Random Thoughts

[Clickclack]

Are Tim and Fran going to be the only seniors on the squad next year? I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head

 

Yep...! And both will probably be coming off the bench....just a guess though.

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

sounds about right to me!

[NYR]

Here's a random thought. Brent Wilson needs a project and that project needs to be Jake Lindfors.

Picture Lindfors' talent with Brent's intagibles and mind-set.

 

Lesson 1 - 43% from 18 feet is a hell of a lot better than 20% from 22 feet

[Doc]

A long winded response at all:

 

 

Lindfors- Along with Black, he must have the highest ceiling of any player on our team, a center with potential to develop inside in a way string of centers have not recently (Giff, Covington) An anchor on D and more time inside the paint with another year of strength seems like he should be a central piece towards a turn around..... but not playing the last 5 games (perhaps an injury I am unaware of) also seems to make him most likely to be next in a string of players who leave the program because incompatibility with Coach Brown.

 

Blake Metcalf- Painful to watch him run up and down the floor, but the results are undeniable (Roger Wyland is always raving about his effort). The ball just ends up in his hands, some offense would be nice, but he needs to be on the floor. He's in the Lillis hustle line, he can help fire up the rest of the team. Any offense emergence is a big bonus.

 

Timmy Ambrose- Returning leader in Pts, Rebounds, Assists and everyone is resigned to fact that all he has to offer as a spark player off the bench. Might have missed his calling as an upper level D1 tailback, but he can get out and run and score. He is the optimal man to get out and RUN with Black, he can hang in the air and finish. Albeit, he often looks lost and always needs work on his defense, how many times has he come out of a crowd of trees as a 5'10 (maybe) guy soaring for a board. If Coach Brown cannot harness this type of ability, there is no where else to look to lay the blame.

 

Billy Allen- I was about floor level at the Yale game and it was one of the best shooting performances I've ever seen, ability to move to the open spot, quick, high release. Weak numbers since then, but a few 2-4 games. His confidence was shaken, but he can shoot. He has an understanding of spacing and how to play the game (nice to have on the floor to help balance the at times reckless play of Ambrose)

 

Logan – Love his confidence to pull the trigger, love his physical presence on the floor. Needs to raise his 3pt shooting % to take it up another level, but it is hard to argue with the track that he and Black are on.

 

Fran- Seems to have a bit of a mean streak inside. Tried to bring back the patented Jamar flip shot, but it doesn't work so well in the post without the craftiness, found a lot of them put back in his face. Could provide value minutes on a guard centric team.

 

To the points made:

 

The inconsistent rotation seems to kill the confidence of guys like Allen and Ambrose. I understand shuffling to try get something to work, but there was never anything set based on any sense of rhyme or reason.

 

JUCO Transfer Dream: The wish for an Edwin Ubiles would be a nice find, but I would be shocked if more than a solid starter emerged. Take a look at McRae ,a player who showed himself to be the most productive inside player on the team, ability to block shots, some inside out ability, could have been a big force in the AE (man, it is a shame he doesn't have another year). It just took Will too long to place his trust in him when he was clearly one of the more capable players on the court the last two years. Will even held onto the reigns for Siggers too long, only during the second half of his senior year giving him the playing time he was due. To hope there is a player out there who can Will Brown is willing to give the reigns over too, hopefully at the swing g/f position, like he did to Will Harris but hope they will produce on a much higher level seems too much of a long shot.

[Clickclack]

Regarding McRae, I'm sorry to say I disagree. He had a great year, showed some real maturity and his talent is undeniable but this kid was kicked off the team last year for conduct detrimental to the team.

 

I was glad that he came back...but when you win 7 games...I just can't get to down about losing any of the seniors.

[DanesRGood]

Fran Urli looked terribly over-matched in the low block most of the season. I really thought he had a chance to be our scoring option in the low post but that never really materialized. Hopefully he and Metcalf can work on their offensive games in the offseason.

 

Agree with Clickclack on McRae.

 

Oh and welcome to the board Doc! Great first post!

[UA'08]

Regarding McRae, I'm sorry to say I disagree. He had a great year, showed some real maturity and his talent is undeniable but this kid was kicked off the team last year for conduct detrimental to the team.

 

I was glad that he came back...but when you win 7 games...I just can't get to down about losing any of the seniors.

 

As happy as I am too see the seniors graduate as well, without harris we would have probably had an even worse record. i believe even mike johnson helped win us a game early in the season.

 

I think the big factor next year is ambrose. He has gotta come into next season pissed off and ready to play. He has shown flashes of being a good player and I just can't see him forgetting what his strengths are and that is attacking the basket. i mean for god's sake he was a preseason all conference player and theres a reason he was selected.

[Dane96]

Without Harris? He won us one game.

[Patch]

Doc, I agree with Clickclack about McRae.

 

In my opinion he is physically gifted but only had a couple of good games at UMBC he was great and the game at SBU he was good other than those games he shot about 28% from beginning of Feb till the end of the season and most of those shots were point blank.

 

He and Will Harris both worked so hard to avoid contact that they often came away with nothing when they should have been getting atleast to the FT Line.

 

As for Siggers please NO Revisionist History.....

 

Will even held onto the reigns for Siggers too long, only during the second half of his senior year giving him the playing time he was due -Doc

 

In his first season as a JR he avg 14mpg in conference play and on. Jamar played about 35 mpg that left about 55 mp at the 3 perimeter positions to be shared by Jordan 25mpg,Lillis 25mpg,Levine 23mpg and Iati 12mpg

 

In Sigger's SR season he avg 31.5 mpg and was 1st Team All Conference that's not from only getting your just due the final half of your SR season

 

Jason had 17pts and 7 reb against Bucknell to open the season, he also had 22pts in our win against Utah and opened the Conference with 34 against UVM.

 

Being critical is fine just don't fabricate or falsify information, many people read these boards and take what is said as the truth.

 

Welcome to the board.

[Phoenix]

It seems there's a bit of the 'grass is always greener' going on..which is likely to happen when a team goes 7-25..first it was that the rotation was too deep..then when the rotation shortened up by a couple players..it turned into this or that player not getting enough court time..whether that be Ambrose, Allen, Lindfors, Gifford, etc. I think the rotation was starting to work a bit towards the end of the season..although we only went 1-7 over our last 8 games..our average margin of defeat in those 7 losses was 'only' about 8 points..not great but not exactly getting blown out of the gym.

 

Of our last 11 games..we had a freshman lead the team (or tie for the lead) in scoring 8 times..I think that's a good sign for the future. Remember..we were 5-23 in 03-04..just two years later we finished 21-11..with a regular season title..a conference tournament title..and an NCAA appearance. Things can turn around quick.

 

Rotation Next Year:

 

PG - Starter: Black (Back-up: Iati/Ambrose/Tartt)

SG - Starter: Logan? (Back-up: Ambrose/Tartt/Watts)

SF/3G - Starter: ? (Possibilities: Ambrose/Logan/Watts/Allen/JUCO wing)

PF - Starter: Urli? (Back-up: Lindfors)

C - Starter: Metcalf? (Back-up: Puk)

 

I think Black is probably the only 'sure thing' starter at this point..Logan's pretty probable I would think.

 

I'd like to see a taller guard come in..maybe from the JUCO route like some have mentioned..a 4/5 with some size to add some depth to those positions since Urli and Metcalf can be a bit foul prone..plus Urli will be gone after next year..and then maybe a pure shooter to play a role off the bench (or will that already be Iati?) or a solid perimeter defender (a la Hastings).

 

Thoughts?

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

I think Jake would probably start at this point over Urli...He is better defensively and can stretch the D from the perimeter. I also think Puk will give Blake a run for his money at the 5. I love Blake, but CB RAVES about Puk, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him start. Same can be said for Watts. CB said hes been the best frosh in practice since December...Just some food for thought!

[Dane96]

Phoenix...my thoughts are....well done. Think you hit it on the head.

 

Thing I like about Metcalf...he showed more as a true frosh than most bigs. If he can work on his FT...and some basic post moves...he gives you what you need: REBOUNDING and a SPACE EATER. Gotta think the kid throws on 15lbs over the next two years as well.

 

If Watts and Tartt put in the offseason work they need...they could be big contributers based on body type and game. I think they have some potential, but in Watts' case that is based on high school potential.

 

Lindfors...should basically sleep in Filien's home. IF he sponges up like Taylor Coppenrath did...the kid has potential. Look, he is big...can put the ball on the floor...has a nice stroke...and is a bit mean from what I saw. His shooting, to me, was a product of rushing shots and not setting his feet. I attribute that to the speed of the game being so much different from high school and even red-shirt year practices.

[DanesRGood]

As happy as I am too see the seniors graduate as well, without harris we would have probably had an even worse record. i believe even mike johnson helped win us a game early in the season.

 

I think the big factor next year is ambrose. He has gotta come into next season pissed off and ready to play. He has shown flashes of being a good player and I just can't see him forgetting what his strengths are and that is attacking the basket. i mean for god's sake he was a preseason all conference player and theres a reason he was selected.

 

Early in the season and conference play I think many teams tried to take Ambrose out of the game by playing him tight or rotating a double towards him when he drove to the hoop. That seemed to totally throw off his game. His stupid fouls and wild turnovers are his biggest problem and has been in his three years with the program. It's been widely discussed and I know the coaches and Timmy himself have said in the past that the stupid fouls and turnovers need to stop. There was even an article about it in the TU before the season.... http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=861949&category=SPORTS

 

So, how did he do in those two departments?

 

2008-09: 96 Turnovers; 91 Personal Fouls

2009-10: 100 Turnovers; 87 Personal Fouls

 

No improvement. Is that coaching or is that Tim just not using his head? I want this kid to be good more than you can imagine but he just doesn't seem to get it or maybe the coaches are the ones to blame..... I don't know.....it's just so frustrating....

[Patch]

From Phoenix

 

Rotation Next Year:

 

PG - Starter: Black (Back-up: Iati/Ambrose/Tartt)

SG - Starter: Logan? (Back-up: Ambrose/Tartt/Watts)

SF/3G - Starter: ? (Possibilities: Ambrose/Logan/Watts/Allen/JUCO wing)

PF - Starter: Urli? (Back-up: Lindfors)

C - Starter: Metcalf? (Back-up: Puk)

 

I think Black is probably the only 'sure thing' starter at this point..Logan's pretty probable I would think.

 

Next season should be interesting

 

I look forward to see Black next season especially if he puts on about 10 pounds and is in great shape. He seemed to tire easily - part of the problem might have been exerting effort against bigger stronger more mature players.

 

He does have a great motor, he can penetrate and has a nice stroke all good qualities. It seems at the end of the season CB was exhorting Black to go,go,go!! Next year that could be our MO

 

Logan - From what I've heard in the news and on the blogs Logan wasn't 100% this year if that is true and Logan's foot is OK I hope he has a great summer and comes back a little quicker. To me he seemed a 1/2 step slow but he is offensively aggressive and has a decent pull up jumper to go with a nice stroke from three. He did make quite a few rookie mistakes, hopefully he'll show us a more complete game next year when 100%.

 

Timmy - I expect a break out year next season from Ambrose, we all know he has the physical tools now it's up to him to mature as a player, stop pouting, become an adequate defender and get back in attack mode offensively.

 

Urli - should be better next season, as a team in my opinion we have to enter the ball down low in our offensive sets looking to score and looking to make the defense contract and then kick it out.

 

Lindfors - in my mind could be very good if he becames willing to go inside first and foremost and once in awhile pop out and shoot the UNCONTESTED three

 

Metcalf - To me he is the Energizer Bunny, I hope he spends the entire summer working on agility, offense around the basket and developing confidence in his FT shooting.

 

Watts, Puk and Iati I am not going to place any expectations on them all I hope for is that Iati has the same heart, desire and competitive drive Jon has.

 

The reall key will be who does CB bring in with the scholarships available.

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

Prior to this year, I was a HUGE Ambrose guy...I wanted him to play every minute of every game, and put much more importance on the good, rather than the bad. However, I've just lost faith this year. It's simply inexcusable that he is still making the same stupid plays he was making as a frosh. Driving into 3 guys, stupid TO's, stupid fouls...Coaching can only go so far. At some point, a guy needs to step up and put it all together, and Tim refuses to do that. This team is simply better with him in a limited role if this is the Ambrose that we're gonna have next year...However, if something clicks, and he grows up on D, and plays a team game, i'd be all for having him back in the starting 5