[olldflame]

I wanted to post a couple of things that have come to mind recently about the current status and direction of the basketball program.

The first is something that Ritchie said in a recent interview, and at first did not strike me as particularly significant, but on further reflection, certainly is. Discussing the roster and future recruiting, he basically said that he only puts one position, point guard, in a separate category, and everyone else needs to be versatile and be able to fulfill multiple roles. I remember having a discussion here about "modern basketball" where Purple talked about a couple of categories of "specialist" (PG and Post) with everyone else "players".

What Ritchie said takes this a step further, and basically says that whoever is playing the Center position is also a "player", not a specialist. If you look at who is playing that position for us now, that is certainly born out. Scottie and Mylo both can guard multiple positions and do a variety of things on the offensive end. On the other hand, Brendon, who is the definition of a true post player, is the 13th man, and despite his size and talent and some glowing reports of how he has done in practice, it looks like Blake Preston's hopes for more minutes in the future hinge on his being able to do a better job of guarding away from the basket and do more than post up on offense.

Looking ahead in recruiting, our 2020 class certainly seems to reflect this. A true PG and 3 players who look to be capable of playing multiple positions. We have offered a 7 footer (Efton Reid) for 2021 but on the outside chance we land him (he has multiple offers from P5 schools) I would think either he is mobile enough to have the kind of versatility Ritchie wants or just flat good enough for us to make adjustments to accommodate him.

My second observation has to do with how the increased level of talent we have recruited and developed has evidenced itself. The embodiment of this is seen in what has happened with Keegan McDowell. Keegan was a 6th man and sometimes starter as a true Freshman 2 years ago. In our opening round CIT game, with Cabbel and Kemrite out, he led us in scoring. By the end of last year, he was playing very limited minutes (and a couple of times none). No injury. No indication he had regressed as a player. The other guys were just better. Despite losing 2 key Seniors to graduation, he would have been no better than the 9th player in our rotation this year. I believe the players we just signed and the ones we are recruiting will continue this trend, which inevitably means some others will fall victim to the numbers game. It comes with the territory when you are a program on the rise.

[LUOrange]

I guess I'm just old and old school, and may/probably know nothing of which I'm talking about anymore. But I like the traditional sense of have a Center, PF, SF, SG and PG. That said, MS State and VA Tech last year really exposed our lack of size in our regular rotation. Once they took Scottie out of the game mentally, we were hurting. Myo is great most of the time, but the point forward doesn't always work. In my opinion, we need to try and play Scottie and Myo together more and get Newton and Preston into the games regularly, even if for only a few minutes in each half. If we're to make a deep run in the NCAA tourney, we need to have some bigger bodies rebounding and filling the lane. Those guys need to be ready to go. As I've also said, in another threat, I think McKay is way too quick to pull Scottie from the game. I think we need him in the game as much as possible.

My early observations so far this season, is that after Scotte, we don't rebound well. We shoot the 3 way too much, and our free throw shooting is off. I'd also figure out how to get Shiloh Robinson more consistent minutes. In my opinion, after Caleb, Shiloh is the most dynamic and potentially explosive player we have.

Those are just my observations. But what do I know? We're 5-0 and McKay is a great coach, so I'm not completely complaining.

[olldflame]

I guess I'm just old and old school, and may/probably know nothing of which I'm talking about anymore. But I like the traditional sense of have a Center, PF, SF, SG and PG. That said, MS State and VA Tech last year really exposed our lack of size in our regular rotation. Once they took Scottie out of the game mentally, we were hurting. Myo is great most of the time, but the point forward doesn't always work. In my opinion, we need to try and play Scottie and Myo together more and get Newton and Preston into the games regularly, even if for only a few minutes in each half. If we're to make a deep run in the NCAA tourney, we need to have some bigger bodies rebounding and filling the lane. Those guys need to be ready to go. As I've also said, in another threat, I think McKay is way too quick to pull Scottie from the game. I think we need him in the game as much as possible.

My early observations so far this season, is that after Scotte, we don't rebound well. We shoot the 3 way too much, and our free throw shooting is off. I'd also figure out how to get Shiloh Robinson more consistent minutes. In my opinion, after Caleb, Shiloh is the most dynamic and potentially explosive player we have.

Those are just my observations. But what do I know? We're 5-0 and McKay is a great coach, so I'm not completely complaining.

I absolutely love Brendan Newton, and still think he can be a good D1 player, but I'm beginning to think it may be necessary for him to transfer to achieve that. Not sure he'll do it though. He probably would be paying his own way to attend Liberty if he didn't play basketball. You are partly wrong on the rebounding. Caleb is an OUTSTANDING rebounder for his size and skill set (which is another reason we missed him last night). Agree on Shiloh, but we are talking about a kid we thought we were going to redshirt just a few weeks ago. What he has been doing is a huge surprise. Preston can give us needed size, but he needs to do a better job with the things the packline demands of him. The simple fact is neither he or Brendan are good enough to accommodate by making changes to the system. They need to make the adjustments, and I really don't know if Newton can.

[PAFlame]

It could also be that Newton is simply not in great condition for this type of system. He’s definitely looking like a massive swing and miss so far and hope he’a able to find his place somewhere, whether it be here or somewhere else. I like the guy a ton but he’s simply not a DI level player.

[olldflame]

It could also be that Newton is simply not in great condition for this type of system. He’s definitely looking like a massive swing and miss so far and hope he’a able to find his place somewhere, whether it be here or somewhere else. I like the guy a ton but he’s simply not a DI level player.

I don't think it's conditioning. Probably has more to do with mobility, and Kemrite has said here that he has improved a lot with that, but apparently not enough yet. If he could execute his role in the defense he would probably be playing more and Ritchie would just sub him out when he needed a blow like he does with Scottie, who expends so much energy when he is in the game that he is not as productive if he plays too many minutes. I really believe that in a system that allows the post player to lurk around the basket more and be a rim protector he could do well at this level.

[jinxy]

Why would we push newton out? We lose scottie and myo after thos year and then yes shiloh and preston could start along with abi but you need depth. I dont know how newton can be labeled a bust. He has a first team all conference redshirt senior and another redshirt senior in front of him. I think he has a shot to be a 10 to 15 min a game guy next 2 years even if he doesnt beat out preston. Now if we bring in a grad transfer big then who knows.

Hes only seen the floor 1 time in non garbage team which was at njit last year for about 3 min and looked ok. I do think we need to make a concerted effort to get either preston or newton and price more time for next year and depth.

[jyoung9]

I guess I'm just old and old school, and may/probably know nothing of which I'm talking about anymore. But I like the traditional sense of have a Center, PF, SF, SG and PG. That said, MS State and VA Tech last year really exposed our lack of size in our regular rotation. Once they took Scottie out of the game mentally, we were hurting. Myo is great most of the time, but the point forward doesn't always work. In my opinion, we need to try and play Scottie and Myo together more and get Newton and Preston into the games regularly, even if for only a few minutes in each half. If we're to make a deep run in the NCAA tourney, we need to have some bigger bodies rebounding and filling the lane. Those guys need to be ready to go. As I've also said, in another threat, I think McKay is way too quick to pull Scottie from the game. I think we need him in the game as much as possible.

My early observations so far this season, is that after Scotte, we don't rebound well. We shoot the 3 way too much, and our free throw shooting is off. I'd also figure out how to get Shiloh Robinson more consistent minutes. In my opinion, after Caleb, Shiloh is the most dynamic and potentially explosive player we have.

Those are just my observations. But what do I know? We're 5-0 and McKay is a great coach, so I'm not completely complaining.

Agreed on getting Shiloh more minutes. I think he's going to be a special player for us and should have a big role come springtime.

I don't agree that we are shooting "too many threes". if anything I want us to shoot more. We're 149th in the NCAA in 3FGA per game.

Dan D'Antoni has a great rant on this from 1:30 to 3:30 of the above video. Threes are the best shot in basketball next to an uncontested layup or getting to the line. The more shooters you have on the court, the more the defense is stretched, the more driving lanes are open, etc.

What i'd actually like for us to eliminate is all the Scottie post-ups against good teams. Post ups generally just aren't good offense. It's taxing, you have to try to back someone down who might be bigger or stronger than you, and then you have to turn and shoot over someone, all while avoiding getting doubled.

However, I do agree that I'd love to get a legitimate 5 man grad transfer with Keegan's scholarship for next year. A little more size in the middle would help keep guys like Blackshear from UF or Wiseman from Memphis or Carey from Duke or Bassey from WKU off the boards in a hypothetical matchup. Plus it would give teams more to think about when driving the basketball.

[ballcoach15]

Newton has not played enough for anyone to gauge his level of play.

[Jonathan Carone]

That 3 point stat is going to be severely skewed because of how slow we play. A better stat would be attempts pee possession but I don’t know if that exists.

[olldflame]

Newton has not played enough for anyone to gauge his level of play.

If you are going to go by that reasoning, we need to play everyone on the roster enough minutes to "gauge" them, and live with the results. Not quite "coach". They have this thing called PRACTICE. There is a reason Newton has not played more. There is a reason walk-on Colton Reed has played more than 3 of our scholarship players. Coach McKay and his staff have evaluated their performance in practice and "gauged" who is deserving of playing time.

[ballcoach15]

Back in the day, when I attended coaches clinics, an old coach said, "never give up on a big man"

[jinxy]

But the reason he hasnt gotten a shot is because he has 2 rs seniors in front. Unless he was an instant stud he wasnt going to play over them. Preston is another story. I actually agree with ballcoach. I want to see more of what he can do in non garbage time situations. Obviously he has work to do still but to me he was never gonna have a shot at a significant role until next year anyway.

[jyoung9]

That 3 point stat is going to be severely skewed because of how slow we play. A better stat would be attempts pee possession but I don’t know if that exists.

This is a great point- and I couldn't find the stat myself but I compiled it in excel real quick. We are 351st in possessions per game according to the stats I found. Taking that into account we have 36.57% percent of our possessions end on 3s so far this year, which is good enough for 56 out of the 353 programs in the data set. VA Tech is #2 at 45.22%, UNF is 17 at 40.61%, and Vanderbilt is #25 at 39.29%. On the low end of future big opponents, LSU is at 287 at 24.84%. Fun stuff !

[olldflame]

Back in the day, when I attended coaches clinics, an old coach said, "never give up on a big man"

Who has said anything about "giving up" on Brendan Newton? I will guarantee you our staff has been doing everything in their power to help him become a better player, and will continue to do so til he graduates, or until he decides to transfer to a program where he might have a better opportunity to play. I also feel safe in saying that Brendan has given maximum effort to improve. All I have said is that his size, and the skills he does have, may be good enough to get him on the court more in a different system, but he has a ways to go to be able to do it here and just may not be able to get there in time to see any significant PT if he stays around. He either needs to develop his mobility and anticipation to where he can execute the same way Scottie and Myo do in the pack line, or he needs to become so dominant in the paint that Ritchie is willing to accomodate his inability to do so.

[LUOrange]

I'll repeat my disclaimer- McKay obviously knows what he's doing, he's been very successful. Those were just my observations, and he's obviously knows better than I.

Fortunately, Newton has 2 more years and Preston has 3, so I'll agree with the comment that unless we bring in a stud next year bot of them should get more time next year with Scottie and Myo gone. I do think they should get some regular minutes just to have them ready some when we play bigger teams. Cause IMO, we'll need some size to make a deep run in the tourney.

As far as the comment, about not liking Scottie's post up game. I'm sorry if you don't like post play, but it's necessary. You need an inside game to open up the outside game and vice versa. Just like in football, you need a running game to open the passing game.

My observations on the three, is that we shoot them way more than higher percentage shots, and many times we're shooting them with no one around to rebound. We're even worse about it when Scottie's out of the game.

But again, we're 6-0 with possibly the best team in LU history with the actual best team in our history being last season. So I'm not complaining, just making observations.

[Jonathan Carone]

Shooting with no one around to rebound is a strategic decision for the pack line. We give up rebounds in order to protect against transition points.

[PAmedic]

Still strikes me as odd to see none of our guys anywhere near the key when we’re shooting free throws

Then again what do I know. It’s working for us

[olldflame]

But the reason he hasnt gotten a shot is because he has 2 rs seniors in front. Unless he was an instant stud he wasnt going to play over them. Preston is another story. I actually agree with ballcoach. I want to see more of what he can do in non garbage time situations. Obviously he has work to do still but to me he was never gonna have a shot at a significant role until next year anyway.

I think there is a chance Preston and Newton play more next year. I think there is an equal chance that most of the minutes Scottie and Myo have been playing go to Shiloh and the FR Abii.

[jyoung9]

I'll repeat my disclaimer- McKay obviously knows what he's doing, he's been very successful. Those were just my observations, and he's obviously knows better than I.

Fortunately, Newton has 2 more years and Preston has 3, so I'll agree with the comment that unless we bring in a stud next year bot of them should get more time next year with Scottie and Myo gone. I do think they should get some regular minutes just to have them ready some when we play bigger teams. Cause IMO, we'll need some size to make a deep run in the tourney.

As far as the comment, about not liking Scottie's post up game. I'm sorry if you don't like post play, but it's necessary. You need an inside game to open up the outside game and vice versa. Just like in football, you need a running game to open the passing game.

My observations on the three, is that we shoot them way more than higher percentage shots, and many times we're shooting them with no one around to rebound. We're even worse about it when Scottie's out of the game.

But again, we're 6-0 with possibly the best team in LU history with the actual best team in our history being last season. So I'm not complaining, just making observations.

This line of thinking "pound it in the post" "establish the run" has been proven to be false. You can spread out defenses in different ways, without having to hand the ball off our shoot inefficient shots. Again, a 3 pointer is worth 1.27Pts/Attempt on average. A post shot is worth .78. There are select matchups where it works, but against good and big teams, its bad offense as Scottie is often trying to post up someone bigger than him.

[LUOrange]

I'll repeat my disclaimer- McKay obviously knows what he's doing, he's been very successful. Those were just my observations, and he's obviously knows better than I.

Fortunately, Newton has 2 more years and Preston has 3, so I'll agree with the comment that unless we bring in a stud next year bot of them should get more time next year with Scottie and Myo gone. I do think they should get some regular minutes just to have them ready some when we play bigger teams. Cause IMO, we'll need some size to make a deep run in the tourney.

As far as the comment, about not liking Scottie's post up game. I'm sorry if you don't like post play, but it's necessary. You need an inside game to open up the outside game and vice versa. Just like in football, you need a running game to open the passing game.

My observations on the three, is that we shoot them way more than higher percentage shots, and many times we're shooting them with no one around to rebound. We're even worse about it when Scottie's out of the game.

But again, we're 6-0 with possibly the best team in LU history with the actual best team in our history being last season. So I'm not complaining, just making observations.

This line of thinking "pound it in the post" "establish the run" has been proven to be false. You can spread out defenses in different ways, without having to hand the ball off our shoot inefficient shots. Again, a 3 pointer is worth 1.27Pts/Attempt on average. A post shot is worth .78. There are select matchups where it works, but against good and big teams, its bad offense as Scottie is often trying to post up someone bigger than him.

Whatever.

[ballcoach15]

I have never liked an offense that attempts to run ball through the post player, on every possession. Bring ball across mid court, first open shot, take it.

[olldflame]

Really happy for Brendan having some success Friday, but it's easy to say "look what he did in only 5 minutes, we need to play him more." What we DON'T know is how many points they got on the other side because he may not have been able to properly execute his defensive role. We don't, but you can bet our coaches DO.

[LUOrange]

8-0 after winning the Bahamas Snow Shack Tourney, and we'll be 10-0 before Grand Canyon. Good chance we're 11-0 before facing real competition vs. Vandy. It's hard to argue with what McKay's done. Kinda makes my observations mute. Go Flames!