could petar be the next dolezaj?
my two cents
- Thread starter kcsu
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Let’s break down Red:
#Won 20 ballgames with a disjointed and ego-ridden team. Not a miracle perhaps, but the Vatican-appointed Miracle Commission is looking into it.
#He has attracted a good deal of high-end talent that this program has largely lacked the last decade. Ironically, the PG eluded him this year.
#He’s working with a strong hand/mentor in ADJW. And he has not allowed pride to get in the way of hiring a new Asst and a program GM.
#He is doing what almost every fan here wanted (for the last 10-12 years): playing faster and playing M2M on the defensive end. That’s not going to be an instant take.
#He also attacked when it came to roster construction. HS talent and Portal. As was needed and as everyone clamored for in the fanbase. Let’s all be frank, most often, too much portaling often has diminishing returns. It is also prohibitive to culture building, as the players bring baggage/influences from other programs. I acknowledge the need for portaling, but I hope it is just a player or two per season. Player empowerment comes with downside too. It creates mostly unwanted volatility. This is not fantasy football.
#Contrary to popular belief, he has made a number of strong decisions on behalf of the program. Aka he is not the softie/players coach that his critics here would have you believe. He benched Judah early last year. He benched Copeland. He jettisoned Benny midstream. And while I hate this newfound concept in CBB, he showed the door to a number of good-stock, program friendly players in the off-season.
#He beat LeMoyne and Colgate. Those were decidedly poor outings, but he won/avoided disaster. And the squad will invariably grow/improve. He’s a good coach. He’s not over his head. He’s doing what needs to be done reestablish the foundation of this program.
#Some times program progressions are not instantaneous. In fact, the vast majority are not. Just a few examples: Danny Hurley missed the NCAA Tournament his first four seasons at Rhode Island (66-54 record) and his initial two campaigns in Storrs (35-29 record). Kelvin Sampson missed the Tournament each of his first three seasons at Houston (56-40 mark). Tom Izzo went 33-28 in his first two years at MSU and missed the postseason both times. Tony Bennett went 76-53 his first four years at UVa and only made the Tourney once. One more (just to include an SEC team), Rick Barnes missed the NCAAs his first two years at Tennessee, going 31-35 along the way. The he started paying players.
Look, I get it. SU a top 10 program all-time and you’re anxious. You want it now. (So do I !!). I think there just has to be a more pragmatic feel for what expectation should be in these early seasons for Red. Because if you/we are unrealistic in that regard, it sets up bitter disappointment. But, I suppose, that’s what we — as fans — do.
Can’t shoot a lick, poor ball handler. No need to see more than a few minutes, imo.
kcsu
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If the guys dont start to play good man to man and Red want to win here is the lineup to go with and play zone.
Lamp 5
Donnie 4
Davis 3
Bell 2
JJ 1
Subs. McClead 5 Petar 4 Bell 3 Taylor 3 Choppa 2 JJ 2 Taylor 2 Carlos 1 Choppa 1
5 starters 5 potential subs. Play pressure, Not press sometimes to speed the game up. Otherwise drop into a zone. Do not play half court Man.
Lamp 5
Donnie 4
Davis 3
Bell 2
JJ 1
Subs. McClead 5 Petar 4 Bell 3 Taylor 3 Choppa 2 JJ 2 Taylor 2 Carlos 1 Choppa 1
5 starters 5 potential subs. Play pressure, Not press sometimes to speed the game up. Otherwise drop into a zone. Do not play half court Man.
I think we’re more likely to try half court traps before going to full on JB 2-3 zone.
CardiacCuse
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i think taylor might be letting his low rank on the totem pole of the team cause him to press when he's out there...perhaps with an expanded role he could focus more and stop forcing it?
I think he has a bit of that dog in him too
i would try him as the PG and bench carlos if it were me
westry is also another wildcard...can he play PG?
pertty sure lampkin is not 100% either...which is effecting his movement (not sure of he will be 100% this year or not...but its clear he's hampered)
DC was a better ballhandler and passer then Bell would ever be, and I wouldn't put him as the 2. Bell is a limited forward and that's the only position for him.
MikeSU02
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This team can't play zone. Especially if it's split time with man to man as well. I get where you are trying to get to, and I don't wholly disagree with it, but that lineup would be bad at zone. JJ and Bell might be as bad up top as Buddy and JGIII. Also, Lampkin cannot be in a 2-3 zone at center. He just doesn't have the instincts, explosiveness or acceleration.
If you want to adjust on D, my guy-on-the-internet recommendation would be to adjust the man to man to be the pack line D.
It won't make us a good defensive team and there would be games we would be shot out of the gym, but at least it would help protect Eddie's lack of rim protection and our guards since they are basically in cement shoes as guys go by them. I think it would be closer to accomplishing what I *think* you want as an end result and wouldn't inject a fully new way of D into practice time like the zone would.
Just my 0.02. Again, I'm aligned with your end goal, but I don't think zone in the half court is the answer.
To be clear, I don't think this team can play *any* defense well.
Sbucketball
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Good idea. I found myself wanting zone in the Colgate game because the m2m made my eyes bleed, but Lampkin doesn't have the length and athleticism to do it, which is why we haven't seen a center like him in a while. Carlos doesn't give us a lot of length up top either. Wouldn't be good with the starters.
Pack line takes a lot of communication and coaching though, so not sure it'd be an easy switch. And as you said, there'd be nights we get shot out of the gym. But if we can't stay in front of any HM athletes and no one helps, we're going to have to try something different.
Whether it be zone, pack line, or something else, I think we need a defense that is better suited to our personnel than a straight man-to-man defense. It's not just that our players don't know how to run man-to-man; they simply can't run it well given their attributes. (tiny point guard; less mobile center).
At this point, a more obscure defense would at least cause some confusion for the other team. We had success with that formula for nearly half a century. Maybe the 2-3 is dead and gone in today's game, but a different obscure defense could still be an advantage for us. I always thought the weirdness of the 2-3 was one reason why we had consistent success in the tournament. It's hard to teach a team to attack a strange defense with one day of practice.
At this point, a more obscure defense would at least cause some confusion for the other team. We had success with that formula for nearly half a century. Maybe the 2-3 is dead and gone in today's game, but a different obscure defense could still be an advantage for us. I always thought the weirdness of the 2-3 was one reason why we had consistent success in the tournament. It's hard to teach a team to attack a strange defense with one day of practice.
rychi32
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My biggest issue so far is how they are defending the ball screens. Lemoyne and Colgate both utilized their bigs to see if/how Lampkin would react. For the most part, they have just used drop coverage. Our guards, especially Carlos, are not strong enough to fight over the screen and when they do, they just get re-screened. This leads to a lot of open shots or clean drives. They really have to change that scheme. Lampkin has to be able to show and have the foot speed to recover. I’m not sure he can.
