Flo rightfully pointed out in another thread that I was harping on the losses despite the fact that we have had significant injuries. Instead of just the results, I wanted to delve into what I see as some of the issues and whether or not we should be concerned long term. A few thoughts:
1. Roster Composition - I think this is the biggest component that I got wrong when evaluating the roster prior to the season. There are actually a lot of issues here:
- Post depth - In hindsight this is just a major miss by the staff. Easy to say of course, it's not like big men grow on trees, but even before the season I remember mentioning in a post and I think others did as well that Ike was the one player we couldn't afford an injury to. Not only because he is one of the big 2, but because we didn't have anyone to back him up. One of the biggest differences between us and the teams having success in the MWC right now is picking up a big man from the transfer portal. New Mexico got Udeze from Wichita State and he is averaging 18 ppg and absolutely filled their one big gap from last year (post play). Likewise, USU picked up Dan Akin from Cal Baptist (originally played under Odom at UMBC) and he is averaged 12/9 and likewise filled in what was their biggest weakness last year (paint presence). Another example is Sage Tolbert at SJSU (11/8 this year from the Temple transfer). If the Pokes had been able to pick up a player like one of these we might be having a totally different discussion. My complaint on this, is that not only was Ike the most difficult to replace, he was the most likely to have to be replaced due to injury considering his high usage and previous injury history. Major miss on the part of the staff IMO.
- Play making - Linder completed one of the finest coaching jobs in the country last year by figuring out how to craft an effective offense without a traditional creator off the dribble. Through Ike post-ups and Maldo dribble downs they created a difficult to defend package. Even with Ike though, we expected teams to adjust and we needed to get more off the bounce juice. Ethan Anderson has helped in that regard and I do think EA was a good pick-up, but we needed more. This is a roster with way too many players of similar types (mid-size wing types best suited for hitting open perimeter shots). While I do like both Max and Jake, I think we probably erred in bringing in guys that were similar to what we already had in abundance on the roster.
- Defense - Not enough quick-twitch athletes on this team.
2. Fake Depth - Due to the playmaking issues noted above, we actually play very slow (341st in the country, Shyatt like). In theory, with a team of lot of good players but not a lot of great players (with the great players hurt), you can take advantage by playing fast and rotating people out, but we because we lack the playmaking ability to play in space or in transition we can't take advantage of that. Negates whatever benefit we have in having 6 different wing guys that can shoot.
3. Turnovers - Again with the playmaking comparison, but dear god we turn the ball over a lot for a team that plays slow. We are 322nd in "non-steal TO's" which include things like traveling, shot clock violations, moving screens (so many of these), offensive fouls, etc. It's all a function of the lack of playmaking options as it is so hard for us on every offensive possession.
Other than getting Maldo and Ike back, what else can be done. A couple of thoughts:
1. Give Reynolds the keys and live with the mistakes - His TO rate is atrocious and he makes some legitimately bad decisions, but he is the only player making anything happen right now. Let him grow on the job. We aren't getting a NCAA bid or even a NIT bid at this point. We need to figure out how to build the strongest possible support group for when Ike returns and I think Reynolds can be a legit impact player. He is still a relatively inexperienced player, but he is improving. Mostly, I just like the attitude. This team needs a Josh Adams (well, every team needs that but you know what I am saying) and Reynolds is the closest thing we have.
2. Unleash JO - I would like to see some action drawn up to get JO back to the basket touches and more cuts to the rim. I will admit my bias as a huge fan of JO, but he is too talented overall to play like Hunter Thompson. Some of this falls on him, but I think we need to put him in a position to be successful.
It will be interesting to see how things unfold when Maldo gets back. He had kind of a rough start, but he played well in the Virgin Islands. I was at the Drake game (didn't get there in time for the Howard game) and he was peak Maldo in the second half of that game (sat out much of the first half with foul trouble). Devries is a future pro, but his Dad had to pull him off of Maldo otherwise he was going to foul out trying to guard Maldo in the paint. As long as Maldo comes back and his himself, he will force other teams to commit additional defenders, this will open up opportunities. I would love to see Reynolds, Oden, and Max be aggressive in taking advantage of that.
1. Roster Composition - I think this is the biggest component that I got wrong when evaluating the roster prior to the season. There are actually a lot of issues here:
- Post depth - In hindsight this is just a major miss by the staff. Easy to say of course, it's not like big men grow on trees, but even before the season I remember mentioning in a post and I think others did as well that Ike was the one player we couldn't afford an injury to. Not only because he is one of the big 2, but because we didn't have anyone to back him up. One of the biggest differences between us and the teams having success in the MWC right now is picking up a big man from the transfer portal. New Mexico got Udeze from Wichita State and he is averaging 18 ppg and absolutely filled their one big gap from last year (post play). Likewise, USU picked up Dan Akin from Cal Baptist (originally played under Odom at UMBC) and he is averaged 12/9 and likewise filled in what was their biggest weakness last year (paint presence). Another example is Sage Tolbert at SJSU (11/8 this year from the Temple transfer). If the Pokes had been able to pick up a player like one of these we might be having a totally different discussion. My complaint on this, is that not only was Ike the most difficult to replace, he was the most likely to have to be replaced due to injury considering his high usage and previous injury history. Major miss on the part of the staff IMO.
- Play making - Linder completed one of the finest coaching jobs in the country last year by figuring out how to craft an effective offense without a traditional creator off the dribble. Through Ike post-ups and Maldo dribble downs they created a difficult to defend package. Even with Ike though, we expected teams to adjust and we needed to get more off the bounce juice. Ethan Anderson has helped in that regard and I do think EA was a good pick-up, but we needed more. This is a roster with way too many players of similar types (mid-size wing types best suited for hitting open perimeter shots). While I do like both Max and Jake, I think we probably erred in bringing in guys that were similar to what we already had in abundance on the roster.
- Defense - Not enough quick-twitch athletes on this team.
2. Fake Depth - Due to the playmaking issues noted above, we actually play very slow (341st in the country, Shyatt like). In theory, with a team of lot of good players but not a lot of great players (with the great players hurt), you can take advantage by playing fast and rotating people out, but we because we lack the playmaking ability to play in space or in transition we can't take advantage of that. Negates whatever benefit we have in having 6 different wing guys that can shoot.
3. Turnovers - Again with the playmaking comparison, but dear god we turn the ball over a lot for a team that plays slow. We are 322nd in "non-steal TO's" which include things like traveling, shot clock violations, moving screens (so many of these), offensive fouls, etc. It's all a function of the lack of playmaking options as it is so hard for us on every offensive possession.
Other than getting Maldo and Ike back, what else can be done. A couple of thoughts:
1. Give Reynolds the keys and live with the mistakes - His TO rate is atrocious and he makes some legitimately bad decisions, but he is the only player making anything happen right now. Let him grow on the job. We aren't getting a NCAA bid or even a NIT bid at this point. We need to figure out how to build the strongest possible support group for when Ike returns and I think Reynolds can be a legit impact player. He is still a relatively inexperienced player, but he is improving. Mostly, I just like the attitude. This team needs a Josh Adams (well, every team needs that but you know what I am saying) and Reynolds is the closest thing we have.
2. Unleash JO - I would like to see some action drawn up to get JO back to the basket touches and more cuts to the rim. I will admit my bias as a huge fan of JO, but he is too talented overall to play like Hunter Thompson. Some of this falls on him, but I think we need to put him in a position to be successful.
It will be interesting to see how things unfold when Maldo gets back. He had kind of a rough start, but he played well in the Virgin Islands. I was at the Drake game (didn't get there in time for the Howard game) and he was peak Maldo in the second half of that game (sat out much of the first half with foul trouble). Devries is a future pro, but his Dad had to pull him off of Maldo otherwise he was going to foul out trying to guard Maldo in the paint. As long as Maldo comes back and his himself, he will force other teams to commit additional defenders, this will open up opportunities. I would love to see Reynolds, Oden, and Max be aggressive in taking advantage of that.
