A lot to improve on...but all good

[IGNORE2]

Maybe he can play linebacker when he returns.

Only if he loses a bet.

 

[Gladeskat]

And I can live with Lumpkin if the Cats have a lead or its close. But if they are down 6 with three minutes left, his defense isn't that valuable when you need to make up points.

Lumpkin is EXACTLY the guy we need if we're down six in the final minutes. I want someone who can shut down their top scorer, block shots, grab rebounds, make steals...anything to get the ball back on offense.

We've already won close games because of Lumpkin's smothering defense in the last minutes of games. I'm tired of watching the opponent's best player burn NU in the last minutes of games because all we have on the floor are guys who shoot threes but can't outrebound or defend a chair.

 

[ricko654321]

I think Sanjay is playing a lot better this year than last year. He is playing great defense but also being more active offensively (even though he is not shooting well from 3 point range) in cutting to the basket and in hitting open cutters. He needs to continue to contribute offensively once conference play begins. He doesn't generate enough steals or blocks to justify playing him 30 minutes if he's not contributing 5 plus points a game and adding a couple of assists. Last year he had a stretch of conference games where he didn't score a point and that puts a lot of strain on the offense.

Although with Skelly playing a fair amount of center and Falzon and Rap being hurt, I guess the only alternative at times is Taphorn and I agree that there will be some games where his offense will not offset his defense depending on the matchup. I think that a Pardon, Skelly, Law, Lindsey, Mac lineup is our best offensive lineup and a pretty strong defensive lineup as well. But if Pardon gets in foul trouble, Skelly needs to play the 5. Sanjay will probably always get at least 15 minutes and, depending on the matchup, as much as 30 minutes. As others have said, it's nice to at least have a few options and I think Chris has done a good job so far of riding the hot hands. It will be great to add a couple of 6'8" plus shooters next year (Rap appears to be the tallest guy on the team other than Benson). I hope both of them can get stronger before next season because most of their minutes are going to come at the 4.

Yeah all fair points. I will just clarify that I said 30 minutes -- when we have a matchup problem on defense. If there isn't a guy who is giving us notable issues on defense, then would should go with the lineup that improves our chance to score. But in a fair number of cases where the other team has a particular star player that is giving us trouble, I think it makes sense to play him 30 mins or close to it.

 

[Katatonic]

This is one of the better NU defenses I can remember. You schmucks who have been crappin' on my man Sanjay Lumpkin for four years can stuff it. What he does out there night in and night out is incredible. Shut down defense against talented guys five or six inches taller. Just incredible. And an excellent student.

I've long been a Sanjay supporter, and I honestly don't mind him shooting. His impact on the defensive end is just as dynamic and important as Vic and Bryant on the offensive end. Maybe more so since we don't have anyone else like him - Vic is as athletic but can't guard the bigs the way he does, and no one on the team moves their feet and gets proper position nearly as well as he does. Or provides that sort of energy on the defensive end. As long as he isn't a liability on offense (can make an open 3 50% of the time) then we should play him 30 minutes against any team that has a player that the rest of the team struggles to match up with - which is a decent number of teams.

Yep - always rolled my eyes at the posts predicting that Sanjay would only be seeing 10 mins/game or so.

Having a defender shut down the opposing team's best scorer is just as valuable as scoring.

Maybe I just have a soft-heart, which has made me long defend the 2 most maligned NU players of recent note (in Lumpkin and Siemian); but in actuality, just saw what the coaches are seeing/have seen in these 2.

- I also love that we don't just have one guy that makes us go. In past years, if our best player (Shurna, Coble, etc.) had an off game, it was pretty much game over for us. Now we have several guys that can make contributions. Law and Lindsey were off last night, but Skelly had a great 1st half, Sanjay played great defense throughout (especially the latter half of the 2nd half), Mac caught fire in the 2nd half, etc. In the Notre Dame game, it was Taphorn that stepped up and had a nice game (despite a couple of late mistakes). I think the depth of this team is the best we have ever had and that's without Falzon, who was a starter last year.

Yep, too many have discounted what players like Skelly, Taphorn, Ash - can contribute in any night.

The team is going to need to have 1-2 of these players step up, when one of the Big Three (BMac, Law and Lindsey) are having an off-night.

 

[ricko654321]

Anyone know when the injury happened or was discovered?

Sounds like he developed tendinitis in his knee sometime during the late offseason / preseason. Not a doctor here, but think that's the sort of think that comes on over multiple workouts rather than on a single incident...

 

[EvanstonCat]

Yep - always rolled my eyes at the posts predicting that Sanjay would only be seeing 10 mins/game or so.

Having a defender shut down the opposing team's best scorer is just as valuable as scoring.

Maybe I just have a soft-heart, which has made me long defend the 2 most maligned NU players of recent note (in Lumpkin and Siemian); but in actuality, just saw what the coaches are seeing/have seen in these 2.




Yep, too many have discounted what players like Skelly, Taphorn, Ash - can contribute in any night.

The team is going to need to have 1-2 of these players step up, when one of the Big Three (BMac, Law and Lindsey) are having an off-night.

I don't think I've had a very strong view either way, but now, I think it's clear how valuable Lumpkin is to the team. Towards the end of last season, I came to appreciate how tough and defensively valuable he was. Scoring is overrated, especially if you have other options. You need a defensive stopper and a guy who can outwork everyone else. Sanjay is that guy for us.