Men's Basketball: Lamar Cardinals Preview

RamblinRed · Nov 4, 2018

I think others have largely given strong impressions.

Having Devoe will ultimately change this squad alot for the better.

Still played some possessions through the high post but alot more offense coming through dribble penetration or free form passing.

26 threes taken - 4-11 in the first half, 6-15 in the second half. GT had taken more than 20 threes exactly 3 times so far in Pastner's tenure going into last night.
8 players took threes including the most awful miss by Syl and the most ugly make by Moses (a huge brick that hit off the back brace, bounced 4 ft up and fell through). 6 players made a three and Devoe who should be one of our better shooters didn't even play.
Even in Smith's year we never took more than 25 threes in one game.

It's pretty obvious that Jose, Philips, Curtis, Evan, Alston, and Sjolund all have a green light to take open threes. Devoe will join them.

This game was 14-12 FL Tech more than halfway into the furst half, then the starters were reinserted, the defensive intensity went way up and it turned in a hurry. Alot of full court trapping. With the greater length and athleticism this team has i would expect that to continue. Some nights it will work better than others.

Thoughts on the players

Jose - Obviously the alpha dog on the team and its most important player. He reminds me alot of Mark Price. He isn't the shooter that Mark was, but both are small guards that you don't expect to be the alpha on the court but both were just so competitive and hate to lose so much that they make big impacts. Contributes everywhere, made shots, plays defense (4 steals) rebounds (7). Best player on the team right now. Team looks so much better when he is on the court.

Curtis - I thought he looked like he did early in his FR year. Just sort of tentative and passive, especially early. Hopefully as he gets comfortable and feels he is truly 100% like last year he will become more aggressive. He has such a pretty shot. He actually had the 2nd best +/- rating on the team. Impacted in other areas with 4 assists (0 TO) and 2 steals.

Shembari - he is going to be a good addition. Won't be a huge scorer, but is dangerous enough that you can't ignore him. He had the best +/- on the team last night. Solid ballhandler but a real defensive pest. Really well built physically as well.

Alston - Was sort of handicapped by playing primarily with the second unit. Did a good job taking care of the ball. Hit his FT.

AD - I thought he looked good - probably our 2nd best player. Sneaky good post player. Has moves with both hands close in. Tough to stop if he gets one on one in the post. Plays with so much enthusiasm.

Cole - To me looked like the most improved from FR to SO. Looked much more comfortable and aggressive. Missed his threes (0-3) but form looked good. Even looked acceptable handling the ball. Played hard at both ends. He clearly has moved ahead of Wright for now.

Moses - Both he and Cole look like they have filled out some. Made a three but not really comfortable watching him shoot from out there. His length and athleticism makes him dangerous on defense and in transition situations. I think he will be the 3rd primary big behind AD and Evan.

Sylvester - Just doesn't look athletic enough to play for long stretches how they want to play now. He has some solid post moves but takes too long to make them. Battles hard inside but is basically a guy that I don't see playing more than 8-10 mpg.

Sjolund - Would love to just watch him and Curtis shoot threes. Those two have such beautiful forms for their shots. His side step three was a thing of beauty. Looked pretty comfortable on offense. A real weak link on defense right now. Too weak to play inside, not enough lateral quickness to play out on the perimeter. As a FR he is a kid you have on the floor when you need offense - especially 3-pt shooting and get off the floor when you need defense. I see him as a spot player as a FR. But he has potential to be a rotation player by his Jr year.

Moore - Liked what i saw out of him. Really long and athletic. Plays really hard. Going to be a really tough defensive player. Shooting was a bonus. Had a nice three that i saw. Must of had another one late as I left at the 4 min mark of the second half and the box shows 2-2 from three. He might be the inverse of Sjolund, plays when you need extra defense. I full expect him to be a rotation player next season. His ballhandling/shooting looked a little better than I expected. He looks like your future prototypical 3-and-D type player.

Avi - Got a little run. Watching him in warmups he has a beautiful 15 ft jumper. Emergency big for this year. Has put on a little weight.

My main thought watching this team is it will be a little different once Devoe gets a chance to shake off the rust and get into the flow of the college game. Stinks that he was injured.
This is still going to be a team that relies on its defense to carry it, but the offense is going to start to look different. Less high post, more try to get out and run and then play motion passing and dribble penetration in half court sets.

primary rotation is likely to be Jose, Devoe, Curtis, Shembari, AD, Cole and Wright with situational backups from Alston, Syl, Moore and Sjolund.

My biggest thought is that this program is one year away from making a jump. When these FR and SO become SO and JR I think this team is going to start taking off.
I'll be happy if they hit my 16-18 win mark this season.

glandon1960 · Nov 3, 2018

I was there, comments/thoughts

Started - Jose, Shembari, CGB, Cole, AD
Devoe did not dress, but was walking - no boot/limp. Banks also did not dress.

Jose - Agree with comment that team looked lost in half court when he was not out there. Looked good, made couple three pointers early 2nd half to blow it open
Shembari - had pretty good game - clearly our best on the ball defender. I thought he had better game than Curtis tonight. Made a three early, lock down defense, went to boards hard on defensive end.
CGB - not bad, but looked too 'passive' tonight. Need him to shoot more. After tonight I see him coming off bench (first off bench) once Devoe is ready to go.
Cole - Looked improved - not sure he is ACC callibre starter, but will have to be. Several follow-up dunks - played under control most of the time.
AD - can post up well, length can be factor on defense. Let's hope he stays out of foul trouble. A couple nice passes from high post.

Alston - played point and wing off bench - looked like he did last year - solid, not great.
Wright - looked better ... shot looked better (made a 3!) ... still some plays to make your hair fall out .... will back up Cole, maybe AD some.
Ogbonda - limited offense ... big body but does not block shots. Rebounded well but this was not UNC crashing the boards .... ok, but nothing impressive tonight.

The two freshman
Sjouland - reminds me of Quinton Stephens when he was sophmore ... great (really good looking) stroke, made couple threes - can not create own shot but good at moving to open spot and catch/shoot. Needs to gain some strength - will get pushed around if playing defense inside at this stage. Handled ball reasonably well the couple times he did. Should get some minutes.
Moore - Reminded me of Okogie - high energy, crashed boards, hustle plays .. couple put backs and made a three. Not as skilled as Okogie, but build, energy, effort, etc.
>>> Both of these should be solid ACC players as they develop and may see important minutes this year. He did play Moore a few minutes at the 4 .. Sjouland is taller, but so thin he really can't play effective defense inside against much stronger bigs in ACC at this time.

Avi Shaffer (walk-on big last year) also got some minutes before benches cleared .... will be emergency big .... don't see him getting many minutes.

Defense -mainly man tonight, just touch of zone. Not sure how our interior defense will be without Lammers ... Fla Tech mainly stayed on perimeter but we are weaker inside this year on defense. Pressed some early, caused some turnovers ... but not sure we will do it against teams with better athletes.

Offense - Still tried to get ball to high post, but looked to kick out for threes more than in past .. more motion with wings swapping positions (high to low, low to high, etc.) a lot. Shot more threes than last year .. about 40 percent for night (did not stay to end).

MtnWasp · Nov 8, 2018

alagold said:
It would be a HUGE surprise if this team became close to a good team overall.It seems we have SO many questions and so few real answers.It is concerning that even vs that weak competition the Off without JA was lost a lot. We have limited inside scoring so it is live or die on the outside.So we get few FTs but could we even hit those.?
On shooting,Devoe was out but Curtis showed little.The rest erratic .Even if our def out is ok .rebounding looks to be a problem vs big teams esp if AD continues to foul.
It is hard to lose your 3 best offensive options for any NORMAL.team (see dook) and he good on Offense so we need TOs turning into pts -a LOT..also--Maybe if we get Banks ,the rebs /stops will come.

It is interesting to me how different people can look at the same thing and come away with totally different impressions. I sat down and watched that scrimmage and what I came away with is that we are WAY underestimating this GT team. What I saw was the most dynamic Gt team I've seen in years. The pace of play, focus and cleanliness of scheme on both sides of the ball was really impressive to me. What GT was trying to do was good stuff and our schemes and pace of play could translate into giving even talented opponents headaches. If teams don't play well against this pace of play, we will hurt them. I saw a team that could create good shooting opportunities. I saw a disruptive, very active defense.

The team started the scrimmage a little sluggish, Alston didn't play lead guard well in the first half but did much better in the second half. After about 11 minutes in, GT upped the pace of play and intensity and stuffed that team, which is exactly what one would expect a better team to do.

I think there should be more buzz about Alvarado. His release has quickened and he looks to be a very good all-around PG. Phillips and Haywood are very good defensively. The two Freshmen, Sjolund and Moore are far better than advertised. No way would I redshirt Sjolund. He can create his own shot and has a scorer's mentality. He can pass. He is a creator on the offensive side. His defensive deficiencies looked more about adjusting to the abilities of his opponents than about athleticism. He should get better. Anyway, he at least can be useful in offense-defense substitution situations. Moore looks dialed-in and ready to help. The development of Gueye is a credit to him and the staff. He was so wild and awkward even this time last year, and he has really steadied himself. We'll see if that holds-up when the real bullets fly.

Big strong teams could muscle GT this season, but the way we play will give big teams headaches. We'll see, but my thought is that this team has the elements to really improve as the season progresses and I wouldn't be surprised if, by the time the second half of the conference slate rolls around, that we create some real buzz. I think this could be a good season for GT.

dtm1997 · Nov 6, 2018

RamblinRed · Nov 11, 2018

I think the summaries above are pretty good. I'll add a few more of my own

For a first game i'm pretty happy, You can see where the program is headed - even if there are going to be alot of bumps along the way.

We are becoming a much more modern, perimeter driven team.

Not horribly concerned about the loss of the huge lead. First game, young players, lack of focus. Part of the lumps you have to take.

To have a game that was never in doubt after halftime when both AD and Jose were awfully quiet on offense is a good thing.
FWIW that is the most points a GT team has scored under Pastner against a Div 1 opponent. I believe it was also highs in three point attempts and makes.

Haywood was really crucial in the first half. Was sort of quiet the first 12 min, but after that break he got quite aggressive and was actively calling for the ball before he took that first three. Those 3 threes in about 2 min basically put the game out of reach for Lamar.

AD has to find a way to channel his emotions positively. He came awfully close to getting a T when he got called for a third foul. You could hear the ref telling him to cut it out as he was being demonstrative on the court. Pastner was furious with him when he pulled him out - really chewed him out on the sideline.

It's also really interesting to watch Devoe shoot vs say Haywood or Sjolund, The latter 2 have these beautiful high arching jump shots.
Devoe's is more of a line drive shot, but watching him in half time warmups he only missed one shot despite his arc given him less room for error. He's just really consistent with the accuracy.

Right now i am completely comfortable with Jose, Curtis, Phillips, Alston, Devoe and Sjolund shooting open threes any time they have one - I don't think I have ever said that about a GT basketball team before. And before they are through at GT I might get there with Moore and Cole. Don't think I am ever going to get there with Moses - his shot is not pretty and is hard.

This team is likely going to get smoked by TN but that is ok, just keeping working and improving. Pastner's interview in the paper suggests he understands this is a transition year and one that might not be super pretty but he was quite upbeat about the next couple of years after this one.

I saw someone mention elsewhere about it would be nice if Banks was eligible so he might do better this year and not be on a hot seat next year. First off, all you have to do is look at his contract -specifically his buyout to understand Pastner is safe for 5 yrs, but after his 5th season it changes radically. Also, looking at this team, I think GT is better off in the long run if Banks has 2 yrs starting next year as this current group of FR and SO looks like a really nice base.

whitegoldsphinx · Nov 2, 2018

You meant Florida Tech for the exhibition game. Lamar is next week.

AUFC · Nov 3, 2018

Initial thoughts: CJP isn't lying when he says "when Jose isn't on the floor, we look lost." Watching the offense run and cut with Jose on the floor looks like a perfectly choreographed ballet. When Brandon Alston is leading the floor, guys were practically running into each other. Thought Brandon had a better second half than his first half. Drove the lane a bit and made an open 3 off a drive-and-kick in the second half.

Thought Jose looked good as did AD. Didn't see anything from CGB that makes me think he's gonna be a super impactful player this year. Evan Cole looked scrappy, willing to fight for any rebound and putback just like in the Duke game last season. Sjolund nailed a couple 3s in the first half and then bricked everything in the second half. Team shot really well from 3 overall, think it was like 40% and it wasn't a small amount of 3s either. Excited to see them when it counts next week against Lamar!

Edit: Evan had a double-double so shows how well my live impressions count.

Peacone36 · Nov 4, 2018

I am rewatching now. My notes

I am not interested in Alston playing the point
Cole has clearly surpassed Wright
Sjolund is good on O, really bad on D
Shembari Phillips is an underrated pickup
Jose needs to play 40 mpg
CGB needs to be selfish and shoot it whenever possible

RamblinRed · Nov 5, 2018

As far as Moses and Cole, I don't think it is a huge thing to say Cole is ahead of Moses right now.

Cole went 0-3 from 3 in one game, but has shown to be a better shooter over the course of a full year and frankly his shot just looks better than Moses'.
Cole also simply has more offensive game in general and looks more comfortable at that end of the court especially in halfcourt situations.

Cole also is more willing to go inside and mix it up and especially rebound (Cole had 10 in 16 min on Saturday, Moses had 1 in 18 min). Cole is also the better ball handler.
Wright is more dangerous in transition situations.

But the fact that Cole is starting likely means the staff sees him as the better or more important player at this point.
Moses should see plenty of time this year (and I hope he would as his upside is huge). On the offensive end Moses doesn't look all that comfortable going inside, he tends to want to hang out on the perimeter. Wasp, if Cole developed into a poor man's Hansborough I would be very happy.

I think Alston is going to have a hard time getting min once Devoe is back. Eventually Devoe is going to start. I think Shembari and Curtis are most likely to play after that and then Alston behind them. If Moore limits his mistakes quickly he could pass him as well. Alston almost feels like do you play him over Curtis. Not sure i would. For the long term of the program it seems to make more sense to give the minutes to Curtis and let him develop.

In general this year feels like a big transition year. Let these FR and SO take their lumps and gain experience. You lose Alston - who should be pretty easily replaceable and AD - who is a little tougher but feel like we will at least be even with Banks coming in.
Banks should be better than AD from day 1, but AD has developed a nice offensive game. I'm interested to see what Banks looks like offensively after working with Reveno for a year or more.

I thought both Sjolund and Moore flashed some nice long term potential.

With no Lammers the offense will obviously be in flux this year probably see alot more of what it should look like in the future.
Hopefully this is the last year to just sort of get through things as best we can and then we take a significant upswing next season.

dtm1997 · Nov 10, 2018

kg01 · Nov 3, 2018

ramblinjacket said:
Watching replay now. Game just started but noticing the court lettering is green. I’m really not a uniform or colors guy but hoping it’s just my tv.

Jiggle yer antenna, bro

ramblinjacket · Nov 3, 2018

kg01 said:
Jiggle yer antenna, bro

Can’t fix. Throwing tv away.

whitegoldsphinx · Nov 4, 2018

D-man44 said:
Watching rn Sjolund is going to be a good shooter with some sneaky handles but he is going to be legitimately a turnstile this year...

a turnstile offers some resistance.

RamblinRed · Nov 5, 2018

I'm hoping we can somehow get to 10-3 in our OOC though 9-4 feels likely and 8-5 wouldn't be shocking.

We have 8 home games where we will be solid favs, hopefully we won't lose any of them, but it wouldn't shock me if we lose one somewhere along the way.

We have five games where we will be considered anything from a pick'em to a huge underdog. Got to get at least 2 of those, only 1 is at home - UGA. The others are
@TN
@NW
@Ark
neutral against St. Johns - who is going to be pushing hard to have an NCAA year with the return of Ponds and Heron getting immediate eligibility after transferring from Auburn.

Get 2 of those 5 and i'm pretty happy. 3 and i'm really happy. None and i'm really disappointed.

ACC didn't do us a ton of favors in our scheduling. GT is expected to be near the bottom but we only have one game each with the other teams that are largely considered in the same tier - Pitt, Wake and BC - though all are at home. On the flip side we only get the top tier teams once. Our doubles are with mostly middle tier teams - VT, Clemson, FSU, ND.

mstranahan · Nov 5, 2018

One thing I'm going to watch early on is AD's FG%. Last year he was slightly under 50% on 2FG (69-141). Playing more exclusively in the post (no Lammers), I would expect him to shoot closer to 60%. If he can do that reliably, it will force defense to play him more honestly, which should open up better looks for the perimeter guys

AUFC · Nov 9, 2018

Who's excited!?

msargent1 · Nov 10, 2018

slugboy · Nov 10, 2018

Have I said I like Reveno?
@CoachReveno: It is what you do when no one is watching that really makes all the difference in the world. @GTMBB

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

AUFC · Nov 3, 2018

Gameday! Super excited. College GameDay on now, then Tech/UNC and then biking over to McCamish around 5.

YlJacket · Nov 3, 2018

AUFC said:
Gameday! Super excited. College GameDay on now, then Tech/UNC and then biking over to McCamish around 5.

Can you tailgate off a bicycle?

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