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(03-02-2022 07:46 AM)BigDawg Wrote:  It amazes me how physical Houston plays without fouling, or I guess I should say without getting called. Quite a few blatant fouls, not that we would have made the free throws.

At least we battled and honestly FTs and the desperation 3 and this is a game.

Was glad to see we didn't just pack it in for the season. Let's see what Thursday brings.

How soon we forget. We just watched old style UC basketball in the looking glass and it perplexed and flummoxed all of us.

(03-02-2022 08:22 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 07:46 AM)BigDawg Wrote:  It amazes me how physical Houston plays without fouling, or I guess I should say without getting called. Quite a few blatant fouls, not that we would have made the free throws.

At least we battled and honestly FTs and the desperation 3 and this is a game.

Was glad to see we didn't just pack it in for the season. Let's see what Thursday brings.

How soon we forget. We just watched old style UC basketball in the looking glass and it perplexed and flummoxed all of us.

It's an evolved lizard-man form of old style UC basketball, they slashed 53/39/78 after all...we would've hung a banner for that about 5 years ago.

They have some shooters to be sure and they pass like it’s Showtime in the 1980’s.

When UC fans whine about how physical Houston plays and how it’s all fouls we sound like old ECU fans crying about the Bearcats.

This team looks better against Houston than last year. I don't have the same sinking feeling that we got punked. Wes taking a T and the team rallying around that was especially encouraging. I like some of the young pieces. Ody and Hensley have shown flashes and I think can be pieces of the rebuild.

Look at how long Houston is. They took Mick's formula and got better, longer, more athletic players to execute it. Players with offensive lethality to go along with it, even if Sampson has struggled at times to find bench players who can score. It's been a long time since Chicken Knowles. Give Wes time.

(03-01-2022 11:52 PM)Bearcat04 Wrote:  

(03-01-2022 11:36 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-01-2022 11:30 PM)Bearcat04 Wrote:  In the last 30 years have we had a guard as bad at shooting as MAW? The fact that he starts and plays double digit minutes is all you need to know about this roster.

Yes. Legree and horton come to mind. But both those guards created for others. Maw can't do that. He is a 3 and d guard that can't 3.

I thought of both of those guys too. MAW and his career .382 FG% wishes he was as good of a shooter as LeGree (.438 with UC) and Horton (.457).

Junior Justin Jenifer, 37.7 FG%, 35.7% from three, started 33 of 36 games.

(03-02-2022 08:42 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  This team looks better against Houston than last year. I don't have the same sinking feeling that we got punked. Wes taking a T and the team rallying around that was especially encouraging. I like some of the young pieces. Ody and Hensley have shown flashes and I think can be pieces of the rebuild.

Look at how long Houston is. They took Mick's formula and got better, longer, more athletic players to execute it. Players with offensive lethality to go along with it, even if Sampson has struggled at times to find bench players who can score. It's been a long time since Chicken Knowles. Give Wes time.

There were times when two of the three of Ody/Lakhin and Hensley were on the floor where it looked like we had the longer and more athletic bigs on the floor. Those three have the physical ability to match with about anyone. Of course physical ability only means so much when they can't put the ball in the hoop or don't understand positioning. It's up to Wes to develop those skills in the off-season, you can teach basketball skills but you can't teach length and athleticism.

Hensley was so darned good last night that his season PRPG rating dropped from -0.1 to -0.2 after the game. Of course, that is the lowest on this stellar roster.

(03-02-2022 09:18 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Hensley was so darned good last night that his season PRPG rating dropped from -0.1 to -0.2 after the game. Of course, that is the lowest on this stellar roster.

Again, it's about player development. Hensley is very much like a young Tre Scott, tons of length/athleticism but needs to develop. Looking a year or two down the line, Hensley/Ody and Lakhin look like they can become an excellent front court. Davenport on the other hand is probably at/near his peak.

Add 40 lbs of muscle to him and he might end up being a poor man’s Ryan Fletcher in 2 years.

If Hensley is an answer, the Jeopardy category is teams that will be in the bottom of the B12 for years.

Don’t get me wrong…if you are just looking to fill out the back end of the roster, he’s fine. We seem to be looking to build in reverse. I’m just not as concerned with spots 10-13 on the roster. Those are either long term projects or just spot holders for most.

(02-28-2022 11:46 AM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  My prediction:

This game thread gets more action pregame (and perhaps postgame) than during the game.

I was wrong again. Game stayed close a lot longer than I feared it would.

(03-02-2022 09:18 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Hensley was so darned good last night that his season PRPG rating dropped from -0.1 to -0.2 after the game. Of course, that is the lowest on this stellar roster.

I'm as much of a stats guy as there is. You're not going to get any meaningful stats from someone that's played as limited minutes as Hensley. I can see with my eyes that he has traits we desperately need, he's long, athletic (pulled in 3 nice boards he had no business getting) and active on the glass. Also seems like he can sink into a nice stroke and otherwise decent polish on offense. If he sticks around he will contribute at a high level here, I think.

(03-02-2022 01:17 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 09:18 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Hensley was so darned good last night that his season PRPG rating dropped from -0.1 to -0.2 after the game. Of course, that is the lowest on this stellar roster.

I'm as much of a stats guy as there is. You're not going to get any meaningful stats from someone that's played as limited minutes as Hensley. I can see with my eyes that he has traits we desperately need, he's long, athletic (pulled in 3 nice boards he had no business getting) and active on the glass. Also seems like he can sink into a nice stroke and otherwise decent polish on offense. If he sticks around he will contribute at a high level here, I think.

I'm not seeing the nice stroke. Hope I am wrong. He has shown flashes that athletically he may be able to play at this level, but I haven't seen much skill that gives me hope for him as a difference maker in any way.

(03-02-2022 10:04 AM)skyblade Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 09:18 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Hensley was so darned good last night that his season PRPG rating dropped from -0.1 to -0.2 after the game. Of course, that is the lowest on this stellar roster.

Again, it's about player development. Hensley is very much like a young Tre Scott, tons of length/athleticism but needs to develop. Looking a year or two down the line, Hensley/Ody and Lakhin look like they can become an excellent front court. Davenport on the other hand is probably at/near his peak.

Ody has the physical tools but the mind hasn't caught up yet. I love how hard he's playing down low. It's easy for a young big like that to get worse as the competition goes from scrubby to elite (from Alabama A&M to Houston and Memphis) but he got better against Memphis and last night as well. Ado...well...he's not getting better.

Lahkin I think has the intangibles and offensive skillset to play at this level and he is a surprisingly decent rim protector, but he needs a crash course in getting to the right level on defense. He looks like he has a nice base and moves well for how wide his hips are. If he can shed some weight and develop a lean muscle body type I'd bet he can be a solid 4 for us, probably even an effective starter.

(03-02-2022 01:19 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I'm not seeing the nice stroke. Hope I am wrong. He has shown flashes that athletically he may be able to play at this level, but I haven't seen much skill that gives me hope for him as a difference maker in any way.

We both know stroke and shooting ability aren't synonymous. I think someone like Mason Madsen has a nice, quick release. Consistent shot, and mostly has good form. He's been a bad shooter in his career. I think (without doing a stat dive) his shooting percentage is starting to catch up with his stroke. And apart from being an unathletic white guy, is part of the reason many have held onto the hope he can be a zone buster.

Hensley just is long and has a high release point. I almost felt like he grew an inch or two watching him last night. Often with those stretch players you can see them find the rhythm and suddenly theyre going from 10% to 35% in an offseason - think Jeremiah Davenport. Everyone in practice said JD was lights out. It caught up sophomore year. I think it does with Hensley eventually. I don't think he's an all league type guy but I see enough in brief moments to think he could be someone we look back on fondly for sticking around.

Edit: I didn't know this while making this post, but went back and looked and JD shot 2-14 from 3 as a frosh and that's exactly what Hensley's split is as of today lol.

Actually yeah looking at T-Rank Mason did find his shot. Was shooting below .23 until Jan 9th and is up to .35 since. Not many bright spots during the last month, but that certainly is.

(03-02-2022 01:19 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 01:17 PM)Cataclysmo Wrote:  

(03-02-2022 09:18 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  Hensley was so darned good last night that his season PRPG rating dropped from -0.1 to -0.2 after the game. Of course, that is the lowest on this stellar roster.

I'm as much of a stats guy as there is. You're not going to get any meaningful stats from someone that's played as limited minutes as Hensley. I can see with my eyes that he has traits we desperately need, he's long, athletic (pulled in 3 nice boards he had no business getting) and active on the glass. Also seems like he can sink into a nice stroke and otherwise decent polish on offense. If he sticks around he will contribute at a high level here, I think.

I'm not seeing the nice stroke. Hope I am wrong. He has shown flashes that athletically he may be able to play at this level, but I haven't seen much skill that gives me hope for him as a difference maker in any way.

Neither am I. His form is a little busted and the results follow. He has “want to” which is a good trait at least.

As I mentioned, he’s a guy you perhaps send to the monster factory to bulk up by a 2-3 stones. Barring that…

A PF who can can't score much, but can defend and rebound can have a major impact in the right system and it seems to be the type of system Wes wants to run. Tre Scott is one of many PF's we've had who got on the floor to defend and rebound, only to develop an offensive game late in their career.

Hensley is very much in the mold of that sort of player. He can grab rebounds outside of his area and play above the rim. I'm not sure how convinced I am by his form, but the fact that he can make some threes puts him at a better starting point than a young Tre Scott or Gary Clark. Don't forget he's technically just a freshman if you discount the Covid year.

If all goes well with his development, Hensley should be one of the best players on the team in a year or two.

Cronin always had (at least) a couple underclassman bigs developing and a couple upperclassman starters. It's very hard to get bigs who don't need at least a year or two to develop. We've got the developmental bigs on the team, what we don't have is the starter quality guys. But give it time and Ody/Lakhin and Hensley will turn into those guys.

(03-02-2022 01:48 PM)skyblade Wrote:  A PF who can can't score much, but can defend and rebound can have a major impact in the right system and it seems to be the type of system Wes wants to run. Tre Scott is one of many PF's we've had who got on the floor to defend and rebound, only to develop an offensive game late in their career.

Hensley is very much in the mold of that sort of player. He can grab rebounds outside of his area and play above the rim. I'm not sure how convinced I am by his form, but the fact that he can make some threes puts him at a better starting point than a young Tre Scott or Gary Clark. Don't forget he's technically just a freshman if you discount the Covid year.

If all goes well with his development, Hensley should be one of the best players on the team in a year or two.

Cronin always had (at least) a couple underclassman bigs developing and a couple upperclassman starters. It's very hard to get bigs who don't need at least a year or two to develop. We've got the developmental bigs on the team, what we don't have is the starter quality guys. But give it time and Ody/Lakhin and Hensley will turn into those guys.

Jermaine Tate was the perfect “4” for the system Wes wants to run.