Article Men's Basketball: Lamar Cardinals Preview

MiracleWhips · Nov 3, 2018

This team tonight will be better than pre season rankings for sure

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).

lv20gt · Nov 3, 2018

My thoughts watching the replay -

Not sure why we went platoon where our second 5 only had one guard, and that was Alston. Obviously we won't do that during normal ply, but if that was the plan I would have thought to run Shembari with the second group. Overall though I really like the length this team has. I think there will be some games where we just terrorize opponents with it.

Jose looks to be our best player by a good bit of those out there.
Wright looks to be a little thicker and seemed to be more under control. I think his length will be of great use on the defensive end and be more important now that Lammers is gone.
Sjolund has a pretty shot and overall I like his offensive skill but I'm not sure if we can afford to have him out there on the defensive end this year. Maybe hide him a bit defensively with a zone because man that stroke is nice.
Phillips will be a good addition for us. I think he'll be a good defensive player for us and give us another solid ball handler.
Ogbonda looked okay but picks up fouls FAST. I think he'll be an okay piece if we can just tell him to go out and give us a burst and not rely on him for more than about 10 minutes.
Gueye is going to be important for us to give us another option scoring. Also looks like he picked up some passing tips from Lammers.
Haywood needs to be more aggressive looking for his shot.
Cole seemed to a bit more aggressive looking for his opportunities than last year which is nice to see. Like Wright seems to have grown into his body more. Had a couple of nicely timed put backs for dunks.
Alston looks about like he did last year. I still think most of his minutes will go to Phillips.
Moore looked pretty good. Didn't force things but didn't make much of an impact. Looked to have a solid stroke though which is nice to see because athletically I think he will be just fine.
Wish we could have seen Devoe play.

Overall I think it's obvious that when we are healthy Jose, Devoe, and Gueye will start. I think Phillips will push Haywood but my gut still says Haywood will start and allow some ball handling come off the bench. Cole made a strong case for starting tonight but we'll have to see if it translates against better opponents. I think a good story this year will be how we balance Cole's offense vs Wright's defense. Probably a lot depends on how well Jose/Haywood/Devoe/Ad can score.

Anyways did what we were supposed to do. Hard to read too much into it.

Ramblingon · Nov 3, 2018

Taking into consideration the competition, GT looked better than I expected, but I wasn't expecting a lot. Cole looked good and may a serviceable PF. Nice put-backs. Gueye will still have the foul thing hanging around him, but he had some good moves. There was better ball handling than last season. Sjolund looks nice at least offensively.

I guess we're going to have to watch the regular season before we can really see where things are going. But I'm a little more optimistic after tonight and with Devoe joining in soon.

orientalnc · Nov 4, 2018

I saw nothing bad, but Fla Tech was not the measure we need. We have Lamar coming next week and then the reality show begins.

I am hoping Devoe can take minutes at PG and that he's effective. At least to maintain some floor management with Jose on the bench.

Our wing players are OK, but nothing special. Alston is not a PG, but otherwise not a liability. CGB and Phillips are just OK. Phillips is an aggressive defender and that will keep him in the lineup. Cole and Wright seem to be slightly improved, but we need to see more than this to know for sure.

I liked what I saw of AD. Solid, but not great. Just what we need. I no longer expect Ogbonda to ever play much at GT. I hope he gets his degree this year.

I agree with earlier comments that Sjolund and Moore showed flashes, but may not play much when the ACC schedule begins.

What is clear to me is that Banks will play if he's cleared by the NCAA. We need another inside body. But it doesn't seem likely to happen.

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

D-man44 · Nov 4, 2018

Peacone36 said:
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

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...

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 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.

Peacone36 · Nov 4, 2018

Men's Basketball: Lamar Cardinals Preview

Sophomore PG Jose Alvarado returns healthy to start the year. Coach Pastner and the Jackets kick of year three with a home opener against Lamar this week. Here is what you can expect. The Georgia Tech men’s basketball team opens the season on Friday, November 9th at home against Lamar. The Jackets come into the 2018-19 with a lot of question marks that will be answered soon enough. Let’s just take it one game at a time. First, let’s take ...

CuseJacket · Nov 4, 2018

Headline preview by @Peacone36 now at the top.

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MikeJackets1967 said:
GO JACKETS! I'll be listening to the game on the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network on Tunein

I tried that last night and got the University of Houston post game show. .

Cls66 · Nov 4, 2018

Watch ESPN has ACC games so I watched it there.

AE 87 · Nov 4, 2018

RamblinRed said:
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.

I'm hoping Jose passes on the JoshO work ethic to Moore. I think he has a shot at breaking thru with high energy D and decent O.

jbix80 · Nov 4, 2018

Peacone36 said:
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

I agree about Cole & Wright. Wright looks awkward out there. I know the competition was weak, but I liked the energy Cole played with.

Ramblingon · Nov 4, 2018

At least Fla. Tech started two tall inside guys...6-10 and 6-8 with some muscle. Doesn't make them great, just offers some size clogging up the inside. Cole and Gueye played well against it.

lv20gt · Nov 4, 2018

jbix80 said:
I agree about Cole & Wright. Wright looks awkward out there. I know the competition was weak, but I liked the energy Cole played with.

One thing to keep in mind is that We had at least two decent stretches where we went with a line up of Alston, Moore, Sjolund, Wright, Ogbonda. I think that entire lineup looked awkward because it featured one guard and he wasn't a particularly good ballhandler and by no means a playmaker. Pretty much all those players looked better when we mixed the lineups to include an actual point guard to run things.

MiracleWhips · Nov 5, 2018

-I think its waaayyy too early to say anyone has surpassed anyone not take . I recall Wright recording 19pts and 8 boards at the beginning of last year.
-If Kristian ever learns how to play defense he will be crazy good
- I was amazed at how well we shot the 3 ball hopefully this is a trend for the season
- I loved that Pastner would pull the guards to the side and emphasize how he wanted them to play at a faster pace.
- I don't see Ves getting a lot of time this year.
-Shembari is definitely going to be a major major piece for our success. He can make statements on both sides of the floor.

Connell62 · Nov 5, 2018

SMH at all the people selling Moses down the river. He didn't have a great game, but he's going to be fine. It's not every day that you find a guys with his mix of height, wingspan, and athleticism.

He's obviously best in transition, and he had a couple of great hustle plays and a nasty, nasty dunk in transition. Like many of the other young-ins, he has some areas to tighten up on, but he's coming along.

Our emphasis on playing faster and positionless should really help him out a lot this year.

MiracleWhips · Nov 5, 2018

connell62 said:
SMH at all the people selling Moses down the river. He didn't have a great game, but he's going to be fine. It's not every day that you find a guys with his mix of height, wingspan, and athleticism.

He's obviously best in transition, and he had a couple of great hustle plays and a nasty, nasty dunk in transition. Like many of the other young-ins, he has some areas to tighten up on, but he's coming along.

Our emphasis on playing faster and positionless should really help him out a lot this year.

Not to mention how well he played on defense too.

Article Men's Basketball: Lamar Cardinals Preview

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