[LUconn]

That is exactly what I've been advocating for the past 2 years. Except it wasn't McLean 2 years ago. But it seems like the coaching staff just saw Russ's height and said ok, you're tall, you stay in the middle.


*edit* this was directed at dickens.

[SuperJon]

We didn't have anyone to develop Russ. He would go in the game for 2 minutes, make one bad play, and not get in the game the rest of the game. It had to ruin his confidence.

[Fumblerooskies]

That is exactly what I've been advocating for the past 2 years.

You've been advocating TDDance spanking SCAR????

[LUconn]

well... that is a coaching style. It doesn't always develop a players since some respond different than others. Some have their confidence shattered, some learn not to make mistakes. Calhoun does it and it's hit or miss.

[LUconn]

hey look, I can't be held accountable to the homosexual banter that goes on while I'm typing my post.

[jmdickens]

well... that is a coaching style. It doesn't always develop a players since some respond different than others. Some have their confidence shattered, some learn not to make mistakes. Calhoun does it and it's hit or miss.

I wanna know what player Calhoun missed.....he has tons of players in the pros and alot of future pros

[LUconn]

Well, Rudy Gay really didn't respond well to a quick hook. He would mope about it. Ben Gordon had such a gentle psyche he really would be scared of getting benched early and it would affect his play for the first 2 years. In his 3rd year I think he really responded well to it though, as he would just take over games.

[jmdickens]

Well, Rudy Gay really didn't respond well to a quick hook. He would mope about it. Ben Gordon had such a gentle psyche he really would be scared of getting benched early and it would affect his play for the first 2 years. In his 3rd year I think he really responded well to it though, as he would just take over games.

thats all bs....calhoun did well with both
Rudy Gay's indecisiveness was his own doing

[thesportscritic]

hopefully someone will pay attention to Russell with the new coaching staff in the off season. He does have a sweet jump shot and a decent hook shot.

[TIMSCAR20]

we will have to play Madden.

and then I'll spank you.

Unless you are ranked in the top 1000 in the world like I am, I don't think you have a chance...If you can get a pass from the Mrs, I would love to hand you a few L's.

[SuperJon]

Scar, I'm thinking of buying the new college baseball game. If I do, I'll beat you in that this weekend too.

[TIMSCAR20]

As long as I can bat from the pitcher's view, I'll play. I don't know why they don't just give you that camera view option in every baseball game.

[Sly Fox]

[paradox]

You guys are really missing it with Ty Baker. After a slow start, the kid shot 53% from behind the arc during the last twelve games of the season, which is phenominal. He's money from the line at 93%. He is a pure shooter, who handles the ball well for a big man, and yes, he's a surprisingly solid rebounder.

In my opinion, he's going to get the majority of the minutes at the 4, and he should average a very efficient 15 points and 7 boards per game. He demonstrated some genuine commitment and toughness last season and I fully expect him to build on that in a big way heading into next season.

He's going to create match-up problems for the opposition. When he pulls his man out of the post in order to defend him, things will open up underneath. When he's left unaccounted for or when they zone us, he nails the three.

[paradox]

Smith at the four would be a four gaurd line-up not a three gaurd line-up. Secondly, why would he even consider that when Baker can hit the three from the four position?

not saying this would be considered, but obviously a 3 or 4 gaurd lineup would be quicker and have more ball handling skill on the floor at once. It's not just about 3s.

In order to have a four gaurd line-up, à la Villanova, you must have gaurds who can rebound. At 6-4, Smith averages a mere three boards a game. Bannister and Jenkins are both under 6-0. We would get killed on the boards and struggle mightily defending the post.

It's a nice idea, if you have the personel.

I believe that McKay will play to his stengths.

[TIMSCAR20]

Correct Dox. Gabe Martin was a perimeter that could rebound and even more importantly Guard all 5 players on the court. Very very underrated as a defender. He might be the best we have seen at that end in the Vines Center. Gabe was a special player.

[thesportscritic]

Correct Dox. Gabe Martin was a perimeter that could rebound and even more importantly Guard all 5 players on the court. Very very underrated as a defender. He might be the best we have seen at that end in the Vines Center. Gabe was a special player.

Gabe Martin i think was a special player and i miss seeing him play.

[TDDance234]

In order to have a four gaurd line-up, à la Villanova, you must have gaurds who can rebound. At 6-4, Smith averages a mere three boards a game. Bannister and Jenkins are both under 6-0. We would get killed on the boards and struggle mightily defending the post.

I think given the opportunity, Anthony could boost those numbers and probably will with LB and Brew gone. While I agree that it's probably not a smart idea to keep that lineup on the floor for an extended period of time, it could be used to give us a spark. At any given time we can go extremely small and get up the court with Smith at the 4 and Baker at the 5 or go pretty big with Alex at the 4 and Russ at the 5.

Probably the biggest asset to our team this season is our versatility. We have a number of guys that can play 2-3 positions. It'll be fun to watch McKay put this puzzle together the first 3-4 games this season.

[paradox]

The gaurd situation is interesting. We seem to have five players vying for playing time with only 120 minutes to give.

It may pan out something like this:

Smith- 30
Bannister- 24
Anderson- 24
Jenkins- 22
Stephene- 20

McKay will have plenty of options to choose from with Smith as the veteran go-to, Bannister, the playmaker, Anderson, the shooter and leader, Jenkins, the sparkplug, and Stephene, the versitile playmaking lefty.

[jcmanson]

I'm sorry but I think that Justin will see some time at point. He is the only one we have with any game experience there. I'm sure T.J. will get 30+ minutes there, but I think there is room for him to get up to 10 mpg. Maybe this Stephene kid is good enough to take those minutes from him, and if he is then I don't think Justin will see the court. But I'd like to think that with Justin's experience it should be enough for him to get the nod.

[jmdickens]

The gaurd situation is interesting. We seem to have five players vying for playing time with only 120 minutes to give.

It may pan out something like this:

Smith- 30
Bannister- 24
Anderson- 24
Jenkins- 22
Stephene- 20

McKay will have plenty of options to choose from with Smith as the veteran go-to, Bannister, the playmaker, Anderson, the shooter and leader, Jenkins, the sparkplug, and Stephene, the versitile playmaking lefty.

Bannister will see more minutes than Anderson
Also, Stephene could redshirt??

[olldflame]

Gabe was indeed a baller, and I'm not sure it's fair to compare Anthony with him, but since we are......... don't forget that Gabe was at least a year older than Anthony is now when he first arrived at Liberty, having been a bit of a basketball vagabond. He was/is also at least an inch taller. I think Anthony is going to show us things on a regular basis in the next couple of years which we have seen only glimples of so far.

[olldflame]

Have you forgotten Justin Holland's existence dox?

[paradox]

J-Holland:

The reality that he has only seen a sparse amount of time on the court up until this point, even despite the fact that we had such an obvious deficiency at the point gaurd position over the last two years, tells me that he may not be apart of the equation in the future. Especially, with so many good young players who are in need of precious playing time. I see Stephene as the heir apparent to Bannister. he seems like he has a well-rounded game and being left-handed in this game has its advantages.

[olldflame]

I don't see where Justin's lack of minutes in his first 2 years have anything to do with his merits as a player relative to newcomer Stephene, who I will point out has played exactly ZERO minutes of college ball. It has to do with nagging injuries during his freshman year and IMHO poor judgement by his coach this past year. (RD's long-time obsession with having a tall PG led in part to the failed experiment with Brew and eventually giving a lot of those minutes to Damien). As in all these cases, the PT will be earned in practice and in the games next fall.

Interestingly though, there is a fairly direct point of comparison which can be made based on HS careers, since they both played for private christian schools in the Atlanta area. Holland averaged 30PPG his senior year and was national Christian HS player of the year. Stephene had a nice senior year, averaging a little under 18PPG. I'll concede his lefthanded-ness.