[Tothehoopyall1]

A couple thoughts on the past season and prospects for 22-23.

- We have to do a better job of rebounding. I was amazed at how many times we launched shots and no one went after the offensive rebound (Not 1 player) during our last two games.

- With all the talk of being a defensive team.. WE DID A POOR JOB OF STOPPING PLAYERS. I mean look at the layups we gave Benham (Lipscomb) and Penn (Bellarmine) in the last two games. This was unacceptable and is not championship basketball. Our defense made those guys look like they were 1st team all conference players (Penn may be).

- Blake is a solid defender but at best a D2 offensive threat (right now). I am sure our coaches have worked with him on the offensive end but there seems to be a disconnect. I mean how many dribbles does one need in the lane at 6' 9". If he had a hook shot with his length he could be a force. However, the offensive IQ just doesn't seem to be there. He could be a surprise player in 22-23 if he can get it together offensively. If not, his minutes may continue to dwindle.

- Brody Peebles will start as a sophomore. How can you keep him off the floor? The guy is a natural scorer and we will need scoring. I don't care if he starts his shot from the floor as long as the ball goes in. The kid is a scorer.

- I love Venzant and Warfield defensively but they have got to improve offensively and this has to happen quickly. If not, I could see their minutes actually dwindle depending on our recruiting.

-I love our coaching staff and players. We will get better and get back to championship form.

Agree with most of that.
Not crashing the offensive boards is by design. The #1 goal of the pack line is to force opponents to use a lot of clock and take contested shots against our half court defense. Crashing the offensive boards with multiple players is not conducive to this goal, as it presents fast break opportunities. Our standard MO is to have one player (usually Shiloh or Blake) go after the offensive rebound while everyone else drops back to set up the pack line.

"Not crashing the offensive boards is by design." This might need to change. I wouldn't want all to crash but 1-2 need to do something.

[Tothehoopyall1]

IMO every coach has a doghouse. Where did the Machai Abii go that scored 19 points against Purdue last year? Is it that he is not practicing hard enough? Is it that players are blowing by him on defense? Was what he did early as a Freshman just a fluke?

[olldflame]

A couple thoughts on the past season and prospects for 22-23.

- We have to do a better job of rebounding. I was amazed at how many times we launched shots and no one went after the offensive rebound (Not 1 player) during our last two games.

- With all the talk of being a defensive team.. WE DID A POOR JOB OF STOPPING PLAYERS. I mean look at the layups we gave Benham (Lipscomb) and Penn (Bellarmine) in the last two games. This was unacceptable and is not championship basketball. Our defense made those guys look like they were 1st team all conference players (Penn may be).

- Blake is a solid defender but at best a D2 offensive threat (right now). I am sure our coaches have worked with him on the offensive end but there seems to be a disconnect. I mean how many dribbles does one need in the lane at 6' 9". If he had a hook shot with his length he could be a force. However, the offensive IQ just doesn't seem to be there. He could be a surprise player in 22-23 if he can get it together offensively. If not, his minutes may continue to dwindle.

- Brody Peebles will start as a sophomore. How can you keep him off the floor? The guy is a natural scorer and we will need scoring. I don't care if he starts his shot from the floor as long as the ball goes in. The kid is a scorer.

- I love Venzant and Warfield defensively but they have got to improve offensively and this has to happen quickly. If not, I could see their minutes actually dwindle depending on our recruiting.

-I love our coaching staff and players. We will get better and get back to championship form.

Agree with most of that.
Not crashing the offensive boards is by design. The #1 goal of the pack line is to force opponents to use a lot of clock and take contested shots against our half court defense. Crashing the offensive boards with multiple players is not conducive to this goal, as it presents fast break opportunities. Our standard MO is to have one player (usually Shiloh or Blake) go after the offensive rebound while everyone else drops back to set up the pack line.

"Not crashing the offensive boards is by design." This might need to change. I wouldn't want all to crash but 1-2 need to do something.

We almost always send one. Seldom more. Only rarely none. It can vary due to matchups or game situations. Don't expect it to change.

[stokesjokes]

IMO every coach has a doghouse. Where did the Machai Abii go that scored 19 points against Purdue last year? Is it that he is not practicing hard enough? Is it that players are blowing by him on defense? Was what he did early as a Freshman just a fluke?

I agree with you, I think the “doghouse” thing is just semantics. Every coach punishes players for bad attitudes, effort, habits, plays, etc. if that’s a doghouse, then every coach should have a doghouse.

I don’t see practice, but in-game, I think Abii has been too careless/out of control on offense and rotates too slowly and misses too many assignments on defense. It’s like the game hasn’t slowed down for him yet. I also think part of his freshman explosion was him benefitting from zero scouting.

[Purple Haize]

Steph Curry has a similar release and he turned out ok. As long as he can get it off quickly he’ll be fine.

That’s a huge caveat. Curry has an absolutely incredibly fast release. Pebbles isn’t even close. Nor does he have the same mechanics

[Purple Haize]

Whatever the reason, it was puzzling most every game, that Abii didn't get more minutes.
As for next season, it's very evident we're going to need more scorers.
Emphasis on defense is good, but basketball is an offense oriented sport.

See UVA vs UNC last night. 13 points in first half, 43 for the game.

Every coach knows basketball is a defensive sport. If you can’t stop people you won’t be successful

[paradox]

Steph Curry has a similar release and he turned out ok. As long as he can get it off quickly he’ll be fine.

That’s a huge caveat. Curry has an absolutely incredibly fast release. Pebbles isn’t even close. Nor does he have the same mechanics

Most people recognize that it's coming out ultra-slow, especially for a guard. You can tell that they've been working with him. It would appear that they changed position of his guide hand.

It's the waisted motion that slows the shot. It has to be efficient in order for it to be quick. One fluid motion upward after the dip. He's bringing the ball in toward his body and cranking his elbow. That's at least two inefficient moves. Still think they need to bring a pro in or send him out to one. NBA does this, why can't we? I think it'd be worth it. Kid shows a ton of promise.

[Tothehoopyall1]

Some good points have been made on Peebles shot. He will need to develop a quicker release as he will be targeted more defensively next year. However, my greatest concern is that Venzant, Warfield, and Moore develop their own shots. If it turns out that Brody is our only consistent threat from deep next year we are in serious offensive trouble. With this said, I really think Bryson Spell has a great opportunity to emerge and get more playing time than many might be projecting at this point.

[paradox]

Kids are developing bad habits early on. Not supposed to shoot deep balls until you're strong enough. If you're relying on your elbow rather than your lower body for leverage, then you have more of a throw than a shot. He's got all offseason to work on it. But they had all of last offseason and seemed to be working w/him in-season too. As it stands now, Kyle would appear to be our top returning deep threat. Gotta think that somebody's gonna improve enough and fill that void. Maybe it will be Brody.

[Purple Haize]

Kids are developing bad habits early on. Not supposed to shoot deep balls until you're strong enough. If you're relying on your elbow rather than your lower body for leverage, then you have more of a throw than a shot. He's got all offseason to work on it. But they had all of last offseason and seemed to be working w/him in-season too. As it stands now, Kyle would appear to be our top returning deep threat. Gotta think that somebody's gonna improve enough and fill that void. Maybe it will be Brody.

Don’t EVEN get me started on that soap box.

[Tothehoopyall1]

I have been what I would call harsh but fair (I think anyways) with recent comments.

This post will focus on nothing but the positives of Liberty basketball as we look toward next season and beyond.

- The Liberty Arena is super nice, and the environment is better than most arenas around the country. We saw even this last year that visiting coaches spoke highly of the arena and the playing/game atmosphere. I feel that the arena will be an even greater recruiting tool in the days ahead.
- The basketball program has come a long way. I remember the last few years when Layer was coach, it was difficult to give a ticket away much less want to purchase one. This year I literally sold some extra tickets on stubhub that I had for 4-5 games. And I didn’t have to wait long to sell them (on average, less than an hour). This is a sign of even greater things to come.
- We have a great coaching staff. I know without a doubt that they are working hard to bring in the best recruits and continue to build the program. No one hurts more than our coaches and players after the semifinal loss to Bellarmine. Our coaches are also doing a great job of building young men. It is impressive to see what is going on regarding the above.
- Our recruiting seems to be getting better every year. I’m very excited about the Curtis Blair addition in 2023. I predict within the next 5 years we will see some recruiting classes that will blow our minds in terms of the depth and quality.

[Sly Fox]

OK, I have waited long enough to ask. So, Tothehoopyall1, are you a dan of Kurtis Blow?

I also admit being perplexed by the cavalier reception of landing Blair by folks on this board. We have collectively as a fanbase gone bonkers over players who had nowhere near the game of Blair.

[Tothehoopyall1]

Not really a fan of Curtis Blow minus the one song.

[Purple Haize]

Not really a fan of Curtis Blow minus the one song.

There was more than 1?

[Sly Fox]

Oh his catalog is hilarious in retrospect. I just don't normally encounter many folks old enough to recall his body of work.

[Tothehoopyall1]

Question for the day?

What are the chances that Darius comes back next year?

I have a difficult time reading into this one but it would be huge if he comes back.

[prototype]

Question for the day?

What are the chances that Darius comes back next year?

I have a difficult time reading into this one but it would be huge if he comes back.

I really hope he does. I know it's a risk for him, but the money will still be there in 2023 internationally. He has the chance to set a lot or records here.

But my gut says he's gone. he'll make $350-$500K playing oversees and I although it will be difficult to replace his scoring - I think we could improve next year without him. Our defense will go back to being the key.

[olldflame]

Question for the day?

What are the chances that Darius comes back next year?

I have a difficult time reading into this one but it would be huge if he comes back.

I really hope he does. I know it's a risk for him, but the money will still be there in 2023 internationally. He has the chance to set a lot or records here.

But my gut says he's gone. he'll make $350-$500K playing oversees and I although it will be difficult to replace his scoring - I think we could improve next year without him. Our defense will go back to being the key.

I'm 100% OK with whatever he decides, but I personally think it's best for all concerned for him to start his pro career. As far as records are concerned, he's smart enough to know that the validity of any he would break in a 5th year would be questionable.

[Tothehoopyall1]

With the announcement today that Abii and Jackson are moving on it seems that some things are beginning to fall into place with the roster.

Here are a few thoughts and it will certainly be interesting to see who we bring in to replace those guys. Will also be interesting to see where they go. I feel like Abii will certainly draw some interest. It would be awesome if we could land a shooter and a big man in the portal.

Does anyone else leave the program?

I'm still wondering about what Darius will do. If he stays how do we go about next season so that we don't have a repeat of this season (not saying we didn't do some good things but how do we get back to the tournament?) Do we ask Darius to distribute more or continue to let Darius be Darius (or something else) ? I know many think he will turn pro but I'm starting to wonder if he might be coming back (which would be great IMO).

[olldflame]

I still think Darius will be moving on to his pro career, but the fact that we now actually have an open scholarship for him probably does increase the chances he could stay.

[olldflame]

So, does anyone know what rumor he is referring to? I'm thinking either Darius coming back or an exciting hire for Suicie's replacement.

[olldflame]

Looks like we won't have to deal with Dylan Penn at Bellarmine next year. He is in the portal. Can't blame him for wanting at least the possibility of playing in the dance one time before he graduates, which he would not have there.

[stokesjokes]

Can Anthony Smith get a COVID year? He was just named MVP of my church’s basketball league

[Tothehoopyall1]

How about Cuonzo Martin as the new Assistant coach?

[LUOrange]

I still think Darius will be moving on to his pro career, but the fact that we now actually have an open scholarship for him probably does increase the chances he could stay.

He still has a Rona year, so he shouldn't hurt us scholly wise.