Post by E-Bro on Mar 3, 2021 11:13:21 GMT -6
uat was pretty ripe for the taking last night, and we couldn't execute simple passes. As I said elsewhere, we do not have refined basketball players. Cooper and Powell had the best chance to be those guys, but you know.
Thor, Cardwell and Moore are an interesting group. Thor should be a high school senior. Cardwell didn't get to play his senior year, and Moore dealt with injuries. Thor is going to be a player. Cardwell could be but needs refinement. Moore is a tweener and I'm not sure his real path forward. Thor and Moore have to improve defensively.
As for the "experienced" guys -- Flanigan, Williams, Cambridge, Johnson, and Akingbola -- they all have flaws. I know Bruce loves him some Al Flanigan. But he frequently loses sight of aggressiveness and out of control. He's like the Bo Nix of basketball. He's a coach's son. He ought to know better than to do some of the things he does.
I'm disappointed that Williams didn't take a big step forward this year. He looks lost so frequently. Cambridge has such a goofy shot that you have no idea where it's going to land. He frequently gets lost on defense. Johnson has improved some, but he's at his ceiling. Akingbola is a great hype man. But on the floor, yeesh.
What we know: we need two point guards. We need to value the ball. I'm hoping this is a 2016-17 redux -- bumps in the road before big improvement.
Preach, brother Jet. Watching us play last night and looking the scoreboard and not having it get out of hand was a shock to me. To get it to five points like we did with under ten minutes to play was nearly unfathomable to me, but gets back to Bama being ripe for the taking given their rebound and shooting woes.
I view Cardwell as having a lower physical ceiling than Austin Wiley, but a higher refinement ceiling. Akinbola, bless his heart. He tries so hard and he can be a weapon in the paint defensively and cleaning up glass at both ends, but now we know why he instantly should look to pass.
Your note about Devan's goofy shot leads to something I've been thinking about all year. Obviously, we don't really have a three point specialist this year, especially with Powell out. We have a bunch of guys who can get hot, but from a shooting technique perspective, Allen (hitch), Devan (grip), Jamal (he sort of shot puts his release), and Sharife (languid, leaning back release) all have funky technique. Weirdly, our big men Thor and Williams have the smoother looking techniques. Not an issue, per say, but just a random observation from throughout the season.
