On TK's first in season Coaches Radio Show tonight he made the following comments:

* Losing AJ Edu has had a big impact on the performance of the team both offensively and defensively. On offense, Edu was a very good passer out of the post as well as setting screens to get our guards the ball in excellent shooting positions. On defense, he could make up for defensive mistakes by others on the court by blocking or altering shots.

* They have not had a lot of "practice" time to figure what to do with the post position since the loss of Edu. They are strongly considering going to a smaller line up in which they would look to spread the floor, run more fast temple offense, and shoot more threes, On defense to protect a smaller lineup, they may press more and even play some zone. He did say whatever they do, it would be by committee or go with the player who was playing well during a particular game.

* Spoke very highly of his new players calling Milner a lot better player than he thought coming in. On R. Rollins, he said he has a knack of playing fast but always under control which is a unique skill set. On J. Hill he likes how he has come in and played the point guard to spell M. Jackson in limited minutes. He is very hopeful that Shumate will get his eligibility waiver on Wednesday but cautioned that doesn't mean he is going to be a very good player right away even though the potential is there.

* Likes how M. Jackson, S. Littleson and R. Saunders have performed overall.

* Likes the team's chemistry very much and is getting tremendous leadership out of the 3 captains, Edu, Littleson and Jackson who are excellent mentors for the new guys.

I don't see much to object to. Without that solid post play, hard to predict the upside. Depends how quickly Komagum and Maranka learn the D1 position I suppose.

Did Coach K talk about Acunzo? It seems to me that he is just starting to feel comfortable and has a huge upside.

(12-15-2020 10:35 AM)Rocket75 Wrote:  Did Coach K talk about Acunzo? It seems to me that he is just starting to feel comfortable and has a huge upside.

Surprising he didn't mention Acunzo when he was talking about the new players. I agree, I think he has potential to help this team as you say he gets more comfortable with playing after having to sit out last season due to his foot injury. He can fill an important role with the absence of Edu if they decide to spread the floor more with a smaller lineup.

Acunzo is a key guy if they go small, because he is so versatile. Really, I think the only option is to play small ball and press a lot. You gotta create turnovers because there isn't enough interior defense or rebounding to have a high % of stops. For this team to win they will need to get more shots up and take more 3s. To do that you go small. Adding Shumate, even in a 5-7 minute backup role will help because he can stretch the floor and spell better players a bit so they can play harder on d. good to hear TK and the staff is recognizing the reality of losing AJ and figuring out a plan B. Still, it might be February before that fully pans out.