It all goes back to ennis

[CorduroyG]

I'm sure when we recruited kaleb JB was thinking he'd learn under ennis for a couple years then take over the reigns in 2015 or 2016. I'm sure JB thought he'd have ennis for at least 2 years and more likely 3 or even 4. Ennis being 1 and done was a shocker to everyone and we didn't have a backup plan other then throwing a frosh into the fire who ain't close to ready.

Tough to win in college when you got no pg, and unfortunately that's where we're at. You can point to the other weaknesses of the team but to me it's all about the pg

 

[bevosu]

PG...quarterback. Both of our major sports teams lack at that key position.

A good one can make a big difference.

 

[RF2044]

I'm sure when we recruited kaleb JB was thinking he'd learn under ennis for a couple years then take over the reigns in 2015 or 2016. I'm sure JB thought he'd have ennis for at least 2 years and more likely 3 or even 4. Ennis being 1 and done was a shocker to everyone and we didn't have a backup plan other then throwing a frosh into the fire who ain't close to ready.

Tough to win in college when you got no pg, and unfortunately that's where we're at. You can point to the other weaknesses of the team but to me it's all about the pg

I think it was more like 2 years, but there's some validity to your post.

College basketball is a backcourt driven animal. Great guard play can carry / elevate a team. Right now, we're getting little from our starting point guard in terms of facilitating our offensive sets. He shows scoring potential, but is a bit behind in some other areas. Tough to compete at a high level without very solid guard play.

 

[jdubs30]

If Dion stays 1 more year...MCW stays 1 more year...Ennis stays 1 more year

Then we'd have Ennis exploding onto the national scene this year with KJ getting about 5 mpg (max); but the year under TE would have been so valuable

 

[Orangezoo]

So why cant we put the ball in trevors hands and forget the traditional pg approach? Im not saying bench kaleb but let him play off the ball more and reduce minutes. Cooney may be a sg but the danger he can attack or hit a 3 along with his understanding of protecting the ball seems more viable. Joseph needs time and while he will learn trial by fire i still think we need the ball in our veteran guards hands most of the time and let kaleb learn and earn the responsibility of having the ball in his hands every possession.

 

[two3zone]

So why cant we put the ball in trevors hands and forget the traditional pg approach? Im not saying bench kaleb but let him play off the ball more and reduce minutes. Cooney may be a sg but the danger he can attack or hit a 3 along with his understanding of protecting the ball seems more viable. Joseph needs time and while he will learn trial by fire i still think we need the ball in our veteran guards hands most of the time and let kaleb learn and earn the responsibility of having the ball in his hands every possession.

I think exactly what you've said which I bolded is exactly what JB did last game. I honestly don't think JB considers Patterson an option at this point. Even with G out Buss didn't get a single minute last game.

 

[Delmar]

No one could have foreseen Ennis leaving as a 1 and done. Joseph was the back up plan, and maybe not a bad one in the long run. But you are right: right now we don't have a pg. There's no one to blame unless you want to resent Ennis for taking a big check.

 

[pearl31]

So why cant we put the ball in trevors hands and forget the traditional pg approach? Im not saying bench kaleb but let him play off the ball more and reduce minutes.

this might just become a necessity

 

[cuseincincy]

Lots of hard truths in this thread. I like Joseph. He's going to be very very good. He's not ready for the job. Not for 30+ minutes a game as this team needs. I think JB is seeing this. Its going to take a team approach. Cooney taking some more responsibility (which might be really good for his game). G has to take on some of the responsibility even when he's on the floor at SF. We need BJ & TRob to step up so G can play a few minutes at the 1. An imperfect team but I like the players.

 

[bballbeadle]

If Dion stays 1 more year...MCW stays 1 more year...Ennis stays 1 more year

Then we'd have Ennis exploding onto the national scene this year with KJ getting about 5 mpg (max); but the year under TE would have been so valuable

Why, Universe, WHY????? Why play these coy, ironic games?

 

[Orangezoo]

this might just become a necessity

Yep. I have no visions of grandeur and winning a national title. However I think if we are going to win some difficult games that ultimately can get us into the tournament I think the ball needs to be in our more experience 4th year players hands vs putting it on our still learning freshman. Doing so without making it a demotion and instead putting the burden on the shoulders of a guy who should carry it is key. Trev is not going to be perfect and will have some bad games. With that said it could help him with shooting off the dribble as well as reduce our turnovers in addition to letting him play off Rak and playing a simple two man game with our best two scorers. Let Roberson be our garbage guy, CMAC be the outlet for a mid range J and help on the glass and let Kaleb grow into a better player off the ball while occassionally bringing it up. Let Mikey G play alongside Trev more and BJ spell the forward positions for a decent 8 man rotation occassionally giving Chino some run.

 

[MikeSU02]

No one could have foreseen Ennis leaving as a 1 and done. Joseph was the back up plan, and maybe not a bad one in the long run. But you are right: right now we don't have a pg. There's no one to blame unless you want to resent Ennis for taking a big check.

What? He was ranked upwards of 20th by some services coming in. How in the world would this not have been a real consideration when taking him on.

If anyone here admits that they thought he was a 2 and done, then you have to be prepared that he could be a 1 and done.

 

[RF2044]

What? He was ranked upwards of 20th by some services coming in. How in the world would this not have been a real consideration when taking him on.

If anyone here admits that they thought he was a 2 and done, then you have to be prepared that he could be a 1 and done.

I can only speak for myself, but given his relatively pedestrian athleticism [for high major college basketball], I expected him to be a three-year player--minimum.

One-and-done wasn't something i anticipated, at all. But he did have a heck of a year, even despite some of his flaws. He was deserving of his first round selection--had a great year in many respects. His ability to take care of the ball was rare, and nothing short of remarkable for a frosh. Underrated scorer, too.

 

[Orange4]

So why cant we put the ball in trevors hands and forget the traditional pg approach? Im not saying bench kaleb but let him play off the ball more and reduce minutes. Cooney may be a sg but the danger he can attack or hit a 3 along with his understanding of protecting the ball seems more viable. Joseph needs time and while he will learn trial by fire i still think we need the ball in our veteran guards hands most of the time and let kaleb learn and earn the responsibility of having the ball in his hands every possession.

I think this will start to happen more often. We saw it towards the end of the LA tech game and Boeheim even said he saw Trevor do things with the ball he didn't expect or know he could do.

 

[Orangezoo]

I can only speak for myself, but given his relatively pedestrian athleticism [for high major college basketball], I expected him to be a three-year player--minimum.

One-and-done wasn't something i anticipated, at all. But he did have a heck of a year, even despite some of his flaws. He was deserving of his first round selection--had a great year in many respects. His ability to take care of the ball was rare, and nothing short of remarkable for a frosh. Underrated scorer, too.

His rise to being a first round pick reminds me of the run on drafting UNC PF's for a few years surrounding their title runs when Roy first joined as well. We had Dion/MCW go early in the draft and both do well. Both guys got a lot of media attention during the years we were pushing for titles. Life at the top with tons of media coverage can do a lot for a player's stock. I think Ennis seeing his stock rise was a big part of that. We lose 4 or 5 of those nailbiters early in the season that we snuck away with and he probably is still here as we would have been a fringe top 25 squad who couldn't score vs the crazy undefeated run.

 

[Toga]

His rise to being a first round pick reminds me of the run on drafting UNC PF's for a few years surrounding their title runs when Roy first joined as well. We had Dion/MCW go early in the draft and both do well. Both guys got a lot of media attention during the years we were pushing for titles. Life at the top with tons of media coverage can do a lot for a player's stock. I think Ennis seeing his stock rise was a big part of that. We lose 4 or 5 of those nailbiters early in the season that we snuck away with and he probably is still here as we would have been a fringe top 25 squad who couldn't score vs the crazy undefeated run.

Re UNC. In hindsight McAdoo gave up a gazillion dollars by staying and being exposed.

 

[Mel03]

Get over it. Ennis is gone. New year.

 

[RF2044]

Re UNC. In hindsight McAdoo gave up a gazillion dollars by staying and being exposed.

McAdoo never developed. That's more on him than being "exposed," per se.

When you're young, then the lack of development is seen as "potential" [Jerami Grant is a good example of this]. When you're a junior / senior but haven't shown marked growth in your skill set, generally speaking you're perceived as having low upside.

 

[Full_Rebar]

I'll make it easy for everyone. Assume that every scholarship recruit will stay the minimum number of years required by the NBA. This way no one gets disappointed when Player X leaves too soon.

Do you think Kentucky fans lament James Young leaving after 1 year? If you want to be an elite college hoops program, you want 1 and done 1st rd. talent.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I'll make it easy for everyone. Assume that every scholarship recruit will stay the minimum number of years required by the NBA. This way no one gets disappointed when Player X leaves too soon.

Do you think Kentucky fans lament James Young leaving after 1 year? If you want to be an elite college hoops program, you want 1 and done 1st rd. talent.

This is what is killing college hoops. Constant turnover in the rosters of the top teams. Loss of continuity, quality of play declines. Games are decided more and more by individual talent making plays and not teamwork. I could go on, of course ...

 

[CorduroyG]

What? He was ranked upwards of 20th by some services coming in. How in the world would this not have been a real consideration when taking him on. If anyone here admits that they thought he was a 2 and done, then you have to be prepared that he could be a 1 and done.

Considering we just had 3 guards who were high 1st round draft picks and none of them were 1 and done (Flynn, dion, mcw)I don't think anyone thought ennis would be either. I remember there was a lot of debate early last year on here, maybe during Maui, about how long ennis would be here. I'd love to find that thread. Nobody had him 1 and done, in fact some questioned whether he'd even make nba. Too small, not quick/athletic enough, not a good enough shooter, etc.

 

[Dave85]

I'm sure when we recruited kaleb JB was thinking he'd learn under ennis for a couple years then take over the reigns in 2015 or 2016. I'm sure JB thought he'd have ennis for at least 2 years and more likely 3 or even 4. Ennis being 1 and done was a shocker to everyone and we didn't have a backup plan other then throwing a frosh into the fire who ain't close to ready.

Tough to win in college when you got no pg, and unfortunately that's where we're at. You can point to the other weaknesses of the team but to me it's all about the pg

I would not say it this way. It's a little hard on KJ2. It's not his fault we have no junior or senior leadership at PG. The teams that don't have UK type recruiting win national championships by having great guard play from upper classmen.

 

[Dave85]

This is what is killing college hoops. Constant turnover in the rosters of the top teams. Loss of continuity, quality of play declines. Games are decided more and more by individual talent making plays and not teamwork. I could go on, of course ...

I would like to see the NBA have a recruitment policy of only drafting Juniors and Seniors just like the NFL. It would be great if CBB fans got at least 2 years out of the top talent! It would make the game a lot more interesting and profitable too!

 

[NineOneSeven]

Cooney handled the ball well last game. But to make him a ball dominant PG... I question that approach.

We've seen cooney struggle with confidence on his shooting. Against solid ACC competition, I can see the same thing happening with ball control. We need two guys to handle the ball. I have no issues with him controlling it in spurts as we need it. But not the majority of the game. Just my opinion.

 

[Briancuse]

If Dion stays 1 more year...MCW stays 1 more year...Ennis stays 1 more year

Then we'd have Ennis exploding onto the national scene this year with KJ getting about 5 mpg (max); but the year under TE would have been so valuable

I believe that JB expected Dion and Mcw to leave when they did, Ennis leaving really caught him off guard.