Marek this year

[Orangezoo]

I know we have several player threads including some for Marek but wanted to call out a few things. First of all he has done as well as he could playing a position he is not built for. He is a 4 man in the mold of a point forward similar to JDub. He obviously is missing the build and athleticism of Wallace but is truly able to start the offense and have it run through him.

The past couple wins have heavily been with the re emergence for at least one half of Marek's play. That said its been a disappointment for me in that the missing piece to his game of being able to develop an outside shot with a couple of dribbles or as a pick and pop to be a threat to both roll, pop or drive it just hasn't come to fruition. He would be all ACC first team with that skill for sure and honestly I think he has it in him given the mid range form and the fact he shot it ok when he first got here. I think between BS, Joe regressing and Marek being forced to do so much while also not really adding anything to his game offensively really hurt us this year and capped what could have been a pretty high ceiling. Kadary is a stud and certainly is a huge boost and then Jesse/JBA giving us little along with Frank's CoVid issues and being raw has made this a tough year. With guys who have played and stayed healthy the biggest disappointment is still Marek for me with Joe a close second. For the others it was about as expected for the most part given the unknowns and realizing it was a crap shoot for unproven guys.

Again it's not a pot shot at a kid who has had to do too much as it is. He has been more than we could have ever expected from the day we knew he was coming. That said as a senior who is truly the leader of this team it's a bummer he couldn't take that step.

 

[FireballPhil]

I was thinking of writing a similar post, so I am glad you did. I have basically the same feeling-an undersized kid playing in a position he is not suited for. You expect some things to naturally go wrong, but not all of what we are seeing.

Most of his issues seem to be on offense. He is adequate on defense seeing as he is out of position. He does a good job spotting open guys, and is a good passer, but he puts himself in to many situations where he needs bailed out. There are always at least three times per game, usually a lot more, where he dribble drives toward the basket and pulls up. Often times he has a fairly clean look at the basket, but for some reason looks to pass it back out to the shooters. I understand this may be the drawn play, but he should be able to adapt and take the easy shot, instead of trying to pass out of his situation, often resulting in a turn over. In his defense he isn't the only player to do this, just one of the more noticeable ones. It is very frustrating to see a senior make these mistakes.

Him and Kadary both need to develop outside shots. They are hindrances without it. Teams can easily lay off them because they know they aren't going to even attempt a shot. If I had to hinder a guess, it is the #1 reason Kadary doesn't start.

When I think of Marek I think of Josh Pace. The difference is Josh would shoot it from the outside, even though he had to work on getting that hitch out of his shot. Why isn't the staff working on him like they did Pace? Plenty of other thoughts, but this is the basics.

 

[djcon57]

.
Him and Kadary both need to develop outside shots. They are hindrances without it. Teams can easily lay off them because they know they aren't going to even attempt a shot. If I had to hinder a guess, it is the #1 reason Kadary doesn't start.

This doesn’t match the actual numbers we are seeing though. The team is better when both on the floor including on offense

Of course, I agree that if either could knock down an outside shot, they would be more dynamic

 

[Orangezoo]

This doesn’t match the actual numbers we are seeing though. The team is better when both on the floor including in offense

Yeah Kadary is able to get into the lane using physicality and thus goes into his man vs around like Marek.

 

[cto]

Disappointment? Hell, no! Marek has been an absolute hero for us. He does a bit of everything ... and does them all well. Today, he was our second leading scorer, perfect from the free throw line where he iced the game for us, led the team in assists... and took some hard fouls in order to get to the line. And he's played like this all year ... despite being forced to play out of position.

At his presser after the Notre Dame game today, JB said Marek has been our most valuable player this year.

 

[FireballPhil]

This doesn’t match the actual numbers we are seeing though. The team is better when both on the floor including on offense

Of course, I agree that if either could knock down an outside shot, they would be more dynamic

The actual numbers are based on necessity playing. How much better would the numbers be if Marek had improved his game, and was playing in a position more natural to him? Don't get me wrong, Marek does a lot of good, and very valuable to the team. I just think there are times he doesn't live up to the hype, especially considering he is a senior.

 

[RF2044]

Agreed.

I'll also add that Marek's game-to-game effectiveness [or lack thereof] varies, depending on matchups.

 

[Orangezoo]

Disappointment? Hell, no! Marek has been an absolute hero for us. He does a bit of everything ... and does them all well. Today, he was our second leading scorer, perfect from the free throw line where he iced the game for us, led the team in assists... and took some hard fouls in order to get to the line. And he's played like this all year ... despite being forced to play out of position.

I'm not saying he himself is a disappointment not at all which I further clarify in the last paragraph. My point is that he was not able to take the next step while he was here and I think he is capable. I'm betting it comes wherever he ends up after SU. The disappointment was in hoping that step was taken because of where it could take this team. Let me emphasize he never was a disappointment as a player or student athlete as I think you are taking my point out of context.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Marek is Kristoff, with skills. An all-time great Orangeman, perhaps the programs all-time selfless player.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Marek is currently at 899 points I think. Would be great if he can score at a good clip/we get enough games in for him to hit 1,000.

 

[AlaskaSU]

Josh Pace - outside shot?

 

[NorSyr66]

Marek has been forced to play out of position for all but about 4 minutes this year. Unless we have a better replacement on the bench, it is what it is. This year has been complicated with both the virus and only Edwards as the returning backup but even there COVID impacted his arrival from Europe. Marek is not the problem with this team. It is offensive and defensive balance. We start at a negative with the fact we have to play Marek at the 5. Absolutely no reflection on Marek but rather he is undersized most of the time versus other 5s. Then when three of the next four Orange players are primarily offensive focused we start to create the unbalance. All is well. if they are hitting but when they are not and the opponent is hitting the hole gets deep quickly. Then throw in the last player (Quincy) and he wants to play and shoot as an offensive player, the whole board goes TILT!!! We have zero defense on the floor, the offense is not scoring and even if the opponent is hitting 40%, we are digging a hole. We need defense and we need pressure applied by a team, all 5.. Not 4 one on ones. This is not criticism of Joe, Buddy, Griffin or Quincy but this team has to play defense first to make the offense work. Kadary, Braswell and hopefully Woody, Frank and Edwards provide us options.

 

[Newhouser]

Marek drives me crazy but he is the MVP of the team. Has he improved skills enough? Eh maybe not but he is our most important player.

 

[Orangefan1]

He’s only forced to play out of position because our head coach is stubborn and won’t play lineups that will actually develop players and put players in better positions to succeed. An exodus of players leaving seems inevitable at this point for a mediocre team.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

If you can shoot over 80 percent from the line .. you should be able to be At least an adequate 3 pt shooter ...

He doesn’t even attempt the shot anymore
Now is this because he’s banned from shooting it or he chooses not to ?

 

[hoopsupstate]

If you can shoot over 80 percent from the line .. you should be able to be At least an adequate 3 pt shooter ...

He doesn’t even attempt the shot anymore
Now is this because he’s banned from shooting it or he chooses not to ?

His lack of strength effects his ability to consistently make threes. His comfort level is fifteen feet. Perfect for making foul shots.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

His lack of strength effects his ability to consistently make threes. His comfort level is fifteen feet. Perfect for making foul shots.

I’m not buying strength is a limiting factor in him shooting 3’s... he’s not THAT weak.. he’s 6’10 ... go shoot at a 9 foot rim and see how little strength you need to shoot it from deep at that height

 

[brian williams]

His lack of strength effects his ability to consistently make threes. His comfort level is fifteen feet. Perfect for making foul shots.

How strong is Kevin Durant? Remember his bench press at the combine?

 

[Cusefan0307]

I’m not buying strength is a limiting factor in him shooting 3’s... he’s not THAT weak.. he’s 6’10 ... go shoot at a 9 foot rim and see how little strength you need to shoot it from deep at that height

JB said he has some weird spin on the ball when he tries to shoot that far out. It makes no sense To me that he’s stopped trying them altogether. He looked like he had potential from outside earlier in his career.

 

[NineOneSeven]

His lack of strength effects his ability to consistently make threes. His comfort level is fifteen feet. Perfect for making foul shots.

What?

 

[hoopsupstate]

I’m not buying strength is a limiting factor in him shooting 3’s... he’s not THAT weak.. he’s 6’10 ... go shoot at a 9 foot rim and see how little strength you need to shoot it from deep at that height

The most Marek can press is about one large pizza and a pack of Marlboros.

 

[kirbivore]

The most Marek can press is about one large pizza and a pack of Marlboros.

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