Welcome Jaire Grayer

[GMUgemini]

Strong arguement can also be made that without him we are no better than 7th to 12th this year with 2 and done on A10 tourney. If Greene and JDS are the future, then the future is now. Neither have proven to be complete players. Jds is way off, and Green still hasnt found a consistent shot. So here we go again, trying to keep up.

Isn’t Boyd going to be taking a lot of those minutes? JDS will be backing up whoever plays the 2. Boyd has been hitting 3s a lot more consistently (made 4 straight against Navy) and is shooting 41% overall on the year. Grayer is currently second at 40%. Otis is shooting around 35% in his last 6. Kier is at 35% and Greene is at 32%.

Yeah, they might be playing better now, but that’s because Grayer was playing hurt and so his defense was limited. You put a fully healthy Grayer on this team and we are at least 3 wins better, maybe 4. Looks like he’s red-shirting the year so we will never know. Still think he’d have a spot in next year’s team if we can keep him.

 

[gmujim92]

Strong arguement can also be made that without him we are no better than 7th to 12th this year with 2 and done on A10 tourney. If Greene and JDS are the future, then the future is now. Neither have proven to be complete players. Jds is way off, and Green still hasnt found a consistent shot. So here we go again, trying to keep up.

Injuries happen to every team. While it sucks to lose a senior and our most consistent 3-point shooter, SG/SF is the spot where we are deepest and thus most able to absorb an injury like this. Other guys are stepping forward and will have to continue to do so over the remainder of the season. Next man up.

 

[gmutom]

I give Dave a ton of credit for giving guys time to work out their slumps, but it's way past time to bring Mar off the bench. Although he has shown sporadic hints of his former self, it's simply not enough to warrant starting at this point — especially since his lack of scoring is magnified even more with Grayer out.

Factoring in that Wilson is nursing an injury, my starting 5 beginning today would be Otis, Kier, Boyd, Greene and Reuter. Gonar and Calixte seem to complement one another, so they could come off the bench with Hartwell, AJ and Douglas-Stanley.

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

Factoring in that Wilson is nursing an injury, my starting 5 beginning today would be Otis, Kier, Boyd, Greene and Reuter. Gonar and Calixte seem to complement one another, so they could come off the bench with Hartwell, AJ and Douglas-Stanley.

This team needs a Jarred Reuter, they just don't need him to start. I am pretty positive Reuter's performace would highly benefit coming off the bench.

He can take a look at the landscape of a game and have time to absorb the flow. He may notice some tendencies of the oppononent first, then come in and take advantage of that reconassaince. This has worked magic for Boyd. Ian is good enough to be a starter talent wise, but some unquantifiable dynamic dictates he's better for the team coming off the bench.

 

[FreeGunston12]

This team needs a Jarred Reuter, they just don't need him to start. I am pretty positive Reuter's performace would highly benefit coming off the bench.

He can take a look at the landscape of a game and have time to absorb the flow. He may notice some tendencies of the oppononent first, then come in and take advantage of that reconassaince. This has worked magic for Boyd. Ian is good enough to be a starter talent wise, but some unquantifiable dynamic dictates he's better for the team coming off the bench.

Agree. I don’t want to see Reuter in the game for the first 5 or 6 minutes. Letting the other bigs get tired may mask some of Reuter’s weaknesses, just like it magnifies AJ’s strengths.

If anything, I think Grayer being out solidifies us continuing to start 2 bigs. I’m not as comfortable with Boyd & Greene at the 3&4 as Grayer & Boyd/Greene. Not sure if DP agrees though.

 

[gmutom]

This team needs a Jarred Reuter, they just don't need him to start. I am pretty positive Reuter's performace would highly benefit coming off the bench.

Chank, I've been asking for Reuter to come off the bench for a while now, but I don't see that working until AJ is 100 percent. Our biggest issue right now is chemistry, and a big part of that problem is not necessarily about when Jared is on the floor but which players he's on the floor with.

I think Mar and Reuter have shown they don't mesh well with one another at all, so my starting five would either have Mar start with Calixte or have AJ (when healthy) start with Reuter. Ultimately, it's more important which five players are on the court at the end of the game than at the beginning, but the incessant slow starts make that moot if we dig ourselves too big of a hole from which to come back.

 

[GMUgemini]

I've been calling for AJ and Reuter to start together for awhile. I think AJ's offensive rebounding prowess (not to mention his athleticism to finish at the rim) and shot blocking ability would compliment Reuter's strengths and weaknesses really well.

What might be holding him back? A ton of teams we've seen play a 4 or 5 out scheme and he's not as good of a perimeter defender as Mar. But he's so dynamic and quick to recover I don't think that's a reason to not do it.

 

[gmujim92]

I've been calling for AJ and Reuter to start together for awhile. I think AJ's offensive rebounding prowess (not to mention his athleticism to finish at the rim) and shot blocking ability would compliment Reuter's strengths and weaknesses really well.

What might be holding him back? A ton of teams we've seen play a 4 or 5 out scheme and he's not as good of a perimeter defender as Mar. But he's so dynamic and quick to recover I don't think that's a reason to not do it.

With Grayer gone, I really would like to see us go big and slide Goanar down to the 3 with AJ at the 4 and either Reuter and Calixte at the 5.

If I could hypnotize Dave, I’d make him start AJ and play him 30 mpg for a stretch of games so he can get into a rhythm and we can really see what he’s capable of doing with more than spot minutes.

AJ and Goanar are two of our best defenders and playing them together would make it much harder to score on us around the basket, which remains one of our major weaknesses. I have to think it would also help with our rebounding issues.

With Boyd subbing in at the 3, that would still leave us with Otis, Kier and Greene playing the majority of the minutes at the 1 and 2.

We don’t have a team that can beat teams consistently with the 3, so we should pound the paint and focus on getting a lot of very high-percentage 2s.

 

[GMUgemini]

I could see that, Jim, but I don't know how well that's going to work this season moving Mar to a different position and changing up the offense that much. It's something I kind of advocated for in the offseason even if Grayer had stayed -- Otis, Grayer, Mar, AJ, Reuter. Of course, with Mar's disastrous start to the season, I don't know if that was genius or foolhardy.

I'd love to see it next year, though -- Kier, Greene, Mar, AJ, Reuter. That might be some really, really bad 3-point shooting, though.

 

[GSII]

Mar would thrive at the 3.

 

[gmujim92]

I could see that, Jim, but I don't know how well that's going to work this season moving Mar to a different position and changing up the offense that much. It's something I kind of advocated for in the offseason even if Grayer had stayed -- Otis, Grayer, Mar, AJ, Reuter. Of course, with Mar's disastrous start to the season, I don't know if that was genius or foolhardy.

I'd love to see it next year, though -- Kier, Greene, Mar, AJ, Reuter. That might be some really, really bad 3-point shooting, though.

Goanar is a natural 3 defensively and would’ve been playing there from the start if we hadn’t been so shorthanded on bigs and needed him in the paint.

Sliding him down a spot would take advantage of his length and ability to contest perimeter shots. Most importantly, it would also create an opportunity for AJ to play starter minutes.

I know he isn’t Dave’s textbook example of a 4-man and he isn’t always in the right spot on either end, but we are a different team athletically when AJ is on the floor. He does things physically that nobody else on our team can do.

Hopefully his reduced minutes of late have been due to injury because we need him out there once the A-10 schedule begins.

 

[Herndon]

I pretty strongly disagree about Mar on the wing. Guys with a quickness disadvantage, even guys with good reach with a quickness disadvantage, is not who I want defending the perimeter

 

[FreeGunston12]

I pretty strongly disagree about Mar on the wing. Guys with a quickness disadvantage, even guys with good reach with a quickness disadvantage, is not who I want defending the perimeter

100%. He is also a walking turnover if he has to put the ball on the floor against guards. Mar played his best basketball last year as an undersized 5. Right now, I don’t see him as anything other than a stretch 4.

 

[gmujim92]

I pretty strongly disagree about Mar on the wing. Guys with a quickness disadvantage, even guys with good reach with a quickness disadvantage, is not who I want defending the perimeter

Goanar already guards on the perimeter and does a good job of keeping his man in front of him. Nobody is talking about asking him to defend point guards so not sure what “quickness disadvantage” you are referring to.

 

[MasonSAE4]

With Grayer gone, I really would like to see us go big and slide Goanar down to the 3 with AJ at the 4 and either Reuter and Calixte at the 5.

If I could hypnotize Dave, I’d make him start AJ and play him 30 mpg for a stretch of games so he can get into a rhythm and we can really see what he’s capable of doing with more than spot minutes.

AJ and Goanar are two of our best defenders and playing them together would make it much harder to score on us around the basket, which remains one of our major weaknesses. I have to think it would also help with our rebounding issues.

With Boyd subbing in at the 3, that would still leave us with Otis, Kier and Greene playing the majority of the minutes at the 1 and 2.

We don’t have a team that can beat teams consistently with the 3, so we should pound the paint and focus on getting a lot of very high-percentage 2s.

Give me Gonar, AJ, and Reuter starting. I know Reuter has had a slow start but his deficiencies are on the defensive side of the ball (and to a lesser extent rebounding) which AJ helps cover for. Plus, Gonar being able to keep a 3 out on the perimeter will radically help. A lot of our problems come from opposing players building up a head of steam and charging by us to the basket. I actually think Jarred has played some pretty good defense when the ball gets dumped into the post; some guys have just managed to hit shots over him which isn’t his fault.

 

[Herndon]

Goanar already guards on the perimeter and does a good job of keeping his man in front of him. Nobody is talking about asking him to defend point guards so not sure what “quickness disadvantage” you are referring to.

I very much respect your opinion, but I disagree that he has done a "good job" this year. I'll watch closely saturday, but my recollection is that he has been (like the rest of the perimeter defenders) largely a sieve on D.

 

[FreeGunston12]

Give me Gonar, AJ, and Reuter starting. I know Reuter has had a slow start but his deficiencies are on the defensive side of the ball (and to a lesser extent rebounding) which AJ helps cover for. Plus, Gonar being able to keep a 3 out on the perimeter will radically help. A lot of our problems come from opposing players building up a head of steam and charging by us to the basket. I actually think Jarred has played some pretty good defense when the ball gets dumped into the post; some guys have just managed to hit shots over him which isn’t his fault.

The rotation would be all jacked up if we went in this direction. You’re left with Calixte as the only big on the bench. I wouldn’t expect to see this change at this point in the season.

Also, I continue to agree with Herndon that Goanar is not quicker than Greene/Boyd, and he would not be better at preventing penetration from the wing.

Start Calixte and Mar. Bring in AJ and Reuter as sparks off the bench. Give them all about an even share of the minutes.

 

[gmujim92]

I very much respect your opinion, but I disagree that he has done a "good job" this year. I'll watch closely saturday, but my recollection is that he has been (like the rest of the perimeter defenders) largely a sieve on D.

I likewise respect your opinion, but there’s a reason Dave keeps running Goanar out there for 25-plus mpg and it’s certainly not his offense.

 

[mkaufman1]

One of the things I noticed with Goanar is that his defense was really good against JMU and he crashed the glass hard with effort. I have to think that’s why he gets the minutes he gets. The only game I’ve seen in person this year but I watched carefully.

 

[Jack Strop]

Did someone lock or delete the "GoMar" thread?