jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by jwp91 on Aug 19, 2024 18:09:28 GMT -5
[quote author=" rhw485" source="If you pair him with a frontcourt player who isn't a 3 point threat, would that still work? In those clips where Soriano and Oduro lose Fielder, those guys would probably be guarding Sorber instead. And then there's a crowd in the paint waiting for Mack and Epps etc. Now I think Sorber will have enough range where in theory they could operate at the elbows, and maybe he extends to 3 over time. [/quote] I think both Sorber and Hanaikouna are supposed to have some range out to 3....I think I have heard more chatter about Hanaikouna's three than Sorbers. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. |
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bills
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
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Post by bills on Aug 19, 2024 20:13:29 GMT -5
If there is a crowd in the paint then someone is open for a 3pt shot - Fielder. Mack, or Epps for a catch and shoot instead of off the dribble. We have this preoccupation with evertrhing our opponent does works and we have no answer. Maybe justified baseball on the last few years. But this is a roster that has a lot more talent and let’s see if the other team has to adjust to us and how we respond to the openings that creates for us. We have a lot of firepower in what I see as the starting five: Mack, Eoos. Peavy, Fielder, and Sorber. We have two subs that i am am confident will see significant floor time each game: McKenna, and Julius. We will have good internal competition for who will be the urgency, 8th, and 9th player in the rotation and perhaps the ability to use that depth to show different looks that oponents have to volunteer like going very big or going small and very fast.we will have off nights and make lots of freshman mistakes. But maybe we can also create lots of matchup problems and also reduce thaking it inside for easy baskets, get defensive rebounds and reduce easy out fast break baskets, and have fewer turnovers that leads to breakaway baskets. Just a few of each of these adds up to a big difference.
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Post by sportsastroguy on Aug 19, 2024 21:16:45 GMT -5
Just so happens that all of Fielder’s scoring highlights from his freshman season are now on YouTube. Though I don’t understand why the person who put it together went backwards as far as the games are concerned (did the same thing for the Epps edit). Now people can make a judgment on how at least his successful drives looked. I think Drew will take a nice step forward this year. GU has a chance to surprise bc they have good scoring, position flexibility, and cats who want to on defense. |
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by SFHoya99 on Aug 19, 2024 21:33:19 GMT -5
I will say watching that video made me a lot more confident in Drew repeating his shooting this year.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Aug 19, 2024 22:38:05 GMT -5
Some stats courtesy of CBB Analytics:
Fielder:
- Above Break Threes: 19/45 (42.2%)
- Corner Threes: 3/9 (33.3%)
By contrast:
Epps:
- Above Break Threes: 53/186 (28.5%)
- Corner Threes: 11/21 (52.4%)
Bottom line: we need Epps to take more corner threes, but last year that was largely impossible because he was usually the primary ball handler. Hopefully Mack's ball handling will help Epps get more chances from the corner.
EDIT: My original post inversed Above Break Threes/Corner Threes. Apologies.
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by MCIGuy on Aug 19, 2024 23:57:33 GMT -5
I thought it was a given that Hoya fans saw Fielder as a reliable three point shooter. What was less of a given based on what I have read from others was the recognition that Fielder could drive to the basket relatively effectively for a 6’10 freshmen. I feel the video I posted provides enough evidence to make a strong case for those capabilities. We see him not only finishing with his left hand, we also get an example of him euro-stepping by a smaller defender in an open court drive. This is why it annoys me to see all the preseason hype for the big guy, Gold, of Marquette. Gold as a sophomore showed a far less versatile game than Fielder as a freshman. Gold wants to attack on offense in only one way: taking three pointers. All Gold had over Fielder was the ability to not pick up fouls as quickly (very important) and playing for a relevant team that was in the media spotlight.
Further context must be considered when discussing Fielder in that he turned over the ball sparingly for a freshman big and he had THE BEST assist to turnover ratio on the entire Hoya team. He had five more assists for last season than Supreme Cook even though Cook played over 400 more minutes! Cook was a beast on the boards but there were so many glaring holes to his game that I can understand why Cooley did not get in a bidding war for him. Fielder also ended up blocking more shots than Cook despite that vast disparity of minutes.
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EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Aug 20, 2024 5:55:09 GMT -5
If there is a crowd in the paint then someone is open for a 3pt shot - Fielder. Mack, or Epps for a catch and shoot instead of off the dribble. We have this preoccupation with evertrhing our opponent does works and we have no answer. Maybe justified baseball on the last few years. But this is a roster that has a lot more talent and let’s see if the other team has to adjust to us and how we respond to the openings that creates for us. We have a lot of firepower in what I see as the starting five: Mack, Eoos. Peavy, Fielder, and Sorber. We have two subs that i am am confident will see significant floor time each game: McKenna, and Julius. We will have good internal competition for who will be the urgency, 8th, and 9th player in the rotation and perhaps the ability to use that depth to show different looks that oponents have to volunteer like going very big or going small and very fast.we will have off nights and make lots of freshman mistakes. But maybe we can also create lots of matchup problems and also reduce thaking it inside for easy baskets, get defensive rebounds and reduce easy out fast break baskets, and have fewer turnovers that leads to breakaway baskets. Just a few of each of these adds up to a big difference. This isn’t true, teams are going to make MP, Sorber, Burks, Julius ect prove they can be beat them from the perimeter before adjusting their defense.. Also the sets the team plays out of will dictate the way they’ll be defended as well. Bottom line is this team will have to prove it can shoot it competently before opponents adjust. |
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rhw485
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by rhw485 on Aug 20, 2024 6:07:28 GMT -5
Some stats courtesy of CBB Analytics: Fielder: - Corner Threes: 19/45 (42.2%) - Above Break Threes: 3/9 (33.3%) By contrast: Epps: - Corner Threes: 53/186 (28.5%) - Above Break Threes: 11/21 (52.4%) Bottom line: we need Epps to take more corner threes, but last year that was largely impossible because he was usually the primary ball handler. Hopefully Mack's ball handling will help Epps get more chances from the corner. Sorry I think something went wrong here in the numbers, there's no way Epps took 186 corner 3s and only 21 above break 3s. You might have numbers for both players inversed. |
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jackofjoy
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
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Post by jackofjoy on Aug 20, 2024 6:42:26 GMT -5
I will say watching that video made me a lot more confident in Drew repeating his shooting this year. Agree, although watching mostly gave me PTSD seeing the in game scores (down 15-20+ in so many cases) … here’s to a brighter tomorrow (October)! |
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Aug 20, 2024 8:14:13 GMT -5
I will say watching that video made me a lot more confident in Drew repeating his shooting this year. Agree, although watching mostly gave me PTSD seeing the in game scores (down 15-20+ in so many cases) … here’s to a brighter tomorrow (October)! Ditto. Downright painful and embarrassing. |
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by MCIGuy on Aug 20, 2024 8:14:34 GMT -5
If there is a crowd in the paint then someone is open for a 3pt shot - Fielder. Mack, or Epps for a catch and shoot instead of off the dribble. We have this preoccupation with evertrhing our opponent does works and we have no answer. Maybe justified baseball on the last few years. But this is a roster that has a lot more talent and let’s see if the other team has to adjust to us and how we respond to the openings that creates for us. We have a lot of firepower in what I see as the starting five: Mack, Eoos. Peavy, Fielder, and Sorber. We have two subs that i am am confident will see significant floor time each game: McKenna, and Julius. We will have good internal competition for who will be the urgency, 8th, and 9th player in the rotation and perhaps the ability to use that depth to show different looks that oponents have to volunteer like going very big or going small and very fast.we will have off nights and make lots of freshman mistakes. But maybe we can also create lots of matchup problems and also reduce thaking it inside for easy baskets, get defensive rebounds and reduce easy out fast break baskets, and have fewer turnovers that leads to breakaway baskets. Just a few of each of these adds up to a big difference. One key thing that Cooley made during that Hoyas Rising zoom call was that he hoped to retain all the guys for the following year (those with eligibility remaining) and not rely on the portal in the spring of 2025 if possible. This checks with remarks he made over a year ago about how he likes how things were being done at Marquette (a program that develops its guys instead of going to the portal to fill out its starting lineups). On this board we have a tendency to look ahead at the upcoming season and try to predict a hard line of seven guys who will play and then think about one or two players who could make the rotation. Folks, if Cooley wants to retain his dudes he’ll have to play ten guys in my opinion. Now, the ninth and tenth guys could each get around five minutes each for all I care, but let them see the court. We don’t need Epps and Mack getting 36 minutes each. Drop them to about 30 minutes. As long as you have at least one on the court at all times that could work. But from time to time you want to put on the court people like Caleb, Curtis and Kayvaun who can give the team some height when defense is needed on the perimeter. Those minutes will also provide valuable playing experience. Of course platoon the big men. We can go small ball when needed but if the team wants to keep two guys 6-9 or taller on the court at all times in a given game, it should be able to. Also from what I gathered Cooley wants the team to run more which could mean pressuring more which may lend to needing more fresh bodies on the court. |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Aug 20, 2024 11:24:06 GMT -5
Some stats courtesy of CBB Analytics: Fielder: - Corner Threes: 19/45 (42.2%) - Above Break Threes: 3/9 (33.3%) By contrast: Epps: - Corner Threes: 53/186 (28.5%) - Above Break Threes: 11/21 (52.4%) Bottom line: we need Epps to take more corner threes, but last year that was largely impossible because he was usually the primary ball handler. Hopefully Mack's ball handling will help Epps get more chances from the corner. Did you flip those? |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Aug 20, 2024 11:50:21 GMT -5
Bottom line is this team will have to prove it can shoot it competently before opponents adjust. And the bigs will have to prove they can beat a guy one on one in the post before we see people sag off the three point shooters. There's a lot of anti-Epps sentiment on here, but the reality is that most high percentage offense is generated when a player can't be guarded in some way by one player. If a big forces a double team, then someone's open. If a player can beat a guy off the dribble, then help must rotate, creating open guys. Things like pick n rolls and motion offenses are simply intended to create situations where the team helps someone beat someone else. Right now, going into the season, the only guys we really know can force the defense to compensate, even with a decent bit of help, are Epps and Mack. If we can't hit threes, then help will collapse on Epps and Mack and any low post play. If we can't punish guys in the low post one on one, then they will not leave our three point shooters open. It's all related. That said, that's double the number of guys we had last year. And I think the bigs will be much better suited to pick and pops and pick and rolls. We'll see if the bigs can force doubles down low -- that's harder than people think. See freshman year Greg Monroe, who did incredibly well until everyone figured out that he wasn't great one on one and they could live with that instead of him passing you to death. But pretty much all of that is dependent on spacing and outside shooting these days. |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Aug 20, 2024 11:51:14 GMT -5
I will say watching that video made me a lot more confident in Drew repeating his shooting this year. Agree, although watching mostly gave me PTSD seeing the in game scores (down 15-20+ in so many cases) … here’s to a brighter tomorrow (October)! I thought the same thing. How many times it was like 72-39 or something. Just abysmal. |
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Aug 20, 2024 12:03:19 GMT -5
One key thing that Cooley made during that Hoyas Rising zoom call was that he hoped to retain all the guys for the following year (those with eligibility remaining) and not rely on the portal in the spring of 2025 if possible. This checks with remarks he made over a year ago about how he likes how things were being done at Marquette (a program that develops its guys instead of going to the portal to fill out its starting lineups). I didn't really doubt this given his focus on development, but it's good to hear. On the other hand, it's a yearly tradition to talk about our depth, about how we are playing 10+ guys and going shuttled system, etc. When the predicted minutes threads come, they are almost always more widely distributed than the end reality. It's very doubtful that every single one of the six (!) freshman who can play will be ready to contribute. Like any coach in history, Cooley will need to balance development with winning now. And winning now is important -- we will lose momentum if the year doesn't look like a step up. We are at 12 non-redshirted scholarship players. Does anyone go that deep? Someone will not get time. We should be prepared for some guys to not get time, and Cooley will have to really weigh the future potential of these guys, his ability to retain them with and without real PT, and winning now. It's not always an easy equation. It's just almost certain someone will be left behind. Hopefully, some of them recognize their need to improve or are patient. That said, no, we shouldn't have a seven man rotation. That's far too low. This team feels like it will actually have 9-10 get some regular minutes -- after all, Cooley played 8 guys decent minutes last year despite having basically only 8 guys. That said, Epps and Mack may not play 36 minutes. But if healthy, they are absolutely each playing more than 30. If they do actually play that little without injury, it's because we're suddenly very good because half the freshmen are playing like future lottery picks. |
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Aug 20, 2024 13:50:42 GMT -5
Some stats courtesy of CBB Analytics: Fielder: - Corner Threes: 19/45 (42.2%) - Above Break Threes: 3/9 (33.3%) By contrast: Epps: - Corner Threes: 53/186 (28.5%) - Above Break Threes: 11/21 (52.4%) Bottom line: we need Epps to take more corner threes, but last year that was largely impossible because he was usually the primary ball handler. Hopefully Mack's ball handling will help Epps get more chances from the corner. Did you flip those? Yes, I did. Apologies. These are the right numbers: Fielder: - Above Break Threes: 19/45 (42.2%) - Corner Threes: 3/9 (33.3%) [Yes, this is correct, Fielder was worse from the Corner, but his sample size is tiny, so I wouldn't read much into it. Example: If he made one more Corner three and was 4/10, he'd be at 40%.] By contrast: Epps: - Above Break Threes: 53/186 (28.5%) - Corner Threes: 11/21 (52.4%) Another Thought: My sense is that a decent number of Epps' Above Break Threes were desperation shots with a low shot clock, though I do not have stats on that. Some were likely just bad shots too that should not be taken. But, I do think Epps can increase his three point percentage if (a) he plays off-ball more, (b) he gets more catch and shoot opportunities, and (c) he shoots more from the corner. Having Mack being the primary ball handler should help each of these factors. |
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,298
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Post by jwp91 on Aug 20, 2024 13:52:14 GMT -5
One key thing that Cooley made during that Hoyas Rising zoom call was that he hoped to retain all the guys for the following year (those with eligibility remaining) and not rely on the portal in the spring of 2025 if possible. This checks with remarks he made over a year ago about how he likes how things were being done at Marquette (a program that develops its guys instead of going to the portal to fill out its starting lineups). I didn't really doubt this given his focus on development, but it's good to hear. On the other hand, it's a yearly tradition to talk about our depth, about how we are playing 10+ guys and going shuttled system, etc. When the predicted minutes threads come, they are almost always more widely distributed than the end reality. It's very doubtful that every single one of the six (!) freshman who can play will be ready to contribute. Like any coach in history, Cooley will need to balance development with winning now. And winning now is important -- we will lose momentum if the year doesn't look like a step up. We are at 12 non-redshirted scholarship players. Does anyone go that deep? Someone will not get time. We should be prepared for some guys to not get time, and Cooley will have to really weigh the future potential of these guys, his ability to retain them with and without real PT, and winning now. It's not always an easy equation. It's just almost certain someone will be left behind. Hopefully, some of them recognize their need to improve or are patient. That said, no, we shouldn't have a seven man rotation. That's far too low. This team feels like it will actually have 9-10 get some regular minutes -- after all, Cooley played 8 guys decent minutes last year despite having basically only 8 guys. That said, Epps and Mack may not play 36 minutes. But if healthy, they are absolutely each playing more than 30. If they do actually play that little without injury, it's because we're suddenly very good because half the freshmen are playing like future lottery picks. Agree. and specifically... Sorber - will get time Hanaikouna - will get time especially if Fielder moves to the 4 Diouf - good candidate for very light minutes based on the chatter Mulready - will get time but should be limited based on strength of Mack and Epps...unless there is an injury Drew McKenna & Caleb Williams - will probably see time at the back-up 3 and 4 depending on the situation. I would guess McKenna would see more time based on his scoring, but I wouldn't be surprised if Caleb Williams good overall skill set become really needed at times. Or Caleb might be like Diouf. |
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bluegray79
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by bluegray79 on Aug 20, 2024 14:22:07 GMT -5
Feeling more and more excited about the season ahead. Totally enjoying many of the breakdowns of possibilities for Drew and lineups. Finally watched the entire Drew video and began to pick up more and more on Epps' assists. Wasn't able to appreciate this facet of his game last year as he had to do it all. I really like the court vision and selflessness he seems to have. He clearly trusts Drew and the top of the arc picks, drives to the basket and kicks back out - revealing of how they work as team mates. Glad they are 2 of the 3 returnees. Also re-impressed by Drew's catching-and-shooting. Clearly comfortable with his 3 even in occasional traffic.
Yes, we are young, and, yes, we have some gelling to do, but I agree that we have real potential to pose some big matchup problems for a lot of teams. Really looking forward to watching them play and develop. Counting on Ed and staff to continue to cultivate the culture and instill the hope in what's ahead so that the majority of them buy in and stay for the long run. Gonna be good.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Aug 20, 2024 14:51:21 GMT -5
Mulready - will get time but should be limited based on strength of Mack and Epps...unless there is an injury With MCI championing Drew McKenna, Kayvaun Mulready has to be the most underrated player on the roster at this point, right? He's the 247 composite #72 player in the class and yet there's little discussion. Some of it I understand. Here's one write up: Here's another: Everything about that screams of a guy who will struggle a bit to adjust to college offensively. It doesn't sound that far off from an Aminu Mohammed-type, though if the jumping ability is higher than the upside is a lot higher. A quick google search yielded me only a highlight video of him mostly shooting from a year ago, but his elevation didn't look spectacular. He was hot shooting there and his shot didn't look terrible, but he does have a low/forward release. So as we search for shooting and a backup PG, he's probably not the answer. That said, if he can immediately defend, that's a nice boost to a backcourt that really doesn't need offense on the whole as long as Epps and Mack stay healthy (knock on wood). Perimeter rebounding is sneaky valuable, and having a defender who can scrap for balls and few points here and there is a good freshman year. It becomes a very good one if he can hit open threes. EDIT: found another video of him at a high school tourney. Controlled with the ball. Willing passer. Made some shots. Could get a first step into the lane but did struggle a bit with the trees. |
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Post by 401to202hoya on Aug 20, 2024 16:30:56 GMT -5
I didn't really doubt this given his focus on development, but it's good to hear. On the other hand, it's a yearly tradition to talk about our depth, about how we are playing 10+ guys and going shuttled system, etc. When the predicted minutes threads come, they are almost always more widely distributed than the end reality. It's very doubtful that every single one of the six (!) freshman who can play will be ready to contribute. Like any coach in history, Cooley will need to balance development with winning now. And winning now is important -- we will lose momentum if the year doesn't look like a step up. We are at 12 non-redshirted scholarship players. Does anyone go that deep? Someone will not get time. We should be prepared for some guys to not get time, and Cooley will have to really weigh the future potential of these guys, his ability to retain them with and without real PT, and winning now. It's not always an easy equation. It's just almost certain someone will be left behind. Hopefully, some of them recognize their need to improve or are patient. That said, no, we shouldn't have a seven man rotation. That's far too low. This team feels like it will actually have 9-10 get some regular minutes -- after all, Cooley played 8 guys decent minutes last year despite having basically only 8 guys. That said, Epps and Mack may not play 36 minutes. But if healthy, they are absolutely each playing more than 30. If they do actually play that little without injury, it's because we're suddenly very good because half the freshmen are playing like future lottery picks. Agree. and specifically... Sorber - will get time Hanaikouna - will get time especially if Fielder moves to the 4 Diouf - good candidate for very light minutes based on the chatter Mulready - will get time but should be limited based on strength of Mack and Epps...unless there is an injury Drew McKenna & Caleb Williams - will probably see time at the back-up 3 and 4 depending on the situation. I would guess McKenna would see more time based on his scoring, but I wouldn't be surprised if Caleb Williams good overall skill set become really needed at times. Or Caleb might be like Diouf. I've seen Caleb Williams mentioned as the backup PG all the way up to the backup 4. I hope he is as ready as everyone here suggests, but my guess is there is a bigger gap between he and McKenna in terms of position at the 4. If Fielder gets in foul trouble, I would imagine McKenna is the main backup or we go small and play Peavy at the 4. I've seen little reference on here as to where Curtis Williams sits on the depth chart. As a former Top 100 and sharpshooter, given we may be in need of some shooters to space the floor, I would imagine he will be a candidate for sizeable minutes if he can find his HS shooting form. |
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