Hoops Thoughts - my 2 cents

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bpiercehawks

Well-Known Member
My thoughts, for what it's worth. Josh O needs to start. He's the only kid out there w/ the moxie (the word swagger is too young for me - get off my lawn!) to do things. He doesn't play afraid. He brings effort on the defensive end. Gatens also starts. It doesn't matter who is the 2, who is the 3. Just play basketball. They can guard whichever player is the best matchup for them that night. We also have played a bit of zone so that becomes less important. Fran played Josh most of the 2nd half and May sat, so we pretty much know how that's going to work out. I'm not a Marble fan. At all. He'll be an awesome 2 guard, if he ever can make a shot. I'd play White, he doesn't need to start, because he's part of the future. Defensively it's tough for frosh to defend, but he can rebound. McCabe brings many, many intangibles to the court. We need more kids like him from a toughness standpoint. I see him as a very poor man's Brian Cardinal. We will not win unless we can get some stops on the defensive end. Also, we're not much of an offensive team, so I cringe when we get down 10 pts b/c I don't see us coming back from that margin. Mel played with good energy to start the game; I can live with that, even if his shots don't fall. Mel had a great year last year, but he is not great at any particular aspect of basketball. I was surprised he did so well (and happy) last year based on his skill set. I knew we'd miss Cole's leadership, but I had no idea we'd be this bad. We had so many open looks last night; our offense is working well; it just got to the point where every time we shot, the shooter, everyone at the game, and everyone at home knew it wasn't going in. That makes for a long night. I think Fran is trying to figure his rotation out still. I agree with others that we need to trim the rotation. As a former coach, I often had loyalty to older kids, those who practiced well, etc... However, Fran doesn't seem like a patient man and I think he has some tough decisions regarding May and others. Sorry for the rambling post. Go Hawks!
 
Good points. I will add a few thoughts of my own.

May-no more 3 point shooting, keep it to 15 feet and in.
Marble- same as above, get in the paint and get higher % shots
Ogelsby-needs more PT and double the shots
Gatens-need to run more screens for him or he is not a threat
Brommer-has to step up to take attention off Basabe
Basabe-continue to go quickly / don't hesitate, post and re-post
White-more interior play, less hanging at perimeter
Cartwright-if guys could make shots, he would be able to penetrate
Olaseni-needs to see the court
McCabe-wish his jumper was on to draw a big out, but he is scrappy down low
Stoakes-needs to see the court

Last year I thought we got good looks out of sets. This year we look like confused on offense and are dribbling too much. Better quality shots where guys can make them. Guys are jacking shots up or not taking them--no real flow.
 
Other than a nice block by stokes during garbage time, I don't know what the rash of recent posts seeking more time for him have been caused by.
 
The problem I see is that the guys everone expected to play at least to the level they played at last year, and most expected to be improved, are playing worse than last year. Those two are Cartwright and Basabe. That and the fact that Brommer and Archie are not starting caliber big men. If Cartwright and Basabe play up to the level they were at most of last year, it would help everyone else on the team.
 
I said many times before the season that fans way overrate Cartwright's ability. Most on here think he is top 2 pg in the Big Ten. He flat out can't shoot and nobody respects that defensively.

I am perplexed by Basabe's poor play. Some fans thought he has NBA ability which isn't even close, but he is a decent garbage player in the post. Unfortunately, like Cartwright, he is very one dimensional and relies on his athleticism around the basket to be successful since he too doesn't have a good perimeter or mid-range game. He ran into a much more talented player in McDermott this year who outclassed him in every way.
 
1) We have 0 leadership on the floor. ZERO. Poor communication on the floor. I'm afraid the upperclassmen are too stuck in losing and do not know how to win. They need to learn how to win.

2) I hate 10 men rotations. Too many people. I start Cartwright, Oglesby, Gatens, McCabe, and Basabe. Rotate White is with the Bigs. Rotate Marble in with the O and Gatens. Have May back up Cartwright. No, I am not advocating for May to play the point. Just make sure you have an assistant coach on top of things so that Marble and Cartwright are not out at the same time. Olasani would get spot minutes in the post if need be. I would bench Brommer and Archie. They have accomplished very little over the years AND we are building for the future. Not this year.

3) Offense. Ball screens only for cartwright and Marble. that's it. I would love to see a traditional motion offense with these guys where we are constantly screening away to get looks for shooters. Too many ball screens with people who cant create and bigs who cant do anything with it.

4) Defense. We are so fundamentally flawed in our defense it scares me. We have no idea how to break down on a closeout, cant stop the dribble, rotate slowly and to much ball watching. Does anyone take any pride on the Defensive end? Finally, finish with a defensive rebound. If Fran is not a defensive minded coach, he better have an assistant that know defense or go find one.

5) Press. It's bad. I love pressing more than most people. the word is out on how to break this press and we dont make any adjustments. How many times is the 2nd pass to a streaking guard cutting down the middle? and we are looking at a 3 on 1 fastbreak. You have to protect the middle! 3/4 court press. i would love to get the front man to get his hands up. Play big!

6) Fran is working his tale off and it is quite evident to me. He started with nothing and playing in a very good conference. Rome wasnt built in a day. Progress has been made, but i think we are all hoping for a faster learning curve
 
I agree on the closeouts, sodak. It should be a sprint to about 2/3-3/4 of the way to the shooter, hand up, squeak-squeak the shoes in a breakdown, and be in a position to rebound. Countless times our guys go flailing at the shooter and then go past them. They are then out of position to rebound. I don't know more than any coach on the staff, but I do know that our closeouts are terrible.
 
Agree on the press. When we have the athletes to run it effectively, we can reconsider, but it is killing us. If we don't give up run out baskets, we are out of position for boards and give up 2-3 possessions scrambling.
 
What I liken it to is, Fran is trying to build a Porche, but it currently more resembles a Karmen Ghia. The form and shape are about right, but the parts really need to be better to be able to compete.

Fran will get his parts.
 
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