Speaking of giving something a rest.

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(12-31-2017 11:47 AM)nj alum Wrote:  

(12-31-2017 09:10 AM)Rocco Wrote:  48th in KenPom offensively. 336th defensively.

I think your numerous posts about the Tribe's "D" in past years has been spot on.

However, for this year, I humbly suggest that your argument, very valid, be given a rest.

This is a unique year; enjoy it for what it is.

59-58 (UVa score) or 90-87 (Tribe score)?

:-)

Oh, on another note, would anyone turn down a CBI/CIT bid this year with a bunch of home games?

:-)

I guess I should just shoe horn Purdue into every post then to please the overlords.

Tribal and Rocco-

Putting the joking aside, here's how I see it on 12/31/17:

This season will be determined by (1) health and (2) Nathan's foul situation.

Nathan was in the game, with no foul trouble, to block the shot yesterday. He did not block the ODU shot because he had fouled out.

The Tribe's overall defense over the course of 40 minutes is not going to change. The Tribe's defense at the end of games will be key, and if Nathan is not in foul trouble, and can be the last line of defense around the rim, I like our chances.

Purdue has utilized the big man / shot blocker last line of defense to great effect over the recent past.

If Tribe remain healthy, and Nathan is in the games at the end, this team is going to win 16-20 games. We all would have signed up for this after the several transfers occurred.

The NIT is not happening because we're not getting an at large, and even I don't dare hope for a regular season CAA championship.

Unless magic occurs in Charleston, this program, in two months, is going to be faced with the same options that this program turned down several times in the recent past. This is a young team, and an entertaining team, and deserves to play in some tourney after Charleston.

(12-31-2017 10:40 AM)Mrs. Got Ribe Wrote:  

(12-31-2017 10:08 AM)Tribe4SF Wrote:  Great seeing Zablenoise courtside with you! Got to meet his wife in the Person Room. The boy outkicked his coverage big time!

It was great spending time with him and meeting his wife. But, unless he is double posting under an alias, that was tribetime10 with us. We knew he would have no problem meeting the requirement of being loud in the Lair. He did not disappoint.

Whoops! Well now I know his screen name, at least.

Was in attendance, again, for last night's Hofstra game and waited to post until my giddiness had subsided, in an effort to be objective.
Wow, it's still way early, but it's hard not to be excited about this team.
Here are my observations ...
- Cohn has become one of the best mid-major point guards around. His ability to penetrate and then dish out to the arc is a big reason why the Tribe is shooting so well from 3.
- Burchfield and Milon may be the best three-point shooting tandem in the country. Statistically, 12-games in, they are.
- Pierce is turning into the Terry Tarpey type of Swiss Army Knife, stat-sheet stuffer that the Tribe missed last season. His steal of the in-bounds pass that set up the end-of-game excitement last night was pure Tarpey.
- Nathan Knight is evolving into a legit NBA prospect before our eyes (we're not talkin' G-league, we're talkin' The Association.) Kid is getting better every game. His mid-range game is improving very quickly -- how about that 3-pointer to open up the game last night? Hofstra had two 6'9", 260-lb big men who play very physical banging the heck out of him, and Knight made them look like somebody's little brother.
My two favorite Twitter quotes about Knight last night were: "Makes you wonder how Boeheim let him leave Syracuse", and "Might be the best CAA big man since the Admiral."
Can't wait to see the matchup with him and Cacock when the Tribe plays UNCW.

I said it jokingly last summer, but now it sounds prophetic.........Whitman left for Kansas because he knew he could get more court time there....

(01-01-2018 10:09 AM)NC Tribe Wrote:  I said it jokingly last summer, but now it sounds prophetic.........Whitman left for Kansas because he knew he could get more court time there....

Even with Knight playing like this, Whitman would be getting 25-30 minutes a game no question. We could easily have pared them together with Knight at the four for stretches, and then Knight is only staying on the court for about 25 minutes a game and we'd badly need Whitman in those other 15 minutes. I'm ecstatic with how Knight is playing, but make no mistake - our ceiling would be astronomically higher with Whitman (I'd give us a decent shot at the regular season title and the auto NIT bid, not to mention what we could do in the CAA tourney).

As for Knight and the NBA - he's turning into a fantastic college player, but I don't think he has the athleticism or quickness needed for the NBA. He's not enough of a rim protector to play the five at that level, and he would need to be much faster and a much better outside shooter to play the four. Would point to MD's Diamond Stone, who had outstanding touch and rebounding ability underneath and was a very good passer like Knight, but still never was able to catch on in the NBA at a similar size (and realistically Stone was much more talented than Knight as well). This is no knock on Nathan - he's an incredible player growing at an amazing pace, I just don't see him translating well to the modern NBA.

(01-01-2018 11:53 AM)Tribe2011 Wrote:  Even with Knight playing like this, Whitman would be getting 25-30 minutes a game no question. We could easily have pared them together with Knight at the four for stretches, and then Knight is only staying on the court for about 25 minutes a game and we'd badly need Whitman in those other 15 minutes. I'm ecstatic with how Knight is playing, but make no mistake - our ceiling would be astronomically higher with Whitman (I'd give us a decent shot at the regular season title and the auto NIT bid, not to mention what we could do in the CAA tourney).

Agreed. Whitman was rounding into one of the top bigs in the CAA. He was very effective scoring in the post and his passing was overlooked. It perhaps would have held back some of Knights numbers, but the team would be far more difficult to defend. Against the bigger teams, Knight's foul trouble changes the complexion of the game. Having the luxury of Whitman would allow you to continue running many of the same things that kept the team competitive.

Kudos to our coaching staff in finding a hidden gem in Knight.

A nice collection of Knight highlights from the Hofstra game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV2_j6uT...ploademail

I love his block on Sabety. He let everyone else scrum for the ball and stayed upright with his arms up. He was ready to block it when Sabety went up. Good discipline there.

(01-01-2018 04:06 PM)Mrs. Got Ribe Wrote:  A nice collection of Knight highlights from the Hofstra game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV2_j6uT...ploademail

I love his block on Sabety. He let everyone else scrum for the ball and stayed upright with his arms up. He was ready to block it when Sabety went up. Good discipline there.

Seems like Knight really baited Wormley into that last block. He knew he had him all the way.

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(01-01-2018 10:11 PM)zablenoise Wrote:  

(01-01-2018 04:06 PM)Mrs. Got Ribe Wrote:  A nice collection of Knight highlights from the Hofstra game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV2_j6uT...ploademail

I love his block on Sabety. He let everyone else scrum for the ball and stayed upright with his arms up. He was ready to block it when Sabety went up. Good discipline there.

Seems like Knight really baited Wormley into that last block. He knew he had him all the way.

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Nate said as much in the postgame interview.

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Let's keep the big guy rollin

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That... is not a flattering picture for Nathan. See him live, he's in way better shape than he looks there.