2017-2018 Season

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by waterhead

My points in general have to do with where I think we get better and where we might get worse. I don't think we will have a poor defense by any means but we could take a little step back. Cronin often commented on how Troy and KJ worked in sync at the top of the key...they just knew where the other guy was going to be or how they would react. Add to that KJ was in Cronin's eyes our best defender. I just think we could lose a little on D...maybe not a lot...but a little.

In terms of chemistry I am not talking about the locker room really. I am sure they all get along very well. Troy and KJ were seniors and Cronin commented on how it was the best team chemistry he has ever had...which of course means things can be worse in that department. Troy and KJ were good for on the floor chemistry because they weren't looking to take a lot of shots. The other players were able to thrive. If Broome is a little more selfish it could be a factor or it may not.

No big deal really. I think we will be a better team overall and I am more excited about next year than any in the Cronin era.

I think Cronin's main point on chemsitry was that we shared the ball very well with a lot of selfless play and it worked very well. As long as next year all players have a similar mentality we will be golden IMO. Cane is coming from a place where he had to do it all so he will have the biggest adjustment IMO.

[cincyguy13]

Originally Posted by waterhead

I am on a similar page here. I think we will be top 30 on D but I think you are right...it's tough to lock down the best players in the country in March. I would rather be competent enough on offense to keep scoring when we get scored on.

I use to be on the "defense wins championships" train but I'm not anymore. Even the great defensive teams in March (South Carolina and gonzaga), had to score to get to the final four. Virginia never gets there.

[jacobkdoyle]

Originally Posted by cincyguy13

If our defense is top 40, which it will be, that's good enough. In the tournament, you gotta be able to score and go toe to toe with the UK and UCLAs of the world. We haven't been able to do that. No matter how good your defense is, you can't lock the really good teams down

Our defense was Top 15 last year. We lost a bad defender and a good defender. Jenifer is a good defender, and Cronin has called Broome a basketball savant and we know he has quickness. Can't imagine him being a bad defender. Williams should also be able to hold his own. Brooks will only get better. Cumberland too. Washington isn't the best, but he won't get worse. And again, we were Top 15 with him. Really not buying defensive concerns. Seems downright silly to me to be honest.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by cincyguy13

I use to be on the "defense wins championships" train but I'm not anymore. Even the great defensive teams in March (South Carolina and gonzaga), had to score to get to the final four. Virginia never gets there.

Yah...I agree here. You have to be good at both (top 40) but I would put more emphasis on being good on offense if I had a choice.

[cincyguy13]

Originally Posted by jacobkdoyle

Our defense was Top 15 last year. We lost a bad defender and a good defender. Jenifer is a good defender, and Cronin has called Broome a basketball savant and we know he has quickness. Can't imagine him being a bad defender. Williams should also be able to hold his own. Brooks will only get better. Cumberland too. Washington isn't the best, but he won't get worse. And again, we were Top 15 with him. Really not buying defensive concerns. Seems downright silly to me to be honest.

Don't think anyone is really disagreeing. A couple of us are saying we could be a top 30 defense, instead of a top 15. Don't think anyone is losing sleep over it, just mentioned it could be slightly worse.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by jacobkdoyle

Our defense was Top 15 last year. We lost a bad defender and a good defender. Jenifer is a good defender, and Cronin has called Broome a basketball savant and we know he has quickness. Can't imagine him being a bad defender. Williams should also be able to hold his own. Brooks will only get better. Cumberland too. Washington isn't the best, but he won't get worse. And again, we were Top 15 with him. Really not buying defensive concerns. Seems downright silly to me to be honest.

I think we will be very good on D. However, we will have 2 players who aren't the quickest guys starting and both are foul prone for the same reason. Hiding one of them on D is much easier than hiding two. I don't have concerns about Cane with his quickness. I think Cumberland is very instinctive and can help on D in different ways than KJ. If he works on quickness in the off season I think he will be just fine. He knows how to get his hands on the ball and is probably best on the team with his instincts.

The big question is whether or not we can play man D which seemed to work better than matchup zone last year.

[jacobkdoyle]

Originally Posted by waterhead

I think we will be very good on D. However, we will have 2 players who aren't the quickest guys starting and both are foul prone for the same reason. Hiding one of them on D is much easier than hiding two. I don't have concerns about Cane with his quickness. I think Cumberland is very instinctive and can help on D in different ways than KJ. If he works on quickness in the off season I think he will be just fine. He knows how to get his hands on the ball and is probably best on the team with his instincts.

The big question is whether or not we can play man D which seemed to work better than matchup zone last year.

Caupain was not a good defender at all. No way Cumberland is worse than him. Broome and Jenifer could easily be a wash with Johnson. That's the only difference. We don't need to "hide" extra players this upcoming year.

And of course we can play man D. The group next year should have no problem with man or zone.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by jacobkdoyle

Caupain was not a good defender at all. No way Cumberland is worse than him. Broome and Jenifer could easily be a wash with Johnson. That's the only difference. We don't need to "hide" extra players this upcoming year.

And of course we can play man D. The group next year should have no problem with man or zone.

We lose 2 guys who have been in the system for 4 years and the best defender according to Cronin. Of course we could expect Cane and Jenifer to match what Cronin thought KJ brought but that would be silly IMO since Jenifer was already on the team. I think they will both do just fine...but that's not the point.

In terms of Cumberland...kid has great instincts...and learns quickly so I have hope he can pick up the system and match Caupain's 4 year grasp on the system.

We are picking up a guy who will have his first year playing games in the system and another with his second. Expecting them to match up with our best defender and 4 years of experience is optimistic....but certainly not impossible. I don't think it's silly to question whether our defense will be as good. If you do...I understand...but I am in wait and see mode.

[jacobkdoyle]

Originally Posted by waterhead

We lose 2 guys who have been in the system for 4 years and the best defender according to Cronin. Of course we could expect Cane and Jenifer to match what Cronin thought KJ brought but that would be silly IMO since Jenifer was already on the team. I think they will both do just fine...but that's not the point.

In terms of Cumberland...kid has great instincts...and learns quickly so I have hope he can pick up the system and match Caupain's 4 year grasp on the system.

We are picking up a guy who will have his first year playing games in the system and another with his second. Expecting them to match up with our best defender and 4 years of experience is optimistic....but certainly not impossible. I don't think it's silly to question whether our defense will be as good. If you do...I understand...but I am in wait and see mode.

Caupain was not a good defender. I think you're overrating him being in the system for 4 years. It shouldn't take that long to master switching man and zone principles on the college level. Especially considering Cumberland plays down low a lot in the zone. If you think we're losing anything on defense by losing Caupain, you're thinking way too hard about this imo. And I'm not convinced that losing Johnson drops us 15-20 spots in AdjD. That'd make him like the best defender of all time. No reason to believe Jenifer and Broome, with their quickness, will get destroyed off the dribble.

[rogerOH]

I think Cumberland will be a good defender- he will be in better shape and does have great instincts. I don't think Washington will improve much so it is important that Brooks takes a large leap forward on defense and offense.