Well it was not what was expected after 3 games but some thoughts :
1) The majority of the shots have to be taken by Ron , Geo , Jaden and Cliff. I would then have Aundre shoot shots. Paul and Caleb should not be shooting 10 shots or more per game. We are shooting historically low from 2 point range , forgetting for a moment the 3 point struggles.
2). It is obvious that Geo has to be the aggressive shot taker and his first half last night has to be his mindset every game . Although he hit 3-4 from three point range , I do not even want him shooting threes unless he is wide open on a swing pass or if we really need one while trailing. His mid range game is good enough to get us 6-8 points per half and his drive game another 4 points so that 16-20 points should be the norm. He cannot defer like he did last year. He cannot become passive and disappear . We need him if we are going to go far.
3)Ron is doing everything we wanted him to do last year. Take it down low and dominant , rebound on the defensive and offensive ends and play great defense. He falls in love with his 3 ball too much and again he should just shoot it on swing passes or kickouts and continue to pound down low and drive. He could get 10 foul shots per game if he continues doing that. 3 straight double doubles and he had become a beast. His play has been elite so far and he is living up to the all conference player.
4) Paul has been so disappointing in many ways . Not just his shooting and missing easy 4-8 foot shots , which hopefully will eventually fall , but his failure to move the ball and his endless dribbling doing nothing . Last year he dribbled into the paint , pumped faked and laid it off for a Myles or Cliff flush. He is hesitating , never looking to kick out to open 3 point shooters when he is stuck in the lane and playing selfishly . In addition , once he gets a rebound he has to look up and pass ahead. He and Caleb have destroyed more fast break opportunities as only Geo has thrown ahead. Cliff runs up the floor real fast and never gets rewarded and then both him and Caleb have charged into players by extra dribbling instead of crisply moving the ball to the wings. His defense also has to improve as he is still getting caught behind screens too often. He has to use his 6’7 length better.
5) Caleb still plays good and sometimes great defense but his shot mechanics are all screwed up and his decision making on fast breaks and in half court sets is dismal. He used to have a sweet stroke for his mid range game and now he has consciously tried to push the ball and put more arc on it and he or the coaches have to pull out the freshman and sophomore tapes and correct the problem.
6) Both Paul and Caleb have to play less and shoot less and Aundre and Jaden have to play more and shoot more. As I said earlier the best shooters should shoot more shots than the bad shooters. Jaden Jones has to be featured , screened for , down screened for , Reggie Miller curled off a single or double screen. He is one of our best shooters. His defense has to improve but if Geo or Ron are out of the game together, which should hardly happen , Jaden has to be a main feature on offense. He can drive , hit a mid range or hit a three. Aundre is a glue guy that can do everything , he can shoot both mid range and 3’s , plays defense , can rebound both ways and block shots. He has to see more time. Last night Pike put him in the game 3-4 minutes in and took Caleb out after a rough start. He has to do that more.
7). Cliff and Agee if anything have to continue to hit the boards. Cliff lack of lower body strength got him pushed out last night when he tried to back in , so he has to continue to work on moves and hit a short jumper. He is available for the lob more often and he runs the floor real well and is not getting rewarded. His lack of shot blocking is troubling as we do miss Myles in that area. Agee seems lost both offensively and very much defensively. Hoping that a grad transfer that was featured offensively even though it was a bad team can show up every night.
We are 3 -0 and have shot horrendously this year. Looking for the 2 point % to improve and if the better shooters shoot , then it will. Swing passes , kick outs and hard screens and curls will hopefully improve our 3 point shooting. Although our defense has performed reasonable well in 3 second halves and not one first half so far, we have not seen the lockdown past defense of the last 2 years yet. I think Coach has to give Jalen Miller a run against these smaller guards to stop how badly our guards are getting beat as we heard his defensive prowess might make a difference.
One last thought but I do not know why every single team , low level or not , shoots so well at the RAC. Banged 3’s and all. Damn frustrating.
1) The majority of the shots have to be taken by Ron , Geo , Jaden and Cliff. I would then have Aundre shoot shots. Paul and Caleb should not be shooting 10 shots or more per game. We are shooting historically low from 2 point range , forgetting for a moment the 3 point struggles.
2). It is obvious that Geo has to be the aggressive shot taker and his first half last night has to be his mindset every game . Although he hit 3-4 from three point range , I do not even want him shooting threes unless he is wide open on a swing pass or if we really need one while trailing. His mid range game is good enough to get us 6-8 points per half and his drive game another 4 points so that 16-20 points should be the norm. He cannot defer like he did last year. He cannot become passive and disappear . We need him if we are going to go far.
3)Ron is doing everything we wanted him to do last year. Take it down low and dominant , rebound on the defensive and offensive ends and play great defense. He falls in love with his 3 ball too much and again he should just shoot it on swing passes or kickouts and continue to pound down low and drive. He could get 10 foul shots per game if he continues doing that. 3 straight double doubles and he had become a beast. His play has been elite so far and he is living up to the all conference player.
4) Paul has been so disappointing in many ways . Not just his shooting and missing easy 4-8 foot shots , which hopefully will eventually fall , but his failure to move the ball and his endless dribbling doing nothing . Last year he dribbled into the paint , pumped faked and laid it off for a Myles or Cliff flush. He is hesitating , never looking to kick out to open 3 point shooters when he is stuck in the lane and playing selfishly . In addition , once he gets a rebound he has to look up and pass ahead. He and Caleb have destroyed more fast break opportunities as only Geo has thrown ahead. Cliff runs up the floor real fast and never gets rewarded and then both him and Caleb have charged into players by extra dribbling instead of crisply moving the ball to the wings. His defense also has to improve as he is still getting caught behind screens too often. He has to use his 6’7 length better.
5) Caleb still plays good and sometimes great defense but his shot mechanics are all screwed up and his decision making on fast breaks and in half court sets is dismal. He used to have a sweet stroke for his mid range game and now he has consciously tried to push the ball and put more arc on it and he or the coaches have to pull out the freshman and sophomore tapes and correct the problem.
6) Both Paul and Caleb have to play less and shoot less and Aundre and Jaden have to play more and shoot more. As I said earlier the best shooters should shoot more shots than the bad shooters. Jaden Jones has to be featured , screened for , down screened for , Reggie Miller curled off a single or double screen. He is one of our best shooters. His defense has to improve but if Geo or Ron are out of the game together, which should hardly happen , Jaden has to be a main feature on offense. He can drive , hit a mid range or hit a three. Aundre is a glue guy that can do everything , he can shoot both mid range and 3’s , plays defense , can rebound both ways and block shots. He has to see more time. Last night Pike put him in the game 3-4 minutes in and took Caleb out after a rough start. He has to do that more.
7). Cliff and Agee if anything have to continue to hit the boards. Cliff lack of lower body strength got him pushed out last night when he tried to back in , so he has to continue to work on moves and hit a short jumper. He is available for the lob more often and he runs the floor real well and is not getting rewarded. His lack of shot blocking is troubling as we do miss Myles in that area. Agee seems lost both offensively and very much defensively. Hoping that a grad transfer that was featured offensively even though it was a bad team can show up every night.
We are 3 -0 and have shot horrendously this year. Looking for the 2 point % to improve and if the better shooters shoot , then it will. Swing passes , kick outs and hard screens and curls will hopefully improve our 3 point shooting. Although our defense has performed reasonable well in 3 second halves and not one first half so far, we have not seen the lockdown past defense of the last 2 years yet. I think Coach has to give Jalen Miller a run against these smaller guards to stop how badly our guards are getting beat as we heard his defensive prowess might make a difference.
One last thought but I do not know why every single team , low level or not , shoots so well at the RAC. Banged 3’s and all. Damn frustrating.
