Stony Brook

[Chad Brendel]

Jason Maxiell's averages as a freshman: 8.1 points (55.2% FG), 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.7 steals in 20.9 minutes

Gary Clark thus far: 8.9 points (58.1% FG), 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 steals in 25.9 minutes.

I would be thrilled if he had the same career as Max....

I have been comparing him to Max for a long time and I loathe player comparisons. It is both his play on the court and his mature beyond his year personality off it that made it a clear one for me when I saw him as a sophomore and passed his name up the food chain as a potential target...

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I have been comparing him to Max for a long time and I loathe player comparisons. It is both his play on the court and his mature beyond his year personality off it that made it a clear one for me when I saw him as a sophomore and passed his name up the food chain as a potential target...

I agree. Clark doesn't have the same physical aggression or wingspan that Maxiell has (everything he did was so powerful, especially his first year) but he has contributed similarly his first year.

 

[Mcginnjw]

I have been comparing him to Max for a long time and I loathe player comparisons. It is both his play on the court and his mature beyond his year personality off it that made it a clear one for me when I saw him as a sophomore and passed his name up the food chain as a potential target...

Cronin also made the comparison to Max during the post game on the radio.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Cronin also made the comparison to Max during the post game on the radio.

Before the Emerald Classic game Mick said that once the game slows down for him and he gets some muscle, he reminds him of David West.

 

[Chad Brendel]

I agree. Clark doesn't have the same physical aggression or wingspan that Maxiell has (everything he did was so powerful, especially his first year) but he has contributed similarly his first year.

His wingspan was/is absurd. Really allowed Max to play like he was several inches taller than he was...

 

[waterhead]

Chad, I never called you a liar once, and I sincerely apologize if you think I did. These crazy arguments might take the topic in that direction. I know Mick works on offense. I appreciate what you bring to this forum. But, when a player says this and it sort of make sense when looking at the performance, you have to wonder. Please accept my apology. I intended to give more credance to a players comment than to take away from what you said. I am sorry.

That's a respectable post! Well done

 

[L-T]

I think the best way to describe Gary is that he actually has some characteristics of both Max and Danny Fortson, which is a scary thought. He's actually got some quickness off the ground like Max had, which gives him the great ability to block shots. But, his touch on his shots and the fact that at times he seems virtually unstoppable, remind me of Fortson. He has finesse in his offensive game that Max didn't have. Max was all about raw power. Offensively, he was slower to develop. His jumper remained pretty flat right to the end. Fortson's defensive game never approached Max though. Danny wasn't nearly as athletic. Gary has athleticism and a nice touch and finesse offensively....and a huge plus about him is the maturity of his game. He does some things that are rare to see in a freshman. Let's hope he morfs into a Max/Fortson combo player and watch how high he soars as a player.

 

[L-T]

That's a respectable post! Well done

Thanks WH. I was 100% at fault in making that sound like I was calling Chad a liar. I fully understand how my comments could be interpreted that way.

 

[Chad Brendel]

Chad, I never called you a liar once, and I sincerely apologize if you think I did. These crazy arguments might take the topic in that direction. I know Mick works on offense. I appreciate what you bring to this forum. But, when a player says this and it sort of make sense when looking at the performance, you have to wonder. Please accept my apology. I intended to give more credance to a players comment than to take away from what you said. I am sorry.

Apology accepted. I'm simply telling you what I have seen in person from practice. If you choose to discard that, not my issue...

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Anddddd we are one big happy Bearcat family again!

 

[LeftyRose]

I liked the allocation of minutes at guard last night. Troy playing 25-30 minutes at PG, with Cobb spelling him. I think Johnson-Morman splitting the 2G is smart; they are about equal, with Johnson a little ahead on offense and Morman a little ahead on defense. All these guys return next year.

If and when Ge is healed, how do you work him back-in? Four guards is plenty, you can get by with three; five is too many.

If Ge is interested in coaching, this year may provide an opportunity for him to focus on his studies and the intellectual aspect of basketball. I liked that he went into the locker room to talk to Octavius last night. It shows leadership and maturity. He obviously brings a lot of intangibles, which is why Cronin speaks so highly of him.

 

[UCalum08]

I think the best way to describe Gary is that he actually has some characteristics of both Max and Danny Fortson, which is a scary thought. He's actually got some quickness off the ground like Max had, which gives him the great ability to block shots. But, his touch on his shots and the fact that at times he seems virtually unstoppable, remind me of Fortson. He has finesse in his offensive game that Max didn't have. Max was all about raw power. Offensively, he was slower to develop. His jumper remained pretty flat right to the end. Fortson's defensive game never approached Max though. Danny wasn't nearly as athletic. Gary has athleticism and a nice touch and finesse offensively....and a huge plus about him is the maturity of his game. He does some things that are rare to see in a freshman. Let's hope he morfs into a Max/Fortson combo player and watch how high he soars as a player.

I've also heard that he reminds people of Herb Jones too. I don't really know much about Herb.

 

[BCM]

4 Guards + Clark in the middle, make it rain against any zone. Drooling

 

[david aka the TYZ]

Great game last night. Good effort and execution by everyone. I'm really excited about the new faces and the future. Especially Clark for obvious reasons.

I wish I could see a replay of Ellis' foul. From seeing it from my seats it seemed like a good hard foul, but I trust the refs that they got it right. Like I said I saw iti n real time and was focusing more on him stopping the dunk, which he did, rather than really seeing what happened. Was it really that bad? I'm not a fan of dirty play at all and if it was a dirty play then that is not acceptable but I do like that Ellis didn't let him dunk on him. That guy was ready to break the backboard. Also like that Ellis went to apologize afterwards.

 

[IDC]

Morman and KJ gaining confidence is huge. We needed guys to step up on the wing, and a bunch did last night. So glad Shaq put a good game together. He needs to build on this confidence, he can be a weapon if his head is right.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Great game last night. Good effort and execution by everyone. I'm really excited about the new faces and the future. Especially Clark for obvious reasons.

I wish I could see a replay of Ellis' foul. From seeing it from my seats it seemed like a good hard foul, but I trust the refs that they got it right. Like I said I saw iti n real time and was focusing more on him stopping the dunk, which he did, rather than really seeing what happened. Was it really that bad? I'm not a fan of dirty play at all and if it was a dirty play then that is not acceptable but I do like that Ellis didn't let him dunk on him. That guy was ready to break the backboard. Also like that Ellis went to apologize afterwards.

I think someone said it perfectly last night...if someone fouled one of our players like that, I'd want them kicked out of the game. There is no reason to think he intended to be dirty, but it was pretty bad. That guy could've gotten really hurt. Imo it was the right call.

 

[Bearcat Rob]

I liked the allocation of minutes at guard last night. Troy playing 25-30 minutes at PG, with Cobb spelling him. I think Johnson-Morman splitting the 2G is smart; they are about equal, with Johnson a little ahead on offense and Morman a little ahead on defense. All these guys return next year.

If and when Ge is healed, how do you work him back-in? Four guards is plenty, you can get by with three; five is too many.

If Ge is interested in coaching, this year may provide an opportunity for him to focus on his studies and the intellectual aspect of basketball. I liked that he went into the locker room to talk to Octavius last night. It shows leadership and maturity. He obviously brings a lot of intangibles, which is why Cronin speaks so highly of him.

ill put G in over cobb, with kj gaining confidence I think his scoring will shoot up and he can be a double figure scoring. Caupain runs the point the best..hands down. Then I wouldn't mind bringing g and morman in and turning up the defense, we haven't seen much of G yet, but I still believe hes improved and very expeirenced. I think cobb can contribute but not in every game, used sparingly but if hes hot keep him in and give him the green light but when hes off id rather see the other three and G if need be.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I think we all know if the young guys develop, playing time for GG and Sanders will go down. Things are working themselves out but you're still going to see some different rotations depending on how guys are playing in a given game. Morman is fearless, if wreckless at times, TC is good all around in his skill set, KJ has great potential based on his skill set and it seems he's starting to put it together, and Cobb is a X factor offensively. Hate to sound like a broken record but there is opportunity at the 2-3. DeShaun and Kevin are starting to make their bids for some of it. Shaq made a statement but there are back up minutes to be had behind him and oh yeah, the low post is rounding into shape too. I think the loss has given Mick a great practical example of what he is trying to get thru to the team and the next couple weeks will be a time of teaching and honing.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I think we all know if the young guys develop, playing time for GG and Sanders will go down. Things are working themselves out but you're still going to see some different rotations depending on how guys are playing in a given game. Morman is fearless, if wreckless at times, TC is good all around in his skill set, KJ has great potential based on his skill set and it seems he's starting to put it together, and Cobb is a X factor offensively. Hate to sound like a broken record but there is opportunity at the 2-3. DeShaun and Kevin are starting to make their bids for some of it. Shaq made a statement but there are back up minutes to be had behind him and oh yeah, the low post is rounding into shape too. I think the loss has given Mick a great practical example of what he is trying to get thru to the team and the next couple weeks will be a time of teaching and honing.

jeff, thought Shaq took a step forward last game but he needs to do it consistently. I've seen him have a good game before and then disappear for games. I also agree right now TC is our best option at point but when Justin arrives next year I could see TC getting minutes at the 2. Mick loves his off guards to be able to handle the rock. Justin is the quick,penetrating and dish point we all have been waiting for. TC reminds me a lot of Dion Dixion.

The team is improving and made some shots last game but they are still missing open men in the post by not delivering the ball. Clark also made some nice passes that were not handled by other bigs that could have led to dunks. The rebounding still needs work. Defense is still a concern. Gave up lots of lay ups. The perimeter D is improving but our post D needs work. Moore don't board or guard right now which will unfortunitely limit his minutes. We block shots but we give up position way to easy.

All that said I really believe we will keep improving. Hope it's enough to make the Dance.

 

[TheShoeFits]

Great game last night. Good effort and execution by everyone. I'm really excited about the new faces and the future. Especially Clark for obvious reasons.

I wish I could see a replay of Ellis' foul. From seeing it from my seats it seemed like a good hard foul, but I trust the refs that they got it right. Like I said I saw iti n real time and was focusing more on him stopping the dunk, which he did, rather than really seeing what happened. Was it really that bad? I'm not a fan of dirty play at all and if it was a dirty play then that is not acceptable but I do like that Ellis didn't let him dunk on him. That guy was ready to break the backboard. Also like that Ellis went to apologize afterwards.

Here's a video of the foul.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=11970024&ex_cid=espnapi_public