JB's Presser: 3 Take-Aways that Drove Point Home

[arbitragegls]

Listened to JB's presser a few times because i wanted to hear what he was saying and understand his points. He made several key observations (actually 7 not 3) that i believe provide a basis for his rotation etc:

1. Waiters and Triche are being more assertive and aggressive and that is what I want
---that helps the team and they need to keep that psyche
2. Scoop is a steadying force...if team dips a bit Scoop comes in and brings the play back up
3. KJ, Scoop and Triche, as 3 year starters are the glue of the team...they lead the younger players
--first time I have heard Triche mentioned in this way
4. Keita (and he mentioned first) and Melo know how to play in the middle of the zone and they do it well
5. Waiters lost weight like Fab and the conditioning has helped
6. Team has 8-9-10 starters...each player brings something different so combinations bring a different look to competition
--JB wants 6-7-8-9-10 to feel and act and play like starters...that mentality helps play well
7. Doesnt quite understand the slack off or down turn in 2nd half
--JB's quip after saying that may be foretelling..."Maybe I am playing too many players"
--not sure if this is sarcastic; JB caught of guard and said it; or he really feels that way but is is contradictory to what he said above...10 starters!

'Cuse has a terrific team with many moving parts...we all have our favorites and our disagreements and can debate who should play who didnt play well...but bottom line is I am and will "continue to pay" to watch this team...it is SPEACIAL!!!

 

[stuckinbig11]

#6 is the key to this year's success--different looks. The "too many players" line plays off it well for those who understand JB's humor.

 

[Orange Barrel]

--JB's quip after saying that may be foretelling..."Maybe I am playing too many players"
--not sure if this is sarcastic; JB caught of guard and said it; or he really feels that way but is is contradictory to what he said above...10 starters!

Thought is was sarcasm.

 

[Scooch]

For a guy who's been criticized for 35 years about playing too few players... I think that was a joke.

 

[PeteCalvin]

His comment about wanting the next 5 to play like starters...very telling. This is the same philosophy that Coach K, JB, and the rest of the Team USA coaching staff use with the national team. I was wondering when we would start to see a big influence of that experience on JB. This is it. We have seen other things up to now (commitment to defense being the biggest), but this is a completely different psychological approach to the rotation than he has had in the past. Coach K talked about the 6 thru 10 philosophy almost verbatim in a Team USA presser. When you have talented guys who have either played in or deserve starting roles, but can't get them because the guys in front are as good or better, you have to handle that part of the ego by instilling the mentality that there really are no starters, just finishers, and everyone has to play like a finisher when their name is called. We want no drop off in production when the next wave comes in. Rather, we want MORE production. The minutes will balance regardless of who starts. Their job is to work as hard as they can on defense while they are out there and play team ball. The scoring opportunities will come from that.

JB's Olympic experience is paying off big time this year.

 

[SoBristol]

#3 is not new. JB has frequently talked about his core 3 players -- the returning veterans (always including Brandon). Did the same last year: the core 4 (Scoop, Rick, KJ and BT) had to lead the way, while the other 4 will play and develop.

 

[stuckinbig11]

His comment about wanting the next 5 to play like starters...very telling. This is the same philosophy that Coach K, JB, and the rest of the Team USA coaching staff use with the national team. I was wondering when we would start to see a big influence of that experience on JB. This is it.

Gotta have the players to do it. Trevor Cooney redshirting suggests that we do.

 

[ForeverOrange]

Well we know #7 has to be a joke because even in the years we haven't gone this deep teams have usually come back on us, just usually they get a little closer than 13 points.

 

[TinyManInside]

His comment about wanting the next 5 to play like starters...very telling. This is the same philosophy that Coach K, JB, and the rest of the Team USA coaching staff use with the national team. I was wondering when we would start to see a big influence of that experience on JB. This is it. We have seen other things up to now (commitment to defense being the biggest), but this is a completely different psychological approach to the rotation than he has had in the past. Coach K talked about the 6 thru 10 philosophy almost verbatim in a Team USA presser. When you have talented guys who have either played in or deserve starting roles, but can't get them because the guys in front are as good or better, you have to handle that part of the ego by instilling the mentality that there really are no starters, just finishers, and everyone has to play like a finisher when their name is called. We want no drop off in production when the next wave comes in. Rather, we want MORE production. The minutes will balance regardless of who starts. Their job is to work as hard as they can on defense while they are out there and play team ball. The scoring opportunities will come from that.

JB's Olympic experience is paying off big time this year.

This is a really good post.

Honestly, watching the 2008 Olympic team gave me a ton of respect for coach K. I know that's borderline sacrilege around here, but I thought that he and JB did a great job with that team.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Listened to JB's presser a few times because i wanted to hear what he was saying and understand his points. He made several key observations (actually 7 not 3) that i believe provide a basis for his rotation etc:

1. Waiters and Triche are being more assertive and aggressive and that is what I want
---that helps the team and they need to keep that psyche
2. Scoop is a steadying force...if team dips a bit Scoop comes in and brings the play back up
3. KJ, Scoop and Triche, as 3 year starters are the glue of the team...they lead the younger players
--first time I have heard Triche mentioned in this way
4. Keita (and he mentioned first) and Melo know how to play in the middle of the zone and they do it well
5. Waiters lost weight like Fab and the conditioning has helped
6. Team has 8-9-10 starters...each player brings something different so combinations bring a different look to competition
--JB wants 6-7-8-9-10 to feel and act and play like starters...that mentality helps play well
7. Doesnt quite understand the slack off or down turn in 2nd half
--JB's quip after saying that may be foretelling..."Maybe I am playing too many players"
--not sure if this is sarcastic; JB caught of guard and said it; or he really feels that way but is is contradictory to what he said above...10 starters!

'Cuse has a terrific team with many moving parts...we all have our favorites and our disagreements and can debate who should play who didnt play well...but bottom line is I am and will "continue to pay" to watch this team...it is SPEACIAL!!!

I think his point "maybe I'm playing too many players" is for motivation. A couple guys have floated thru some stretches of games (Kris, for example). He needs them to play hard and smart while they are out there.

To me, our keys have been our ability to generate turnovers at the top of the zone, and the ability to play big on the inside without fouling as much. We've seen our guys get called for more inside fouls lately, but for the season on the whole, they've been great at defending well inside without fouling too much.

It has also been critically important that we mostly play unselfishly on offense, and have protected the ball very well, except for Scoop, who has had a series of games now where he just throws it away 2 or 3 times early in the game.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Gotta have the players to do it. Trevor Cooney redshirting suggests that we do.

Yes. Absolutely. All I'm saying is that JB's Olympic experience with Coach K and the NBA "egos" prepared him beautifully to handle having this much talent and depth.

 

[stuckinbig11]

Yes. Absolutely. All I'm saying is that JB's Olympic experience with Coach K and the NBA "egos" prepared him beautifully to handle having this much talent and depth.

we are in agreement

 

[RoysRunts]

The only thing that will keep this Team from being great is Internal Strife, That is JB's Biggest challenge, Ego's of the I shold play more group.