We need to get Fab

[mark79]

at least 4-5 low post touches per half. He is starting to show he can make some low post moves. He made a really nice duck under move last night, and almost converted a Doctor J-type swoop move. And he is a good enough passer to be able to kick it out if the other teams double him.

He could be the key to getting out of our half-court funk. I think we are going to need this to happen in order to get as far as we'd all like in the tournament.

 

[OttoMets]

For that to happen, he's got to stop posting behind the backboard.

He's certainly a huge key in improving our half-court offense (which doesn't look likely to materially improve in any other area), but Fab routinely gets caught behind the backboard, and he's still having trouble finishing. He's not consistently going up and dunking; there are a ton of instances in which he either brings the ball down or attempts a weak lay-up.

He's still light-years better than he was last year, though. We've got an unequivocal asset playing the 5, and we never had that last year.

 

[mark79]

I don't think we can go as far as we all want to go without this improvement. I think some teams will figure out how to get us into a half court game and avoid turnovers. If they do that, and we start dribbling all over the court trying to make one on one moves or take forced three pointers we are going to be in trouble. Interesting observation on Fab's post-up positioning. I'll have to watch for that... it could be because one of the only ways he is getting a touch is with the alley-oop... hope not...

 

[longislandcuse]

I agree, we should definately develop Fab's postgame as the season progresses. Also Christmas looks like he knows how to score when he gets the ball near the basket. Is he that bad in the other areas that he doesnt warrant playing time to develop?

 

[mark79]

Yup - he deserves some additional touches as well. I think MCW has shown he can deliver the entry pass. Just havent seen any interest in doing it with the other guards or forwards. Maybe a little from Brandon and CJ.

 

[Toga]

Key to the NC

 

[DomeStranger]

I think Fab greatest asset can come out of getting a low post feed then finding the open man when defenses converge on him and the basket. If they don't converge or double team let him toss one towards the hoop and see what happens.

 

[OttoMets]

Williams really shows an interest in making the entry pass. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Scoop and Triche don't do it (because they do, sometimes), but it seems to be priority #1 for the young guy, and he's pretty good at it.

I still maintain that Boeheim's not looking for more than 8 or 10 touches for Fab; he much prefers a guard/wing oriented offense. Be that as it may, Fab's not as efficient as he could be with those touches. He's 7'0" and can shoot and jump; if he gets it on the block, it should be a dunk nine out of ten times. 4-8 with 8 points is better than last year, but could be a whole lot better. That easily could've been 5-7 with a few free throws mixed in.

Yeah, this is nitpicking after an enjoyable win, but our half-court stinks and it's pretty unlikely that a.) Dion's going to have great success with the dribble-drive against good Big East teams, b.) one of our guys is going to become a good three-point shooter in the next two or three months, or c.) Kris is going to suddenly develop a midrange game or start converting more than 30% of his drives to the hoop. So our half-court hopes really ride on Fab's improvement. (And, I think, on Christmas's improvement, since he's got better touch than either of our other bigs; since Boeheim thinks his defense and rebounding make him a liability, though, we shouldn't hold our breath.)

 

[mark79]

yup, I agree whole-heartedely. I think KJ has hit his peak... don't see any improvement there. Biggest room for improvement is the young guys, i.e. MCW and Rak, but I dont see JB giving them enough minutes for them to truly improve our half court sets. We simply must get better at getting some inside scoring that isn't reliant on the oop. Maybe if Scoop can penetrate and dish, but as you say we will play some teams that can prevent that.

That said, I haven't seen much effort thus far in doing this except with MCW. Maybe Fab also has to improve his positioning as has been mentioned as well.

I do remember a super half court set against the zone with an entry to Rak then a quick pass from Rak back out and two swings o a wideopen BT but that would probably only work against a zone. But that did look good...

 

[OttoMets]

yup, I agree whole-heartedely. I think KJ has hit his peak... don't see any improvement there. Biggest room for improvement is the young guys, i.e. MCW and Rak, but I dont see JB giving them enough minutes for them to truly improve our half court sets. We simply must get better at getting some inside scoring that isn't reliant on the oop. Maybe if Scoop can penetrate and dish, but as you say we will play some teams that can prevent that.

That said, I haven't seen much effort thus far in doing this except with MCW. Maybe Fab also has to improve his positioning as has been mentioned as well.

I do remember a super half court set against the zone with an entry to Rak then a quick pass from Rak back out and two swings o a wideopen BT but that would probably only work against a zone. But that did look good...

That was one of our five best plays of the season; love that unselfish passing. It pains me to say it (since Scoop is my favorite player and I've enjoyed Joseph's play), but our seniors may well have reached their ceiling, give or take a few positive performances. (Moments after I grumbled about Joseph's awful fadeaway three-pointers last night, he caught the ball free throw line extended, posted his man, made a spin and got fouled. It's a perfect play for him, since he's more athletic than most 3s who'll guard him and is a higher percentage scoring opportunity than his wild drives or Todd Burgan-style threes, but we see it all too rarely.)

We're going to have a crushing loss in which we score under 65 and shoot worse than 40%; that's what happens when a team has no above-average shooters and likes to play one-on-one or run isolation plays for them. But our defense will keep us in most games, and Fab's got the potential to score double-figures on limited touches later this year. And we've got enough talent to beat anyone.

 

[mark79]

That was one of our five best plays of the season; love that unselfish passing. It pains me to say it (since Scoop is my favorite player and I've enjoyed Joseph's play), but our seniors may well have reached their ceiling, give or take a few positive performances. (Moments after I grumbled about Joseph's awful fadeaway three-pointers last night, he caught the ball free throw line extended, posted his man, made a spin and got fouled. It's a perfect play for him, since he's more athletic than most 3s who'll guard him and is a higher percentage scoring opportunity than his wild drives or Todd Burgan-style threes, but we see it all too rarely.)

We're going to have a crushing loss in which we score under 65 and shoot worse than 40%; that's what happens when a team has no above-average shooters and likes to play one-on-one or run isolation plays for them. But our defense will keep us in most games, and Fab's got the potential to score double-figures on limited touches later this year. And we've got enough talent to beat anyone.

IMO, we might be able to prevent that one crushing loss if we can develop an inside game... I think we got the horses, even though they are inexperienced. We have to be willing to develop them more right now in-game if we want to improve our chances at the long-term goal...