Winter Break

[IGNORE2]

So, we are 10 games in. We have a couple impressive wins including an amazing come from behind pull out. We had one bad loss and two good losses. And it seems like the team is growing game by game.

What have we learned:

• We don’t need a ball handler. Apparently, teams aren’t going to press us and Law and Turner are running the O just fine
• Pardon has grown into a beast. He could use a little growth on D, but he looks quite polished on O in the post
• Law has grown on O. But still makes one stupid early foul each game and complains too much to the refs
• Taylor has not adapted his game to the B1G yet
• Gaines is much more serviceable than expected. Heck, might actually grow into a pretty special player
• Nance, Kopp, Greer aren’t ready. Forced into action, they epitomize the value of a redshirt.
• The bench is thin. Gaines makes more sense starting, but a bench of Benson, Nance, Kopp, Greer and Ash would make grown men cry. The depth we yearn just isn’t there. Might develop - in the frosh - but not really there.

Why this team will succeed:

Kopp, Nance and Greer will grown into more than serviceable depth. Taylor will find his groove. The team will cash in on overdue karma and avoid the injury bug.

Why this team will fail:

Opponents start pressing and increase our high turnover rate. We lose Law or Pardon for a substantial period of time. Tighter called games in conference result in Law and Pardon seeing more bench time.

X factor:

Will Falzon return from injury and contribute, maybe in Taphorn style or is he RI 2.0 and we will debate his value after he transfers ? How is RI doing these days.

I feel thi team is on a cusp. I can see damage in the B1G and at the conference tourney. I can also see underperformance w a couple upsets of ranked teams in old school NU fashion.

I guess despite knowing more about the team, I feel that I know less about it’s future.

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

So, we are 10 games in. We have a couple impressive wins including an amazing come from behind pull out. We had one bad loss and two good losses. And it seems like the team is growing game by game.

What have we learned:

• We don’t need a ball handler. Apparently, teams aren’t going to press us and Law and Turner are running the O just fine
• Pardon has grown into a beast. He could use a little growth on D, but he looks quite polished on O in the post
• Law has grown on O. But still makes one stupid early foul each game and complains too much to the refs
• Taylor has not adapted his game to the B1G yet
• Gaines is much more serviceable than expected. Heck, might actually grow into a pretty special player
• Nance, Kopp, Greer aren’t ready. Forced into action, they epitomize the value of a redshirt.
• The bench is thin. Gaines makes more sense starting, but a bench of Benson, Nance, Kopp, Greer and Ash would make grown men cry. The depth we yearn just isn’t there. Might develop - in the frosh - but not really there.

Why this team will succeed:

Kopp, Nance and Greer will grown into more than serviceable depth. Taylor will find his groove. The team will cash in on overdue karma and avoid the injury bug.

Why this team will fail:

Opponents start pressing and increase our high turnover rate. We lose Law or Pardon for a substantial period of time. Tighter called games in conference result in Law and Pardon seeing more bench time.

X factor:

Will Falzon return from injury and contribute, maybe in Taphorn style or is he RI 2.0 and we will debate his value after he transfers ? How is RI doing these days.

I feel thi team is on a cusp. I can see damage in the B1G and at the conference tourney. I can also see underperformance w a couple upsets of ranked teams in old school NU fashion.

I guess despite knowing more about the team, I feel that I know less about it’s future.

It would be nice if Falzon and Ash get healthy by January 10th or so. I'm impressed with this team. Really feel if Taylor starts hitting,we will be top four at Big Ten.

 

[freewillie07]

You don’t give Kopp enough credit. I think he is far closer to being a valuable contributor than either of the other two freshmen. You could argue he already is.

As the season rolls on, I think Greer will end up being an average backup Big Ten point guard. At the very least, he can eat some minutes and run the offense and hustle on defense. If he can knock down a few 3s, all the better.

I am not so confident about Nance (this year). He just doesn’t seem ready to be a banger or a lockdown defender and that’s where this team is going to make its name this season. There is not a firm place in the rotation for a guy who is still growing into his body and right now plays like a perimeter player.

Taylor will be fine, he’s just adjusting. Turner looks like he may be fully adjusted. Law and Pardon are rock solid. Gaines, as I wrote, may be the breakout player of the year. That’s a great core five. Weave in Greer for ball control, Kopp as an interchangeable wing, and Benson to give Pardon a break and/or foul a dominant big, and that’s a perfectly fine 8-man rotation, should they all have the good fortune of staying healthy. *insert praying hands emoji*

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

You don’t give Kopp enough credit. I think he is far closer to being a valuable contributor than either of the other two freshmen. You could argue he already is.

As the season rolls on, I think Greer will end up being an average backup Big Ten point guard. At the very least, he can eat some minutes and run the offense and hustle on defense. If he can knock down a few 3s, all the better.

I am not so confident about Nance (this year). He just doesn’t seem ready to be a banger or a lockdown defender and that’s where this team is going to make its name this season. There is not a firm place in the rotation for a guy who is still growing into his body and right now plays like a perimeter player.

Taylor will be fine, he’s just adjusting. Turner looks like he may be fully adjusted. Law and Pardon are rock solid. Gaines, as I wrote, may be the breakout player of the year. That’s a great core five. Weave in Greer for ball control, Kopp as an interchangeable wing, and Benson to give Pardon a break and/or foul a dominant big, and that’s a perfectly fine 8-man rotation, should they all have the good fortune of staying healthy. *insert praying hands emoji*

Kopp is amazing! Just a baller and clearly a four star guy! Nance needs fifteen pounds!

 

[NJCat]

Kopp is amazing! Just a baller and clearly a four star guy! Nance needs fifteen pounds!

Nance needs to lose 3". He is too tall, has no quickness. Gotta get him on a height diet!

Dang!!

 

[Wrestlerneverdiesasacatfan]

Wrassler is working on six pack abs! Wait till you see me in the summer!

 

[NJCat]

Wrassler is working on six pack abs! Wait till you see me in the summer!

TMI.

 

[pschatz25]

Good recap. The ball handling situation has gone about as good as one could hope for. I'm optimistic that Kopp can be a useful player this season, and maybe even Greer. I'm not optimistic about Nance for this season. And I'm losing my optimism about Falzon.

Ultimately, I think the B10 is too strong throughout and we won't have enough depth or scoring to win 10 games.

 

[ricko654321]

Good recap. The ball handling situation has gone about as good as one could hope for. I'm optimistic that Kopp can be a useful player this season, and maybe even Greer. I'm not optimistic about Nance for this season. And I'm losing my optimism about Falzon.

Ultimately, I think the B10 is too strong throughout and we won't have enough depth or scoring to win 10 games.

Yeah good comments (to both you and the OP). I think we have a decent range of players, and I really like our interchangeability on defense when we get to the Pardon Law Turner Taylor Gaines lineup. However, the lack of ball handling will cause us problems against pressure defense in some games and our depth will hurt us down the stretch and make it tougher for us to win close games with tired bodies.

I'd guess 8-12 in conference as of this point. It doesn't help that we played two really solid games against tough opponents and lost both at the wire... the typical outcome of those two contests is probably 1-1 but unfortunately we lost both, and every single win is huge in conference play.

 

[hdhntr1]

Wrassler is working on six pack abs! Wait till you see me in the summer!

I already have a six pack and am working on a keg

 

[EagerFan]

I think Kopp is coming along fine and will do well in limited minutes this season. I think Greer will be serviceable off the bench running the offense and just needs to hit a couple of threes now and then or draw the foul to get the confidence he needs.

I’ve always been high on Gaines potential, and I think Taylor’s offense will balance out over the season. But he’s a three shooter, his games will be up and down. What I hope for is a noticeable improvement in his defense.

Nance needs to get used to his body. He moves like he isn’t sure where all his parts are or where they’re going.

What I wonder is whether Turner has found his groove - fantastic news leading to a big upswing in our offense, or if this was a blip on the season.

 

[ricko654321]

I think Kopp is coming along fine and will do well in limited minutes this season. I think Greer will be serviceable off the bench running the offense and just needs to hit a couple of threes now and then or draw the foul to get the confidence he needs.

I’ve always been high on Gaines potential, and I think Taylor’s offense will balance out over the season. But he’s a three shooter, his games will be up and down. What I hope for is a noticeable improvement in his defense.

Nance needs to get used to his body. He moves like he isn’t sure where all his parts are or where they’re going.

What I wonder is whether Turner has found his groove - fantastic news leading to a big upswing in our offense, or if this was a blip on the season.

Funnily enough that was exactly what I said about Taylor after the first couple games of the season - that he would be up and down game to game, streaky on offense, but I was worried about his defense. Thinking about it now - he has improved his defense, from where it was the first couple games, still not at the Vic Gaines Turner level, but he's serviceable. The problem has been that he's primarily had cold games on offense. Hopefully he warms up sooner rather than later.

- Agree Kopp is a 10-20 mpg game player depending on the night.
- Benson is a 5-10 mpg guy.
- Greer and/or Ash can combined contribute ~10 mpg.
- Seems like Nance will contribute 5-10 mpg in B1G play.

That's like... 35-40 minutes combined? Which means our starters (including Gaines, excluding Kopp) are playing 160+ minutes per game. That's not sustainable over the full season, or if it's going to be we will chronically wear down late in games. I hope Collins can develop confidence in someone else aside from Kopp on the bench to bump themselves up into that >10 mins range. Once again, projections of a 8-10 man rotation ran into trouble when they encountered reality, feel like this happens every year.

 

[hdhntr1]

I think Kopp is coming along fine and will do well in limited minutes this season. I think Greer will be serviceable off the bench running the offense and just needs to hit a couple of threes now and then or draw the foul to get the confidence he needs.

I’ve always been high on Gaines potential, and I think Taylor’s offense will balance out over the season. But he’s a three shooter, his games will be up and down. What I hope for is a noticeable improvement in his defense.

Nance needs to get used to his body. He moves like he isn’t sure where all his parts are or where they’re going.

What I wonder is whether Turner has found his groove - fantastic news leading to a big upswing in our offense, or if this was a blip on the season.

It is one game. If it brings him back to his 37% average at BC great