ODU game observations

[97spiderfan]

I know ODU's NET and metrics are not great but given the short turnaround we faced and the fact that ODU plays us tough and is such a contrast to how we play, I thought yesterday was a very good win and see improvement from this team. Like the NC State we played a full 40 minutes of ball, showed defensive improvement, and I always felt that we had the upper hand in both games. A couple of player observations:

1. Tyler: He is turning himself into a front runner for A-10 POY, which is interesting because Grant and Gilly are the face of the team and generally what other teams have to game plan for. Simply an incredible singular performance by Tyler again yesterday, both ends of the floor. We were getting killed on the offensive glass by ODU, Tyler had some big boy rebounds. Ice water in his veins sinking those 3 FT's at the end and you knew he was making them. Clutch big time player

2. Gilly. He has 8 assists and 4 steals but what stood out for me, 0 points in 39 minutes. I know we ask him to do a lot but he has to be able to score. His offensive game has not evolved much this year, seems to settle for 3 balls and not much else and personally, I think his 3 point game is the weakest part of this offensive game. I haven't seen much in the way of a floater from him and he almost always passes out when he drives. Teams will game plan knowing this. Still think he is his best version when he plays 35-36 minutes vs. 39-40.

3. Isiah and Dji: Both of these guys bring so much to the table defensively. They are game changers on that end of the floor. I thought both played excellent games. Isiah is getting better on offense, he seems to like the corner 3 as his spot and makes big timely plays when needed.

4. Cayo: For about the first 36 minutes of the game, I thought he did very little but man did he deliver in crunch time. His FT form is atrocious but he was 7-10 from the line yesterday, so I guess as long as they go in.

5. Grant: Grant had a really tough assignment yesterday dealing with ODU's bigs and style of play. I think he played really well on defense all things considered. The five turnovers of offense needs to be cleaned up though. Sometimes he just needs to make the safe pass versus always trying to make the superb pass.

6. Sherod: If Sherod isn't hitting shots, we get more production out of Crabtree and Dji. I don't have a problem persay with his minutes, but Crabtree only got 6 minutes he needs more than that.

 

[kneepadmckinney]

I know ODU's NET and metrics are not great but given the short turnaround we faced and the fact that ODU plays us tough and is such a contrast to how we play, I thought yesterday was a very good win and see improvement from this team. Like the NC State we played a full 40 minutes of ball, showed defensive improvement, and I always felt that we had the upper hand in both games. A couple of player observations:

1. Tyler: He is turning himself into a front runner for A-10 POY, which is interesting because Grant and Gilly are the face of the team and generally what other teams have to game plan for. Simply an incredible singular performance by Tyler again yesterday, both ends of the floor. We were getting killed on the offensive glass by ODU, Tyler had some big boy rebounds. Ice water in his veins sinking those 3 FT's at the end and you knew he was making them. Clutch big time player

2. Gilly. He has 8 assists and 4 steals but what stood out for me, 0 points in 39 minutes. I know we ask him to do a lot but he has to be able to score. His offensive game has not evolved much this year, seems to settle for 3 balls and not much else and personally, I think his 3 point game is the weakest part of this offensive game. I haven't seen much in the way of a floater from him and he almost always passes out when he drives. Teams will game plan knowing this. Still think he is his best version when he plays 35-36 minutes vs. 39-40.

3. Isiah and Dji: Both of these guys bring so much to the table defensively. They are game changers on that end of the floor. I thought both played excellent games. Isiah is getting better on offense, he seems to like the corner 3 as his spot and makes big timely plays when needed.

4. Cayo: For about the first 36 minutes of the game, I thought he did very little but man did he deliver in crunch time. His FT form is atrocious but he was 7-10 from the line yesterday, so I guess as long as they go in.

5. Grant: Grant had a really tough assignment yesterday dealing with ODU's bigs and style of play. I think he played really well on defense all things considered. The five turnovers of offense needs to be cleaned up though. Sometimes he just needs to make the safe pass versus always trying to make the superb pass.

6. Sherod: If Sherod isn't hitting shots, we get more production out of Crabtree and Dji. I don't have a problem persay with his minutes, but Crabtree only got 6 minutes he needs more than that.

What he said.

 

[SpiderDogg]

Re-Gilyard, definitely agree he needs to figure out a way to score when he gets around the basket. Understand he’s looking to pass first because his shot it easy to block but it seemed like he could’ve had a few baskets around the hoop if he went up for them.

 

[spider23]

Yep, its nuts b/c Gilly shoots a crazy high percentage on high degree of difficulty on the fast break, but never developed the floater or stop and pop like KA perfected. I doubt he is going to add it now. Just need to get those points from somewhere else. It does seem between Gilly and Zay, every drive in the lane results in a kick out, or sometimes a pass inside, but most times a kick out.

 

[urfan1]

KA could shoot the 3, could drive the lane, and when he added the drive stop and shoot the midrange floater he became nearly unstoppable

 

[97spiderfan]

KA could shoot the 3, could drive the lane, and when he added the drive stop and shoot the midrange floater he became nearly unstoppable

The thing is Gilly was developing a floater and also a jump stop a couple years ago but he doesn't use them anymore. As a small guard, having a floater is not only a nice but almost an indispensable part of your offensive game. He has basically taken himself out of our offense in terms of scoring.

And yes, I've noticed at least a drive or two every game where it looks like Gilly could just lay it up but instead chooses to kick it out. Which means, he is not even looking to score when he drives inside.

If he can't/won't score, I personally would like to see a few minutes go elsewhere. Mooney needs to recognize our deep bench at the guard position and stop awarding Gilly 40 minutes per game automatically. He is the only player that gets this latitude on the team.

 

[Gallipoli]

We need Gilyard and Cayo to score.

 

[RichmondNative]

The thing is Gilly was developing a floater and also a jump stop a couple years ago but he doesn't use them anymore. As a small guard, having a floater is not only a nice but almost an indispensable part of your offensive game. He has basically taken himself out of our offense in terms of scoring.

And yes, I've noticed at least a drive or two every game where it looks like Gilly could just lay it up but instead chooses to kick it out. Which means, he is not even looking to score when he drives inside.

If he can't/won't score, I personally would like to see a few minutes go elsewhere. Mooney needs to recognize our deep bench at the guard position and stop awarding Gilly 40 minutes per game automatically. He is the only player that gets this latitude on the team.

All very true 97. Would be interesting to know what changed. Everyone assumed he just wasn’t looking for his shot when Francis was on the team. I guess he is now deferring to Tyler. There are definitely times when he could use the reverse layup, a SDJ staple that I know he used a bunch as a sophomore.

I had hoped he would get slightly less time after breaking the steals record, but instead of taking him out CM just gets the other guard to bring the ball up the floor. Hopefully the Spiders get some nice leads that allows CM to be more comfortable with Gilly sitting on the bench for a few minutes.

 

[spiderman]

he's a very small guard amongst the trees. yes if he's open for a layup take it. but I'm fine with his kick outs for open 3's. those are great shots. and he's also made some amazing passes from behind the basket to guys in the lane. Jacob's scoring is barely down and his assists are at an all time high. he's playing well. he's just not shooting great.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

All very true 97. Would be interesting to know what changed. Everyone assumed he just wasn’t looking for his shot when Francis was on the team. I guess he is now deferring to Tyler. There are definitely times when he could use the reverse layup, a SDJ staple that I know he used a bunch as a sophomore.

I had hoped he would get slightly less time after breaking the steals record, but instead of taking him out CM just gets the other guard to bring the ball up the floor. Hopefully the Spiders get some nice leads that allows CM to be more comfortable with Gilly sitting on the bench for a few minutes.

Was hoping to see the NIT Gilly!

 

[97spiderfan]

Was hoping to see the NIT Gilly!

Me too. And as Native said, I presumed with Francis being gone that he would resume a more dominant scorer role in our offense. But that has happened.

I think the more logical answer is that Gilly's offense game has just not improved that much over the past 2 years. We all expect players to be better as they get older and we have certainly see that with Burton and Grant this year. They are both playing their best ball of their careers. Gilly was probably a better player 2 years ago than he is right now. His game has kind of flatlined. That isn't horrible, as I know some will see it as, because he was a really really good player to begin with, he just has not added different aspects to his game that might take his game to the next level.

If you were to rank our players, Gilly would be the clear number 3 right now behind Burton and Grant.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

I’m okay with Gilyard not being a primary scorer. He earns his minutes in so many other ways. And Wilson doesn’t exactly give you a ton of confidence that he could fill the void at the position. Let’s hope Grant starts really dominating with Burton and then it will be a fun ride.

 

[SpiderK]

Me too. And as Native said, I presumed with Francis being gone that he would resume a more dominant scorer role in our offense. But that has happened.

I think the more logical answer is that Gilly's offense game has just not improved that much over the past 2 years. We all expect players to be better as they get older and we have certainly see that with Burton and Grant this year. They are both playing their best ball of their careers. Gilly was probably a better player 2 years ago than he is right now. His game has kind of flatlined. That isn't horrible, as I know some will see it as, because he was a really really good player to begin with, he just has not added different aspects to his game that might take his game to the next level.

If you were to rank our players, Gilly would be the clear number 3 right now behind Burton and Grant.

Gilly has stopped going inside altogether. He shouldn’t be embarrassed about getting blocked every now and then. He just doesn’t have that tear drop floater like Kendal and Kevin had.

 

[CH_Spider]

Hopefully Gilly can gain some confidence tomorrow shooting the ball.

 

[97spiderfan]

I’m okay with Gilyard not being a primary scorer. He earns his minutes in so many other ways. And Wilson doesn’t exactly give you a ton of confidence that he could fill the void at the position. Let’s hope Grant starts really dominating with Burton and then it will be a fun ride.

True. Wilson, Dji, and Goose aren't certainly going to light it up offensively. Still believe that Gilly is not a 40 minute per game player as Mooney has him plugged in. I don't think any player should play all 40 minutes but if we had one, it would a player doing Tyler Burton esque things on the court.

 

[SpiderRick]

I'm no coach or scout, but it does seem that Gilyard and Cayo have not shown improvement from last year. I hope to be wrong but it does seem like that have peaked after 5 or 6 years in the system. We could always count on Gilly draining late game 3 pointers when we needed them. Cayo scares me, we never know which Cayo will show up, the aggressive attack the rim, free throw making Cayo? Or the one lacking that aggression and bricking FTs? When he went from 50% FT his first year to 80% the next year, I absolutely thought that was amazing. Obviously there was some good coaching there because his form changed. Where is that coaching now? He's got Dion Taylor form at the line.

I would love to know Coachfezz's thoughts on Cayo.....

 

[spiderman]

re Cayo ... his form was good and he shot over 70% for 2 years. you don't change that unless things fell apart. my only guess is his FTs this offseason were a mess so they've made it more mechanical.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

If any coach changed Cayo in the off season they should be fired immediately! The mechanics of what he is doing now ensures that his long-term percentage will be less than desired.

 

[whampas]

re Cayo ... his form was good and he shot over 70% for 2 years. you don't change that unless things fell apart. my only guess is his FTs this offseason were a mess so they've made it more mechanical.

His new mechanic must be certified by American Motors Corporation.