-------------------- putting this team together very creatively. The plan was for Lykes, Devo, KK, etc. to be the point guard, freeing Notae and maybe Robinson to be the shooting guards. That plan has had to be scrapped although I still hold out hope that Lykes will get it together this season and justify his first team all ACC projection in the past. Meanwhile, Notae is the point guard AND the shooting guard with very little rest unless he gets in foul trouble. So, if the anticipated point guards and shooting guards aren’t stepping up, just go with Jaylin and three 6-6ish swing players with lots of strength, experience and talent, Wade, Toney, & Umude. Very good defensive lineup, good rebounders, and each can score. The dropoff behind that starting five is huge. Johnson, Connor, or small ball are poor solutions when Jaylin needs a rest or gets in foul trouble. Devo and Lykes are working out a way to play together that might bear fruit eventually but they have a long way to go. There has got to be an alternative WHEN not IF Notae and/or Williams sprain an ankle or get in bad foul trouble. There are upcoming teams on our schedule that have guards and power forwards aplenty to pound our one guard and one center until they get the desired fouls, particularly when we play away. Can’t wait to see how Muss further develops this team.
We won’t see this team’s full potential until March. I don’t know how he does it, but he seems to understand having the “team” potential peak at the right time.
I hope they get rid of the TO bug before the Auburn game. That could be the game that moves the needle for our hogs.
CEM will keep making changes until he finds what works with each team he has each year. He won’t play anyone that won’t play defense very much at all.
It might be hard to peak late in the season if all five are playing 35+ minutes every game. They will wear down.
I think Jaylin and Devo are learning from their turnovers and will reduce them. Not sure about Lykes yet but am hopeful he will do the same. That is long over due.
J Williams just has a few TO. Devo is improving he is being asked or expected to do more than he is capable at times.
Lykes is a TO machine. Even his shots could be put into the TO column. All fired up with no place to go that should be the little man’s calling card. He is so out of control he don’t know what to do.
Lykes has issues on the defensive end. With him on the floor our opponents can take advantage of him. He hasn’t impressed in conference play
I assume you meant Notae instead of Jaylin. Jaylin has the best assist to TO rate on the team. In SEC play, Notae leads the team in TOs. That’s not a complaint about Notae, especially in our new starting 5, as he’s the primary ball handler. However, one major reason this team has shown this level of improvement, is that Jaylin is touching the ball at least once in every half court offensive set.
As well as Notae’s been playing and scoring, he still can improve his handle, passing, and driving into double teams. The way he’s scoring, he may get a shot at the NBA if he can consistently cut down on his TOs.
Yes Jaylin’s ratio is good but he will learn from the lazy cross court pass that got intercepted and the times he has tried to hit a cutter going to the basket and it got picked off. He is a good passer and he will be better as he tries too hard and learns the hard way not to do that.
My point was that Jaylin is the absolute last person on this team that should be specifically criticized in a post about turnovers when he is the best on the team in that category.
This entire team’s biggest shortcoming is TOs. Why not point out the bad players instead of the best one?
Tougher part of the conference schedule coming up. Will need more productivity from the bench if they are to make the Tournament.
I wish there was some sort of stat to capture this–a wild shot that results in no defensive floor balance (and sometimes has the shooter falling to the floor and out of the play) is often like a live ball TO. We have a few players who throw up quite a few of those.
They aren’t playing near the number of games or minutes that NBA players do. Don’t think the number of minutes a game will be a big factor over the long term
Muss addressed the turnovers and guard play on the Muss Live (available in podcast) that he does at Sassy’s, He explained why they were so prevalent this year compared to previous Muss teams as well as how they were being addressed. Very good show this week.
kw
I was just about to say this exact thing. Bench is going to have to play more in some of the upcoming contests. The opposing coaches are going to force that.
I think we’ll have a very tough game at Georgia Wednesday. They are athletic and will hold nothing back as they just can’t play much worse than they’ve already played. I worry about the Hogs depth at PG, as intimated by others.
I think we beat Georgia. I think we beat Mississippi State at home. After that, who knows? We could win a lot or win a little.
This topic was automatically closed after 30 days. New replies are no longer allowed.