Give Ponds Time to Develop

[MCNPA]

Both he and Lovett need to be double digit scorers or we are in for another long season. We can't rely just on Bashir Ahmed and unless Sima and Yakwe have learned to create their own shot our guards will need to do most of the heavy lifting this year until bulkier size arrives.

Double digit scoring averages from two freshman guards? That's a bit ridiculous of an expectation IMO. We will needs guys like Bashir, Yakwe,Freudenburg, Sima and other to do their share. Need complete team efforts which I think we saw even last year. We just didn't have enough at any position and died out because of depth and overall lack of experience and talent.

 

[we are sju]

Bryce Cotton of Providence was one of my favorite small guards in recent time. HIs career stats are interesting & granted roster composition at PC may differ with SJU.

Nonetheless, please note his freshman year where he averaged 4 points & 15 minutes per game. I would expect Ponds to get more time initially than that, but looking at Cotton's scoring progression may put things in perspective. After his freshman year he played "iron man" minutes, which is incredible considering his physical makeup.

Ponds of course, with SJU team depth hopefully, should not be called upon to log such time in his last three years. All in all, I am very pleased to have Ponds, but am grounding my expectations year one. Let him develop physically, get a grasp of the game at this level & we should have an outstanding player commencing year two. We tend to forget that for most freshman the adjustment to BE level of play is a huge step, especially for kids with his physical makeup. Just my opinion.

Cotton stats;

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bryce-cotton-1.html

While I respect the opinion I do disagree about PT part. We have certainly thrown lesser heralded players out there in the past. I would like to see him get as much PT as he can. Now fans need to temper their expectations and let him go through growing pains and the mistakes he will make until he matures physically and get experience. That I totally agree with but most likely won't happen.

I also think it is help in recruiting that kids will get PT here right away.

Would 20 - 25 minutes/game disappoint you?

Absolutely and if it turns out that Mussini and or Ellison are clearly better than he can even play less.
20- to 25 to start with seems about right.
I would just like to see if him start and basically give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning. If he shows he is not ready and other two are playing better, you can adjust his time accordingly by time BE season starts.

I origininally referenced Cotton's 15 minutes/Gm year one & noted I expected Ponds to exceed that, so 20 to me seems fair. We'll see.

I too think 20 minutes a game is fair but on our 11 man roster we can comfortably assume that little scoring will come from AA, Darien and Owens. More scoring should come from Ellison, Yakwe , Sima and Richard F. The majority will have to come from Lovett, Ahmed, Mussini and Ponds. I am truly hoping each of those 4 can average close to or greater than 10 points a game. I believe he will certainly be given the chance to score from day 1. Time will tell.

10, give or take a point, seems fair.

I would expect more like 6-7. But my expectations for him have been far more reserved than most on here, going back to last year. I hope you and RN are right and I'm wrong. Hell I hope he far exceeds all our expectations.

Upon reflection, let's go with 7-8.

You got a deal!!!

13 and 6 dimes for Lovett
10 for Ponds

 

[paultzman]

Bryce Cotton of Providence was one of my favorite small guards in recent time. HIs career stats are interesting & granted roster composition at PC may differ with SJU.

Nonetheless, please note his freshman year where he averaged 4 points & 15 minutes per game. I would expect Ponds to get more time initially than that, but looking at Cotton's scoring progression may put things in perspective. After his freshman year he played "iron man" minutes, which is incredible considering his physical makeup.

Ponds of course, with SJU team depth hopefully, should not be called upon to log such time in his last three years. All in all, I am very pleased to have Ponds, but am grounding my expectations year one. Let him develop physically, get a grasp of the game at this level & we should have an outstanding player commencing year two. We tend to forget that for most freshman the adjustment to BE level of play is a huge step, especially for kids with his physical makeup. Just my opinion.

Cotton stats;

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bryce-cotton-1.html

While I respect the opinion I do disagree about PT part. We have certainly thrown lesser heralded players out there in the past. I would like to see him get as much PT as he can. Now fans need to temper their expectations and let him go through growing pains and the mistakes he will make until he matures physically and get experience. That I totally agree with but most likely won't happen.

I also think it is help in recruiting that kids will get PT here right away.

Would 20 - 25 minutes/game disappoint you?

Absolutely and if it turns out that Mussini and or Ellison are clearly better than he can even play less.
20- to 25 to start with seems about right.
I would just like to see if him start and basically give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning. If he shows he is not ready and other two are playing better, you can adjust his time accordingly by time BE season starts.

I origininally referenced Cotton's 15 minutes/Gm year one & noted I expected Ponds to exceed that, so 20 to me seems fair. We'll see.

I too think 20 minutes a game is fair but on our 11 man roster we can comfortably assume that little scoring will come from AA, Darien and Owens. More scoring should come from Ellison, Yakwe , Sima and Richard F. The majority will have to come from Lovett, Ahmed, Mussini and Ponds. I am truly hoping each of those 4 can average close to or greater than 10 points a game. I believe he will certainly be given the chance to score from day 1. Time will tell.

10, give or take a point, seems fair.

I would expect more like 6-7. But my expectations for him have been far more reserved than most on here, going back to last year. I hope you and RN are right and I'm wrong. Hell I hope he far exceeds all our expectations.

Upon reflection, let's go with 7-8.

You got a deal!!!

13 and 6 dimes for Lovett
10 for Ponds

LoVett I agree with & we're really not too far apart on Ponds.

 

[Class of 72]

Both he and Lovett need to be double digit scorers or we are in for another long season. We can't rely just on Bashir Ahmed and unless Sima and Yakwe have learned to create their own shot our guards will need to do most of the heavy lifting this year until bulkier size arrives.

Double digit scoring averages from two freshman guards? That's a bit ridiculous of an expectation IMO. We will needs guys like Bashir, Yakwe,Freudenburg, Sima and other to do their share. Need complete team efforts which I think we saw even last year. We just didn't have enough at any position and died out because of depth and overall lack of experience and talent.

These are not ordinary freshmen. Most people here have likely never seen Ponds play. This kid finds ways to score and his nickname isn't Slick for no reason. If you think expecting 20 to 25 points from the backcourt of Lovett and Ponds in most games is rediculous you may be in for a disappointing season. There will be games where given the number of minutes they play they may be 8 or 9 point scorers but both these guys, along with Mussini can score, especially in transition. Yakwe and Sima have yet to show me they can put up more than 10 points in a game and they played mucho minutes last year. Of course I hope I am completely wrong and find consistent scorers other than Bashir.

 

[Red.Fans]

In addition to the kickout being a regular feature, I suspect we'll see Sima coming up high several times a game passing to cutter - Lovett, Bashir, Ellsion(?)... Nice thing is that we have the varied weapons of slashers and shooters which will allow us to space the offense nicely and mix it up to keep the defense confused and working hard. On top of that we've got some serious speed for the full court with both Lovett and Yakwe being at elite levels up and down the court.

 

[Ray Morgan]

Ponds has pressure on him. Billboards on buses, and Big East preseason freshman of the year honors. I had a long flight a month ago, and spent it with Athlon Sports college basketball mag. A nice way to pass the time. They gushed over his ability. I only saw him on youtube clips until the Baruch game. He reminds me of a smaller version of Bootsy Thornton. While he won't dazzle you with athleticism, he will beat you with savvy and craftiness. He doesn't have to be on from 3 to get his points. For a smallish 2, he can beat you around the basket. If he gets equal minutes with Lovett, I think he outscores him. Really looking forward to this season and beyond. Hard to believe how many live bodies this staff was able to put on the court in year 2.

 

[Red.Fans]

Ponds has pressure on him. Billboards on buses, and Big East preseason freshman of the year honors. I had a long flight a month ago, and spent it with Athlon Sports college basketball mag. A nice way to pass the time. They gushed over his ability. I only saw him on youtube clips until the Baruch game. He reminds me of a smaller version of Bootsy Thornton. While he won't dazzle you with athleticism, he will beat you with savvy and craftiness. He doesn't have to be on from 3 to get his points. For a smallish 2, he can beat you around the basket. If he gets equal minutes with Lovett, I think he outscores him. Really looking forward to this season and beyond. Hard to believe how many live bodies this staff was able to put on the court in year 2.

I like the Bootsy comparison on the level of craftiness. Bootsy had a sneaky inside/out game. Everyone focused on his 3pt shooting but he was a real good offensive rebounder and got a lot of points like that and within 8 ft of the basket.

Other than that I think Ponds is slighter but faster and better ball handler and probably faster hands and could end up being a real good defender despite his size.

 

[Andrew]

Ponds has pressure on him. Billboards on buses, and Big East preseason freshman of the year honors. I had a long flight a month ago, and spent it with Athlon Sports college basketball mag. A nice way to pass the time. They gushed over his ability. I only saw him on youtube clips until the Baruch game. He reminds me of a smaller version of Bootsy Thornton. While he won't dazzle you with athleticism, he will beat you with savvy and craftiness. He doesn't have to be on from 3 to get his points. For a smallish 2, he can beat you around the basket. If he gets equal minutes with Lovett, I think he outscores him. Really looking forward to this season and beyond. Hard to believe how many live bodies this staff was able to put on the court in year 2.

I like the Bootsy comparison on the level of craftiness. Bootsy had a sneaky inside/out game. Everyone focused on his 3pt shooting but he was a real good offensive rebounder and got a lot of points like that and within 8 ft of the basket.

Other than that I think Ponds is slighter but faster and better ball handler and probably faster hands and could end up being a real good defender despite his size.

Saw him play three times last year against pretty good competition and its his hands and court awareness that really impressed me. He is not going to force things a lot but you will look up and he will have 15 points and you don't realize it. He will slap away a lot of balls including from players bigger and stronger them.

 

[paultzman]

Ponds has pressure on him. Billboards on buses, and Big East preseason freshman of the year honors. I had a long flight a month ago, and spent it with Athlon Sports college basketball mag. A nice way to pass the time. They gushed over his ability. I only saw him on youtube clips until the Baruch game. He reminds me of a smaller version of Bootsy Thornton. While he won't dazzle you with athleticism, he will beat you with savvy and craftiness. He doesn't have to be on from 3 to get his points. For a smallish 2, he can beat you around the basket. If he gets equal minutes with Lovett, I think he outscores him. Really looking forward to this season and beyond. Hard to believe how many live bodies this staff was able to put on the court in year 2.

I like the Bootsy comparison on the level of craftiness. Bootsy had a sneaky inside/out game. Everyone focused on his 3pt shooting but he was a real good offensive rebounder and got a lot of points like that and within 8 ft of the basket.

Other than that I think Ponds is slighter but faster and better ball handler and probably faster hands and could end up being a real good defender despite his size.

Saw him play three times last year against pretty good competition and its his hands and court awareness that really impressed me. He is not going to force things a lot but you will look up and he will have 15 points and you don't realize it. He will slap away a lot of balls including from players bigger and stronger them.

Obviously he will be a very good four year player & in addition to scoring will disrupt passing lanes, make steals, etc. Just think his progression will have its ups & downs like most good players adjusting to BE level play. If he goes off off 20 tonight v a very poor team, let's keep things in perspective. Hope I'm wrong & he knocks it dead from the get go & is a key scorer all year.

 

[Red.Fans]

Obviously he will be a very good four year player & in addition to scoring will disrupt passing lanes, make steals, etc. Just think his progression will have his ups & downs like most good players adjusting to BE level play. If he goes off off 20 tonight v a very poor team, let's keep things in perspective. Hope I'm wrong & he knocks it dead from the get go & is a key scorer all year.

Yes and for me at least comparing him to Bootsy is with the assumption that Ponds is a frosh and Bootsy was more physically mature/advanced when he first suited up for us so I'm talking style and potential not a straight up comparison. You could say the same about a comparison to Eric Barkley who came in with an additional year of development before he suited up as a Frosh.

 

[redfan259999888]

Looking at espn.com doesn't give his minutes but

3-7 FG, 2-5 3pnt land, 3boards, 3assis, 1stl, 0TO, 8pnts.

Pretty solid.

 

[monte]

Bryce Cotton of Providence was one of my favorite small guards in recent time. HIs career stats are interesting & granted roster composition at PC may differ with SJU.

Nonetheless, please note his freshman year where he averaged 4 points & 15 minutes per game. I would expect Ponds to get more time initially than that, but looking at Cotton's scoring progression may put things in perspective. After his freshman year he played "iron man" minutes, which is incredible considering his physical makeup.

Ponds of course, with SJU team depth hopefully, should not be called upon to log such time in his last three years. All in all, I am very pleased to have Ponds, but am grounding my expectations year one. Let him develop physically, get a grasp of the game at this level & we should have an outstanding player commencing year two. We tend to forget that for most freshman the adjustment to BE level of play is a huge step, especially for kids with his physical makeup. Just my opinion.

Cotton stats;

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bryce-cotton-1.html

While I respect the opinion I do disagree about PT part. We have certainly thrown lesser heralded players out there in the past. I would like to see him get as much PT as he can. Now fans need to temper their expectations and let him go through growing pains and the mistakes he will make until he matures physically and get experience. That I totally agree with but most likely won't happen.

I also think it is help in recruiting that kids will get PT here right away.

Would 20 - 25 minutes/game disappoint you?

Absolutely and if it turns out that Mussini and or Ellison are clearly better than he can even play less.
20- to 25 to start with seems about right.
I would just like to see if him start and basically give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning. If he shows he is not ready and other two are playing better, you can adjust his time accordingly by time BE season starts.

I origininally referenced Cotton's 15 minutes/Gm year one & noted I expected Ponds to exceed that, so 20 to me seems fair. We'll see.

I too think 20 minutes a game is fair but on our 11 man roster we can comfortably assume that little scoring will come from AA, Darien and Owens. More scoring should come from Ellison, Yakwe , Sima and Richard F. The majority will have to come from Lovett, Ahmed, Mussini and Ponds. I am truly hoping each of those 4 can average close to or greater than 10 points a game. I believe he will certainly be given the chance to score from day 1. Time will tell.

10, give or take a point, seems fair.

I would expect more like 6-7. But my expectations for him have been far more reserved than most on here, going back to last year. I hope you and RN are right and I'm wrong. Hell I hope he far exceeds all our expectations.

Upon reflection, let's go with 7-8.

8 Pts last night. Prophetic!

 

[paultzman]

Bryce Cotton of Providence was one of my favorite small guards in recent time. HIs career stats are interesting & granted roster composition at PC may differ with SJU.

Nonetheless, please note his freshman year where he averaged 4 points & 15 minutes per game. I would expect Ponds to get more time initially than that, but looking at Cotton's scoring progression may put things in perspective. After his freshman year he played "iron man" minutes, which is incredible considering his physical makeup.

Ponds of course, with SJU team depth hopefully, should not be called upon to log such time in his last three years. All in all, I am very pleased to have Ponds, but am grounding my expectations year one. Let him develop physically, get a grasp of the game at this level & we should have an outstanding player commencing year two. We tend to forget that for most freshman the adjustment to BE level of play is a huge step, especially for kids with his physical makeup. Just my opinion.

Cotton stats;

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bryce-cotton-1.html

While I respect the opinion I do disagree about PT part. We have certainly thrown lesser heralded players out there in the past. I would like to see him get as much PT as he can. Now fans need to temper their expectations and let him go through growing pains and the mistakes he will make until he matures physically and get experience. That I totally agree with but most likely won't happen.

I also think it is help in recruiting that kids will get PT here right away.

Would 20 - 25 minutes/game disappoint you?

Absolutely and if it turns out that Mussini and or Ellison are clearly better than he can even play less.
20- to 25 to start with seems about right.
I would just like to see if him start and basically give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning. If he shows he is not ready and other two are playing better, you can adjust his time accordingly by time BE season starts.

I origininally referenced Cotton's 15 minutes/Gm year one & noted I expected Ponds to exceed that, so 20 to me seems fair. We'll see.

I too think 20 minutes a game is fair but on our 11 man roster we can comfortably assume that little scoring will come from AA, Darien and Owens. More scoring should come from Ellison, Yakwe , Sima and Richard F. The majority will have to come from Lovett, Ahmed, Mussini and Ponds. I am truly hoping each of those 4 can average close to or greater than 10 points a game. I believe he will certainly be given the chance to score from day 1. Time will tell.

10, give or take a point, seems fair.

I would expect more like 6-7. But my expectations for him have been far more reserved than most on here, going back to last year. I hope you and RN are right and I'm wrong. Hell I hope he far exceeds all our expectations.

Upon reflection, let's go with 7-8.

8 Pts last night. Prophetic!

As an aside, love his ability to disrupt on defense & deflect balls. He cheats a lot, which he'll have to do strategically. Better teams with good perimeter shooting can burn you on that if done excessively. All in all, this kid is fun to watch & will make us very happy over next four years.

 

[monte]

Bryce Cotton of Providence was one of my favorite small guards in recent time. HIs career stats are interesting & granted roster composition at PC may differ with SJU.

Nonetheless, please note his freshman year where he averaged 4 points & 15 minutes per game. I would expect Ponds to get more time initially than that, but looking at Cotton's scoring progression may put things in perspective. After his freshman year he played "iron man" minutes, which is incredible considering his physical makeup.

Ponds of course, with SJU team depth hopefully, should not be called upon to log such time in his last three years. All in all, I am very pleased to have Ponds, but am grounding my expectations year one. Let him develop physically, get a grasp of the game at this level & we should have an outstanding player commencing year two. We tend to forget that for most freshman the adjustment to BE level of play is a huge step, especially for kids with his physical makeup. Just my opinion.

Cotton stats;

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bryce-cotton-1.html

While I respect the opinion I do disagree about PT part. We have certainly thrown lesser heralded players out there in the past. I would like to see him get as much PT as he can. Now fans need to temper their expectations and let him go through growing pains and the mistakes he will make until he matures physically and get experience. That I totally agree with but most likely won't happen.

I also think it is help in recruiting that kids will get PT here right away.

Would 20 - 25 minutes/game disappoint you?

Absolutely and if it turns out that Mussini and or Ellison are clearly better than he can even play less.
20- to 25 to start with seems about right.
I would just like to see if him start and basically give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning. If he shows he is not ready and other two are playing better, you can adjust his time accordingly by time BE season starts.

I origininally referenced Cotton's 15 minutes/Gm year one & noted I expected Ponds to exceed that, so 20 to me seems fair. We'll see.

I too think 20 minutes a game is fair but on our 11 man roster we can comfortably assume that little scoring will come from AA, Darien and Owens. More scoring should come from Ellison, Yakwe , Sima and Richard F. The majority will have to come from Lovett, Ahmed, Mussini and Ponds. I am truly hoping each of those 4 can average close to or greater than 10 points a game. I believe he will certainly be given the chance to score from day 1. Time will tell.

10, give or take a point, seems fair.

I would expect more like 6-7. But my expectations for him have been far more reserved than most on here, going back to last year. I hope you and RN are right and I'm wrong. Hell I hope he far exceeds all our expectations.

Upon reflection, let's go with 7-8.

8 Pts last night. Prophetic!

As an aside, love his ability to disrupt on defense & deflect balls. He cheats a lot, which he'll have to do strategically. Better teams with good perimeter shooting can burn you on that if done excessively. All in all, this kid is fun to watch & will make us very happy over next four years.

Agree completely. Also love the way the kid is willing to accept his roll(actually, they all do) and let things come to him offensively. No pressing, no forcing things. Having said that, it's easy to let things come to you in two 50 pt blow outs. We will see some freshman mistakes when we start facing better comp. But that's all fine, Ponds will grow in to a very good player over time. OTOH, Lovett may already be there.

 

[paultzman]

Bryce Cotton of Providence was one of my favorite small guards in recent time. HIs career stats are interesting & granted roster composition at PC may differ with SJU.

Nonetheless, please note his freshman year where he averaged 4 points & 15 minutes per game. I would expect Ponds to get more time initially than that, but looking at Cotton's scoring progression may put things in perspective. After his freshman year he played "iron man" minutes, which is incredible considering his physical makeup.

Ponds of course, with SJU team depth hopefully, should not be called upon to log such time in his last three years. All in all, I am very pleased to have Ponds, but am grounding my expectations year one. Let him develop physically, get a grasp of the game at this level & we should have an outstanding player commencing year two. We tend to forget that for most freshman the adjustment to BE level of play is a huge step, especially for kids with his physical makeup. Just my opinion.

Cotton stats;

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/bryce-cotton-1.html

While I respect the opinion I do disagree about PT part. We have certainly thrown lesser heralded players out there in the past. I would like to see him get as much PT as he can. Now fans need to temper their expectations and let him go through growing pains and the mistakes he will make until he matures physically and get experience. That I totally agree with but most likely won't happen.

I also think it is help in recruiting that kids will get PT here right away.

Would 20 - 25 minutes/game disappoint you?

Absolutely and if it turns out that Mussini and or Ellison are clearly better than he can even play less.
20- to 25 to start with seems about right.
I would just like to see if him start and basically give him the benefit of the doubt at the beginning. If he shows he is not ready and other two are playing better, you can adjust his time accordingly by time BE season starts.

I origininally referenced Cotton's 15 minutes/Gm year one & noted I expected Ponds to exceed that, so 20 to me seems fair. We'll see.

I too think 20 minutes a game is fair but on our 11 man roster we can comfortably assume that little scoring will come from AA, Darien and Owens. More scoring should come from Ellison, Yakwe , Sima and Richard F. The majority will have to come from Lovett, Ahmed, Mussini and Ponds. I am truly hoping each of those 4 can average close to or greater than 10 points a game. I believe he will certainly be given the chance to score from day 1. Time will tell.

10, give or take a point, seems fair.

I would expect more like 6-7. But my expectations for him have been far more reserved than most on here, going back to last year. I hope you and RN are right and I'm wrong. Hell I hope he far exceeds all our expectations.

Upon reflection, let's go with 7-8.

8 Pts last night. Prophetic!

As an aside, love his ability to disrupt on defense & deflect balls. He cheats a lot, which he'll have to do strategically. Better teams with good perimeter shooting can burn you on that if done excessively. All in all, this kid is fun to watch & will make us very happy over next four years.

Agree completely. Also love the way the kid is willing to accept his roll(actually, they all do) and let things come to him offensively. No pressing, no forcing things. Having said that, it's easy to let things come to you in two 50 pt blow outs. We will see some freshman mistakes when we start facing better comp. But that's all fine, Ponds will grow in to a very good player over time. OTOH, Lovett may already be there.

And I believe Marcus is four years older than Ponds. I love his game no matter.