We probably only have 3-4 losses with Buss, BJ, and Diagne...

[orangefan13]

Not to write a long overstretched post, or to stretch to low possibilities. There was very likely chance McCullough was gone.

DC, and Joseph not being ready offensively has forced a couple of freshmen to step up, and has led to some of our struggles. That has led us to the point where Gbinije, Cooney and 2 of our three freshmen had to step up.

I give Roberson alot of credit last night. I had him pegged at 12-13 ppg this year. He was at 9, but really really brought it offensively against Clemson. He deserved a round of applause win or lose. Keep in mind Clemson was first in ACC in blocks because they have good interior defense. Roberson played tough at the rim and created his own shots for the first time this season. He had a decent outing first half against gtown as well. On the defensive end he played tougher then our center spot which is very hard to do in the zone, but he somehow managed that also. Let's hope he keeps it up, as it would really take some of the pressure off of Gbinije and Cooney in the longrun. Especially if Lydon finds the consistancy to join them.

Of course giving up nearly 50% to opponents from the field in 4 losses this season hasn't helped either.

Anyway, I think there is a good chance we beat both Clemson, Wisconsin, and possibly another 1-2 games had we had those three. Instead we have 6 losses.

Anyone that wants to be hard on Hop needs to consider that he wasn't just put in a tough situation but a really tough one in very short notice. I am not going to judge his coaching on the last play of his coaching stint where he could have fouled up 3 with 15 left after Clemson made the three. I think he did a Good solid Job, tried to win, coached and has a clear mind for what he wants to run. I really look forward to him taking over in a few years.
Cheer Up, Go Cuse BBall!!

 

[Brooky03]

Diagne would have been the biggest factor. He would play backup center and allow Lydon to play forward.

BJ would have provided some nice depth. He had a lot to improve on both ends of the court, but could have been a decent option behind Malachi, with Lydon backing up Roberson.

Patterson couldn't really do anything Frank Howard can't. I don't think Jim B would give him the nod over Howard and Ron certainly wouldn't be taking minutes away from Cooney or G. He's no more a PG than any of those 3 guys.

BJ and Ron wouldn't add wins. Diagne would have.

 

[orangefan13]

1.Patterson would have been much more ready then Howard defensively though.
2. He took the ball to the rim well last year.
3. He would help create some transition.
4. He gambled with on the ball pressured solidly last year. He would have been the best on the ball pressure defender on this team.
Not saying we would do well with pressure while he was in but he had his upsides.

BJ could have payed dividends knocking down shots. Malachi has had a few 2-15 nights and he had those kind of days against wisconsin, gtown, and probably another 1-2 of our losses to name a few.
Maybe BJ or Mal could have played some 2g for us for 5-10 minutes and we could have found three point shots, even driving the lane alittle easier and more consistently.

The one thing about this team is inconsistancy.
1. Gbinije goes to the rim all of a sudden once acc play starts. Before acc he rarely never does but shoots 52% from three knocking down 3 plus a game. Now he can't buy a three.
2. Malachi our volume shooter has been on and off shooting. The last 2 he was on fire that should continue. I think sometimes we as fans are weakminded and think good shooters can't continue.
3. Roberson and Lydon step up 1 out of 3 games. This could change Roberson played his best game in orange ever against clemson, imo.
4. Gbinije has to choose whether he is going to have to score alot more or try to asssist because of the above.
5. The centers like Dajuan get alittle banged up and sit the whole second half sometimes our center defense is good sometimes its awful. It ranges.
6. rebounding up and down.
Translation its so important to practice everything in practice. When everything is fresh in our short term memory we will play our better ball. We may lose to a clemson doing so but atleast we try hard.

Given all the above, My prediction is they would have added more then we think.

 

[RoysRunts]

I liked Patterson

 

[zhanjuzi]

Yes, in one of many parallel universes, this is a possibility. I also like the one where Diagne is eligible .. the one where DC plays above the rim .. etc.

 

[Ghost]

I give Roberson alot of credit last night. I had him pegged at 12-13 ppg this year. He was at 9, but really really brought it offensively against Clemson. He deserved a round of applause win or lose. Keep in mind Clemson was first in ACC in blocks because they have good interior defense. Roberson played tough at the rim and created his own shots for the first time this season. He had a decent outing first half against gtown as well. On the defensive end he played tougher then our center spot which is very hard to do in the zone, but he somehow managed that also. Let's hope he keeps it up, as it would really take some of the pressure off of Gbinije and Cooney in the longrun. Especially if Lydon finds the consistancy to join them.

Roberson seems like he'll forever be a strange player to watch. Would love to see him be more consistent. If he could hit a mid-range jumper with some consistency, and be aggressive on the boards it will go a long way toward keeping us competitive. Obviously, hitting the bunnies at a decent clip helps too - there are some games where he looks incapable of finishing those, and then other games where he's finished with both hands pretty well. Quite the enigma.

Thought overall he and Richardson showed a bit more fight on the boards than they have over the past couple of weeks - that was another positive.

 

[Brooky03]

1.Patterson would have been much more ready then Howard defensively though.
2. He took the ball to the rim well last year.
3. He would help create some transition.
4. He gambled with on the ball pressured solidly last year. He would have been the best on the ball pressure defender on this team.
Not saying we would do well with pressure while he was in but he had his upsides.

BJ could have payed dividends knocking down shots. Malachi has had a few 2-15 nights and he had those kind of days against wisconsin, gtown, and probably another 1-2 of our losses to name a few.
Maybe BJ or Mal could have played some 2g for us for 5-10 minutes and we could have found three point shots, even driving the lane alittle easier and more consistently.

The one thing about this team is inconsistancy.
1. Gbinije goes to the rim all of a sudden once acc play starts. Before acc he rarely never does but shoots 52% from three knocking down 3 plus a game. Now he can't buy a three.
2. Malachi our volume shooter has been on and off shooting. The last 2 he was on fire that should continue. I think sometimes we as fans are weakminded and think good shooters can't continue.
3. Roberson and Lydon step up 1 out of 3 games. This could change Roberson played his best game in orange ever against clemson, imo.
4. Gbinije has to choose whether he is going to have to score alot more or try to asssist because of the above.
5. The centers like Dajuan get alittle banged up and sit the whole second half sometimes our center defense is good sometimes its awful. It ranges.
6. rebounding up and down.
Translation its so important to practice everything in practice. When everything is fresh in our short term memory we will play our better ball. We may lose to a clemson doing so but atleast we try hard.

Given all the above, My prediction is they would have added more then we think.

Patterson was not particularly good at anything. Backcourt defense is low on the list of weaknesses (I'd call it a strength) that this teams has. He drove to the hoop okay, but his ballhandling wasn't special and he didn't finish too well. Howard plays good defense at the top of the zone and he has better offensive instincts and ability, imo.

BJ was billed as a 3pt shooter and we saw flashes, but his percentage was really bad here. I think he could have improved that and been a decent role player but nothing more than that. His defense was a liability. His presence might have cut into some of Cooney's SG playing time (Mal would be the one to move to SG), but I think it would have been more likely that he'd just get Mal's leftover minutes at SF, with Cooney staying in the high 30's. The team's 3pt shooting would go unchanged; not sure about drives to the basket; BJ didn't do that often, iirc.

 

[81South]

If IFs and Buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas.

 

[pfister1]

Not to write a long overstretched post, or to stretch to low possibilities. There was very likely chance McCullough was gone.

DC, and Joseph not being ready offensively has forced a couple of freshmen to step up, and has led to some of our struggles. That has led us to the point where Gbinije, Cooney and 2 of our three freshmen had to step up.

I give Roberson alot of credit last night. I had him pegged at 12-13 ppg this year. He was at 9, but really really brought it offensively against Clemson. He deserved a round of applause win or lose. Keep in mind Clemson was first in ACC in blocks because they have good interior defense. Roberson played tough at the rim and created his own shots for the first time this season. He had a decent outing first half against gtown as well. On the defensive end he played tougher then our center spot which is very hard to do in the zone, but he somehow managed that also. Let's hope he keeps it up, as it would really take some of the pressure off of Gbinije and Cooney in the longrun. Especially if Lydon finds the consistancy to join them.

Of course giving up nearly 50% to opponents from the field in 4 losses this season hasn't helped either.

Anyway, I think there is a good chance we beat both Clemson, Wisconsin, and possibly another 1-2 games had we had those three. Instead we have 6 losses.

Anyone that wants to be hard on Hop needs to consider that he wasn't just put in a tough situation but a really tough one in very short notice. I am not going to judge his coaching on the last play of his coaching stint where he could have fouled up 3 with 15 left after Clemson made the three. I think he did a Good solid Job, tried to win, coached and has a clear mind for what he wants to run. I really look forward to him taking over in a few years.
Cheer Up, Go Cuse BBall!!

Thanks for the observations about Roberson. He really did have a good game last night. He seemed to look to be an offensive option and was more aggressive. It was great to see. I don't think he is going to suddenly be a primary option, but it sure would be nice if he was enough of an option that defenders didn't feel like they could leave him to help on our primary options.

 

[Ghost]

Patterson was not particularly good at anything. Backcourt defense is low on the list of weaknesses (I'd call it a strength) that this teams has. He drove to the hoop okay, but his ballhandling wasn't special and he didn't finish too well. Howard plays good defense at the top of the zone and he has better offensive instincts and ability, imo.

BJ was billed as a 3pt shooter and we saw flashes, but his percentage was really bad here. I think he could have improved that and been a decent role player but nothing more than that. His defense was a liability. His presence might have cut into some of Cooney's SG playing time (Mal would be the one to move to SG), but I think it would have been more likely that he'd just get Mal's leftover minutes at SF, with Cooney staying in the high 30's. The team's 3pt shooting would go unchanged; not sure about drives to the basket; BJ didn't do that often, iirc.

The lack of player development has hurt us - but we sort of do it to ourselves.

The quick hook mentality, strange playing time allotment, has potentially hindered a lot players. It's always going to be speculation, and it's always chalked up to us not seeing practice and some of these guys must REALLY suck in practice, but at some point you have to wonder...

Christmas seemed to be a victim, until he was given the ball enough to dominate his Senior year. Christmas would sit stretches for Baye. Was that gap wider than Cooney vs. Patterson or BJ Johnson? Maybe. The way we used Jerami Grant his Frosh year - bizarre.

Christmas might be the best example. As painful as it was at times, forcing minutes on Baye paid dividends in the Big East tourney when Baye suddenly turned into Tim Duncan for a few minutes here or there, and hit some huge free throws like a boss. So, you can play that angle too.

BJ had seven games last year where he took more than 4 three point shots. In 5 of those 7 he made at least 33% of his threes. In two other games he was 0-3. So, in 9 games, when he was in enough to fire up at least 3 threes, he hit 33% or better in 55% of those games. Look at Mal, great shooter, bad shooter, great shooter...BJ never got that chance. We're just all over the place with rotations...it's confusing. If we provided minutes to BJ without the quick hooks, what do we have at the end of the year? What do we have now? Who knows.

Patterson was better off the bounce, and far better vision in the lane finding guys than the other guards. Yet couldn't touch the court. He definitely had a complimentary skill set to TC - his strengths were TC's weaknesses and vice versa. He was a fine bench player - at least on that team.

Both players notably played their best in games where they got some extended run due to foul troubles/injury.

Howard is this year's version. His minutes have made no sense pre-sickness. Joseph too, but I hate mentioning him because he just looks sooooooo bad of late...but in the exhibition games he looked like an entirely different player. I guess if we were winning I wouldn't notice/care, but we haven't been all that great of late.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Not to write a long overstretched post, or to stretch to low possibilities. There was very likely chance McCullough was gone.

DC, and Joseph not being ready offensively has forced a couple of freshmen to step up, and has led to some of our struggles. That has led us to the point where Gbinije, Cooney and 2 of our three freshmen had to step up.

I give Roberson alot of credit last night. I had him pegged at 12-13 ppg this year. He was at 9, but really really brought it offensively against Clemson. He deserved a round of applause win or lose. Keep in mind Clemson was first in ACC in blocks because they have good interior defense. Roberson played tough at the rim and created his own shots for the first time this season. He had a decent outing first half against gtown as well. On the defensive end he played tougher then our center spot which is very hard to do in the zone, but he somehow managed that also. Let's hope he keeps it up, as it would really take some of the pressure off of Gbinije and Cooney in the longrun. Especially if Lydon finds the consistancy to join them.

Of course giving up nearly 50% to opponents from the field in 4 losses this season hasn't helped either.

Anyway, I think there is a good chance we beat both Clemson, Wisconsin, and possibly another 1-2 games had we had those three. Instead we have 6 losses.

Anyone that wants to be hard on Hop needs to consider that he wasn't just put in a tough situation but a really tough one in very short notice. I am not going to judge his coaching on the last play of his coaching stint where he could have fouled up 3 with 15 left after Clemson made the three. I think he did a Good solid Job, tried to win, coached and has a clear mind for what he wants to run. I really look forward to him taking over in a few years.
Cheer Up, Go Cuse BBall!!

Buss makes KJ look like a player.

 

[Shark58]

if those 3 were here obviously Diange fills the biggest need.

Buss would have been a solid contributor, but would see very limited mins because he'd be big time jock blocked by cooney (and Mal who should be playing more 2 anyhow)

If g is the starting 1, BJ had the chance to be the most complete "3" provided his shots were falling and he was playing solid wing D

 

[JoeySimz]

if those 3 were here obviously Diange fills the biggest need.

Buss would have been a solid contributor, but would see very limited mins because he'd be big time jock blocked by cooney (and Mal who should be playing more 2 anyhow)

If g is the starting 1, BJ had the chance to be the most complete "3" provided his shots were falling and he was playing solid wing D

BJ would probably need to have gained some weight over the summer though or he would be yet another defensive/rebounding liability. But I really liked his game. Where did he end up?

 

[Shark58]

BJ would probably need to have gained some weight over the summer though or he would be yet another defensive/rebounding liability. But I really liked his game. Where did he end up?

redshirting at LaSalle

his dad still posts updates here a bit

apparently he's sorry to be gone but things are looking good for him

 

[JoeySimz]

Cool. Thanks. Looking forward to see him play again.

 

[HOFCeluck]

If Kaleb Joseph was a teen wolf, we'd likely be undefeated.

 

[NateW]

If Kaleb Joseph was a teen wolf, we'd likely be undefeated.

And if Lydon was Chubbs we'd be outrebounding our opponents by 20 a game. Helluva rebounder out of the zone.

 

[dasher]

They weren't have changed one game

 

[two3zone]

They're gone, they're gone for a reason. BJ and Buss were not going to play this year. The reason you ask? The guys coming in are better than them and would take their minutes. I don't care if his dad says or not, BJ would never ever see the 2 in the zone in a real game. Buss, come on, with G playing the 1 and Joseph AND Howard on the bench, Buss wasn't going to get a minute.

Who do you take out to give BJ minutes? Lydon? Roberson? G? Richardson? Not a chance.

I'd play Cooney 50 minutes a night rather than put Buss in for 1, he wasn't a great defender no matter what people say around here, and his offensive game was as bad as a basketball player can have, bad enough for Derrick Coleman to pretty much trash him on twitter.

Dainge, you, me, or anybody around here can't say what he would have been coming in here. Our last 3 McDonalds All American front court players were poor at best their freshman years and outside of Melo none of them were even good their second year.

With all of this put together, not one game would have changed, but it's always fun to play the victim.