Post by redseastag on Feb 5, 2014 13:02:36 GMT -5
I've been equally confused and upset about our guard situation this year, so I wanted to gather some thoughts on our players and the future (which is really what we are looking at this year and, likely, next). The caveat, to all the critiques of these players, is that I think roles should be more clearly defined and communicated to the players. Personally, I feel like that creates a better environment, but philosophies on coaching differ widely, so I am eternally hopeful that this thing gets turned around.
KJ Rose-The announcers for Rider mentioned that he reminded them, physically, of Derek Needham. I think the comparison extends to his ability to use his body to ward of opposing guards and get to the rim. However, he is not a consistently smart player and gets himself in bad situations. He does do the best job of bringing up the ball against tough defenders, as I don't know who else can be trusted to get the offense started. The wings sometimes leave him all alone out front, so his turnover stats are not completely on him. His relatively poor jumper makes him easier to defend once he gives up the ball, because opponents sag off and give help once he initiates. Maybe Segura can initiate the offense, so he can push KJ to be better. Whoever can bring it up, start the offense, and limit turnovers should play.
Sean Grennan-For me, he has been the biggest disappointment. The transfer from Seton Hall brought expectations of scoring, but he plays with the inside out dribble too much and has definitely been outdone in this guard heavy league by stronger, faster guards. I love Tyler Nelson's game, but I hope he does not turn into what Grennan has shown me this year. Penetration opens up shooters, but we have no one driving and kicking, so I don't entirely blame his lack of production on him. However, his shooting percentage shows that he has not been efficient and he, too, turns the ball over too much. My main concern is that he hasn't guarded well, which has been a team-wide epidemic.
Lincoln Davis-A highlight reel athlete, but is he a basketball player? He looks shaky with his handle, but we haven't really seen enough of him to know. In prep school, he was the typical plus-athlete slasher, but the division one game brings challenges for one dimensional players. I wonder about his attitude, from games I have attended and watched on tv/online. Malcolm Gilbert cheers enthusiastically, high-fives teammates, and stays engaged in the game, which I think deserves a ton of respect and credit. Has anyone else noticed the lack of interest from Lincoln or others down the end of the bench? Teams that don't move in the same direction are doomed, because it can't be about individuals.
Doug Chappell-His form looks good, but he has not looked confident. His athleticism and strength have been tested by the jump to D1 from high school. For all KJ is able to do against tough defenders because of his strength, DC has not been able to do as much. Shooters need minutes to build confidence, but he needs to be able to handle pressure and use screens effectively at the two.
Steve Smith-One hell of a shooter, but he gets pushed to 35 feet too often. Can he pick and pop? I watched Mike Evanovich become a huge threat for us off simple pick and pops and the occasional roll to the hoop. Can Smitty add some muscle and make himself an effective screener? Even more important, can he rebound anything? If he could occasionally post when matched against opposing guards, he could make himself a match up issue for opposing defenses. Unfortunately, as a freshman, we see the same one-trick pony issues that so many have. In high school, these guys are so much better that they learn to get away with going to the same moves again and again. Someone get this kid a video of Evanovich at George Mason a few years ago and tell him, that should be you!
Justin Jenkins-A creative one on one player that often looks like street ball more than team basketball. For every great play he makes, he makes foolish ones. His consistency is a huge issue, but he's the only legitimate scoring threat we have. He can break his man down off the dribble for step backs or get to the rim. I love that his eyes are always on the hoop, but how can he play so many minutes against Rider and only give us 5 points? How can he match up against a quality backcourt like Canisius' and foul out with a horrendous 6 TO's to 0 assists? In his one on one attacking style, he can take some bad shots and make some careless turnovers. His inconsistency has to be maddening to the staff. He also reaches a ton and is a defensive liability. But, how do you not play a kid that may be the only true scorer you have? Again, I wonder if Nelson or Segura can be the piece we are missing next year. In my opinion, Nelson should be crafty considering he faces constant box and 1's, face guards, and double teams and is still averaging double figures and piling up assists.
Other notes:
Comparing us to Derek Needham's sophomore year 2010-2011, the shooting statistics stand out to me. In 23 games, we have taken almost 500 threes, while in 2010-2011 we took 463 in 33 total games. That year, we were roughly 1:1 assist to turnover 452-457. This year, we are 264:361. 100 more turnovers to assists is a damning statistic and our guard play has a lot to do with it. Is there anyone that has a worse situation at guard than we do? I would argue that I'd take our situation since some of these teams will be left dry after this year, i.e. Niagara losing Mason, but this year is definitely painful to watch. One other stat that jumped out was that 2010-2011 Stags averaged 8 steals per game, while we only create 4. The defensive intensity led to buckets for that team, because Cooley knew we didn't have great scoring options in the half court. I don't know if this team could run at all, but I wish we would try to create some easy buckets.
A final note on players knowing their roles, which I thought could be interesting to compare using minutes played. In 2010-2011, Needham earned 1100 minutes and Olander had almost 1000, as they hardly ever came off the floor. Hawkins was another key cog with 900+ minutes, so basically everyone knew the 1, 3, and 5 spots were set. Barrow and Nickerson were generally the options at the 4 and 2 respectively, but Edney, Fields, Jordan, and Matthews all earned decent minutes, with 350 for Matthews on the low end and over 500 for Edney on the high end. The shorter rotation with clear roles gave us a solid team with no one looking over their shoulder. Perhaps our players were that much better, as we were a 2G away from a championship squad, but I think it would be nice to know who our go-to guys are. In the coach's defense, players have not stepped up and the only player I am sure deserves playing time, as a fan, is Mo Barrow.
KJ Rose-The announcers for Rider mentioned that he reminded them, physically, of Derek Needham. I think the comparison extends to his ability to use his body to ward of opposing guards and get to the rim. However, he is not a consistently smart player and gets himself in bad situations. He does do the best job of bringing up the ball against tough defenders, as I don't know who else can be trusted to get the offense started. The wings sometimes leave him all alone out front, so his turnover stats are not completely on him. His relatively poor jumper makes him easier to defend once he gives up the ball, because opponents sag off and give help once he initiates. Maybe Segura can initiate the offense, so he can push KJ to be better. Whoever can bring it up, start the offense, and limit turnovers should play.
Sean Grennan-For me, he has been the biggest disappointment. The transfer from Seton Hall brought expectations of scoring, but he plays with the inside out dribble too much and has definitely been outdone in this guard heavy league by stronger, faster guards. I love Tyler Nelson's game, but I hope he does not turn into what Grennan has shown me this year. Penetration opens up shooters, but we have no one driving and kicking, so I don't entirely blame his lack of production on him. However, his shooting percentage shows that he has not been efficient and he, too, turns the ball over too much. My main concern is that he hasn't guarded well, which has been a team-wide epidemic.
Lincoln Davis-A highlight reel athlete, but is he a basketball player? He looks shaky with his handle, but we haven't really seen enough of him to know. In prep school, he was the typical plus-athlete slasher, but the division one game brings challenges for one dimensional players. I wonder about his attitude, from games I have attended and watched on tv/online. Malcolm Gilbert cheers enthusiastically, high-fives teammates, and stays engaged in the game, which I think deserves a ton of respect and credit. Has anyone else noticed the lack of interest from Lincoln or others down the end of the bench? Teams that don't move in the same direction are doomed, because it can't be about individuals.
Doug Chappell-His form looks good, but he has not looked confident. His athleticism and strength have been tested by the jump to D1 from high school. For all KJ is able to do against tough defenders because of his strength, DC has not been able to do as much. Shooters need minutes to build confidence, but he needs to be able to handle pressure and use screens effectively at the two.
Steve Smith-One hell of a shooter, but he gets pushed to 35 feet too often. Can he pick and pop? I watched Mike Evanovich become a huge threat for us off simple pick and pops and the occasional roll to the hoop. Can Smitty add some muscle and make himself an effective screener? Even more important, can he rebound anything? If he could occasionally post when matched against opposing guards, he could make himself a match up issue for opposing defenses. Unfortunately, as a freshman, we see the same one-trick pony issues that so many have. In high school, these guys are so much better that they learn to get away with going to the same moves again and again. Someone get this kid a video of Evanovich at George Mason a few years ago and tell him, that should be you!
Justin Jenkins-A creative one on one player that often looks like street ball more than team basketball. For every great play he makes, he makes foolish ones. His consistency is a huge issue, but he's the only legitimate scoring threat we have. He can break his man down off the dribble for step backs or get to the rim. I love that his eyes are always on the hoop, but how can he play so many minutes against Rider and only give us 5 points? How can he match up against a quality backcourt like Canisius' and foul out with a horrendous 6 TO's to 0 assists? In his one on one attacking style, he can take some bad shots and make some careless turnovers. His inconsistency has to be maddening to the staff. He also reaches a ton and is a defensive liability. But, how do you not play a kid that may be the only true scorer you have? Again, I wonder if Nelson or Segura can be the piece we are missing next year. In my opinion, Nelson should be crafty considering he faces constant box and 1's, face guards, and double teams and is still averaging double figures and piling up assists.
Other notes:
Comparing us to Derek Needham's sophomore year 2010-2011, the shooting statistics stand out to me. In 23 games, we have taken almost 500 threes, while in 2010-2011 we took 463 in 33 total games. That year, we were roughly 1:1 assist to turnover 452-457. This year, we are 264:361. 100 more turnovers to assists is a damning statistic and our guard play has a lot to do with it. Is there anyone that has a worse situation at guard than we do? I would argue that I'd take our situation since some of these teams will be left dry after this year, i.e. Niagara losing Mason, but this year is definitely painful to watch. One other stat that jumped out was that 2010-2011 Stags averaged 8 steals per game, while we only create 4. The defensive intensity led to buckets for that team, because Cooley knew we didn't have great scoring options in the half court. I don't know if this team could run at all, but I wish we would try to create some easy buckets.
A final note on players knowing their roles, which I thought could be interesting to compare using minutes played. In 2010-2011, Needham earned 1100 minutes and Olander had almost 1000, as they hardly ever came off the floor. Hawkins was another key cog with 900+ minutes, so basically everyone knew the 1, 3, and 5 spots were set. Barrow and Nickerson were generally the options at the 4 and 2 respectively, but Edney, Fields, Jordan, and Matthews all earned decent minutes, with 350 for Matthews on the low end and over 500 for Edney on the high end. The shorter rotation with clear roles gave us a solid team with no one looking over their shoulder. Perhaps our players were that much better, as we were a 2G away from a championship squad, but I think it would be nice to know who our go-to guys are. In the coach's defense, players have not stepped up and the only player I am sure deserves playing time, as a fan, is Mo Barrow.