Robbery On The Highway

I disagree with your comments . You will likely disagree with mine . It’s what fans do . Nothing personal . But, here goes ... Agree Ponds was a 4-5 Star borderline player . He is small sized in a BE that has a abundance of big guards . He is one of the League’s best players but, we are all lamenting his missing 3 point shot this Year . You seem to blame Mullin for that , not coaching him up were your words . Let’s look at that for a minute ok ? Ponds role changed the minute Lovett went down .. He needed to perform like he was both , Marcus and Shamorie .. Opponents defenses could now double team or hurry him to shoot or just wear him out .. Without Lovett , Ponds wasn’t getting the open looks from Long range he hit last year . He is , basically , our only serious Offensive player . Let’s look at Simon as a 4 Star as you said ... Without a doubt , he is a very nice player ... He has serious Shooting limitations as his game shows , despite the stats that some alleged Statisticians proclaim he is superior in . Shooting is a natural talent , like playing the Violin, you have it or don’t . Simon doesn’t have it and you could have Mullin and Richmond Coach him up forever and he will show minimal uptick in his numbers . First of all , anyone thinking he is a 3 pt threat , need help . He is 6-12 in 3 point attempts . But, that funny guy presents that as a .500 shooter . Better than Mussini ! Actually Mussini shot 56-131 last year from 3 range , which is .427 percent . A excellent shooting touch from Long range , which was Federico ‘s Best Ability . Simon does not have that game in his arsenal but, does other things . Simon is a get to the Rim player , who does great things getting there but, often misses and doesn’t finish . Move him beyond 10
Feet and he really isn’t going to be a threat at scoring . Defend him that way and you limit his point production . Against Providence , he scored 6 points and 7 against Nova . Likely why Miller didn’t give him more PT at Arizona . So , while he gets high marks at rebounding , steals and playing some PG, he has that 1 weakness in his game . Coaching isn’t going to
Fix that... So, if Miller could not Coach him up to be a 5 Star Player , you criticize Mullin for not being able to either . Your argument fails as a indictment of Mullin ‘s Coaching . Yakwe is easier . 4 Star our of HS ? Seeing him the 3 Years now , the only accurate comment one can make is, he was Overrated ! He has serious fundamental flaws to his game that are not correctable . He has awful Hands and fumbles the ball way too much . He is not naturally a B.B. player and does not have the footwork or , offensive moves a player needs at this level . He jumps high, often after losing his man and that ability lets him block some shots . But, he is not a good rebounder either and at 6’7” can’t compete against BE players more experienced or skilled . Or, 6’10” tall . He is , what he is ... a Sub ... but, let’s blame Mullin for that as well .. The abilities that highly skilled B.B. players possess are usually honed long before they get to this Level ... Too many posters here think these players should show improvement like they did in 6 th grade playing CYO basketball in a Church gym . Alas, many of those posters think Coaches at this level or NBA level are going to turn all these kids into the next Jordan or LeBron or , even the next Chris Mullin . Not possible . So , let the bone go on Mullin not improving these players . Did Lavin make DLO a better shooter ? Answer No! DLO was a decent Scorer, never a great shooter . Ok ?
 
I'm on board with Slyfoxx. No doubt Lovett's absence hurt Ponds. But, in truth, he has been way off target with his 3 attempts, like a pitcher with control suddenly losing it.

Yakwe is really strange. Yes, he lacks the instincts needed to succeed at this level, but he still showed promise as a freshman. He has regressed big time.

As for Simon, shooting is not his strength. If it was, he would not have left Arizona. To me, coaching a player up includes instilling a good work ethic, and convincing a kid that teamwork is the key and that defense requires hard, and often thankless work, but is what win games. Shooting is a tough thing to teach at this point. We have had players that were more athlete than player turn himself into a respectable shooter from 3. Paris Horne comes to mind. Not sure who else. But it's rare, and requires a lot of time in the gym in the off-season, and is done by players who don't need a coach pushing them to improve.
 
ponds was 9-44 from 3 range up to the UCF game which was the last Lovett was also in..

still only 20%, against arguably much easier competition.
 
Our program being what it is we we got robbed on the highway the robber would give us our money back out of pity
 
I disagree with your comments . You will likely disagree with mine . It’s what fans do . Nothing personal . But, here goes ... Agree Ponds was a 4-5 Star borderline player . He is small sized in a BE that has a abundance of big guards . He is one of the League’s best players but, we are all lamenting his missing 3 point shot this Year . You seem to blame Mullin for that , not coaching him up were your words . Let’s look at that for a minute ok ? Ponds role changed the minute Lovett went down .. He needed to perform like he was both , Marcus and Shamorie .. Opponents defenses could now double team or hurry him to shoot or just wear him out .. Without Lovett , Ponds wasn’t getting the open looks from Long range he hit last year . He is , basically , our only serious Offensive player . Let’s look at Simon as a 4 Star as you said ... Without a doubt , he is a very nice player ... He has serious Shooting limitations as his game shows , despite the stats that some alleged Statisticians proclaim he is superior in . Shooting is a natural talent , like playing the Violin, you have it or don’t . Simon doesn’t have it and you could have Mullin and Richmond Coach him up forever and he will show minimal uptick in his numbers . First of all , anyone thinking he is a 3 pt threat , need help . He is 6-12 in 3 point attempts . But, that funny guy presents that as a .500 shooter . Better than Mussini ! Actually Mussini shot 56-131 last year from 3 range , which is .427 percent . A excellent shooting touch from Long range , which was Federico ‘s Best Ability . Simon does not have that game in his arsenal but, does other things . Simon is a get to the Rim player , who does great things getting there but, often misses and doesn’t finish . Move him beyond 10
Feet and he really isn’t going to be a threat at scoring . Defend him that way and you limit his point production . Against Providence , he scored 6 points and 7 against Nova . Likely why Miller didn’t give him more PT at Arizona . So , while he gets high marks at rebounding , steals and playing some PG, he has that 1 weakness in his game . Coaching isn’t going to
Fix that... So, if Miller could not Coach him up to be a 5 Star Player , you criticize Mullin for not being able to either . Your argument fails as a indictment of Mullin ‘s Coaching . Yakwe is easier . 4 Star our of HS ? Seeing him the 3 Years now , the only accurate comment one can make is, he was Overrated ! He has serious fundamental flaws to his game that are not correctable . He has awful Hands and fumbles the ball way too much . He is not naturally a B.B. player and does not have the footwork or , offensive moves a player needs at this level . He jumps high, often after losing his man and that ability lets him block some shots . But, he is not a good rebounder either and at 6’7” can’t compete against BE players more experienced or skilled . Or, 6’10” tall . He is , what he is ... a Sub ... but, let’s blame Mullin for that as well .. The abilities that highly skilled B.B. players possess are usually honed long before they get to this Level ... Too many posters here think these players should show improvement like they did in 6 th grade playing CYO basketball in a Church gym . Alas, many of those posters think Coaches at this level or NBA level are going to turn all these kids into the next Jordan or LeBron or , even the next Chris Mullin . Not possible . So , let the bone go on Mullin not improving these players . Did Lavin make DLO a better shooter ? Answer No! DLO was a decent Scorer, never a great shooter . Ok ?

Sly...Thoughtful post! And I do disagree. There is a degree of misinterpretation of your part. I never said that Mullin needed "coach up" Shamorie Ponds. It's not about making him into a "better player". It's about creating an environment where this fine young player, who already possesses a bag full of skill, can apply them most effectively. I'm not quite understanding your dissertation on "making and not making players better. I've already harped on the fact that some of our players are shooting beyond the NBA three. Ponds has been watching too much Step Curry. Perhaps he wants to convince scouts that he has that range....HE DOESN"T! And that's a primary reason his 3 pt. percentage has dropped dramatically. It's not coaching a player up to bring this to his attention...it's coaching! Also, at about the same time that Ponds started having fallow first halves, he had previously maybe have been guilty of overshooting. I believe Chris told him to reign it in somewhat and to get his points in the flow. There aren't enough quality scorers on this team for a patient Ponds offense. The answer is to create plays designed to get him free (rather than the normal flow). I don't think we do enough of that. It's not coaching up....it's empowering your best player. You're right...defenses are now designed to stop him. All the more reason to design an offense the gives him decent looks. Otherwise, he may never get a good look. Secondly, I have never rung the Simon bell...I never proclaimed him a 4 star (where did you get that?). He is a decent player, but as you said, he is limited by his perimeter shortcomings. Until he gets a decent outside J, defenses are going to back off him. He plays excellent D and rebounds. He obviously has value...but 4 star? Let's not talk Mussini...he couldn't guard a shark in a gold fish bowl. My observations on Yakwe were critically directed at him personally. Yes, I think better coaching could have gotten more from him. But ultimately, his lack of improvement is on his own head. Yep... I don't agree with you, but thanks so much for post and the knowledgeable acumen.
 
Shooting is a natural talent , like playing the Violin, you have it or don’t
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Anyone can learn to play the violin. It's no more a natural talent than plumbing.
 
A fine post , 72. We disagree but, that is why the horses or players actually run or play respectively . Otherwise , we can plug the Computer in and not have them involved at all . Considering many Data analysts would have us 3-3 instead of 0-6 headed to 0-7 , that might be a good thing ! ?. Especially for us fans as we could still be talking about NCAA or NIT . I think many HS Rating services had Simon as a high 4 or 5 heading to Arizona . Obviously , Outstde shooting beyond 10 feet is not his game . And, while he gets to the Rim with relative ease , he misses a lot . Like Leonard Hamilton use to do, back in the Day . Their games are not similar although their bunny misses are in the same range . Yes, we disagree about Ponds . And Mussini , more about him later , but I digress . No one on this site has addressed the issue of Lovett missing from the equation and what the resultant effect was to Team Chemistry and the Offensive schemes it disrupted . Ponds and Lovett were wired in and were going to be the main offensive weapons this year . Ponds got a lot more of long, relatively uncontested 3’s with Lovett playing . He isn’t now . Additionally , I think we all over estimated exactly what Simon and Clark would bring to this team . Neither are All Stars and they both , have natural weaknesses in their games . Clark will never Rebound at a level that meets a Forwards requirement in the BE or, obviously Big 10 either . Which is why he is in Jamaica and not East Lansing . Other than the occasional long jumper he hits , and being a elite foul shooter, what else does he bring ? He fouls way too much and spends meaningful first half time on the Bench . His handle is weak and he doesn’t get to the line enough because he dribbles into traffic and loses the ball . 1 rebound against Nova is a Failng grade for any front court player in the BE . Contrary to many , I have seen him miss 2 long range jumpers in the final minutes of close games against Seton Hall and Nova . He missed both . It cost us . He never follows his misses either . Yes , he shoots a decent percentage but, he also is missing at Crunch time . I promised a comment on Mussini . You ignored his high percentage of 3’s hit last year . He actually won several games almost single handedly . Maybe you forgot Syracuse in the Dome ? Yes , he was weak defensively but, who on this team , Simon excepted , is even a mediocre defender ? Ahmed ? ponds? Owens ? Clark ? Yakwe ? None ! So , dumping on Mussini is and was unfair unless you also include the players mentioned . And, who would not give money to have him on this team this year ? Only the funny kid and his Plumbers .. just saying ..
 
I don’t remember what the order was regarding Lovett deciding to stay and Mussini going pro but it was probably always an either or. The things that Mussini did well(3 point shooting and FT shooting) have been written about on here enough.

Losing Ellison(I know he had some deficiencies) has hurt a lot as he would have helped our depth, size and passing and he was improving. If he knew Lovett was leaving he might have stayed.

I don’t think much of Sima but he would have helped as well, as would have Wilson who I think may still be a good player if he can get out of the way of his “handlers”.

Overall we are at least two players short of being a decent team without Lovett, another decent guard and a good rebounder. We also need to replace Ahmed’s scoring which unfortunately disappeared the last two games. Hopefully those players are there with the six reinforcements coming in and hopefully we can get at least one more while retaining the core four (Clark, Owens, Simon and Ponds).

My overall view is that Mullin has been far from great so far. His choice of assistants and the Slice situation has been a good part of this in my opinion. If that can somehow be corrected, I think we are heading in the right direction. The next two seasons should be enough to give a true grade of his performance.
 
Just about any coach, while offering some minor advice (square up, get better arc or rotation, stay in your range, don't pull the trigger too soon) will usually never tell a shooter not to shoot. Most times a good shooter just has to work his way out of a slump and the shots will drop. I believe Ponds is a good outside shooter. Simon has also been surprisingly good. Clark can shoot the three, and Owens should use that weapon just to keep defenses honest in drawing big men far away from the basket when Owens is on the perimeter. Throw in Lovett, and this is probably the best 3-ball team we've had in ages, maybe ever.

There's a good reason for losing. The other team is outscoring you. To do that, they are making more shots than you.
 
And at the center of that fact, was the reality that our coaching staff failed to react to a red hot shooter on our opponent. …we pretty much ignored this kid while he killed us from that same three point line. It's pretty much what caused Villanova to win. I sat amazed while this kid shot the trifectas with no one within 5 feet. I mean, a quality shooter can make 10-10 open threes when they're hot. Maybe Chris just thought he would cool off....huge error!

Yes, DiVincenzo killed us and yes, it would have been nice if our coaching staff had come up with an effective response.

I also recall that a couple of seasons ago, Creighton absolutely annihilated Villanova—not once, but twice — with their 3-point shooting. Bloodbath both times. Do you think Jay Wright didn’t know that Doug McDermott was a talented shooter and do you think he didn’t try to come up with something to counteract it —especially after the first rout? Does this make Jay Wright incompetent?

I’m not saying that Mullin is on that level and yes, he has issues. But hanging tight with the #1 team in the country, with a clearly inferior roster, is hardly cause to excoriate the guy.
 
Losing Ellison(I know he had some deficiencies) has hurt a lot as he would have helped our depth, size and passing and he was improving. If he knew Lovett was leaving he might have stayed.
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While it would be nice to have a guy like Ellison coming off the bench, let’s not forget that he couldn’t shoot and routinely had brain freezes on the court. His biggest problem (IMO) was that he thought he was the man - and he wasn’t. I guess that comes with being the son of a former #1 pick.
 
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