Current Basketball roster?

[CAARHawk]

It's all good Burky. I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder with Brommer. It started his senior year in high school when his stats were anemic for a kid his size in high school. He just didn't look at all like a kid who could exert his will. I felt the same way about Archie.

Guys that are that height in high school should dominate. Guys that height do dominate and then don't make it in college. So, if you have a guy that height that cannot dominate in high school, it is a radical red flag to me.

I mean really Archie and Brommer are the same to me. Two guys that have just not been able to exert their will at any level.

Hope is good, but for me there has to some kind of record to warrant the hope and I just don't see it with these two.

Lots of people didn't think Cougill was a Big Ten player, but at least he did have success in his background.

 

[hawkeyemark]

I think Andrew Brommer will help us if he plays good defense, rebounds and picks up some garbage points around the basket and plays smarter and keeps himself out of foul trouble. He worked hard on his free throws last year and if he develops his offensive game any further it will seem a bonus.

Andrew said in an interview recently that he feels more confident going into this season. He has reached that mid-point in his career when many slow-developing college big men begin to find their game and it comes at an opportune time with the coaching change. I would add that people who have watched the PTL games have observed that he seems more fluid and should really benefit from the change to a more uptempo style. Fran seems to believe in him and that has to boost his confidence as well. Fran likes his players long, lean and athletic. If you think about that Brommer fits that mold and IMO he seems likely to exceed many people's low expectations over the course of the next couple of seasons.

 

[IATrainMaster101]

It's all good Burky. I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder with Brommer. It started his senior year in high school when his stats were anemic for a kid his size in high school. He just didn't look at all like a kid who could exert his will. I felt the same way about Archie.

Guys that are that height in high school should dominate. Guys that height do dominate and then don't make it in college. So, if you have a guy that height that cannot dominate in high school, it is a radical red flag to me.

I mean really Archie and Brommer are the same to me. Two guys that have just not been able to exert their will at any level.

Hope is good, but for me there has to some kind of record to warrant the hope and I just don't see it with these two.

Lots of people didn't think Cougill was a Big Ten player, but at least he did have success in his background.

Bigs can be kind of a different animal when it comes to predicting success at the next level. In high school many kids 6'8" and taller lack coordination, strength ect and don't dominate at that level (at least not consistently). You see guys that need a couple of years and turn into nice players as they mature. To me, if I'm taking a questional big, I take a kid who can run and catch but lacks strength or coordination. Will it always pan out? Certainly not but when it comes to project big guys, high school numbers don't mean a whole lot. Guys like Brommer pass up guys like Cougill all the time.

 

[CAARHawk]

I wouldn't expect FM to do anything but talk positive. Brommer will have to play significant minutes just because there are no other options, plain and simple. The coach has to try to keep his confidence up, because he needs to get everything out of him that is possible.

As far as the big men hit mid point issue. His PTL stats still do not show that he has made that move. Guys that will never sniff Carver Hawkeye showed up better than him on the sheet.

For instance, look at Nash. Nobody expects him to be a Hawk, but his stats are better than Brommer's across the board.

Look, my point is not to just hammer Brommer. But, I do feel as if someone has to be the voice of reason on this site at times. Particularly when people make arguments that are just not supported by any existing data.

But for me the most frustrating thing about Brommer is that it seems like the root physical tools are there.

 

[burky247]

I wouldn't expect FM to do anything but talk positive. Brommer will have to play significant minutes just because there are no other options, plain and simple. The coach has to try to keep his confidence up, because he needs to get everything out of him that is possible.

As far as the big men hit mid point issue. His PTL stats still do not show that he has made that move. Guys that will never sniff Carver Hawkeye showed up better than him on the sheet.

For instance, look at Nash. Nobody expects him to be a Hawk, but his stats are better than Brommer's across the board.

Look, my point is not to just hammer Brommer. But, I do feel as if someone has to be the voice of reason on this site at times. Particularly when people make arguments that are just not supported by any existing data.

But for me the most frustrating thing about Brommer is that it seems like the root physical tools are there.

Didn't Brommer average in the neighborhood of 7 points/3 rebounds during 2009's PTL? I thought I read that somewhere. He averaged 13 and 8 this season. He did shoot 48 percent from the field...even though his free throw shooting is still horrid.

Like I have said from the beginning, using stats alone from the PTL is going to be useless in identifying a player's progress. Mismatches seem to be very easy to exploit and sometimes that can inflate a player's numbers. Brommer, for example, still shows his inconsistency as he had games around 30 pts and games where he didn't hit double figures. So it's obvious he still has a long ways to go. But what has been noticable, by many news outlets and eyewitnesses, is that his skill set has improved and he is slowly making some strides.

I said this about a month ago but I will repeat it. I had someone who has very good ties within the program tell me that although the light bulb hasn't quite turned on for Andrew yet, at least he is now flipping the switch. I was thrilled to hear that because one of the things I always heard about Brommer last season was that he didn't seem to have that competitive attitude that is needed to compete in the Big Ten.

There is nothing wrong with being realistic. In fact, I believe it is essential to some degree because we are going to be facing an uphill battle this season. Still, I don't think noticing some positive things makes you an unrealistic fan.