newmexicuse
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This was my first look at this year's team.
Regretfully, I just do not see this team winning enough games to keep the streak alive. There is just not enough strength, size, or athleticism. How did we come to this roster ? I have seen several optimists post that this is an NIT team...let's hope that they are correct. It is sad to say, but Friday's consolation game is an absolute must win.
A lot of posters were all over Buddy and Joey for hitting a combined 2 for 14 from deep. However, Hughes hit 5 of 10, so the composite three point shooting was 7 of 24 from our core group. Just two more made threes (would not have won the game), but would have gotten us to 9 of 24 or 37.5%. So my point is that because Elijah was so hot the composite was not that much worse than what we can probably expect going forward, that is part of what is so troublesome.
Elijah - The good news is that he was fantastic. The game got away when he had to go to the bench with three fouls. The bad news is that we cannot reasonably expect that much production from him going forward. His game looks much better than it did last year. We probably have zero chance to win a game against any half way decent team if he has a bad off night.
Girard - Joe had a rough start during their 11 - 0 run, but settled down after that. He can handle the rock, he can see the floor, he can make enough space often enough to get his share of shots. Yeah, he had an off night shooting threes, but everything else looked A OK to me. He is much better than I had been expecting. How he managed to get 9 assists, when the team shoots 33% so whoever he is throwing the ball to can't finish, is amazing. Really looking forward to four years of his play.
Buddy - He has a limited overall game. He does, of course, have great shooting form and as a coaches son he knows the game. Pure and simple, when he is hitting his shots he belongs out there, when they aren't falling he really doesn't bring that much else to the table. Problem is, there is really nobody on the bench ready to bring more to the table than does Buddy even when his shot is off.
Sid - well, firstly, it is really nice to see him be able to play in apparent good health. Yes, he does battle and get his share of boards, but that is about it. he can't block shots, he collects fouls, and he can't score other than on a dunk. Worse yet, he doesn't have great hands catching the ball so the fumbling leads to missed dunk opportunities and to TOs.
Marek - I am so sick and tired of hearing about all the wonderful little things that he does. Those things are needed, they are great, BUT they are very, very insufficient if there is an absence of points and rebounds. He looks like he is trying to be more aggressive than he was last year. Big problem is that he can't finish thru contact and then he can't make em pay at the FT line for fouling him. How does he manage to not out rebound Girard ????
Guerrier - He is a bit raw, but I really like his energy. Compared to the rest of this team he is our Arnold Schwartenegger. SOMEBODY has to do some pushing back, and if not Q, then who ???? He needs to be out there for as many minutes as his fouls allow.
The rest of the bench are just more skinny guys. I thought Brycen showed some poise with the ball. With just a little bit of improvement he should make an adequate third guard this season with nice future potential. Bras has to get down and dirty and be willing to mix it up if he is to have a future here. Edwards, didn't see nearly enough of him to form an opinion. If he can block some shots with his length, maybe he can find a bigger role this season. It was great to see Howard on the court, but he just really isn't a D1 talent.
As for Jimmy, it appears to be same old, same old. Love him or hate em he is who he is. There has been a lot of criticism of his coaching style and stubbornness, but to me, the biggest problem right now is the recruiting philosophy. This team badly needs some enforcers and guys willing to give up their bodies. Nobody even tried to step in front of that OSU guard who just went through two, three, or four of our guys at a time with nobody even getting in front of him enough to pick up a blocking foul. How we manage to have two starters out there (Sid and Marek) that lack a lot of basic skills, but also lack toughness and size is beyond me. Sad to say, but I think our toughest player is Girard.
Anyways, i really, really hope this team exceeds my expectations and makes me eat crow on much of this post, but then again, we have to try and handle the truth.
Regretfully, I just do not see this team winning enough games to keep the streak alive. There is just not enough strength, size, or athleticism. How did we come to this roster ? I have seen several optimists post that this is an NIT team...let's hope that they are correct. It is sad to say, but Friday's consolation game is an absolute must win.
A lot of posters were all over Buddy and Joey for hitting a combined 2 for 14 from deep. However, Hughes hit 5 of 10, so the composite three point shooting was 7 of 24 from our core group. Just two more made threes (would not have won the game), but would have gotten us to 9 of 24 or 37.5%. So my point is that because Elijah was so hot the composite was not that much worse than what we can probably expect going forward, that is part of what is so troublesome.
Elijah - The good news is that he was fantastic. The game got away when he had to go to the bench with three fouls. The bad news is that we cannot reasonably expect that much production from him going forward. His game looks much better than it did last year. We probably have zero chance to win a game against any half way decent team if he has a bad off night.
Girard - Joe had a rough start during their 11 - 0 run, but settled down after that. He can handle the rock, he can see the floor, he can make enough space often enough to get his share of shots. Yeah, he had an off night shooting threes, but everything else looked A OK to me. He is much better than I had been expecting. How he managed to get 9 assists, when the team shoots 33% so whoever he is throwing the ball to can't finish, is amazing. Really looking forward to four years of his play.
Buddy - He has a limited overall game. He does, of course, have great shooting form and as a coaches son he knows the game. Pure and simple, when he is hitting his shots he belongs out there, when they aren't falling he really doesn't bring that much else to the table. Problem is, there is really nobody on the bench ready to bring more to the table than does Buddy even when his shot is off.
Sid - well, firstly, it is really nice to see him be able to play in apparent good health. Yes, he does battle and get his share of boards, but that is about it. he can't block shots, he collects fouls, and he can't score other than on a dunk. Worse yet, he doesn't have great hands catching the ball so the fumbling leads to missed dunk opportunities and to TOs.
Marek - I am so sick and tired of hearing about all the wonderful little things that he does. Those things are needed, they are great, BUT they are very, very insufficient if there is an absence of points and rebounds. He looks like he is trying to be more aggressive than he was last year. Big problem is that he can't finish thru contact and then he can't make em pay at the FT line for fouling him. How does he manage to not out rebound Girard ????
Guerrier - He is a bit raw, but I really like his energy. Compared to the rest of this team he is our Arnold Schwartenegger. SOMEBODY has to do some pushing back, and if not Q, then who ???? He needs to be out there for as many minutes as his fouls allow.
The rest of the bench are just more skinny guys. I thought Brycen showed some poise with the ball. With just a little bit of improvement he should make an adequate third guard this season with nice future potential. Bras has to get down and dirty and be willing to mix it up if he is to have a future here. Edwards, didn't see nearly enough of him to form an opinion. If he can block some shots with his length, maybe he can find a bigger role this season. It was great to see Howard on the court, but he just really isn't a D1 talent.
As for Jimmy, it appears to be same old, same old. Love him or hate em he is who he is. There has been a lot of criticism of his coaching style and stubbornness, but to me, the biggest problem right now is the recruiting philosophy. This team badly needs some enforcers and guys willing to give up their bodies. Nobody even tried to step in front of that OSU guard who just went through two, three, or four of our guys at a time with nobody even getting in front of him enough to pick up a blocking foul. How we manage to have two starters out there (Sid and Marek) that lack a lot of basic skills, but also lack toughness and size is beyond me. Sad to say, but I think our toughest player is Girard.
Anyways, i really, really hope this team exceeds my expectations and makes me eat crow on much of this post, but then again, we have to try and handle the truth.
