Basketball Thoughts and Q's heading into first official practice of the year
- Thread starter ChrisNalwasky
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They announced it on September 25 last year so expect something tomorrow or Friday. Also wouldn't be surprised if they just didn't do one this year.
Nice write up! The team's FT shooting could be the difference between making the dance or not this season. A lotttt of close games could go the other way if we can't improve. Hoping all the freshman shoot better bc of natural improvement and being more comfortable at the line. Yeboah and Young both should shoot it well. Not sure about Paul but I would imagine he's solid. Losing Doorson only helps the team's FT shooting.
We lost Doorson, Omoruyi, and Thiam. Overall, our team FT% was 63.7% last year. Take out those three guys, and it was 64.2%
Yeboah shot .785 on 4.1 attempts/game last year, and is a career .795 on 3.6 attempts/game - that should definitely help our average.
Doucoure went 20/33 (.606) from the line as a freshman, but that's not really enough attempts to speculate.
Young went 26/36 (.722) over two years at Texas, but that's also not really enough attempts to speculate.
Mulcahy is an unknown right now, though anecdotally there are a handful of game recaps from last year that talk about him sinking important free throws or shooting well from the line, but that needs to be taken with a large grain of salt.
In Spain, Mathis and Johnson hurt the team FT percentage. Most of the other regulars were pretty solid.
Chris - thanks. I’m most concerned about the front court and the defense and whether we can adequately rebound. I also would have to liked to have seen a stronger OOC schedule with another P5 squad and decent mid major.
Last year part of the team personality was the ability to rebound with anyone. I see us taking a step back in that department. I see us improving overall offensive efficiency and no place to go but up in FT%. A lot depends on how good Young is and how much Harper improves. This could be the most capable team we've had on the banks in years ...maybe decades. I don't think we are one spraind ankle or one unfortunate transfer away from going off the rails. Pikes got a full team. You could be excited to watch Baker, McConnel, Harper, Mathis, Young or probably a couple of other guys who could be the leading scorer on a given night.
On the list of worries FT shooting is pretty low.
Can we take only a small step backwards defensively..can we still be OK defensively with a lineup that doesn't have Mathis in it?
Offensively.....will multiple players step up and take shots late in the shot clock at a respectable rate. Eugene wasn't efficient offensively, but he took burden off others...will Harper and McConnell have similar offense efficiency with a higher usage rate?
A big area of improvement this year will be having a back up point guard. Baker wore down for the 2nd straight year. We did not have a capable PG last year and Baker was forced to play too many minutes (for him).
Can we take only a small step backwards defensively..can we still be OK defensively with a lineup that doesn't have Mathis in it?
Offensively.....will multiple players step up and take shots late in the shot clock at a respectable rate. Eugene wasn't efficient offensively, but he took burden off others...will Harper and McConnell have similar offense efficiency with a higher usage rate?
A big area of improvement this year will be having a back up point guard. Baker wore down for the 2nd straight year. We did not have a capable PG last year and Baker was forced to play too many minutes (for him).
Can Myles be an above average rebounder on both glasses going from 15 MPG to 22-25 MPG?
Myles could be a sleeper for leading (or Top 5) B1G in rebounding if we play small, he is in great shape, and he plays 25MPG.
Lamar Stevens at 7.7 RPG is the highest returning rebounder.
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McConnell showed some improvement at backup PG toward the end of last year, after a rocky start. I'm sure Young and Mulcahy will also both see time there - I'm not as worried this year about Baker shouldering too much load at the point.
Well, of the new additions from last year, Mulcahy shot no FTs in Spain and Doucoure didn't make the trip. Yeboah was 9/11 and Young was 5/7, which are both tiny samples but fairly in line with their averages at prior schools.
Rebounding and interior defense is going to be the biggest issue imo. We'll be ok if Myles and Carter are in the game at the same time, but when Myles gets in foul trouble or needs to get a blow, we could be in trouble. Obviously Duke is one key to having a decent frontcourt rotation. I expect Pike to play a lot more pressure defense using double teams all over and playing the passing lanes since the strength of the team is depth at the 1 to 3 spots. It's going to be a different look to the team with more speed and quickness on both ends.
JMHO... With the staff we have, Pike in particular, I have little worries. I think we improve in the most important aspects Of the game, rebounding, defense, FT’s etc.
And the new comers will adapt and help tremendously. The depth is there and Pike will take advantage of that.
I am fully prepared to enjoy the ride. A hiccup here or there will certainly be addressed and corrected. Can’t wait!
And the new comers will adapt and help tremendously. The depth is there and Pike will take advantage of that.
I am fully prepared to enjoy the ride. A hiccup here or there will certainly be addressed and corrected. Can’t wait!
Myles averaged 2.5 offensive rebounds per game, tied for 6th best in conference, while playing fewer minutes (17 min per game) than anyone above him. Btw Gene averaged 2.3 ORebs in 29 minutes per game.
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