Matt A

[we are sju]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

 

[logen]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

 

[SJU85]

Why do people think Lovett is leaving. He is barely 6 foot with not particularly good range. He doesn't really distribute that well. He is below average defender. Maybe playing with better talent will change that. Plus the NBA draft is loaded. Europe I would think or DLeague. I assume most people are going with the fact that he moved around a lot in HS and isn't the academic type. I mean he is blazing fast & strong maybe with more space in the NBA suits his skills more. I hope he stays I guess we will find out shortly.

Him thinking about leaving does not automatically mean the NBA. One of Villanova's guards lef early a few years back (might have been Ennis) knowing he probably wasn't going to make the NBA but as he put it, he needed to help his family financially and he could do that by playing overseas.

My only take is it seems that for the last four or five games Marcus just seems to be mailing it in. Maybe the leauge is adjusting to him or maybe he's already thinking about where he'll be next year. If he is leaving I hope he goes out with a bang against gtown.

Or maybe he hit the "freshman" wall which does happen. He could have played alot of games but practicing against college players, playing heavy minutes in games and the other workouts and his physical ailments might have taken a toll here at the end of the season.

 

[we are sju]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

 

[Andrew]

The one thing Lovett has is NBA speed and is a pretty good shooter to go with that.

 

[logen]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

 

[bamafan]

The Matt A post somehow turned into a Marcus staying/leaving debate?

Saw there were 62 new posts in this thread and wondered how there could be so many. Now I know. Talk of a grad transfer big and maybe another for the guard position if LoVett were to leave leads me to this observation-they better not be players that if our needs they also better be good basketball players. This will be hard to find because I have seen some work out and some be just what the team needed position-ally but they just did not do a very good job because they just were not very good players.

 

[monte]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

 

[we are sju]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coqaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

I think he meant Ron as a solid guy off the bench that you could rely on for a small stretch. Personally I liked Ron last year. His defense wasn't amazing or anything but it wasn't measurably worse than anyone else we have had the last 2 years

 

[we are sju]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coqaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

I think he meant Ron as a solid guy off the bench that you could rely on for a small stretch. Personally I liked Ron last year. His defense wasn't amazing or anything but it wasn't measurably worse than anyone else we have had the last 2 years

I know he didn't mean replace Lovett with a Ron. But my point is we need to move past the Ron's and figure out to either get the Jordan's and Lovett's we do get to buy in or stop recruiting them. If we do that though not sure where it leaves us? At this point we do not have enough talent to wish we had glue guys.

 

[cappy105]

most important recruit- LoVett!! 2017/18- #KeepBatman&Robin #Top10backcourt

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coqaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

I think he meant Ron as a solid guy off the bench that you could rely on for a small stretch. Personally I liked Ron last year. His defense wasn't amazing or anything but it wasn't measurably worse than anyone else we have had the last 2 years

Oh man yes it was

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Ponds is an incredibly talented defender, just happens to be a lazy one and on a team that doesn't have depth and needs him to win he could get away with it. I pedicted before the year that he would break our freshmen steals record and I'm guessing he did. I predict he'll win a BE DPOY before his time is done.

Very lazy. Not always a curable affliction. See Anthony, Carmelo. I like both guys but both lazy defenders and despite the talent I get why people get annoyed at them. Stinking easier to take then being lazy. Funny thing is fan contempt seems to stick more on Lovett than Ponds who is equally as lazy.

Difference being Carmelo is not talented defensively. Lazy and just not a good defender is what makes it so bad. Ponds was lazy and still showed me some of the best defensive skill ive ever seen. He gets some steals that you never see before. The one where he snagged Cartwright's pass right from his hands last game for example.

 

[we are sju]

Ponds is an incredibly talented defender, just happens to be a lazy one and on a team that doesn't have depth and needs him to win he could get away with it. I pedicted before the year that he would break our freshmen steals record and I'm guessing he did. I predict he'll win a BE DPOY before his time is done.

Very lazy. Not always a curable affliction. See Anthony, Carmelo. I like both guys but both lazy defenders and despite the talent I get why people get annoyed at them. Stinking easier to take then being lazy. Funny thing is fan contempt seems to stick more on Lovett than Ponds who is equally as lazy.

Difference being Carmelo is not talented defensively. Lazy and just not a good defender is what makes it so bad. Ponds was lazy and still showed me some of the best defensive skill ive ever seen. He gets some steals that you never see before. The one where he snagged Cartwright's pass right from his hands last game for example.

Again I like both guys a lot. But you know steal stats are not really a measure of defense. Both Lovett and Ponds are slow on closeouts and let less athletic guys get into the lane on them.

 

[Andrew]

Ponds is an incredibly talented defender, just happens to be a lazy one and on a team that doesn't have depth and needs him to win he could get away with it. I pedicted before the year that he would break our freshmen steals record and I'm guessing he did. I predict he'll win a BE DPOY before his time is done.

Very lazy. Not always a curable affliction. See Anthony, Carmelo. I like both guys but both lazy defenders and despite the talent I get why people get annoyed at them. Stinking easier to take then being lazy. Funny thing is fan contempt seems to stick more on Lovett than Ponds who is equally as lazy.

If you convert steals to easy baskets they are important plays. Not sure we win the Marquette game if not for Ponds two steals before the half.

Difference being Carmelo is not talented defensively. Lazy and just not a good defender is what makes it so bad. Ponds was lazy and still showed me some of the best defensive skill ive ever seen. He gets some steals that you never see before. The one where he snagged Cartwright's pass right from his hands last game for example.

Again I like both guys a lot. But you know steal stats are not really a measure of defense. Both Lovett and Ponds are slow on closeouts and let less athletic guys get into the lane on them.

 

[monte]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

Of the many things that you've said that have offended me, this wasn't one of them. As Mike said below, I was talking about having a guy on the team that was mature and who could take a bit of a leadership roll, as Ron seemed to do when he was on the court. And I will clarify my feelings about Lovett once again: I do not want him to leave by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, I do not want him back with drama. And rest assured we are not privy to all the behind the scenes drama that goes on with these kids, but there have been enough indicators with Marcus. We can take a huge step forward next year if the entire team comes back, and with the few new parts that we'll add. No one kid should be allowed to be bigger than the team. That's all I'm saying.

 

[we are sju]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

Of the many things that you've said that have offended me, this wasn't one of them. As Mike said below, I was talking about having a guy on the team that was mature and who could take a bit of a leadership roll, as Ron seemed to do when he was on the court. And I will clarify my feelings about Lovett once again: I do not want him to leave by any stretch of the imagination. At the same time, I do not want him back with drama. And rest assured we are not privy to all the behind the scenes drama that goes on with these kids, but there have been enough indicators with Marcus. We can take a huge step forward next year if the entire team comes back, and with the few new parts that we'll add. No one kid should be allowed to be bigger than the team. That's all I'm saying.

I don't think we can get Lovett type talented kids w/o baggage.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

Ponds is an incredibly talented defender, just happens to be a lazy one and on a team that doesn't have depth and needs him to win he could get away with it. I pedicted before the year that he would break our freshmen steals record and I'm guessing he did. I predict he'll win a BE DPOY before his time is done.

Very lazy. Not always a curable affliction. See Anthony, Carmelo. I like both guys but both lazy defenders and despite the talent I get why people get annoyed at them. Stinking easier to take then being lazy. Funny thing is fan contempt seems to stick more on Lovett than Ponds who is equally as lazy.

Difference being Carmelo is not talented defensively. Lazy and just not a good defender is what makes it so bad. Ponds was lazy and still showed me some of the best defensive skill ive ever seen. He gets some steals that you never see before. The one where he snagged Cartwright's pass right from his hands last game for example.

Again I like both guys a lot. But you know steal stats are not really a measure of defense. Both Lovett and Ponds are slow on closeouts and let less athletic guys get into the lane on them.

No its not but if you can pretty much book 4-5 rebounds and 2 steals from your 6ft sg thats pretty good. We all know hes not incapable of keeping guys in front of him. He just has to want to do it.

 

[logen]

Lovett is a fun player to watch and I don't see any problems with him on the court. The chemistry between him and Shamorie isn't great but could improve if he stays next season. I also think the attacks on Lovett and Ponds defense are unwarranted. We have a defense problem but a portion of that is a result of giving up so many offensive rebounds and having an inexperienced team.

As I have no idea who the fifth year players or transfers could be if Lovett leaves I don't know what kind of team we will have next season. Getting back to the NCAA's is really important to me.

Obviously building a longer term winning program is the goal but I don't see that without getting back to the NCAA's. The year after next our remaining marginal players will be seniors and Ponds and Simon will be juniors. We will have a donut hole in the sophomore column unless we get a transfer. This could be a long rebuild if it is one at all.

Lovett and Ponds are both poor defenders and one major reason we give up so many offensive rebounds is that the bigs are forever scrambling covering for them. Both are terrific offensive players but the road to the NCAAs and a consistent program is through the other end of the court.

I am not disagreeing with you totally as obviously defense is important. However our best team ever featured two terrible defenders as their best two players and maybe the best two players in the history of the program. Granted it looks worse when two small guards are indifferent defenders.

Basketball 101, man to man defense starts with the guards keeping the ball in front of them, ideally channeling them to where you want them to go; if you don't do that you don't have a defense. They are not our only problem at all but you have no chance of fixing anything when opposing guards consistently break the defense down and/or can take the ball wherever they want to go. I recognize both are young and I fully expect Ponds to improve immensely next season because I think he is a very smart player and committed to winning. I think he is a product of what he could get away with in high school/AAU more than anything else. Lovett may be the same but IMO that is a moot point; I believe he is gone and will be very surprised if he is back next year. For the record, I definitely hope I am wrong on that point.

I agree he has been bad defensively, but I would have liked to see Lovett with better players surrounding him. I think he would have been a much more complete and efficient player than he was this year.

Agree, but I think while ragged at times and inconsistent at times we have enough offense to have had a better year. Again, I am generally OK with the record but there were just too many games where we did not really compete, that bothers me (obviously!!)

Agree completely. I was never hung up on the record as the definitive measure of success or failure. Like you, I'm fine with the final record, although .500 would have felt so much better. I has basically hoping to see improvement over the course of the year. We showed flashes of improvement, but were never able to sustain anything. That's because of our lack of defense. Consistently hard defense will keep a team in most every game, but our D was non-existent many games. So if our offense wasn't working on all cylinders, we usually had no chance of winning. I said it before and I'll say it again, we did not have one single glue guy on this team. Mostly because we were very young. It would have been great to have a guy like Ron M'Vouka, for example, for maturity and leadership. With the additions of Simon and Clark, and the likely addition of one or two 5th year kids, I'm hopeful that a couple of guys step up to provide the leadership that we were so sorely lacking this year.

No offense Monte as I think outside of your Mussini infatuation you are a good poster. HOWEVER, we are now wishing we had a Ron M'Vouka? When we had Ron M'Vouka we wished we had a Marcus Lovett. The problem is as a program we can't afford to just keep giving up on good players. I love Chris Mullin, but his job is to keep the kids he gets and to get them to play hard. Would rather Lovett stay and defend then go get lesser players who play hard but stink. Was easier to watch this year than last and everyone played hard last year.

Maybe one day we get to a point where we can afford to jettison talented players because we can replace them. But until that point the coaching staff has to do whatever it can to keep the few we have.

Your premise seems to be that Mullin is jettisoning Lovett which is silly. Lovett is leaving (IMO) because he wants to get paid to play, it's what happens when you recruit good players.