Harvard, Sat., Nov. 30, 5p, Peacock

Play Lefty twenty minutes. SJU has plenty of athletic ball players but there will be games when the athletes just can’t put the ball in the basket. Here is where .Lefty comes in. He may be the tenth or eleventh man in basketball skills but he may provide something that this team lacks. Shooting from the outside.
Can this skill make up for his other shortcomings? Let’s find out in the remainder of the OOC schedule before the big east schedule starts. Playing Wilcher and Glover more minutes for the same reason should also be considered.
 
I was driving all day Sunday and missed the Georgia game. From reading this thread, the season's over because our guys lost to a ranked team and another team with a lot of talent and a good record. I had no idea the season could end in November. I guess that means that if we don't blow out Harvard, we get relegated to Division 2. I suggest everyone ready to give up calm down. Coach RP will show highlights of the Mets season and bring in Lindor to give the team a pep talk. Based on the past 25 or so years, we should have learned that nothing comes easy for this program. Any early guesses as to the point spread against Harvard?
 
I think this team needs an infusion of intelligent play and a little more physicality. Off the bench, I believe Prey can provide that. He boxes out well, passes adroitly and seems to have good instincts. He is not a dominant guy, but given time can add some smarts to a team in need of that. Do that and I think he could be Rick’s fourth captain come BE play 😇
 
paultzman said:
I think this team needs an infusion of intelligent play and a little more physicality. Off the bench, I believe Prey can provide that. He boxes out well, passes adroitly and seems to have good instincts. He is not a dominant guy, but given time can add some smarts to a team in need of that. Do that and I think he could be Rick’s fourth captain come BE play 😇
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I agree on the physicality front, which has been a concern from the beginning. The problem is that I don't think the fix for that is on this roster. Zuby plays with a lot of energy but for whatever reason is not a good defensive rebounder and is undersized against players who are more true-5s. I think Vince brings some potential but as Marillac has noted he plays smaller than his size. Prey has shown some polish with the ball on offense, but I don't see him as a physical interior player. So ultimately what we've got is a 4 and a pair of guys who either think they are or actually are stretch-4s, and no true 5.

We can perhaps offset that if there is more of a gang approach to rebounding with whoever is at the 5, Luis, Scott and Richmond all hitting the boards. I think what may be preventing that (at least in part) is Pitino's desire to get out and run - which is also a poor fit for Richmond's play style.

The other problem is that Richmond and Smith are both players who are accustomed to having the ball and when Pitino has them both in the game together one of them has to find a new role in the flow - in addition to which they play at radically different speeds.

Ultimately this is a complex equation for the staff to figure out: how to get rebounding, manage two very different point guards, run and be efficient all at the same time.

The answer might be to either (a) play Richmond, which means play slower, let him be himself and run the offense, and improves your rebounding to offset the lack of a true 5; or (b) play Smith, run and gun, and accept that you're going to have trouble on the boards. Right now they are stuck in between the two and that may be a prescription for not only internal dissension but also disconnect on the floor.
 
paultzman said:
I think this team needs an infusion of intelligent play and a little more physicality. Off the bench, I believe Prey can provide that. He boxes out well, passes adroitly and seems to have good instincts. He is not a dominant guy, but given time can add some smarts to a team in need of that. Do that and I think he could be Rick’s fourth captain come BE play 😇
Click to expand...
Prey? Hes not any good. He can barely get any playing time. He will get destroyed in big east play.
 
paultzman said:
I think this team needs an infusion of intelligent play and a little more physicality. Off the bench, I believe Prey can provide that. He boxes out well, passes adroitly and seems to have good instincts. He is not a dominant guy, but given time can add some smarts to a team in need of that. Do that and I think he could be Rick’s fourth captain come BE play 😇
Click to expand...
Agreed. Very impressed with what Prey has shown. Obvious he's played a lot against some good competition.
 
lawmanfan said:
I agree on the physicality front, which has been a concern from the beginning. The problem is that I don't think the fix for that is on this roster. Zuby plays with a lot of energy but for whatever reason is not a good defensive rebounder and is undersized against players who are more true-5s. I think Vince brings some potential but as Marillac has noted he plays smaller than his size. Prey has shown some polish with the ball on offense, but I don't see him as a physical interior player. So ultimately what we've got is a 4 and a pair of guys who either think they are or actually are stretch-4s, and no true 5.

We can perhaps offset that if there is more of a gang approach to rebounding with whoever is at the 5, Luis, Scott and Richmond all hitting the boards. I think what may be preventing that (at least in part) is Pitino's desire to get out and run - which is also a poor fit for Richmond's play style.

The other problem is that Richmond and Smith are both players who are accustomed to having the ball and when Pitino has them both in the game together one of them has to find a new role in the flow - in addition to which they play at radically different speeds.

Ultimately this is a complex equation for the staff to figure out: how to get rebounding, manage two very different point guards, run and be efficient all at the same time.

The answer might be to either (a) play Richmond, which means play slower, let him be himself and run the offense, and improves your rebounding to offset the lack of a true 5; or (b) play Smith, run and gun, and accept that you're going to have trouble on the boards. Right now they are stuck in between the two and that may be a prescription for not only internal dissension but also disconnect on the floor.
Click to expand...
On guard options, I’d opt for B, because Smith moves the ball much better to open guys for good shots. Kadary can make a fancy low % pass sometimes, but too often in traffic with minimum results. On other end, I believe Smith is the better defender on the ball. I do submit, this may be a “pick your poison” scenario overall, but give me the guy willing to dive on loose balls, Smith.
 
paultzman said:
On guard options, I’d opt for B, because Smith moves the ball much better to open guys for good shots. Kadary can make a fancy low % pass sometimes, but too often in traffic with minimum results. On other end, I believe Smith is the better defender on the ball. I do submit, this may be a “pick your poison” scenario overall, but give me the guy willing to dive on loose balls, Smith.
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The compromise would be to make Kadary a small forward, essentially - he's a good rebounder and can play that spot in college. So then you have Richmond, Zuby and Scott up front - which means you are starting Wilcher at the 2 and bringing Luis off the bench (unless you start Luis and bring Scott of the bench, which I would not do personally). You're basically making Kadary into Chris Ledlum in that scenario (albeit with a different skill set) - and you still don't have enough physicality against a team with real size up front.

Just structural problems with this roster, I think.
 
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