HBBIQers please list positives

[hemmy]

post them here

[WillieWannabe]

blocked shots 

[Bullfn33]

-freshman and newcomers are impressive
-JamSam has elevated his game(pun intended)
-no Colon
-length in the paint
-second half play
-team can only get better. loads of room for improvement.

[Pete]

Wally had some nice turnaround jumpers in the lane.  Positive to see a big make scoring moves.  Didn't have much of that last year.

[michigancat]

Bigs with skill offensively (it's ridiculous how much we've improved here)
Athletic bigs (for defense and fast breaks)
McGruder is already more polished offensively than Sutton (jump shot is way better than expected, and is huge)
Russell is about where Pullen was as a frosh, but won't have to do nearly as much
Frontcourt depth is huge.
Hard work and defensive rotation will improve

[feralchat]

JHR. Will get a triple-double sometime this year.
McGruder's outside shooting.
JamSam's improvement.
Wally's post play.

[mavrick1821]

1. Jam Sam...WoW!  Confident, authoritative on both D&O.  And....how about that 3 stroke today...very smooth!
2. Denny-If he can play like he did today...uh...within himself and make the team better, that is important.
3. Kelly-need a consistent rebounding effort.  It looks like 10-15 points per game can be expected from him.  Thus, his key to being great is hitting the boards and playing solid defense.
4. Wally-showing some flashes of greatness.  Still adjusting to the speed and competition of D1 Bball.  More time and experiences and he will get his mistakes under control.  Once he starts "not thinking about it" I think he could shock us all with a smack down, dominate performance.
5. JHR:  More developed than we all expected....could give us quality minutes this year and a decent defense presence at the rim.  His offense will continue to develop with play.
6. McGrud's: no fear in popping the 3, nice stroke and should challenge for the team 3 Pt % leader.

Overall:  Biggest surprise is the quality of the frontcourt and the depth also.  Once we get the backcourt & frontcourt working at top level, this team could be very scary.  As Frank said, plenty to work on, but if they can get better every game, this team has more upside than many of us thought.

[Kat Kid]

+
our bench/depth is ridic

martin will actually have decisions to make on finding a rotation

besides the obvious concerns-----(dom, def boards, ft/3pt shooting, quezbert's inability to ever make contact on a screen and denis' proclivity to settle for the floater instead of attacking the basket)---I feel like we are a monster just learning how to use all its limbs.

[fatty fat fat]

+
our bench/depth is ridic

martin will actually have decisions to make on finding a rotation

besides the obvious concerns-----(dom, def boards, ft/3pt shooting, quezbert's inability to ever make contact on a screen and denis' proclivity to settle for the floater instead of attacking the basket)---I feel like we are a monster just learning how to use all its limbs.

best analysis yet.

remember our siebrandt vs pasco x's and o's fight? 

[Kat Kid]

+
our bench/depth is ridic

martin will actually have decisions to make on finding a rotation

besides the obvious concerns-----(dom, def boards, ft/3pt shooting, quezbert's inability to ever make contact on a screen and denis' proclivity to settle for the floater instead of attacking the basket)---I feel like we are a monster just learning how to use all its limbs.

best analysis yet.

remember our siebrandt vs pasco x's and o's fight? 

I do.  You don't have to go nearly as far back though.  Seriously, we had White Tiger as instant O last year.

[nicname]

Sutton is a good player as long as two things happen.

1.  He doesn't turn in to a giant FP.

2.  He doesn't shoot outside jump shots(which he rarely makes, and usually misses in an ugly fashion)

Play D, Rebound, Slash, get out on the break, that is your role Dom. 

[ednksu]

no white kids

[kougar24]

1. DEPTH
2. Bigs that aren't offensive black holes.


Other positives, though nice, pale in comparison to the above at this point.

[KSt8er]

If we learn to stop trying to block shots and play actual sound defense we have a chance to get rebounds instead of the other teams 6'5" guys. 

If Wally learns how to turn his shoulders and square up he might be a consistent threat. 

If Dom realizes he has no shot at making a shot and plays defense it will go a long way toward teaching the young ones that defense is necessary.

If Curtis realizes that not every time he touches the ball does it require he try a spin move for a basket and passes the ball, preferably in an inside out type thing I've heard other teams use it will be good.

If our offense can become more than passing the ball around the perimeter it will be good.

If we quit playing like we're in the McD all-star game it will be good. 

There's a few.......

[michigancat]

If we learn to stop trying to block shots and play actual sound defense we have a chance to get rebounds instead of the other teams 6'5" guys. 

If Wally learns how to turn his shoulders and square up he might be a consistent threat. 

If Dom realizes he has no shot at making a shot and plays defense it will go a long way toward teaching the young ones that defense is necessary.

If Curtis realizes that not every time he touches the ball does it require he try a spin move for a basket and passes the ball, preferably in an inside out type thing I've heard other teams use it will be good.

If our offense can become more than passing the ball around the perimeter it will be good.

If we quit playing like we're in the McD all-star game it will be good. 

There's a few.......

PRETTY SURE THOSE WERE ALL NANCY NEGATIVES. PEGGY POSITIVES ONLY THIS THREAD PLS THANKS.

[WillieWannabe]

If we learn to stop trying to block shots and play actual sound defense we have a chance to get rebounds instead of the other teams 6'5" guys. 

If Wally learns how to turn his shoulders and square up he might be a consistent threat. 

If Dom realizes he has no shot at making a shot and plays defense it will go a long way toward teaching the young ones that defense is necessary.

If Curtis realizes that not every time he touches the ball does it require he try a spin move for a basket and passes the ball, preferably in an inside out type thing I've heard other teams use it will be good.

If our offense can become more than passing the ball around the perimeter it will be good.

If we quit playing like we're in the McD all-star game it will be good. 

There's a few.......

PRETTY SURE THOSE WERE ALL NANCY NEGATIVES. PEGGY POSITIVES ONLY THIS THREAD PLS THANKS.

lols

[sys]

If Curtis realizes that not every time he touches the ball does it require he try a spin move for a basket and passes the ball, preferably in an inside out type thing I've heard other teams use it will be good.

listening to kelly talk about how he had forgotten how to pass out of the post because he hadn't been doubled since high school was cute (and a little sad).

[mavrick1821]

Hopefully Kelly will not just talk about kicking it when double teamed or covered, but will put it into action. 

Anyone else notice that Denny and Jake are both shooting below 25% from 3 so far?  That will change for the better soon and when it does, KSU will look much better.

Just get the darn defense rotations down!

[michigancat]

If Curtis realizes that not every time he touches the ball does it require he try a spin move for a basket and passes the ball, preferably in an inside out type thing I've heard other teams use it will be good.

listening to kelly talk about how he had forgotten how to pass out of the post because he hadn't been doubled since high school was cute (and a little sad).

I thought he passed about the right amount both games.  If he tried to do something against double teams, he at least got fouled most of the time.  I thought he had a couple of nice kickouts, too.

Seriously, it's like a lot of people are watching different games than me.  

[sys]

I thought he passed about the right amount both games.  If he tried to do something against double teams, he at least got fouled most of the time.  I thought he had a couple of nice kickouts, too.

Seriously, it's like a lot of people are watching different games than me.  

i didn't notice him passing too much, not enough, just right, perfectly or horribly.  not something that stood out for me in any way.

just noting a cute/sad thing from his postgame interview.

[mavrick1821]

I saw the same kickouts and passes.    

It just seems clear the team is focusing on getting the ball inside this year and not forcing to many shots from the perimeter (like last year).  There are times when it appears we are forcing it inside just a bit.  If they get to sharing the ball more smoothly between the inside/outside game when the inside is not there and not forcing it quite as much....it is a small adjustment that should result in a big difference.

[michigancat]

I thought he passed about the right amount both games.  If he tried to do something against double teams, he at least got fouled most of the time.  I thought he had a couple of nice kickouts, too.

Seriously, it's like a lot of people are watching different games than me.  

i didn't notice him passing too much, not enough, just right, perfectly or horribly.  not something that stood out for me in any way.

just noting a cute/sad thing from his postgame interview.

It just seems to be a fairly common talking point.  

[kougar24]

If Curtis realizes that not every time he touches the ball does it require he try a spin move for a basket and passes the ball, preferably in an inside out type thing I've heard other teams use it will be good.

listening to kelly talk about how he had forgotten how to pass out of the post because he hadn't been doubled since high school was cute (and a little sad).

I thought he passed about the right amount both games.  If he tried to do something against double teams, he at least got fouled most of the time.  I thought he had a couple of nice kickouts, too.

Seriously, it's like a lot of people are watching different games than me.  

Nah, they just aren't watching it through the HBBIQ glasses some of us have.

[ksu_FAN]

Bigs with skill offensively (it's ridiculous how much we've improved here)
Athletic bigs (for defense and fast breaks)
McGruder is already more polished offensively than Sutton (jump shot is way better than expected, and is huge)
Russell is about where Pullen was as a frosh, but won't have to do nearly as much
Frontcourt depth is huge.
Hard work and defensive rotation will improve

This, as expected a great list by Rusty.

Seriously, I didn't get a chance to watch either game until tonight and I was expecting terrible basketball based on what seemed to be the perception around here.  There were some bad moments, maybe even bad stretches, but overall it wasn't terrible.  Maybe sloppy, but I don't know what some of these people expected.  You don't infuse 5 new FR (especially when they play A LOT) plus Kelly playing for real and expect things just to go smooth.

The skill level/ability of our bigs is beyond anything I expected.  Kelly is better than I expected, Henriquez is much better that I expected, and Samuels has improved a ton.  Judge has moments, probably about what I thought.  But amazing that we can get points in the paint.  It looks to me like it was a great move for Anderson to leave, he wouldn't have seen the floor with this bunch here.  Anxious to see how Frank handles Lou when he is healthy again.

Guard play will be fine.  Pullen and Clemente will find their outside shots and it was good to see Clemente's "unconventional" game start going Sunday.  McGruder and Russell both have a chance to contribute; I have a feeling McGruder will make folks forget all about Fred Brown. 

And you are absolutely correct, the defensive breakdowns will get better.  I bet 90% of the breakdowns involve a FR, and usually they miss or are a step slow in anticipating an offensive movement.  This is to be expected. 

Lots of things to work on, but plenty of good things from this team in these two early season tune-ups. 

Barring some unexpected breakdown/lack of effort against Boston, we should handle the Terriers.  They'll stay around a bit more than Loy or WestIll, but we should be fine.

[swish1]

Bigs with skill offensively (it's ridiculous how much we've improved here)
Athletic bigs (for defense and fast breaks)
McGruder is already more polished offensively than Sutton (jump shot is way better than expected, and is huge)
Russell is about where Pullen was as a frosh, but won't have to do nearly as much
Frontcourt depth is huge.
Hard work and defensive rotation will improve

This, as expected a great list by Rusty.

Seriously, I didn't get a chance to watch either game until tonight and I was expecting terrible basketball based on what seemed to be the perception around here.  There were some bad moments, maybe even bad stretches, but overall it wasn't terrible.  Maybe sloppy, but I don't know what some of these people expected.  You don't infuse 5 new FR (especially when they play A LOT) plus Kelly playing for real and expect things just to go smooth.

The skill level/ability of our bigs is beyond anything I expected.  Kelly is better than I expected, Henriquez is much better that I expected, and Samuels has improved a ton.  Judge has moments, probably about what I thought.  But amazing that we can get points in the paint.  It looks to me like it was a great move for Anderson to leave, he wouldn't have seen the floor with this bunch here.  Anxious to see how Frank handles Lou when he is healthy again.

Guard play will be fine.  Pullen and Clemente will find their outside shots and it was good to see Clemente's "unconventional" game start going Sunday.  McGruder and Russell both have a chance to contribute; I have a feeling McGruder will make folks forget all about Fred Brown. 

And you are absolutely correct, the defensive breakdowns will get better.  I bet 90% of the breakdowns involve a FR, and usually they miss or are a step slow in anticipating an offensive movement.  This is to be expected. 

Lots of things to work on, but plenty of good things from this team in these two early season tune-ups. 

Barring some unexpected breakdown/lack of effort against Boston, we should handle the Terriers.  They'll stay around a bit more than Loy or WestIll, but we should be fine.

here's hoping colon doesnt see much time...