How would we be with Rap and Falzon?
- Thread starter DocCat2
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Probably not that good. You can't get very far in this conference playing two on five.
Not that much better. They would probably cut into Taphorn's minutes, but neither guy would take much time from Skelly, and Lindsey and Law are too good not to be playing 30 mpg. The big loss there is them not getting practice time and improving for next year, when we're going to need both to step into major roles.
No improvement! They both need meet on their bones! Ash would have best served to redshirt. Taphorn hardly played last night
They would have beaten Minny. Remember that Skelly went 0 for 6 from 3s against Minny and he missed the rim on a key 3 pointer. I think they would have beaten Butler and/or ND. Remember Tap threw the ball up to no one with ND when up with 34 secs. We could not use a 4-star PF like Falzon who can hit a three at around a 40 percent clip? Are you kidding me. Not sure what Rapolas can do, because I have not seen him play, but from preseason reports he could create his shot and maybe hit a mid-range jumper which we could use off the bench.
This is an interesting question that I've mused about too. Obviously Lump, Tap, and Skelly would see less minutes. In a way, it worked out ok for us, though we could use another reliable shooter and the size of two more 6-9 bodies would give Collins more matchup opens.
Rap appears to have plenty of meat on his bones. I'm not saying there is too much, but he's built like an ox. I'm always impressed by how big the guy looks even in street clothes.
I feel bad that these two guys aren't able to contribute directly in games this year. They work too hard to have to sit out. But, I think it may actually be a benefit to the program sustaining success beyond this season. It helps to balance the classes a bit, as with Law's unplanned redshirt last year. It's great to see both so involved on the bench, interacting positively with their teammates.
Would've helped.
Always good to have more size up front, as well as more shooters (Falzon fits this mold more than Rap) as one never knows which shooter is going to be hot or off his stroke.
Had high hopes for Rap (seems like a big forward who can drive to the basket some), but some seem to think coming into the season that Rap quite wasn't ready, but at the same time, that was the thought on Pardon, who, after burning his RS, had an impact on a few games (even if his overall play was very frosh-like), which could be the difference btwn the NCAAs and the NIT.
Bad play by Tap, but at the same time, w/o him (4 of 5 from 3 pt land and 5 rbds), the 'Cats probably wouldn't have been in that position.
One could easily say that if BMac had even an average shooting game (instead of going 3 of 18; and 4 TOs to boot), the 'Cats would beaten the Domers.
And BMac also had that late TO in the Butler game which could have been the difference-maker.
As for Falzon, like I had stated above, would've helped, but we don't know what type of player Falzon would have been this season.
Last season, Falzon shot .354 from 3 pt range and .383 overall.
Tap is shooting .449 from 3 pt range and .508 overall for the season.
Wouldn't say that - Rap still is a bit stringy, but what mass he does have (listed at 6-9 and 210), has pretty decent muscle definition.
Would love to see him get up to around 225 for the start of next season.
Always good to have more size up front, as well as more shooters (Falzon fits this mold more than Rap) as one never knows which shooter is going to be hot or off his stroke.
Had high hopes for Rap (seems like a big forward who can drive to the basket some), but some seem to think coming into the season that Rap quite wasn't ready, but at the same time, that was the thought on Pardon, who, after burning his RS, had an impact on a few games (even if his overall play was very frosh-like), which could be the difference btwn the NCAAs and the NIT.
Bad play by Tap, but at the same time, w/o him (4 of 5 from 3 pt land and 5 rbds), the 'Cats probably wouldn't have been in that position.
One could easily say that if BMac had even an average shooting game (instead of going 3 of 18; and 4 TOs to boot), the 'Cats would beaten the Domers.
And BMac also had that late TO in the Butler game which could have been the difference-maker.
As for Falzon, like I had stated above, would've helped, but we don't know what type of player Falzon would have been this season.
Last season, Falzon shot .354 from 3 pt range and .383 overall.
Tap is shooting .449 from 3 pt range and .508 overall for the season.
Wouldn't say that - Rap still is a bit stringy, but what mass he does have (listed at 6-9 and 210), has pretty decent muscle definition.
Would love to see him get up to around 225 for the start of next season.
Compare freshman year for Falzon and Law. They played the same amount of minutes. Falzon scored 1.4 pts per game more than Law. Law grabbed 1.4 rebounds per game more than Falzon.
If Aaron took even a little step up he'd of been pretty damn good. He's an underrated defender and rebounder.
There would not have been minutes for Rap except for when Pardon was out.
If Aaron took even a little step up he'd of been pretty damn good. He's an underrated defender and rebounder.
There would not have been minutes for Rap except for when Pardon was out.
Falzone contributed quite a last season and likely would have been the second or third best scorer on the team. He also plays a much better defense then Taphorn or Skelly. Rap would have added size off of the bench. They could have made a difference in the close loses to ND and Butler.
This year with Pardon back, probably not that much difference as Collins has a descent rotation. For next year it would help. You going to take minutes from Bmac, law or Lindsey? Pardon? So all thin minutes for two new guys have to come from one spot. Neither is the glue guy that Sanjay is and Skelly has earned his time. With Pardon missing, they would have helped but now that he is back, where are the minutes coming from?
Sanjay's minutes are up a bit from last year. Thought they'd be down a tad.
Law's minutes are up huge from frosh year. Thought they'd be up a tad (not huge).
Tap is even w last year, thought he'd be most affected.
Big picture, my expectation was that the players would earn their minutes. Collins sort of confirmed that w Law coming back, Aaron would be sixth man. Haywood posted that Rap would have benefited from a red shirt.
Next year NU adds some length, gets a bit better on offense, a bit better rebounding and holds par on D.
Falzone would definitely have taken minutes away from Lumpkin and Taphorn and Skelly would probably have played more at the 5. Rap would have been the wild card. The added depth would sure have come in handy for BTT and the "Dance".
Yep, precisely. And we have enough pieces that we can adjust to different matchups too. Someone also said Falzon is way better at defense than Skelly and Tap... don't think I agree with that. I would say slightly worse than Skelly, somewhat better than Tap. And he's probably a bit behind Tap as an outside shooter - he was 35% from 3 last year, Tap is 45% YTD (admittedly Tap has a smaller sample size and probably a higher ratio of clean looks).
Anyways, I think the difference would be at most +1 game, but prob more likely little to no difference. Depending on the game and the minutes, I could see it helping or hurting a tiny bit at the margin. I agree that he would have been more helpful during the Pardon absence, but we managed to win all those games except @MSU, and I don't think adding Aaron in that game would have made the difference.
Tap shot 28% from distance as a freshman. He also needs a little more time and space to load up and shoot than Falzon.
I don't think we were comparing Tap as a frosh to Falzon as a frosh, we were comparing their impact this year. I don't think Falzon's release is any quicker than Tap's at all. Both are pretty quick. I do think, as I wrote above, that Falzon was better at D than Tap. But it's not like he is a great defender, nowhere near Lumpkin. I stand by that I don't think we've missed too much with Falzon hurt. No single player has filled the void, but I think the combo of Sanjay Skelly and Tap in different roles has been as good as what we would have gotten from him alone.
Just think that this team would be better with Lumpkin, Skelly and Taphorn coming off the bench. IMO, Falzone is a better scoring threat then Tap because he takes it to the hoop and is a better rebounder then Tap or Skelly. He is missed.
Would we be better with two more 4 star players? When looking at this season in isolation, I don't see how the answer is no. Even if they just pushed guys more in practice I think there would be benefits. Whether we would have a better record, I am not sure.
I agree with a few others, however, that there are long term benefits of them each getting a redshirt year. Spacing of the classes helps as well. Next year, we have:
Seniors:
BMac
Skelly
Lindsey
Juniors:
Law
Pardon
Ash
Hall
Soph:
Falzon
Benson
Brown
Malnati
Frosh:
Rap
Gaines
I agree with a few others, however, that there are long term benefits of them each getting a redshirt year. Spacing of the classes helps as well. Next year, we have:
Seniors:
BMac
Skelly
Lindsey
Juniors:
Law
Pardon
Ash
Hall
Soph:
Falzon
Benson
Brown
Malnati
Frosh:
Rap
Gaines
Ha yeah certainly wasn't trying to imply we would be worse... that would imply some coaching deficiency on CC's part. I was just saying limited improvement - prob ~1 more win over the course of the season overall. Provided we don't suffer another injury in the front court, in which case it could go higher bc our depth was hurting when Pardon was out.
While I liked the promise Falzon showed rebounding he's not better at it then skelly that's ludicrous. Watch skelly on the offensive glass or bat a rebound out if he can't haul it down. Falzon is a better scorer then Tap. Similar outside game and with the added muscle I think he could have drove to the basket decently he showed flashes of it his frosh year.
^ Agree.
Willy tends to be overly infatuated w/ star rankings.
Was as high on Falzon as anyone coming into last season, and while he had a nice frosh season, was disappointed a bit in his efficiency and hoped that he would have shown more around the basket (started to show some of that towards the end of last season).
In all likelihood, Falzon would have improved in his 2nd season, but can't see him being a better rebounder/defender than Skelly.
As for being the 2nd best scorer on the team, unlikely.
Maybe 3rd, but w/ Lindsey, Law and BMac, 4th would seem more likely (or even 5th, since Pardon, unlike Falzon, takes up the bulk of minutes at his position).
Willy tends to be overly infatuated w/ star rankings.
Was as high on Falzon as anyone coming into last season, and while he had a nice frosh season, was disappointed a bit in his efficiency and hoped that he would have shown more around the basket (started to show some of that towards the end of last season).
In all likelihood, Falzon would have improved in his 2nd season, but can't see him being a better rebounder/defender than Skelly.
As for being the 2nd best scorer on the team, unlikely.
Maybe 3rd, but w/ Lindsey, Law and BMac, 4th would seem more likely (or even 5th, since Pardon, unlike Falzon, takes up the bulk of minutes at his position).
Actually never mentioned anything about stars but if you want to just make things up, go for it. Also if you don't think that Falzon is a better all around player then Skelly and would be starting then guess we will agree to disagree.
Falzon is a better defender than Tap, ne c'est pas? I think he might take minutes from Skelly too.
I think the RS year for Rapp is fine. He needs to get stronger.
And two open scholarships. Let's hope they get filled. We have played thin this year.
Thought NU would have 3 scholarships to offer. Two graduating seniors and the long lost one. How many offers does NU have out?
Gaines has already signed his letter of intent. Hence NU has 2 scholarships available for 2017.
I don't have a clue. I think they will look for the best available 5 year transfers and keep options open for 2018.
Guess we have all been reading things incorrectly when you have been gushing about so-and-so based on 4* rating or being an ESPN 100 player.
If Falzon were playing, would he be a better player than Skelly right now?
Probably, but it would be for his offense (Skelly would still likely be the better defender and rebounder); seems like you are the one reading more into things (previously just stated that Skelly is still likely the better defender/rebounder, nothing more).
If Falzon was playing, he'd take minutes from Tap not Skelly. And a guy who started most of last season would get minutes this year without question.
Skelly is far from a defensive specialist, though he has improved much over last year.
edit due to that damn autocorrect...
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No, I'm about the same as last year, though this year at least I shaved my beard.
When I saw Rap play at the Torrey Pines tournament was he was a solid player but would definitely benefit from a redshirt year to mature and add some more muscle. I think the extra year will help him and allow him to play a more substantial role in the future. Definitely a good catch for the Cats.
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