After Navy I posted about how much time our ballscreen motion offense wastes with the ball in Calixte's hands 15+ feet away from the basket, where he's not a threat to pass, drive, or shoot. Saw a couple things last night:
- First play of the game was a quick hitter hi/lo action where Greg had the ball in the high post and threw a nice lob entry into AJ, who was being fronted. Nice easy bucket for AJ and I'm almost certain they drew this up deliberately, since Greg hasn't shown the passing chops to improvise.
- Oduro was stuck with the ball in the high post at one point and no one was coming to bail him out, so he just... dribbled out. I was kind of shocked because I didn't think Oduro could do that, and I don't think I've ever seen Greg do it.
Other thoughts:
- Oduro looks like a quintessential Paulsen 5. Moves well for his size, defends with his feet/ positioning, has touch around the basket. Shot looks good too. Might surpass Calixte soon, because Greg is limited offensively and a liability at the line. But we've finally got depth at the 5!
- I asked Jamal about attacking ballscreens in the presser and he said it's basically all he's been working on since he's been here. I love how he's a threat to pop or drive - just like Otis - but the critical difference is he has a floater. Otis never developed one and had to get to the rim for all sorts of tough buckets, which contributed to the beating he took over the years.
- I only counted one time AJ took himself out of rebounding position by trying to block a shot he had no chance at. Progress! Not complaining about the five blocks, but I would love to see him try the Bill Russell, where instead of a volleyball spike into the earth's core, he tips it and maintains possession. One can dream.
- Javon might be emerging as The Guy in Kier's absence. Hit some big threes when our three-frosh lineup let Longwood back in it.
- XJ drew Shabooty for large parts of the game and did great. Shabooty finished 3-14.
- Goanar made exactly one (1) aggressive play on offense that was good to see. Drove, spun, and pulled up for a short J over a smaller defender. If I'm Dave I make sure he takes three of those per game until he gets his mojo back.
- Jordan's been a little quiet to start the season. I know he says his natural position is on the wing, but pulling him away from the basket neutralizes his offensive rebounding superpower. Not sure how I feel about this yet or if it will rectify itself, but we'll need more than his 8+3 average against good teams.
- Dady (actually pronounced Dad-zee, which somehow makes it even cooler) probably shows out at some point OOC. Still getting up to speed, but he's an athlete and fought four some hard rebounds. Really like what I'm seeing out of this class.
Overall I think Dave is still messing around with lineups. The 3 frosh lineup gave up most of the lead and he still kept them in, then we pulled away with the starters minus Calixte. I'd expect to see this all OOC, then a much shorter rotation in conference play.
