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Sanders

I am not a big basketball follower but it seems like Sanders just tries to run through defenders with total abandon over and over and take wild shots.. I keep hearing how he is the "best" player on the team but I just don't see it.
Have to agree with you on this.
 
I am not a big basketball follower but it seems like Sanders just tries to run through defenders with total abandon over and over and take wild shots.. I keep hearing how he is the "best" player on the team but I just don't see it.
I agree. He might be the best athlete on the team, but he is not a very good basketball player. I really hope he hoes pro and we can move on past him and Freeman.
 
I agree. He might be the best athlete on the team, but he is not a very good basketball player. I really hope he hoes pro and we can move on past him and Freeman.

You can’t just move on from both freeman and sanders . Before these two games, both played well on most nights. They are our two best players. We’ve seen what they can do when they get really hot. Let the find their groove I think sanders and freeman should learn after playing two of the top teams. Remember how freeman struggled in the beginning of big ten play last year? They’ll come back. Trust in them.
 
Sanders forced things last night and at times was out of control. He has NOT been guilty, in my eyes, of this to often this season. For the most part he has played under control. Last night was the exception.


his shot has been terrible all year except for like one game....remember against sisters of the poor his fg percentage was not good
 
If only this team had a quincy douby type player who was so cool calm and collected at clutch moments and could shoot lights out NBA JAM style fire.

Sanders no doubt is the best athlete but man is he wreckless.
We do. He's a freshman. His name is Geo Baker.
 
I'm no expert but it seems to me not having a reliable outside shooter or two to make the defense come out to defend really hurts Corey's game. Every time he drives there's two or more defenders around the basket.

That is when you have to trust your team mates. Even if they miss, it still puts it in the heads of the defenders and puts it on tape that this kid will shoot the ball. You have to get out on him. Thiam taking a wide open 3 is better odds than Sanders chucking up an off kilter shot with 3 guys draped on him.

Plus, it's the right play. You want to get to the NBA, making the right play is a helluva a lot more impressive than chucking up a prayer that rarely gets answered. At some point, the D won't collapse on him knowing he will hit the open guy. That in turn will help him finish without having to do so with half the team all over him.

Basketball is a simple game. Corey's play doesn't always show this.
 
You can’t just move on from both freeman and sanders . Before these two games, both played well on most nights. They are our two best players. We’ve seen what they can do when they get really hot. Let the find their groove I think sanders and freeman should learn after playing two of the top teams. Remember how freeman struggled in the beginning of big ten play last year? They’ll come back. Trust in them.
I don't agree that Sanders and Freeman have played well for most of the first 7 games. Sanders in particular has had maybe 2 games I would grade a B or B+, the rest have been below that.

I do, however, think they will both improve soon.
 
I'm late to this post

1.) Corey drives me nuts taking the ball one step too far on all of his shots. He can get off a 6-7 foot runner that cannot be stopped and he keeps gojng, which would be okay except....

2.) he drives NOT to draw contact. If you are going all the way to the hole, you have to go to the basket with a way to draw contact and not try to leap over the defender and get to the rim ....

3.) he plays very good D, except he has major mental lapses at time after he make a bad offensive play. He gets down on himself and lets the hang over continue for a couple of possessions ...can't have that from a junior and two year starter
 
We do. He's a freshman. His name is Geo Baker.
You’re comparing Geo to Quincy Douby?

The number of minutes Geo plays is also a concern. He fades in the end, as someone previously pointed out in another thread, most likely from tired legs. He comes up short (literally) in those clutch moments, final 5-7 minutes.

If Senior Mike delivered like we had hoped, Geo wouldn’t have to play so many minutes. Sanders wouldn’t have to take so many shots. The shots and minutes between our guards should be more balanced. Right now, they are not. Souf isn’t helping in that regard either.
 
You’re comparing Geo to Quincy Douby?

The number of minutes Geo plays is also a concern. He fades in the end, as someone previously pointed out in another thread, most likely from tired legs. He comes up short (literally) in those clutch moments, final 5-7 minutes.

If Senior Mike delivered like we had hoped, Geo wouldn’t have to play so many minutes. Sanders wouldn’t have to take so many shots. The shots and minutes between our guards should be more balanced. Right now, they are not. Souf isn’t helping in that regard either.
Yes I am based on the future. Was Quincy the star he was from the get go? No. You brought up a player that can be cool calm and collected. Geo is a true freshman but he has those qualities similar to Douby. This kid is going to be that cool customer that can knock down shots when we need him to in the clutch. I know you can see that potential right? He's still learning and growing at this level. I look forward to watching his progress moving forward and so should you.
 
Instead of going all the way to the basket he needs to pull up and take a 10-12 foot jumper instead of forcing it to the hoop each time
That is his problem. Unlike Baker, he doesn't pull up for the short jumper but instead tries to push it to the basket. Against worse teams with little inside defense , you can get away with it. But not against FSU, Minny and MSU with very fine bigs...
 
Would offensive skills involve shooting the ball ?

That trait is one he's lacking IMO.
 
It's not that easy to pull up from a drive in a big ten basketball game and get off a mid range or shorter jump shot. It's also not that easy to make "runners". Yea George Gervin was pretty good at that. People that can consistently hit those are few and far between. Should Cory work on pull up jumpers- yea given his jumping ability - but to expect a below average shooter and average ball handler to be able to suddenly be able to do this effectively is simply not realistic. Keeping his head up and staying under control while looking to pass more is a more realistic answer on how he can improve and help the team.
 
It's not that easy to pull up from a drive in a big ten basketball game and get off a mid range or shorter jump shot. It's also not that easy to make "runners". Yea George Gervin was pretty good at that. People that can consistently hit those are few and far between. Should Cory work on pull up jumpers- yea given his jumping ability - but to expect a below average shooter and average ball handler to be able to suddenly be able to do this effectively is simply not realistic. Keeping his head up and staying under control while looking to pass more is a more realistic answer on how he can improve and help the team.

So why was Geo so good at it vs MSU?
 
A big part of the problem is that Corey often has the ball in his hands with less than 10 seconds on the shot clock. At that point EVERYBODY knows he's taking it to the hole, including his teammates, the opposing team and everyone in the stands.

As one of those fans in the arena, I admit that I feel more confident at that point with the ball in his hands versus anyone else other than maybe Geo. But this is where the coaches need to work on a play or two, to find a way for Corey to draw a double or triple team, as often happens, and kick it out for an open look.

They should draw up a couple of options and run those plays ad nauseum in practice. It is far too common an occurrence in our games to just leave it to chance every time, where Corey is literally improvising while flying through the air.
 
Kick out it to who lol

Issa if he's on the adjoining practice court MIGHT get it off in that scenario
 
A big part of the problem is that Corey often has the ball in his hands with less than 10 seconds on the shot clock. At that point EVERYBODY knows he's taking it to the hole, including his teammates, the opposing team and everyone in the stands.

As one of those fans in the arena, I admit that I feel more confident at that point with the ball in his hands versus anyone else other than maybe Geo. But this is where the coaches need to work on a play or two, to find a way for Corey to draw a double or triple team, as often happens, and kick it out for an open look.

They should draw up a couple of options and run those plays ad nauseum in practice. It is far too common an occurrence in our games to just leave it to chance every time, where Corey is literally improvising while flying through the air.

Not a coach, but if this is the case, the sets need a little bit more efficiency.

Going forward this season, I think Baker,Doucoure, Thiam, and Omoyuri should get more plays run for them. Thiam is still a spot shooter, and I don't see that changing a ton this year. I know coach specifically has plays called "Lakeland", and "Senegal". He called them out during the st johns exhibition game.
 
Kick out it to who lol

Issa if he's on the adjoining practice court MIGHT get it off in that scenario

Kick it out to Geo, Mike or Issa. Or, dish it to DeShawn, Eugene or Mamadou after drawing their man in. Coaches can figure this out and run plays to that effect in practice.
 
That is his problem. Unlike Baker, he doesn't pull up for the short jumper but instead tries to push it to the basket. Against worse teams with little inside defense , you can get away with it. But not against FSU, Minny and MSU with very fine bigs...

The numbers support that Sanders has not run this move for himself efficiently. Someone should tell him it should be taken out while he starts to learn more efficient moves. There are more people that are ready to score.
 
Btw I like Corey. I just think people need to realistic about what he can consistently do. While others think he has not progressed I think he has. His overall floor game is generally better. He has lapses on d but they don't happen as much. He can be a very effective player if he plays within himself. He also rebounds pretty well. He is athletic and he can do things others can't but he needs to pick his spots more and not force it as much. In fairness at times you look on the floor and guys start to stand around. That's when he has forced it most often recently. As a leader he should dig deep and get the offense into something rather than letting them wait for something to happen. I would like to see him make good plays by consistently executing and playing within himself rather than by trying to do too much.
 
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Sounds crazy with the way he has struggled shooting, but I am thinking Corey should take more threes and drive less.

Teams are on to his drives and he has been pressing way too much. If he gets some confidence in his shot, guys will have to play him further out and then he will have an easier time on his drives to the bucket

Shoot more?!?!?? Please no. 33% from the field, 22% from 3-pt land. Tell me how that will help.

Also agree, more Geo. I won't bite on the comparison to Douby yet for Geo, but we should remember that Q was not a starter from beginning of his freshman year. He didn't truly break out until the St John's game that year at home when he was hitting 3s like mad and suddenly became unstoppable for the rest of the that season, on the NIT run and until he left. And remember at one stage he was asked to be the 1 instead of the 2. However, love Geo's upside and see great things for him.
 
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