I know it's early, but with the recent additions it feels like the roster is coming together. We need another guard and a wing. But with the roster in its current shape, what/who do you feel will be the biggest factor in the team's success? Obviously, some will be compelled to say "Kugel." What other thoughts do you have? I will start by saying "This team will go as far as its improvement on the glass can take it." We have some scorers and an improved lineup of shooters already. How tough can we be on the glass?
Samuel is the bellwether Clayton has to be freed to roam the arc and knock down shots .... heard on the podcast that he hit 49.5 % on catch and shoot 3s Kugel will be the explosive flashy guy and might even have the ball in his hands a lot. but I feel like we have to have solid inside play, so I say SAMUEL edited to change Payton to Clayton...had Sweetness on my mind
Golden's Offense I think he has the defensive side of the ball more figured out than the offensive side. I'd like to see him get an OC type assistant coach who can help in this regard. It could have been the personnel this year, but a lot of the time it looked like we weren't even running an offense.
Yeah, my first thought was Kugel, but that's not fair to him. With the other things sounding good, not to be a copycat, I'll go with what made the biggest difference in wins versus losses last year and say, "The team will go as far as improved 3-point shooting takes it."
I would definitely go with Kugel. His playmaking ability--getting his own jumper, attacking the rim, passing--is what should make him the straw that stirs the drink. He will do for us what Keyontae did for K-State this year, IMO. But if Richard makes a jump defensively and creating his own shots, he could be sneakily improved. I think Samuel will basically give us a consistent scoring presence in the paint who can play alongside a bigger guy like Handlogten because he can defend fours out in space.
Kugel is the obvious answer, because he'll be asked to make plays with the game on the line. But making the NCAAT and going on a run there will require everyone to play at a high level. I think we will. We've got height and shooting, a combination we haven't had in a long time. PG is still a question mark. No team gets far without good PG play.
You know, Clayton was recruited as a point guard out of high school and was listed as a point guard by Iona, even if he played alongside a primary ballhandler, and we are listing him as a combo guard. He has a solid assist rate and a terrific turnover rate. Yes, we keep hearing that he plays very well off the ball as a shooter and cutter, but I see no reason he can't be our starting point guard. We will run lots of stuff through Kugel, but Clayton can get the ball up the court against pressure and he can create off the bounce. And, as others have said, if he wants to make it to the next level, he won't be able to defend NBA wings at that size. I have him mentally penciled in as our starting one. It's also worth saying that Clayton had better assist and turnover rates last year than Tylor Perry, who many are saying would be our starting point guard.
I agree with you in that rebounding, defensive and offensive might be the single biggest improvement we will see this season. And, we really need it. Every rebound on the offensive side is like a free possession and many are put back baskets. The teams that advanced far into the tourney were all good rebounding teams; UConn was exceptional.
Yep. We looked like a different team on nights when we were shooting the 3 well. But those nights were few and far between.
To have a deep run in The Dance you have to be good and you need to be lucky. The better you are the less luck you need. I think that this team will go as far as good luck takes them. Let's talk about our Final Four runs. In 1994 we almost lost to James Madison in the first round. We were lucky that a JM player dribbled the ball off his foot. And then against UConn we were lucky that Donyell Marshall missed both free throws to send the game into overtime. In 2000 we were lucky that a very good free throw shooter from Butler missed two free throws and then lucky with Skinny's game winning shot. In 2006 we were lucky with Brewer's circus shot that went in for an And One. In 2007 and 2014 we didn't need any luck to make the Final Four. We were really good and just needed to avoid bad luck or our opponent getting really lucky.
Yeah, I still stew over Gonzaga's Casey Calvary climbing the back of Brent Wright to get the offensive rebound and the put-back. No friggin' call. We had the lead, Brent had perfect box-out position. It was textbook stuff. And no friggin' call. Grrrrr... I think it was a Sweet 16 game, not an Elite 8 though.
Worst "bad luck" was when the refs decided to let Butler back in the game with some really poor calls. Worst "screw up" was losing to South Carolina after beating Wisconsin in an epic game with the Cheeze trey at the buzzer.
