Laurent's offseason workout begins
- Thread starter RU-Choppin-Ohio
- Start date
Hopefully he is working more on his jump shots off the pass than his handle.
One will transform his game, the dribbling will keep it where its at right now.
It is easy to improve the things that come natural. It is much harder to have to fail 100 times before you get good at something.
One will transform his game, the dribbling will keep it where its at right now.
It is easy to improve the things that come natural. It is much harder to have to fail 100 times before you get good at something.
My generation from a basketball culture is plagued by too many static dribbling drills. Handle is widely over practiced. That drill translate to players who do not know how to move in space. Watch Kuzminskas play from the Knicks. Always moving in space, cutting. Making room to get his better shots. Coincidentally, he is from Europe.
When my uncle comes over, he can hit 25 jump shots in a row with very little effort. High release, great form, 55 years old. Sometimes he can do it under the weather(alcohol involved).
When my uncle comes over, he can hit 25 jump shots in a row with very little effort. High release, great form, 55 years old. Sometimes he can do it under the weather(alcohol involved).
I have a completely different take for Laurent
Laurent played the PF out of necessity freshman year...and did well. He just looked uncomfortable at the 3 spot last year
I would LOCK him up in the weight room....and get him to fill out and get him to be a back up PF to Freeman.
I just don't see his future at the SF spot...but could see him as a solid 12 mpg back up PF
Laurent played the PF out of necessity freshman year...and did well. He just looked uncomfortable at the 3 spot last year
I would LOCK him up in the weight room....and get him to fill out and get him to be a back up PF to Freeman.
I just don't see his future at the SF spot...but could see him as a solid 12 mpg back up PF
Laurent needs to work hard this offseason. He was a huge disappointment this year but I believe he can still contribute if he regains his confidence.
Needs to shoot 1000 shots a day and work on his decision making.
Playing him at PF is not a bad idea actually..especially against smaller teams but he's not big or strong enough to play meaningful minutes at PF against most Big 10 teams IMO
Needs to shoot 1000 shots a day and work on his decision making.
Playing him at PF is not a bad idea actually..especially against smaller teams but he's not big or strong enough to play meaningful minutes at PF against most Big 10 teams IMO
I think the answer is in between, he is a 3.5. Nothing wrong being a tweener at this level.
He is not a back to the basket guy and he isn't the 2nd coming of Glen Rice.
To your point I can see him optimally being the guy we want Deshawn Freeman to be.
Which is pretty much the role Eugene Omoruyi is in, too, no? A 3.5, who leans a bit rmore toward the 4?
Both are listed at 6-6, but Omoruyi is listed at 230 to Laurent's 216 (against Freeman's "6-7", 225), and neither is really a perimeter threat.
Edit: Typo "126" instead of "216"
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LOL Kuzminskas takes worst shots than Laurent. I'll watch him off ball more next game, you may very well be right there, but when 1 on 1 to the basket he gets no separation and waits til he's on his way down from his jump to release and uses his lanky arms to get up a shot - poorly in my opinion.
Laurent is a 3 or he is not useful. Very late down the stretch Pike actually went with a few small stretches Laurent at the 3 Omoruyi at the 4 at the same time that we actually played pretty well in.
Laurent was useful as a freshman playing mostly 4.
Forgetting positions for a second. We need to find a way to get our best basketball players the most fresh minutes possible. Based on what we saw last year that means minimizing the doorson, sa and diallo minutes.
think
1- sanders 32 mensah 8
2,3, and 3.5- williams 26 thaim 20 eugene 20 baker 10 newguy 14
4 freeman 30
5 doorson sa diallo 40
Kuz does move well without the ball especially for NBA standards of staring at whoever is going one on one
Laurent is not a B1G power forward. He was playing there out of absolute necessity and we got destroyed. Maybe against some of the early out of conference games but if he's playing the 4 that's not a good sign for success
Laurent is not a B1G power forward. He was playing there out of absolute necessity and we got destroyed. Maybe against some of the early out of conference games but if he's playing the 4 that's not a good sign for success
That is the most absurd statement I've read on here. DJ Wilson is a 6'10 athletic monster, Wagner is a legit 6'11 big. Nigel Hayes is only 6'7, but strong as a bull and has a 7'3 wingspan. C'mon now. Laurent is a 3 who hasn't learned how to consistently knock down a jumper yet. He can play the 4 during OOC scheduling, but in the B10, Deshawn and Omuruyi are the only options we have there. And even they're undersized.
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Those 2 are NBA talents. Thinking more of being able to play inside, outside, or penetrating to the basket.
Speaking of Moritz and wagner....lets say you have Simpson PG Abdur Rahman SG not sure SF Moritz and wagner. What squad does RU put out there? There is a Laurent at the 4 for sure.
Those 2 are NBA talents. Thinking more of being able to play inside, outside, or penetrating to the basket.
Speaking of Moritz and wagner....lets say you have Simpson PG Abdur Rahman SG not sure SF Moritz and wagner. What squad does RU put out there? There is a Laurent at the 4 for sure.
At this stage, that is a very hard thing to teach.
It is not that hard of a game.
Laurent was effective last year because it was a different offense, and he was against backups a lot. He has to develop a shot, one out of the three. If he cannot, he will not be a ton of use on this team. He is a decent defender, but still gets wrapped up 40% of the time.
I expected more out of Sa. I was encouraged during OOC games but discouraged in Big 10 play. I hope the light switch goes on for next year.
Very discouraged here. Especially after we supposedly beat out Texas for him. After I saw him in our opener, I had really high hopes for him but he basically disappeared. He, along with Laurent were the two biggest disappointments. I would have included Johnson but my expectations were way too high after all the Jordan praise.
Based on who's currently on the roster, it feels like we have:
1 - Mensah
1/2 - Sanders
2/3 - Williams, Thiam, Baker, Bullock
3/4 - Omoruyi, Laurent
4 - Freeman
4/5 - Sa
5 - Doorson, Diallo
That leaves one more spot to fill in, and I'd guess another 1-2 guys transfer.
1 - Mensah
1/2 - Sanders
2/3 - Williams, Thiam, Baker, Bullock
3/4 - Omoruyi, Laurent
4 - Freeman
4/5 - Sa
5 - Doorson, Diallo
That leaves one more spot to fill in, and I'd guess another 1-2 guys transfer.
Perhaps this is a 2 way street. I don't know the answer. I felt last year the player and the coach were not on the same page. Laurent was very tenative. He played better under Jordan.
Sa is the 5 with the most potential. He has the athleticism that you need to compete in B1G.
Still thinks he forced way to much under Jordan. He made some plays, but his decision making has not been good from day 1 (imho). Its a pet peeve of mine. Hopefully the team is watching hours and hours of video and seeing, well basically, what they don't see on the court. And he isn't the only one.
Agree, but has to get stronger with the ball and when absorbing contact.
It felt like Laurent just had a green light to do whatever he wanted under Jordan, without a lot of structure. Pikiell has a much more definitive plan for how he wants the team to work, and it felt like Laurent was thinking too much. Hopefully it was just time needed to get acclimated, and more of that will become internalized/instinctual as we move into next season.
I think Laurent would be better in a fast paced offense and I'm still holding out hope that Pikiell moves more in that direction next year.
Sa and Doorson struggle on offense, when one of them is in the game it is 4 on 5, outside of a rare tip in or a truly uncontested layup, I don't even think they dunk well. Sa can block shots. Really need them to be serviceable on offense, hopefully they improve in off season
Sa does better on offense than Doorson does. When adjusting for minutes, Sa has 9.4 pts per 40, while Doorson has 5.7. Sa also comes out slightly ahead in rebounds, blocks, assists, and fouls... but Doorson turns the ball over slightly less frequently. Either way, we need both to step up next year.
Good to see Jonathan putting in the effort and working on his game...love the FT routine!!! We need to develop leaders and hopefully our guys become gym rats this offseason. We need a lot of improvement and adding to the roster is one thing but we need our guys to step up and improve skill sets.
Laurent is a 3, period. He doesn't have the height or strength to be a 4 in the B1G.
He needs to shoot 1,000 jumpers a day in the offseason. He already has a very nice shooting stroke from the FT line, so he just needs to translate that to the floor.
He needs to shoot 1,000 jumpers a day in the offseason. He already has a very nice shooting stroke from the FT line, so he just needs to translate that to the floor.
He's a bit like Dane Miller... slasher three, without much of an outside shot. Both 6-6, around 215, shoot sub .300 from the arc. Laurent's a bit of a better FT shooter than Miller was, while Miller was a better passer.
