(08-20-2014 04:36 AM)Tigermaniac Wrote:  A few points for those concerned. Hope this helps. This is kinda where I am at with the topic.

1. Missing Players

No Burrell
No Nichols
No Johnson
No Godfrey

We will have those players when we start the season.

2. Dom and Wilson transferred

Yes, we have players to make up for them and Wilson would have probably not played much but still could have used them especially Dom.

3. We have had to have our SF's play inside.

Yes King and Iverson did well there, however we could have had them guarding opposing 3's. Also, I believe Iverson is gonna end up getting time at the 4 too, but he had to play the 5 in Canada. Even though he did well, that's still not his natural position. It was good to test him there though. However, against opposing 4/5's from the NCAA teams it's gonna be harder for him.

4. Add it all up.

1. Johnson, Pookie, Magee (First games as Tigers) (Johnson officially unofficial but coming, obviously did not play)
2. Avery, Markel ( First games as Tigers)
3. King, Burrell (Burrell didn't play, King played the 4)
4. Nichols, Iverson, Hawkins (Nichols didn't play, Iverson did time at the 5, Hawkins is our 3rd stringer ended up playing a lot of minutes)
5. Shaq, Godfrey (Shaq was only TRUE big we had playing, Godfrey didn't play)

We just have to be patient and understand that we are young and this was 4 games in Canada playing FIBA rules with a 24 second shot clock. These players are not used to that. Also, some of our best pros at times struggle playing FIBA rules, especially the first few games. It was a great experience for them though. The guards got to learn, the coaches got to learn about the team they have and we had potentially 4 of our best players not playing. In basketball missing 4 players especially 4 of your best generally isn't good lol. Not to mention from every report we have gotten, we did not appear to game plan and we didn't change much up during the game aka make adjustments. Coach Pastner used these games to see what he had, who could do what, who could play where etc.

1. Johnson 13.5 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.5 RPG,
2. Nichols 9.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG (Has gotten better)
3. Godfrey 13.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG
4. Burrell 25.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 5.6 APG (JUCO stats but WOW)

Add those players to the team and put everyone in their proper position and I'm loving this years team.

All that being said...defense was more of our issue than anything else.

(08-20-2014 07:09 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  I will add that they played players that had exhausted their eligibility. Granted, the tougher competition will make us better but if the Scrubb brothers aren't out there, those are 2 entirely different games.

It's not like we took the 4 Kings. (LMAO)

Completely 100% NOT true. This has been refuted numerous times. Both Scrubb brothers are on the roster for the 2014-2015 season.

(08-20-2014 07:41 AM)holyterror Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:16 AM)presskh Wrote:  Big Dom will be sorely missed. Our lack of a dominant big man will hurt us this year. Shaq and Nichols are great in most situations, but sometimes size does truly matter.

Big Dom was missed last year for a significant portion of the season, as he couldn't stay out of the doghouse.

I'd say odds were excellent that would happen again this year (which may have led to Dom's "desire for a fresh start").

I, too, would like to have a big-bodied enforcer off the bench. I just don't think Dom was going to be able to keep it together to be that guy for us.

Yeah, I don't get the idea that Dom was necessarily going to be a big contributor. The reality is the rotation is going to get down to 7 or 8 guys that Pastner really trusts. Right now it looks like Pookie, King, Iverson, Shaq, and Nichols are all guys who will be getting major minutes. That means that more likely than not everyone else is competing for minutes for one or two more guard/wing spots and/or a big guy position in the rotation.

I just don't see Dom getting in there in that scenario and all the evidence suggests that, had he stayed, he was more likely to play a similar role to what he did last year. I'd rather have him than not. It would be nice to have the option to throw him in there against bigger bodies. But I never thought he would be more than a marginal part of the season.

Similarly, everyone should be used to playing small by now. We've been doing it for going on 6 seasons. Imo, King and Iverson are just as likely to see time with smaller guys at the 1 through 3 positions as they are to see time with bigger guys at the 4 and 5.

I got to believe it's easier to play defense for 24 seconds than it is for 30 seconds.

(08-20-2014 07:58 AM)holyterror Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:48 AM)Tigerbluesky Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:16 AM)presskh Wrote:  Big Dom will be sorely missed. Our lack of a dominant big man will hurt us this year. Shaq and Nichols are great in most situations, but sometimes size does truly matter.

Imho, Dom was going to have a tough time playing over Godfrey. Also, my starting lineup (assuming everyone is eligible) would be:

King - Hawkins - Burrell
Nichols - Iverson - Hawkins
Goodwin - Godfrey - Iverson
Burrell - Woodson - Crawford
Johnson - Powell - McGee

I wanna see Burrell and Johnson play, but I like where that lineup is headed. Length and strength. It does, however, put a lot of pressure on Johnson if Burrell turns out to be more of a 3 than a 2.

Iverson, Hawkins, Godfrey and Powell off the bench (assuming our bench is longer than last year) is intriguing.

I say this every year, Josh is rarely going to play more than 7 guys.. 8 at the most. Having a strong bench means little except for injury and massive foul trouble.

Right now, Iverson and King are bigs only because they are playing there. Neither have any post moves and neither really had the ball down low with their back to the basket, the whole trip. For a good portion of the shot clock both of them were busy looking for screens to set down low and weren't even trying to get the ball in position or fighting for position. If Iverson had any experience down low whatsoever; he would have been able to seal his man for easy lobs and layups. Neither him, nor King did this at all.

(08-20-2014 10:55 AM)Stammers Wrote:  Right now, Iverson and King are bigs only because they are playing there. Neither have any post moves and neither really had the ball down low with their back to the basket, the whole trip. For a good portion of the shot clock both of them were busy looking for screens to set down low and weren't even trying to get the ball in position or fighting for position. If Iverson had any experience down low whatsoever; he would have been able to seal his man for easy lobs and layups. Neither him, nor King did this at all.

As I always say...You are what you can guard...

If you can guard the 4 you can play the 4...

Your offensive skillset really does not dictate your position outside of the point guard position. If you are a big with no post game at all but you can shoot the offensive system should be adjusted for that.

(08-20-2014 11:28 AM)macgar32 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 10:55 AM)Stammers Wrote:  Right now, Iverson and King are bigs only because they are playing there. Neither have any post moves and neither really had the ball down low with their back to the basket, the whole trip. For a good portion of the shot clock both of them were busy looking for screens to set down low and weren't even trying to get the ball in position or fighting for position. If Iverson had any experience down low whatsoever; he would have been able to seal his man for easy lobs and layups. Neither him, nor King did this at all.

As I always say...You are what you can guard...

If you can guard the 4 you can play the 4...

Your offensive skillset really does not dictate your position outside of the point guard position. If you are a big with no post game at all but you can shoot the offensive system should be adjusted for that.

That is exactly what a lot of people don't quite understand. In college basketball it's more the defense that defines your position than the offense particular on our team where we generally have 4 players out and only 1 in.

(08-20-2014 09:14 AM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:09 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  I will add that they played players that had exhausted their eligibility. Granted, the tougher competition will make us better but if the Scrubb brothers aren't out there, those are 2 entirely different games.

It's not like we took the 4 Kings. (LMAO)

Completely 100% NOT true. This has been refuted numerous times. Both Scrubb brothers are on the roster for the 2014-2015 season.

Hey blowhard, we addressed this earlier. Thanks tho.

(08-20-2014 11:48 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 09:14 AM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:09 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  I will add that they played players that had exhausted their eligibility. Granted, the tougher competition will make us better but if the Scrubb brothers aren't out there, those are 2 entirely different games.

It's not like we took the 4 Kings. (LMAO)

Completely 100% NOT true. This has been refuted numerous times. Both Scrubb brothers are on the roster for the 2014-2015 season.

Hey blowhard, we addressed this earlier. Thanks tho.

You were too dumb to notice that it was addressed a dozen times in multiple threads between Saturday and now. Also, FYI, Black is transferring to Kansas, in case you missed it.

I smell a budding rivalry

(08-20-2014 08:10 AM)MemphisCanes Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 08:05 AM)thagr82008 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:55 AM)MemphisCanes Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:48 AM)Tigerbluesky Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:16 AM)presskh Wrote:  Big Dom will be sorely missed. Our lack of a dominant big man will hurt us this year. Shaq and Nichols are great in most situations, but sometimes size does truly matter.

Imho, Dom was going to have a tough time playing over Godfrey. Also, my starting lineup (assuming everyone is eligible) would be:

King - Hawkins - Burrell
Nichols - Iverson - Hawkins
Goodwin - Godfrey - Iverson
Burrell - Woodson - Crawford
Johnson - Powell - Cunningham

Sometimes that 6'10 280 frame is exactly what the doctor ordered.

I don't think USF has either of those two behemoths back this season (Egbunu 6'10" 250; Perry 6'9" 250) but imagine if we had to defend these two with someone no heavier than 230 (shaq) or no taller than 6"5" (Hawkins).

With Dom on the roster, we at least had a gigantic body to throw at guys like this.

If we don't have size,then we must dictate the game in other ways....No sense if defeating yourself mentally by reiterating the obvious. This year, the combinations of guards/small forwards will be limitless as well as creating mismatches from the small forward/power forward positions.

We actually had this luxury last year but chose to focus primarily on 3 dominant guards consistently and was too stubborn to develop our team based on the strengths/advantages that were there....It is imperative for any team, from any sport on any level, to play to it's advantages/strengths....It only throttles development if we waste the opportunities to gameplan to what we can do as opposed to what we can't!!

BTW, who is Godfrey???? I am not familiar with this 13ppg 8+ rebs per game;

Our versatility on the wing will be great for us on offense, but there's no getting around the fact that we're smaller in the middle without Dom on defense. Offense will be fine this season, we've got weapons galore.

Defense... is another issue. I'd say that instituting several zone looks, including a 1-3-1 with one of our lengthier guys at the top, is the best way to hide our weaknesses on D. However, we've got a lot of new guys and, from the Canada trip, most don't even know where to be in man defense, much less a complicated zone. We've got work to do.

Having Johnson up top should help defensively with his length. Something we have lacked.

(08-20-2014 08:13 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  Well at least we know how far we are from competing for the Canadian national title.

We did make the Canadian Final Four.

(08-20-2014 02:45 PM)tnzazz Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 08:13 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  Well at least we know how far we are from competing for the Canadian national title.

We did make the Canadian Final Four.

Which is one tier under the Academic Final Four!

(08-20-2014 02:52 PM)Collegiate Black Man Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 02:45 PM)tnzazz Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 08:13 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  Well at least we know how far we are from competing for the Canadian national title.

We did make the Canadian Final Four.

Which is one tier under the Academic Final Four!

Yeah, but we gone to 3 straight Academic Final Fours! Dynasty.

(08-20-2014 03:26 PM)tnzazz Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 02:52 PM)Collegiate Black Man Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 02:45 PM)tnzazz Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 08:13 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  Well at least we know how far we are from competing for the Canadian national title.

We did make the Canadian Final Four.

Which is one tier under the Academic Final Four!

Yeah, but we gone to 3 straight Academic Final Fours! Dynasty.

In 2013 we were one of only two NCAA tournament teams with a perfect APR. In 2014 we were tied for second.

(08-20-2014 03:43 PM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 03:26 PM)tnzazz Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 02:52 PM)Collegiate Black Man Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 02:45 PM)tnzazz Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 08:13 AM)Brother Bluto Wrote:  Well at least we know how far we are from competing for the Canadian national title.

We did make the Canadian Final Four.

Which is one tier under the Academic Final Four!

Yeah, but we gone to 3 straight Academic Final Fours! Dynasty.

In 2013 we were one of only two NCAA tournament teams with a perfect APR. In 2014 we were tied for second.

But, as I recall, we had a better team when the APR wasn't as good.

(08-20-2014 12:14 PM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 11:48 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 09:14 AM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:09 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  I will add that they played players that had exhausted their eligibility. Granted, the tougher competition will make us better but if the Scrubb brothers aren't out there, those are 2 entirely different games.

It's not like we took the 4 Kings. (LMAO)

Completely 100% NOT true. This has been refuted numerous times. Both Scrubb brothers are on the roster for the 2014-2015 season.

Hey blowhard, we addressed this earlier. Thanks tho.

You were too dumb to notice that it was addressed a dozen times in multiple threads between Saturday and now. Also, FYI, Black is transferring to Kansas, in case you missed it.

Have you ever taken a second to think maybe not everyone lives on the message board and reads every post. Some of us have a life outside of harassing people on here. Thanks for your contribution.

(08-20-2014 05:38 PM)dannyb73 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 12:14 PM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 11:48 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 09:14 AM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 07:09 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  I will add that they played players that had exhausted their eligibility. Granted, the tougher competition will make us better but if the Scrubb brothers aren't out there, those are 2 entirely different games.

It's not like we took the 4 Kings. (LMAO)

Completely 100% NOT true. This has been refuted numerous times. Both Scrubb brothers are on the roster for the 2014-2015 season.

Hey blowhard, we addressed this earlier. Thanks tho.

You were too dumb to notice that it was addressed a dozen times in multiple threads between Saturday and now. Also, FYI, Black is transferring to Kansas, in case you missed it.

Have you ever taken a second to think maybe not everyone lives on the message board and reads every post. Some of us have a life outside of harassing people on here. Thanks for your contribution.

And thanks for another dumb*** response Mr. Sensitive. You didn't see the correction even though it's been posted a million times and you call me out for not seeing it addressed one time.

(08-20-2014 06:08 PM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 05:38 PM)dannyb73 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 12:14 PM)Stammers Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 11:48 AM)dannyb73 Wrote:  

(08-20-2014 09:14 AM)Stammers Wrote:  Completely 100% NOT true. This has been refuted numerous times. Both Scrubb brothers are on the roster for the 2014-2015 season.

Hey blowhard, we addressed this earlier. Thanks tho.

You were too dumb to notice that it was addressed a dozen times in multiple threads between Saturday and now. Also, FYI, Black is transferring to Kansas, in case you missed it.

Have you ever taken a second to think maybe not everyone lives on the message board and reads every post. Some of us have a life outside of harassing people on here. Thanks for your contribution.

And thanks for another dumb*** response Mr. Sensitive. You didn't see the correction even though it's been posted a million times and you call me out for not seeing it addressed one time.

Dude, you are a legend in your own mind. Carry on.