LIU Brooklyn

[Amaseinyourface]

We have four experienced guards--Jordan, Harrison, Branch and Greene. What exactly was the point of putting walk-on guard Myles Stewart in for 6 minutes and Balamou in for 9, while Jones got 2 minutes and Amar zippo? At some point, against larger opponents, we are going to have play bigger. Would it not make sense for Jones and Amar to get a little burn against these lesser opponents? What am I missing?

This game was far from in the bag, so Lavin never really had the luxury of experimenting. He had to worry about winning the game first and foremost. FWIW, I don't see AA contributing much at this level. However Jones can, and its crucial that he get PT now.
I was really hoping that we would come out of the box strong against our first 3 opponents. After all, we are senior laden team. This would have given our kids confidence and allowed Lavin to see what he's got with the newcomers. Unfortunately that didn't happen.

I think 12 points. 6 rbs, 6-8 shooting in 22 minutes is coming out fairly strong. Hes not a center, and he shouldnt be guarding guards 20 ft from the hoop. Somehow lavin blames him for that though.

 

[simplyred]

[Collective] You can call Myles Stewart a walk-on repeatedly, but the fact is, he will play this year. He is good enough to be in the rotation early on" hopfully, he can contribute during BE play.

As an aside, I'm gonna guess that Jay Henderson will redshirt this year.

 

[Marillac]

We have four experienced guards--Jordan, Harrison, Branch and Greene. What exactly was the point of putting walk-on guard Myles Stewart in for 6 minutes and Balamou in for 9, while Jones got 2 minutes and Amar zippo? At some point, against larger opponents, we are going to have play bigger. Would it not make sense for Jones and Amar to get a little burn against these lesser opponents? What am I missing?

I find this puzzling as well. I would have given Amar 5-7 minutes each of the first three games, even if that meant starting him or playing him early each half.

There will be a point this season where Dom at 6'6 and Jones at 6'7 just won't be enough at the five. Amar at 6'9 230 will at the very least make things tougher with his size.

I can really only think of three reasons why: (1) Lavin was scared of losing (2) Lavin sees someone else as the backup center next month (JDR or ADR), or (3) Lavin intends to keep playing extra small.

The 2010-2011 team didn't have much size either...three guys between 6'7 and 6'8 played nearly all the minutes at the four and five spots. At least we have Obekpa at 6'9/6'10 to hold that down.

One lineup that might help down the road is: Jordan-Harrison-Balamou-Pointer-Obekpa. That is the only lineup where you have five guys with a nose for the ball and hustle on both ends. I am a big Balamou fan obviously, but I saw some fear in him last night that I did not like. He was completely tentative and he didn't play like himself until he gained confidence off that transition finish from Dom. I've seen too many good ballplayers with that look that were just ruined by coaches substitution patterns. The brother of a girl I used to date started at Marist and Magarity yanked him after every missed shot. The kid had a wet shot from anywhere on the court his whole life but looked back every time he missed a shot and heard a whistle. Eventually he just became an athlete and rebounder for them. Felix was scared to bring the ball up and had it stolen from him as he desperately tried to get it to anyone else. Lavin needs to e careful.

I don't have a problem with Stewart or Balamou playing. Yes, we have four experienced guards, but we also play three and four guards sets. We'll need a fifth guard to step up.