tksirius
HN's Love Doctor
The Green Bay Mythical Birds beat WI Lutheran 110-54 Tuesday night. GB is predicted to finish in the top half of their conference.
https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/horizon-basketball-preview-2019
4. Green Bay
Key Returners: Sandy Cohen III, Kam Hankerson, PJ Pipes, Manny Patterson, TJ Parnham
Key Losses: Khalil Small, David Jesperson
Key Newcomers: JayQuan McCloud (JUCO), Jevon Smith (JUCO), Josh McNair (JUCO), Shanquan Hemphill (JUCO), Cody Schwartz (San Jose State transfer)
Lineup:
Outlook: Since Linc Darner replaced Brian Wardle in 2015, the Phoenix have been hellbent on playing in the fast lane. In many ways, Darner’s style at Green Bay (referred to as ‘RP40’) closely resembles Greg Kampe’s at Oakland. Both put pressure on opponents by relentlessly attacking in transition and by exploiting mismatch opportunities through isolation sets when the defense is set in the half-court. The ‘secret sauce’ for success in this system is, well, far from a secret – you need high-caliber individual playmakers who can consistently score and create in 1-v-1 situations.
Khalil Small flourished as the lead guard last year, but his departure means former Marquette transfer Sandy Cohen will now run the show this season. Cohen’s a high-octane scorer who will put up big time numbers as the undisputed alpha offensively, but Darner has a few other competent pieces to flank Cohen on the perimeter. Kameron Hankerson turned more than a few heads with his 36-point explosion against Detroit in the Horizon League tournament last March, proving he can go bananas on any given night. 2nd-team NJCAA All-American JayQuan McCloud enters the mix after tearing up the JUCO circuit and rising sophomore PJ Pipes is a prime breakout candidate as well (highlights below):
As promising as that crop of perimeter talent is, the reality is that the Phoenix regressed on both sides of the ball last season, in large part due to a depleted frontcourt after Kareem Kanter and Kenneth Lowe’s poorly timed departures. Having to replace Kanter and Lowe in the same offseason was near-Armageddon for a roster severely lacking depth up front, which explains why the Phoenix were bullied on the boards. Last year, David Jesperson was the only guy standing 6’8 or taller who clocked significant playing time and even he profiles as a leaner stretch-4. On paper, this should’ve paid major dividends on the other end of the floor with Jesperson pulling rim protectors out of the lane and Cohen able to feast on opposing 4s. But as the hand played out, the offense looked far better on paper than in reality and the Phoenix became to appreciate how much Lowe and Kanter’s combined offensive rebounding dominance meant to the team’s overall offensive efficiency.
Darner has brought his patented pressing scheme to Green Bay, but it’s not a frantic, turnover-focused press like what you’ll see at West Virginia under Bob Huggins. While generating steals is still a point of emphasis, the press is most effective as a mechanism to delay opponents from getting into their offensive sets. Darner does have some length on the perimeter to disrupt crosscourt and over-the-top passing lanes – new addition Josh McNair should be an asset in this regard – but last year’s group failed to gel cohesively as a unit. The Phoenix weren’t abysmal defensively, but nowhere near as stout as the 2016-17 group. As is the case with many pressing teams, throwing out multi-positional athletes who can cover a lot of ground sometimes comes at the expense of size in the middle.
And even with all the new additions, there still appears to be a major void at the 5-spot. The challenge with a pressing style of defense is that it requires a rare mold of big men that can be mobile enough to cover ground out in space, but still have the size and length to compete on the glass. Perhaps 6’8 San Jose State transfer Cody Schwartz is the solution here, but nothing about his per minute production indicates he’ll transform into a reliable rebounder. I’m cautiously optimistic that either Manny Patterson (started 19 games last year before going down with a shoulder injury) or Shanquan “Tank” Hemphill (super skinny, but blessed with insane hops) could accept this challenge, but we’ll see if the broader rebounding woes linger this season.
Bottom Line: Even with a veteran playmaker in Khalil Small leading the way, last season wound up being a choppy transition year after losing some key players last summer. A strong group of newcomers should boost the Phoenix up a notch or two in the league standings, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Darner loses two of his most precise long-range sharpshooters (Small and Jesperson) from a team that lived and died by the 3-ball. Still, there are enough depth and roster options for Darner to find the right mixture of lineup rotations needed to push the Phoenix over the .500 mark this year.
https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/horizon-basketball-preview-2019
4. Green Bay
Key Returners: Sandy Cohen III, Kam Hankerson, PJ Pipes, Manny Patterson, TJ Parnham
Key Losses: Khalil Small, David Jesperson
Key Newcomers: JayQuan McCloud (JUCO), Jevon Smith (JUCO), Josh McNair (JUCO), Shanquan Hemphill (JUCO), Cody Schwartz (San Jose State transfer)
Lineup:
Outlook: Since Linc Darner replaced Brian Wardle in 2015, the Phoenix have been hellbent on playing in the fast lane. In many ways, Darner’s style at Green Bay (referred to as ‘RP40’) closely resembles Greg Kampe’s at Oakland. Both put pressure on opponents by relentlessly attacking in transition and by exploiting mismatch opportunities through isolation sets when the defense is set in the half-court. The ‘secret sauce’ for success in this system is, well, far from a secret – you need high-caliber individual playmakers who can consistently score and create in 1-v-1 situations.
Khalil Small flourished as the lead guard last year, but his departure means former Marquette transfer Sandy Cohen will now run the show this season. Cohen’s a high-octane scorer who will put up big time numbers as the undisputed alpha offensively, but Darner has a few other competent pieces to flank Cohen on the perimeter. Kameron Hankerson turned more than a few heads with his 36-point explosion against Detroit in the Horizon League tournament last March, proving he can go bananas on any given night. 2nd-team NJCAA All-American JayQuan McCloud enters the mix after tearing up the JUCO circuit and rising sophomore PJ Pipes is a prime breakout candidate as well (highlights below):
As promising as that crop of perimeter talent is, the reality is that the Phoenix regressed on both sides of the ball last season, in large part due to a depleted frontcourt after Kareem Kanter and Kenneth Lowe’s poorly timed departures. Having to replace Kanter and Lowe in the same offseason was near-Armageddon for a roster severely lacking depth up front, which explains why the Phoenix were bullied on the boards. Last year, David Jesperson was the only guy standing 6’8 or taller who clocked significant playing time and even he profiles as a leaner stretch-4. On paper, this should’ve paid major dividends on the other end of the floor with Jesperson pulling rim protectors out of the lane and Cohen able to feast on opposing 4s. But as the hand played out, the offense looked far better on paper than in reality and the Phoenix became to appreciate how much Lowe and Kanter’s combined offensive rebounding dominance meant to the team’s overall offensive efficiency.
Darner has brought his patented pressing scheme to Green Bay, but it’s not a frantic, turnover-focused press like what you’ll see at West Virginia under Bob Huggins. While generating steals is still a point of emphasis, the press is most effective as a mechanism to delay opponents from getting into their offensive sets. Darner does have some length on the perimeter to disrupt crosscourt and over-the-top passing lanes – new addition Josh McNair should be an asset in this regard – but last year’s group failed to gel cohesively as a unit. The Phoenix weren’t abysmal defensively, but nowhere near as stout as the 2016-17 group. As is the case with many pressing teams, throwing out multi-positional athletes who can cover a lot of ground sometimes comes at the expense of size in the middle.
And even with all the new additions, there still appears to be a major void at the 5-spot. The challenge with a pressing style of defense is that it requires a rare mold of big men that can be mobile enough to cover ground out in space, but still have the size and length to compete on the glass. Perhaps 6’8 San Jose State transfer Cody Schwartz is the solution here, but nothing about his per minute production indicates he’ll transform into a reliable rebounder. I’m cautiously optimistic that either Manny Patterson (started 19 games last year before going down with a shoulder injury) or Shanquan “Tank” Hemphill (super skinny, but blessed with insane hops) could accept this challenge, but we’ll see if the broader rebounding woes linger this season.
Bottom Line: Even with a veteran playmaker in Khalil Small leading the way, last season wound up being a choppy transition year after losing some key players last summer. A strong group of newcomers should boost the Phoenix up a notch or two in the league standings, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Darner loses two of his most precise long-range sharpshooters (Small and Jesperson) from a team that lived and died by the 3-ball. Still, there are enough depth and roster options for Darner to find the right mixture of lineup rotations needed to push the Phoenix over the .500 mark this year.
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