Guards

I canā€™t figure out why Lutz wont play Coleman towards the end of the game. Hes a much better defender than Ian and Coleman is a great rebounder for his position. He had a few great boards last night right in the lane over their big guys and put it back in for the basket. His shooting will get better the more he plays, but the thing is Lutz isnā€™t playing him much in the 2nd half of games. Like somebody else said, we canā€™t rely on somebody like Ian to win games for us because I donā€™t think it will happen.

Last night after Coleman played a long stretch in the first half he looked over to the bench and pulled on his jersey to signal he needed to come out. I do not know if he was hurting or just gassed. I would hope he was not gassed that easily unles he was sick. Did not play any long streches after that.

[QUOTE=ConcordNiners;362731]I canā€™t figure out why Lutz wont play Coleman towards the end of the game. Hes a much better defender than Ian and Coleman is a great rebounder for his position. He had a few great boards last night right in the lane over their big guys and put it back in for the basket. His shooting will get better the more he plays, but the thing is Lutz isnā€™t playing him much in the 2nd half of games. Like somebody else said, we [B]canā€™t rely on somebody like Ian to win games[/B] for us because I donā€™t think it will happen.[/QUOTE]

ian drained a 3 to get us to the second overtime. coleman was crashing the offensive boards in the first half, second half app boxed him out and made him a non-factor. our defense wasnā€™t that bad last night, they just had a TON of second chance points. point guard wise, i think we need to push the ball. i think weā€™re more of a fast break team then a halfcourt team. harris is quick, lets use it to our advantage. with dewhurst in, play a little more halfcourt offense

I think Dijuan does well, and he's our only PG. He could of scored 20 or more last night if he kept attacking the glass.

Iā€™m not ready to bash Harris, and probably never will with as hard as he plays. As long as always gives his all, like he does, Iā€™ll have a hard time criticizing him that much. Butā€¦he does lack some true PG skills. In the 2 losses he had 4 assists and 7 TOs. 4 assists!

There have been times when we have the lead, that we continue to try to push it, and very little good happens. Not sure if that is completely him or Lutz. That comes across as poor decision making to me.

But his ability to penetrate and score this year has been a nice surprise and huge so far.

Coleman is the key to a better than .500 season. As scary of a statement as that is I think it is going to play out that way. He is the only 2 we have with length and the ability to defend that posibly can hit shots on a team that flat out can not shoot.

I continue to hold out hope and think this is key too. I think Coleman will improve and it takes time to build chemistry. I believe he will be a huge factor with how successful we can be. Hopefully heā€™s taking the Leemire and Demon approach to practicing the 3 by staying late and shooting 1,000s of them.

ian drained a 3 to get us to the second overtime. coleman was crashing the offensive boards in the first half, second half app boxed him out and made him a non-factor. our defense wasn't that bad last night, they just had a TON of second chance points. point guard wise, i think we need to push the ball. i think we're more of a fast break team then a halfcourt team. harris is quick, lets use it to our advantage. with dewhurst in, play a little more halfcourt offense
He made one three off a missed shot where he was wide open. The rest of the time he was blanketed because he's slow, and he can't shoot over anyone or beat anyone 1v1. His defense is mediocre at best. Kyle Church can probably hit a wide open shot, too. I don't see anyone asking for him to start.

Ian is a great role player and clearly a great guy, but he is not a 35 minute per game guy, even in a 50 minute game.

[QUOTE=Normmm;362748]Iā€™m not ready to bash Harris, and probably never will with as hard as he plays. As long as always gives his all, like he does, Iā€™ll have a hard time criticizing him that much. Butā€¦he does lack some true PG skills. In the 2 losses he had 4 assists and 7 TOs. 4 assists!

There have been times when we have the lead, that we continue to try to push it, and very little good happens. Not sure if that is completely him or Lutz. That comes across as poor decision making to me.

But his ability to penetrate and score this year has been a nice surprise and huge so far.[/QUOTE]

hard to get assists when your teammates canā€™t hit shotsā€¦Mitchell Baldwin used to get assists, ONLY b/c he played with people that could shoot. Dijuan > Mitchell, IMHO

Harris made some nice passes that his teammates couldnā€™t handle.

I donā€™t think Harris is better than Mitch, but I do think he tries harder.

hard to get assists when your teammates can't hit shots....Mitchell Baldwin used to get assists, ONLY b/c he played with people that could shoot. Dijuan > Mitchell, IMHO

Look, I really am having a hard time bashing him. But likewise, its hard to hit shots when you get the ball in the wrong spot, wrong time, at your feet or never sees you when your open. Thereā€™s a reason Gerrity and Wilderness throw the alley to Coley.

[QUOTE=Normmm;362772]Look, I really am having a hard time bashing him. But likewise, its hard to hit shots when you get the ball in the wrong spot, wrong time, at your feet or never sees you when your open. Thereā€™s a reason Gerrity and Wilderness throw the alley to Coley.[/QUOTE]

I def see where he has issues in the passing game, there is no denying that, but he is our PG, and thatā€™s what we have to work with. If teams donā€™t press while Dewā€™s in there, he does a decent job. But the opposing coach would be an idiot to not press when heā€™s in there.

There's a reason Gerrity .... threw the alley to Coley.

fixed. :unhappy:

I would have liked to have seen Coleman more in the second half. He can rebound and play defense, drive the ball but is careless on offense and hasnā€™t been hitting his shots. We need his athleticism at the 2, though or even at the 3 if someoneā€™s in foul trouble.

As far as Phil tapping it, I think you mean fumbling it. Coley & Jones donā€™t have good hands and that hurts whether youā€™re catching a pass or rebounding.

My initial statement was about guard play overall. Dijuan has been very good at driving to the basket but has to know when to stop and dish, versus taking it all the way.

So weā€™ve got some talent but lack chemistry playing together and have made bad decisions. Need more composure. Lutz commented on this after the game with examples of the good and bad.

Yeah, CharSF, I had the Niners 3-0 at this point, but then losing the next three games, so there is a chance to even things out!

Guard play is a concern, but I think the backcourt will continue to improve. The biggest problem right now is the bigs. Jones not rebounding his size, Coley missing too many gimmes and Mack pressing too hard to become ā€œThe Man.ā€ Only Wilderness is playing the way I expected.

Mack suddenly thinks of himself as a dribble-and-shoot kind of guy. Heā€™s not. He can dribble by some defenders, but heā€™s best catching and shooting for treys or posting up smaller defenders. Heā€™s not really an in-between guy who can create regularly off the dribble. And he STILL reaches too damn much on defense.

Harris has been solid so far, though I would like to see him distribute better on the break. He either races ahead of his wings or gives teammates the ball in the wrong spot.

Dewhurst has surprised me as backup point. Heā€™s done a good job ā€“ until heā€™s pressed. Each time APU pressed, it seemed, the Mounties went on a spurt. His teammates need to come back to help before Dewhurst traps himself on the sideline and gets turned around.

Coleman was terrific in the first half with his defense and getting out on the break. Thatā€™s what caused the Niners to make that nice run. Heā€™s such a great athlete, heā€™s very disruptive. Yet heā€™s obviously been a liability with poor decision making and ill-timed shots in the half court. Until he settles down, WG could be a problem. I wonder if it would be better to start Wilderness at that spot.

As for Andersen, heā€™s fine as a role player but heā€™s not a big-minutes guy. I like him when he spots up, catches and shoots. I do not like him to come up firing on the move after he runs behind a screen. His shooting percentage is much lower when he takes those kind of fast shots.

Give it a little more time before jumping off a bridge, but remember this. College basketball has changed. There are more good players available in Division 1 than ever before.

Nobody is guaranteed to beat anybody anymore.

Enjoy your comments. Please post anytime. But I think you might have heard me when I was yelling at the TV last night.

We ran screens for Jobey, Plavich, Leemire, Demon, etc. for a shot on the move. Ian is not that able. He can hit when he is set and ready to catch a pass. Not on the move. Lutz needs to rip up that play for this season. To keep going to it, someone needs to smack Lutz on the forehead like in a V8 commercial.

Coleman appears to come around. Like you said though, problem is him and Dewhurst are the better rebounders on the team. Coley and Mack need to learn how to rebound and play quickly.

I give Jones a pass because he is progressing.

Jones had a fairly solid game.

but he is our PG, and that's what we have to work with.

I agree and Iā€™m totally rooting for him. I was mostly referring to Leftyā€™s assessment of the back court. I believe right now we are probably behind our opponents in the back court.

Last night,
Abraham 10 pts, 9 assists, 3 steals, 3 TOs
Harris 12 pts, 2 assists, 5 steals, 4 TOs

ODU,
James 14 pts, 4 assists, 0 steals, 0 TOs
Harris 12 pts, 2 assist, 1 steal, 3 TOs

Am I the only one that remembers that Lutz used to pull Harris in favor of Gerrity when the other team played a zone?

Am I the only one that remembers that Lutz used to pull Harris in favor of Gerrity when the other team played a zone?

Wasnā€™t that because Gerrity would penetrate into the middle and dish?

Harris looks to be much better at penetrating this yr. Just nobody is to cover him so he takes it up. Gerrity refused to shoot when he drove. He would dribble rings around the basket. :huh:

This was my fear when I saw Gerrity transferred - that Harris would just play too much/often. I havenā€™t seen/heard any of the games this year, but without any other real options at PG, heā€™s going to struggle because heā€™ll have to be perfect 100% of the time heā€™s on the courtā€¦and thatā€™s too much to ask for any PG, All-American or walk-on turned scholly.

I would rather have Ian on the floor at the end of the game than at the beginning. He made a big 3 and some clutch FTs to keep us in the game last night.

That said, him coming off the screen just isnā€™t working right now (has it ever?). He has been getting better results driving for a short jumper or a foul this year. Iā€™d rather see that, as frightening as it is to everyone in the arena every time, then see him come off a screen. I feel like weā€™re running the Leemire offense for Ian and Mack, neither of whom are suited for it.

I would rather have Ian on the floor at the end of the game than at the beginning.

I just donā€™t know about that one. He is such a liability on defense, and there have been times where other guys have been out of position in an attempt to cover for him when he is just to slow for many of the rotations.