RNN reporting 11/13/2011

[ready2go]

The offense worries me (this isn't based on last night's game). I always had high hopes of a great offense when Cronin was first hired but so far his offenses have never been high powered. A lot had to do with talent but the talent is there this year. Two good low post players who are also good at passing. A pg who was known as a score first pg and a shooter and SK who can be deadly. The offense has no excuses for not being very good.

Hopefully Dixon becomes a threat. I'm not worried about SK, he will find his shot. But your SG has to be a dangerous threat from the outside...that guy that if you accidentally leave alone he is going to burn you. I'm afraid that Dixon isn't that guy.

Yea

I was able to watch most of the scrimmage. And it seems they are all the same, no matter what year. Too much dribbling outside the 3 and too many attempted 3's. Against these weak teams I would like to see more than dribbling and one or two passes before jacking up a 3.

They do look very athletic and hopefully we'll get more of a transition game leading to easy points

 

[TheLivingLegend]

SK's shot looked really good at the scrimmage. I think he will be fine.

Which scrimmage game? His shot has been loooost.

 

[TheLongHaul]

Which scrimmage game? His shot has been loooost.

I doubt you have to worry too much about SK. He may be trying too hard to do all the other things Cronin has asked of him. SK is a shooter, and he puts in tons of hours shooting. His shooting is the least of my worries.

 

[TheLongHaul]

Yea

I was able to watch most of the scrimmage. And it seems they are all the same, no matter what year. Too much dribbling outside the 3 and too many attempted 3's. Against these weak teams I would like to see more than dribbling and one or two passes before jacking up a 3.

They do look very athletic and hopefully we'll get more of a transition game leading to easy points

I don't necessarily agree with the 3 point shooting comment. If they are wide open they should shoot it. Very few IMO were contested. I'm okay with that. But I agree with you about the dribbling around. Way too much of it and not enough ball movement and motion. They were much better at scoring in transition last year but still lagged behind better teams. Need to get more points off transition, and need to finish better. Dixon has to concentrate harder on getting the bucket versus getting style points. Gates has to do better at finishing with contact as well.

 

[ready2go]

I don't necessarily agree with the 3 point shooting comment. If they are wide open they should shoot it. Very few IMO were contested. I'm okay with that. But I agree with you about the dribbling around. Way too much of it and not enough ball movement and motion. They were much better at scoring in transition last year but still lagged behind better teams. Need to get more points off transition, and need to finish better. Dixon has to concentrate harder on getting the bucket versus getting style points. Gates has to do better at finishing with contact as well.

I would agree with comment in BE play. But dribbling down the court making 2 passes and putting up a 3 against these weaker opponents isnt making the team better. Now if they were running an offense, making good passes with ball movment and that resulted in an open 3, I would consider that a good look. You arent going to have the open 3's they are getting now in BE play

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I really like the talent on this team. I think the starting 5 are going to have to play well every night because the bench is going to be way too inconsistent. The starters scored 56 out of 65 of the points. I am somewhat concerned about this injuries of Parker and Mooj but I think once we get into conference play we should alright.

 

[Not Guilty]

Which scrimmage game? His shot has been loooost.

The open practice when the team scrimmaged each other.

 

[Butterfly]

When it comes to the newbs, I think Davis and Sanders are still adjusting, Guyn will get there. He at least seems to feel the tempo, Gaines and Ellis actually were pretty good. Ellis is still skinny as can be, but hard to complain about 6 points, 2-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal, all in the course of 11 minutes. First game of the year and the Kid has some speed and length. He seems to have improved since I saw him during the summer. Think he'll be a good scorer down the road, like to see what he's like next year.

Gaines is pretty damn big and athletic. With 5 rebounds and some monster blocks, he fouls a lot, but hell, I like having an intimidating dude like that in for some spare minutes here and there.
The front court over all should be very good.

Jackson will be solid, Dixon will get his, Cashmere Wright didn't seem like he was taking the game very seriously at times. I hope he stays focused when it counts. Yancy, even on a bad shooting night impressed me. Had guys draped over him and still managed, though I'm sure he's probably annoyed that he left 8-10 points out there. Some times you get them to fall, some times you don't. He didn't really and still had 15 points, 11 rebounds. None too shabby.

I'm optimistic. When Mbodj gets well, this should be a tough team to stop.

 

[JasonS]

The thing that impressed me most about Gates on Sunday was that he seems to have developed more post moves in the offseason and he utilized them well even if he did miss some bunnies.

Jackson strained his achilles in practice on Friday and it tightened up on him so that is why he didn't play much in the second half. His improvement on the offensive end has been impressive. He always brings the energy and I really look forward to seeing him develop over the next couple years. He could be special.

I am not worried about the shooting. As long as this team works for open looks, they will make their fair share. The freshmen looked a little excited which is understandable. JD was a bit out of control but I expect that to improve as the games go on. Guyn looked comfortable out there but the offense kind of stalled without Cash on the floor. Ellis is going to help this team this year. He is skinny but "The Octopus" brings a lot of versatility to the game. I see him being a menace at the top of the press with his length and athleticism. He and JJ will make quite a tandem there. I think Sanders will be ok but I didn't really see too much out of him on Sunday.

I will be at the game today and will have more thoughts after watching the game today and Saturday in person.