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Malcolm Bernard *sad trombone*

I'm not going to comment on him coming into the program and what he can add/not add since he hasn't played with us yet. A little early to make inferences. My only concern and it has nothing to do with Malcolm is with Coach's complex defensive system and sometimes offensive system, I wonder if he'll be able to pick it up being here for only one year. A lot of the young guys coming in have been limited in minutes because of this in the past. The plus is that we have a European trip this summer to help allay those fears, but still...
 
Malcolm, if you'reading this, don't worry. We're happy to have you. This board is only happy when they complain.

They said the same thing about TJ Cline and he worked out all right. Instead of shitting on Florida AM, they shit on Niagara. Two years later, it has worked out all right.

Some of these guys on this board would rather us win the rebounding battle then win games. I know I'm going to get flamed for that comment, because I know last year we didn't do much of either. I prefer to look forward than look back.

The school down the street, whose dislike for their team is the only thing this board can agree about, signed some grad transfer from Oral Roberts. He came with similar numbers than you had. It is safe to say, the Rams would have been a different team this year without him. If you can bring to the Spiders roughly the same numbers you had last year, plus some much needed toughness. everyone wins. .
 
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As long as he's enrolled in the summer and completes three credit hours before the tour, he can go...is my understanding.
 
I really can't understand anyone who has a problem with a recruit or transfer, before they even step on the court. I feel confident that Malcom is going to be a valuable player this season.
 
gospidersgo said:
We need to win now. Not build to when Monte/Nick/Grant are seniors in 2021. That is ages away and we never know where we will be as a program at that time. Especially with the way the college basketball landscape has changed with regards to transfers, the look of a team can and does change rapidly.QUOTE]

Completely agree. We have 3 high caliber seniors next year, two of whom will probably be all A-10 players. So, we can win next year, and still get these freshman time, meaningful.

And frankly, if we don't start winning (going to postseason tournaments), Mooney isn't going to be around for when Monte/Nick/ and Grant are seniors. The five years remaining on his contract provides him protection now, but each year, another 1 million plus ticks off our commitment and with that the ability to go a different direction increases. Hopefully, we don't have to go that direction because we are winning next year.

I think Bernard fills a need. And if the option was either Bernard or no grad transfer, than this was a clear no brainer of a decision.
Click to expand...
 
I'm not complaining about Malcolm at all, he just isn't prototypical for us. Frankly, that's probably a good thing.

I think the discussion of who plays the "4" for us is relevant though. We can dispense with calling it a 4 or a PF, what matters is if he can play back to basket and provide a low post offensive presence. That's where our gap is.
 
I don't think back to the basket is his game and it won't be what he's asked to do. but he'll be a nice player for us next year.
 
Honestly - I don't see this working for us. Not that Bernard is a bad player, he seems to be pretty talented and could help many teams, but our main weakness last year was defense. And given that we run a style of defense which is hard to comprehend, I don't think this will help us on that end of the floor and we will have similar issues. Remember - our best teams under Mooney were very good from a defensive end and why was that? 2 things I think. 1 - those players played together for a lot of minutes, so there was a lot of continuity and they knew each other very well. In a defensive scheme where you switch everything and communiation is a must - this is cohesiveness is extremely important and something we have not been able to replicate. 2 - we had good size those years. Only small guy on the floor was KA, but pretty much everyone else was interchangeable Bernard has good size so from a size standpoint - I think he would fit in defensively, but I just don't think he can pick it up or the staff can teach him in one year.

If we just played man to man and something simple - we might be in better shape, but I don't think Mooney changes his defense that much next season.
 
the complexity of our defense is greatly exaggerated. not saying you can pick it up mistake free right away. you'll make some mistakes. but it's really not all that complicated.
 
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If our defense is no that complicated that why is it always offered as the reason why freshman don't play more. Jesse didn't play more because he didn't understand the defense. Said the same thing about Josh Jones.

I agree it shouldn't that complicated though. And frankly, as miserable as we played defense last year, I would suspect that some changes will have to be implemented.
 
freshmen don't typically play more because they're freshmen. they're usually not as good as the guys who have been in the program longer. there have been exceptions where freshmen are ready and they seem to pick up the defense and offense just fine.
I think we all expect this year's freshmen to do just that.
 
97spiderfan said:
If our defense is no that complicated that why is it always offered as the reason why freshman don't play more. Jesse didn't play more because he didn't understand the defense. Said the same thing about Josh Jones.

I agree it shouldn't that complicated though. And frankly, as miserable as we played defense last year, I would suspect that some changes will have to be implemented.
Click to expand...
Because people don't want to admit the actual answer. The freshmen usually just aren't good enough.
 
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spiderman said:
the complexity of our defense is greatly exaggerated. not saying you can pick it up mistake free right away. you'll make some mistakes. but it's really not all that complicated.
Click to expand...
AGREE 100%, its frigging basketball, not rocket science - effort and helping. Mooney even finally stated he may have to change it up as other teams have completely figured out the D. MOUSE in The HOUSE!! This saying that I hear Dennis Scott say on the NBA studio show makes me cringe. This gets exploited to no end with us, little man (mouse) getting stuck inside (house) on a big man. It will help to have bigger guards like DMB and Nick in our defense, but we need to make major tweaks.
 
yeah, the whole point of the switching matchup zone is to keep the mouse on the perimeter. we switch. it's different from a straight zone because when you play zones you often have guys guarding empty space. someone somewhere is open. can't have that. guys make open shots. that's why I like this defense with the right personnel.

we get in trouble when teams make a bigger guy come out to cover the corner. they force him to stay out there, not letting a guard get close enough to switch. eventually they can get a big on a smaller guy.

we've been recruiting some bigger wings so the mismatch that still might happen won't be as drastic. fewer mice.
 
Helps to have Khwan at 6' be one of your mice with his 45" vertical. OSC
 
We got in trouble last year when opponents' bigs and littles were driving unempeded to the basket (VDU) (Davison) ... and our opponents were very very confident at the 3 point line against us. We seem to guard free throws better than 3's.
 
Bernard got an awful lot of steals last year. Last I checked, stealing the ball was part of defense. So I think he can help there.
 
Eight Legger said:
Bernard got an awful lot of steals last year. Last I checked, stealing the ball was part of defense. So I think he can help there.
Click to expand...

Yeah, steals, blocks and rebounds were the most impressive part of Bernard's game. That is why I think he will be a defensive specialist for us. His offensive production was more a product of using an enormous number of possessions, don't think he will score more than 5 or 6 a game here. I expect him to get 4 rebounds, 6 points, 2 assists, a steal or two and a block every so often if he is playing ~20 minutes. Pretty good production, but mostly there for defense.
 
spiderman said:
the complexity of our defense is greatly exaggerated. not saying you can pick it up mistake free right away. you'll make some mistakes. but it's really not all that complicated.
Click to expand...
Last year's opponents would agree
 
spiderman said:
I don't think back to the basket is his game and it won't be what he's asked to do. but he'll be a nice player for us next year.
Click to expand...
It's not his game, when I said "he" above, I meant whoever we bring in at 4/PF/F. My point is, we only have one proven back to basket player on the roster right now, TJ. We have to have at least one other for the offense to operate somewhat efficiently in my view. I'm less worried about defense.
 
Hanca said:
Last year's opponents would agree
Click to expand...
lol. yeah, there's the problem. and while we can question each individual's defense last year, we lose 3 of our better defenders. as good as TJ and SDJ are offensively, neither is an above average defensive player. and Marshall is probably even less effective.
without even seeing Malcolm firsthand, I'm going to put him with Khwan as our best defensive players. I'll go with DMB as #3 even though he hasn't finished HS!
that's why I think Malcolm plays a lot and even starts. I think we'll score plenty again. we need to get stops.
 
MrTbone said:
It's not his game, when I said "he" above, I meant whoever we bring in at 4/PF/F. My point is, we only have one proven back to basket player on the roster right now, TJ. We have to have at least one other for the offense to operate somewhat efficiently in my view. I'm less worried about defense.
Click to expand...
ah. I'm with you now.
 
I think our switching man/matchup zone whatever you call it defense is in some part complicated but it's mostly just fragile. one guy makes a late/lazy/bad switch and teams that know to exploit that will make us pay. there is a lot of awareness each player has to have, but also a lot of communication that has to happen quickly and definitively to let a wing defender know where they need to go to if they hesitate.

this is one thing where i expect an older guy to be more successful than a freshman. they're just more likely to be vocal and not give a crap about pecking order and being new like a freshman would. so that is actually a plus for malcolm.
 
What's the line on Mooney changing up the D?

I'm hoping to see some changes and wrinkles but hope springs eternal and ill only believe it when I see it
 
sdspider said:
What's the line on Mooney changing up the D?

I'm hoping to see some changes and wrinkles but hope springs eternal and ill only believe it when I see it
Click to expand...
You and everybody else. I can't imagine there's a single person on this chat board who believes we will meaningfully change the D until we see it.
 
sdspider said:
What's the line on Mooney changing up the D?

I'm hoping to see some changes and wrinkles but hope springs eternal and ill only believe it when I see it
Click to expand...
I'm still thinking he stays with it, assuming this group plays it better. it works, or did for a long time with the right personnel. I don't see how all of a sudden teams figured something out. I just think last year's team didn't play it well. they might not have played any defense all that well. time will tell if this group will.

all defenses can be attacked. you pick your poison. but there's no magical answer to good team defense when the 5 individuals don't defend all that well.
 
SpiderTrap said:
Honestly - I don't see this working for us. Not that Bernard is a bad player, he seems to be pretty talented and could help many teams, but our main weakness last year was defense. And given that we run a style of defense which is hard to comprehend, I don't think this will help us on that end of the floor and we will have similar issues. Remember - our best teams under Mooney were very good from a defensive end and why was that? 2 things I think. 1 - those players played together for a lot of minutes, so there was a lot of continuity and they knew each other very well. In a defensive scheme where you switch everything and communiation is a must - this is cohesiveness is extremely important and something we have not been able to replicate. 2 - we had good size those years. Only small guy on the floor was KA, but pretty much everyone else was interchangeable Bernard has good size so from a size standpoint - I think he would fit in defensively, but I just don't think he can pick it up or the staff can teach him in one year.

If we just played man to man and something simple - we might be in better shape, but I don't think Mooney changes his defense that much next season.
Click to expand...

Sometimes we just have to get out of our typical box. If you keep doing the same thing over and over, you will continue to get the same thing. I am ready for something new.
 
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gcarter52 said:
Sometimes we just have to get out of our typical box. If you keep doing the same thing over and over, you will continue to get the same thing. I am ready for something new.
Click to expand...
I wish that was the case. the defense used to work. we didn't get the same result.
 
Lurker, comparing TJ's transfer to this situation is not even close. TJ sat a year and learned before even stepping on the court and had three years remaining. Bernard will have no year to learn anything and has but one year to play. personally do not like bringing in "one year" guys, just not what i feel is a good deal in a good program. know there are exceptions but just my opinion which is not worth much. hope he is great for us, welcome him with open arms.....
 
I'm waiting for Mooney to have lunch with Tarrant so we can run the trash can defense next year, will likely be a big improvement over this past season.
 
I don't disagree Web. I don't think this is a new strategy for us or anything. but with 3 spots to fill late in the recruiting year and trying to win this year with 3 seniors, it's pretty nice to bring in a veteran like this. no downside. this spot gets filled with an 18 year old long term commitment next year. I hope we never again have 3 openings still unfilled in April before the season.
 
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