That's what happens when you have a 9 man rotation. Also minimizes foul troubles.
*** Official North Carolina A&T vs IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***
- Thread starter CycloneRulzzz
- Start date
I didn’t see game one, but was pleasantly surprised with Lipsey’s play as a true freshman. He is not a shooter, but protects the basketball and gets the offense going. Further, he plays good defense, staying between his player and the basket. If you sleep on him, he is not afraid to take the ball to the basket.
I think that’s important as you don’t want teams stacked against the other four because the point guard won’t look to score. The way today went, I’m guessing the coaches encouraged him to be a little more aggressive.
Through two games with the new guys:
Osun: Pretty much what I expected.
Ward: Better than I expected
Lipsey: Much better than I expected. I didn't think he'd play much this year. Right now, he looks like a better PG than Hunter. Hunter is likely the better overall player though.
King: Worse than I expected just based off playing time. He's looked good when he has actually played, though.
Watson: Better than expected. I didn't think he'd play much this year, but he looks comfortable and belongs out there.
Holmes: Better than expected. Good all around offensive game. Love the floaters.
Team as a whole: Defense should be similar to last year. Offense will probably be similar too. Two things that make me optimistic that we COULD be better: We seem to be less turnover prone, and rebounding looks better, so far. We needed everything Hunter and Brockington gave us, but they were turnover machines. Lipsey does not turn it over. Holmes also appears solid with the ball. Offensive rebounding might be better than it's been in a long time. That can help the offensive issues.
Osun: Pretty much what I expected.
Ward: Better than I expected
Lipsey: Much better than I expected. I didn't think he'd play much this year. Right now, he looks like a better PG than Hunter. Hunter is likely the better overall player though.
King: Worse than I expected just based off playing time. He's looked good when he has actually played, though.
Watson: Better than expected. I didn't think he'd play much this year, but he looks comfortable and belongs out there.
Holmes: Better than expected. Good all around offensive game. Love the floaters.
Team as a whole: Defense should be similar to last year. Offense will probably be similar too. Two things that make me optimistic that we COULD be better: We seem to be less turnover prone, and rebounding looks better, so far. We needed everything Hunter and Brockington gave us, but they were turnover machines. Lipsey does not turn it over. Holmes also appears solid with the ball. Offensive rebounding might be better than it's been in a long time. That can help the offensive issues.
I’ll be really curious to see how our bigs look against high-major competition. Jones has a bit of offense on the block this year. Osun looks like the best center we’ve had since jameel McKay. Ward can be a game changer. Kunc looks great. We’ll see if it’s a product of the competition or if they’ll elevate as the competition does.
Not worried about the back court. Lipsey is the real deal. Intelligent and doesn’t make mistakes. So much freshman Monte in his game, but he’s got a bigger, better body. Holmes/Kalscheur/Grill will be fine.
Based off the sample size there really should not be drop off from last year. We aren’t dependent on one guy for offense, and we get a major boost in post play and rebounding
Not worried about the back court. Lipsey is the real deal. Intelligent and doesn’t make mistakes. So much freshman Monte in his game, but he’s got a bigger, better body. Holmes/Kalscheur/Grill will be fine.
Based off the sample size there really should not be drop off from last year. We aren’t dependent on one guy for offense, and we get a major boost in post play and rebounding
I would guess Osun shooting a 3 isn't ideal from the coaching staff but 1) he must have some sort of green light occasionally and 2) I thought his shot looked good.
Even if it doesn't go well, Portland will be really good for this group.
TJ mentioned in preseason camp that they were really working on extending Osun’s offensive range and that he’d have a green light. I’d guess he gets a few opportunities in buy games and if he hits a decent clip the green light carry over to conference. Man, if he could hit from deep it’d take the offense to a whole new level
Anything to be a threat and extend the defense. I like how TJ and staff expect a certain level of play but also let off enough to be open to giving someone a chance to expand outside of their norm.
I want to see more of what Ward can do to help this.
I think the D could be better than last year. Last year it relied so much on effort. This year they have much more size and athleticism on the wing/ post. And the guards can still lock down the perimeter.
Offensive rebounding might be worth an extra 6-10 points per game. That raises the ceiling quite a bit for a squad trying to replace points from hunter and brockington.
I’d love to see a lineup where Osun and Ward can coexist offensively. Ward really looks like an X factor
I like your assessment. As Jeremy said, I think whether or not we do very good, or just OK, depends upon the health of Tamin. He is a freshmen and is coming off a knee injury, and is now being asked to do more than intended. How will he hold up? I hope his knee is good, but you just never know.
Otz had it all planned pretty well, counting on Hunter, and then Jeremiah, to take the brunt at point, this season. Both of those options have fallen through. The PG position is akin to a glass house this season. Fingers crossed.
Lipsey’s knee injury was his Soph year in HS. Considering how these things go and based on his play in football his junior year, two years of basketball and seeing him training I don’t think the injury is a factor anymore.
I hope you're right. It's just a conversation we had here on CF, not too long ago, regarding knee reconstruction (ACL), etc., after Breece was injured. The new thinking I had, coming away from that, is that maybe more often than not, ater injury and reconstruction, the knee has a couple of good years left, then might become a problem, arthritis, etc, with age.
Nothing like the original equipment, I guess.
I'm still a little worried about how we handle a press.
It's hard to tell much against this level of competition, but just like last year we looked unsure what to do, especially right after the initial inbound. I'm sure that's where not having much point guard experience really hurts.
Hopefully we can get better at it because I think our bigs this year could really punish the defense if we can get the ball up the floor quickly.
It's hard to tell much against this level of competition, but just like last year we looked unsure what to do, especially right after the initial inbound. I'm sure that's where not having much point guard experience really hurts.
Hopefully we can get better at it because I think our bigs this year could really punish the defense if we can get the ball up the floor quickly.
Though admittedly with limited games and limited competition, I feel like the offense looks better. While it does stagnate at times, they're getting the ball inside more, the high post passing seems better, and they're spending less time just dribbling/passing around the perimeter and more time testing the defense.
Offense seems like it has more dynamic, or at least more options & combinations. Not that I expect us to go 11 deep when we get into the meat of the schedule, but enough depth & variation in the roster that we might not have to be so narrow in approach. If we can reduce the cold shooting spells at least a little I think our O will be more effective than last season. We probably don't have a "Brockington" points-manufacturer, but that could be a positive because scoring threats might be spread a little more evenly.
As you (and others) said, difficult to gauge vs. competition we've had so far.
While I have no idea where Edwards Waters College is NC A&T did score 100 in their season opener.
Clearly they WANT to score.
They are not Big12 caliber but nice that our defense dictated the game.
