Deion's Value

[MolivaManiac]

With today's news, can we please bury the gripes about Deion for good? The guy is our best interior defender and will be playing 30+ minutes per game. He's not a scorer but we have SDJ, Terry and TJ to score the ball. Deion does alot of other stuff well and I'm glad we have him doing it.

 

[urfan1]

I agree, I have taken some time to just focus on him and the steals, altered, deflected passes, the tap out's, and other plays that don't show up are significant.

 

[SpiderK]

Ok

 

[MolivaManiac]

Ok

CAPICHE?

 

[Spideroldie]

+1 on the comments above.

Deion is now our strongest and most effective post defender, and with ANO gone, it is not even close. He will need to stay out of foul trouble, but I do not recall him ever fouling out of a game, so I believe he will be fine.

What I could see happening, too, is that Deion could find, once again, his Mojo from his freshman year, when he showed some real flashes of offensive potential (prior to getting hurt). If Deion can play 30 minutes of strong defense, and knows that he will get the minutes, I can see his confidence returning and all of us being very surprised by his offensive production. If he could score 6-8 points a game (similar to ANO's offensive porduction), my bet is that he would also have more rebunds and shock everyone by his number of blocks and steals. The guy lived in the shadow of ANO for the past three years. Now he can spread his wings and truly excel. I really like him guarding the block/post area. There will not be many easy baskets if DT is guarding the lane.

 

[SpiderK]

Capiche

 

[spiderman]

shadow of ANO? yes, we need him and I haven't been a big critic, but I'm not going to make excuses either. he is what he is, a solid defensive big man. but he hasn't been in anyone's shadow. he played over 23 mpg last year. 822 minutes and scored 88 points. and I don't even care about his points. we have others who will score. but he needs to rebound more. if he's not a scorer, he can play defense and rebound. 3.8 boards per game in 23 minutes isn't enough for a guy with his athleticism and size.
play defense, rebound, dunk and eat cookies.

 

[97spiderfan]

I am rooting for him to succeed and hope he improves, but if anyone thinks he is a great interior defender, they have not been watching Deion play defense all that much. He is a good defender, but he also gets beats a fair amount as well and shows a propensity to get beat at the most inopportune times last year.

He got 23 minutes per game last year and yes we lost ANO, but we are adding PF and MW to our front court this year. No idea how those guys will perform but suspect that they will at least between the two of them take most of ANO's front court minutes. I was actually looking at Deion's minutes decreasing next year with the addition of Marshall, now I think we are looking at similar minutes as he got last year. Deion getting 23 minutes is not a plus in my book but I admit it is a reality.

The silver lining for me is Deion did step up his game when ANO went down last year, so hopefully that is the Deion we see next year. Hopefully, he can work on one shot he can make with a great propensity and shoots a half million FT over the summer and can shoot 60% from the line.

And really Deion not being foul prone. The dude is a foul machine. Believe that was one the one statistic where he led the team.

 

[Eight Legger]

We'll definitely need him to excel at his role. Ideally for me, that's 15-20 minutes a game of all-out rebounding on both ends of the court and making more FTs and learning how to convert dunks, as everyone else has said. If he can do those three things well when he is in the game, he will add a lot to our team.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Anyone waiting for Taylor to "break out" next season will be disappointed again. Spiderman and others are correct, Taylor is a fairly good defender (not great), a below average rebounding big man, and a well below average offensive threat for this level.

One thing is for sure, ANO's departure and Mooney's strategy will combine to ensure that Taylor will play a lot of minutes next season. Individual fans can like it or not. I think it entirely fair for supporters of the team to be able to question strategic decisions that significantly impact the bottom line.

 

[keefusb]

When I heard ANO was leaving, my first thought was that we would have DT to step in and be a defensive presence in the lane. I could see him continuing to bulk up and get stronger in the offseason. We don't need him to score many more points than he has, but what we do need is for him to reduce his fouls and stay out of foul trouble, and for him to be a 60%+ FT shooter.

With some work, I could see him becoming a Maurice Lucas-type of enforcer for us next year. One thing we do lack as a team and program is physical toughness and attitude, and I can see DT bringing more of that to the mix.

As long as we avoid having DT and TD on the floor together for long stretches, I think we will be OK.

 

[PhillySpider]

Maurice Lucas? We can only dream! DT is a decent defender, but he does it with good position, good instincts and a workman like attitude. He is not athletically all that gifted and certainly is not especially physical. We need him more than we did a few days ago, but he's not going to suddenly be some different player.

 

[keefusb]

We need him to be stronger and more physical, basically because we don't have anyone else to fill that role. Comparing him to Maurice Lucas was simply an illustration of that role.

I do think he has above average athleticism, he is strong, he is quick for his size, and he has very good hops. His biggest problems are his shooting mechanics, and his propensity to pick up silly fouls.

 

[spiderman]

when filling in for ANO late in the year and playing inside, he was plenty strong and physical. in fact, he's crazy strong. that's not the issue.

 

[fan2011]

Deion will be getting more time now that ANO is transferring. He does some things well, but he really needs to work on his free throws. If he shoots 65% instead of 47% from the line, stops taking 3s, and otherwise continues to play the same he will be solid. Not great, but not bad either.

 

[SpiderK]

I did see Deion late in the year start trying some offensive rebounding from the weak side. Kind of sneaking in late with some success at getting there. Other teams don't expect us to offensive rebound EVER!!

 

[urfan1]

I saw the same thing SK, also some weakside blocks. He can jump, if he cannot do anything else.

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

Of course DT's value goes up, but lots of valuable players like him on teams that don't make the NCAA tourny. Needs to show plenty of improvement for me to sing his praise but will no doubt still root for him and hope he makes me look stupid.

 

[Ulla1]

Maurice Lucas? We can only dream! DT is a decent defender, but he does it with good position, good instincts and a workman like attitude. He is not athletically all that gifted and certainly is not especially physical. We need him more than we did a few days ago, but he's not going to suddenly be some different player.[/QUOTE
So Deion is not "athletically all that gifted". Check out the link.

View embedded media

 

[97spiderfan]

Of course DT's value goes up, but lots of valuable players like him on teams that don't make the NCAA tourny. .

+1. I don't like our odds of Deion playing 30 minutes a game and us being an NCAA tournament team, especially since we know Trey is out there as well for probably similar minutes. No matter how great SDJ, TA, and TJ or whatever 3 scorers we have on offense, teams are going to get in the hip pocket of the 3 scorers cause they know the other 2 can't beat them. I hope Terry and TJ like a lot of double teams.

 

[PhiDeltaSpider]

+1. I don't like our odds of Deion playing 30 minutes a game and us being an NCAA tournament team, especially since we know Trey is out there as well for probably similar minutes. No matter how great SDJ, TA, and TJ or whatever 3 scorers we have on offense, teams are going to get in the hip pocket of the 3 scorers cause they know the other 2 can't beat them. I hope Terry and TJ like a lot of double teams.

 

[PhiDeltaSpider]

If Deion Taylor averages 30 minutes a game for us next year, we are in big trouble. He seems like a nice young man, he jumps well and plays OK defense. These are not the qualities that a team looking to make the NCAA tournament needs to see on the court for 30 minutes a game. I certainly hope we can find someone with much higher skills to take those big minutes. If not, we are in trouble. Anyone who thinks Deion will magically become a major contributor next season is in a delusional state. I'm sure he has qualities which go unnoticed by the average fan, but I would really like to see qualities that go NOTICED!

 

[spiderman]

and there's nothing average about us as fans!

 

[MolivaManiac]

Deion just needs to score about 6 points and grab 6 rebounds and do a good job guarding the opponent's best front court player. Do that and we'll be just fine. And I predict he will.

 

[fan2011]

Deion was the second best blocker on the team and second best in steal percentage. He does some things well. He was 5th best on the team in defensive rebounding percentage, hopefully he can improve here and on his shot selection / free throw shooting.

Guess who was first in steal percentage on the team? Terry Allen.

TA had the 11th best steal percentage in the A10, Deion was 13th best. They along with TJ and ANO were the top 4 in steal percentage in the A10 for players above 6'6. Our big men are the best in the conference at generating steals. I don't know if it is our system, our coaching or by chance but it is an interesting stat.

We were the second best team in the conference at generating steals overall, behind VCU.

 

[SpiderK]

Deion was the second best blocker on the team and second best in steal percentage. He does some things well. He was 5th best on the team in defensive rebounding percentage, hopefully he can improve here and on his shot selection / free throw shooting.

Guess who was first in steal percentage on the team? Terry Allen.

TA had the 11th best steal percentage in the A10, Deion was 13th best. They along with TJ and ANO were the top 4 in steal percentage in the A10 for players above 6'6. Our big men are the best in the conference at generating steals. I don't know if it is our system, our coaching or by chance but it is an interesting stat.

We were the second best team in the conference at generating steals overall, behind VCU.

We will always be second to RPI in steals, because we only include basketballs in our stats.

 

[Spideroldie]

+1!!!!!!

 

[SouthJerseySpiderFan]

+1. I don't like our odds of Deion playing 30 minutes a game and us being an NCAA tournament team, especially since we know Trey is out there as well for probably similar minutes. No matter how great SDJ, TA, and TJ or whatever 3 scorers we have on offense, teams are going to get in the hip pocket of the 3 scorers cause they know the other 2 can't beat them. I hope Terry and TJ like a lot of double teams.

+1! Sad but exact scenario in my head but unfortunately not being an UR graduate it wouldn't come out this well on paper! lol!

 

[I-M-UR]

You can only play 5 players at a time. If one of them is only OK to Good at defense doesn't score, doesn't rebound etc. we're doomed. It'll be 4 on 5 on offense. If you're going to have a defensive specialist he needs to at least control the boards and blocked shots.

 

[UR Fan 2]

We are going to be solid next year!!! Solid offensive players SDJ, TA, TJC, KF, JJ, and solid defensive players TD, DT and MW....good things lie ahead!!!!

 

[97spiderfan]

We are going to be solid next year!!! Solid offensive players SDJ, TA, TJC, KF, JJ, and solid defensive players TD, DT and MW....good things lie ahead

Agreed, we are going to be solid next year. Big question is whether we are "solid" enough to make the NCAA tournament. Loss of ANO hurts because we lose one of our "solid players". I think that loss will need to be offset by one of our other "solid" players upping there game to that of a dominant player.

TJ and Terry Allen are my two candidates to make that jump. All great teams need to have that player that they can rely on to make a shot or strap a team on their back when they roll out their "c" game for the night. TJ and Terry were both very good last year particularly down the stretch, can they make the jump to a great player next year though? Is there anyone else on the team, who could make that jump (SDJ???)

 

[MrTbone]

URFan2, while I appreciate the positive vibes post, I don't think we can make any claims about KF, JJ or MW being solid offensive or defensive players. They are all unknown quantities at this juncture.

I am not a cliff jumper and expect we will be fine, but I concur that we do not yet have a clear line on at least one spot for the team. It won't be 4 on 5 as mentioned, but it's yet to be seen how big a weakness is there.

 

[spiderman]

I'm optimistic about next season. a lot of guys could make major jumps. TJ though, I wonder how he'll progress. he's already a max effort guy. his moves are developed. his shot is an asset. he has a high basketball IQ. it's very possible that we'll just get the same from him for two years if he's already peaked. not bad if we do. he's still very, very good. but he's not one that I look for huge improvements from.

 

[MrTbone]

I think we will see continued improvement out of the three that 97 mentions. Probably SDJ has more upside of the three since he was technically a sixth man last season.

I actually think the guy who might have the most upside offensively is Trey. We could use a player whose offensive role is to get to the rim and I think he's got a good handle and the athleticism to do this better than most of our other known guys.

The real upside of course could be one of the little/not seen guys, but anything more than a 0 is going to be an obvious upside.

 

[fan2011]

I think we will see continued improvement out of the three that 97 mentions. Probably SDJ has more upside of the three since he was technically a sixth man last season.

I actually think the guy who might have the most upside offensively is Trey. We could use a player whose offensive role is to get to the rim and I think he's got a good handle and the athleticism to do this better than most of our other known guys.

The real upside of course could be one of the little/not seen guys, but anything more than a 0 is going to be an obvious upside.

I have said this before, but the possible expansion of the restricted area under the basket this offseason could be very beneficial to Trey. He would often pick up charges while driving to the basket last year, but with a larger restricted area things would be more in his favor. He can finish around the rim, the problem has been getting there. Also, improving his free throw percentage would add a lot of value offensively.

Trey shot 52% from 2-point range last year and 48% over his career. The national average is 48%.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Agreed, we are going to be solid next year. Big question is whether we are "solid" enough to make the NCAA tournament. Loss of ANO hurts because we lose one of our "solid players". I think that loss will need to be offset by one of our other "solid" players upping there game to that of a dominant player.

Agree with 97.

Next year's team will be solid because they will rely upon Terry Allen, T.J. Cline, and Shawndre Jones. Though last year's team was good enough to make the NCAA field, that team had a star caliber dominant player (Kendal Anthony) to lead them. This year's bunch may not have someone similar. The rest of the returning players do not have an NCAA caliber look or feel to their game.

As stated in another thread, I think the fortunes of the 15-16 team lies largely in the hands of the 5 newcomers. Will they be good enough, and will they add enough significant value to ease the departure of Anthony & Ododa? Will the overall performance of the 5 give the team that little bit of extra (which has been missing) that will propel them into the tournament?

It is a possibility, but making the NCAA tournament is far from a sure thing. Time will tell.

 

[32counter]

To get to Big Dance:

Top 3 in A10 regular season

At least 1-1 in Vegas

Knock off UNI

Get to semis at A10 tourney

With the absence of K0 and ANO,not feeling it.

 

[97spiderfan]

There are some guys that have poor shooting mechanics (Deion) and that is why they are bad offensive players. Trey does not have terrible shooting mechanics in my opinion but yet most would consider him a poor offensive player. Yes, his FT mechanics are god awful, but his regular jump shot and his ability to drive with the ball both are pretty good. So, perhaps, we get a little more from him next year. I don't see some magical upgrade in his FT percentage though, much like Deion's 3 point shoot, the mechanics are so flawed, you would need to completely reconstruct their approaches. I don't see that happening in the offseason.

 

[SpiderK]

I just don't think we will know what we have until we see them play 5 or 6 games. ANO leaving is going to force Mooney out of his comfort zone and we are going to get to see these young guys play more than we would have.

My concern is having a CONFIDENT guard step up to play side by side with SDJ and to run the show when he is resting (3 minutes per game). Guards are so important in the college game, and especially if the shot clock gets shorter.

I would like to see TD and DT play a few less minutes but do much more in the 20-25 minutes they are out there. TD is going to have to score!! He cannot keep playing 30 minutes putting up goose eggs. I think ANO hurts us most by losing his intimidation factor, depth in case of injury and Foul trouble.

 

[DukeDenver]

To get to Big Dance:

Top 3 in A10 regular season

At least 1-1 in Vegas

Knock off UNI

Get to semis at A10 tourney

With the absence of K0 and ANO,not feeling it.

These were 2 great players, but let's not pretend like they're not replaceable. ANO disappeared for long stretches last season and in addition to his cold shooting streaks, Kendall didn't offer much on defense. The Spides will be better this year, not because of who is lost, but because of 5 promising newcomers and the continued growth of Shawndre and Terry.