Bucknell game
- Thread starter rcatalano
- Start date
I should probably have been more specific, with the ball in his hands I think Branch is the fastest up and down the court. And I realize that's saying something since Dom and Phil are no slouches. But I've seen Branch bring up the ball, and he can be lightning quick.
As for the defense, I would say Dom's our best defender, because of his ability to steal and block. But in terms of staying in front of an opposing ball handler I definitely think it's Branch. Thats to take nothing away from Pointer, he's my favorite player on the team. But smaller point guards have had been able to turn the corner on Dom, and although he picks less pockets Branch is less prone getting beat like that.
edit: And for proof of Branch's ability, I go back to that Marquette game at the garden last year. That was the best point guard play we've had in a very long time. He routinely was driving into the lane and able to kick it out for open looks.
I'm waiting to see more of that from him. Hopefully soon...
To much talk about Marco and Max. Coach Lavin plays the guys who are capable of competing on the court. If either guy was showing the goods in practice, they would be on the court in the game. Coach saw enough to give them a chance. It's to bad for Marco because he's finishes up this year. Hooper has plenty of time yet to get better. If by some chance one of these guys show they can play at this level by tearing it up in practice we will see them on the court. Right now these guys just aren't good enough. Think of the guys we have. Max and Marco are not in their league. Coach would love it if he thought they could help because he brought them in. Sometimes things just don't work out. I truly hope that one or both of these guys make a dope of me, but all the talk about why they don't play is silly. Coach does not think that they can help us win.
Good luck liking about 9 other players on this team haha.
I actually think that DLO is the best man to man defensive guard that we have. He gets lost sometimes off the ball but when its his man vs him he does a good job. And that's not really a surprise because when it comes to playing defense, being smart is huge, and when it comes to our team, DLO is as smart as it gets.
I'm glad someone noticed. I thought he was our best defender last night. He was moving in the zone and he always has great anticpation. He stayed in front of his man better than anyone in spite of his lack of quickness. After him, I give the nod to Branch, but he did get absolutely baked on a pedestrian right-hand drive from the top of the key in the first half.
Obekpa is such an enigma defensively. His man-to-man help defense and positioning are awful. If he doesn't block the shot, he gives up easy layups like nothing I've ever seen before. If I'm an opposing coach, I am game-planning to have my guys take it at him all day. A blocked shot is the same or better than a missed shot anyway since it is so hard and sometimes impossible for the defensive team to recover. If he misses the block, you have a chippie.
Branch's disappearing acts and inconsistency are really upsetting. I can get over his typical lazy passes a few times a game, but there is no excuse for him not to be at least attempting to penetrate more often. Even Sampson and Sanchez try to penetrate more.
I like the 2-3 much better than what we've run the last few years. I wish we would pressure and then fall back into that.
I didn't have a problem with it. Sampson is a freak and was wide open. If that alley-oops lands, the energy level going into the second half would have been off the charts. Besides, our half court offense was awful. Give me an alley-oop to Sampson over whatever garbage we'd see in the half court any day!
JackofVirginia
Active member
I still want to see the ball go into Sampson down low. And while you are at it don't hesitate with the pass, hit him or Sanchez right away.
Bucknell spaced the floor leading to wideopen drives through the middle. Not enough help from the weak side. Lavin adjusted in the second half with his zone, good to see.
Nice comeback victory. Jordan didn't seem too happy on bench, looked down during timeouts. Thought he turned down some open shots in the first half. Still looking forward to his progress.
Bucknell spaced the floor leading to wideopen drives through the middle. Not enough help from the weak side. Lavin adjusted in the second half with his zone, good to see.
Nice comeback victory. Jordan didn't seem too happy on bench, looked down during timeouts. Thought he turned down some open shots in the first half. Still looking forward to his progress.
It's hard to space the floor when opposing teams are playing 10 feet off of Pointer and Sampson on the perimeter. Coach is going to have to adjust by keeping those guys in motion, setting and coming off screens inside. It's too easy to defend this team if those guy are going to stand relatively still on the perimeter.
JackofVirginia
Active member
Let's admit it, how many said "oh no" when they saw Greene start. Lavin obviously sees something from him in practice to have him in the starting lineup. I got a little anxious waiting for Sampson to get back in the game in the second half. It looks like teams will hesitate to press full court with the new fouling interpretation.
It's a bad basketball play. Period.
And when your PG is making decisions like that, it should give you pause simply because he's not recognizing time and situation. There's not a team out there that wouldn't hold for a final shot. It is what you do in that sitiation.
We won, so you let it go. You just want to see guys play smarter. Especially at the PG position.