RE: Welcome aboard, Miggy.
Definitely looking forward to your impressions after the scrimmages. Like the fact that McKie scheduled tough competition for the two pre-season secret scrimmages. It showed confidence and also a determination not to play patty-cake early in the season.
Glad that you think/intuit that Rose may have a breakout season this year. I thought he grew up a lot last season and became more responsible with the ball. He seemed to bond strongly with Shizz and to realize that the two of them had to run the team together. This year, he may be carrying the heaviest responsibility, which could cause him to be a lot more careful with the ball.
Honestly, I'm very disappointed in Rose's failure to achieve his full potential, b/c I thought he was a potential NCAA superstar. But if he really had a stress fracture in conference play, that would explain why he reverted to shooting 3 pointers, rarely penetrating the defense.
If the foot is fully healed, maybe we'll see some of that spectacular penetration to the hoop, but resulting in more points and fewer turnovers or offensive fouls - - - if he has finally realized that crashing and burning doesn't do the team any good.
He does remind me of Julius Erving at times, but only when he is at his best. Dr. J almost never crashed and burned, and Rose should be able to emulate his success rate.
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Few things would make me happier than to see Damion have some more 20 point and 12 rebound performances, as he had his sophomore year. He actually started some games ahead of Ern as a freshman.
I thought Dunphy handled Damion poorly. It just seemed like the guy was always on a short leash or in the dog house. Getting pulled out of games for small mistakes might have undermined his confidence.
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I thought that Perry and Moorman (and some other players on the team) have shown a lack of toughness, a kind of casual approach too often.
It seems to me that they need to have a "grow up" year. Moorman is soft and slow and sometimes disappears from games. He failed to shoot the ball when by shooting, he could have won some games. Got to man up and take responsibility, help carry the team on his back.
As I see it, Perry needs to "grow up" by accepting and mastering his role on the team. The team can't afford to have him playing out of position or not knowing where he's supposed to be. He probably feels too short to be a true PF, but if that's where the team needs him to play, he simply has to accept that this will be his job.
Perry rarely did much from the wing position, with a few exceptions. Dunn looks more the part of a SG/wing player to me than Perry does, because Dunn is quicker and has a better "first step."
If I were McKie, I would shuttle Moorman and Perry in and out of the game at the "4" position, probably starting Moorman but resting him frequently, giving Perry ~15 minutes at the PF and also playing Perry in small lineup situations. Perry may also battle with Dunn for minutes at the wing position, but he's got to play the wing when he's inserted at the "3" position, and play as a PF he's inserted at the "4." Any confusion or drifting or seeming uncertain where to be could limit his minutes.
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Back court looking good, due to Scott's PG skills emerging. I think we need this year's "Big 3" to score around 50 ppg (17 pts apiece). Last year, the back court total, with Alani, was ~55 ppg. This season, the back court total could approach 60 ppg with about 10 ppg off the bench from Dunn, Alani, and JPL.
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Agree with you that Hamilton could become a scoring machine. Dunphy blew an opportunity by not playing him more as a freshman, or by allowing him to lose a year of eligibility the way he did.
I can understand a lithe, lean big man preferring to play the PF position.
Heck, for all I know, maybe McKie will play Moorman at the C and Hamilton at the PF at times. That might be a dynamic tag team, especially because Moorman's too slow to prevent penetration, while Hamilton might be athletic enough to get that job done. I don't know.
I try to break down the Center minutes, and it comes out something like this:
Damion starter, playing 20-25 minutes per game, depending on how much stress he can poot on his previously injured foot.
Hamilton probably coming off the bench. He could battle for the starting C position, or he could simply play 15-20 mpg as backup Center.
Moorman might play 5-10 mpg at Center, partly to show opponents another look on defense. He seemed to handle the position well enough last season. If he does that, maybe Hamilton would play up to 10 minutes at the "4" position.
But if Moorman does play some minutes at the "5," Hamilton should probably play at PF (not Perry, b/c Perry is only 6'6").
Then, we come to the matter of (6'8"?) Arashma Parks, coming off two shoulder surgeries, I believe. I think he was recruited as a PF prospect, but most people expect him to play as a C this and next season after Damion departs.
I see Parks being part of a probable 10 or 11 man rotation in average games, which might be tightened to a 9 man rotation for tough games:
Scott, Alani, JPL? (PG), NPL/Dunn (SG) Rose/Perry/Dunn (W), Moorman/Perry/Hamilton? (PF), Damion/Hamilton/Moorman/Parks ©.
It would be great for Parks to gradually play as his shoulders permit, but not much more than 5-6 mpg for most of this season, in my view. Just enough to be able to have a Center on the floor for 40 minutes and benefit from his defensive and rebounding abilities.
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Will JPL play much this season? It would probably be good to give him some minutes and a chance to prove himself in some. If he's enough like his brother Nate, he could be a major contributor, but otherwise, he might not play much against tougher competition.
Perhaps JPL could do the most for the team as a defensive specialist this season.
Sometimes, McKie might need to shut down an opposing offense, particularly to stop a run and avoid losing a game that way.
Defensive specialist team might be comprised of:
NPL, JPL, Perry, probably Damion Moore. Perhaps the 5th best defensive player would be Scott or Rose, or even Dunn for all I know.
Tell me if I'm wrong, but I haven't seen Hamilton shown the grit, toughness or determination to shut down players near the basket. If he could be that man this season, it could make a huge difference.
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2019 11:59 PM by jedclampett.)
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