So ... because RU is 2-0, and it is more enjoyable to post on this Board after wins, I thought rather than a post mortem (my usualy post-game threads), I'd do a prelimiamry evaluation of the individual players.
Yes, it is only 2 games. Yes, the games were against poor teams. Yes, it is WAY too early for any truly worthwhile evaluations. But, hey, isn't that part of the fun of it?
So .. here are some "Way Too Early" thoughts:
1) So far, it seems that RU's best defensive 5 is the best offensive 5, also: The starting 5 of Davis and Francis at G, Grant and Badalau at F and Ogbole at C. More on that later.
2) The reserves have not shown they are reliable, except for Buchanan. RU WILL need something form the bench other than Buchanan, but it is not clear yet where that will come from.
3) RU's defense is showing much better than last season, especially the rotations on help defense - and especially from the starting 5, and when Buchanan and Dortch are the subs. Beyond those 7, the defensive rotations do need some work.
4) So far, it seems like the coaching staff has made the correct choices in their starters, and in the 1st man off the bench (Buchanan) - Buchanan may be able to be very effective, getting near starters minutes off the bench, like Hyatt, perhaps - better defender, not as good a 3-point shooter - maybe a better all round contributor than Hyatt, and maybe not as streaky (all good, in my book).
Players "Way Too Early" Thoughts - in no particular order, but starting with the starting 5:
Davis: Continues to look better and improved. Yes, he struggled with his shot early. Still, in the first 2 games he is shooting 44% overall, 43% from 3, 5 assists and 1 turnover along with 4 steals. He is clearly RU's best on-ball defender, as well - which is needed. And RU's clear PG, and appears to be at least solid. First 2 games: 11.5 PPG, 4 rpg, 5:1 assist to turnover ratio.
Francis: Okay .. I believe I was perhaps the most negative the most unhappy, the most ... malignant ... poster on RU picking him up as a transfer, and the supposed role for him this season. Not only did he start the 1st 2 games, but it is clear he deserves to start. Also, surprisingly to me he has show a bit greater quickness than I anticipated, and most importantly, MUCH better defense than I expected. Yeah, against 2 low-level, poor teams, teams against which he is probably suited to play. And yeah, he remains small, and we still have no idea how he will hold up either offensively or defensively against P5 competition. Still, he clearly has ben pretty good so far. And also he and Davis are very clearly RU;s 2 best defensive guards .. for whatever that is worth. Downside in the "way Too Early" evaluation: 4 turnovers against Maine ... ugh ... He does have to clean that up.
Grant: Most improved player - as I had hoped. Yeah, again, against weak sister teams. But ... 2 double-digit scoring games, a double-double versus Maine, and showing a very improved handle dribbling and driving, an okay mid-range, and NOT wildly hoisting up 3's - only 1 3-point try in 2 games .. 60% FG, 69% FT ... 13.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg (leading rebounder), and at least solid defense. This is the type of improvement we need to continue - for him to continue to improve so that he can be a double-digit scorer in the Big Ten play. He looks like he belongs, and he looks like he knows what he is doing (this latter an important statement that you will see used for those who so far do NOT look like they know what they are doing yet).
Ogbole: Improved defensively - he does appear to know where to be, how to position himself better, etc. Solid rebounding. No shot-making skills, still - and never going to get there, we have to believe. And still, despite his overall athleticism and strength, his athleticism is not explosive: He is slow to get off the ground, limiting his shot-making and his ability to block shots.. He would be better as a 15-20 mpg guy - and is actually only averaging 20 mpg - though with 7.5 rpg in those 20 minutes per game. sigh ... 4-5 ppg, 7-8 rpg would seem the ceiling.
Badalau: Well .. color me impressed, and pleasantly surprised. Not a star, but he is clearly one of RU's 5 best players. He was never going to be as poor as the 1-12 FG showed in the first game, and is not as good as the 6-11 FG in the second game, but would seem the type of player to average 40%+ overall FG and 33%+ 3-point FG - which will be very helpful to the team. He is a legit 6'8", solid strength (so can defend the 4 and 5), and he also really looks like he belongs, like he knows what he is doing. His defense is pleasantly solid - good positioning, good footwork, despite a lack of top end quickness and speed. Reminds me of Cam Spencer's defense - deceptively solid. The coaching staff made the correct choice in starting and playing him.
Buchanan: I thought he was a sure-fire starter pre-season - but the staff decided otherwise. And I would continue to bring him off the bench as the 6th man, subbing for Grant or Badalau, as appropriate - or even Francis on occasion (though it looks like Zrno often directly replaces Badalau, while Buchanan subs for Grant). I think we can see why Buchanan is listed as a G on the roster: He is closer to 6'5" than his listed 6'7", and he triggers the offense when he is in there. We saw he can be an effective facilitator (4 or 5 assists versus Maine) and is a solid WF/G defender. No outside shooting tires (just 1 3-pointer). He will get a lot of FT's - so hopefully he will do a little better than the 60% he is at now. And he does look to back down smaller and same-size defenders when he is up against 1 on 1 defensive coverage.
Those top 6 players are a solid start to the team .. but .. well .. after that, it is dicier.
Other player comments, in groups:
1) Dortch and Fall: Dortch is better than Fall .. period. Fall looks unusable, practically, even though he may offer a little more offense. Dortch offers no offense, but definitely is improved defensively. If he gets 20 pounds heavier, Dortch would possibly be better than Ogbole (low hurdle, maybe, but for perspective, and looking towards next season).
2) Nwuli: Very, very athletic .. completely clueless on help defense, a little out of control on offense. Not atypical for a freshman playing his first few games - especially a freshman who may have a lot of potential, but needs continued development. Hard to give him a lot of minutes when he plays so little help defense. Cannot tell yet the quality of his on-ball defense.
3) Zrno and Lino Mark: So far, both look rathe clueless on offense and defense, but both appear particularly clueless defensively. Zrno was touted when recruited as a potential leading scorer for this tea, I fear he is PJ Hayes - maybe a more well-rounded offensive player than Hayes, but equally useless and damaging on defense. Zrno looks slow and like he does not know what he is doing on defense. And bad combo. My guess is he will get better, and have some moments when he hits a few 3's to help RU, but is no more than a deep rotational piece. Mark looks quick, yes, but also like he has not come close to mastering either the offense or defense - but especially the defense - at college level. Obviously, he is a well-regarded prospect with plenty of time to develop, even within this season. And RU WILL need one of Mark or Zrno, at least, to develop into a useful 15+ mpg guy. We do have 3 more easier games coming up in order to give them a small amount of time. Badalau is MUCH better than Zrno right now - he really looks like he belongs on the court in a way Zrno does not, yet.
4) Deeper Reserves: Powers/Ware. Powers looked athletic with some height, and moved well on the court in the 1st game, DNP in the 2nd game. Ware? Who knows ... deep emergency reserve.
At this stage, RU's best defensively and offensively productive rotation would appear to be the starting 5, Buchanan, Dortch to back up Ogbole, and Nwuli/Zrno/Mark as situational reserves to hold the fort while the top 6 (non-centers) grab some rest. Fall as 3-4 minutes per game as the 3rd Center.
Yes, it is only 2 games. Yes, the games were against poor teams. Yes, it is WAY too early for any truly worthwhile evaluations. But, hey, isn't that part of the fun of it?
So .. here are some "Way Too Early" thoughts:
1) So far, it seems that RU's best defensive 5 is the best offensive 5, also: The starting 5 of Davis and Francis at G, Grant and Badalau at F and Ogbole at C. More on that later.
2) The reserves have not shown they are reliable, except for Buchanan. RU WILL need something form the bench other than Buchanan, but it is not clear yet where that will come from.
3) RU's defense is showing much better than last season, especially the rotations on help defense - and especially from the starting 5, and when Buchanan and Dortch are the subs. Beyond those 7, the defensive rotations do need some work.
4) So far, it seems like the coaching staff has made the correct choices in their starters, and in the 1st man off the bench (Buchanan) - Buchanan may be able to be very effective, getting near starters minutes off the bench, like Hyatt, perhaps - better defender, not as good a 3-point shooter - maybe a better all round contributor than Hyatt, and maybe not as streaky (all good, in my book).
Players "Way Too Early" Thoughts - in no particular order, but starting with the starting 5:
Davis: Continues to look better and improved. Yes, he struggled with his shot early. Still, in the first 2 games he is shooting 44% overall, 43% from 3, 5 assists and 1 turnover along with 4 steals. He is clearly RU's best on-ball defender, as well - which is needed. And RU's clear PG, and appears to be at least solid. First 2 games: 11.5 PPG, 4 rpg, 5:1 assist to turnover ratio.
Francis: Okay .. I believe I was perhaps the most negative the most unhappy, the most ... malignant ... poster on RU picking him up as a transfer, and the supposed role for him this season. Not only did he start the 1st 2 games, but it is clear he deserves to start. Also, surprisingly to me he has show a bit greater quickness than I anticipated, and most importantly, MUCH better defense than I expected. Yeah, against 2 low-level, poor teams, teams against which he is probably suited to play. And yeah, he remains small, and we still have no idea how he will hold up either offensively or defensively against P5 competition. Still, he clearly has ben pretty good so far. And also he and Davis are very clearly RU;s 2 best defensive guards .. for whatever that is worth. Downside in the "way Too Early" evaluation: 4 turnovers against Maine ... ugh ... He does have to clean that up.
Grant: Most improved player - as I had hoped. Yeah, again, against weak sister teams. But ... 2 double-digit scoring games, a double-double versus Maine, and showing a very improved handle dribbling and driving, an okay mid-range, and NOT wildly hoisting up 3's - only 1 3-point try in 2 games .. 60% FG, 69% FT ... 13.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg (leading rebounder), and at least solid defense. This is the type of improvement we need to continue - for him to continue to improve so that he can be a double-digit scorer in the Big Ten play. He looks like he belongs, and he looks like he knows what he is doing (this latter an important statement that you will see used for those who so far do NOT look like they know what they are doing yet).
Ogbole: Improved defensively - he does appear to know where to be, how to position himself better, etc. Solid rebounding. No shot-making skills, still - and never going to get there, we have to believe. And still, despite his overall athleticism and strength, his athleticism is not explosive: He is slow to get off the ground, limiting his shot-making and his ability to block shots.. He would be better as a 15-20 mpg guy - and is actually only averaging 20 mpg - though with 7.5 rpg in those 20 minutes per game. sigh ... 4-5 ppg, 7-8 rpg would seem the ceiling.
Badalau: Well .. color me impressed, and pleasantly surprised. Not a star, but he is clearly one of RU's 5 best players. He was never going to be as poor as the 1-12 FG showed in the first game, and is not as good as the 6-11 FG in the second game, but would seem the type of player to average 40%+ overall FG and 33%+ 3-point FG - which will be very helpful to the team. He is a legit 6'8", solid strength (so can defend the 4 and 5), and he also really looks like he belongs, like he knows what he is doing. His defense is pleasantly solid - good positioning, good footwork, despite a lack of top end quickness and speed. Reminds me of Cam Spencer's defense - deceptively solid. The coaching staff made the correct choice in starting and playing him.
Buchanan: I thought he was a sure-fire starter pre-season - but the staff decided otherwise. And I would continue to bring him off the bench as the 6th man, subbing for Grant or Badalau, as appropriate - or even Francis on occasion (though it looks like Zrno often directly replaces Badalau, while Buchanan subs for Grant). I think we can see why Buchanan is listed as a G on the roster: He is closer to 6'5" than his listed 6'7", and he triggers the offense when he is in there. We saw he can be an effective facilitator (4 or 5 assists versus Maine) and is a solid WF/G defender. No outside shooting tires (just 1 3-pointer). He will get a lot of FT's - so hopefully he will do a little better than the 60% he is at now. And he does look to back down smaller and same-size defenders when he is up against 1 on 1 defensive coverage.
Those top 6 players are a solid start to the team .. but .. well .. after that, it is dicier.
Other player comments, in groups:
1) Dortch and Fall: Dortch is better than Fall .. period. Fall looks unusable, practically, even though he may offer a little more offense. Dortch offers no offense, but definitely is improved defensively. If he gets 20 pounds heavier, Dortch would possibly be better than Ogbole (low hurdle, maybe, but for perspective, and looking towards next season).
2) Nwuli: Very, very athletic .. completely clueless on help defense, a little out of control on offense. Not atypical for a freshman playing his first few games - especially a freshman who may have a lot of potential, but needs continued development. Hard to give him a lot of minutes when he plays so little help defense. Cannot tell yet the quality of his on-ball defense.
3) Zrno and Lino Mark: So far, both look rathe clueless on offense and defense, but both appear particularly clueless defensively. Zrno was touted when recruited as a potential leading scorer for this tea, I fear he is PJ Hayes - maybe a more well-rounded offensive player than Hayes, but equally useless and damaging on defense. Zrno looks slow and like he does not know what he is doing on defense. And bad combo. My guess is he will get better, and have some moments when he hits a few 3's to help RU, but is no more than a deep rotational piece. Mark looks quick, yes, but also like he has not come close to mastering either the offense or defense - but especially the defense - at college level. Obviously, he is a well-regarded prospect with plenty of time to develop, even within this season. And RU WILL need one of Mark or Zrno, at least, to develop into a useful 15+ mpg guy. We do have 3 more easier games coming up in order to give them a small amount of time. Badalau is MUCH better than Zrno right now - he really looks like he belongs on the court in a way Zrno does not, yet.
4) Deeper Reserves: Powers/Ware. Powers looked athletic with some height, and moved well on the court in the 1st game, DNP in the 2nd game. Ware? Who knows ... deep emergency reserve.
At this stage, RU's best defensively and offensively productive rotation would appear to be the starting 5, Buchanan, Dortch to back up Ogbole, and Nwuli/Zrno/Mark as situational reserves to hold the fort while the top 6 (non-centers) grab some rest. Fall as 3-4 minutes per game as the 3rd Center.
