Last season it seemed like we had five shooters on the floor at all times. That is not always a bad thing from an offensive production standpoint, but overall I think it can cause problems. I think you need a minimum of one maybe two role players on the court at all times. The championship teams over the last 5 years had good role players. We easily have 2 shooters or "Go To Guys" in Jamont and Charles, but who will that 3rd shooter and 2 role players be. Ben and Barry can be shooters or role players, whatever is needed for each game. Brian Johnson just might be the role player we've been missing. I think there is little doubt that Ravern is a shooter (when he has the ball in his hands, he will have the green light from Rick to let it fly). So here is a list I came up with of shooters, role players, or both.
Shooters:Jamont, Charles, Ravern
Role Players:Brian, Benock, Phil, Kodi, Elgin
Shooters/Role Player: Barry, Ben, Jarvis
If this turns out to be true, notice that this list is not top heavy with shooters, it is balanced with shooters, role players, and players who will be both. This balance is what it will take to compete for the regular season title and get Rick to the Sweet 16.
Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
5 comments:
Nice analyzation - and I see your point. I think the importance of this might be a bit overrated, but it is nice to have reliable scorers/defenders that can step up whenever needed.
With that said, we had that last season. Both Delks fit that spot, and Hansbrough/Stewart were finding their ways into that spot.
Maybe the ultimate question is will Stans go big. I think you have to go with two, hate to see teams get second shots late in a game. Love to see a big rebound late in the game to seal a win after playing good defense the whole shot clock. Understand that most bigs at this level don't handle well enough but maybe with added experience at the end of the year they are good enough. With all our talent maybe we can afford to play two and still win early in the season. IMHO
Roleplayers is what we need on this team. The recruitment of players with a team first mentality showed last season with Barry, Ben, and Jarivs. I think Benock and Phil were recruited as role players. You can't go out and get good players if you tell them you want them to be a role player and not a shooter. Stars aren't everything, like we saw with Ben and Barry, like we'll with Phil, and eventually will see with Benock.
I tend to disagree there is nothing like God given talent, look at teams that win championships. The key is to get talented players to play unselfishly. More talent better your chances.
Guys who will defend with great effort are important,too. I think we have quite a few guys who will do that.Players who are committed to being complete players and to improve their games and enjoy playing defense help a team go far in the Tournament.TALENT+TOGETHERNESS+TENACITY=TOURNAMENT.
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