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2019 Freshman Class

C

Chucknduck

Well-known member
Alright, with the exception of DCH getting some decent minutes, Owens and Vasquez have abruptly disappeared from the lineup. Vasquez maybe logged 3 minutes of PT at Sac and Owens didn’t log a minute. Hard to believe, but these boys are now Juniors. This team needs upper class leadership and some continuity. We lacked this last year as well.

Just seems strange to me and it seems like the Timmy Falls dilemma has now come full circle. Saw Falls playing time diminish fast once he became a Junior, and then transferred out. Granted it seemed that Falls may have been a head case and had the worst body language I have ever seen out of any Grizzly basketball player. I actually tell my son to avoid, at all costs, the body language of Falls. However, it doesn’t appear to me that Vasquez and Owens are head cases. They seem to cheer on their teammates from the bench and come out to give high fives on time outs, etc.

I really like Owens and believe he brings good size and length and a damn nice mid-range game. I actually thought he was going to be one of the emotional leaders this year. I can understand Vazquez PT to a degree because we’re always packed with guards. So, did Travis absolutely swing and miss in their recruiting and player development, or are they in the dog house?
 
And so goes the $64,000 question, what has happened with Josh and Kyle and why are they not getting more court time? Dog house? Performance? Travis, not unlike Bobby keeps internal matters within the family so to speak. Unless these issues get worked out I fear we may be in for a long and disappointing season.

I did not see the first half of the SacSt game but joined just a SacSt made it a one point game. The guys responded well and came home victors which is good but I still don’t like their offensive sets which is guard oriented. And where was Bannan, I was expecting this to be a breakout year for him but so far that hasn’t happened. The imprint on my brain I have of Josh was in the Oregon game. He was standing at the top of the circle, no one within 5’ or 6’ and he passes the ball. That one particular play to me says a lot about his mind set. Which is not what you want from a very skilled and versatile big man.

Anyway those are just my observations and contrasting opinions are welcome. Having said all this i still feel Travis is a great coach but somethings not right in river city.
 
Sport said:
And so goes the $64,000 question, what has happened with Josh and Kyle and why are they not getting more court time? Dog house? Performance? Travis, not unlike Bobby keeps internal matters within the family so to speak. Unless these issues get worked out I fear we may be in for a long and disappointing season.

I did not see the first half of the SacSt game but joined just a SacSt made it a one point game. The guys responded well and came home victors which is good but I still don’t like their offensive sets which is guard oriented. And where was Bannan, I was expecting this to be a breakout year for him but so far that hasn’t happened. The imprint on my brain I have of Josh was in the Oregon game. He was standing at the top of the circle, no one within 5’ or 6’ and he passes the ball. That one particular play to me says a lot about his mind set. Which is not what you want from a very skilled and versatile big man.

Anyway those are just my observations and contrasting opinions are welcome. Having said all this i still feel Travis is a great coach but somethings not right in river city.
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I’m surprised you said that about Bannan, I thought he’s been absolutely phenomenal. Here are his points rebounds for all games:

15/10
6/5
9/9
24/12
16/9
15/10
4/1
8/6

Averaging 12 ppg and 8 boards per game. The guy already has three double-doubles. I think he’s been fantastic.
 
I think several things have played out that have reduced playing time for both.

I don't understand some of it, and because I am not at practice, I'll leave the personnel choice decisions to Travis.

There are a couple of issues based upon what I have seen this year that are clear harbingers as to why Vasquez and Owens aren't playing.

What Travis is running this offensively is clearly limiting Vasquez role on the floor. Travis wants and seems to prefer two dribble first ball handlers on the floor of which Beasley, Whitney, and Parker. They are running tuns of hi low screens and ball picks, and as Vasquez has shown over the past two years he isn't that dynamic with the ball in his hand as a scorer. They aren't running a lot of motion, of which he benefits, and he isn't that great of a ball handler in respect to the other three. So if he is going to play it is more of the Martin position, and he can't defend the position. He's a 1/2 combo guard and not a wing. Best pure shooter we have but isn't a great shot creator for himself, and in a system that rewards plays at the rim he's not going to get a ton of offensive looks even as a stationary perimeter shooter.

As for Owens, I think it is a preference that Travis has in having Anderson on the floor as the post defender. Owens is more of a 3/4 than he's a 4/5 and struggled significantly last year in that post defender role. With Bannan a clearer 4 than a 5, and a desire to keep Bannan out of foul trouble makes Owens the odd man out. Anderson, Blakney and Bannan seems to be the interchangable trio there alternating between 4/5 and Owens who is much better in that swing 3/4 guy both offensively and defensively finds him behind two or three guys that are a lot better candidates in some ways for what Travis is asking of them on both ends.

That being said, this offense is still brutal. As Kyle Sample noted on twitter, over coached and way too many things going on to end up with your third or fourth option on any given possession to take mediocre shots.
 
My criticism of Bannan is even though his numbers, 12 Pt’s. and 8 rebounds which are good numbers but he has not been consistent as evidenced by your stats. I reference back to the Oregon game when he had a wide open 3 and passed. He needs to either take it to the hole or shot.if he’s going to be the go to guy then he needs to set an example for his teammates. Don’t get me wrong I like him a lot, he has a very high upside but he has to be more aggressive. He’s more of a finesse guy and not a banger which is not a criticism.
 
Grizfan-24 said:
I think several things have played out that have reduced playing time for both.

I don't understand some of it, and because I am not at practice, I'll leave the personnel choice decisions to Travis.

There are a couple of issues based upon what I have seen this year that are clear harbingers as to why Vasquez and Owens aren't playing.

What Travis is running this offensively is clearly limiting Vasquez role on the floor. Travis wants and seems to prefer two dribble first ball handlers on the floor of which Beasley, Whitney, and Parker. They are running tuns of hi low screens and ball picks, and as Vasquez has shown over the past two years he isn't that dynamic with the ball in his hand as a scorer. They aren't running a lot of motion, of which he benefits, and he isn't that great of a ball handler in respect to the other three. So if he is going to play it is more of the Martin position, and he can't defend the position. He's a 1/2 combo guard and not a wing. Best pure shooter we have but isn't a great shot creator for himself, and in a system that rewards plays at the rim he's not going to get a ton of offensive looks even as a stationary perimeter shooter.

As for Owens, I think it is a preference that Travis has in having Anderson on the floor as the post defender. Owens is more of a 3/4 than he's a 4/5 and struggled significantly last year in that post defender role. With Bannan a clearer 4 than a 5, and a desire to keep Bannan out of foul trouble makes Owens the odd man out. Anderson, Blakney and Bannan seems to be the interchangable trio there alternating between 4/5 and Owens who is much better in that swing 3/4 guy both offensively and defensively finds him behind two or three guys that are a lot better candidates in some ways for what Travis is asking of them on both ends.

That being said, this offense is still brutal. As Kyle Sample noted on twitter, over coached and way too many things going on to end up with your third or fourth option on any given possession to take mediocre shots.
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That all makes sense. It's frustrating in both cases. Most every team has a designated marksman, sniper, sharpshooter, etc. No doubt in my mind, Vasquez could be that guy here, too. Unfortunately, he's not in a system that caters to that very often. Defensively, he's solid. He's also a good distributor. I feel, he's lost his confidence. I do hope, we find ways to take advantage of his shooting.

Owens, in my opinion, is a diamond in the rough. His only weakness is post up strength. However, he's long and versatile on both ends of the court. IF I coached Owens, he'd be my 5 position defender, determined by matchups. His length and agility make this possible. Also, he's almost always in the right spots defensively. He's the best at taking charges as well. Offensively, he's a true SF/ 3. He can score at all 3 levels. He's a solid passer, and can handle the ball against bigger defenders. To me, he should be our Swiss army knife, Jack of all trades, etc. His versatility would be a huge asset, in my opinion. Maybe, he's to low key and even keeled, or there are things we don't know of. His not seeing minutes is a mystery to me. I absolutely love the kid.

Here's to hoping, they both contribute more and are utilized better.
 
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