This season what worries you the most with this team?
I would have to say chemistry. There are a lot of new guys that weāre adding to the mix, that need to fill some big voids. Especially Phil Jones.
Our shot selection is key. We must take good shots, and not force ill-advised 3 pointers.
We must get solid low post play. We need rebounding and solid garbage points at least from our big me.
If we get those 3 things, I honestly feel that we can win the Atlantic 10
rebounding
consistency (HOME COURT)
[QUOTE=Ruckus42;193942]
I would have to say chemistry.
[/QUOTE]
I may be wrong, bit it seemed to me that this team has the potential to have the best chemistry we have had in a while.
The coach. Lutz has not built a good team in several years. PERIOD.
Iām afraid of bad chemistry, gelling, and the new guys fitting in. We will see how this will be when we go up against Guelph.
I too am afraid for consistencey and ill advised 3s. I mean Iām just pretty concerned because I have yet to see us play. I honestly think this team could do really great, but I donāt want to get my hopes up before I see us play once. With all these new guys, there is really no telling til they play.
REBOUNDING
Twon and Big Phil eating opposing post players alive. I think you get penalized for that
[QUOTE=Chisox17;193958]I think you get penalized for that[/QUOTE]
Not if the reff doesnāt see it.
Not if the reff doesn't see it.Or if you play at schools like WFU where the refs are just "a little" biased... or paid off.
Just continuing to live/die by the 3-ball, despite having a front court thatās capable of very solid production. I know itās Lutzās style but itās my biggest gripe with him. Iām all for it under the right circumstances but I just hate seeing us jack up ill-advised 3ās, especially when weāre not even in position to rebound.
That and just playing consistent ball. I donāt want this to be a team that goes on the road to beat Syracuse and then comes home to lose to Georgia State. We were terrible on our home court last year and that has to change. Looking at the schedule, thereās really no reason we should drop more than 1-2 games there.
I cannot believe we are 10 posts in and Iām going to be the first one to say itā¦
We havenāt done it in yearsā¦and itās literally what separates the good teams from the fieldā¦and itās why we were successful on a FEW occassions in the past.
DEFENSE!!!
Letās face it. We always play hard, we always score pointsā¦hell, most every team can score in some fashion or another. What separates the good from the average and what will take us from a decent team to a Contender is simplyā¦
DE-Freakin-FENSE
Iād like to see it simply because I havenāt seen a Niner team play āDā since 1998.
We haven't done it in years....and it's literally what separates the good teams from the field....and it's why we were successful on a FEW occassions in the past.DEFENSE!!!
Letās face it. We always play hard, we always score pointsā¦hell, most every team can score in some fashion or another. What separates the good from the average and what will take us from a decent team to a Contender is simplyā¦
DE-Freakin-FENSE
I could just as easily replace your āDEFENSE!!!ā with āTRUE POINT GUARD!!!ā With a true PG, who understands how to break down defenses with penetration, can create his own shots, has great passing skills/vision and is a team leader, we could be one of the best teams in the country. I still stand by the claim that we havenāt had a true PG (by my definition) since Colson. And it doesnāt matter how good our defense isā¦without solid PG play, we will never achieve our goals. Hopefully, that changes some this season.
Early Seasonā¦ since Lutz has been here I can think of only Rodneyās year that we came out of the box fast. It seems that the first 1/3 of the season we spin our wheels trying to figure out what we are doing. If we can come out solid it will go a long way to positioning ourselves for March.
I hope the team spend some extra time at the free throw line, too.
I could just as easily replace your "DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!" with "TRUE POINT GUARD!!!!!!!!!!" With a true PG, who understands how to break down defenses with penetration, can create his own shots, has great passing skills/vision and is a team leader, we could be one of the best teams in the country. I still stand by the claim that we haven't had a true PG (by my definition) since Colson. And it doesn't matter how good our defense is...without solid PG play, we will never achieve our goals. Hopefully, that changes some this season.
I agree wiht your assessment of the importance of a true PGā¦but that is not what āWorries me Mostā about this yearās team because Carlos is supposed to be that guy. At least we have a āTrueā PG by definition and reputation (for the 1st time since Colson) on the roster.
I still say Defense worries me most because we havenāt played any since the turn of the Century. We have wasted a lot of talent because we simply refuse to play āDā and get a key stop when we need it down the stretchā¦or on nights when our Offense is struggling.
I have never worried about our Offenseā¦except for last yearā¦but still, if we would have played āDā last year we could have still salvaged the season.
[QUOTE=WBNiner;194001]Early Seasonā¦ since Lutz has been here I can think of only Rodneyās year that we came out of the box fast. It seems that the first 1/3 of the season we spin our wheels trying to figure out what we are doing. If we can come out solid it will go a long way to positioning ourselves for March.[/QUOTE]
Yes, Yes, and Yes. I know we have a tough road schedule and a tough home game against Hofstra BUT I wish we would start strong. We always seem to stumble out of the gate and lose games we should win. A strong start could go a long way to a very good season. Iām also looking forward to the Miss. State game to get some much needed redemption (I think we all know what I mean).
Oh and Defense will be important too. Go Niners!
I think chemistry was a big reason last year turned out like it did, I donāt think it will be a problem this year. This year we need to play better defense and find a way to win games when we donāt shoot a great percentage from the 3.
Worries:
Defense, rebounding, and toughness (physical and mental).
I think chemistry isnāt going to be much of a problemā¦
My worries come in on defense under the opponetsā basket. Phil and Coleman are our only all around big guys. I donāt see any big defensive rebound numbers this season. But, if given attention I could, and I hope to be proven wrong.
I agree wiht your assessment of the importance of a true PG....but that is not what "Worries me Most" about this year's team because Carlos is supposed to be that guy.
The same thing was thought of Mitch for the most part and IMO, he was pretty sorry as a true PG. Yes, I think the shoulder injury probably played a role because he showed some promise before that. But Iāll never get my hopes for a true PG until I see one on the court, playing the position well consistently.
I agree about defense, however, I have seen this team play solid defense at times. There were games in the last few years where we played superb defense but it was a ācome and goā luxury. I think there is always more potential for us to play good D as opposed to solid PG play. So that concerns me the most because it has been our Achilleās heel for a decade now.