2016-2017 Season

[jacobkdoyle]

Going over the schedule in the beginning of the year I figured we were going to split the games in Mohegan and hopefully split the games against ISU and Butler. That ISU win really was huge. Of course I was hoping in the Mohegan it would have been a win against R.I. and a loss against Duke but it is what it is. I truly think we beat Xavier and that leaves us with 2 OOC losses. The test is if we really can blow through our conference with no more than 3 losses. I really think we can and don't see us losing a home game at all this year.

I still think we'll lose 7 or 8 games in the regular season.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Gary really got much more aggressive against Butler. I just hope he can do that with Kyle on the floor. He seems to turn his offensive game down a notch when Washington is on the floor.

It's not him turning his game down, it's getting less post touches. But Washington is better in the post and needs space to work, so what can you do? Not everyone can score double figures every game the way we play. Just not enough possessions to feed everyone. That's the overlooked factor when people look at our future team on paper imo.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

It's not him turning his game down, it's getting less post touches. But Washington is better in the post and needs space to work, so what can you do? Not everyone can score double figures every game the way we play. Just not enough possessions to feed everyone. That's the overlooked factor when people look at our future team on paper imo.

very good point. It will also be tougher to throw it inside if we don't shoot a higher percentage from behind the arc.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

very good point. It will also be tougher to throw it inside if we don't shoot a higher percentage from behind the arc.

For sure.

 

[GarradJ21]

I still think we'll lose 7 or 8 games in the regular season.

The only teams that can beat us in our conference is Memphis SMU UConn Houston and Temple. Memphis we play at home. I don't see us losing all 4 of the other road games. Tulsa is very bad this year. UCF is better but they aren't beating us. I truly don't seeing us losing a home game either, but not fair for me to argue that because who knows what's going to happen.

 

[waterhead]

I would like to see Jenifer and Cumberland get about 20 minutes per game the next 3 to see if we can get someone going. I am content with the other 4 starters.

We need someone to develop consistency on offense at the 2 guard if they are going to take minutes from KJ. If they are only marginally better... Cronin will stick w defense.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

The only teams that can beat us in our conference is Memphis SMU UConn Houston and Temple. Memphis we play at home. I don't see us losing all 4 of the other road games. Tulsa is very bad this year. UCF is better but they aren't beating us. I truly don't seeing us losing a home game either, but not fair for me to argue that because who knows what's going to happen.

I'm more interested in seeing us get better. I think we will win the league and make the tourney. But that won't satisfy me unless we become a better more efficient team.

Two areas I would like to see us get better at in a hurry are:

FT shooting

3 point shooting.

Guys if we don't improve in these areas in a hurry it could be a long season.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

The only teams that can beat us in our conference is Memphis SMU UConn Houston and Temple. Memphis we play at home. I don't see us losing all 4 of the other road games. Tulsa is very bad this year. UCF is better but they aren't beating us. I truly don't seeing us losing a home game either, but not fair for me to argue that because who knows what's going to happen.

I think we'll lose to Xavier. We'll probably split with a few teams in conference and maybe drop an unexpected one. How we look at Temple will say a lot. If it's a gross game in the 50s I'll be very discouraged.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I would like to see Jenifer and Cumberland get about 20 minutes per game the next 3 to see if we can get someone going. I am content with the other 4 starters.

We need someone to develop consistency on offense at the 2 guard if they are going to take minutes from KJ. If they are only marginally better... Cronin will stick w defense.

WH if they aren't better then what we have been getting offensively at the 2 guard then Mick should stick with defense. My issue is I really do not see a knock down shooter in any of the 3. Cumberland, JJ or KJ.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I think we'll lose to Xavier. We'll probably split with a few teams in conference and maybe drop an unexpected one. How we look at Temple will say a lot. If it's a gross game in the 50s I'll be very discouraged.

I won't if we win. They beat us twice last year. No way can that occur again.

 

[waterhead]

WH if they aren't better then what we have been getting offensively at the 2 guard then Mick should stick with defense. My issue is I really do not see a knock down shooter in any of the 3. Cumberland, JJ or KJ.

Making 3s would be nice...but I want to see what else we can get out of them on offense. Driving, passing, etc. We know KJ is ineffective on the whole whether from 2 or 3 or passing or dribbling.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

WH if they aren't better then what we have been getting offensively at the 2 guard then Mick should stick with defense. My issue is I really do not see a knock down shooter in any of the 3. Cumberland, JJ or KJ.

We've seen enough of Johnson to know what we're getting. His offensive output is so low that he could be the best defender in the history of basketball and he'd still have marginal positive value. He usually has a couple games where you hope he's turning the corner, but inevitably reverts back to his baseline production. The sample size is big enough at this point to not expect it to change. Playing Johnson the 3rd most minutes on the team is, to put it nicely, a safe choice. Buy safe doesn't get you to the mountaintop. It gets you in the tournament, but knocked out early.

 

[waterhead]

Per 40 minutes... Cumberland leads KJ in points, rebounds, steals, assists, turnovers, and blocks. I would just like to see him get more minutes. His two highest minute total games have produced 28 points.

He's also laid some eggs but he's a frosh.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Has anyone compared Cumberlands stats and see how they compare with the development of Evans? Would be interested to see if they are being handled in a similar fashion.

 

[waterhead]

Has anyone compared Cumberlands stats and see how they compare with the development of Evans? Would be interested to see if they are being handled in a similar fashion.

Evans was getting a lot more minutes. His D was better though.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Evans was getting a lot more minutes. His D was better though.

Thanks WH! He is a very good defender.

 

[waterhead]

Per 40 minutes... Cumberland leads KJ in points, rebounds, steals, assists, turnovers, and blocks. I would just like to see him get more minutes. His two highest minute total games have produced 28 points.

He's also laid some eggs but he's a frosh.

My thing is that we can allow a little bit of defensive lapse in the next few games to get an offensive look. We likely won't need to be perfect to win. Once we get in conference play...we won't have that luxury for the most part.

We need to experiment right now. More than any two players we need Jenifer and Cumberland to get time on the court. It will help in March.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

My thing is that we can allow a little bit of defensive lapse in the next few games to get an offensive look. We likely won't need to be perfect to win. Once we get in conference play...we won't have that luxury for the most part.

We need to experiment right now. More than any two players we need Jenifer and Cumberland to get time on the court. It will help in March.

Exactly. Cumberland being an impact player in March is of the utmost importance. It's just hard to get anything going when you get 2-3 minute spurts a few random times per game. He truly is being used as a backup rather than a guy we want in the regular rotation.

 

[waterhead]

With the exception of Moore and Jenifer all players are 56 percent or better from 2. That's good for 34th in the country. Moore should not be playing and Jenifer should not be shooting 2s...he's too small. Outside of that...we should be trying to get closer to the bucket. So far our inability to make 3s has not hurt our efficiency at 2.

Stop launching 3s and get your ass in the lane!

 

[jacobkdoyle]

With the exception of Moore and Jenifer all players are 56 percent or better from 2. That's good for 34th in the country. Moore should not be playing and Jenifer should not be shooting 2s...he's too small. Outside of that...we should be trying to get closer to the bucket. So far our inability to make 3s has not hurt our efficiency at 2.

Stop launching 3s and get your ass in the lane!

Not sure that's the answer. It's 2016...you HAVE to shoot 3s in today's game. I think we just have to hope some of these guys heat up, regardless of how likely that may seem.