Thornton seemed off today.

(11-18-2014 09:28 PM)TDenverFan Wrote:  Thornton seemed off today.

I don't like him bringing the ball up. It's better when we have a true point guard and he can focus on scoring

Until we can develop some additional scoring threats to replace Britt and Rusthoven, opponents can get away with putting an extra extra focus on Thornton. Apart from Omar, nobody right now is making them pay for doing that.

Positive note - Sheldon made progress on the offensive end - not perfect, but I think we got good productivity out of Sheldon/Whitman combined.

(11-18-2014 09:50 PM)TribeTrack Wrote:  Positive note - Sheldon made progress on the offensive end - not perfect, but I think we got good productivity out of Sheldon/Whitman combined.

I found our play in the post to be very encouraging. There's still no depth but it's nice to know that we have two big men we can reasonably count on.

Sheldon had a few TOs, and wasn't super agreesive (Though the whole team wasn't aggressive enough in the paint) but he had the most hustle of anybody on the court. Whenever there was a change of posession he sprinted down to get to the other end.

I'm hoping they both continue to develop well -- and maybe Schalk can get into the mix too. A couple ugly turnovers by Sheldon in the second half, though.

Edit: Oops, I see TD got there first.

Getting away with a win when we play like that is great.

We need to have players looking to score. The ball went to the high post against their defense, then the player that received the pass turned and looked for someone to pass to. We need to be turning ready to score there, or at least looking for a player in a specific place. Turning and looking to see what is available basically gives the defense a reset when we should be attacking.

The biggest takeaway I had was that we are not yet comfortable playing together. It's a good thing we have games like these to figure it out. The defense is looking very good, although we do need to work harder on not giving up second chance points.

(11-18-2014 11:04 PM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  We need to have players looking to score. The ball went to the high post against their defense, then the player that received the pass turned and looked for someone to pass to.

I absolutely loathe that set. And we seem to run it constantly. In past years it made a little more sense because we had post players who were above average passers (like Rusthoven). That certainly isn't Sean's strength.

This is a young team overall with several new parts that will take a while to mesh. Last night we saw the good (a sensational first half more impressive because of terrific defensive effort) and the bad--a disjointed, painful second half where the team's youth and new floor combinations showed.

This team will have some painful nights for a while--especially with some really tough road games ahead (that is why Tony scheduled Bluefield) at Rice, Richmond, ODU, UNC and
High Point.

But the pure talent is there and showed itself in the opening half against Howard.

*Tarpey (even with no practice for ten days!) is coming into his own. We still have to see his new jump shot...none last night. He is the hyper-drive of the team.

*Marcus is perhaps pressing a bit, but his miserable shooting will be forgotten very soon when
he relaxes and gets going. Tarpey and Prewitt will soon have opposing defenses soon regretting double-teaming Marcus. He'll also benefit when Schlotman, still limited by a sore ankle, can take over the starting point guard slot and relieve Thornton of bringing the ball up court all the time.

*Whitman, once he's back in real shape after going almost a year and a half without playing,
is going to be at least splitting the time with Sheldon and possibly starting. Everyone really liked what they saw last evening from him. Sheldon had some rough moments handling the
ball and getting double-teamed with the ball...but he ran really well and got free for several easy layups.

*Dixon is a tiger on defense but needs to define his shooting role in the games ahead.

*Omar is Omar...a silent killer on the court.

*Malinowski appears to be a serious sub. Made some freshman mistakes last night but he has a fluid style of play, a nice jump shot, and could eventually be a starter next season.

*Don't know if Tot was hurt or sick last night, but he didn't play.

Tony had lots of injuries during pre-season and these guys haven't played much together for any length of time. Once the coaching staff figures out the best court combinations, playing time, and substitution patterns we'll be fine. Lots of talent on the floor last night.

*

(11-18-2014 11:34 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(11-18-2014 11:04 PM)TribeInTheBurg Wrote:  We need to have players looking to score. The ball went to the high post against their defense, then the player that received the pass turned and looked for someone to pass to.

I absolutely loathe that set. And we seem to run it constantly. In past years it made a little more sense because we had post players who were above average passers (like Rusthoven). That certainly isn't Sean's strength.

It wasn't Sheldon, most of the time. Mostly it was Tarpey (lots of his assists came from that spot) or one of our wings. But no matter who it was, they turned around and looked to see where our guys were, instead of turning and looking for their own shot or a specific cutter. Dixon and Tarpey each had a couple of times where they turned around and had a look at the basket, but weren't ready to shoot or even looking to shoot.

Tarpey had 7 assists last night, and probably would have had 4 or 5 more were it not for teammates looking shocked when they received the ball right next to the basket. Things like that sort out pretty quick when everyone can practice. Tarpey will be a great feeder to folks down around the basket, and the chemistry will get there over the next few games.

The Tribe teased us tonight. The team we saw in the first half is the same one that was picked to finish at the top of the CAA. Suffocating defense and untouchable on offense--exactly how they should have looked against a team like Howard. Unfortunately they came out sleepwalking in the second half.

The good news is that the problem looked like a lack of focus: bad passes, lethargic defense, missing free throws. The talent is there and in place, this team just has to keep up the intensity.

Tony said after the game that Tot was ready to go but he couldn't find room for him on the floor. That is a good problem to have. I will echo everything written above re: Tarpey. What a warrior. He really holds the team together. I too would love to see him attack the basket once in a while from the high post, just to keep the defense honest. It was also great to see Whitman finish above the rim and look for the put-back jam on missed shots. That's what I want from him any time he gets daylight around the basket. Nobody is going to sneak up and block that from behind, and it gives the green-and-gold in the building a little bit of an emotional lift.

With our type of team, I believe that playing inside out is a great way to collapse the defense and open up 3 point shooters. Feeding the ball from the high post can be a very effective way to get the ball to cutters coming off the wings or to the low post if the high post has a reasonable shot.

Tarpey, who is a very good passer, can drive to the basket and has a respectable shot that a defense needs to respect from the high post would seem best suited on this team to flash to the high post and act as the "Card Dealer". Dixon and Schlotmann would also seem to be candidates for this.

If Sheldon or Whitman can display a reasonable mid range jump shot and/or good power moves to the rim from the high post and develop into good passers, they would be a good option as well. Until they do, perhaps their providing screens for cutters would be a better use of their talents in this set.

The basis for the Motion Offense is a good passing big man with excellent court vision. His first option is always going to be finding and hitting his cutters for layups or a wide open three point shooter on the wing. He should, of course, be aware of a clear path to the basket, for a layup, but for the most part, that is not Job 1.

(11-19-2014 08:32 AM)BigTribe Wrote:  This is a young team overall with several new parts that will take a while to mesh. Last night we saw the good (a sensational first half more impressive because of terrific defensive effort) and the bad--a disjointed, painful second half where the team's youth and new floor combinations showed.

This team will have some painful nights for a while--especially with some really tough road games ahead (that is why Tony scheduled Bluefield) at Rice, Richmond, ODU, UNC and
High Point.

But the pure talent is there and showed itself in the opening half against Howard.

*Tarpey (even with no practice for ten days!) is coming into his own. We still have to see his new jump shot...none last night. He is the hyper-drive of the team.

*Marcus is perhaps pressing a bit, but his miserable shooting will be forgotten very soon when
he relaxes and gets going. Tarpey and Prewitt will soon have opposing defenses soon regretting double-teaming Marcus. He'll also benefit when Schlotman, still limited by a sore ankle, can take over the starting point guard slot and relieve Thornton of bringing the ball up court all the time.

*Whitman, once he's back in real shape after going almost a year and a half without playing,
is going to be at least splitting the time with Sheldon and possibly starting. Everyone really liked what they saw last evening from him. Sheldon had some rough moments handling the
ball and getting double-teamed with the ball...but he ran really well and got free for several easy layups.

*Dixon is a tiger on defense but needs to define his shooting role in the games ahead.

*Omar is Omar...a silent killer on the court.

*Malinowski appears to be a serious sub. Made some freshman mistakes last night but he has a fluid style of play, a nice jump shot, and could eventually be a starter next season.

*Don't know if Tot was hurt or sick last night, but he didn't play.

Tony had lots of injuries during pre-season and these guys haven't played much together for any length of time. Once the coaching staff figures out the best court combinations, playing time, and substitution patterns we'll be fine. Lots of talent on the floor last night.

*

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Coach Shaver has always said that he prefers an eight man rotation, and right now, Tot is the ninth man. It makes good sense to keep the top eight guys playing together a lot, especially early in the season so that they can get parctice playing together against real competition.

The Tribe fell from 157 to 204 in the Sagarin rankings overnight, middle of the pack in the CAA.

I'm happy for the win last night though definitely lowering my expectations for the season.

Howard is 0-2 (don't think non D1 schools count for Sagarin, they definitely don't for RPI), and Florida lost. That affects our ranking. Not to get too nerdy (even though this is a WM board) but the sample size isn't big enough for computer rankings to mean anything.

(11-19-2014 11:09 AM)billymac Wrote:  The basis for the Motion Offense is a good passing big man with excellent court vision. His first option is always going to be finding and hitting his cutters for layups or a wide open three point shooter on the wing. He should, of course, be aware of a clear path to the basket, for a layup, but for the most part, that is not Job 1.

I get that, billymac, but those lanes are a lot tighter when the defense doesn't respect the high post as a scoring option. Especially if the word gets out that our high post players are strictly passing.

On an unrelated note, I was wondering a little last night if we'd ever see Whitman and Sheldon on the court at the same time. We had a significant size advantage last night, and it would have been interesting to at least throw that look at them. Of course, I'd rather see it surprise a conference foe, but I hope it's in the playbook.

There were a couple of VIP former Tribe men [plus one woman] at the game last night sitting at courtside on the floor in the "end zone" opposite the Pep Band. Including John Mark Ludwik, Tim Rusthoven, and Brandon Britt. JML was in a spiffy business suit and Tim and Brandonwere dressed more casually.

Anybody know what these guys are up to these days???