A few weeks ago on the coaches' show, Coach K was commenting on 6-9 recruit Taylor Adway and 6-11 Luke Knapke. He liked their ability to shoot from the outside, and thus open up the inside for drivers. Maybe I'm too old-school, but I like my big guys getting rebounds and playing in the paint. I know you can do both, but big kids have a tendency to drift away from the basket enough without being encouraged.

Seems to be the nature of the game nowadays.

You don't see big bangers as much anymore.

Even moss at buffalo will take jumpers if you back off of him. If we play them again Id gladly let him shoot jumpers over his drives to the bucket. Kid is a beast.

I think I must be "old school" as well. I understand that IF you have several players making jumpers from 15 feet plus, that can open lanes for drivers. BUT, I think that also pulls more of your team further from the basket for offensive rebounds. In addition, I think many players are able to defend what they know/do best, and when you don't have a true low post player who is comfortable playing with their back to the basket inside of 10 feet, it makes it harder for that same player to defend an opponent whose strength is low post play. I guess it's just become a question of "picking your poison", and Coach K's approach has resulted in 3 straight winning seasons at this point.

Todays game is high ball screens with your bigs and pick and pops. The days of Doug Hess are over. You need look any farther than Dukes Jabril Okafor against us. It's too easy to guard a stationary big. But one that can hit the 15 footer like Boothe is more the norm. It's more important to have 6'4" to 6'6" wings and guards that can rebound.

European big guys like Nowitzke and Gasol changed the game, but it certainly seems like Adway, at least, can do plenty of damage inside. Boothe was more of a post-up guy as a freshman than he is now. Coaches want versatile big men- Chamberlain could get 50 a game because no one could drive with him clogging the lane so the 76ers offense was fairly predictable. Throw it to Wilt and he shot or kicked it out for a J. Since neither of these guys are Chamberlain reincarnated I'm fine with them playing more on the high post.

Being able to handle the ball in the post includes taking the ball to the rack as well as kicking it out to open jump shooters. Being able to hit the mid-range jumper/hook shot presents defenses' all kinds of "poisons to pick from."

If the tall guy is out, so is the defender. I don't know that it affects ability to team rebound at all. It's still about rotation and boxing.

Not nit picking this coach. He fixed a program from the depths and has brought exciting men's basketball back to campus. Sometimes we don't like the effort of the kids at times. They are kids after all


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I just finished reading Mark Titus's book "Don't Put Me In, Coach." Mark was a walk-on at Ohio State whose 4-year playing career totaled 9 mop-up points. The book was hilarious and I highly recommend it. Mark played during the Greg Oden/Evan Turner/David Lighty years.

The reason I mention it here is that he said in the book that the best chance a mid-major team has to knock off a high-major team is to have big men who can score from the outside. A mid-major that decides to match-up inside with a high-major will lose that battle almost every time. But a mid-major with big men who can score from outside negates, or at least minimizes, that inside advantage.

(02-13-2015 01:40 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  European big guys like Nowitzke and Gasol changed the game, but it certainly seems like Adway, at least, can do plenty of damage inside. Boothe was more of a post-up guy as a freshman than he is now. Coaches want versatile big men- Chamberlain could get 50 a game because no one could drive with him clogging the lane so the 76ers offense was fairly predictable. Throw it to Wilt and he shot or kicked it out for a J. Since neither of these guys are Chamberlain reincarnated I'm fine with them playing more on the high post.

Basketball is like a foreign language to me.

(02-16-2015 09:57 PM)owen Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 01:40 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  European big guys like Nowitzke and Gasol changed the game, but it certainly seems like Adway, at least, can do plenty of damage inside. Boothe was more of a post-up guy as a freshman than he is now. Coaches want versatile big men- Chamberlain could get 50 a game because no one could drive with him clogging the lane so the 76ers offense was fairly predictable. Throw it to Wilt and he shot or kicked it out for a J. Since neither of these guys are Chamberlain reincarnated I'm fine with them playing more on the high post.

Basketball is like a foreign language to me.

Eh, mostly it's just guys dribbling and shooting. We like to make it sound complicated.

(02-16-2015 10:00 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 09:57 PM)owen Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 01:40 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  European big guys like Nowitzke and Gasol changed the game, but it certainly seems like Adway, at least, can do plenty of damage inside. Boothe was more of a post-up guy as a freshman than he is now. Coaches want versatile big men- Chamberlain could get 50 a game because no one could drive with him clogging the lane so the 76ers offense was fairly predictable. Throw it to Wilt and he shot or kicked it out for a J. Since neither of these guys are Chamberlain reincarnated I'm fine with them playing more on the high post.

Basketball is like a foreign language to me.

Eh, mostly it's just guys dribbling and shooting. We like to make it sound complicated.

I don't like sports where anybody is kicking me in the j or doing damage to my inside.

(02-17-2015 05:26 PM)owen Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 10:00 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 09:57 PM)owen Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 01:40 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  European big guys like Nowitzke and Gasol changed the game, but it certainly seems like Adway, at least, can do plenty of damage inside. Boothe was more of a post-up guy as a freshman than he is now. Coaches want versatile big men- Chamberlain could get 50 a game because no one could drive with him clogging the lane so the 76ers offense was fairly predictable. Throw it to Wilt and he shot or kicked it out for a J. Since neither of these guys are Chamberlain reincarnated I'm fine with them playing more on the high post.

Basketball is like a foreign language to me.

Eh, mostly it's just guys dribbling and shooting. We like to make it sound complicated.

I don't like sports where anybody is kicking me in the j or doing damage to my inside.

Then you're really not going to like flashing in the post or showing on defense.

(02-17-2015 10:46 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  

(02-17-2015 05:26 PM)owen Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 10:00 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 09:57 PM)owen Wrote:  

(02-13-2015 01:40 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  European big guys like Nowitzke and Gasol changed the game, but it certainly seems like Adway, at least, can do plenty of damage inside. Boothe was more of a post-up guy as a freshman than he is now. Coaches want versatile big men- Chamberlain could get 50 a game because no one could drive with him clogging the lane so the 76ers offense was fairly predictable. Throw it to Wilt and he shot or kicked it out for a J. Since neither of these guys are Chamberlain reincarnated I'm fine with them playing more on the high post.

Basketball is like a foreign language to me.

Eh, mostly it's just guys dribbling and shooting. We like to make it sound complicated.

I don't like sports where anybody is kicking me in the j or doing damage to my inside.

Then you're really not going to like flashing in the post or showing on defense.

I do agree with H2O's posts here. I think having a versatile big man is the opposite of a disturbing thought.

If I'm not mistaken Mark German and Casey Shaw both were big men who could hit a 3-pointer enough of time to keep defenses honest.

(02-18-2015 03:14 PM)San Giuseppe Jato Rocket Wrote:  If I'm not mistaken Mark German and Casey Shaw both were big men who could hit a 3-pointer enough of time to keep defenses honest.

German was big but not a post up guy in any way, shape or form. Shaw didn't shoot from the arc very often, IIRC. Quick check shows one 3 point attempt in his last two years. It missed.

(02-18-2015 03:14 PM)San Giuseppe Jato Rocket Wrote:  If I'm not mistaken Mark German and Casey Shaw both were big men who could hit a 3-pointer enough of time to keep defenses honest.

Casey Shaw was a traditional, back-to-the basket center. He had a decent shot from 10-15 feet, but rarely played beyond that.

Shayne Whittington reminded me a lot of Shaw. It also surprised me that Whittington took 30 three-pointers last season (he took none in his first two seasons). That's a lot for a traditional big man to take. Based on how few he made, he probably shot about 29 too many.