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The "Big" Shift

citygriz

Well-known member
One thing we've never had to worry about during the DeCuire era: Our guard line. From Oguine and Rorie through Pridgett, Manuel and Falls, right up to Beasley and Parker, guard play at Montana has never been an issue.

But bigs? Always an issue. And the stats bore it out. Last year we were the worst rebounding team in a mediocre conference, and one of the worst in the nation.

Next year? The script may have completely flipped.

Anderson and Bannan are both back. Rhett Reynolds enters as a freshman and John Solomon comes off a redshirt year. Plus we add two seemingly talented bigs through the portal, Laolu Oke and Dischon Thomas.

Suddenly this team is big. But--what about our guard line? Do we have enough fire power there?

I think Beasley and Parker were huge losses. Beasley will prove out at Davis as a big-time talent, and much of our offense last year was built around Parker.

Can Vazquez and Whitney pick up the slack? Can Isaiah Kerr contribute as a freshman? (He was only "Honorable Mention" all-Bay Area this year, while Will Cherry and Beasley were both ranked much higher as high school recruits.)

I believe Josh Vazquez now emerges as a huge key to our success next year. Can he regain his stroke from deep? Is he the distributor that DeCuire touted when he entered the program?

I love our new roster. As to bigs, it was time. But this is still the three-ball era. We need shooters.

Do we have them?
 
This past season, I questioned, why didn't the GRIZ run the same "Beasley " plays for other shooters? He was open frequently, compared to other shooters. There was more motion, semi screens, etc designed to get him looks. Meanwhile, other players seldom had the same luxury.

Compared to many conference teams, our motion was often limited. Regardless of personnel, this has to improve. The whole team needs to focus more on motion and ball movement, to replace Parker's role.

For starters, Bannan absolutely needs to be more aware of how much attention he draws. Backside perimeter shooters and cutters are often available for him to utilize. Bannan dumping that ever so slow push perimeter shot, would be an improvement as well.

Anderson needs to hit mid range shots, just enough to be a semi threat.

DCH needs to be used as a 3 and be used more in the post, when defended by smaller weaker players. Think of how Jamar and Pridgett were utilized with post up isolation. DCH is strong, like they were. I think he's capable of either scoring or setting up teammates on post isolation.

Whitney, with a consistent 3 pt shot, would be 1 of the top guards in the conference. I really like his potential.

At the very least, the additional size should give DeCuire more peace of mind, to give perimeter shooting more freedom.

Finally, is this going to be the right personnel for DeCuire to confidently utilize a 10 man rotation? The incoming transfers and Freshman will have to be ready, if DeCuire were to give it a go. Then again, I've been wanting this for a few years now.

Speaking of transfers, I'm told , they're expected to be major contributors, and are ready to be just that.
 
citay said:
One thing we've never had to worry about during the DeCuire era: Our guard line. From Oguine and Rorie through Pridgett, Manuel and Falls, right up to Beasley and Parker, guard play at Montana has never been an issue.

But bigs? Always an issue. And the stats bore it out. Last year we were the worst rebounding team in a mediocre conference, and one of the worst in the nation.

Next year? The script may have completely flipped.

Anderson and Bannan are both back. Rhett Reynolds enters as a freshman and John Solomon comes off a redshirt year. Plus we add two seemingly talented bigs through the portal, Laolu Oke and Dischon Thomas.

Suddenly this team is big. But--what about our guard line? Do we have enough fire power there?

I think Beasley and Parker were huge losses. Beasley will prove out at Davis as a big-time talent, and much of our offense last year was built around Parker.

Can Vazquez and Whitney pick up the slack? Can Isaiah Kerr contribute as a freshman? (He was only "Honorable Mention" all-Bay Area this year, while Will Cherry and Beasley were both ranked much higher as high school recruits.)

I believe Josh Vazquez now emerges as a huge key to our success next year. Can he regain his stroke from deep? Is he the distributor that DeCuire touted when he entered the program?

I love our new roster. As to bigs, it was time. But this is still the three-ball era. We need shooters.

Do we have them?
I think Martin can shoot. He will probably have more opportunities this year. Dischon Thomas is also a good 3 pt shooter. If the Griz sign the transfer from New Hamphire that will help also. But I agree there is an opportunity for Vasquez to finish his career on a positive note.
 
On paper this looks like the up tempo we all have been waiting for, bigs grabbing rebounds and getting it out, early offense , 9-10 man rotation .....big boy basketball.
Are we capable of that much change.


Play it and they will come
 
fanofzoo said:
On paper this looks like the up tempo we all have been waiting for, bigs grabbing rebounds and getting it out, early offense , 9-10 man rotation .....big boy basketball.
Are we capable of that much change.


Play it and they will come

I sure hope you're right. You can't run if you can't rebound. Oke not only looks like a good rebounder but a guy who can run the floor

Like you and Grizrule, I've been arguing for deeper rotations and more movement off the ball for a long time. This was the "identity" we were promised when DeCuire took over.

Basketball can be such a fun game when the ball is zipping, players moving, hot potato, hot potato, tic-tac-toe. I'm no fan of one-on-one basketball. I loved the "show time" Lakers. I love the Warriors. I hate "grind-house" basketball.

As the blues saying goes, "Hey, let's have some fun! You only live once, and when you're dead you're done."

Fun is what will bring fans back to Dahlberg. I hope we see more of it next season.
 
Quote, “when the ball is zipping,” having watched some aau organized games for high school prospects, they get the ball and run. Having watched griz games, they get the ball and look to the sidelines while Travis tells everyone where to go. It’s a question of can he change his idea of a game, or does he expect his players to change to his style, which is not how the game is played now. Fans love fast played games. Otherwise, watch baseball.
 
mtgrizrule said:
This past season, I questioned, why didn't the GRIZ run the same "Beasley " plays for other shooters? He was open frequently, compared to other shooters. There was more motion, semi screens, etc designed to get him looks. Meanwhile, other players seldom had the same luxury.

Compared to many conference teams, our motion was often limited. Regardless of personnel, this has to improve. The whole team needs to focus more on motion and ball movement, to replace Parker's role.

For starters, Bannan absolutely needs to be more aware of how much attention he draws. Backside perimeter shooters and cutters are often available for him to utilize. Bannan dumping that ever so slow push perimeter shot, would be an improvement as well.

Anderson needs to hit mid range shots, just enough to be a semi threat.

DCH needs to be used as a 3 and be used more in the post, when defended by smaller weaker players. Think of how Jamar and Pridgett were utilized with post up isolation. DCH is strong, like they were. I think he's capable of either scoring or setting up teammates on post isolation.

Whitney, with a consistent 3 pt shot, would be 1 of the top guards in the conference. I really like his potential.

At the very least, the additional size should give DeCuire more peace of mind, to give perimeter shooting more freedom.

Finally, is this going to be the right personnel for DeCuire to confidently utilize a 10 man rotation? The incoming transfers and Freshman will have to be ready, if DeCuire were to give it a go. Then again, I've been wanting this for a few years now.

Speaking of transfers, I'm told , they're expected to be major contributors, and are ready to be just that.

Anderson needs to actually look to shoot and not look to automatically pass it to someone else! Look at some old Krysko Highlights!
 
citay said:
One thing we've never had to worry about during the DeCuire era: Our guard line. From Oguine and Rorie through Pridgett, Manuel and Falls, right up to Beasley and Parker, guard play at Montana has never been an issue.

But bigs? Always an issue. And the stats bore it out. Last year we were the worst rebounding team in a mediocre conference, and one of the worst in the nation.

Next year? The script may have completely flipped.

Anderson and Bannan are both back. Rhett Reynolds enters as a freshman and John Solomon comes off a redshirt year. Plus we add two seemingly talented bigs through the portal, Laolu Oke and Dischon Thomas.

Suddenly this team is big. But--what about our guard line? Do we have enough fire power there?

I think Beasley and Parker were huge losses. Beasley will prove out at Davis as a big-time talent, and much of our offense last year was built around Parker.

Can Vazquez and Whitney pick up the slack? Can Isaiah Kerr contribute as a freshman? (He was only "Honorable Mention" all-Bay Area this year, while Will Cherry and Beasley were both ranked much higher as high school recruits.)

I believe Josh Vazquez now emerges as a huge key to our success next year. Can he regain his stroke from deep? Is he the distributor that DeCuire touted when he entered the program?

I love our new roster. As to bigs, it was time. But this is still the three-ball era. We need shooters.

Do we have them?

I agree,citay. We've had plenty of good guard play and consistently poor inside play under DeCuire. I thought Mack Anderson showed some potential as a frosh. But now if he doesn't have an easy dunk, he looks lost. He has Zero post-moves if defended properly, and he doesn't get many rebounds either. I have no idea what goes on at practice or how to make Mack better personally, but I have no doubt Tinks would have improved him a little, at least.
 
mtgrizrule said:
This past season, I questioned, why didn't the GRIZ run the same "Beasley " plays for other shooters? He was open frequently, compared to other shooters. There was more motion, semi screens, etc designed to get him looks. Meanwhile, other players seldom had the same luxury.

Compared to many conference teams, our motion was often limited. Regardless of personnel, this has to improve. The whole team needs to focus more on motion and ball movement, to replace Parker's role.

For starters, Bannan absolutely needs to be more aware of how much attention he draws. Backside perimeter shooters and cutters are often available for him to utilize. Bannan dumping that ever so slow push perimeter shot, would be an improvement as well.

Anderson needs to hit mid range shots, just enough to be a semi threat.

DCH needs to be used as a 3 and be used more in the post, when defended by smaller weaker players. Think of how Jamar and Pridgett were utilized with post up isolation. DCH is strong, like they were. I think he's capable of either scoring or setting up teammates on post isolation.

Whitney, with a consistent 3 pt shot, would be 1 of the top guards in the conference. I really like his potential.

At the very least, the additional size should give DeCuire more peace of mind, to give perimeter shooting more freedom.

Finally, is this going to be the right personnel for DeCuire to confidently utilize a 10 man rotation? The incoming transfers and Freshman will have to be ready, if DeCuire were to give it a go. Then again, I've been wanting this for a few years now.

Speaking of transfers, I'm told , they're expected to be major contributors, and are ready to be just that.

Agreed on all points and know that Beasley was upset about not getting enough screens. :?
 
GrizPony said:
mtgrizrule said:
This past season, I questioned, why didn't the GRIZ run the same "Beasley " plays for other shooters? He was open frequently, compared to other shooters. There was more motion, semi screens, etc designed to get him looks. Meanwhile, other players seldom had the same luxury.

Compared to many conference teams, our motion was often limited. Regardless of personnel, this has to improve. The whole team needs to focus more on motion and ball movement, to replace Parker's role.

For starters, Bannan absolutely needs to be more aware of how much attention he draws. Backside perimeter shooters and cutters are often available for him to utilize. Bannan dumping that ever so slow push perimeter shot, would be an improvement as well.

Anderson needs to hit mid range shots, just enough to be a semi threat.

DCH needs to be used as a 3 and be used more in the post, when defended by smaller weaker players. Think of how Jamar and Pridgett were utilized with post up isolation. DCH is strong, like they were. I think he's capable of either scoring or setting up teammates on post isolation.

Whitney, with a consistent 3 pt shot, would be 1 of the top guards in the conference. I really like his potential.

At the very least, the additional size should give DeCuire more peace of mind, to give perimeter shooting more freedom.

Finally, is this going to be the right personnel for DeCuire to confidently utilize a 10 man rotation? The incoming transfers and Freshman will have to be ready, if DeCuire were to give it a go. Then again, I've been wanting this for a few years now.

Speaking of transfers, I'm told , they're expected to be major contributors, and are ready to be just that.

Agreed on all points and know that Beasley was upset about not getting enough screens. :?

Hate to say it, shooters should be upset or frustrated, with it. The last handful of home games, I didn't see more than 2 true contact screens being set, in any 1 game. I saw a lot of early release screens (not keeping position through contact), even dead screens (no contact). I'm not exaggerating this either. The screens were close to non existent the later part of the season. I as a fan was frustrated by it. This coming season, this absolutely needs improvement. Then again, I'm a stickler for attention to detail.
 
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