10-games-in observations

[Ponyneighbor]

Last night's game was fun and encouraging, but I think most would agree the first 10 games as a body of work have been disappointing. I wasn't expecting this year's team to be as good as last year's, but they haven't been close. I don't expect the team to make the tournament (in this conference this year I think we can only afford 6 or 7 total losses, and we are halfway there with a tougher schedule and more road games ahead) - I think we are NIT-bound.

What has not worked
1. URGENCY/AGRESSIVENESS. The single-most frustrating and baffling part of the first 10 games. The difference (on both ends of the court) from previous years has been obvious to the naked eye. Last night was the first game in which it looked like they were putting forth anything close to max effort for extended stretches. Little serious pressure on the ball defensively, little urgency in getting into their offense or attacking the basket, and little effort to push the ball on a miss to get out on a break. And for goodness sake, if I never have to see Shake Milton spend what feels like five minutes walking the ball past midcourt and then lazily passing the ball around the perimeter with no intent to be an offensive threat for the rest of my life, that would be great. Can someone please get him some smelling salts? He's the poster child for this issue, and as the point guard he sets the tone for the rest of the team. It seems like Jank finally had enough last night - he benched him in the first half, and gave others (Ben E, Sterling) the responsibility to bring the ball up later in the game. Also, how hard is this to coach? "Shake: I want you to run, not walk the ball up, or you will sit." ??? But more broadly, I don't understand why our style of play is so sedentary and not attacking. Last time I checked, we don't have Tim Duncan and Hakeem in the low post - why are we content to play a half court game? Why aren't we attacking on defense (last night was first time I remember us trapping) and offense. Everyone on the team is 6'6" and athletic - slash and run!
2. Obviously, we miss Nic and Tolbert. What Nic brought to the table has been very well documented. A big difference between the first 10 games last year and this year has also been Tolbert. He was a physical force on the boards and defensively, and was probably averaging about 5 dunks per game before he ran out of gas and faced taller competition later in the year. He would be the Shaq of a 6'7" and under league. Loved that guy
3. No bench. I'm optimistic that Froling and Gu will give us more in the next 20 games than they've given us so far, but beyond that the team doesn't have a quality college basketball player. McDowell may get there, but he's not close right now. Wilson is going to get abused.

Other random thoughts:
1. Froling - impressed with his ball skills - can shoot, pass, has good hands, sees the floor. Con: I may have seen a less-athletic D1 college basketball player in my life, but none immediately comes to mind. He's completely out of shape, has no strength or agility, and has a vertical leap that literally cannot clear a newspaper. He's going to be a good, additive player, but I can't see him ever being even an average defender, rebounder or rim-protector
2. Crowd/game presentation. Crowd has been quiet, but I think they are in part feeding off the (lack of) energy of the team. Game presentation isn't terrible, but I agree with many posters that it has gotten weaker each of the last three years. The intro video is not inspiring/strange
3. Recruiting and Jank. I'm going to reserve judgment until next year. Not off to a good start

[mustangxc]

We have 1 unexpected loss so far. Keep calm!

[mrydel]

Wow. I hate to see what you have to say after a loss. Thanks for at least letting us enjoy a victory until 9:00am the morning after.

[One Trick Pony]

When he said naked eye i got a twitch

[gostangs]

This feels like it was typed up in response to an expected loss, and he decided to send it anyway.

don't disagree with much of it although it is a negative slant on things. I will take issue with the recruiting part - others can clarify - but pretty sure we are currently sitting on a top 25 class which is pretty dang strong.

I was very encouraged by last nights game. that was a quality win, and we passed well inside and out and had slashing happening and shooting happening when it needed to happen. Our D was tough and fully ramped up. Also if you are getting fouled a bunch cause they cant hang with your team speed, and hit basically 80% of your free throws you are going to win a bunch of games.

Really wishing we had landed one of those big dudes - mix a beast into this and we would really have something.

[PonyLawExpress]

I agree with a lot of your observations, but not with your prediction. First if we finished the regular season 23-8 we are projected to be 33 in RPI. There is no way we wouldn't get in the Tourney. Might be an 8 or 9 seed, but NIT is like 21-10 for us. The league is down and likely no 10-11 loss teams getting in but it's not that down and our OOC isn't garbage.

Besides that, I could nitpick, but I agree with alot of the observations. I think our recruiting by Jank is about on par with LB's. LB had us in the running for more big names, but that actually signed and got on campus, pretty close. The 2017 class is easily as good as 2016 (likely better). I will say that Jank needs to get a top notch 2018 class (will be 1-2 guys though) so it is too early to tell for sure.

[Terry Webster]

One big difference in recruiting is that LB went after transfers and players that might not qualify or who would be one and done. That is a different animal that how Jank is doing it. He is looking to build with 4 year players.

[Ponycam12]

There is a lot to tear apart here.

I'll keep it simple...

The regular season ends in March.

Today's date is December 8th.

[PonyLawExpress]

One big difference in recruiting is that LB went after transfers and players that might not qualify or who would be one and done. That is a different animal that how Jank is doing it. He is looking to build with 4 year players.

Agreed. I do hope down the line we still go after transfers. Getting guys like Semi, Tolbert, Jimmy Whitt really give a nice boost to your roster. UConn, Cincy, Gonzaga and a lot of teams at our level do, because you can get the top 100 recruit you couldn't sign who was unhappy with PT or didn't like the fit where he was. Unless you can consistently recruit in top 20, 1-2 transfers is a good way to go in my mind.

Well said Ponycam

[sadderbudweiser]

One big difference in recruiting is that LB went after transfers and players that might not qualify or who would be one and done. That is a different animal that how Jank is doing it. He is looking to build with 4 year players.

Agreed. I do hope down the line we still go after transfers. Getting guys like Semi, Tolbert, Jimmy Whitt really give a nice boost to your roster. UConn, Cincy, Gonzaga and a lot of teams at our level do, because you can get the top 100 recruit you couldn't sign who was unhappy with PT or didn't like the fit where he was. Unless you can consistently recruit in top 20, 1-2 transfers is a good way to go in my mind.

Well said Ponycam

ummmmmm...Whitt?

and #SamFroin18!

[Ponycam12]

One big difference in recruiting is that LB went after transfers and players that might not qualify or who would be one and done. That is a different animal that how Jank is doing it. He is looking to build with 4 year players.

Agreed. I do hope down the line we still go after transfers. Getting guys like Semi, Tolbert, Jimmy Whitt really give a nice boost to your roster. UConn, Cincy, Gonzaga and a lot of teams at our level do, because you can get the top 100 recruit you couldn't sign who was unhappy with PT or didn't like the fit where he was. Unless you can consistently recruit in top 20, 1-2 transfers is a good way to go in my mind.

Well said Ponycam

Thank you!

Definitely think getting 1 or 2 transfers a year is the way to go. With how frequently players transfer these days, it appears to be much easier than trying to get a kid out of high school who has a bunch of big name schools coming at him with offers. Transfers bring a sense of urgency with them because they already have ticking clock on their college careers. They also have a year to sit out and work on their game, gain knowledge, and mature. Everyone expects Freshman to come in and make a direct impact these days. For instance,when you have two players who come from another country and people are expecting them to be playing at their highest level 10 games into their freshman season-it's just not realistic and it's delusional. To me, that can skew their confidence and development right off the bat. If more freshman were redshirted and given time to develop, it would be great for the college game.

[PonyLawExpress]

One big difference in recruiting is that LB went after transfers and players that might not qualify or who would be one and done. That is a different animal that how Jank is doing it. He is looking to build with 4 year players.

Agreed. I do hope down the line we still go after transfers. Getting guys like Semi, Tolbert, Jimmy Whitt really give a nice boost to your roster. UConn, Cincy, Gonzaga and a lot of teams at our level do, because you can get the top 100 recruit you couldn't sign who was unhappy with PT or didn't like the fit where he was. Unless you can consistently recruit in top 20, 1-2 transfers is a good way to go in my mind.

Well said Ponycam

ummmmmm...Whitt?

and #SamFroin18!

Will he not give out roster a boost next year? Didn't say this year or that he was an all-American. He was a big get as a transfer. I like Sam Froling's tape. Much better shot blocker than Harry.

@Ponycam you're right, Foreign guys sometimes take longer to develop. Love Froling's skill and potential. Needs to get in the weight room and lose a few lbs. I agree 1-2 transfers on a team make your team older and if you get top level guys it give that player time to work on his game (I.E. Semi)

[deucetz]

It will be hard for us to get non-grad transfers next year due to our scholarship limitation. I agree that we need 1-2 transfers once we are done with our sanctions.

[gostangs]

I know Harry is never going to sky - but would hope some diligent work on the vertical will add a new dimension to his game on D. Shot blocking ought to be a strength going forward.

[PonyLawExpress]

It will be hard for us to get non-grad transfers next year due to our scholarship limitation. I agree that we need 1-2 transfers once we are done with our sanctions.

100% Can't in 2018 class, can only sign 1-2 guys, unless we lose 2+ guys after the season (that aren't seniors) but going forward we should. I'm still pumped after last nights win. Glad it's a slow day. Hope we use this game as a building block game.