My major concern continues to be interior play. Defense , finishing and rebounding. Wagner looked like the superior team in the paint the first 10 minutes. Lathan changed that in a hurry which was super encouraging to see.
But if you watched even the first few minutes of the Indiana game after us , you’ll know we’re going to get absolutely abused and exposed inside against teams with legit bigs (like St Johns, Indiana, and half the league)
I think (or know) that there's no perfect roster and YES Indiana has Ballo, Malik Reneau and Mgbako on the front line and they're probably going to gobble up a lot of rebounds or missed shots.
The same concerns about RU on the glass, would be extremely concerning if I was an Indiana fan.....Can Ballo likely guard a little bit more mobile freshman like Lathan Sommerville?? Sure he can, but this is the dynamic of why you have to sacrifice something to gain something better.
Ballo will own the paint and hypothetically, would have mauled physically a player like Cliff inside, if Cliff was on this roster. Cliff would have potentially gotten an additional rebound or two vs a Ballo or lots of bigs.
The difference is NOW, when Cliff sets a screen last year to help a guard, he had poor hands, couldn't dribble and could not shoot from 3. If you watched Lathan he set the screens at the top of the key, then flaired to the 3 point line and launched a 3.....How is Ballo or a traditional big man, able to step 25 feet away from the hoop and guard Lathan, if he can dribble, pass and shoot?? The footwork of Lathan is something we simply have never had at the 5 man at RU. Lathan pulling defenders away from the hoop...
A) Keeps driving lanes open for Dylan, Ace, Jeremiah, Derkack and others. The reason why RU was able to drive and score is because the lanes are open without a Woolfork, Cliff, Myles Johnson, Ogbole type player on the floor.
B) Lathan actually got paint points after he maneuvered himself into the paint, on his own, after catching a pass further away from the low-block. He generates his own offense and does not need a pick and roll or pick and lob, which is easier to defend, when it was Mulcahy and Cliff.
C) Lathan has better softer hands and showed more offensive fluidity than any RU big since when.....?? The first instance of having the guard actually trust Lathan and launch a down court pass, means the players know he has hands and can function in open space.....the reverse spin and footwork for the layup, was elite for a freshman.
I know rebounding is a huge concern, but so is scoring from the 5 position.....if we got scoring from the 5 position the last 2 seasons, it was mainly close inside on jump hooks or dunks. If we can get 25 minutes from Lathan, I'm fairly certain he is going to score 8 to 10PPG, most nights and he's not the focal point of the offense, without clogging up the paint.
I think we need the points from the 5 position to help when Dylan and Ace don't shoot well, much more than trying to outrebound everyone. It's not like Lathan isn't capable of grabbing rebounds, he had 8 last night.....he can't be the only one on the glass, but he's just as capable of what we got the couple of years on the glass.
