Game Impressions

[karavotsos]

In the game you watched did Buycks shoot 2-4 from 3 and have 7 assists, or did he catch the ball 8 times and dribble the ball off his foot 8 times like he was Ollie from Hoosiers?

[willie warrior]

In the game you watched did Buycks shoot 2-4 from 3 and have 7 assists, or did he catch the ball 8 times and dribble the ball off his foot 8 times like he was Ollie from Hoosiers?

Hmmmm; last year Bucyks shot .418 overall and .273 from 3 point. He is not a 3 point threat!

[patso]

Did Otule play well?

[NersEllenson]

The thing that struck me most besides the fact that this team will be a nightmare for any offense with shaky ball handlers was that we just have much more overall length compared to last year.

At the guard spot except for Smith, we no longer will have two guys in there under six foot and at least Otule/Gardner offers Buzz the opportunity to put a big mans body in there if needed, even if neither is say 6'11 or 7' tall. Plus, if Erik Williams can consistently give Buzz say 10 solid minutes a game off the bench, he has the length via his long arms to potentially alter shots here and there.

Then next year if guys like Jamail Jones and Jamil Wilson can be regular pieces in the playing rotation, it will add two more 6'6-6'7 type of very athletic players who can help in Buzz's plan to have a defense that suffocates through long/lanky athletes at the wing spots and tough on ball pressure from the point guards. That hopefully will negate somewhat the lack of any 6'11-7' type of big man in the paint who alters shots.

This.  Perfect analysis in my view.  This team will cause all kinds of problems for ALL opponents with its length and athleticism.  Prarie View had some guys who could play.  I'll be very interested to see how they fare against UW..I'll be surprised if they lose by more than 15-20 points.

[The Maestro]

What was last night's attendance?

[Ari Gold]

Loved Blue - great defender. I'm officially on the crowder band wagon and Gardner has a beautiful touch. Even if it was in garbage time, this must be what it feels like to have a big man.

Foul shooting seemed like a problem. Hope it doesn't come down to that again

[GGGG]

Did Otule play well?

He did fine.  I mean, PVAM was completely undersized so he overwhelmed with his size.  Not much of a test for him.

[ken8406]

Why didn't Jones play that much? He was a very highly regarded recruit.

[MarquetteDano]

Why didn't Jones play that much? He was a very highly regarded recruit.

Freshman with other people ahead of him on depth chart (Butler, Fulce, Crowder, etc.).  Williams obviously had a good week in practice so stole some minutes from Jones too.

Ken asks a valid question however one thing that I can tell already that is going to drive me crazy this year is people's comments about why a certain player didn't play so much.  There is simply some people who are going to lose out minutes to others.  There is no way that everyone sans Frozena is going to average 15+ minutes per game.  The math doesn't work...

Butler/DJO:  30 minutes minimum
Crowder:  25 minutes minimum
Blue:  20 minutes minimum
Buycks:  20 minutes minimum

That leaves 75 minutes MAXIMUM (probably closer to 65 min) for the rest of the team (7 players remaining)

[GGGG]

Why didn't Jones play that much? He was a very highly regarded recruit.

One thing that needs to be understood is that Buzz values defensive intensity more than anything.  When Jones played on television last year, that is the one thing I thought he lacked.  Like Williams last year, it may be a little rough for Jones until he figures things out.

[ken8406]

So at this point is Jones considered a project player? or at least defensively?

[GGGG]

Yes.  Any freshman is going to be a "project" on some level.  That doesn't mean that this year won't be a learning experience and he can add a lot later on in his career.

[seakm4]

I'll be very interested to see how they fare against UW..I'll be surprised if they lose by more than 15-20 points.

thats because they'll be playing big 10 bball and only have 20 possessions for the game

[77ncaachamps]

So at this point is Jones considered a project player? or at least defensively?

I hate to say it but he's an insurance policy at this moment.

But a damn good one.

[karavotsos]

Hmmmm; last year Bucyks shot .418 overall and .273 from 3 point. He is not a 3 point threat!

Is it last year?  The conclusion that you can draw from those stats is that Buycks had to work on his offensive efficiency after last year.  I don't know how you can be certain about this year.  What Buycks will or will not be.  I don't know how you have the conviction to say what a player is not with exclamation points after an exhibition game and a cupcake game.  Maybe you're right.  I hope you're wrong.

[MU_Iceman]

I liked what I saw from the newbies and definitely enjoyed seeing E-Will have an impact on the game...I really hope he can build on this and give us some productive minutes throughout the year.

Gardner's hands and touch are extremely impressive, but the one observation that I'm mildly concerned about in his game is that he seems to release every shot around the basket from his chin...did anyone else notice that???  It isn't a problem against undersized teams like PVAM, but he may get a few of those shoved back down his throat around the basket in B-East play...just an observation (and thankfully, an easy fix for the coaching staff)...

But all in all, like I said, I'm very impressed by every single one of the new guys...this is a deep team!

[NersEllenson]

I liked what I saw from the newbies and definitely enjoyed seeing E-Will have an impact on the game...I really hope he can build on this and give us some productive minutes throughout the year.

Gardner's hands and touch are extremely impressive, but the one observation that I'm mildly concerned about in his game is that he seems to release every shot around the basket from his chin...did anyone else notice that???  It isn't a problem against undersized teams like PVAM, but he may get a few of those shoved back down his throat around the basket in B-East play...just an observation (and thankfully, an easy fix for the coaching staff)...

But all in all, like I said, I'm very impressed by every single one of the new guys...this is a deep team!

His release was fine in the sense that he got his shots of quick..actually raising the ball above his chin..would take more time to launch the shot..than some of the "shot put" delivery would.  His get off time was great..and more important than release point in my opinion.

[willie warrior]

Is it last year?  The conclusion that you can draw from those stats is that Buycks had to work on his offensive efficiency after last year.  I don't know how you can be certain about this year.  What Buycks will or will not be.  I don't know how you have the conviction to say what a player is not with exclamation points after an exhibition game and a cupcake game.  Maybe you're right.  I hope you're wrong.

It does not matter who is right and who is wrong. If you believe Bucyks is our three point threat--fine. I say he is not, and look at his shooting stats. The point is if Bucyks is a three point threat, then in my opinion we are in the hurt locker--kind of like DJames being a three point threat, and look at where that got us.
We have DJO and with the number of other players we have, pound it inside. Who knows, maybe Cadougan will become a three point threat. After all it is not last year.

[MU_Iceman]

His release was fine in the sense that he got his shots of quick..actually raising the ball above his chin..would take more time to launch the shot..than some of the "shot put" delivery would.  His get off time was great..and more important than release point in my opinion.

I guess you're right, his delivery point was low but he did release it pretty quick...hopefully he's crafty enough around the basket that it continues to be effective around conference time...

We have DJO and with the number of other players we have, pound it inside. Who knows, maybe Cadougan will become a three point threat. After all it is not last year.

From the looks of Friday, we're going to be a slashing team again but it may not be as much "slash and kick out" as last year.  Judging by what we saw in the pro-am and in the exhibition game, I think Jamail has a chance to be a three-point specialist off the bench...I think, assuming he isn't too much of a liability on the defensive end of the floor, he could carve out a nice niche as a scorer off the bench...

[bilsu]

The starting point guard in Buzz's mind has to do two things. Play pressure defense and not turn the ball over. Cadougan cannot play pressure defense to the level of Smith and Buyckes so that rules him out. Smith will turn the ball over more than Buyckes, so that rules him out. So Buyckes will start at point. Blue is a much better defensive player than DJO, so he will start over DJO. Buzz is going to open the game with the most defensive pressure possible. He is not worried about offense, because we have enough scoring power. I also think this team will not be taking a lot of three point shots. Last year we were small and Acker and Culliban strength was 3pt shooting instead of taking the ball to the basket. This year the emphasis will be taking the ball to the basket.

[NersEllenson]

The starting point guard in Buzz's mind has to do two things. Play pressure defense and not turn the ball over. Cadougan cannot play pressure defense to the level of Smith and Buyckes so that rules him out. Smith will turn the ball over more than Buyckes, so that rules him out. So Buyckes will start at point. Blue is a much better defensive player than DJO, so he will start over DJO. Buzz is going to open the game with the most defensive pressure possible. He is not worried about offense, because we have enough scoring power. I also think this team will not be taking a lot of three point shots. Last year we were small and Acker and Culliban strength was 3pt shooting instead of taking the ball to the basket. This year the emphasis will be taking the ball to the basket.

Excellent points and analysis...so good I'm even believing what you wrote that Vander may start over DJO...but that would take some serious balls on Buzz's part...but I'd say it is possible..which that alone shocks me that I'm even writing..

[BCHoopster]

As much as I like Blue, the offensive end would suffer.  Not sure yet what Reggie Smith brings to the O end, but Blue
at this point in time seems to be unsure of himself on the outside shot.  Jimmy is not a threat from the outside so what
offense will they have if DJO is not starting?  I see a three man rotation between Jimmy, Blue and DJO.  The big question might
be is Gardner more of a force than Otule?  I really thought he came along way from the first time I saw him at the Pro-Am.  He
is running better and knows how to use is body, a young Wes Unseld.

[ChicosBailBonds]

This.  Perfect analysis in my view.  This team will cause all kinds of problems for ALL opponents with its length and athleticism.  Prarie View had some guys who could play.  I'll be very interested to see how they fare against UW..I'll be surprised if they lose by more than 15-20 points.

Get surprised.  Wisconsin beat them by 44.  99-55

[El Duderino]

Excellent points and analysis...so good I'm even believing what you wrote that Vander may start over DJO...but that would take some serious balls on Buzz's part...but I'd say it is possible..which that alone shocks me that I'm even writing.

I don't really think it will be a big deal who start games because as much as Buzz subs in guys in and out, including within the first 3-4 minutes of a game, what will matter most is overall minutes played and who is in the game the last 5 minutes of close games.

So it's possible that DJO won't start games, but i expect him to average around 30 minutes and be in there late during pretty much any game that is close. That matters a lot more than being in the starting lineup IMO.

That said, if Blue develops into a lockdown defender, i can easily envision Buzz playing a good amount of three guard situations involving a PG/Blue/DJO with Butler and Otule or Crowder.