NBAdraft.net on Monroe

[chep3]

I think sleepy has it right. Greg would have to be the offensive 4 (think Jeff), but the 5 defensively. I too think that Henry's development could really change the team. We looked at times this year like we were defending with the same strategy as last year. Problem is, there is no Roy in the middle. To me, Henry looks pretty good on weak side defense and shows that he has pretty good timing on shot blocking. Playing the both of them together, along with Dajuan, gives us a big frontcourt and ideally, a good defensive one. If we can bring Julian and Williams (if we get him) off the bench, then that gives us a big and deep front line. The problem with that lineup is our ballhandling gets pretty suspect after Chris. If Austin can tighten up his handle to that of a 2, and Dajuan can tighten up his to that of a 3, we can get by with that. If not, Jason's going to have to be on the court with Chris quite a bit.

As for Dajuan's defense, I agree that he way overcommits on help defense. You can always see it coming too. He invariably will chase the ball too far and leave his man open for the 3. But, I didn't find him to be a good on the ball defender this year, at least when his offensive play went south. Now, this obviously could have a lot to do with that ankle injury he picked up. Maybe he never got completely healthy. I hope that's the case because otherwise it's strange how someone so athletic could have such bad lateral footspeed. But it also seems to me that he's a very upright defender. Maybe that's leg strength and that's something he needs to work on in the offseason, but I'd really like to see an improvement there too.

[swhoya]

I'd agree that having Henry develop as a shot-blocker could be one of the keys to next year's improvement. Towards the end of the season he had a game (I forget which one) where he had several blocks in a relatively short number of minutes. Someone claimed this was irrelevant because we still lost the game, but his ability to consistently patrol the paint will allow our guards to play tighter D on the perimeter--keeping down their 3 point opportunities while taking away the incentive to drive the lane.

[adlai]

Distinguishing positions on offense are really a bit funny in the Princeton. Basically, the goal is to have at least two big men who can handle the ball, are decent passers, and can shoot to at least 15 feet if not to the three point line. This draws out a big defender opening up the interior. Second, it ideally creates mismatches and confusion on defense as big defenders are not used to reacting to this movement if the team is playing man. On the other hand, this type of player can also pass/shoot over guards on a zone setup. Thus, given the movement that is required by bigs on offense, the distinction between 4 and 5 doesn't really have any meaning. It is true though that on defense, this matters and unless Henry gets much stronger, Greg will continue to play the 5 on that end.

[PopeJohn2]

if he declares this year hes a goner for sure. you can only declare twice and it would be too risky to use up your freebie to test the waters you may need it the next year if you get injured or have an off year. so if he uses a bullet its because he knows hes going high.

[PopeJohn2]

Mar 26, 2009 11:44:35 GMT -5 sleepy said:

Mar 25, 2009 22:20:59 GMT -5 hoyalawyer said:

Best Case Scenario
C- Monroe/ Julian (30/10)
PF- Williams/ Sims (30/10)
SF- Summers/Nikita/Omar (30/5/5)
SG- Austin/ Hollis (30/10)
PG- Chris/ Jason (30/10)

Worst Case Scenario
C- Julian/ Henry (25/15)
PF- Henry/ Nikita (15/25)
SF- Austin/ Omar (30/10)
SG- Jason/ Hollis (25/15)
PG- Chris/ Jason (35/5)

whos this williams? jerome?

[PopeJohn2]

i am all for bringing in lower level recruits and developing them for 3/4 years. worked with green/hibbert/wallace. seems to be hungrier and more coachable. jtiii has a winning system we just need guys that can execute it and stick with it.

[chep3]

Jeff Green was a lower ranked recruit. He was not a lower level recruit. For proof, see 3 years at GU and 2 years in OKC. JT3 turned him into a better player, but Jeff was just criminally underrated as a recruit. He could play from day 1.

[hoyabinx]

Mar 27, 2009 10:20:02 GMT -5 chep3 said:

Jeff Green was a lower ranked recruit. He was not a lower level recruit. For proof, see 3 years at GU and 2 years in OKC. JT3 turned him into a better player, but Jeff was just criminally underrated as a recruit. He could play from day 1.

I think your are punching a whole in his argument but it still stands. Roy, Jon, Pat Jr. and even Bowman all became much better ball players because of JTIII and his system.

[GIGAFAN99]

This is not about coachability. This is about players who can't or don't want to play defense. When you see a kid listing only ACC schools and Notre Dame, RUN don't walk away from him.

We're in JT opposite land right now and we have to find a way out. Remember thinking "JT, just freakin' recruit a shooter and teach him how to play defense?" Well now it's "JTIII, just freakin' recruit a kid who can play defense and teach him the offense!"

[FHillsNYHoya]

Ah yes - remember the days when Jerry Nichols was going to be our savior?

[hoyaboy1]

Mar 27, 2009 12:21:17 GMT -5 GIGAFAN99 said:

We're in JT opposite land right now and we have to find a way out. Remember thinking "JT, just freakin' recruit a shooter and teach him how to play defense?" Well now it's "JTIII, just freakin' recruit a kid who can play defense and teach him the offense!"

We have guys that can shoot?