This team will surprise some

[New Old Guy]

Re: what you said about Pastner, I think that's a pretty telling sign. I was optimistic that maybe, just maybe we could have a decent season (maybe get to .500, but the way Pastner is talking has me pretty certain it's gonna be a rough year.

Who knows what will happen, but my thinking is that CJP is just trying to manage everyone's expectations. Our record might be mediocre, or horrible, but if Coach keeps expectations in check, we are much less likely to be terribly disappointed.

 

[YlJacket]

This is very amusing. Our defense is perhaps the weakest link in the chain unless several miracles.

If you see a strong link on this team, I would like to know it. FWIW I could see this team playing decent defense. don't have the athleticism to be lock down by any stretch but if the coaching is good they could have something there. Certainly hasn't been Pastner's calling card but I don't think he focused on it in the past. You could even make a case for zone if you wanted to play Q at the 3. But that would be a one year sell out.

I will say above and beyond D, I really have no idea where points are going to come from so I would say offense is likely a weaker link than D - though that is somewhat akin to saying marshmallows are weaker than newsprint.

 

[awbuzz]

Re: what you said about Pastner, I think that's a pretty telling sign. I was optimistic that maybe, just maybe we could have a decent season (maybe get to .500, but the way Pastner is talking has me pretty certain it's gonna be a rough year.

Rough, as in 20 grit sandpaper paper rough.

 

[coolhaji33]

I have huge concerns defensively especially the 2-3 spots...Josh Heath will avg 10-13ppg,6apg and have a mind boggling assist to turnover ratio...Peacone...I have more basketball knowledge in my pinky finger than you do in your whole body...u sound ridiculous 90% of the time...u come off like an arrogant punk...I PLAYED D2 from 90-93...ive been a GT fan die hard since the mid 80's...if you wanna go tit for tat ill literally make you look like a complete noob...bounce pass to you punk

 

[coolhaji33]

Peacone the only way you can identify talent is if it's dunking on your face or some scouting service tells you there a # star lol...I use my eye test which has 40 years of use.Ben Lammers will be one of the he's bigs in school history by the time he finishes...my eyes and brain know this..because I'm a former player...who knows that Lammers took a back seat to the big personalities we had up front in his first 2 years...Mitchell,Cox...Jacobs was so overated...guards could post him up...Lammers was better than all f them last year but spent too much time on the bench his freshman year setting his curve back.next year will be a completely different person...that's what happens when a kid matures and he's talented.You can't see the hidden potential of half these guys because there not being written and spoken about.I will be reminding you all I told you so.

 

[AE 87]

Sorry @Peacone36 I have to agree with @coolhaji33: "Lammers will be one of the he's bigs in school history."

 

[Peacone36]

No. I watch every game and I understand the game of basketball on a higher level than blind fanhood. I don't sit in my living room with my GTech foam finger and consider trying hard to be the same as winning.

You're absolutely ****ing delusional. One of my favorite players from the 2016 class in GA wasn't event rated until the final rankings came out and he committed to Butler.

Watch Kamar Butler over the next few years. Let me know if I know what I'm looking at.

What may be the strangest thing is I agree with you on almost every other thread/subject

 

[JacketFromUGA]

 

[mstranahan]

Never thought I would see Ben Lammers compared to Bosh, Salley & Hammonds. Guess Gregory was just blind or stupid since he kept one of the best bigs in school history on the bench behind mediocre talent for the past two years.
I don't know who will improve and who won't. Also don't know how much they will improve. I will say it is unlikely that a junior or senior will make enormous leaps after pedestrian performance for two years. It's not impossible, but rare. That being said, I don't think we should count on Lammers, Tadric, Q or Heath to become something they haven't been before. Think it's more reasonable to see evolution in their games, not revolutionary change.
To date, Heath has been a slow-it-down PG with a very questionable shot. Very solid Asst-TO ratio, largely due to never taking chances. I expect higher scoring (hard to go lower than 2.7) with more time on court. I don't expect much improvement over his porous D
Tadric has lots of physical talent but has not shown consistency in any aspect of his game. If he is able to make better judgments with the ball and improve his jumper, he could see the biggest leap in point production. Color me cautiously optimistic. He is the only returning player that can create his own shot.
Lammers will continue to gain confidence and should be a good rim protector and adequate rebounder. I don't think he will score much beyond putbacks on the o boards and dump offs from penetrating guards when a big steps up to help.
Q will continue to shoot spot up jumpers and make very few of them. He will get abused defensively.
I haven't seen the frosh, transfers or redshirts play so can't comment on them
I hope they play hard and put out the effort. Don't think they will win many ACC games. I will go to every game and cheer for them, because that's what I do win or lose. I hope I am wrong and they outperform my expectations. Either way, I'll be there every game, just like I have for the past 15 years.

 

[Techster]

Cmon man.


You sound absolutely ridiculous. We get it, you're a fan and the only way to be a real fan is unbridled optimism.

Hope is a thing with feathers....that Peacone shot directly in the face.

 

[dtm1997]

I've by & large tried to stay out of this thread, but here are a few thoughts.

1. I have no expectations about # of W's this year. I do have expectations on style (can we show something that will be attractive to recruits of higher talent?), development (can a summer with the new staff show immediate gains with players like Lammers, Tadric, etc.) and experience (get as many minutes as possible for Okogie, then to a lesser extent C-Matt).
2. We have 3 players on the squad that I believe will be good defenders, 2 that may have some potential there, and 1 that can play defense, but less likely to get minutes. Lammers, obviously. Ogbonda could be a strong defensive rebounder & potential rim protector. Okogie could be a lockdown defender before he's a significant offensive contributor. Tadric has the athletic potential, we'll see if he has the focus. C-Matt could develop in to a nice all around player, but to the extent he gets a lot of minutes this year because of our talent level, writing is on the wall he's being recruited over in a major way. Heyward can play solid perimeter defense.
3. Based on how we're recruiting, if we develop kids defensively, I'd wager it'll be the influence of our assistant coaches, not CJP. That said, a Hewitt player & former Georgetown assistant might engender that mindset as the talent improves. I'd play zone to hide Q if he's gonna get a lot of minutes.
4. Finally, the thing I'm most concerned about is that we're keeping the 1st 15-20 rows of Section 103 full during as many home games as possible. That's where recruits, local HS teams, AAU squads, & former GT hoops players sit.

 

[mstranahan]

Finally, the thing I'm most concerned about is that we're keeping the 1st 15-20 rows of Section 103 full during as many home games as possible. That's where recruits, local HS teams, AAU squads, & former GT hoops players sit.

Amen to that! Far too often, McCamish has been half full (if that) and quieter than am morgue. We need to show up and support the team if we want recruits to commit. If they see a good supportive crowd when the team is not at its best, they can imagine playing in front of a packed house when things turn around.

 

[Connell62]

If you see a strong link on this team, I would like to know it. FWIW I could see this team playing decent defense. don't have the athleticism to be lock down by any stretch but if the coaching is good they could have something there. Certainly hasn't been Pastner's calling card but I don't think he focused on it in the past. You could even make a case for zone if you wanted to play Q at the 3. But that would be a one year sell out.

I will say above and beyond D, I really have no idea where points are going to come from so I would say offense is likely a weaker link than D - though that is somewhat akin to saying marshmallows are weaker than newsprint.

I think that you were right the first time.. If there is a "strength", it is likely to be on the defensive end. We all know that Ben Lammers is above average defensively, and Vester is also projected to be a good defender in the paint. Looking at the perimeter, I think that Tadric and Heath can both hold their own. Without a doubt, the defensive abilities - as of today - far exceed their offensive abilities, if you ask me.

 

[coolhaji33]

@Peacone36 "you sound ridiculous" kinda set me off...I'm far from ridiculous in terms of identifying basketball talent and coaching in contrast with the rest of the country...I'm not saying we're getting 20+ wins...but we'll be competitive in every game...yeah they might get beat by 20+ a few times next year...but don't confuse my fanhood with my bball iq...in regards to Heath...yeah he appears like a "slow down" pg...but that's what under control looks like,notice he never picks his dribble up...he attacks the gaps of the defense constantly probing for opportunity.Is he JJ Reddick from deep...no...but he's confident taking it now and off the dribble...just wait...the reason for my limited optimism is because I know if your playing a senior at the point with attributes like Heath has your not turning the ball over...that point alone coupled with the fact we have a guy who can post up in Lammers gives the ball a decent destination for a high percentage look....those points alone give us a fighting chance.

 

[AE 87]

@Peacone36 "you sound ridiculous" kinda set me off...I'm far from ridiculous in terms of identifying basketball talent and coaching in contrast with the rest of the country...I'm not saying we're getting 20+ wins...but we'll be competitive in every game...yeah they might get beat by 20+ a few times next year...but don't confuse my fanhood with my bball iq...in regards to Heath...yeah he appears like a "slow down" pg...but that's what under control looks like,notice he never picks his dribble up...he attacks the gaps of the defense constantly probing for opportunity.Is he JJ Reddick from deep...no...but he's confident taking it now and off the dribble...just wait...the reason for my limited optimism is because I know if your playing a senior at the point with attributes like Heath has your not turning the ball over...that point alone coupled with the fact we have a guy who can post up in Lammers gives the ball a decent destination for a high percentage look....those points alone give us a fighting chance.

I appreciate your optimism, but here's my take, fwiw.

We took the ball out of Heath's hands down the stretch for a reason. If we had done it sooner, we may have been a tourney team. It's possible he makes the jump this year, but it's hard to count on it.

Q has contributed every year, but he's not been consistent enough to be reliable. Tadric has been similar. Both need to keep the good and lose the bad rather than simply progressing.

Lammers has been developing solidly, and we'll see if he breaks thru now that the others are gone.

While I can see hitting on one or two of these guys breaking thru, asserting all four will as an evidence based conclusion seems a stretch to me.

 

[forensicbuzz]

I think it's much more likely that Tadric and Ben make a jump than Q and Heath. Sophomore to junior can be a maturation and flowering thing; significant improvement from junior to senior is much rarer.

 

[coolhaji33]

In regards too Heaths minutes last year...that was a multi layered decision...here's the overwhelming pro's to doing the mgh point guard move...cbg was trying to get his most explosive offensive team the majority of the minutes.He figured put the ball in the hands of the guy who is the only guy on the team that could create his own shot...it also allowed Q to start which in theory made us a more dangerous offensive team...with Tadric coming off the bench and Smith starting as our #1-#2 scoring option made Heaths minutes go bye bye...I liked the idea but I would have taken minutes away from Jacobs and white up front going with a small ball approach...our bigs could run,were mobile and good screen setters...it might have worked out better than eliminating Heath's minutes altogether limiting our play making ability and maybe overworking MGH as well...

 

[YlJacket]

I don't think Heath is going to become an explosive slasher between now and next season so the best thing he could do is work on his shot to get it at least to the point where someone has to respect/guard him. That actually would be a big step forward and would open up other things as well. If Q plays the 4 and we go 4 out then Lammers will definitely get the chance to show his hopefully newfound offensive skill set.

 

[orientalnc]

In the past Heath has been too protective of the ball. As a result he doesn't get much done. Maybe Pastner will get him to take more risks. I will take 5 ppg if he could consistently get 7-8 assists. He's a good ft shooter so being more aggressive should benefit him a lot.

 

[coolhaji33]

In the past Heath has been too protective of the ball. As a result he doesn't get much done. Maybe Pastner will get him to take more risks. I will take 5 ppg if he could consistently get 7-8 assists. He's a good ft shooter so being more aggressive should benefit him a lot.

I know what you mean by doesn't get things done...let's be honest he's been unspectacular...but he doesn't turn it over either.I also agree on the fact that if he can knock down the 3 it'll open things up for all.He's to the point where he knows when he has to take it for the integrity of our offense...he just needs to make more...I like his mechanics I think it's a confidence hurdle.he's got the iq and ability to play fast or slow and compete.I hope he holds up physically...he ought to log a ton of tick.