Interesting notes from Coach Doherty

[PonyPride]

Coach Doherty spoke at the media luncheon Tuesday (Coach Bennett's normal media briefing). A few notes:

Captains: Jon Killen and Donatas Rackauskas

Projected starting five: Killen (PG), Roberts (SG), Pearson (SF), Ofuegbu (PF), Rackauskas (C)

He said Ike Ofuegbu could have played for him anywhere, including Notre Dame and North Carolina.

[Big10Ponyfan]

Don't know if I buy that. But it seems Willingham is not high on the excitement list. But it would make sense starting Ike since Doherty wants his offense to go inside-out.

[MustangIcon]

Did he mention anything about The Rack's knee injury? I was told he hurt his knee in the HBU game and am concerned about losing him for any period of time bc of our lack of depth. That and because he is going to be our secret weapon this year dominating opponents.

[ponydawg]

I believe it......he might have played for him (walk on), but I don't think he would have had a scholarship for him for the most part. He is big and strong and gets after it.

I wish Morris would not have left. Big body with soft hands......and I mean that in a manly hetro way....not that there is anything wrong with that.

[smupony94]

I believe it......he might have played for him (walk on), but I don't think he would have had a scholarship for him for the most part. He is big and strong and gets after it.

I wish Morris would not have left. Big body with soft hands......and I mean that in a manly hetro way....not that there is anything wrong with that.

Better watch it, some announcer got fired from ESPN recently for making a comment like that

[ponydawg]

ESPN would never fire me.

[mavsrage311]

We're going to have some trouble on offense with that lineup. I thought Bamba Fall was our best player last year, but if you play him at the 5, with Donotas at the 4, you'll have no backup center. I'm still not sure if Cam Spencer is a true 5, he seems more like a 4. Also, watching Killen and Dez, Personally I think Dez is more talented, but Doh sees something in Killen, we'll have to trust him

[ponydawg]

Agreed. At first I thought Doh was doing it to light a fire under dez, but I dunno. He did have Jon at the 1 and Dez at the 2 some during the exhibit game so maybe he wants Dez to shoot from the outside more.

Any idea when Epps will be back?

[MustangIcon]

We're going to have some trouble on offense with that lineup. I thought Bamba Fall was our best player last year, but if you play him at the 5, with Donotas at the 4, you'll have no backup center. I'm still not sure if Cam Spencer is a true 5, he seems more like a 4. Also, watching Killen and Dez, Personally I think Dez is more talented, but Doh sees something in Killen, we'll have to trust him

Dez is more talented. But if he isn't buying into Doherty's system then he is going to sit the bench.

Bamba was our most fun to watch and most promising player last season, but he was not the best.

[mavsrage311]

We're going to have some trouble on offense with that lineup. I thought Bamba Fall was our best player last year, but if you play him at the 5, with Donotas at the 4, you'll have no backup center. I'm still not sure if Cam Spencer is a true 5, he seems more like a 4. Also, watching Killen and Dez, Personally I think Dez is more talented, but Doh sees something in Killen, we'll have to trust him

Dez is more talented. But if he isn't buying into Doherty's system then he is going to sit the bench.

Bamba was our most fun to watch and most promising player last season, but he was not the best.

would you agree then that he is our best returning player from last year? Outside of B-Hop, I dont think he had much competition for that

[SMUltimedia]

Coach D came to some of the frat houses on Monday. He said Rack's knee appeared to be a mild sprain, but that he would undergo an MRI on Tuesday to be certain. No other news.

[PonyPride]

We're going to have some trouble on offense with that lineup. I thought Bamba Fall was our best player last year, but if you play him at the 5, with Donotas at the 4, you'll have no backup center. I'm still not sure if Cam Spencer is a true 5, he seems more like a 4. Also, watching Killen and Dez, Personally I think Dez is more talented, but Doh sees something in Killen, we'll have to trust him

Cam Spencer is mostly -- or perhaps exclusively, barring injuries or major foul trouble for Rackauskas or Fall -- a power forward. Apparently he has been a very pleasant surprise in preseason practice, and Coach Doherty has been gushing with praise for starting PF Ike Ofuegbu. I expect having Fall come off the bench is nothing more than creating a solid, two-deep rotation.

[mustangnation]

We're going to have some trouble on offense with that lineup. I thought Bamba Fall was our best player last year, but if you play him at the 5, with Donotas at the 4, you'll have no backup center. I'm still not sure if Cam Spencer is a true 5, he seems more like a 4. Also, watching Killen and Dez, Personally I think Dez is more talented, but Doh sees something in Killen, we'll have to trust him

Dez is more talented. But if he isn't buying into Doherty's system then he is going to sit the bench.

Bamba was our most fun to watch and most promising player last season, but he was not the best.

would you agree then that he is our best returning player from last year? Outside of B-Hop, I dont think he had much competition for that

I would say that Pearson is our best returning all around player. Other than blocking shots, he is better than Bamba at all other areas of the game.

[The Falcon]

In my opinion - Devon is the best player on the floor. He is a monster on the boards for a 6'6" forward. He jumped through the ceiling to block a shot again HBU the other night. He was the high scorer, and he plays good defense. He is very athletic.

Bamba Fall was the best at blocking shots last year but he was not a force on offense. Hopefully Doh will be able to work with him to get him to improve his post moves and aggressiveness around the basket. He is very quick and athletic for a big man. As most of you have been saying-
his biggest weakness is his skinny frame. Give him 30 lbs and he is an all star.

I owe Doh an apology for signing Cam Spenser. I saw two full high school games (in video) of CS and thought he was a dud. He was listless, clumsy, and un-motivated. I could not understand why Doh wanted him unless there was another player on the LCM team that he wanted to sign in the coming year and it was a package deal. After seeing CS in the HBU game last week - I was pleasantly surprised and can see his potential. He scored 10 points, was 5 for 5 from the field, had 3-4 rebounds and blocked two shots. He also showed good court awareness and moved well and used his 250 lb body to advantage on defense. He will help us at both 4 and 5 positions.

I like Ike (dating myself). Ike is also very athletic and Doh seems to be bringing him out of his shell. His worst enemy last year was his lack of confidence and lack of a lot of playing time. He will be an asset this year.

The main thing that gives me optimism for a better season than last is that this will be a "team effort". The offense has better movement, more players will touch the ball, and the scoring will be very even among 3 or 4 players instead of relying on one. Last year - too much of the time the team stood around watching Bhop go one on one with the other team.

As for Dez vs. Killen. I believe both will play many minutes. Dez actually seems to play better coming off the bench. Killen is taller and sees over the defense better - he can also go to his left better. Dez seems to only go to his right and doesn't penetrate or dish very well. Dez is a better shooter from 3 pt range and may play more Position 2. Neither is great at penetrating or creating his own shot but let's hope Doh is working on this.

I think we will win 17 + but I am always optimistic before the season starts and I am looking forward to getting underway.

By the way, today is signing day - hope we get all signed who have given us commitments.

[Pony_Fan]

Last year - too much of the time the team stood around watching Bhop go one on one with the other team.
.

This has happened for the last 10 yrs...insert Hanc*ck, Sasser, Bhop in that space. Let's hope those days are LONG gone....