James Interview

[NJCat]

Interesting interview with Brian James. When asked who is going to be the PG, he named AJ Turner first, followed by Law, then Ash and finally Greer.....very surprising that Turner was first out of the chute!! He also spoke extensively about the disappointing 2017-18 season, how Law and Pardon have put on 15 #s of muscle, Dererk has increased his shooting range to 15 feet, and how the Tap to Pardon home run against Michigan was actually driven by a variant of the same play they ran in the tournament against Michigan the year before, based on how Michigan defended the prior year. He said Gaines will pay at least 20 minutes a game. Nance and Kopp will play a lot, Miller Kopp "is as tough a player as I've seen come out of high school". Nance has put on 15#s of muscle...."our fans are going to be ecstatic about how he plays".

James is really pumped about the upcoming season.

Give it a listen.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/10261024/hersh-on-hoops-ep-42

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

I can see AJ doing fine. I don’t see any scenario where you want Law bringing the ball up the court on a press vs Ash. Ash is quicker and a better ball handler. My thoughts are to see if AJ can beat the press. If he can’t, start Ash! Michigan will run and gun all over Law at point guard.

 

[mikewebb68]

Interesting interview with Brian James. When asked who is going to be the PG, he named AJ Turner first, followed by Law, then Ash and finally Greer.....very surprising that Turner was first out of the chute!! He also spoke extensively about the disappointing 2017-18 season, how Law and Pardon have put on 15 #s of muscle, Dererk has increased his shooting range to 15 feet, and how the Tap to Pardon home run against Michigan was actually driven by a variant of the same play they ran in the tournament against Michigan the year before, based on how Michigan defended the prior year. He said Gaines will pay at least 20 minutes a game. Nance and Kopp will play a lot, Miller Kopp "is as tough a player as I've seen come out of high school". Nance has put on 15#s of muscle...."our fans are going to be ecstatic about how he plays".

James is really pumped about the upcoming season.

Give it a listen.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/10261024/hersh-on-hoops-ep-42

Man, why you have to troll Wrassler like that?

 

[EvanstonCat]

Interesting interview with Brian James. When asked who is going to be the PG, he named AJ Turner first, followed by Law, then Ash and finally Greer.....very surprising that Turner was first out of the chute!! He also spoke extensively about the disappointing 2017-18 season, how Law and Pardon have put on 15 #s of muscle, Dererk has increased his shooting range to 15 feet, and how the Tap to Pardon home run against Michigan was actually driven by a variant of the same play they ran in the tournament against Michigan the year before, based on how Michigan defended the prior year. He said Gaines will pay at least 20 minutes a game. Nance and Kopp will play a lot, Miller Kopp "is as tough a player as I've seen come out of high school". Nance has put on 15#s of muscle...."our fans are going to be ecstatic about how he plays".

James is really pumped about the upcoming season.

Give it a listen.

https://www.spreaker.com/user/10261024/hersh-on-hoops-ep-42

I'm gonna call it now. We're heading to the NCAAs again.

Coach James was very clear about what went wrong last year. He was also clear about what we have this year. We're going to be a lot better than we were two years ago. Tons better. Taylor would have been the best player on that team and he will be the best one on this team. And that's not to say that Law wouldn't be as good as we expect/hope for. Kopp and Nance are gonna be huge. Taylor and Kopp are gonna score a lot for us. Nance is gonna be huge. We're going to have a big home court advantage this year.

Not only are we headed to the tourney this year, I think we contend for a B1G title this year.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Man, why you have to troll Wrassler like that?

Dang! Why u dissing me? I'm just a purple bleeding,couch potato,NU loving,strap it on type of guy!

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

I'm gonna call it now. We're heading to the NCAAs again.

Coach James was very clear about what went wrong last year. He was also clear about what we have this year. We're going to be a lot better than we were two years ago. Tons better. Taylor would have been the best player on that team and he will be the best one on this team. And that's not to say that Law wouldn't be as good as we expect/hope for. Kopp and Nance are gonna be huge. Taylor and Kopp are gonna score a lot for us. Nance is gonna be huge. We're going to have a big home court advantage this year.

Not only are we headed to the tourney this year, I think we contend for a B1G title this year.

Taylor? I think Turner will be very solid also. I can't rule out Pardon or Law not being our best player too.

 

[pschatz25]

Just finished listening to the interview and it is definitely worth the time. Fitzphile did an excellent job summarizing it, so I don't need to say much more. I especially enjoyed his thoughts about diagramming The Pass. He was pretty candid about the issues with last year's team (overconfidence, injuries, and AllState Arena). But he's very excited about this year's team and does a pretty deep dive into the roster.

 

[Medill90]

What stuck for me in the interview....Taylor is the best shooter on the team....Kopp is one of the toughest players he's seen come out of high school in a long time...Nance gets better every week, every week he improves noticeably.

 

[NJCat]

What stuck for me in the interview....Taylor is the best shooter on the team....Kopp is one of the toughest players he's seen come out of high school in a long time...Nance gets better every week, every week he improves noticeably.

First time I heard Brian speak. He must be a riot to interview, just turn on the recorder and off he goes.....no answer less than 5 minutes in length!

But man, was he forthcoming. Fitz would fire him after an interview like that!!! Dang!!

 

[clarificationcat]

What stuck for me in the interview....Taylor is the best shooter on the team....Kopp is one of the toughest players he's seen come out of high school in a long time...Nance gets better every week, every week he improves noticeably.

All good news. It does not sound like our freshman point guard is going to be taking over the offense, though. Not that I expected it but it would have been a pleasant surprise. If we can get into our offense, we will have rotations that are really long and athletic. 6'7" and 6'6" in the backcourt, 6'7' at the 3, 7' at the 4 and 6'8' with long arms at center. It sounds like Vic will need to continue to expend a lot of energy chasing smaller guys around when we play teams with good point guards. On the flip side, it would be great if we can get Turner the ball in the post from time to time. He's going to have a 4 or 5 inch advantage a lot of the times on the other team's point guard.

 

[JournCat]

First time I heard Brian speak. He must be a riot to interview, just turn on the recorder and off he goes.....no answer less than 5 minutes in length!

But man, was he forthcoming. Fitz would fire him after an interview like that!!! Dang!!

I've gotten in the habit of turning on the WGN livestream right at the end of every first half. Brian James does the halftime interview and always has honest observations, especially when Joey Meyer is doing color and they end up commiserating. It's great stuff.

 

[JournCat]

All good news. It does not sound like our freshman point guard is going to be taking over the offense, though. Not that I expected it but it would have been a pleasant surprise. If we can get into our offense, we will have rotations that are really long and athletic. 6'7" and 6'6" in the backcourt, 6'7' at the 3, 7' at the 4 and 6'8' with long arms at center. It sounds like Vic will need to continue to expend a lot of energy chasing smaller guys around when we play teams with good point guards. On the flip side, it would be great if we can get Turner the ball in the post from time to time. He's going to have a 4 or 5 inch advantage a lot of the times on the other team's point guard.

It feels like AJ Turner is constantly getting overlooked. If he matches his sophomore year stats at BC, we'll be adding a 37 percent shooter from three who can handle the ball. Not too bad.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

All good news. It does not sound like our freshman point guard is going to be taking over the offense, though. Not that I expected it but it would have been a pleasant surprise. If we can get into our offense, we will have rotations that are really long and athletic. 6'7" and 6'6" in the backcourt, 6'7' at the 3, 7' at the 4 and 6'8' with long arms at center. It sounds like Vic will need to continue to expend a lot of energy chasing smaller guys around when we play teams with good point guards. On the flip side, it would be great if we can get Turner the ball in the post from time to time. He's going to have a 4 or 5 inch advantage a lot of the times on the other team's point guard.

Ash is our quickest and best defender! Ash will be out there 25 minutes a game. Ditto for Gaines, who is our next best defender.

 

[DaCat]

All good news. It does not sound like our freshman point guard is going to be taking over the offense, though. Not that I expected it but it would have been a pleasant surprise. If we can get into our offense, we will have rotations that are really long and athletic. 6'7" and 6'6" in the backcourt, 6'7' at the 3, 7' at the 4 and 6'8' with long arms at center. It sounds like Vic will need to continue to expend a lot of energy chasing smaller guys around when we play teams with good point guards. On the flip side, it would be great if we can get Turner the ball in the post from time to time. He's going to have a 4 or 5 inch advantage a lot of the times on the other team's point guard.

Yep, we're going to look a lot different from past teams. Coach James says Pardon has a 7-2 or 7-3 wing span. I gotta think Nance is close to 7 feet tall just judging by the pictures. AJ playing lead guard at 6-6 is going to be interesting to watch. I remember Art Aaron played some point guard, I recall he was 6-6 or 6-7, and can't think of anyone since who that kind of height at the point.

 

[T_Levine]

How about a guy named earvin Johnson who played point guard on a few good teams.

 

[NJCat]

How about a guy named earvin Johnson who played point guard on a few good teams.

Not at NU.....

 

[IGNORE2]

If we have a few ball handlers on the court and opponents don’t run a zone press, no reason that whoever is covered by the 3 or 4 can’t bring up the ball. But in a design press or against a talented guard, I still think we will have problems.

 

[mikewebb68]

Dang! Why u dissing me? I'm just a purple bleeding,couch potato,NU loving,strap it on type of guy!

Uh, I asked Fitzphile why he was trolling YOU!

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Uh, I asked Fitzphile why he was trolling YOU!

Just messing with you. I'm on cloud nine right now with Jordan Ash as captain. This may be my finest hour as a wildcat poster! But that is also what Hitler said before getting steamrolled!

 

[Alvious]

...how Law and Pardon have put on 15 #s of muscle...

I wonder if someone read this and thought "He put on 15 hashtags of muscle?"

 

[freewillie07]

I'm gonna call it now. We're heading to the NCAAs again.

Coach James was very clear about what went wrong last year. He was also clear about what we have this year. We're going to be a lot better than we were two years ago. Tons better. Taylor would have been the best player on that team and he will be the best one on this team. And that's not to say that Law wouldn't be as good as we expect/hope for. Kopp and Nance are gonna be huge. Taylor and Kopp are gonna score a lot for us. Nance is gonna be huge. We're going to have a big home court advantage this year.

Not only are we headed to the tourney this year, I think we contend for a B1G title this year.

Why do people set themselves up for disappointment like this?

One interview does not change the fact that NU is playing without a true, experienced point guard for the first time in years. It does not change the fact that for athletic as this team is, it’s par for the course in the Big Ten. NU has a vacant roster spot again, and Young will almost surely redshirt. Depth may be an issue.

Simply posting a winning Big Ten record and making it into the tournament as an 8 or 9 seed would be a major accomplishment.

 

[NUThump]

Why do people set themselves up for disappointment like this?

I am with ECat. NCAAs this year.

 

[DaCat]

Look out, NCAA here we come!

 

[Medill90]

Why do people set themselves up for disappointment like this?

Um, first, because it's college basketball and it's fun.

Second, because anyone in the big ten can come in third through sixth this year.

And, finally, because it's college basketball and it's fun.

 

[Katatonic]

Back when Lathon was still in the mix, had the 'Cats pegged as a bubble-team (a play here and there could mean the difference btwn a bid and the NIT) in no small part due to the expected contributions from Turner and Taylor.

Love James' enthusiasm and maybe will stick to the 'Cats being a bubble-team, but saw Lathon as not only being a competent field general, but being a PG who could be a plus defender (leaving no weakness in that regard at any position).

But who knows, maybe having Turner (someone w/ ample playing experience) helm the team may end up being better?

And barring injury (and both Nance and Kopp living up to their billing), this may be the deepest team NU has fielded (even if a bit lacking at one position).

Down the road, I'm sure James is excited by the prospect of coaching a Giant Peach.

 

[freewillie07]

I am with ECat. NCAAs this year.

I was referring more to the “NU will contend for a Big Ten title” part.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

If we have a few ball handlers on the court and opponents don’t run a zone press, no reason that whoever is covered by the 3 or 4 can’t bring up the ball. But in a design press or against a talented guard, I still think we will have problems.

Well said, especially in pressure situations. Believe me, you want a true point guard, Greer or Ash to beat a press from the likes of Loyola or Michigan. Those guys will destroy our guys.

 

[NJCat]

Believe me, you want a true point guard, Greer or Ash to beat a press from the likes of Loyola or Michigan.

Dude, here's how you beat a Michigan full court press, and it ain't with little guys......

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Dude, here's how you beat a Michigan full court press, and it ain't with little guys......

View embedded media

Thanks, Fitzphile. It's never a bad time to watch that clip.

 

[CatChatAR]

All good news. It does not sound like our freshman point guard is going to be taking over the offense, though. Not that I expected it but it would have been a pleasant surprise. If we can get into our offense, we will have rotations that are really long and athletic. 6'7" and 6'6" in the backcourt, 6'7' at the 3, 7' at the 4 and 6'8' with long arms at center. It sounds like Vic will need to continue to expend a lot of energy chasing smaller guys around when we play teams with good point guards. On the flip side, it would be great if we can get Turner the ball in the post from time to time. He's going to have a 4 or 5 inch advantage a lot of the times on the other team's point guard.

Zone-y zone-y zone zone. That is a wingspan that basically stretches all the way across the baseline. With guards that are that height and length it is hard to shoot over, hard to make the entry pass, and hard to do anything in the paint. Pardon and Nance being fierce rebounders...