Impression of the Basketball Team

[rentalman]

Having watched the 3 full games from PR. Here are my impressions of the Team.

Overall I think this is a team with the potential to be very good. It could also be a team that plays the good teams tough but in the end can't make enough plays to win the game and we end the regular season 18-13.. There is work to be done. The good news is there is time to do it before the season.

1) The big men are better. Especially Mango. They are much more confident and aggressive than a year ago. But they are limited in a lot of ways also. Mango is growing on me. In the past I have cringed when he was coming in. But the guy hustles his butt off. His heart is in the right place also. Winning is what matters to him.

2) Unlike the past 4 years when we have had guys like Russ & Terry, there appears to be no one on this team that can consistently create their own shot. So passing/ball movement and screening are going to be critical for this group.

3) Was really disappointed in the play of Trey Lewis. Really forced a lot of things on offense. RP attributed it to not being used to playing fast. Hope that's the case. In the first win with the team down 73-60, Lewis played great and led the comeback victory. He showed what he was capable of doing.

4) Really like Deng Adel. Going to be a good contributor this year. Would not surprise me to see him at 3 and Lee at 2 a lot.

5) Key to the season will be guys learning their roles and being disciplined. In PR Mango took a shot around 3 point line. Can't have that against tough opponents when every possession matters. In Mango's defense, there were a lot of bad shots taken.

Should be interesting.

 

[Ipartiedwithhopgood]

Thx for the post.

I didn't see nearly enough of the action to formulate any opinion whatsoever.

One thing that stood out in your summary - nobody can create their own shot? Does this mean Lee is mostly just a spot-up shooter? I'd assume he could put it on the floor and get his own. Also thought Mitchell could get his own shot also. I thought his game was predicated on attacking.

But I trust your take, it seems fair.

 

[shadow force]

Good informative take, rentalman. Appreciate the insight. I still haven't seen the team in action with my own eyes besides highlights but they sound like a promising group.

I was also under the impression that Lee, and maybe a couple others, were capable of getting their own shot. If this turns out to be that they can't then I would think this team might be in for a tough road ahead. They would have to focus a lot more on ball movement, positioning, etc. if they don't have a guy that can get his own buckets now and then.

 

[rentalman]

Thx for the post.

I didn't see nearly enough of the action to formulate any opinion whatsoever.

One thing that stood out in your summary - nobody can create their own shot? Does this mean Lee is mostly just a spot-up shooter? I'd assume he could put it on the floor and get his own. Also thought Mitchell could get his own shot also. I thought his game was predicated on attacking.

But I trust your take, it seems fair.

I probably should have said cannot consistently create their own shot. I do think Lee can do that occasionally. But its not a strength in my opinion. Lewis had trouble creating separation from his defenders in all 3 games I watched. Mitchell might be able to. He is more raw offensively than I thought he would be.

When we tried to run pick and rolls with Lee, Lewis and Snyder we were not very successful. But maybe that was because we were playing against professionals who knew how to defend it.

We ran a lot of motion offense in PR. And we really have not done that since the Preston Knowles team. After that team we have had guys like Siva, Smith, Rozier who were good pick and roll guys. The motion offense influenced my opinion also.

 

[earsky]

They would have to focus a lot more on ball movement, positioning, etc. if they don't have a guy that can get his own buckets now and then.

And I'm ok with this.It bodes well for what CP was trying to drive home in the last half of the trip,making the extra pass,even late in the shot clock.I think he(CP) has a group of guys willing to accept whatever it takes to consistently compete against ACC competition.He and Coach Willard will stress passing to get better looks,but it will be a process that began last week.