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Game 2: Zips -v- American U.


Blue & Gold

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13 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I don't like both Noah & Antino starting.  I like Antino with the ball in his hands.

 

We have two athletic guards (Antino, Ivey) and two not-so-athletic guards (Noah, Josh).

 

I think I might start Noah & Ivey together, then bring Antino & Josh off the bench together.  Or vice versa.

 

If you are starting Ivey at the 2 and having Williams and Antino coming off the bench, who are you starting at the 3?

 

Personally this is how I'd like to see it shake out. Start Noah at the 1, Williams at the 2, Ivey at the 3, Kwan at the 4, and Big Dog at the 5. Use Antino as a combo guard off the bench so he would backup both Williams and Noah.

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27 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I don't like both Noah & Antino starting.  I like Antino with the ball in his hands.

 

We have two athletic guards (Antino, Ivey) and two not-so-athletic guards (Noah, Josh).

 

I think I might start Noah & Ivey together, then bring Antino & Josh off the bench together.  Or vice versa.

 

I see what you're saying, but I think this is the dilemma that the coaches face right now.....

 

Where's that 3rd guy going to come from?  That guy in the 3 spot?   Like I said, right now, I'm pretty convinced that they are thinking that we're better off filling that role with another Guard, rather than from someone like Daniel, Emmanuel, or Aaron.  

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Ivey might be listed as a guard, but he has SF written all over him. He is a rounded player with length who attacks the rim and gets to the charity stripe. He said in the post game interview that he actually played the 4 in high school and he does have some post moves we haven't seen yet.

 

Game 1: 14 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal

Game 2: 12 points, 11 board, 1 assist

 

We have a SF averaging 10 rebounds for us. I want to keep him in a position to create these extra possessions for us.

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13 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Ivey might be listed as a guard, but he has SF written all over him. He is a rounded player with length who attacks the rim and gets to the charity stripe. He said in the post game interview that he actually played the 4 in high school and he does have some post moves we haven't seen yet.

 

Game 1: 14 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal

Game 2: 12 points, 11 board, 1 assist

 

We have a SF averaging 10 rebounds for us. I want to keep him in a position to create these extra possessions for us.

 

So, he's your guy in that 3 spot?  If that were to happen, then a rotation of Antino, Josh, and Noah will be filling the 2 spots in the backcourt.  That still leaves us pretty small.  It doesn't look like we're headed in that direction right now, but what happens if a "real" SF doesn't emerge from this other group?  It might be our best option.    

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25 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

So, he's your guy in that 3 spot?  If that were to happen, then a rotation of Antino, Josh, and Noah will be filling the 2 spots in the backcourt.  That still leaves us pretty small.  It doesn't look like we're headed in that direction right now, but what happens if a "real" SF doesn't emerge from this other group?  It might be our best option.    

 

Starting Williams at the 2 and Ivey at the 3 makes our height just fine for the MAC. Ohio looks to be our stiffest competition. Their starting 5 comes in at 388 inches. Our starting 5 of Noah/Williams/Ivey/Kwan/Big Dog would be 387 inches. This isn't the NBA. You don't need a 6'4 2 guard and a 6'7 SF.

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I think we desperately need a bigger small forward to emerge, especially with the way Kwan plays on the offensive end.  Taking some of the burden off of Big Dog in the paint is going to be the biggest challenge that this team will probably face on the offensive end this year.

 

But you're right that plenty of teams in the MAC are smaller in the backcourt, and many of them play with 3 guards.  

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How exactly is getting taller going to eliminate the offensive burden on Big Dog when the guys that are taller than Ivey that could play the 3 haven't shown the ability to hit shots? If anything staying small and keeping Williams at the 3 will force teams to respect the outside shooter and not cheat to double Big Dog.

 

I think you are looking at the heights too much and not looking at how big someone plays. Reggie at 6'7 last year averaged 4 rebounds per game and had only 1 game last year of 9 or more boards. 81% of his shot attempts came from 3 and he rarely got offense in the paint. Ivey plays much bigger by attacking the basket for rebounds and gets to the rim on offense. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in athleticism.

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32 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

How exactly is getting taller going to eliminate the offensive burden on Big Dog when the guys that are taller than Ivey that could play the 3 haven't shown the ability to hit shots?  If anything staying small and keeping Williams at the 3 will force teams to respect the outside shooter and not cheat to double Big Dog.

 

I'm trying to decipher if  you are lobbying that we're better off with Ivey at the 3, or Williams at the 3 ?   I don't think that either is the ultimate solution.  I think it's the best option they see right now.  Both of them should clearly be at their best advantage against defenders at the 2 spot.  

 

Here's the deal.  Right now, this team already has guys who can "hit shots", and you have Big Dog.  Like I said earlier, it's reminiscent of the team in J. Wood's senior year.   

 

So, you can operate on the hope that you're going to be a great 3-point shooting team, and hopefully that brings the doubles off of Big Dog (I'll tell you that he will get doubled a lot this year, regardless)......Or......You produce more guys who can score around the basket, which helps Big Dog in multiple ways, including decreasing his workload.  

 

I think that will be the key to this season.  

 

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1 hour ago, skip-zip said:

I think we desperately need a bigger small forward to emerge, especially with the way Kwan plays on the offensive end.  Taking some of the burden off of Big Dog in the paint is going to be the biggest challenge that this team will probably face on the offensive end this year.

 

But you're right that plenty of teams in the MAC are smaller in the backcourt, and many of them play with 3 guards.  

Combinations of Joyce, Middleton, Dials and Roberts come to mind. Toledo has had some very small, highly effective guards over the years too.

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In my "Way Too Premature" evaluation of the 2016-17 Zips, gleaned from watching exactly one half of basketball, I'll offer the following:

 

  • I like Mike. Big Mike has good size, he's in good condition and he has a high motor. He seems to have the skill set and attitude to have a nice career at UA. 
  • Noah needs to impact the game more. His stats looked good at the game's end, but he seemed to play on cruise control last night. He certainly merits a pass for being a step slow last season, but this year he needs to amp it up.
  • If Ivey can get his dribble under control this season, look out. He can dribble-penetrate, and makes his free throws. He could have a huge year if can keep the turnovers at a minimum.
  • Kwan had a really nice performance under the boards. And a solid defensive effort overall. He actually had a couple nifty passes too. After 4 years I guess we have to live with his streaky 3-point shooting. It ain't going to change. But it looks like he's added a bit of rebounding and defensive intensity to his game this year. And we really need it.
  • I wish Big Dog sat next to me in the stands to see what a complete mismatch he had in the paint all night. He should have scored 30 on that stiff. He gave him WAY too much respect, dribbling too much and tossing up shots at unnecessarily awkward angles. His rebounding was sub par, rebounding the ball instead of putting a body on someone. He got caught watching a couple times. 
  • Antino is still a water bug, and needs to increase his shooting percentage. We'll see how he settles-in this season. 
  • Utomi has a thick build. He could be good. But way to few minutes to gauge his potential.
  • Olijapoke is long and rail-thin. In my limited view I'd project him similar to Ibitayo. He's not going to do much in year's #1 and #2. But maybe by his Junior season, if he works hard, he could begin making an impact. 
  • Dunn-Martin looks like a baller. Again, he only had limited minutes. But he looks very comfortable on the floor for a November Freshman. 
  • Josh Wiilliams - still the prettiest shot in the league. Didn't see enough of him to tell if he added anything to his game.

How this American team played Maryland to within 6 points is pretty amazing. They seemed pretty crappy to me. I guess if they made their free throws, it would have been a closer game. But they were really soft inside. 

 

Lots of time to improve. Putting the ball in the basket would be a good start.

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53 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

I'm trying to decipher if  you are lobbying that we're better off with Ivey at the 3, or Williams at the 3 ?   I don't think that either is the ultimate solution.  I think it's the best option they see right now.  Both of them should clearly be at their best advantage against defenders at the 2 spot.  

 

Here's the deal.  Right now, this team already has guys who can "hit shots", and you have Big Dog.  Like I said earlier, it's reminiscent of the team in J. Wood's senior year.   

 

So, you can operate on the hope that you're going to be a great 3-point shooting team, and hopefully that brings the doubles off of Big Dog (I'll tell you that he will get doubled a lot this year, regardless)......Or......You produce more guys who can score around the basket, which helps Big Dog in multiple ways, including decreasing his workload.  

 

I think that will be the key to this season.  

 

 

Preferably I like Ivey at the 3 as he looks like our best option so far. I wasn't understanding what you were getting at that somehow getting taller at the 3 would help Big Dog on the offensive end because bringing in someone that is taller but less talented doesn't make us better. I don't understand why you want to pull Ivey when he is excelling at the 3 spot and move him further away from the basket so that he would have to create more of his own shots and won't be in a position to get as many boards.

 

The teams real issue is that Noah and Antino have played below what they are capable of. I'd like to see Josh get more minutes at the 2 instead of the 3 and would like to see Antino get more minutes running the point coming in to spell Robotham. We have more depth at guard than we do at SF so I don't see why we would want to move our best SF to SG. There are only 80 minutes of guard play to go around per game. If Antino, Noah, and Josh split them equally, that is 26.66 minutes per game for each of them. Who are you going to bench to clear minutes for Ivey to play guard?

 

I will concede it would be nice to get someone else to emerge that could provide ~10 minutes per game to backup Ivey at the 3 so Williams could solely be a 2 guard. 

Edited by kreed5120
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Did anyone post this yet? ABJ game story

 

KD admits we're not playing well.  Right now.

 

He says we were "running in mud" during the 2nd half.  It looked like we were running in mud -v- YSU.  I didn't think you were supposed to be worn out & running in mud till late in the season.  What's up with that?

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10 hours ago, skip-zip said:

 

Even if Ivey replaces one of the guys in that trio of small guards who start, it's still a 3-guard offense.  He might play like someone much bigger, but he's still a Guard.  

 

But the real question is....do you see Keith replacing one of those 3 guys?  I love Ivey's game, but he may not yet have the stable play that we'd want in a starter.  As long as he can come in at any time, and we can play him more or less minutes based on how he's doing that night, I'm fine with that.  

 

The way I see it after 2 games, the only thing that's going to make us venture away from a 3 Guard offense this year is if someone like Aaron, Emmanuel, or Daniel get to the point where they can give us 20 minutes per night.  If not, our best option for depth of productive players remains in the backcourt.   

I guess my point is that the current 3 guard offense, none of them can consistently penetrate to the basket.  I watch Robotham dribble left, dribble right, but he has difficulty penetrating into the key and finishing. This was against an American team that was not athletic.  Our starting guards should be able to blow by these guys.  It just does not happen.  Ivey has the size, speed and strength to finish.  Kd lines him up on the wing but when he usually drives to the basket from the center of the court.  When we do play athletic teams, I think that the current starting lineup will struggle unless they are hitting the 3 ball.  I was hoping that Daniel was going to be good this year but time will tell.

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Who's idea was it to put the Rowdies at the farthest possible corner from the opposing team's bench? It sure wasn't the Rowdies themselves, and probably not coach Dambrot, either.

 

Also, I'm still unsure about having a live DJ. Maybe it will grow on me over the course of the season. It just seems like he's competing with the band. Not much synergy. Speaking of the band, they need to figure out a way to play about 20 decibels lower. I feel like I have hearing loss and I was sitting on the far side of the arena from them.

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36 minutes ago, ZachTheZip said:

Who's idea was it to put the Rowdies at the farthest possible corner from the opposing team's bench? It sure wasn't the Rowdies themselves, and probably not coach Dambrot, either.

 

Also, I'm still unsure about having a live DJ. Maybe it will grow on me over the course of the season. It just seems like he's competing with the band. Not much synergy. Speaking of the band, they need to figure out a way to play about 20 decibels lower. I feel like I have hearing loss and I was sitting on the far side of the arena from them.

KD is quite happy that the band was moved to the other end. Better that the other teams coach has to scream at the top of his lungs in the timeout huddle

 

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1 hour ago, ZachTheZip said:

Speaking of the band, they need to figure out a way to play about 20 decibels lower. I feel like I have hearing loss and I was sitting on the far side of the arena from them.

That's one thing my friend and I noticed at YSU.  The Penguins' pep band was really good.  They weren't too loud & my friend (who was in high school band) said they were "...tight, which is tough to do in a gym."

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