Pro Prospects vs Team Ball?

[cincyguy13]

I get the excitement with cane. It's fun. It just seems like you hear about a transfer or freshman that's going to be great all the time and they usaully aren't. If cane is just decent, this team will be in great shape. If he's as good as people think (which I hope he is), we are talking about a top 5 team.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by cincyguy13

I've never watched a sacred heart game and I watch a lot of bball. So it is kind of like that.

I understand. You were saying that 99% of people haven't seen him play. I was just offering some commentary from those who have including the coach.

I usually don't put too much into coach speak but there is one constant that I have heard about Cane from multiple sources. He is extremely quick and elusive. We know from Sacred Heart he has the ability to score and he likes to get in the lane. He averaged 7 FT attempts per 40 minutes his last season there and made 75% of them. He made over 50% of his 2's.

I don't know how all of this translates to our level but one thing I do know is that Troy was never described as elusive. Troy had other qualities but it will be exciting to see basically the complete opposite style in action at PG.

I don't put a lot into highlight reels but there are things you can gather from them outside of watching someone make every shot they put up. Do they have a quality step back move? How is their body control in the lane? How are their handles? ETc.

I haven't seen anything contrary to the early reports but that doesn't mean it will translate to this level for sure. I think the low bar is pretty high for him which is good. That is to say a complete tank job is probably not going to happen. Mediocre play is probably the low bar. High quality play is what we hope for.

[cincyguy13]

It is exciting to think about. Like I said, if he is good at all this team will be great.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by cincyguy13

It is exciting to think about. Like I said, if he is good at all this team will be great.

I agree. The thing I worry most about is team chemistry with a new PG style. I don't worry about his abilities at all. We shared the ball very well last year which can keep everyone relatively happy. Cane is used to being the man and he did a lot of improv at Sacred Heart. He will need to keep his teammates in mind and keep them happy as well or chemistry could suffer. He made a comment at one point last season that he doesn't know how to score under 15ppg.

It is a concern but I think it will all work itself out. Watching him on the bench last year he seemed like a team player. I would like to see a healthy balance of play making and getting his teammates involved.

[CareBat]

First post! Do you gentlemen think Cane compares to Devan Downey at all?

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by CareBat

First post! Do you gentlemen think Cane compares to Devan Downey at all?

Honestly...I think Van exel is my nearest comparison and not just because he's a Lefty.

[justinhub2003]

I think Cane can be a better passing version of a player in our conference: Rob Gray Jr.

Gray can score at all 3 levels even though he is way under sized. He can drive on bigs and scores at the rim easily.

I thought Cane played a lot like Gray, at least in his highlights.

If Cane just does half of what he did at SH, this team will be elite. Just too much talent to fail.

Just need Keith Williams to get bucks from the bench. Bench scoring is my biggest concern

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by justinhub2003

I think Cane can be a better passing version of a player in our conference: Rob Gray Jr.

Gray can score at all 3 levels even though he is way under sized. He can drive on bigs and scores at the rim easily.

I thought Cane played a lot like Gray, at least in his highlights.

If Cane just does half of what he did at SH, this team will be elite. Just too much talent to fail.

Just need Keith Williams to get bucks from the bench. Bench scoring is my biggest concern

I can remember times when I was concerned who was going to score in our starting lineup. Not too long ago we had Rubles as our 3rd highest scorer at 7 or 8 ppg. It's a nice problem to have but we won't need a lot from the bench in terms of scoring. Last year our bench scored around 20ppg. If we can get 60-65 out of our starters we should be in pretty good shape.

Worst case scenario would be about 60 ppg out of our starters with 15 coming from the bench. That is 75ppg which tops last year. Best case would be around 65 and 20 for 85ppg. I could see us somewhere in the middle around 80 ppg. I would take that...I'm not sure it matters too much what the distribution is.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by waterhead

I can remember times when I was concerned who was going to score in our starting lineup. Not too long ago we had Rubles as our 3rd highest scorer at 7 or 8 ppg. It's a nice problem to have but we won't need a lot from the bench in terms of scoring. Last year our bench scored around 20ppg. If we can get 60-65 out of our starters we should be in pretty good shape.

Worst case scenario would be about 60 ppg out of our starters with 15 coming from the bench. That is 75ppg which tops last year. Best case would be around 65 and 20 for 85ppg. I could see us somewhere in the middle around 80 ppg. I would take that...I'm not sure it matters too much what the distribution is.

We have 3 returning starters who averaged between them right at 12.5ppg. We are adding two guys to the starting lineup who can get to that number as an average between them. That would equate to 5 x 12.5 = 62.5ppg. I think we can rely on about 3 ppg out of Brooks, Jenifer, Scott, and Moore (that's about what they did last year if they don't improve). That is another 12 ppg. That would be 74.5 ppg so far. Then we add Williams, Moore, Nsoseme, and Diarra. Even if we have one redshirt and the rest can average just 2.5...that is another 7.5 ppg putting us around 82 ppg. We didn't have anyone averaging under 2.4 ppg last year who played 7.7 minutes or more (which was everyone but guys like Tobler).