Can Nathan Cayo save the coaching staff?
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I still want to see him have this kind of performance with stronger competition, but he looks like he can develop to a solid a10 player. He looks more confident which is a good sign
Spiders up 15 with St Francis going to the free throw line. Need to finish this game strong and not take sloppy shots. Giving the ball to Golden down low he virtually been unstoppable this game
8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals...
Cayo and Wojcik seem to be good accessory pieces. Both hustle, and Cayo is so efficient offensively. Wojcik plays smart and probably harder than anyone else on the court
still obvious concerns about the bench. we're going 8 deep but Yates, JJ and Grace are mainly giving guys rest right now. our top 5 have to produce all the points. I don't think that's going to change.
Yep. Same as last year. When all 5 of the starting 5 are able to produce at the same time, we are going to win some games. But once you dip to the bench, we have a severe downgrade. The bench's role is not merely to give the starters breathers during the game, but for us that it was our bench is.
Have not seen Verbinskis yet and improvements in Andre may give us some more/better options. Time will tell on that.
Wouldn’t it be great if we had two more experienced, A10 starter level players?
Mooney has already made it clear that Andre is not going to play much. That means a minuscule development year for him
. I will admit that Andre looked snake bit and ultra careful (worrying too much about not making a mistake) in his 2-minutes today. Of course that will slow his development as well.
Andre looked nervous game 1, too. it might take a little time. this is all new to him, and unlike the rest of the guys he missed a lot of the off season work. Woj is getting a ton of play because he's ready. if Andre gets there mentally, I think he'll get time and I think he can help us.
fortunately, Jacob doesn't need much rest. for now as someone predicted earlier, Woj can handle PG duties when Jacob takes a break.
Bench seems weak at this point as already discussed. Only hope right now is can Yates become a contributor by the time A10 play opens up.
Our bench is going to be fine. Yates and JJ are solid off the bench players and Grace is a big improvement over the back up centers we have had the past few years. There are other good players on the bench that might contribute as the season goes on, but I think you only need 8 to win games and we have that. I would also take this starting 5 over last years.
From the non-starters that I have seen play so far, the ones that seem to offer the most offensive upside are Andre and Sal. Andre has maybe already found himself standing half in/half out of the doghouse with Mooney. And Sal, I'm not sure. I liked what I saw in his very brief appearance today. I would love to see more game time to get a better perspective.
Not if it meant Wojcik and Nate did not play as much. Our starting 5 this year is way better than last year. The bench will be fine as we gain more experience in OOC play.
I think the initial thoughts on Sal were pretty spot on. Athletic and skill is definitely there, but he needs to hit dhall and the weight room pretty much constantly for the next 12 months...
I thought Sal looked nice moving his feet on the perimeter. he's a shooter, so offensively bulking up isn't an issue. and with his length I think he'll be fine defensively even against stronger guys. I don't think he's crazy athletic, though. length and skills are his strength.
I'm fine with easing him in slowly. his best days are ahead.
I agree with 80sfan and VT about this 5. they fit together better. they have roles. 5 equal options on offense sounds great, but it isn't. I like have 3 primary guys on offense getting the bulk of the shots with 2 complimentary guys getting opportunities as they come. and the extra size helps defensively. even if Khwan and Buck were good individual defenders, it didn't make for a good unit defensively.
now if you were to tell me we'd have Khwan and Buck coming off the bench ... that would be a heck of a unit. but we know that wouldn't happen. we'd play our best 5 guys including those two. and the team wouldn't be better.
I'm fine with easing him in slowly. his best days are ahead.
I agree with 80sfan and VT about this 5. they fit together better. they have roles. 5 equal options on offense sounds great, but it isn't. I like have 3 primary guys on offense getting the bulk of the shots with 2 complimentary guys getting opportunities as they come. and the extra size helps defensively. even if Khwan and Buck were good individual defenders, it didn't make for a good unit defensively.
now if you were to tell me we'd have Khwan and Buck coming off the bench ... that would be a heck of a unit. but we know that wouldn't happen. we'd play our best 5 guys including those two. and the team wouldn't be better.
I definitely agree about Sal needing to bulk up. But I still think he is worth a consistent 1-5 minutes of playing time each game. But this is an area where Mooney and I tend to differ in opinion. I would try to give as many of the other guys beyond that 8 player rotation a consistent handful of minutes so that if I am ever in need of actually playing them because of foul trouble, or a crazy long OT game, or injuries, they will hopefully be able to contribute.
if the starters play as well as they did today, I think we'll have a number of games where we can get time for guys outside of the top 8.
and the top 8 can change as they progress in practices and games and guys like Andre and Sal get more comfortable.
Sal's not magically going to put on 20 lbs of muscle. he's going to be a lean guy his whole career here. but he can still play.
and the top 8 can change as they progress in practices and games and guys like Andre and Sal get more comfortable.
Sal's not magically going to put on 20 lbs of muscle. he's going to be a lean guy his whole career here. but he can still play.
Cayo looks like he maybe grew an inch or so. Or it's just his long wingspan. Nice advantage for him.
I agree Sal and Andre not being ready is concerning. We really needed 1 of them to give our depth a big boost. Otherwise Yates will have to make a big jump. Grace is contributing more than expected but I just don't see him as more than 5-6 minutes right now.
I agree Sal and Andre not being ready is concerning. We really needed 1 of them to give our depth a big boost. Otherwise Yates will have to make a big jump. Grace is contributing more than expected but I just don't see him as more than 5-6 minutes right now.
Agree... He looks bigger. But he ia a completely different looking player than last year. Hia foul ahot is smooth... It actually looks good! Total change there! Hes getting to the rim effortlessly with long strides - two dribbles and he's at the rum! I thought we would get this kind of penetration from a guard but with Cayo he can finish very well there... The most improved player ive seen and perfect compliment to the rest of the team.
Couldn't agree more. Neither is hyper ready at the moment like Wojcik, BUT, both have got to get playing time this year.
Looks Johnny Newman when he was a freshman. I liked his quick lateral movement on D and on that follow shot, he went straight back up. I think if he handles defense well he may be seeing more time. Andre is quick but seems lost on defense which I guess is his weakness.
Cayo seems to finish around rim a lot better than Buck and like Buck we need someone willing to drive, but
Cayo needs to be able to hit some outside shots, or defenders will sit back and take the lane away.
I think every team out there could say that. How many teams have a bench player that scores double digits? I would rather have 3 established starters like we have who are each capable of carrying us.
Frim what i remember, he got to the rim eeven with them backing off and giving him the outside shot (which he wisely passed up)
Getting zero points from the bench doesn't help matters is what I meant. against a team like IUPUI someone from the bench should at least score 8 points.
The bench is a big concern and that is worrisome for the future of the program. There are some good players but I do not see anyone in the group that would propel the team to the top of the A10. Just my opinion and I like Cayo and Wojcik.
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