Pro Prospects vs Team Ball?

[waterhead]

As a coach, how do you handle the off season coaching of our star players? We are going to have 5 starters on this team that can fill a stat sheet in one way or another. They all have dreams of playing in the NBA I'm sure. How does coach get the best out of each of them and play as a team while giving each player their best chance at reaching their pro dreams? We have 2 players (at least) leaving after this year (Washington, Clark, and maybe Evans) and possibly 3 more leaving the following year (Evans, Broome, maybe Cumberland). I would think Evans or Cumberland leaving a year early are 50-50 kind of things at this time. We are not an NBA mill.

Each of these guys want to showcase their talents and coach needs to bring the best out of them. At the same time coach needs to get them to play team ball without letting any of them play too much for themselves. Perhaps everyone playing team ball is the best way to have each of them be as productive as possible without letting the offense run through one or two guys. Those who need the most urgent attention in this conversation are obviously the seniors.

Washington and Clark couldn't be any more different in the way they approach aggressiveness with their touches. Kyle wants the ball and to shoot almost any time down the court and Gary has been up to this point okay with being a team player and not demanding the ball or taking full advantage of his touches. Gary needs some prodding and Kyle could use a little bit of dialing back with better decision making.

It doesn't sound like Broome will be shy with his touches. Evans has been less aggressive than some fans would like and Cumberland only started becoming more aggressive later in the year with very good success when he did.

I think we have 4 guys (maybe 5) who COULD average 15ppg if they were a little more selfish with their touches. If they all play team ball we could see 5 guys averaging between 11-14 ppg. The NBA will want to see cream rising to the top. Does Cronin let the cream rise to the top or does he hinder their chances by demanding selfless basketball?

As an example Caupain averaged 2.5 ppg less than his junior year. Had he been given the directive to be more assertive and went the other way he could have been a 15 ppg guy potentially. Caupain played team ball but may have hurt his NBA chances a little (not that they were great to start with). He averaged 3.5 more ppg from soph to junior year but he had more options to pass to this past season on the team. He didn't have to be the "go to guy" but his prospects may have been better if he did. Evans COULD have been given the keys but he wasn't aggressive enough to become a star.

How does Cronin get the most out of this team at the same time furthering their individual pro prospects? Can he do both? Gary and Jacob need a little prodding and guys like Washington and Broome may need some coaching to not try to do too much. Cumberland was an interesting cases study last year in that he was shy at first and blossomed when he was pushed to do more.

 

[JasonS]

Best way to do it with a talented team like this, is to maximize the number of possessions in a game like Golden State does. You can't control how fast a team shoots against your defense but you can control how quickly you get the ball into the front court, how quickly you get good looks at the basket and how often you can get out in transition from your defensive effort. The more (good) possessions you get in a game, the more opportunities your players have to showcase their skills.

I actually expect a shorter rotation this year compared to last year. I think you will see Clark and Washington average 30 minutes a game each. Evans will average 35 minutes a game. Cumberland will probably average around 30 minutes a game. Broome, I'm guessing, will be around 25 minutes, JJ around 20, Williams around 10 minutes, Brooks and Scott around 10 minutes each too. This all is based on limited foul trouble of course. I think you are looking at a rotation of 9 players but really 6 guys playing the majority of minutes.

 

[waterhead]

Best way to do it with a talented team like this, is to maximize the number of possessions in a game like Golden State does. You can't control how fast a team shoots against your defense but you can control how quickly you get the ball into the front court, how quickly you get good looks at the basket and how often you can get out in transition from your defensive effort. The more (good) possessions you get in a game, the more opportunities your players have to showcase their skills.

I actually expect a shorter rotation this year compared to last year. I think you will see Clark and Washington average 30 minutes a game each. Evans will average 35 minutes a game. Cumberland will probably average around 30 minutes a game. Broome, I'm guessing, will be around 25 minutes, JJ around 20, Williams around 10 minutes, Brooks and Scott around 10 minutes each too. This all is based on limited foul trouble of course. I think you are looking at a rotation of 9 players but really 6 guys playing the majority of minutes.

Good point...I think this is probably the best idea...I agree. Get out and run a little. Obviously we will be able to do this better with our PG's...either one of them really. Limit half court sets if we can.

I just wonder how many more PPG we can score this year by pushing the ball in addition to better offensive players? Can we get to the mid 80's ppg and will Cronin let that happen? We will have plenty of opportunity to run half court sets...but you can only have so many fast break opportunities. Cronin also said he would press more this year since last year Caupain was not the best guy press with.

I am looking for Cronin to step out of his comfort zone this year. In the past we have been hurt on D a little when we play up tempo but I think we will benefit from it this year by pressing a bit more after makes.

 

[waterhead]

Good point...I think this is probably the best idea...I agree. Get out and run a little. Obviously we will be able to do this better with our PG's...either one of them really. Limit half court sets if we can.

I just wonder how many more PPG we can score this year by pushing the ball in addition to better offensive players? Can we get to the mid 80's ppg and will Cronin let that happen? We will have plenty of opportunity to run half court sets...but you can only have so many fast break opportunities. Cronin also said he would press more this year since last year Caupain was not the best guy press with.

I am looking for Cronin to step out of his comfort zone this year. In the past we have been hurt on D a little when we play up tempo but I think we will benefit from it this year by pressing a bit more after makes.

This may be a bit much to ask...but I think we can get to the 80's in ppg this year with the speed and aggressiveness of our guards. Both of our PG's thrive in up tempo play and push the ball down the court. If we press we can get some easy opportunities as well. 80 ppg would put us in the top 40 so it's an aggressive goal with the way we play D on the other end.

 

[Robert]

Playing with a fast pace and playing great defense are not mutually exclusive. Hopefully Mick sees it that way too. We may give up a few more points, but we will more than make up for that difference with added offense.

 

[Queens_NYC]

Last year was our highest scoring team since the 05-06 season at 74 ppg. A realistic expectation for next year could be high 70s but if we get into the 80s and still maintain or build on our scoring margin then all the better.

Our starters averaged just over 55 ppg last year. I expect that number to definitely increase next year at least to 60 ppg.

 

[rogerOH]

I think Keith Williams will shock people and get 15-18 minutes a game. He has the 3 pt. shot- will drive the ball better than Evans and has the mid range game. He was the mvp in one of the best leagues in the USA- and played against top competition every game he just needs to add a little muscle so he can rebound better.

 

[skylinecat]

Best way to do it with a talented team like this, is to maximize the number of possessions in a game like Golden State does. You can't control how fast a team shoots against your defense but you can control how quickly you get the ball into the front court, how quickly you get good looks at the basket and how often you can get out in transition from your defensive effort. The more (good) possessions you get in a game, the more opportunities your players have to showcase their skills.

I actually expect a shorter rotation this year compared to last year. I think you will see Clark and Washington average 30 minutes a game each. Evans will average 35 minutes a game. Cumberland will probably average around 30 minutes a game. Broome, I'm guessing, will be around 25 minutes, JJ around 20, Williams around 10 minutes, Brooks and Scott around 10 minutes each too. This all is based on limited foul trouble of course. I think you are looking at a rotation of 9 players but really 6 guys playing the majority of minutes.

We were 325th in possessions per game last year with 67.3. Cutting that in half would get us to 71.9 possessions per game. We averaged 74.3. If we scored on half our new possessions we would end up averaging 79/80. Frankly, I think that is potentially low-balling the numbers as well given how fast Cane likes to play and the benefit of easy buckets in transition.

 

[cincyguy13]

We were 325th in possessions per game last year with 67.3. Cutting that in half would get us to 71.9 possessions per game. We averaged 74.3. If we scored on half our new possessions we would end up averaging 79/80. Frankly, I think that is potentially low-balling the numbers as well given how fast Cane likes to play and the benefit of easy buckets in transition.

80 ppg is a lot. I think our offense will be improved but I don't think we will turn in to ucla of last year. Might want to pump the brakes a little.

 

[cincyguy13]

We are playing a lot harder schedule this year. The league should be a little better. We could be better offensively and put up the same ppg numbers

 

[skylinecat]

80 ppg is a lot. I think our offense will be improved but I don't think we will turn in to ucla of last year. Might want to pump the brakes a little.

Fair enough. 80 ppg last year would have been good for 36th. We were 23 on offensive efficiency per Ken Pom and 15th at D. Getting that up to 15 for both and we will have a hell of a season.

 

[waterhead]

We were 325th in possessions per game last year with 67.3. Cutting that in half would get us to 71.9 possessions per game. We averaged 74.3. If we scored on half our new possessions we would end up averaging 79/80. Frankly, I think that is potentially low-balling the numbers as well given how fast Cane likes to play and the benefit of easy buckets in transition.

Yah...just 6 more possessions per game would probably get us to 80ppg. Transition points are probably scored a little more efficient than half court sets and we should be pushing more breaks this year. If we can get into the offense sooner (even on half court sets) rather than walking it up and get good shots off quicker that will also help. Pressing a few more times after makes could help a little and it seems like that is the plan for now. We will probably have better options on offense to score as well...so we could be slightly more efficient.

As someone mentioned we have a little tougher schedule so that may offset some of it. Also, Cronin is not going to throw D out the window so we are limited in how much time the opponent takes to get a shot off when we are on D. All in all I think we have a shot to break 80ppg if we play to our strengths. Walking it up will not be the best plan with these PG's.

I can't imagine the tempo not changing significantly with either Broome or Jenifer running point. But we have been hearing about faster pace for a while now. Much of this comes down to the coach and he's been somewhat stubborn to change but we have seen a little sliver of light in recent years in recruiting and a new PG (reportedly the quickest we have seen at UC) should all help the cause. Cautiously optimistic!

 

[jacobkdoyle]

80 ppg is a lot. I think our offense will be improved but I don't think we will turn in to ucla of last year. Might want to pump the brakes a little.

UCLA averaged 90 last year.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Best way to do it with a talented team like this, is to maximize the number of possessions in a game like Golden State does. You can't control how fast a team shoots against your defense but you can control how quickly you get the ball into the front court, how quickly you get good looks at the basket and how often you can get out in transition from your defensive effort. The more (good) possessions you get in a game, the more opportunities your players have to showcase their skills.

I actually expect a shorter rotation this year compared to last year. I think you will see Clark and Washington average 30 minutes a game each. Evans will average 35 minutes a game. Cumberland will probably average around 30 minutes a game. Broome, I'm guessing, will be around 25 minutes, JJ around 20, Williams around 10 minutes, Brooks and Scott around 10 minutes each too. This all is based on limited foul trouble of course. I think you are looking at a rotation of 9 players but really 6 guys playing the majority of minutes.

If we truly maximize possessions, we'll need to use our depth as much as possible. Especially vs the weaker competition. That'll hurt the minute per game averages of our starters.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I'll say we average 78 ppg with a defense as stingy as always.

I don't think Coach Cronin will be afraid to unleash the hounds on the competition. We have good leadership and culture, and the guys flat out know they must defend to see the floor.

I'm excited for Jenifer to have a PG mate who plays like he does. Will be pretty seamless regardless of who is in, and that should help us maintain a consistent offensive flow over the course of the game.

 

[cincyguy13]

UCLA averaged 90 last year.

That was my point

 

[jacobkdoyle]

That was my point

Oh. Then I guess I don't get it lol. I thought we were talking about scoring 80? The difference between UCLA and that last year would be 1 vs 33.

 

[waterhead]

If we truly maximize possessions, we'll need to use our depth as much as possible. Especially vs the weaker competition. That'll hurt the minute per game averages of our starters.

With 13 guys on the roster it should do wonders for playing time competition heading into the season. We could even red shirt 2 guys and be 11 deep which is one deeper than last year.

I tend to differ with some other fans in that I prefer to red shirt players with potential who are sitting behind obvious starters. I would rather not red shirt guys who are projects (or role players) and take up an extra year of scholarship. But when you have 13 on the roster I don't mind red shirting 1 project and/or one player with obvious potential.

With 7 bigs on the roster that leaves Nsoseme and Diarra IMO. I don't think we want to red shirt a role playing wing (Moore) and we don't have a lot of depth on the wing to red shirt a talented guy like Williams.

I can make a case for Nsosome as a project being relatively new to basketball. He may be able to pick things up rather quickly and be very useful by the time he leaves. He could use a year of teaching. We already red shirted Scott and we aren't going to red shirt Moore so Diarra would be my next in line. I think he has great potential and I don't want to waste a year of it.

 

[ZCat]

Best way to do it with a talented team like this, is to maximize the number of possessions in a game like Golden State does. You can't control how fast a team shoots against your defense but you can control how quickly you get the ball into the front court, how quickly you get good looks at the basket and how often you can get out in transition from your defensive effort. The more (good) possessions you get in a game, the more opportunities your players have to showcase their skills.

I actually expect a shorter rotation this year compared to last year. I think you will see Clark and Washington average 30 minutes a game each. Evans will average 35 minutes a game. Cumberland will probably average around 30 minutes a game. Broome, I'm guessing, will be around 25 minutes, JJ around 20, Williams around 10 minutes, Brooks and Scott around 10 minutes each too. This all is based on limited foul trouble of course. I think you are looking at a rotation of 9 players but really 6 guys playing the majority of minutes.

Man, just get Get the ball out of the basket FAST or on a defensive rebound and go Geez. We make it so hard on ourselves.

 

[waterhead]

Man, just get Get the ball out of the basket FAST or on a defensive rebound and go Geez. We make it so hard on ourselves.

For some reason I don't feel like this will be a problem for the next two years. We know Jenifer loves to get out and run and it sounds like Broome is the quickest guard we may have ever had. Both of them have the instinct AND desire to get the ball up the court.

I remember coach begging Troy to push the ball last year multiple times per game. I don't think that will be a problem this year. He may have to slow them down on occasion. I can't wait to see it in action!