CleanHOUSE
Well-known member
1. The team has shown improvement in every game, not necessarily that each game is better than the last, but against NAU we fought back AND closed out a tight game with relative authority for the first time. Against Sac St. We had a post presence emerge and won without Pridgett having to be a one man wrecking crew. Against SUU we were able to win on the road and played consistently enough to avoid a big scoring drought and creating a big hill to climb. Against UNCO...I had the Pats game dividing my attention, but I thought it was the first game that made me think ok we are legit a good team. UNCO looked like a step up in comp and they played well, like we got UNCO's best in the 2nd game of a road trip and even with Pridgett having a bit of a off game we played with them and had enough firepower to match them for most of the game. Sometimes you can hang close with a team but never really have enough bite to be a threat to win i.e. us v New Mexico, but against a hot shooting UNCO we could have won that game with a little extra juice in our legs.
2. Player Development.........
Vasquez has become a reliable PG who I don't worry about
Falls is one of the best defender in BSC and has been a bit more careful with the ball
Manuel has expanded his offensive game to be a threat from a lot more areas on the court than just the 3pt line.
Owens has started to find a more defined roll as a 2nd big and as a consequence has started to find spots to be aggressive and when he does go for his shot he has been efficient if not very clutch.
DCH I would pretty much echo my comments for Owens
Samuelson has really come on and shown great health and stamina with his recent performances, which is a long way from where he was at the beginning of the year. Credit to all the hard work he must have put in to play work horse minutes and be productive. Oh and his 3pt range has been huge!
Selcuck has looked powerful and skilled when he plays...is he banged up?
Anderson still fumbles the ball at an amazing rate, but in his last few appearances looks he can now be counted on to come in and hold down the fort defensively when needed
Pridgett has shouldered the load for use all year and is a true number one.
3. Weakness
I think what the UNCO game showed me is that we lack some team speed or players with a combo of speed and power. In the past we have had guys like Cherry Rorie Ogunie who can blow by and drive from the perimeter for easy layups. This year we don't have anybody who can play like a running back. UNCO had those guys and when they really needed to get to the rim they could do it. Pridgett is great at getting to the rim but usually needs to get a entry pass if he tries to drive from the perimeter there are some ball security issues. Falls is quick enough to cut by guys but to often ends up out of control at the rim. I was hoping Egun might emerge as a dribble drive type guy because he seems to be quick and have a pretty sturdy build but he hasn't seen a lot of playing time. Its been hard for use to get to the FT line without guards that can drive from the perimeter.
We need one more outside shooter. Right now we have a decent low post threat in Samuelson and Selcuck and Owens, DCH, and Pridgett can all score from around the FT line in but the D can collapse pretty hard on those guys as long as they cover Manuel, if Vasquez could rediscover his early season shooting stroke or Pridgett could find the 3 shot he had last year all of sudden it way harder to collapse extra help when the ball goes down low.
TLDR: 2nd 3pts threat and a dribble drive threat could put this team over the top.
Closing: I dislike when analysts talk about young teams or players that are doing well and use the cliche "this team is only scratching the surface" or "this guy can only get better" or "this team hasn't even reached it full potential"
In reality young players/teams while they can flash at a high level they usually don't just get better every game and part of their nature is to be up and down and inconsistent and the aggregate can be pretty sub par. But People like to consider what if they played their best all the time lol, instead of what they look like at their worst or what the minimum you can expect from them every night is.
With that in mind what has impressed me so far about this young team is that they mostly have built upon success and improved in a steady fashion each game and every players basement has proven to be pretty high, a bad night for each of the guys on this team is not that bad and that a recipe for success. Our worst is pretty solid and even on off nights we are going to have a chance to win.
2. Player Development.........
Vasquez has become a reliable PG who I don't worry about
Falls is one of the best defender in BSC and has been a bit more careful with the ball
Manuel has expanded his offensive game to be a threat from a lot more areas on the court than just the 3pt line.
Owens has started to find a more defined roll as a 2nd big and as a consequence has started to find spots to be aggressive and when he does go for his shot he has been efficient if not very clutch.
DCH I would pretty much echo my comments for Owens
Samuelson has really come on and shown great health and stamina with his recent performances, which is a long way from where he was at the beginning of the year. Credit to all the hard work he must have put in to play work horse minutes and be productive. Oh and his 3pt range has been huge!
Selcuck has looked powerful and skilled when he plays...is he banged up?
Anderson still fumbles the ball at an amazing rate, but in his last few appearances looks he can now be counted on to come in and hold down the fort defensively when needed
Pridgett has shouldered the load for use all year and is a true number one.
3. Weakness
I think what the UNCO game showed me is that we lack some team speed or players with a combo of speed and power. In the past we have had guys like Cherry Rorie Ogunie who can blow by and drive from the perimeter for easy layups. This year we don't have anybody who can play like a running back. UNCO had those guys and when they really needed to get to the rim they could do it. Pridgett is great at getting to the rim but usually needs to get a entry pass if he tries to drive from the perimeter there are some ball security issues. Falls is quick enough to cut by guys but to often ends up out of control at the rim. I was hoping Egun might emerge as a dribble drive type guy because he seems to be quick and have a pretty sturdy build but he hasn't seen a lot of playing time. Its been hard for use to get to the FT line without guards that can drive from the perimeter.
We need one more outside shooter. Right now we have a decent low post threat in Samuelson and Selcuck and Owens, DCH, and Pridgett can all score from around the FT line in but the D can collapse pretty hard on those guys as long as they cover Manuel, if Vasquez could rediscover his early season shooting stroke or Pridgett could find the 3 shot he had last year all of sudden it way harder to collapse extra help when the ball goes down low.
TLDR: 2nd 3pts threat and a dribble drive threat could put this team over the top.
Closing: I dislike when analysts talk about young teams or players that are doing well and use the cliche "this team is only scratching the surface" or "this guy can only get better" or "this team hasn't even reached it full potential"
In reality young players/teams while they can flash at a high level they usually don't just get better every game and part of their nature is to be up and down and inconsistent and the aggregate can be pretty sub par. But People like to consider what if they played their best all the time lol, instead of what they look like at their worst or what the minimum you can expect from them every night is.
With that in mind what has impressed me so far about this young team is that they mostly have built upon success and improved in a steady fashion each game and every players basement has proven to be pretty high, a bad night for each of the guys on this team is not that bad and that a recipe for success. Our worst is pretty solid and even on off nights we are going to have a chance to win.
