What would you like to see?

[waterhead]

It sounds like most of the team is putting in a lot of hard work in the off season in the gym. I have no doubt that will pay off big time this season but here are some other things it would be nice to see improvements on if they want to be a truly elite team.

Ellis...Be emotional but keep it in check. Footwork. Hold the ball strong
Clark...more aggressive looking to score. Midrange shot
Deberry...Fitness and weight was a big one. Rebounding and defensive position
Moore...Get excited. Work your butt off when your in the game. Don't press
Thomas...Pull up for a short jumper or dish when lane is not there. Control
Cobb...Stay aggressive and penetrate when the shot is not falling
Johnson...work on dribbling and reducing turnovers
Caupain...shoot more. Lower the dribble. Push the break. Start offense closer to basket

New guys

Scott...just rebound and defend for now
Evans...provide a little scoring punch hopefully
Jenifer...distribute, penetrate and push the break

Thoughts?

 

[kskenyon4]

Assuming guys don't regress in any area - my one thing for each guy:

Ellis - Footwork, cut those traveling violations in half
Clark - 15 footer
Deberry - Rim protector
Shaq - FT shooting. He gets to the line a lot I think, needs to shoot 75% not 59%
Cobb - Use your shooting threat to set up other guys, get those Assist numbers up
KJ - Consistency with the shot
Troy - Demand the ball, get a good shot every time shot clocks under 8

Jenifer - prove that you're truly a passing wizard
Evans - knock down the open shots you'll get, have confidence
Scott - Be a strong wing/post defender that can fill multiple roles

Moore - don't even know where to begin.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Ellis... LESS GOAL TENDING lol
Clark... Extended game with more post moves
Deberry... Demand the ball when in position. If he gets the ball close to the hoop he's deadly with his agility and soft touch
Moore... Defense defense defense. Do not turn the ball over when in
Thomas... Play your game and don't try to do too much. The points will come
Cobb... Less bringing the ball up now that we have Jenifer, and more finding the open spot behind the arc. Still be aggressive
Johnson... Better dribbling, passing and more consistency
Caupain... Start taking over the leadership role. Shoot and attack more. He has good energy and I'd like to see more of the Caupain that showed up in the UConn game going head-to-head with Boatwright

New guys

Scott... He will be in there when Clark is in foul trouble. Fill that void with rebounding and solid defense. Do what the team needs you to and keep a positive attitude with whatever role is needed. Either him or Moore will see the least amount of minutes this season. Be there when you're called on.
Evans... Scorer off the bench that will see his minutes increase as the season goes on
Jenifer... Bring the ball up court when you're in and Caupain is not. Focus on penetrating and passing. Set up the shooters and finish around the hoop. We have solid bigs, so get deep in the lane and toss it up to them.
Don't forget about Kyle Washington. I know he's not playing this season, but I'd like to hear that he's challenging Ellis every practice on the defensive end and they help each other improve their games.

 

[rogerOH]

Clark- turn and face... Ellis self-control... Moore make the wide open jump shots... Cobb be the breakout player that I know he is... Evans come in with even half of the intangibles that Clark showed in his freshman year.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I hope Moore loosens up a bit. His body language seemed to me like he was so overwhelmed that he'd just shut down. Hopefully as he gets older, he learns to be more open with teammates and coaches about the things he is struggling with on the floor. It would also be a bit discouraging (I'd imagine) to see a guy like Clark come in the same class and put up the way he did, while you're struggling to adjust to the speed of the game. I hope he keeps at it bc once it does click for him, he has a chance to be a very solid contributor. I just hope he gives himself a real chance.

 

[cincrulz11]

This might look silly, but it's the truth.

Caupain - quit turning the ball over
Ellis - quit turning the ball over
Thomas - quit turning the ball over
DeBerry - quit turning the ball over
Johnson - quit turning the ball over
Moore - if you play, quit turning the ball over


Seriously even if none of them improve in any other area, the turnover rate from that group was incredibly bad.

Cobb - Make the jump so many JC jr's have made going into their final year
Clark - just keep doing what you are doing.


New guys - force Mick to give you minutes.

 

[Bulldog01]

This might look silly, but it's the truth.

Caupain - quit turning the ball over
Ellis - quit turning the ball over
Thomas - quit turning the ball over
DeBerry - quit turning the ball over
Johnson - quit turning the ball over
Moore - if you play, quit turning the ball over


Seriously even if none of them improve in any other area, the turnover rate from that group was incredibly bad.

Cobb - Make the jump so many JC jr's have made going into their final year
Clark - just keep doing what you are doing.


New guys - force Mick to give you minutes.

Plain and simple. Just practice dribbling and free throws. Everything else will fall in place

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I would like to see Farad Cobb have a Field Williams like season...his SR numbers were 11.3 points per game on 43.7% on three's.

 

[handwaver]

This might look silly, but it's the truth.

Caupain - quit turning the ball over
Ellis - quit turning the ball over
Thomas - quit turning the ball over
DeBerry - quit turning the ball over
Johnson - quit turning the ball over
Moore - if you play, quit turning the ball over


Seriously even if none of them improve in any other area, the turnover rate from that group was incredibly bad.

Cobb - Make the jump so many JC jr's have made going into their final year
Clark - just keep doing what you are doing.


New guys - force Mick to give you minutes.

Agree about the turnovers...we need to average around 10 or fewer. Clark & Cobb are doing their part - the rest need to tighten up, especially to machine Ellis.

 

[bearcat8290]

Consistent team play on offense and defense

 

[FTBearcats]

Look to score rather than look to drain the shot clock.

 

[TheLongHaul]

I would like to see Farad Cobb have a Field Williams like season...his SR numbers were 11.3 points per game on 43.7% on three's.

If Cobb could shoot 43% from threes he will score well above 11 points per game. It will also be huge for opening up the floor for what should be a very good front court.

 

[#BearcatNation]

If Cobb could shoot 43% from threes he will score well above 11 points per game. It will also be huge for opening up the floor for what should be a very good front court.

Yeah, if Cobb is going to hit a number like that, he'd have to be very consistent. Would likely have to shoot less too, and only take wide open threes. I'd rather see him shoot 39% at about 7 attempts per game than 43% while only attempting a few per game.

 

[UCBearcats]

I'd like to see everyone stop getting excited about guys taking pictures of their muscles and talking about how much better everyone is going to be because they're "hitting the gym". Last year everyone sent out pictures of Shaq Thomas and his new muscles talking about how much better he would be because he was getting stronger, this team is already strong. Quit talking about things that don't matter, if this team is going to be as good as we want it to be they're going to need to play smarter basketball, period.

I'd love to see Clark have the breakout season he's capable of and really cement himself as a low post presence. Kevin Johnson either needs to show he's improved in IQ dramatically or just be a spark guy off the bench who plays limited minutes. Troy needs to be much much much more assertive this season. He's our best player, he needs to believe it and take over when it's time to take over. Ellis is a solid player and just needs to keep his emotions in check. Shaq Thomas is awful and hopefully he gets relegated to the bench like Sanders did last season, that means someone else is stepping up. Farad can be an X factor for us, he needs to be consistent and limit the TO's, he was almost as frustrating as KJ with the ball in his hands last season. I'm REALLY excited about DeBerry, think he has a chance to be really good this season if we can figure out how to utilize him in our offense. Quadri Moore is awful, I don't see him spending 4 years here.

We'll see about the new guys, really zero reason to comment on any of them since we have no idea how they'll adjust to this next level.

I'm very optimistic about this upcoming season, this team could be really good if they play a better brand of offensive basketball. I'm excited by the comments from Mick in the off-season talking about needing to score the ball more and recruit better talent. He has spent a lot of time talking about what he learned during his time off last season and he claims that he's seen the error of his ways. He's finally willing to admit that simply playing harder than everyone else isn't a solid strategy. I'm interested to see how it all plays out.

 

[waterhead]

If Cobb could shoot 43% from threes he will score well above 11 points per game. It will also be huge for opening up the floor for what should be a very good front court.

A bit optimistic there I think. 43.8% I think ranks 2nd all time single season records. He is not a Williams/Durden caliber shooter. I would be happy if he can be 5% up from his 33%...putting him at 38%. If Johnson can up his percentage 3% he would be right there too. If Caupain can hold at last years % and shoot a bit more...we will be looking pretty good there. Hoping Evans is a better shooter than Sanders as well.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

A bit optimistic there I think. 43.8% I think ranks 2nd all time single season records. He is not a Williams/Durden caliber shooter. I would be happy if he can be 5% up from his 33%...putting him at 38%. If Johnson can up his percentage 3% he would be right there too. If Caupain can hold at last years % and shoot a bit more...we will be looking pretty good there. Hoping Evans is a better shooter than Sanders as well.

There's no way he isn't.

 

[waterhead]

I'd like to see everyone stop getting excited about guys taking pictures of their muscles and talking about how much better everyone is going to be because they're "hitting the gym". Last year everyone sent out pictures of Shaq Thomas and his new muscles talking about how much better he would be because he was getting stronger, this team is already strong. Quit talking about things that don't matter, if this team is going to be as good as we want it to be they're going to need to play smarter basketball, period.

I'd love to see Clark have the breakout season he's capable of and really cement himself as a low post presence. Kevin Johnson either needs to show he's improved in IQ dramatically or just be a spark guy off the bench who plays limited minutes. Troy needs to be much much much more assertive this season. He's our best player, he needs to believe it and take over when it's time to take over. Ellis is a solid player and just needs to keep his emotions in check. Shaq Thomas is awful and hopefully he gets relegated to the bench like Sanders did last season, that means someone else is stepping up. Farad can be an X factor for us, he needs to be consistent and limit the TO's, he was almost as frustrating as KJ with the ball in his hands last season. I'm REALLY excited about DeBerry, think he has a chance to be really good this season if we can figure out how to utilize him in our offense. Quadri Moore is awful, I don't see him spending 4 years here.

We'll see about the new guys, really zero reason to comment on any of them since we have no idea how they'll adjust to this next level.

I'm very optimistic about this upcoming season, this team could be really good if they play a better brand of offensive basketball. I'm excited by the comments from Mick in the off-season talking about needing to score the ball more and recruit better talent. He has spent a lot of time talking about what he learned during his time off last season and he claims that he's seen the error of his ways. He's finally willing to admit that simply playing harder than everyone else isn't a solid strategy. I'm interested to see how it all plays out.

There is actually quite a bit of this post I disagree with but calling our players awful I just don't get. They have all managed to get recruited by and find playing time for a high caliber D1 NCAA team. Just how "awful" can they be? One of them will probably start most of the year if not all of it....lol!

 

[Bearcat Rob]

There is actually quite a bit of this post I disagree with but calling our players awful I just don't get. They have all managed to get recruited by and find playing time for a high caliber D1 NCAA team. Just how "awful" can they be? One of them will probably start most of the year if not all of it....lol!

Agreed. Shaq will start and play a big part in our success this year. Also that work out stuff he said is garbage. Yes strength and the weight room matter big time in college hoops and yes 20 something pounds on Ellis is huge and to say it's not is just wrong. It also shows dedication and commitment. Yes you need improved skill but improved strength, conditioning, size, and footwork also helps

 

[UCBearcats]

There is actually quite a bit of this post I disagree with but calling our players awful I just don't get. They have all managed to get recruited by and find playing time for a high caliber D1 NCAA team. Just how "awful" can they be? One of them will probably start most of the year if not all of it....lol!

I'd like to see this team be really good and compete to make a deep run in the NCAA's. I don't see how Shaq Thomas or Quadri Moore, based their track records, help us accomplish that. There's nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade. Thomas has had 3 years to change the narrative on his abilities, and he's failed to do that. I don't see a miracle turnaround coming from his so what I'd like to see is someone else step up and take his playing time away. That would be best for this team.

 

[waterhead]

Agreed. Shaq will start and play a big part in our success this year. Also that work out stuff he said is garbage. Yes strength and the weight room matter big time in college hoops and yes 20 something pounds on Ellis is huge and to say it's not is just wrong. It also shows dedication and commitment. Yes you need improved skill but improved strength, conditioning, size, and footwork also helps

Agree 100% with this assessment!