(10-11-2019 10:33 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  A freaking 2/3? I don't like that one bit. Hopefully that will change because that's inviting a 3 point fest. Hope it's more of man to man with some switching or a 3/2 trapping D. That's what I always went with when man wasn't working or to change things up. You have to freaking change things up and save stuff for the 2nd stanza. The way I always went (because I'm retired for at least 1 year to give my youngest son a different look than his old man) was to always be aggressive, always. You can get beat, but not passively. You can be a truly great defender in a 2/3 and not get to somebody. They better communicate like crazy and move with the ball in the air or they're screwed.

I'm willing to wait and see so let's think man right now...my guess is that they will play man mostly. Hopefully they have a good plan and Okuaru can cover some space. You'd ideally like to see him check a great 2 man one on one and let the chips fall. Hopefully Kai will hold his own on D because he can do his thing on O. My man Sims can guard a 3 or 4 and takes his craft seriously the way it seems to me on both end-underrated player to me that is a team guy. Hopefully Estime can guard his man and I feel pretty decent about Marty holding his own. We will see with the bench. They have some good tools. Phillips should be able to guard the opposing PG but isn't where Kai is offensively at this point. Ty will guard once he's available. Boggs has the tools but will be learning as will Dodd at the 5/4. Tolafree looks like somebody that can guard somebody and can guard a 2/3. Skaggs will give his all and is smart, but not a good one on one guy. His role is to shoot and that may be HUGE at times. Can we get Bowden available and willing to play some 5? Interesting situation.

Do they zone press 3/4 court? It may be a possibility given the makeup of the team. It could eat some clock and make life a little more difficult in the half court. They may even force some turnovers heaven for bid. That's huge given that we haven't had that lately and we aren't going to own the glass most nights.

You can play primarily a 2-3 and have it work if you teach it right. That's what i use with my boys and it works very well. But i do mix in some press and half court traps as well

(10-15-2019 10:17 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-11-2019 10:33 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  A freaking 2/3? I don't like that one bit. Hopefully that will change because that's inviting a 3 point fest. Hope it's more of man to man with some switching or a 3/2 trapping D. That's what I always went with when man wasn't working or to change things up. You have to freaking change things up and save stuff for the 2nd stanza. The way I always went (because I'm retired for at least 1 year to give my youngest son a different look than his old man) was to always be aggressive, always. You can get beat, but not passively. You can be a truly great defender in a 2/3 and not get to somebody. They better communicate like crazy and move with the ball in the air or they're screwed.

I'm willing to wait and see so let's think man right now...my guess is that they will play man mostly. Hopefully they have a good plan and Okuaru can cover some space. You'd ideally like to see him check a great 2 man one on one and let the chips fall. Hopefully Kai will hold his own on D because he can do his thing on O. My man Sims can guard a 3 or 4 and takes his craft seriously the way it seems to me on both end-underrated player to me that is a team guy. Hopefully Estime can guard his man and I feel pretty decent about Marty holding his own. We will see with the bench. They have some good tools. Phillips should be able to guard the opposing PG but isn't where Kai is offensively at this point. Ty will guard once he's available. Boggs has the tools but will be learning as will Dodd at the 5/4. Tolafree looks like somebody that can guard somebody and can guard a 2/3. Skaggs will give his all and is smart, but not a good one on one guy. His role is to shoot and that may be HUGE at times. Can we get Bowden available and willing to play some 5? Interesting situation.

Do they zone press 3/4 court? It may be a possibility given the makeup of the team. It could eat some clock and make life a little more difficult in the half court. They may even force some turnovers heaven for bid. That's huge given that we haven't had that lately and we aren't going to own the glass most nights.

You can play primarily a 2-3 and have it work if you teach it right. That's what i use with my boys and it works very well. But i do mix in some press and half court traps as well

I was wrong. They are not playing any zone. Only zone press occasionally. Baby steps. M-M Defense looks much better around the ball screens.

(10-15-2019 10:37 AM)HAWKING Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 10:17 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-11-2019 10:33 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  A freaking 2/3? I don't like that one bit. Hopefully that will change because that's inviting a 3 point fest. Hope it's more of man to man with some switching or a 3/2 trapping D. That's what I always went with when man wasn't working or to change things up. You have to freaking change things up and save stuff for the 2nd stanza. The way I always went (because I'm retired for at least 1 year to give my youngest son a different look than his old man) was to always be aggressive, always. You can get beat, but not passively. You can be a truly great defender in a 2/3 and not get to somebody. They better communicate like crazy and move with the ball in the air or they're screwed.

I'm willing to wait and see so let's think man right now...my guess is that they will play man mostly. Hopefully they have a good plan and Okuaru can cover some space. You'd ideally like to see him check a great 2 man one on one and let the chips fall. Hopefully Kai will hold his own on D because he can do his thing on O. My man Sims can guard a 3 or 4 and takes his craft seriously the way it seems to me on both end-underrated player to me that is a team guy. Hopefully Estime can guard his man and I feel pretty decent about Marty holding his own. We will see with the bench. They have some good tools. Phillips should be able to guard the opposing PG but isn't where Kai is offensively at this point. Ty will guard once he's available. Boggs has the tools but will be learning as will Dodd at the 5/4. Tolafree looks like somebody that can guard somebody and can guard a 2/3. Skaggs will give his all and is smart, but not a good one on one guy. His role is to shoot and that may be HUGE at times. Can we get Bowden available and willing to play some 5? Interesting situation.

Do they zone press 3/4 court? It may be a possibility given the makeup of the team. It could eat some clock and make life a little more difficult in the half court. They may even force some turnovers heaven for bid. That's huge given that we haven't had that lately and we aren't going to own the glass most nights.

You can play primarily a 2-3 and have it work if you teach it right. That's what i use with my boys and it works very well. But i do mix in some press and half court traps as well

I was wrong. They are not playing any zone. Only zone press occasionally. Baby steps. M-M Defense looks much better around the ball screens.

I'm okay with this. Agree that it is baby steps, but also feasible. If the M-M defense is improving, I'm fine with staying with it as our primary defense. Add in some zone press when we score (which should be often with this group) and we should be okay. I like the athleticism having a big like Bowen will bring to that zone press as well. His ability to run the court and use his length in that capacity could be real nice.

Now that Bowen is available, do you think we stay with the 4 guard lineups or do we combo Bowen with another big and use 3 guards regularly?

Nobody uses a 2/3 zone against college level talent these days. It might be good at the YMCW or rec leagues but anybody that can play at all will get all the open looks they want . Maybe a 3/2 if you have super length and quickness out front and the question then is why not play man? I like a team that can mix it up a little bit with some full court press but its really hard to run it full time without depth in the backcourt. Full court press teams are exposed against quickness and its basically a gimmick type defense as you move up in talent .

Might as well live and die by the M2M. We're now in our 3rd season of trying to get it right. No more excuses.

Man to man under McGrath has proven to be a failure. We haven't stopped dribble penetration, haven't stopped the three, and haven't created TO's. Guess we'll see if this year something different happens. If we aren't showing vast improvement by the middle of our non-conference schedule, he'd better be prepared to make a drastic change. Because our conference foes know our defensive schemes under McGrath, and we won't fare better come conference play.

I won't even count UNC

Campbell, Davidson, NC Wesleyan, Cleveland State, Florida International, Emory and Henry, Boise State, Stanford, Charlotte, Mercer, Vanderbilt.

That's a pretty heaft schedule and we should have a good idea how good our D is by the Stanford game

(10-15-2019 11:38 AM)CG_Hawk06 Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 10:37 AM)HAWKING Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 10:17 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-11-2019 10:33 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  A freaking 2/3? I don't like that one bit. Hopefully that will change because that's inviting a 3 point fest. Hope it's more of man to man with some switching or a 3/2 trapping D. That's what I always went with when man wasn't working or to change things up. You have to freaking change things up and save stuff for the 2nd stanza. The way I always went (because I'm retired for at least 1 year to give my youngest son a different look than his old man) was to always be aggressive, always. You can get beat, but not passively. You can be a truly great defender in a 2/3 and not get to somebody. They better communicate like crazy and move with the ball in the air or they're screwed.

I'm willing to wait and see so let's think man right now...my guess is that they will play man mostly. Hopefully they have a good plan and Okuaru can cover some space. You'd ideally like to see him check a great 2 man one on one and let the chips fall. Hopefully Kai will hold his own on D because he can do his thing on O. My man Sims can guard a 3 or 4 and takes his craft seriously the way it seems to me on both end-underrated player to me that is a team guy. Hopefully Estime can guard his man and I feel pretty decent about Marty holding his own. We will see with the bench. They have some good tools. Phillips should be able to guard the opposing PG but isn't where Kai is offensively at this point. Ty will guard once he's available. Boggs has the tools but will be learning as will Dodd at the 5/4. Tolafree looks like somebody that can guard somebody and can guard a 2/3. Skaggs will give his all and is smart, but not a good one on one guy. His role is to shoot and that may be HUGE at times. Can we get Bowden available and willing to play some 5? Interesting situation.

Do they zone press 3/4 court? It may be a possibility given the makeup of the team. It could eat some clock and make life a little more difficult in the half court. They may even force some turnovers heaven for bid. That's huge given that we haven't had that lately and we aren't going to own the glass most nights.

You can play primarily a 2-3 and have it work if you teach it right. That's what i use with my boys and it works very well. But i do mix in some press and half court traps as well

I was wrong. They are not playing any zone. Only zone press occasionally. Baby steps. M-M Defense looks much better around the ball screens.

I'm okay with this. Agree that it is baby steps, but also feasible. If the M-M defense is improving, I'm fine with staying with it as our primary defense. Add in some zone press when we score (which should be often with this group) and we should be okay. I like the athleticism having a big like Bowen will bring to that zone press as well. His ability to run the court and use his length in that capacity could be real nice.

Now that Bowen is available, do you think we stay with the 4 guard lineups or do we combo Bowen with another big and use 3 guards regularly?

I think 4 guard is the way to go in today's game. Especially, considering we have some big guards on our roster. Bowen is a huge addition to the depth of our frontcourt, but I don't see him as a starter this season.

(10-15-2019 02:49 PM)Gary Miller Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 11:38 AM)CG_Hawk06 Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 10:37 AM)HAWKING Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 10:17 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-11-2019 10:33 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  A freaking 2/3? I don't like that one bit. Hopefully that will change because that's inviting a 3 point fest. Hope it's more of man to man with some switching or a 3/2 trapping D. That's what I always went with when man wasn't working or to change things up. You have to freaking change things up and save stuff for the 2nd stanza. The way I always went (because I'm retired for at least 1 year to give my youngest son a different look than his old man) was to always be aggressive, always. You can get beat, but not passively. You can be a truly great defender in a 2/3 and not get to somebody. They better communicate like crazy and move with the ball in the air or they're screwed.

I'm willing to wait and see so let's think man right now...my guess is that they will play man mostly. Hopefully they have a good plan and Okuaru can cover some space. You'd ideally like to see him check a great 2 man one on one and let the chips fall. Hopefully Kai will hold his own on D because he can do his thing on O. My man Sims can guard a 3 or 4 and takes his craft seriously the way it seems to me on both end-underrated player to me that is a team guy. Hopefully Estime can guard his man and I feel pretty decent about Marty holding his own. We will see with the bench. They have some good tools. Phillips should be able to guard the opposing PG but isn't where Kai is offensively at this point. Ty will guard once he's available. Boggs has the tools but will be learning as will Dodd at the 5/4. Tolafree looks like somebody that can guard somebody and can guard a 2/3. Skaggs will give his all and is smart, but not a good one on one guy. His role is to shoot and that may be HUGE at times. Can we get Bowden available and willing to play some 5? Interesting situation.

Do they zone press 3/4 court? It may be a possibility given the makeup of the team. It could eat some clock and make life a little more difficult in the half court. They may even force some turnovers heaven for bid. That's huge given that we haven't had that lately and we aren't going to own the glass most nights.

You can play primarily a 2-3 and have it work if you teach it right. That's what i use with my boys and it works very well. But i do mix in some press and half court traps as well

I was wrong. They are not playing any zone. Only zone press occasionally. Baby steps. M-M Defense looks much better around the ball screens.

I'm okay with this. Agree that it is baby steps, but also feasible. If the M-M defense is improving, I'm fine with staying with it as our primary defense. Add in some zone press when we score (which should be often with this group) and we should be okay. I like the athleticism having a big like Bowen will bring to that zone press as well. His ability to run the court and use his length in that capacity could be real nice.

Now that Bowen is available, do you think we stay with the 4 guard lineups or do we combo Bowen with another big and use 3 guards regularly?

I think 4 guard is the way to go in today's game. Especially, considering we have some big guards on our roster. Bowen is a huge addition to the depth of our frontcourt, but I don't see him as a starter this season.

I'm with Gary. Expectations are too high for Bowden. He has been weak in practice despite his athleticism. Potential is there though. I'll offer up 3 starting lineups here until Gadsen returns to FULL health:
5. Linssen 4.Skaggs 3.Sims 2.Okauru 1.Toews (Best lineup for spacing)
5. Linssen 4.Sims 3.Estime 2.Okauru 1.Toews
5. Linssen 4.Boggs 3.Sims 2.Okauru 1.Toews

We will be 10 deep this season if we need to be (Backups in parentheses):

5. Linssen (Dodd) 4.Skaggs (Boggs) 3.Sims (Tolefree)2.Okauru (Estime) 1.Toews (Philips)
All of these guys will play if we are going to be up tempo and aggressive defensively to take advantage of a 4 guard lineup and lack of size. There are a few players with some very noticeable strengths and areas to improve. I will list strengths and then weaknesses in parentheses for each player:

Linssen: Passing/Finishing Inside (Conditioning and Speed)

Dodd: Athleticism & Rebounding (Basic Fundamentals (No shot)/Defense)

Skaggs:3pt Shooting (On ball defense poor/conditioning)

Boggs: Athleticism, Size, IQ (Consistent Shooting/Assertiveness)

Sims: Defends all positions, Shooting, Athleticism (Basketball IQ, Drive/Finish)

Tolefree: Driving, ability to get fouled, Athleticism (Shot selection, 3pt consistency, Basketball IQ)

Okauru: On ball defense, rebounding, scoring. Overall best player. (Consistency as a shooter and decision making in general)

Estime: Shooting, Experience with CB (Driving, Handling in traffic, Consistent Defense)

Toews:PointG Size, Penetration, Passing (Create), FT (On ball defense, 3pt Shoot %)

Philips:PointG Size, Defense, Low Risk ball control (Drive/Finish, 3pt Shot)

(10-15-2019 12:42 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote:  Nobody uses a 2/3 zone against college level talent these days. It might be good at the YMCW or rec leagues but anybody that can play at all will get all the open looks they want . Maybe a 3/2 if you have super length and quickness out front and the question then is why not play man? I like a team that can mix it up a little bit with some full court press but its really hard to run it full time without depth in the backcourt. Full court press teams are exposed against quickness and its basically a gimmick type defense as you move up in talent .

Cuse still does............... Duke played much better last season in Zone vs Man. It CAN, be done.

(10-20-2019 03:56 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 12:42 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote:  Nobody uses a 2/3 zone against college level talent these days. It might be good at the YMCW or rec leagues but anybody that can play at all will get all the open looks they want . Maybe a 3/2 if you have super length and quickness out front and the question then is why not play man? I like a team that can mix it up a little bit with some full court press but its really hard to run it full time without depth in the backcourt. Full court press teams are exposed against quickness and its basically a gimmick type defense as you move up in talent .

Cuse still does............... Duke played much better last season in Zone vs Man. It CAN, be done.

So... one average team.

(10-21-2019 09:27 AM)CG_Hawk06 Wrote:  

(10-20-2019 03:56 PM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-15-2019 12:42 PM)jumpinmullet Wrote:  Nobody uses a 2/3 zone against college level talent these days. It might be good at the YMCW or rec leagues but anybody that can play at all will get all the open looks they want . Maybe a 3/2 if you have super length and quickness out front and the question then is why not play man? I like a team that can mix it up a little bit with some full court press but its really hard to run it full time without depth in the backcourt. Full court press teams are exposed against quickness and its basically a gimmick type defense as you move up in talent .

Cuse still does............... Duke played much better last season in Zone vs Man. It CAN, be done.

So... one average team.

Insert Eyeroll...........

Here's an example of just how much the sports pundits know about our team.....

SBNation has a list of all the mid-major eligibility waivers. It looks like we are the only team with two waivers. And they missed both of them. They can rank us and not even make an effort to see what we even have. I'm not sure what we have. But they sure as hell don't know a thing about us.

(10-29-2019 07:24 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  Here's an example of just how much the sports pundits know about our team.....

SBNation has a list of all the mid-major eligibility waivers. It looks like we are the only team with two waivers. And they missed both of them. They can rank us and not even make an effort to see what we even have. I'm not sure what we have. But they sure as hell don't know a thing about us.

That gets a bit better with winning. But as a whole, i agree with you, national coverage sucks

(10-30-2019 08:27 AM)Seahawkhoops Wrote:  

(10-29-2019 07:24 PM)SEA33HAWK Wrote:  Here's an example of just how much the sports pundits know about our team.....

SBNation has a list of all the mid-major eligibility waivers. It looks like we are the only team with two waivers. And they missed both of them. They can rank us and not even make an effort to see what we even have. I'm not sure what we have. But they sure as hell don't know a thing about us.

That gets a bit better with winning. But as a whole, i agree with you, national coverage sucks

Ehhhhh. If it does, it's not by much. Sports media and writers by and large dismiss any notion of real research involving mid major teams. They're far more likely to just regurgitate whatever headlines pop up first on Google than actually put effort into it. The only exception being Gonzaga, who effectively... is only a mid major by name.

Zags and Wichita State are now majors in hoops in reality. Both get P5 talent and good talent. Hawks need to see how other teams that they face are built as a template. The rosters are there to look at.

Good guard and wing play will have to be essential for this UNCW team, especially early. Ball pressure will have to be there this year or else. And, I hope that they can establish a workable rotation at the 4 and 5. Somebody or multiple guys will have to board and defend there. They also will need to have guys step up and claim spots, put a stamp on it. You have to have guys that deliver consistent buckets each night that will also defend. All else equal, play the best defenders.

(10-31-2019 10:03 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Zags and Wichita State are now majors in hoops in reality. Both get P5 talent and good talent. Hawks need to see how other teams that they face are built as a template. The rosters are there to look at.

Last season Wichita State was 83rd in the NET, 6th in the AAC standings, and 6th among AAC teams in the NET. I'm not saying they won't have when they're ranked and/or reach the Sweet 16, but that was a worse season than Gonzaga ever has.

Going back to the CAA, USA Today's CAA preview was written by Kevin Tresolini of the Delaware News Journal. I wonder if that is why Delaware was picked second. They picked:

1. Hofstra
2. Delaware
3. Northeastern
4. Charleston
5. James Madison
6. Drexel
7. Towson
8. William & Mary
9. UNC Wilmington
10. Elon

(11-01-2019 12:37 PM)EvanJ Wrote:  

(10-31-2019 10:03 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Zags and Wichita State are now majors in hoops in reality. Both get P5 talent and good talent. Hawks need to see how other teams that they face are built as a template. The rosters are there to look at.

Last season Wichita State was 83rd in the NET, 6th in the AAC standings, and 6th among AAC teams in the NET. I'm not saying they won't have when they're ranked and/or reach the Sweet 16, but that was a worse season than Gonzaga ever has.

Going back to the CAA, USA Today's CAA preview was written by Kevin Tresolini of the Delaware News Journal. I wonder if that is why Delaware was picked second. They picked:

1. Hofstra
2. Delaware
3. Northeastern
4. Charleston
5. James Madison
6. Drexel
7. Towson
8. William & Mary
9. UNC Wilmington
10. Elon

Wow. Delaware 2nd huh? That paper doesn't even seem bathroom tissue worthy now. Credibility... shot to pieces.

(11-01-2019 01:09 PM)CG_Hawk06 Wrote:  

(11-01-2019 12:37 PM)EvanJ Wrote:  

(10-31-2019 10:03 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Zags and Wichita State are now majors in hoops in reality. Both get P5 talent and good talent. Hawks need to see how other teams that they face are built as a template. The rosters are there to look at.

Last season Wichita State was 83rd in the NET, 6th in the AAC standings, and 6th among AAC teams in the NET. I'm not saying they won't have when they're ranked and/or reach the Sweet 16, but that was a worse season than Gonzaga ever has.

Going back to the CAA, USA Today's CAA preview was written by Kevin Tresolini of the Delaware News Journal. I wonder if that is why Delaware was picked second. They picked:

1. Hofstra
2. Delaware
3. Northeastern
4. Charleston
5. James Madison
6. Drexel
7. Towson
8. William & Mary
9. UNC Wilmington
10. Elon

Wow. Delaware 2nd huh? That paper doesn't even seem bathroom tissue worthy now. Credibility... shot to pieces.

May want to wait until the end of the season to make that declaration. I

I think Delaware is going to be really good. Their coach has done a good job at building that program up even while losing transfers to bigger schools. However, I can't put them above CofC and Northeastern. Also, I saw where two out of five writers from Mid Major Madness picked Towson to win the conference (the other 3 picked CofC). Fobbs is a great player but I can't see him carrying them to the title.

https://www.midmajormadness.com/2019/10/...o-promises

(11-01-2019 01:38 PM)82hawk Wrote:  

(11-01-2019 01:09 PM)CG_Hawk06 Wrote:  

(11-01-2019 12:37 PM)EvanJ Wrote:  

(10-31-2019 10:03 PM)billthebighawksfan Wrote:  Zags and Wichita State are now majors in hoops in reality. Both get P5 talent and good talent. Hawks need to see how other teams that they face are built as a template. The rosters are there to look at.

Last season Wichita State was 83rd in the NET, 6th in the AAC standings, and 6th among AAC teams in the NET. I'm not saying they won't have when they're ranked and/or reach the Sweet 16, but that was a worse season than Gonzaga ever has.

Going back to the CAA, USA Today's CAA preview was written by Kevin Tresolini of the Delaware News Journal. I wonder if that is why Delaware was picked second. They picked:

1. Hofstra
2. Delaware
3. Northeastern
4. Charleston
5. James Madison
6. Drexel
7. Towson
8. William & Mary
9. UNC Wilmington
10. Elon

Wow. Delaware 2nd huh? That paper doesn't even seem bathroom tissue worthy now. Credibility... shot to pieces.

May want to wait until the end of the season to make that declaration. I

I agree with Gary's comment below. I think they have potential to be a really solid team... but 2nd? That's a stretch and a half, IMO. But hey. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.