Three early things to look for this season?

[West James]

The three early things I'll be looking for this season, to help me guage the team's progress & success [long & short term this season].

1. How long does it take to determine the guard rotation, who starts, who backs up, & how far into the season does it take to work this process out [baring injuries or other unforseen circumstances]?

2. How do our guards handle the added pressure [especially early in the season/preseason] of opponents pressing them, especially full court, probably, even more so than last season?

3. Team, & to a lesser extent, guard related turnovers. How will our total number of team turnovers compare with that of our opponents, early on, & progressing through the season? How much improved will we be in those catagories come B1G season, & come NCAA tourney? What kind of steady progress will we make in those areas?

 

[SIBoiler2]

Yada, yada, yada. We've got a good set of guards. Are they all world??? Not yet. Everyone acts like every team we play early in the year is going to be at the "ready for the Dance" level and our guards are going to look like they are on the middle school playground. We'll be just fine.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

The three early things I'll be looking for this season, to help me guage the team's progress & success [long & short term this season].

1. How long does it take to determine the guard rotation, who starts, who backs up, & how far into the season does it take to work this process out [baring injuries or other unforseen circumstances]?

2. How do our guards handle the added pressure [especially early in the season/preseason] of opponents pressing them, especially full court, probably, even more so than last season?

3. Team, & to a lesser extent, guard related turnovers. How will our total number of team turnovers compare with that of our opponents, early on, & progressing through the season? How much improved will we be in those catagories come B1G season, & come NCAA tourney? What kind of steady progress will we make in those areas?

Regarding #2, beating the press will need to be a team effort and I think that the key will be beating the press by scoring some easy points in transition. I want to see the Boilers be opportunistic when facing aggressive pressure.

 

[West James]

Regarding #2, beating the press will need to be a team effort and I think that the key will be beating the press by scoring some easy points in transition. I want to see the Boilers be opportunistic when facing aggressive pressure.

Definately, if just one of your five offensive players is seriously [& sometimes just a little] out of position when getting the ball past the mid court line, that can throw your whole process of successfully breaking that press off, & lead to extra turnovers [forced & unforced]. The real test of a team's ability to successfully break a full court press, is not just getting the ball past mid court in time/without problem, time or turnover, but getting an easier basket than would have been possible, had your opponent not full court pressed you to begin with. Your offense must make the defense pay a painful price for pressing you extra/full court. Until you've done that/taken advantage of their press[ing], you haven't taken full advantage of your potential success when being pressed. Make sure they know, pressing you full court is to their disadvantage. That will take time, lots of extra work, & teamwork to succeed at.

Anyone that believes our opponents won't test our [perceived or not] weakness/guard play [especially early & often, early in preseason] , is fooling themselves. It was our weakness last season, & will be the first thing any credible threat will pounce upon this season, early & often, until we prove, it's to their disadvantage to take those chances. If our guards/perimeter players can't get our post players the ball, what good are our post players? I don't want our post players bringing the ball up the court. Guards have the most turnovers, [usually] because guards handle/posess/have the ball the most.


It's not a complicated game. A team's offense & defense, starts with the guards [usually]. The guards have the most pressure on them, especially the PG/floor general/coach on the floor. A good PG can do wonders for an average team. A great PG can do miracles. Show me the money/guards.

 

[sixpackpete]

Regarding #2, beating the press will need to be a team effort and I think that the key will be beating the press by scoring some easy points in transition. I want to see the Boilers be opportunistic when facing aggressive pressure.

We have seen that Mathias and Edwards can handle the ball very well. We have heard that Swanigan has soft hands and makes good passes. We know that Davis is the kind of kid that is going to give you everything he has and that is a pretty good skill set. And I expect big improvement from Hammons and Hass as well. Plus we have three that we recruited to play at the Point.

I agree, we may not be world class but we have more than enough good ball handlers, many that will be big mismatches for their defenders. There is no reason that this team should habitually struggle against the pres.

 

[woggy718]

I simply want to see how we play with a more traditional basketball lineup. A true center, a true power forward, a true small forward, a true shooting guard, and point guard. I have never been a fan of a team who has had someone at each true traditional position.

It will be interesting to see how Biggie gels into this team. To see how he and Hammons/Haas play together, to see if they can feed off of each other.

I'm excited to see how Edwards can flourish at the 3 spot. To see if Stephens bounces back from that finger and shoot like we all know he's capable of. To see what Mathias can do with a full healthy offseason and starting the season fully conditioned and ready to go.

Obviously the PG situation will be intriguing but I think the media and fan base is putting way to much weight into it.

(And to see if the Weatherford kid really is cut if the Chris Kramer mold)