This team is better than last year's.

RocknRollface said:
Pretty good analysis.

As I see it, Fran has got to get Dickerson worked in more , Clemmons and MG don't have it, Mike is a decent back up combo gaurd at this level and Clemmons is more of a mo valley caliber player.

It would also be nice to be able to switch out Jok for Ogelsby but like you said PJ just doesn't get it on defense.

Our general poor play in the half court and disinterestedness in feeding the post has become more and more concerning to me because I think its stemming from the coach.

This team will do nothing with out having a scoring option on the block. Fran needs to get this aspect figured out soon.
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Playing time has to be earned. Period. And so far Clemmons and Gessell have not played well but they both have outplayed Dickerson. He has shown nothing to earn more playing time yet.
 
I think the Mantra of this being White's team has me confused. I questioned last year whether he'd ever be a player that would take a game over and become "that guy". Not a shot at him but I just don't see it. Hopefully I'm wrong, but in my opinion its just not there. I see it more in Uthoff as I simply don't think White looks to create or take his shots late into the shot clock or when the clock is ticking down.

I think it really puts a team in a tough position when a coach labels it so-and-so's team and that individual may not necessarily fulfill that role. Hard for a team to find its identity when they aren't sure what that identity is especially when that go to guy doesn't necessarily show he fits that role.
 
imported_blubberhawk said:
Oges should be playing at Coe.
Woodbury is "maybe" a serviceable player at this level but he is painfully slow and robotic.
Our guards have played about a hundred college games. Do you really think they are going to get better?
I feel bad for White and Uthoff. They are legit d-1 players and would be really super if they were surrounded by some athletes.
This is an average team. I would love to think different and was really hoping to see something to be excited for this year. I am sorry. There is nothing there.
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This is really spot on. Finally, found someone that agrees with my views.

"Average" in Big10 means good enough to beat most teams on any given day, but can lose against most teams as well.
In-game coaching, especially last 5 minutes of game is when coaching will make the difference in a handful of games. A good coach will go 7-3 in this games, a bad one maybe 3-7. The difference is huge!
 
Knight78 said:
Here's my take on the whole thing.

1 - White never has been a "look for my own" kind of player. He's always been an energy scorer. He scores by moving off the ball and picking up the garbage baskets. Defensively he plays out of position way too much looking for the steal.
2 - Woodbury, being a center, can score but has to have someone deliver the ball to him when he has the position in the post; and no one on the team apparently knows how or when to feed the post. The team definitely plays better defense when he's in the game.
3 - Gessell is a good enough scorer but doesn't seem to understand that he's only 6 feet tall - pull up and shoot the 8-12 foot jump shot and quit trying to take it in for a layup! Defensively he's the best on-ball defender we have. He's pretty good about staying in front of his man.
4 - Clemmons is pretty good on defense and is improving every game on offense - but for some inexplicable reason he goes to sleep on routine passes and they get picked.
5 - Utoff should be our go-to scorer because he's out best shooter, but he seems unwilling to take on that role. How many times did he have an open 3 but instead of shooting did this: fake a shot (with no intention of shooting), dribble once (and go nowhere) and then pass it away from the basket. Also, he has issues taking it strong to the basket as he's simply not strong. He's a good shooter but a soft player.
6 - Oglesby is a catch and shoot guy. He does well when his feet are set and he has a bit of space. He works hard on defense and knows how to use his teammates to help him out there.
7 - Olesani is an athlete who plays basketball; he is NOT a basketball player who is athletic. He is still miles away in offensive skills and is typically out of position on defense because he tries to block shots more than play defense.
8 - Jok likes to shoot and is willing to shoot. The problem is once he shoots he's done. He has no idea what to do on defense and is a liability. He can learn to play D; he's a capable enough athlete to do so, but he needs to put his heart into it. Right now he's playing defense like he's allergic to it.
9 - Dickerson is very quick... VERY quick. He's still trying to figure out his role on the team. He has the capability to be a "drive and dish" guy. Watching him shoot I don't think he'll be a consistent scorer for us, but he can be a consistent assist guy.
10 - Uhl, well, it's too soon to tell. He looks athletic but he needs about 20 more pounds to play in the B1G effectively.
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Great analysis.

I agree with RockNRollFace that Dickerson needs to get as much PT as he can against the cupcakes on the schedule. Him at PG gives us the most upside in my opinion. Also agree that the offense has to go through Woodbury more than it does. I think it's more of a problem with the guards incapable of making an entry pass into him. Woodbury has learned to slow down when he gets the ball, and uses proper footwork (he did not do this well in his first 2 years).

Last thing that drives me crazy... White needs to quit trying to draw fouls and just score the ball. He goes up soft, try's to draw contact, just to make it look like a foul so he can shoot free throws. Remember that fast break against Syracuse that he slowed down on to draw a foul and then got blocked? Just dunk it and take the 2 points.
 
Knight78 said:
Playing time has to be earned. Period. And so far Clemmons and Gessell have not played well but they both have outplayed Dickerson. He has shown nothing to earn more playing time yet.
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At this point Id actually go with Dickerson and Jok in the starting lineup and let them play through their mistakes.
 
JHHawk said:
We miss Marble....team is not as good this year.
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Yep. I always had to LOL at people who thought Marble was a detriment to last year's team. He was one guy who could create and score. IMO we need MORE like him, not less.

We were sure to be better off without that NBA draft pick on our team eh? BALLHOG!!! Pffft.
 
Thought it might be time to look at this again.

looks like allot of us, definitely myself, wrote these guys off too soon.

If Gabe and Utoff play like this most nights, this team is better IMO.
 
RocknRollface said:
Thought it might be time to look at this again.

looks like allot of us, definitely myself, wrote these guys off too soon.

If Gabe and Utoff play like this most nights, this team is better IMO.
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Nice D-3 guards! This team is not better than last years because our guards are SO bad this year. It's a wash at best because our big guys are better
 
ryno said:
Nice D-3 guards! This team is not better than last years because our guards are SO bad this year. It's a wash at best because our big guys are better
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Same poor coaching that's for sure.

No no rym or reason to substitutions.

Guys still refusing to feed the post, I just don't get it.
 
RocknRollface said:
Thought it might be time to look at this again.

looks like allot of us, definitely myself, wrote these guys off too soon.

If Gabe and Utoff play like this most nights, this team is better IMO.
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I'm sorry man but every time I see you post about basketball I think back to when you said Harrison Barnes wasn't going to do much in the NBA. Now he's a starter on the best team in the league.

Then I see you posted earlier in this thread claiming Fran needs to get Dickerson involved more. I can't help but shake my head. Even when Dickerson was still getting minutes he played completely out of control. The team has been better since Fran stopped giving him minutes.
 
They are better and I knew they would be. This is the year that the Europe trip pays off. Last year they were just exhausted by the end of the year which led to their infamous collapse at the end. Now we see the benefit of all their extra playing time.

The evidence I have for this doesn't exist as it is just pure conjecture on my part. But I'm still right.:p
 
Hard for me to decided whether this team is better or not yet. I feel this team has done a phenomenal job of finding ways to score and filling Devyn's role by committee. That said, I think whether this team is better or not has yet to be seen and will come down to how they perform down the stretch. I think last year's team prior to the collapse was a better team, but I don't think you can ignore how poorly they played at the end of the season. I think this season needs to play its self out before and assessment or comparison can be made.
 
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