A couple of thoughts about Brown

[Alan Smithee]

A compliment, and maybe some backhanded compliments.

For somebody who scored 19, he drove me crazy. So this may be a bit unfair.

However, in a game where the guys with some discipline on offense aren't getting it done, it helps if the guy who doesn't have it can score. I thought he helped create our offensive problems in the first half, and helped mask those problems in the second.

I look forward to seeing what he can do with four other players on the court. He certainly has skills.

 

[TheC]

I look forward to seeing what he can do with four other players on the court. He certainly has skills.

I missed the first half. Did NU not play five guys in the first half? If so... that explains a lot.

 

[SmellyCat]

There's no denying his talent, and we're all going to love him in a few years, but I feel like he's the guy in the first game in HOOSIERS who started shooting before the team had made all the passes they were supposed to make. Sure, the shots sometimes go in, but he's not playing in the same offense as everyone else.

Still, if that deep three when it was 66-57 had gone in, who knows how the game would have changed? That arena would've gone nuts, and the confidence level of Brown and the Cats would've gone through the roof.

 

[Dugan15]

There's no denying his talent, and we're all going to love him in a few years, but I feel like he's the guy in the first game in HOOSIERS who started shooting before the team had made all the passes they were supposed to make. Sure, the shots sometimes go in, but he's not playing in the same offense as everyone else.

Still, if that deep three when it was 66-57 had gone in, who knows how the game would have changed? That arena would've gone nuts, and the confidence level of Brown and the Cats would've gone through the roof.

Smelly: I hear you, but that was a terrible shot. We had the ability to run the offense. Sometimes hero ball works...but, it was undisciplined regardless of whether it fell or not.

 

[willycat]

Smelly: I hear you, but that was a terrible shot. We had the ability to run the offense. Sometimes hero ball works...but, it was undisciplined regardless of whether it fell or not.

Let's just put it like this.... NU needs a top guard to commit and play the 2 for next seasons run, so Brown can come off bench with his sporadic, offensive energy.

 

[hollandnucat]

Let's just put it like this.... NU needs a top guard to commit and play the 2 for next seasons run, so Brown can come off bench with his sporadic, offensive energy.

I don't see how Brown doesn't come off the bench next season. Mac starts at 1, Lindsey at the 2 and Law at the 3.

 

[SmellyCat]

Smelly: I hear you, but that was a terrible shot. We had the ability to run the offense. Sometimes hero ball works...but, it was undisciplined regardless of whether it fell or not.

I agree it was terrible...but if it had gone in, we would've probably forgiven him.

 

[DaCat]

Brown is fearless, which I love. Temper that with some experience and better decision-making and he's going to have an outstanding career at NU. He also needs to get other players more involved, hopefully he'll learn more of that from Mac.

 

[clarificationcat]

Brown is fearless, which I love. Temper that with some experience and better decision-making and he's going to have an outstanding career at NU. He also needs to get other players more involved, hopefully he'll learn more of that from Mac.

He's a lot like a smaller Tre Demps, except it always looked like Tre was using every ounce of energy on every possession and Brown is extremely smooth. Brown never looks like he moving very fast but he outruns folks. Tre always looked like he was going to tear a muscle every time he sprinted down court.

 

[ricko654321]

I agree it was terrible...but if it had gone in, we would've probably forgiven him.

I'm normally one to criticize him for bad shots, but I liked that one. And the 3 he made before that. Let me put it this way- we weren't going to come back from a 15 pt deficit with 2:30 to go (or whatever the specifics) by having BMac take and make 12 straight floaters in the lane (which is sort of our normal offense), and hope they missed 60% of their FTs while also turning it over a few times. While Vic and Isaiah's shots during the comeback may not have been good ones under normal circumstances, that's what you need to do to try to close a big gap with limited time. You have to deviate from your normal strategy.

Did anyone watch Kansas come back to beat WV? Their offense was basically get a layup, or else chuck a (often contested) 3. If you miss, try to get a long rebound and then a dunk or else send it back out to chuck another 3. Also Syracuse came back the same way against Lville earlier that night to force OT, and then almost did so again from like 9 back in OT. Usually it doesn't work but sometimes the pressure and the crowd gets to the other team. And it's better than running your normal offense.

Isaiah made plenty of mistakes yday, but he also made lots of good plays. He was more effective and efficient on offense than I think anyone but Pardon... but he mostly shoots layups and dunks created by the PGs and 2nd chance opportunities.

(Side note after taking one pull-up long 2 in transition in the first half that annoyed me, at least after that he adjusted to shoot those from behind the 3 line, which is a far better EV decision)

(Side note 2 he still has a frustrating BMac old tendency to jump in the air before he knows where he is going to pass the ball. This ain't HS anymore, the other teams are all bigger and better defensively)

 

[D_C_B]

He's a lot like a smaller Tre Demps, except it always looked like Tre was using every ounce of energy on every possession and Brown is extremely smooth. Brown never looks like he moving very fast but he outruns folks. Tre always looked like he was going to tear a muscle every time he sprinted down court.

When Demps got the ball, he crazy-glued it to his hands so it would never leave them.

Brown is a lot faster to get rid of the ball - with a shot or a pass or a quick drive. And he's not not wired to hold the ball like Demps, who would literally dribble the ball 40 times before he'd shoot. Apples and oranges. One can exist within the flow of a fast-paced offense. The other is a killer to a fast-paced offense.

 

[willycat]

When Demps got the ball, he crazy-glued it to his hands so it would never leave them.

Brown is a lot faster to get rid of the ball - with a shot or a pass or a quick drive. And he's not not wired to hold the ball like Demps, who would literally dribble the ball 40 times before he'd shoot. Apples and oranges. One can exist within the flow of a fast-paced offense. The other is a killer to a fast-paced offense.

Isn't it, quickly shoot 90% of the time?

 

[D_C_B]

I don't think it's anywhere near that number. It may feel like 90% but it probably is more like 35%.

The other guy who you're comparing him to was where the ball went to die, and die slowly.

Plus, the guy you're comparing him with was a polished player with a pedigree as a 5th year and Brown is a freshman and a raw one at that.

Give him time and coaching. He's raw but he's good. I don't see a comparison to be honest. He's going to be better than the player you seem to want to compare him to.

 

[mikewebb68]

His points-per-minute on the team trails only Scottie. As a freshman. Coach Turgeon talked about having to adjust to account for him in the postgame. He has the potential to be special for us, imo. As in Michael Thompson special.

 

[ubercat]

Brown is destined for greatness. Why??-youmay ask. Turk wears his jersey. 'Nuff said.

 

[mikewebb68]

Brown is destined for greatness. Why??-youmay ask. Turk wears his jersey. 'Nuff said.

 

[Sec.112]

So far, I'm not a huge IB fan for so many of the reasons listed above. He has some positives, but a few too many negatives. I absolutely agree with the Tre Demps comparisons - practically the same general player.

For the sake of conversation, let's say his skills only improved minimally. I don't think I want to see him as BMac's successor. Poor shot selection, not a great ball handler and too many bad match ups on defense.

With that said, I think he's shown a lot more control in the last three games. That'said given me more hope.

Generally, I hope they recruit over him at point guard. He's perfect right where he is as the first guard off the bench.

 

[Secho99]

When Demps got the ball, he crazy-glued it to his hands so it would never leave them.

Brown is a lot faster to get rid of the ball - with a shot or a pass or a quick drive. And he's not not wired to hold the ball like Demps, who would literally dribble the ball 40 times before he'd shoot. Apples and oranges. One can exist within the flow of a fast-paced offense. The other is a killer to a fast-paced offense.

Brown currently has a higher percentage of possessions used (27.4%) than Demps did in any single season. That basically means 27.4% of our possessions end with Brown as the last player to touch the ball when he's in the game. That's higher than anyone else on the team (BMac is 2nd at 26.2). Brown also has the lowest offensive rating (90.5) on the team.

So for now, he's a bad combination of high usage and low efficiency. I have hope he can reign this in a bit and be more efficient as he rids himself of some of the bad habits that dominant HS players can have, but he's definitely a work in progress. One thing he does very well is draw fouls, and he's a pretty good FT shooter. He's taken more FTs than Lindsey and only 6 fewer than McIntosh in far fewer minutes. This is something he could really exploit as he hones his overall game. If he can get to the rim/into the lane with regularity and finish or get fouled, he'll be a really useful player.

As for that long 3 down 9 last night, I actually didn't have a problem with the shot. It was a clean look from straight on, and you have to reach a bit for shots when you're scrambling to come back.

 

[D_C_B]

Brown is a freshman! The guy you want to compare him to was a redshirt! Small fact ignored. Brown also scored more points per minute than all but our leading scorer (thank you MikeWebb).

And he's too quick to be a total defensive nightmare like this other guy you want to compare him to.

And by the way, 27% when you're in a game with 5 guys (20% each) isn't all that crazy when you're in there with subs mopping up, killing clock and shooting as late in the clock as possible when you're the guy charged with handling the ball - which was a lot of his time until Lindsey got mono. 7% more than "average"? That's the reason to bash him? Not by my standards it's not.

 

[Secho99]

Brown is a freshman! The guy you want to compare him to was a redshirt! Small fact ignored. Brown also scored more points per minute than all but our leading scorer (thank you MikeWebb).

And he's too quick to be a total defensive nightmare like this other guy you want to compare him to.

Oh yeah, of course, he has tons of time to get better. I'm just talking about right now.

Demps actually took a higher percentage of shots when he was a freshman than Brown has as a freshman, but Demps shot better from the field so he was slightly more efficient. So they were pretty similar at the same stage on the offensive end, but I think Brown's ability to get to rim and finish in traffic and draw contact gives him a higher ceiling if he can improve his perimeter shot selection (and/or just make more).

 

[T_Levine]

He seems to play like a hs kid who knows he's the best player and best scorer on the court. I don't know if you can teach point guard decision making, but hopefully he will learn that 14 and 8 is better for this team than 20 and 3.

 

[EagerFan]

I like Brown. I think he looks good out there. The things he does that drive me crazy seem like typically freshman choices and mistakes. I don't think the comparisons to Demps are good because Demps, iirc, red-shirted and didn't really get much court time until his red-soph year? I think he played some as a red-frosh, but Carmody tended to pull him quick.

Brown has been in the mix a lot more and is getting great experience that I believe will pay off for the team. If Collins recruits an even better PG, hey great! But I think Brown will be a solid leader down the road if he's the man.