11/9 - MBB vs. Howard

Root4GT

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Jazzchaz said:
Woohoo! Sounds like we're 50% on our way to the championship.
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What were you expecting in year one of the CDS era?

Our roster is still at best mid ACC. Of the 4 returning players only Kelly has sniffed All ACC level. The other 3 are solid players but not guys who will win a championship by themselves. Compared to the upper echelon ACC teams we have a ways to go to compete.

Do you long for the CJP days? He left the program in bad shape mostly due to recruting poorly for many years. His coaching was fine, you simply can't win consistently with a less talented roster in college basketball. That was the real issue for CJP. CDS has brought in some talented players. To really compete for an ACC title we need several more really talented players. The two recruits we just signed are a good start. One should be an immediate impact player next year and the other has real potential to become a good ACC player. It's a start in a process that won't happen overnight.
 

Jacketman99

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We all knew (or should have known) that this would be a work in progress. If you really listened to CDS preseason comments he basically said as much but the team will prove as the season wore one. He also said the offense is ahead of the defense. That has proved to be true. Defense requires effort and commitment. I liked that we were able to turn in the defensive intensity the last 10 minutes or so. That is a proof point that CDS can use to let guys know that this is the way they need to play all the time. You need guys to buy into that effort and not worry about getting tired. I think having Terry and Baye back will help as well. I am not worried about the offense. We have found ways to score in both preseason games and regular season games. I think the ft shooting will get better as the season progresses. I think Kelly has already missed the same number of fts as he did all last year.
 
orientalnc

orientalnc

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Root4GT said:
Our roster is still at best mid ACC. Of the 4 returning players only Kelly has sniffed All ACC level. The other 3 are solid players but not guys who will win a championship by themselves. Compared to the upper echelon ACC teams we have a ways to go to compete.
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Our four returning players all averaged ~10+ ppg last year. Kelly almost 15 ppg. Abram and Reeves were off and on starters who averaged 10 ppg at SEC schools. Claude is an ACC level player. Right now, we are at worst mid ACC. I don't think it's fair to say we have to have multiple star players to be competitive.

My feeling is that the return of Terry will give us six guys with the ability to play our 4-out offense with almost everyone in the ACC. Claude is showing quality inside play right now and Ndongo is talked about as if he is better. I am not concerned about the roster. They are learning about one another and the coaches are learning who they can count on. I said this earlier, but pay attention to the lineup CDS has on the floor at the end of close games. Those are the guys he thinks are our best lineup.
 

Root4GT

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orientalnc said:
Our four returning players all averaged ~10+ ppg last year. Kelly almost 15 ppg. Abram and Reeves were off and on starters who averaged 10 ppg at SEC schools. Claude is an ACC level player. Right now, we are at worst mid ACC. I don't think it's fair to say we have to have multiple star players to be competitive.

My feeling is that the return of Terry will give us six guys with the ability to play our 4-out offense with almost everyone in the ACC. Claude is showing quality inside play right now and Ndongo is talked about as if he is better. I am not concerned about the roster. They are learning about one another and the coaches are learning who they can count on. I said this earlier, but pay attention to the lineup CDS has on the floor at the end of close games. Those are the guys he thinks are our best lineup.
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The guys at the end are the guys the coach trusts. We don't have much on the inside on offense or defense at this point. Claude is a good player but he needs some inside help. It's far too easy for opponents to score at the basket in our first two games. That may change as some guys get healthy and more experienced. Right now interior defense is a real issue.
 
orientalnc

orientalnc

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Root4GT said:
Agree. The guards/wings have a hard time staying in front of guys. It seems CDS wants his outside guys to stick on their guys. That requires some serious interior help.
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I think you are right, but when the outside guys get beat, the rim has to be protected when there's a mismatch. We are not playing good D right now. But it's not all on the inside guys.
 

Root4GT

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orientalnc said:
I think you are right, but when the outside guys get beat, the rim has to be protected when there's a mismatch. We are not playing good D right now. But it's not all on the inside guys.
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You are correct. My point is we really don’t have an inside defender to clean up the errors by the outside guys
 

MtnWasp

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Banks was an excellent Belly-up defender in the post. Guys going strait at Banks down low got stoned. But Lammers was an amazing weak-side defender. Lammers could come out on switches and make it back to snuff drivers on the weak side. He was quite amazing. The only one that compared to a combo of each of them that comes to my mind was Alvin Jones.
 

GTbball2016

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MtnWasp said:
Banks was an excellent Belly-up defender in the post. Guys going strait at Banks down low got stoned. But Lammers was an amazing weak-side defender. Lammers could come out on switches and make it back to snuff drivers on the weak side. He was quite amazing. The only one that compared to a combo of each of them that comes to my mind was Alvin Jones.
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Luke was a great positional defender
 

Jack

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MtnWasp said:
Banks was an excellent Belly-up defender in the post. Guys going strait at Banks down low got stoned. But Lammers was an amazing weak-side defender. Lammers could come out on switches and make it back to snuff drivers on the weak side. He was quite amazing. The only one that compared to a combo of each of them that comes to my mind was Alvin Jones.
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Yes, and John Salley
 
Northeast Stinger

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I need a readers digest version from all of you who are basketball gurus.

We have a lot to clean up, we aren’t a team yet, and defense needs considerable work, but, in your estimation is the team more athletic this year? Are we playing faster?
 

tbglover

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Northeast Stinger said:
I need a readers digest version from all of you who are basketball gurus.

We have a lot to clean up, we aren’t a team yet, and defense needs considerable work, but, in your estimation is the team more athletic this year? Are we playing faster?
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There are no freak athletes from what I've seen so far but the team does play faster. And when the ball goes to a post player at the top guys cut immediately by which is how Claude got 3 assists in the Howard game all on bounce passes to perimeter players who cut towards the rim
 
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