boards.

What's most important is for us fans to focus on Gonzaga and not look ahead to ISU/UVa winner.

 

[TheCusian]

Who suggested playing 4 on 5? If he starts jacking them up it's for one of two reasons. 1. Nothing else is working offensively. We saw a lot of that last year. 2. He wants to be GMac. He's such an erratic shooter that this probably doesn't end well for SU. He should be the third or fourth option. Then he can be more effective.

3. He's the starting shooting guard who, when on - can light it up.
4. JB wants him to shoot and believes he can help us win.


If he's not hot, JB has given Howard some minutes and moved G off ball - which helps his offense. It's who we are.

Live with it.

 

[kirbivore]

I'd rather not be one of the bash Cooney and Coleman soap opera fans like you seem to be. I see you gave them both kudos for playing great against mtsu. Not.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

it would be Roberson continuing to pound glass & getting double digit boards.

has the team ever lost when Cooney makes at least 3 3s? That doesn't even seem to be asking too much either.

Edit: I looked it up. The team is 10-6 when Coon dog makes at least 3. 14-4 when TRob hits his average of 8 Rebounds, so I think you're onto something.

 

[LAOrange]

The key is to shut down their third option and take advantage of ours. Their third option is their designated three point shooter other than Wiltjer (probably Dranginis). We have approximate match-ups at the 1,2,4 and 5. Positive for us at the 1 and 2 and for them at the 4 and 5. Our ace is Malachi. They don't have anyone who can guard him.

 

[Townie72]

I'd rather not be one of the bash Cooney and Coleman soap opera fans like you seem to be. I see you gave them both kudos for playing great against mtsu. Not.

Describing his game against MTSU as "great" seem to me to be an overstatement. But I get it. When you are rooting that hard for someone to do well, "good" translates into "great" pretty easily.

My most vivid memory of TC from the MTSU game was his driving to the basket three times in the first half and missing all three lay ups. So I wasn't on here singing his praises. But he was a contributor in that game, for sure. He is, after all, a 5th year senior. He's supposed to make some plays and shots.

 

[AlaskaSU]

The key to the game will be, if we win, Silent G taking over.

 

[rrlbees]

Describing his game against MTSU as "great" seem to me to be an overstatement. But I get it. When you are rooting that hard for someone to do well, "good" translates into "great" pretty easily. My most vivid memory of TC from the MTSU game was his driving to the basket three times in the first half and missing all three lay ups. So I wasn't on here singing his praises. But he was a contributor in that game, for sure. He is, after all, a 5th year senior. He's supposed to make some plays and shots.

My must vivid memory of Cooney in that game was hitting three 3's to get us off to a great start and then hitting another while also leading the team in assists with 4, being 3rd in rebounds with 6, not having a turnover and playing great defense.

I guess I see the positive while you see the negative.

 

[OttoMets]

Describing his game against MTSU as "great" seem to me to be an overstatement. But I get it. When you are rooting that hard for someone to do well, "good" translates into "great" pretty easily.

My most vivid memory of TC from the MTSU game was his driving to the basket three times in the first half and missing all three lay ups. So I wasn't on here singing his praises. But he was a contributor in that game, for sure. He is, after all, a 5th year senior. He's supposed to make some plays and shots.

A lot of this is fair (I'll leave the missed lay-up thing alone). Cooney was solid, it was nice to see, we'll have a better shot at winning on Friday if Cooney's solid again.

It's hard to argue that his shouldn't be a supplemental role, based on his four-year body of work. Cooney's had maybe half a dozen games in which he's legitimately carried the team? Don't know how many of those we've won. But his skill-set doesn't lend itself to playing that role. On the other hand, if he's playing efficiently and getting even a little rest, he can be valuable as a third offensive option (as we saw on Sunday).

 

[Townie72]

My must vivid memory of Cooney in that game was hitting three 3's to get us off to a great start and then hitting another while also leading the team in assists with 4, being 3rd in rebounds with 6, not having a turnover and playing great defense.

I guess I see the positive while you see the negative.

I'm not saying he's a bad player or that he isn't a positive contributor (usually).

But this thread is about picking the one key player.

Hopefully that will be Gbinije, who is the only one I have seen take over a game. Or Mali, who IMO will be the next SU player to take over a game (probably starting next year.

We saw what happens last year when TC is asked to take on too much of the offensive load.

 

[Dave85]

I'm not saying he's a bad player or that he isn't a positive contributor (usually).

But this thread is about picking the one key player.

Hopefully that will be Gbinije, who is the only one I have seen take over a game. Or Mali, who IMO will be the next SU player to take over a game (probably starting next year.

We saw what happens last year when TC is asked to take on too much of the offensive load.

However, I still think TC is capable of winning a game all on his own like last year against ND. If that TC shows up tomorrow night, I will not complain!

 

[Townie72]

However, I still think TC is capable of winning a game all on his own like last year against ND. If that TC shows up tomorrow night, I will not complain!

I won't complain either. And it is "possible".

But this wouldn't be my first choice as a pre-game strategy.

 

[Hogtowncuse]

Hasn't been mentioned on here exactly but I think it will be interesting to see how Gonzaga tries to beat the zone.

I think they will try to put Sabonis at the foul line so he can shoot the 15 footer or deliver the inside pass if he's pressured. If he gets the ball fairly easily at the foul line and makes a couple of Js and short assists, he will be hard to stop. Like his father, he can be an exceptional passer from the high post.

I assume JB will anticipate this and make them shoot more from the outside by packing in the middle of the zone by backing the guards down. If this happens, then their guards and Wiltjer will need to make 3s. I suspect if they only shoot about 25% and we get most of the defensive boards then we have a good chance.

Their other choice is to put Wiltjer at the foul line and keep Sabonis in the low post. Wiltjer is also a good passer (not as good as Sabonis) but he will make a lot of the 15 footers if he is left wide open. Key will be to deny him the ball even more so than Sabonis.

Personally, I think Sabonis is the key...stop him reasonably (like say 16/12) and think we will win. If he dominates, we're in trouble.