06-19-2017, 10:50 AM | #1 |
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Pro Prospects vs Team Ball?
As a coach, how do you handle the off season coaching of our star players? We are going to have 5 starters on this team that can fill a stat sheet in one way or another. They all have dreams of playing in the NBA I'm sure. How does coach get the best out of each of them and play as a team while giving each player their best chance at reaching their pro dreams? We have 2 players (at least) leaving after this year (Washington, Clark, and maybe Evans) and possibly 3 more leaving the following year (Evans, Broome, maybe Cumberland). I would think Evans or Cumberland leaving a year early are 50-50 kind of things at this time. We are not an NBA mill.
Each of these guys want to showcase their talents and coach needs to bring the best out of them. At the same time coach needs to get them to play team ball without letting any of them play too much for themselves. Perhaps everyone playing team ball is the best way to have each of them be as productive as possible without letting the offense run through one or two guys. Those who need the most urgent attention in this conversation are obviously the seniors. Washington and Clark couldn't be any more different in the way they approach aggressiveness with their touches. Kyle wants the ball and to shoot almost any time down the court and Gary has been up to this point okay with being a team player and not demanding the ball or taking full advantage of his touches. Gary needs some prodding and Kyle could use a little bit of dialing back with better decision making. It doesn't sound like Broome will be shy with his touches. Evans has been less aggressive than some fans would like and Cumberland only started becoming more aggressive later in the year with very good success when he did. I think we have 4 guys (maybe 5) who COULD average 15ppg if they were a little more selfish with their touches. If they all play team ball we could see 5 guys averaging between 11-14 ppg. The NBA will want to see cream rising to the top. Does Cronin let the cream rise to the top or does he hinder their chances by demanding selfless basketball? As an example Caupain averaged 2.5 ppg less than his junior year. Had he been given the directive to be more assertive and went the other way he could have been a 15 ppg guy potentially. Caupain played team ball but may have hurt his NBA chances a little (not that they were great to start with). He averaged 3.5 more ppg from soph to junior year but he had more options to pass to this past season on the team. He didn't have to be the "go to guy" but his prospects may have been better if he did. Evans COULD have been given the keys but he wasn't aggressive enough to become a star. How does Cronin get the most out of this team at the same time furthering their individual pro prospects? Can he do both? Gary and Jacob need a little prodding and guys like Washington and Broome may need some coaching to not try to do too much. Cumberland was an interesting cases study last year in that he was shy at first and blossomed when he was pushed to do more. |
06-19-2017, 11:17 AM | #2 |
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Best way to do it with a talented team like this, is to maximize the number of possessions in a game like Golden State does. You can't control how fast a team shoots against your defense but you can control how quickly you get the ball into the front court, how quickly you get good looks at the basket and how often you can get out in transition from your defensive effort. The more (good) possessions you get in a game, the more opportunities your players have to showcase their skills.
I actually expect a shorter rotation this year compared to last year. I think you will see Clark and Washington average 30 minutes a game each. Evans will average 35 minutes a game. Cumberland will probably average around 30 minutes a game. Broome, I'm guessing, will be around 25 minutes, JJ around 20, Williams around 10 minutes, Brooks and Scott around 10 minutes each too. This all is based on limited foul trouble of course. I think you are looking at a rotation of 9 players but really 6 guys playing the majority of minutes. |
06-19-2017, 11:32 AM | #3 | |
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I just wonder how many more PPG we can score this year by pushing the ball in addition to better offensive players? Can we get to the mid 80's ppg and will Cronin let that happen? We will have plenty of opportunity to run half court sets...but you can only have so many fast break opportunities. Cronin also said he would press more this year since last year Caupain was not the best guy press with. I am looking for Cronin to step out of his comfort zone this year. In the past we have been hurt on D a little when we play up tempo but I think we will benefit from it this year by pressing a bit more after makes. |
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06-19-2017, 11:41 AM | #4 | |
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06-19-2017, 12:26 PM | #5 |
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Playing with a fast pace and playing great defense are not mutually exclusive. Hopefully Mick sees it that way too. We may give up a few more points, but we will more than make up for that difference with added offense.
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06-19-2017, 04:44 PM | #6 |
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Last year was our highest scoring team since the 05-06 season at 74 ppg. A realistic expectation for next year could be high 70s but if we get into the 80s and still maintain or build on our scoring margin then all the better.
Our starters averaged just over 55 ppg last year. I expect that number to definitely increase next year at least to 60 ppg. |
06-19-2017, 07:22 PM | #7 |
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I think Keith Williams will shock people and get 15-18 minutes a game. He has the 3 pt. shot- will drive the ball better than Evans and has the mid range game. He was the mvp in one of the best leagues in the USA- and played against top competition every game he just needs to add a little muscle so he can rebound better.
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06-20-2017, 08:13 AM | #8 | |
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06-20-2017, 08:21 AM | #9 | |
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06-20-2017, 08:28 AM | #10 |
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We are playing a lot harder schedule this year. The league should be a little better. We could be better offensively and put up the same ppg numbers
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