newmexicuse
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- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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Team is on track to head for the bubble at best. Will probably need a deep ACC tournament run to get into the big dance as the upcoming schedule is brutal & if we play .500 for the rest of the season that would probably be a best case scenerio.
The team has played well for long stretches, has not been able to close out games effectively. This poster believes that the shallow bench & too many minutes for most of our starters is the biggest reason for this.
The recent play of Roberson has given us that critical 4th scoring threat. I believe that Tyler's play is not a fluke and that he will continue to show overall improvement in terms of scoring. His strength is rebounding, and though he has excelled in that category overall, he does need to be more consistent. No reason a power rebounder should only be able to grab 3 in 35 minutes as he did in the NC game.
We continue to have extreme reliance on our big three. Rak has simply amazed. I never saw it coming. His consistency is beyond incredible - in the famous words of Clyde he "astounds and abounds." I do not believe he has had a bad game yet unless he has gotten himself into foul trouble and that is his only Achilles heel.
Trevor is a guy who really wants to be the man. He has done a fantastic job overcoming his early season woes. Unfortunately, the nature of his game is such that he will have his ups and downs, and it is very hard for this team to win if he isn't on.
G, like Rak, has made great strides from last season. he can penetrate and finish, he can hit the open three, & he can bring the ball up. He is a great complement to the other guys that we have. Unfortunately, there can be no excuse for his lame FT shooting. If he can hit almost 50% from distance, he should be able to make 75% from the line. Obviously, it is mental, but there are times when his freebie misses really hurt, especially in end of game situations as he is one of our primary ballhandlers. I predict that he will make the FT% shooting jump next season, the question is - can he somehow start to show improvement in that area this season before it is too late.
Joseph to me is the big wild card. He shows flashes of both good and bad. Too often it is the bad. He has made strides in his ball handling since early in the season, but he still has some games when his inexperience shows. The team can overcome an occasional off game from him, but unless he can get his 8 or so with a decent TO ratio the team's upside is very limited. At some point he will become a very solid player. Most likely that will not be this season, but if somehow he can make an intra-season jump that would give this group considerable upside.
Buss & BJ - Overall, I am extremely disappointed in how little they have brought to the table. I do not expect it every game from them, but one would think that at least sometimes one of them would be a spark & be able to throw in a quick 7 to 10 point burst. They have been the two most consistent players on the team - unfortunately that is in consistently bad. Are these two guys not talented enough, too nervous, not good fits for our system ?????
Chino - Overall I think he is underutilized - most of the time when he gets a look he can give us a few solid D & rebounding minutes. His role should be expanded.
Jimmy has done a solid job this season with what he has. He is between a rock and a hard place in terms of bench utilization. Our starters play too many minutes. It hasn't worked. It didn't work last season. As bad as the bench has been, those guys have to be force fed enough minutes to get the starters sufficient rest. Though games can certainly be lost in the first half, I would say the the majority of games are decided in the final five minutes, and our guys have not succeeded enough during crunchtime. They need to be kept fresh enough to close em out. My suggestion is to get our big four some rest during the first half of games. I think Chino can be an important part of this. He can not only come in as a direct sub for Rak, but he can come in and play with Rak, which we haven't seen. Rak can still play the 5 on the o end w Chino just being in a rebounding position, and Rak can slide over to the 4 on the D end. This would allow Jimmy to keep us big & get some rest time for G and/or Tyler.
So overall, my prognosis for the team is probably about the same as everybody else's; however, I do see areas for at least potential improvement, so hope prevails.
The team has played well for long stretches, has not been able to close out games effectively. This poster believes that the shallow bench & too many minutes for most of our starters is the biggest reason for this.
The recent play of Roberson has given us that critical 4th scoring threat. I believe that Tyler's play is not a fluke and that he will continue to show overall improvement in terms of scoring. His strength is rebounding, and though he has excelled in that category overall, he does need to be more consistent. No reason a power rebounder should only be able to grab 3 in 35 minutes as he did in the NC game.
We continue to have extreme reliance on our big three. Rak has simply amazed. I never saw it coming. His consistency is beyond incredible - in the famous words of Clyde he "astounds and abounds." I do not believe he has had a bad game yet unless he has gotten himself into foul trouble and that is his only Achilles heel.
Trevor is a guy who really wants to be the man. He has done a fantastic job overcoming his early season woes. Unfortunately, the nature of his game is such that he will have his ups and downs, and it is very hard for this team to win if he isn't on.
G, like Rak, has made great strides from last season. he can penetrate and finish, he can hit the open three, & he can bring the ball up. He is a great complement to the other guys that we have. Unfortunately, there can be no excuse for his lame FT shooting. If he can hit almost 50% from distance, he should be able to make 75% from the line. Obviously, it is mental, but there are times when his freebie misses really hurt, especially in end of game situations as he is one of our primary ballhandlers. I predict that he will make the FT% shooting jump next season, the question is - can he somehow start to show improvement in that area this season before it is too late.
Joseph to me is the big wild card. He shows flashes of both good and bad. Too often it is the bad. He has made strides in his ball handling since early in the season, but he still has some games when his inexperience shows. The team can overcome an occasional off game from him, but unless he can get his 8 or so with a decent TO ratio the team's upside is very limited. At some point he will become a very solid player. Most likely that will not be this season, but if somehow he can make an intra-season jump that would give this group considerable upside.
Buss & BJ - Overall, I am extremely disappointed in how little they have brought to the table. I do not expect it every game from them, but one would think that at least sometimes one of them would be a spark & be able to throw in a quick 7 to 10 point burst. They have been the two most consistent players on the team - unfortunately that is in consistently bad. Are these two guys not talented enough, too nervous, not good fits for our system ?????
Chino - Overall I think he is underutilized - most of the time when he gets a look he can give us a few solid D & rebounding minutes. His role should be expanded.
Jimmy has done a solid job this season with what he has. He is between a rock and a hard place in terms of bench utilization. Our starters play too many minutes. It hasn't worked. It didn't work last season. As bad as the bench has been, those guys have to be force fed enough minutes to get the starters sufficient rest. Though games can certainly be lost in the first half, I would say the the majority of games are decided in the final five minutes, and our guys have not succeeded enough during crunchtime. They need to be kept fresh enough to close em out. My suggestion is to get our big four some rest during the first half of games. I think Chino can be an important part of this. He can not only come in as a direct sub for Rak, but he can come in and play with Rak, which we haven't seen. Rak can still play the 5 on the o end w Chino just being in a rebounding position, and Rak can slide over to the 4 on the D end. This would allow Jimmy to keep us big & get some rest time for G and/or Tyler.
So overall, my prognosis for the team is probably about the same as everybody else's; however, I do see areas for at least potential improvement, so hope prevails.
