I am seeing what Collins is seeing...

[go cats go]

Collins has been pretty straightforward about playing the guys who give the team the best chance to win--and this starts on the defensive side of the ball, using the team's length and athleticism to our advantage and playing position-less basketball with multiple guys sharing the role of primary ballhandler. Collins continues to give every available scholarship player opportunities to contribute and is still tweaking the combinations of guys that play best together and work best against different types of lineups.

In other threads, people have made cases to play more minutes for Greer, etc. I disagree with a lot of these takes. I am seeing what Collins is seeing. I look at the percentage of total minutes played through 6 games, and it synchs up with what I am seeing in terms of utilizing our best players who play the best defense, have size/atheticism and give us the best chance to win.

Player Min%
Turner 80.0
Law 76.3
Taylor 75.8
Pardon 73.3
Gaines 53.3
Nance 34.2
Kopp 32.1
Greer 27.9
Benson 25.8
Ash 21.3

It is clear who our best 4 players are: Law, Pardon, Taylor, Turner (I believe in that order). This group deserves the most minutes, and it seems that they are starting to play well as a unit with a better understanding of each others' roles and abilities. Law and Pardon need to avoid foul trouble to maximize their time on the floor.

After that, we have 3 developing "change of speed/matchup" guys in Gaines, Nance and Kopp. These players will certainly compete for playing time and get opportunities based on matchups and who has the hottest hand throughout the season. For now, the experience and superior defense of Gaines makes him the most valuable of the bunch, but I am most excited about the future of Pete Nance. All 3 will be crucial pieces for the 'Cats in 2018-19.

Finally, we have 3 guys who are reasonably solid backups (but they are solidly backups for now) in Greer, Benson and Ash. I hope that these guys make the most of their minutes and continue to improve. They will likely get more minutes than the 8th, 9th and 10th guys on most teams' depth charts--and they definitely represent an upgrade from the end of NU's bench in years past. There is always the possibility that an injury could push any of them into a key role at any moment.

Another interesting thing that really excites me about our team is that our top 5 guys can really get to the line! This is critical as it gives us an opportunity to score (an average of 18 ppg from our top 5 from the free throw line), even when shots are not falling. Our performance in this area through 6 games is such a stark contrast to last season when we were 293rd in the country in FTA/FGA; So far this season, we are 21st in the country in FTA/FGA! Below is the roster ranked by FTAs:

Player FTA FTM FT%
Law 36 29 80.6
Pardon 34 23 67.6
Turner 27 25 92.6
Gaines 24 16 66.7
Taylor 16 15 93.8
Nance 7 2 28.6
Benson 5 3 60.0
Ash 4 2 50.0
Kopp 3 3 100.0
Greer 3 0 0.0

Through six games, I am excited about the possibility of a strong season. I like how Collins and staff are working with what they have. If we continue to focus on defense/hustle/rebounding, using size/athleticism to our advantage, improving our position-less motion offense and consistently getting to the line, we will win our fair share of B1G games.

Go 'Cats!

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

All those guys can play. I firmly believe that Jordan Ash is our best defensive player. Collins is holding him back now while he rehabs his knee. Let's see how Ash looks on January 3rd or so.

 

[No Chores]

Collins has been pretty straightforward about playing the guys who give the team the best chance to win--and this starts on the defensive side of the ball, using the team's length and athleticism to our advantage and playing position-less basketball with multiple guys sharing the role of primary ballhandler. Collins continues to give every available scholarship player opportunities to contribute and is still tweaking the combinations of guys that play best together and work best against different types of lineups.

In other threads, people have made cases to play more minutes for Greer, etc. I disagree with a lot of these takes. I am seeing what Collins is seeing. I look at the percentage of total minutes played through 6 games, and it synchs up with what I am seeing in terms of utilizing our best players who play the best defense, have size/atheticism and give us the best chance to win.

Player Min%
Turner 80.0
Law 76.3
Taylor 75.8
Pardon 73.3
Gaines 53.3
Nance 34.2
Kopp 32.1
Greer 27.9
Benson 25.8
Ash 21.3

It is clear who our best 4 players are: Law, Pardon, Taylor, Turner (I believe in that order). This group deserves the most minutes, and it seems that they are starting to play well as a unit with a better understanding of each others' roles and abilities. Law and Pardon need to avoid foul trouble to maximize their time on the floor.

After that, we have 3 developing "change of speed/matchup" guys in Gaines, Nance and Kopp. These players will certainly compete for playing time and get opportunities based on matchups and who has the hottest hand throughout the season. For now, the experience and superior defense of Gaines makes him the most valuable of the bunch, but I am most excited about the future of Pete Nance. All 3 will be crucial pieces for the 'Cats in 2018-19.

Finally, we have 3 guys who are reasonably solid backups (but they are solidly backups for now) in Greer, Benson and Ash. I hope that these guys make the most of their minutes and continue to improve. They will likely get more minutes than the 8th, 9th and 10th guys on most teams' depth charts--and they definitely represent an upgrade from the end of NU's bench in years past. There is always the possibility that an injury could push any of them into a key role at any moment.

Another interesting thing that really excites me about our team is that our top 5 guys can really get to the line! This is critical as it gives us an opportunity to score (an average of 18 ppg from our top 5 from the free throw line), even when shots are not falling. Our performance in this area through 6 games is such a stark contrast to last season when we were 293rd in the country in FTA/FGA; So far this season, we are 21st in the country in FTA/FGA! Below is the roster ranked by FTAs:

Player FTA FTM FT%
Law 36 29 80.6
Pardon 34 23 67.6
Turner 27 25 92.6
Gaines 24 16 66.7
Taylor 16 15 93.8
Nance 7 2 28.6
Benson 5 3 60.0
Ash 4 2 50.0
Kopp 3 3 100.0
Greer 3 0 0.0

Through six games, I am excited about the possibility of a strong season. I like how Collins and staff are working with what they have. If we continue to focus on defense/hustle/rebounding, using size/athleticism to our advantage, improving our position-less motion offense and consistently getting to the line, we will win our fair share of B1G games.

Go 'Cats!

Love this analysis and agree with every aspect of it!

 

[scru]

Collins has been pretty straightforward about playing the guys who give the team the best chance to win--and this starts on the defensive side of the ball, using the team's length and athleticism to our advantage and playing position-less basketball with multiple guys sharing the role of primary ballhandler. Collins continues to give every available scholarship player opportunities to contribute and is still tweaking the combinations of guys that play best together and work best against different types of lineups.

In other threads, people have made cases to play more minutes for Greer, etc. I disagree with a lot of these takes. I am seeing what Collins is seeing. I look at the percentage of total minutes played through 6 games, and it synchs up with what I am seeing in terms of utilizing our best players who play the best defense, have size/atheticism and give us the best chance to win.

Player Min%
Turner 80.0
Law 76.3
Taylor 75.8
Pardon 73.3
Gaines 53.3
Nance 34.2
Kopp 32.1
Greer 27.9
Benson 25.8
Ash 21.3

It is clear who our best 4 players are: Law, Pardon, Taylor, Turner (I believe in that order). This group deserves the most minutes, and it seems that they are starting to play well as a unit with a better understanding of each others' roles and abilities. Law and Pardon need to avoid foul trouble to maximize their time on the floor.

After that, we have 3 developing "change of speed/matchup" guys in Gaines, Nance and Kopp. These players will certainly compete for playing time and get opportunities based on matchups and who has the hottest hand throughout the season. For now, the experience and superior defense of Gaines makes him the most valuable of the bunch, but I am most excited about the future of Pete Nance. All 3 will be crucial pieces for the 'Cats in 2018-19.

Finally, we have 3 guys who are reasonably solid backups (but they are solidly backups for now) in Greer, Benson and Ash. I hope that these guys make the most of their minutes and continue to improve. They will likely get more minutes than the 8th, 9th and 10th guys on most teams' depth charts--and they definitely represent an upgrade from the end of NU's bench in years past. There is always the possibility that an injury could push any of them into a key role at any moment.

Another interesting thing that really excites me about our team is that our top 5 guys can really get to the line! This is critical as it gives us an opportunity to score (an average of 18 ppg from our top 5 from the free throw line), even when shots are not falling. Our performance in this area through 6 games is such a stark contrast to last season when we were 293rd in the country in FTA/FGA; So far this season, we are 21st in the country in FTA/FGA! Below is the roster ranked by FTAs:

Player FTA FTM FT%
Law 36 29 80.6
Pardon 34 23 67.6
Turner 27 25 92.6
Gaines 24 16 66.7
Taylor 16 15 93.8
Nance 7 2 28.6
Benson 5 3 60.0
Ash 4 2 50.0
Kopp 3 3 100.0
Greer 3 0 0.0

Through six games, I am excited about the possibility of a strong season. I like how Collins and staff are working with what they have. If we continue to focus on defense/hustle/rebounding, using size/athleticism to our advantage, improving our position-less motion offense and consistently getting to the line, we will win our fair share of B1G games.

Go 'Cats!

Thank you for the positive and rational perspective. I certainly hope it comes together this year. There are definitely some good individual pieces to work with.

 

[loyolacat]

Great analysis......you have presented a clear view of what you think this team can do to reach its potential....If we max out playing to our potential where do you think that lands us in the B10?

 

[Figrating]

Good look. Fresno had me plenty worried, but things look better today. I don't think the Greer-at-PG experiment has been given a fair chance, but CCC knows what's best.

 

[go cats go]

Great analysis......you have presented a clear view of what you think this team can do to reach its potential....If we max out playing to our potential where do you think that lands us in the B10?

I've now seen all of our games, including the exhibition courtesy of the International BTN2Go package...but I haven't yet seen enough of the rest of the B1G play--and, more importantly, how we match up with other B1G teams to predict where we will fall in league play.

Right now, Bart Torvik's T-Rank has the B1G as the nation's #1 league, and kenpom has the B1G as the #2 league behind the Big 12. This week's ACC/B1G Challenge should tell us a lot and help determine how many B1G teams might go dancing.

Unless/until it becomes unrealistic, I will continue to view every game as a mark towards or against the following formula:

10-2 OOC
11-9 B1G
1 or more wins in the BTT

It is early, but here is a little fun: Bart Torvik's T-Rank site has a link that allows you to search any team's Efficiency Profile to find teams with similar Efficiency Profiles. So far, Northwestern's 2018-19 team is most similar to...Northwestern's 2016-17 team(!) and then a bunch of other NCAA Tournament teams over the past 8 years:

http://barttorvik.com/profile-compare.php?team=Northwestern&year=2019

It does seem like CC and company are making a deliberate effort to get back to the "Pound the Rock" brand of blue-collar, defense-focused, opportunistic basketball that got us to the Tournament in 2017. Limiting turnovers and making shots will be a big part of our success or lack of success. I am hoping for the best.

 

[rwhitney014]

I've now seen all of our games, including the exhibition courtesy of the International BTN2Go package...but I haven't yet seen enough of the rest of the B1G play--and, more importantly, how we match up with other B1G teams to predict where we will fall in league play.

Right now, Bart Torvik's T-Rank has the B1G as the nation's #1 league, and kenpom has the B1G as the #2 league behind the Big 12. This week's ACC/B1G Challenge should tell us a lot and help determine how many B1G teams might go dancing.

Unless/until it becomes unrealistic, I will continue to view every game as a mark towards or against the following formula:

10-2 OOC
11-9 B1G
1 or more wins in the BTT

It is early, but here is a little fun: Bart Torvik's T-Rank site has a link that allows you to search any team's Efficiency Profile to find teams with similar Efficiency Profiles. So far, Northwestern's 2018-19 team is most similar to...Northwestern's 2016-17 team(!) and then a bunch of other NCAA Tournament teams over the past 8 years:

http://barttorvik.com/profile-compare.php?team=Northwestern&year=2019

It does seem like CC and company are making a deliberate effort to get back to the "Pound the Rock" brand of blue-collar, defense-focused, opportunistic basketball that got us to the Tournament in 2017. Limiting turnovers and making shots will be a big part of our success or lack of success. I am hoping for the best.

Interesting analysis, and thanks for the detail.

To me, the most compelling thing so far is perhaps the most uninteresting: the free throw rate. While as a team we'll have good games shooting the ball, the reality is that Collins' rosters, even the best one, have generally not been great shooting from the field. This one appears to have similar questions.

That said, they've been fairly good to very good from the line over the years. They just haven't gotten there enough in past years. So far, this appears to be an area of big improvement.

Doesn't take a PhD in math to realize that getting to the line significantly more AND shooting well from it can mask some deficiencies from the field. It also suggests that we're getting more looks at the rim, where pretty much every team is going to shoot better over time, and the more subtle effect is that getting other teams' players in foul trouble means there may be matchups to exploit or tentative defenses when they don't want to pick up an extra foul here and there over the course of a game. Those marginal points will be important for this roster in a tough conference.

 

[macarthur31]

Collins has been pretty straightforward about playing the guys who give the team the best chance to win--and this starts on the defensive side of the ball, using the team's length and athleticism to our advantage and playing position-less basketball with multiple guys sharing the role of primary ballhandler. Collins continues to give every available scholarship player opportunities to contribute and is still tweaking the combinations of guys that play best together and work best against different types of lineups.

In other threads, people have made cases to play more minutes for Greer, etc. I disagree with a lot of these takes. I am seeing what Collins is seeing. I look at the percentage of total minutes played through 6 games, and it synchs up with what I am seeing in terms of utilizing our best players who play the best defense, have size/atheticism and give us the best chance to win.

Player Min%
Turner 80.0
Law 76.3
Taylor 75.8
Pardon 73.3
Gaines 53.3
Nance 34.2
Kopp 32.1
Greer 27.9
Benson 25.8
Ash 21.3

It is clear who our best 4 players are: Law, Pardon, Taylor, Turner (I believe in that order). This group deserves the most minutes, and it seems that they are starting to play well as a unit with a better understanding of each others' roles and abilities. Law and Pardon need to avoid foul trouble to maximize their time on the floor.

After that, we have 3 developing "change of speed/matchup" guys in Gaines, Nance and Kopp. These players will certainly compete for playing time and get opportunities based on matchups and who has the hottest hand throughout the season. For now, the experience and superior defense of Gaines makes him the most valuable of the bunch, but I am most excited about the future of Pete Nance. All 3 will be crucial pieces for the 'Cats in 2018-19.

Finally, we have 3 guys who are reasonably solid backups (but they are solidly backups for now) in Greer, Benson and Ash. I hope that these guys make the most of their minutes and continue to improve. They will likely get more minutes than the 8th, 9th and 10th guys on most teams' depth charts--and they definitely represent an upgrade from the end of NU's bench in years past. There is always the possibility that an injury could push any of them into a key role at any moment.

Another interesting thing that really excites me about our team is that our top 5 guys can really get to the line! This is critical as it gives us an opportunity to score (an average of 18 ppg from our top 5 from the free throw line), even when shots are not falling. Our performance in this area through 6 games is such a stark contrast to last season when we were 293rd in the country in FTA/FGA; So far this season, we are 21st in the country in FTA/FGA! Below is the roster ranked by FTAs:

Player FTA FTM FT%
Law 36 29 80.6
Pardon 34 23 67.6
Turner 27 25 92.6
Gaines 24 16 66.7
Taylor 16 15 93.8
Nance 7 2 28.6
Benson 5 3 60.0
Ash 4 2 50.0
Kopp 3 3 100.0
Greer 3 0 0.0

Through six games, I am excited about the possibility of a strong season. I like how Collins and staff are working with what they have. If we continue to focus on defense/hustle/rebounding, using size/athleticism to our advantage, improving our position-less motion offense and consistently getting to the line, we will win our fair share of B1G games.

Go 'Cats!

Per kenpom: FT Rates (FTA/FGA)
Dererk Pardon, 89.5 (Nat'l rank 26th)
AJ Turner, 52.9 (Nat'l rank 213th)
Vic Law, 49.3 (Nat'l rank 276th)
Ryan Taylor, 24.2 (rate not high enough for kenpom nat'l rank)
Anthony Gaines, 160.0 (not enough minutes played - kenpom only ranks those who play 60% of minutes)

Given Pardon/Turner/Law's high usage rate - your point is confirmed as that can go a long way towards helping this offense become more efficient. Sad face is that Pardon is at 67% FT accuracy, and given that he's a 70% career shooter from the stripe, that is less of a weapon for him. In the Utah game, one of the commentators dropped a "Karl Malone" comp on Pardon (lightly obviously) but if Pardon hit 77% of FT's - which was Malone's FT% in his prime years - and with his elite FTA/FGA rate, that could be another 30 points right there.

On the upside - Turner is hella-accurate - 92.6%, 47th nat'l rank; and Law is quite good - 80.6%, 323rd nat'l rank. (I'd offer it's his high FTRate/Accuracy that puts AJ at an average Offensive rating (104), even though his eFG is meh (41%) and 3pt shooting (18%) has been horrid.)

I included Anthony Gaines in there - although he doesn't get the lion's share of minutes, he could be very useful with his ability to draw fouls (he's second on the team behind Vic Law, with 5.4 Fouls Drawn/40) - he just needs to boost his FT accuracy - he's at 66% now, but last year he was at 80%. He's also at 24 FT attempts (or at least kenpom has him at 24) in '19 through 6 games, and he's well on his way to eclipsing the 41 FTA's in 31 games from '18. Even with a conservative estimate that he gets to 80 FTAs - at 75% FT accuracy - 60 points from the stripe, 27 points more damage than he did in '18. It may not seem like much, but that could be a 1 possession difference better for the 'Cats.

I agree with your analysis - given 6 new players on the team, the 'Cats were going to have to figure each other out. Unfortunately for them, the B1G season comes pretty quick this year so there'll be significant growing pains - so it could give a lot of bait for the chicken littles to call off the season.

Other concern: Law/Pardon are our best two-way players and all it takes is consistent foul trouble (Dererk is at 4.5 Fouls Committed/40min, which is nearly 1 foul more than his soph/jr averages of 3.6 FC/40; Law is at 3.3 FC/40, which is on par for his career), or worse yet an injury for the 'Cats to be in a serious hole.

However, with good health, and gelling, this team could perform better in the back 10 of conference sked. Not sure it'll be enough to grab a tourney spot based on B1G record, but they could be in a groove rattle off enough wins in the B1G tourney to get on the bubble.

 

[rwhitney014]

Per kenpom: FT Rates (FTA/FGA)
Dererk Pardon, 89.5 (Nat'l rank 26th)
AJ Turner, 52.9 (Nat'l rank 213th)
Vic Law, 49.3 (Nat'l rank 276th)
Ryan Taylor, 24.2 (rate not high enough for kenpom nat'l rank)
Anthony Gaines, 160.0 (not enough minutes played - kenpom only ranks those who play 60% of minutes)

Given Pardon/Turner/Law's high usage rate - your point is confirmed as that can go a long way towards helping this offense become more efficient. Sad face is that Pardon is at 67% FT accuracy, and given that he's a 70% career shooter from the stripe, that is less of a weapon for him. In the Utah game, one of the commentators dropped a "Karl Malone" comp on Pardon (lightly obviously) but if Pardon hit 77% of FT's - which was Malone's FT% in his prime years - and with his elite FTA/FGA rate, that could be another 30 points right there.

On the upside - Turner is hella-accurate - 92.6%, 47th nat'l rank; and Law is quite good - 80.6%, 323rd nat'l rank. (I'd offer it's his high FTRate/Accuracy that puts AJ at an average Offensive rating (104), even though his eFG is meh (41%) and 3pt shooting (18%) has been horrid.)

I included Anthony Gaines in there - although he doesn't get the lion's share of minutes, he could be very useful with his ability to draw fouls (he's second on the team behind Vic Law, with 5.4 Fouls Drawn/40) - he just needs to boost his FT accuracy - he's at 66% now, but last year he was at 80%. He's also at 24 FT attempts (or at least kenpom has him at 24) in '19 through 6 games, and he's well on his way to eclipsing the 41 FTA's in 31 games from '18. Even with a conservative estimate that he gets to 80 FTAs - at 75% FT accuracy - 60 points from the stripe, 27 points more damage than he did in '18. It may not seem like much, but that could be a 1 possession difference better for the 'Cats.

I agree with your analysis - given 6 new players on the team, the 'Cats were going to have to figure each other out. Unfortunately for them, the B1G season comes pretty quick this year so there'll be significant growing pains - so it could give a lot of bait for the chicken littles to call off the season.

Other concern: Law/Pardon are our best two-way players and all it takes is consistent foul trouble (Dererk is at 4.5 Fouls Committed/40min, which is nearly 1 foul more than his soph/jr averages of 3.6 FC/40; Law is at 3.3 FC/40, which is on par for his career), or worse yet an injury for the 'Cats to be in a serious hole.

However, with good health, and gelling, this team could perform better in the back 10 of conference sked. Not sure it'll be enough to grab a tourney spot based on B1G record, but they could be in a groove rattle off enough wins in the B1G tourney to get on the bubble.

You said it better, mac.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

I've now seen all of our games, including the exhibition courtesy of the International BTN2Go package...but I haven't yet seen enough of the rest of the B1G play--and, more importantly, how we match up with other B1G teams to predict where we will fall in league play.

Right now, Bart Torvik's T-Rank has the B1G as the nation's #1 league, and kenpom has the B1G as the #2 league behind the Big 12. This week's ACC/B1G Challenge should tell us a lot and help determine how many B1G teams might go dancing.

Unless/until it becomes unrealistic, I will continue to view every game as a mark towards or against the following formula:

10-2 OOC
11-9 B1G
1 or more wins in the BTT

It is early, but here is a little fun: Bart Torvik's T-Rank site has a link that allows you to search any team's Efficiency Profile to find teams with similar Efficiency Profiles. So far, Northwestern's 2018-19 team is most similar to...Northwestern's 2016-17 team(!) and then a bunch of other NCAA Tournament teams over the past 8 years:

http://barttorvik.com/profile-compare.php?team=Northwestern&year=2019

It does seem like CC and company are making a deliberate effort to get back to the "Pound the Rock" brand of blue-collar, defense-focused, opportunistic basketball that got us to the Tournament in 2017. Limiting turnovers and making shots will be a big part of our success or lack of success. I am hoping for the best.

Where does Falzon fit in? Any idea when he'll be back?

 

[go cats go]

You said it better, mac.

You both said it well. Getting to the line could be important for all the reasons stated plus ending or breaking up scoreless runs that plagued us in the past. Momentum is a big deal--and so is being able to feed the ball inside to Pardon or get someone to the line to stifle a run.

In the past, I have knocked Collins' teams for taking too many bad shots. Collins likes to say, "I was a gunslinger when I was a guard, and I want my guys to know that they have the green light." As much as I like the guy and his approach to the game, I still cringe when he says this. I like open 3 pointers by good shooters who catch the ball in the shooting pocket in the flow of the offense. I like Derek Pardon in the post. I like open layups or dunks off steals. I like free throws. Let the other teams shoot long, off-balance two-point shots that make highlight reels... Give me efficiency on offense!

 

[macarthur31]

You both said it well. Getting to the line could be important for all the reasons stated plus ending or breaking up scoreless runs that plagued us in the past. Momentum is a big deal--and so is being able to feed the ball inside to Pardon or get someone to the line to stifle a run.

In the past, I have knocked Collins' teams for taking too many bad shots. Collins likes to say, "I was a gunslinger when I was a guard, and I want my guys to know that they have the green light." As much as I like the guy and his approach to the game, I still cringe when he says this. I like open 3 pointers by good shooters who catch the ball in the shooting pocket in the flow of the offense. I like Derek Pardon in the post. I like open layups or dunks off steals. I like free throws. Let the other teams shoot long, off-balance two-point shots that make highlight reels... Give me efficiency on offense!

Thanks, yo'. I love me some Four Factors.

I do wince a bit whenever I see Vic Law take a long 2, as I'd rather see him take 3s or attack the rack. However, I do trust his stroke and that he can hit that mid-range jumper consistently (and hopefully open up the lane a bit more.). When the 'Cats started the 2nd half hot against Utah, I saw that the first 5 possessions were clean looks from 3, or drives (on nifty Pardon handoffs). That's the ticket right there - inject that into my veins. I can live with misses off of open corner 3s - it's the jacking up shots early without giving the 1st action a chance (or at least get your bigs a chance to get into position).

What I saw against Fresno State was that our their athleticism stifled our ability to run action in the spots we wanted. We needed to hit something (inside w/Pardon, or Taylor threes) to force them to be honest. When nothing was going - our defense was unable to force TOs/easy transition buckets; and then perhaps the team lost the plot when they were down 15+. That's the embodiment of the worst case scenario.

If this team wants to make noise, as much as we fret about offense - it's gonna be their defense which determines their ability to play deep into the spring. This will be complimented by their "grinder"/pound the rock offense that features cutting/screening to generate three point looks for Taylor/Turner/Law, and/or or Pardon working the block + Pardon high post handoffs for drives (Gaines is gonna feast on that) or handoff/screen for threes. (And maybe, the occasional Pardon 3 pointer from the key).

 

[haywood jahblowme]

Where does Falzon fit in? Any idea when he'll be back?

hate to say it, but he probably doesn't

 

[Jeffrey Cat]

hate to say it, but he probably doesn't

Haywood, are you saying he won’t be back because he doesn’t fit into the rotation or he won’t be back because of his latest injury. Which brings up a good point. What is his latest injury?

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

hate to say it, but he probably doesn't

I don't see any minutes for Falzon! Why? Turner is much,much better on defense and can take it to the rim! Did you see Turner's monster jam last week? We got him for two years and he is a decent shooter.

 

[EvanstonCat]

Haywood, are you saying he won’t be back because he doesn’t fit into the rotation or he won’t be back because of his latest injury. Which brings up a good point. What is his latest injury?

I didn't read it as him not being back, but rather that he doesn't fit.

 

[spartcat]

Great start to this thread, but let's give Falzon a chance. Turner is our starting point guard and a good wing, not a power forward. Falzon's role is at the 4. I could easily see him starting ahead of Kopp, and I think he is stronger at this point than Nance. All of them can shoot, a great plus once we get into conference play. Get well soon!

 

[Medill90]

hate to say it, but he probably doesn't

The team has played about 20% of its season and he's still dressing like a civilian.

Next year without Law, Taylor and Pardon he may be a valuable asset if he doesn't transfer.

 

[JournCat]

Great start to this thread, but let's give Falzon a chance. Turner is our starting point guard and a good wing, not a power forward. Falzon's role is at the 4. I could easily see him starting ahead of Kopp, and I think he is stronger at this point than Nance. All of them can shoot, a great plus once we get into conference play. Get well soon!

Collins has signaled defense and aggressiveness will be this team's identity, and we already play too many guys who don't create off the dribble. But I could see Falzon fitting in as a streak shooter off the bench like Taphorn.

 

[NUThump]

Unless/until it becomes unrealistic, I will continue to view every game as a mark towards or against the following formula:

10-2 OOC
11-9 B1G
1 or more wins in the BTT

So, after two tough conferences losses, has your 11-9 prediction changed?