Random St. Joseph's Thoughts

[Niastri]

We are getting outrebounded way too often. I would like to see bigger lineups to help combat this. With Kyle, Souare, White and Betsey, I think we can afford to play 3 forwards more often and let Kingz play guard.

When Freeman returns, I think we should often see Kyle, Freeman, Betsey, Kingz and Starling/George out there. The getting crushed on the boards problem is starting to look like we have Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor playing together again. Our talent level should be better than that. At this point, it isn't great watching us get outrebounded by lower division teams, even ones like St. Joes that are good rebounding teams.

I am starting to come to the conclusion that we don't need Souare to play much once Freeman comes back.

Speaking of Freeman, he makes such a huge difference in the offense because he needs to be closely guarded at all levels. Because few players are equipped to guard him both at the perimeter and close to the basket, he also often commands double teams, sometimes even when he doesn't yet have the ball. This makes offense easier for everybody else. It is hard to guess how much better we would look if Freeman wasn't injured, but its safe to say we would be a ton better if we took Souare's minutes and gave them to Freeman, and cut a few minutes each from the 3G/SF rotation and gave them to Freeman as well.

I am not suggesting Kingz, Betsey, Starling and White are hurting us, but Freeman is running a 27.2 PER and a 7.2 BPM. Anybody on the team, besides arguably Kyle, that Freeman takes minutes from is a benefit to the team. Nobody else is close, with White having a PER of 16.7 and Betsey a 5.2 BPM to lead the four guys I mentioned in those categories. Souare, by the way, has a PER of 5.2 and a negative 2.2 BPM.

Before anybody points out that Freeman only played cupcakes, I will remind you that PER and BPM are both competition level adjusted. Freeman might be a guy who dominates lousy competition better than similar players, but even if that effect is poorly accounted for, multiple efficiency rating systems think he is our best player in almost every category.

A rotation with Freeman, Kyle, White, Betsey, Kingz, Starling, Anthony and George, with all of them between 20 and 30 minutes per game is a very effective squad, which can do everything a team needs to win.

Souare, Fennell and Zephir get only emergency minutes, and everybody else takes or wasted their redshirt year.

By the way, the numbers think we should have Betsey on the court a lot more than Anthony. Especially for a team that has trouble rebounding, Betsey is the right choice to sub in for Kingz or Starling when they need to rest. Anthony does the same thing as Kingz and Starling, but worse. Betsey has a skill set that only duplicates what Freeman can do. We want him playing more, especially if he can improve his defense with additional reps. But even then, DRtg things Anthony (100.7) is our worst defender. By a wide margin worse than Betsey (94.4). The number indicates Betsey would allow 6.3 fewer points per 100 possessions all things being relative. since the metric is standardized to 100 meaning exactly average, also means that Anthony is listed as our only worse than average defender on the team.

 

[ohiocuseman]

I really think a lot of George's "struggles" have been a result of the freeman injury. Im sure all summer he was working PNR with Donnie and got comfortable having a stretch 4 on the floor with at all times with Betsy or Freeman. Even if Donnie isn't the elite elite stud that we think he can his impending return is still huge, his presence alone will elevate our floor at the very least.

 

[DomeHolmes]

We are getting outrebounded way too often. I would like to see bigger lineups to help combat this. With Kyle, Souare, White and Betsey, I think we can afford to play 3 forwards more often and let Kingz play guard.

When Freeman returns, I think we should often see Kyle, Freeman, Betsey, Kingz and Starling/George out there. The getting crushed on the boards problem is starting to look like we have Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor playing together again. Our talent level should be better than that. At this point, it isn't great watching us get outrebounded by lower division teams, even ones like St. Joes that are good rebounding teams.

I am starting to come to the conclusion that we don't need Souare to play much once Freeman comes back.

Speaking of Freeman, he makes such a huge difference in the offense because he needs to be closely guarded at all levels. Because few players are equipped to guard him both at the perimeter and close to the basket, he also often commands double teams, sometimes even when he doesn't yet have the ball. This makes offense easier for everybody else. It is hard to guess how much better we would look if Freeman wasn't injured, but its safe to say we would be a ton better if we took Souare's minutes and gave them to Freeman, and cut a few minutes each from the 3G/SF rotation and gave them to Freeman as well.

I am not suggesting Kingz, Betsey, Starling and White are hurting us, but Freeman is running a 27.2 PER and a 7.2 BPM. Anybody on the team, besides arguably Kyle, that Freeman takes minutes from is a benefit to the team. Nobody else is close, with White having a PER of 16.7 and Betsey a 5.2 BPM to lead the four guys I mentioned in those categories. Souare, by the way, has a PER of 5.2 and a negative 2.2 BPM.

Before anybody points out that Freeman only played cupcakes, I will remind you that PER and BPM are both competition level adjusted. Freeman might be a guy who dominates lousy competition better than similar players, but even if that effect is poorly accounted for, multiple efficiency rating systems think he is our best player in almost every category.

A rotation with Freeman, Kyle, White, Betsey, Kingz, Starling, Anthony and George, with all of them between 20 and 30 minutes per game is a very effective squad, which can do everything a team needs to win.

Souare, Fennell and Zephir get only emergency minutes, and everybody else takes or wasted their redshirt year.

By the way, the numbers think we should have Betsey on the court a lot more than Anthony. Especially for a team that has trouble rebounding, Betsey is the right choice to sub in for Kingz or Starling when they need to rest. Anthony does the same thing as Kingz and Starling, but worse. Betsey has a skill set that only duplicates what Freeman can do. We want him playing more, especially if he can improve his defense with additional reps. But even then, DRtg things Anthony (100.7) is our worst defender, by a wide margin relative to Betsey (94.4). The number indicates Betsey would allow 6.3 fewer points per 100 possessions all things being relative. It also means that Anthony is listed as our only worse than average defender on the team.

All good points. My only disagreement is despite their size at 6’8” and 6’6”white and Anthony combined for two rebounds yesterday. Especially on offense, I don’t care how tall you are, if you’re just going to stand there and watch the shot, you’re not going to get the rebound. That needs to be addressed.

But I too would like to see a lineup with White, Freeman, and Kyle in the front court more often. Kiyan had a few really good games, but he really needs to earn his minutes by rebounding effort and better shot selection..

 

[orangefog]

All good points. My only disagreement is despite their size at 6’8” and 6’6”white and Anthony combined for two rebounds yesterday. Especially on offense, I don’t care how tall you are, if you’re just going to stand there and watch the shot, you’re not going to get the rebound. That needs to be addressed.

But I too would like to see a lineup with White, Freeman, and Kyle in the front court more often. Kiyan had a few really good games, but he really needs to earn his minutes by rebounding effort and better shot selection..

Maybe this is old fashioned thinking, but I am from the school that when the ball goes up, you instinctively find and block out your man. Then hunt the rebound. While you are watching, your man is going by you to get the board.

 

[kingtidge]

We are getting outrebounded way too often. I would like to see bigger lineups to help combat this. With Kyle, Souare, White and Betsey, I think we can afford to play 3 forwards more often and let Kingz play guard.

When Freeman returns, I think we should often see Kyle, Freeman, Betsey, Kingz and Starling/George out there. The getting crushed on the boards problem is starting to look like we have Maliq Brown and Justin Taylor playing together again. Our talent level should be better than that. At this point, it isn't great watching us get outrebounded by lower division teams, even ones like St. Joes that are good rebounding teams.

I am starting to come to the conclusion that we don't need Souare to play much once Freeman comes back.

Speaking of Freeman, he makes such a huge difference in the offense because he needs to be closely guarded at all levels. Because few players are equipped to guard him both at the perimeter and close to the basket, he also often commands double teams, sometimes even when he doesn't yet have the ball. This makes offense easier for everybody else. It is hard to guess how much better we would look if Freeman wasn't injured, but its safe to say we would be a ton better if we took Souare's minutes and gave them to Freeman, and cut a few minutes each from the 3G/SF rotation and gave them to Freeman as well.

I am not suggesting Kingz, Betsey, Starling and White are hurting us, but Freeman is running a 27.2 PER and a 7.2 BPM. Anybody on the team, besides arguably Kyle, that Freeman takes minutes from is a benefit to the team. Nobody else is close, with White having a PER of 16.7 and Betsey a 5.2 BPM to lead the four guys I mentioned in those categories. Souare, by the way, has a PER of 5.2 and a negative 2.2 BPM.

Before anybody points out that Freeman only played cupcakes, I will remind you that PER and BPM are both competition level adjusted. Freeman might be a guy who dominates lousy competition better than similar players, but even if that effect is poorly accounted for, multiple efficiency rating systems think he is our best player in almost every category.

A rotation with Freeman, Kyle, White, Betsey, Kingz, Starling, Anthony and George, with all of them between 20 and 30 minutes per game is a very effective squad, which can do everything a team needs to win.

Souare, Fennell and Zephir get only emergency minutes, and everybody else takes or wasted their redshirt year.

By the way, the numbers think we should have Betsey on the court a lot more than Anthony. Especially for a team that has trouble rebounding, Betsey is the right choice to sub in for Kingz or Starling when they need to rest. Anthony does the same thing as Kingz and Starling, but worse. Betsey has a skill set that only duplicates what Freeman can do. We want him playing more, especially if he can improve his defense with additional reps. But even then, DRtg things Anthony (100.7) is our worst defender. By a wide margin worse than Betsey (94.4). The number indicates Betsey would allow 6.3 fewer points per 100 possessions all things being relative. since the metric is standardized to 100 meaning exactly average, also means that Anthony is listed as our only worse than average defender on the team.

Good points.

I hope you are right on the rebounding once Freeman returns (and hopefully stays healthy.) And yee gads, for the love of Jeezus, RED, do not switch to zone when we just got an arm's length lead down the stretch... The IMMEDIATE 3 offensive boards St. Joes ripped down uncontested in the zone and converting on the fourth set attempt was ENOUGH.. We're already struggling with rebounds and zone is only going to exacerbate that (serious WT-Ephf moment in the game last night for me, lol.)

I will say, I am very pleasantly surprised with Kyle's game. He plays bigger than 6'9" and obviously has hops. He does a number of things well and fairly consistently, which I wasn't really expecting since Cronin used him more sparingly. His shotput FT shot tho... yikes... but who cares if they go in like last night... just hope he can be consistent with his shotput form. Also, let's see how he performs once we get into the meat of the ACC season and he's banging with bigger clydesdales regularly...

Also, regarding Betsey, if what we are starting to see is Betsey "hitting his stride" then, yes, let's ride that wave... I'd like to see him show it consistently and a starting spot is warranted to see if he can do it consistently, imo.

 

[Niastri]

Good points.

I hope you are right on the rebounding once Freeman returns (and hopefully stays healthy.) And yee gads, for the love of Jeezus, RED, do not switch to zone when we just got an arm's length lead down the stretch... The IMMEDIATE 3 offensive boards St. Joes ripped down uncontested in the zone and converting on the fourth set attempt was ENOUGH.. We're already struggling with rebounds and zone is only going to exacerbate that (serious WT-Ephf moment in the game last night for me, lol.)

I will say, I am very pleasantly surprised with Kyle's game. He plays bigger than 6'9" and obviously has hops. He does a number of things well and fairly consistently, which I wasn't really expecting since Cronin used him more sparingly. His shotput FT shot tho... yikes... but who cares if they go in like last night... just hope he can be consistent with his shotput form. Also, let's see how he performs once we get into the meat of the ACC season and he's banging with bigger clydesdales regularly...

Also, regarding Betsey, if what we are starting to see is Betsey "hitting his stride" then, yes, let's ride that wave... I'd like to see him show it consistently and a starting spot is warranted to see if he can do it consistently, imo.

Just having 6'8, 225lb Betsey out there instead of shorter, slighter and more perimeter oriented Anthony out there should help rebounding.

It also could help our 2 point fg defensive percentage as well, but Betsey hasn't shown to be much of a shotblocker yet.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Good points.

I hope you are right on the rebounding once Freeman returns (and hopefully stays healthy.) And yee gads, for the love of Jeezus, RED, do not switch to zone when we just got an arm's length lead down the stretch... The IMMEDIATE 3 offensive boards St. Joes ripped down uncontested in the zone and converting on the fourth set attempt was ENOUGH.. We're already struggling with rebounds and zone is only going to exacerbate that (serious WT-Ephf moment in the game last night for me, lol.)

I will say, I am very pleasantly surprised with Kyle's game. He plays bigger than 6'9" and obviously has hops. He does a number of things well and fairly consistently, which I wasn't really expecting since Cronin used him more sparingly. His shotput FT shot tho... yikes... but who cares if they go in like last night... just hope he can be consistent with his shotput form. Also, let's see how he performs once we get into the meat of the ACC season and he's banging with bigger clydesdales regularly...

Also, regarding Betsey, if what we are starting to see is Betsey "hitting his stride" then, yes, let's ride that wave... I'd like to see him show it consistently and a starting spot is warranted to see if he can do it consistently, imo.

that play when kyle backed his man down off the dribble from the free throw line to the low block then spun around him in the lane...needs to happen more often...he can beat his man like that consistently, imo

and the play when kyle screened off ball and got betsey the 4pt play opportunity needs to happen more too

off ball screening seems to rarely happen with this team...but it is so effective

 

[bballbeadle]

that play when kyle backed his man down off the dribble from the free throw line to the low block then spun around him in the lane...needs to happen more often...he can beat his man like that consistently, imo

and the play when kyle screened off ball and got betsey the 4pt play opportunity needs to happen more too

off ball screening seems to rarely happen with this team...but it is so effective

But Kyle seems afraid/hesitant to do it, doesn’t he?

 

[McCuse]

But Kyle seems afraid/hesitant to do it, doesn’t he?

Kyle used great footwork holding his pivot foot and maneuvering around his man.

 

[DomeHolmes]

Good points.

I hope you are right on the rebounding once Freeman returns (and hopefully stays healthy.) And yee gads, for the love of Jeezus, RED, do not switch to zone when we just got an arm's length lead down the stretch... The IMMEDIATE 3 offensive boards St. Joes ripped down uncontested in the zone and converting on the fourth set attempt was ENOUGH.. We're already struggling with rebounds and zone is only going to exacerbate that (serious WT-Ephf moment in the game last night for me, lol.)

I will say, I am very pleasantly surprised with Kyle's game. He plays bigger than 6'9" and obviously has hops. He does a number of things well and fairly consistently, which I wasn't really expecting since Cronin used him more sparingly. His shotput FT shot tho... yikes... but who cares if they go in like last night... just hope he can be consistent with his shotput form. Also, let's see how he performs once we get into the meat of the ACC season and he's banging with bigger clydesdales regularly...

Also, regarding Betsey, if what we are starting to see is Betsey "hitting his stride" then, yes, let's ride that wave... I'd like to see him show it consistently and a starting spot is warranted to see if he can do it consistently, imo.

I’ve been high on Kyle and I’m optimistic going forward. He will not likely face a better defensive center in the ACC than St Joe’s had. That guy stepped out at the right times at altered tons of shots without fouling. He did foul out, but it wasn’t from being out of control. He just had to cover a lot of ground and they asked him to do a lot on defense. I don’t see Kyles numbers going down in ACC play. I think you could legitimately say he has been the only guy that has brought his A game every night so far.

With Betsy, if he could hit his stride from the foul line, I would be pleased.

 

[hoopsupstate]

Kyle has nice footwork. I wish we would throw it into him a few more times a game. His passing is underrated.

 

[CardiacCuse]

But Kyle seems afraid/hesitant to do it, doesn’t he?

yes but he shouldnt be

the whole team tends to play a bit afraid on offense...i wonder if they are being micromanaged on offense ...in terms of what each player is told to do and not do

Kyle has nice footwork. I wish we would throw it into him a few more times a game. His passing is underrated.

the bigs can pass...and passing big men can be lethal...I wanna see more of this