Men’s BB team observations

[southflcock]

This team has potential. I was impressed with Shingler. The players played hard. AJ is shooting lights out and Bryant continues to shine. 7th Woods continues to have issues. I haven’t seen him hit a shot and he continues to have turnovers. No wonder UNC let him go. He’s a wasted scholarship. Finally free throws continue to be an issue. It cost us this game.

 

[Six Million Dollar Man]

This team has potential. I was impressed with Shingler. The players played hard. AJ is shooting lights out and Bryant continues to shine. 7th Woods continues to have issues. I haven’t seen him hit a shot and he continues to have turnovers. No wonder UNC let him go. He’s a wasted scholarship.

Shingler? For a first time, he did below average IMO. Play the walk on instead of Benson? Let the team go on a seven minute drought in crunch time? I'd say after 4 minutes you need a time out. They obviously clamped down on AJ so a time out to figure how to counter that may have won the game.

I do think we will win our fair share, though. We took the 2nd best team in the SEC to the mat at their place with two very good players on our side out.

 

[hahnenkampf]

Shingler? For a first time, he did below average IMO. Play the walk on instead of Benson? Let the team go on a seven minute drought in crunch time? I'd say after 4 minutes you need a time out. They obviously clamped down on AJ so a time out to figure how to counter that may have won the game.

I do think we will win our fair share, though. We took the 2nd best team in the SEC to the mat at their place with two very good players on our side out.

A great moral victory — if you think moral victories are the way to program success.

 

[OldWiseCock]

Seventh Woods should not be playing much at all except in a cleanup role. For an older guy he looks lost on the court. Cousinard got into foul trouble early last night so we had to play Woods and Moss.

 

[world famous 3rd base hecklers]

You need coaches to develop players.

 

[jeff2001]

Leveque has improved a lot. And our power ranking is a respectable 69. But the bottomline is we are only 3-3.

 

[CarolinaCocky83]

What happened to Hannibal last night? And I agree, we needed Benson instead of Nelson. Shame McCreary and Frink were out. That wasn’t a moral victory, but that wasn’t a bad loss. It was clear we didn’t have the legs at the end. Considering how often we have been shut down due to a cOvid protocols, lack of practice, and key post players out, I am proud of this team. Yes we could have won, but LSU is a good team that is hard to limit points to. We wil win our fair share if we can play them. We have a squad that can play with anyone

 

[OldWiseCock]

What happened to Hannibal last night? And I agree, we needed Benson instead of Nelson. Shame McCreary and Frink were out. That wasn’t a moral victory, but that wasn’t a bad loss. It was clear we didn’t have the legs at the end. Considering how often we have been shut down due to a cOvid protocols, lack of practice, and key post players out, I am proud of this team. Yes we could have won, but LSU is a good team that is hard to limit points to. We wil win our fair share if we can play them. We have a squad that can play with anyone

I hope McCreary's first name was a typo.

 

[kidrobinski]

Leveque has improved a lot. And our power ranking is a respectable 69. But the bottomline is we are only 3-3.

There’s a hell of a lot more to that bottom line right now than “3-3.”

Somewhere along the line the fans developed the opinion that if we don’t win every bloody game it’s someone’s’ fault. They should rename this board the nagging housewives forum.

 

[jeff2001]

There’s a hell of a lot more to that bottom line right now than “3-3.”

Somewhere along the line the fans developed the opinion that if we don’t win every bloody game it’s someone’s’ fault. They should rename this board the nagging housewives forum.

I got another bottomline, Frank Martin's team have made the NCAA tournament 1 times in 9 years. Yes, we gave him a pass the 1st 3 years. But this team needs to get it going and make the tournament

 

[polo-loco]

I thought the team played well 2/3 of the game. But the same issues that plague Frank's teams every year surfaced again last night.

 

[CarolinaCocky83]

I hope McCreary's first name was a typo.

No i just didn’t use a complete sentence. It is a shame. Dont respond to me if that’s all you can focus on.

 

[muscleknight]

I have never seen a team miss so many dunks. They try to go for the spectacular fancy dunk but then miss it. This has been happening ever since Frank got here. If I were Frank I would reign them in as the missed dunk last night shifted the momentum back to LSU and we never recovered.

 

[BIRD CRAZY]

I have never seen a team miss so many dunks. They try to go for the spectacular fancy dunk but then miss it. This has been happening ever since Frank got here. If I were Frank I would reign them in as the missed dunk last night shifted the momentum back to LSU and we never recovered.

Agree,you miss a dunk you run for an hour after practice ! Woods needs to sit,can't believe how bad he is. Bryant got tackled on a break and refs whiffed but if we got within three feet they called a foul. At least a half dozen phantom fouls!

 

[Silver_Coconut]

Defense and rebounding is strong. Offensively we do not have a guard that can penetrate and finish. We should utilize interior passing more.
Penetrate and kick or penetrate and dish. Shot selection is very poor.
Our break offense needs a lot of work.

 

[Jon Snow]

There’s a hell of a lot more to that bottom line right now than “3-3.”

Somewhere along the line the fans developed the opinion that if we don’t win every bloody game it’s someone’s’ fault. They should rename this board the nagging housewives forum.

When the season ends, you are who your record says you are. I doubt there are many people who are shocked and angered about a loss at LSU. But the fact remains that Martin needs to make the NCAA. To do that, he needs to win. 3-3 doesn’t seem to be on track to do that, so hopefully the wins will begin to pile up.

 

[Gamecockben1979]

Seventh Woods should not be playing much at all except in a cleanup role. For an older guy he looks lost on the court. Cousinard got into foul trouble early last night so we had to play Woods and Moss.

Yeah Seventh Woods shouldn’t be here but all the Frank bashers pointed at him as one of the guys “we couldn't get in our own back yard”. He’s not good enough but you couldn’t tell the hype machine that 5-6 years ago, since he went to North Carolina.

 

[Gamecockben1979]

I got another bottomline, Frank Martin's team have made the NCAA tournament 1 times in 9 years. Yes, we gave him a pass the 1st 3 years. But this team needs to get it going and make the tournament

Ive defended Frank a lot on this board. I appreciate the fact that you added the pass for the first 3 years. I often point that out. The weird thing is Frank got one last year for Covid and this team probably won’t play enough games to even be considered. I was in the dance or go crowd but I’m not sure what we will do if we only end up playing 12-15 games.

 

[_NOVA_]

They foul too much, especially contesting around the basket. They make all the illegal contact refs are looking for. It neutralizes their advantage from aggressive on ball play and rotations that cause turnovers and bad shots, because they give up so much at the free throw line. It’s been a problem during Martin’s entire tenure, and is exacerbated when there is poor defensive guard play. Woods and Moss are on skates, allowing free penetration and collapsing the rotations.

They are almost always a mess on offense because they have too many non shooters, and the spacing is bad. Martin has embraced running more, but they don’t have the finishers. They don’t have crunch time sets to get an isolation or run a two man game to get good looks or get to the line. They run the same motions in crunch time; the game in the last 5 minutes is different— more energy, more focus— good teams run their best stuff to get the right guys shots. It’s still a free for all with Martin. Even when he had Thornwell and Silva at their best, Martin let them free lance too much. People see Frank yell and get angry, and think the team must be highly organized and disciplined, but they don’t play that way.

It’s all the same stuff at this point. Same type of players, same mistakes. Lots of effort and lots of bad basketball.

 

[uscnoklahoma2]

Frank should be fired but I'm positive we would screw up the hire.

 

[Silver_Coconut]

Frank should be fired but I'm positive we would screw up the hire.

Why don’t you go cheer for Oklahoma State.

 

[Six Million Dollar Man]

A great moral victory — if you think moral victories are the way to program success.

Aw, c'mon. There are no more moral victories in men's hoops. Time to produce wins.

 

[Freddie.B.Cocky]

Frank should be fired but I'm positive we would screw up the hire.

Probably so, we have screwed up everything we've touched recently.

 

[OldWiseCock]

Frank should be fired but I'm positive we would screw up the hire.

Frank will retire before he will be fired. I'd like to see SC hire Bob Richey from Furman, but he will have moved on to a better job by then.

 

[islandusc]

Zone defense and beating the press are very fixable issues. Missing the head coach and lack of practice time hurt. I think we will be ok by tournament time!

 

[cadcock]

After all the stops and starts, 6 games in I have seen enough to be very encouraged where this team is. It is a real shame the season has been a mess because this team isn't playing anywhere close to their potential and they will not be an easy win for any team we face. I was worried about the offensive boards and the quality and size of our bigs but have been pleasantly surprised. This is the deepest team we have had in a long time.

 

[Gamechamp]

Frank will retire before he will be fired. I'd like to see SC hire Bob Richey from Furman, but he will have moved on to a better job by then.

THIS! The man can coach.

 

[bdblack]

This is the deal. Frank prides himself on being a defensive coach, and he is a very good one. Offense is another matter, though. Watching the Cocks trying to break the press reminds me of a kindergarten fire drill. Don't leave 6'10" guys at midcourt where they will surely be pressed and double-teamed, or worse yet, tricked into dribbling. We are not fundamentally sound in hardly any area of offensive basketball, and our decisions with the ball are not made with the benefit of the team foremost in our minds.

 

[OldWiseCock]

This is the deal. Frank prides himself on being a defensive coach, and he is a very good one. Offense is another matter, though. Watching the Cocks trying to break the press reminds me of a kindergarten fire drill. Don't leave 6'10" guys at midcourt where they will surely be pressed and double-teamed, or worse yet, tricked into dribbling. We are not fundamentally sound in hardly any area of offensive basketball, and our decisions with the ball are not made with the benefit of the team foremost in our minds.

That's exactly how you break the press - right out of the textbook. When the other team brings their guys down to guard the inbounds pass or double team the ball handler in the backcourt you respond by bringing your big guy to the middle of the court near the top of the key, and the inbounds pass goes to him over the heads of the defenders. It just depends on the 6'10" man's hands and passing because if it is executed properly there should be guys open with fast break opportunities. What you want is the ball in the open court and not on the sidelines where the defensive team can execute a trap. If you don't have a big man capable of high pointing the ball on the inbounds pass then you have to throw it over the defense.

 

[bdblack]

That's exactly how you break the press - right out of the textbook. When the other team brings their guys down to guard the inbounds pass or double team the ball handler in the backcourt you respond by bringing your big guy to the middle of the court near the top of the key, and the inbounds pass goes to him over the heads of the defenders. It just depends on the 6'10" man's hands and passing because if it is executed properly there should be guys open with fast break opportunities. What you want is the ball in the open court and not on the sidelines where the defensive team can execute a trap. If you don't have a big man capable of high pointing the ball on the inbounds pass then you have to throw it over the defense.

Sorry, but I want my guards/small forward handling the ball in the backcourt because they are used to dribbling, passing on the run, and cutting to the open spaces. My bigs would be at half court on either side 5 feet from the sideline. On the first completed pass, the weak side big goes to the block and on the second completed pass the strong side big goes to the opposite block. If the ball handlers can read the press then know when to screen for each other against a man press, opening up to the ball anticipating the inbounds pass, it works like a charm. By the way, against a good press, the primary ball-handler or point guard should always inbounds the ball, not a big.

 

[DibbleDee]

This team has potential. I was impressed with Shingler. The players played hard. AJ is shooting lights out and Bryant continues to shine. 7th Woods continues to have issues. I haven’t seen him hit a shot and he continues to have turnovers. No wonder UNC let him go. He’s a wasted scholarship. Finally free throws continue to be an issue. It cost us this game.

potential? This was supposed to be a tournament-caliber team.

 

[ansoncock]

Aw, c'mon. There are no more moral victories in men's hoops. Time to produce wins.

A great moral victory is better than no victory at all.

 

[cocknjax]

Frank should be fired but I'm positive we would screw up the hire.

Right, because the AD’s record in the hirin and firing is atrocious.

 

[tngamecock#]

Shingler? For a first time, he did below average IMO. Play the walk on instead of Benson? Let the team go on a seven minute drought in crunch time? I'd say after 4 minutes you need a time out. They obviously clamped down on AJ so a time out to figure how to counter that may have won the game.

I do think we will win our fair share, though. We took the 2nd best team in the SEC to the mat at their place with two very good players on our side out.

I didnt understand why he didn’t play Anderson instead.....he actually looks like he could play well from the limited times i have seen him.

 

[OldWiseCock]

Sorry, but I want my guards/small forward handling the ball in the backcourt because they are used to dribbling, passing on the run, and cutting to the open spaces. My bigs would be at half court on either side 5 feet from the sideline. On the first completed pass, the weak side big goes to the block and on the second completed pass the strong side big goes to the opposite block. If the ball handlers can read the press then know when to screen for each other against a man press, opening up to the ball anticipating the inbounds pass, it works like a charm. By the way, against a good press, the primary ball-handler or point guard should always inbounds the ball, not a big.

The strength of a trapping type of press is the corner or the sideline where you can trap the ballhandler. Its weakness is in the middle. That's why you use your big to break it. Nowhere did I say anything about a big "handling the ball" or inbounding the ball.

 

[Gamekem]

I didnt understand why he didn’t play Anderson instead.....he actually looks like he could play well from the limited times i have seen him.

My guess is that since the game is so tight they went with the most experienced post player

 

[coolcock2001]

Will Jaylen McCreary be back tonight? Who all is out? I see Frank is expected to be back tonight

 

[_NOVA_]

The strength of a trapping type of press is the corner or the sideline where you can trap the ballhandler. Its weakness is in the middle. That's why you use your big to break it. Nowhere did I say anything about a big "handling the ball" or inbounding the ball.

Largely depends on what they are trying to do. You can pick up full court simply to disrupt, or with the intent of trapping in the back court or trapping in the front court. You can also adjust on the fly based on ball movement triggers, if you’re well coached.

Putting a good passing big in the middle, near half court is a good strategy if you know they are wanting to trap in the back court and/or are just pressuring the guard— it provides a possible passing outlet and a screen option. Martin loves to pull one of his bigs away from the basket to trigger his offense anyway.

LSU confused Carolina a number of times because they were hedging on initiating their press, putting a guy on the ball handler and playing another guy between the ball handler and mid court, essentially showing a possible trap, but not triggering it. Eventually, Carolina put another guy in the backcourt and a big at half court to help. But it took Woods showing he’s not much of a ball handler to get them to make that adjustment.

 

[OldWiseCock]

Largely depends on what they are trying to do. You can pick up full court simply to disrupt, or with the intent of trapping in the back court or trapping in the front court. You can also adjust on the fly based on ball movement triggers, if you’re well coached.

Putting a good passing big in the middle, near half court is a good strategy if you know they are wanting to trap in the back court and/or are just pressuring the guard— it provides a possible passing outlet and a screen option. Martin loves to pull one of his bigs away from the basket to trigger his offense anyway.

LSU confused Carolina a number of times because they were hedging on initiating their press, putting a guy on the ball handler and playing another guy between the ball handler and mid court, essentially showing a possible trap, but not triggering it. Eventually, Carolina put another guy in the backcourt and a big at half court to help. But it took Woods showing he’s not much of a ball handler to get them to make that adjustment.

Seventh Woods is an enigma. Sometimes it looks like he has lost his desire to play BB and is just going through the motions. Many of his mistakes look like carelessness arising from a lack of focus. Other times it looks like he just cannot adjust to the college game. I went back and watched his high school highlights and it may just be that he came into college with too much hype. Most of his highlight reel are dunks because he was the most athletic player on the court. I don't think he ever learned the art of shooting from outside. By that, I don't mean he can't shoot. I mean he has not developed the art of shooting beyond 20 feet.

 

[_NOVA_]

Seventh Woods is an enigma. Sometimes it looks like he has lost his desire to play BB and is just going through the motions. Many of his mistakes look like carelessness arising from a lack of focus. Other times it looks like he just cannot adjust to the college game. I went back and watched his high school highlights and it may just be that he came into college with too much hype. Most of his highlight reel are dunks because he was the most athletic player on the court. I don't think he ever learned the art of shooting from outside. By that, I don't mean he can't shoot. I mean he has not developed the art of shooting beyond 20 feet.

Woods offered some defensive upside for UNC, because he was typically a better athlete than the back-up guards he was playing against in his 7 to 10 minutes a game. Sort of what Hannibal did for South Carolina last year. Trade some offense for defense and borrow some minutes for your better players, when the second line is in for the other team. But even that wore old for UNC in the end, because Woods is such a net negative on offense.

Why Martin decided to bring Woods in and why he’s playing him 17 minutes a game is a complete mystery. He’s not even the defensive player he was early on at UNC, and he’s arguably the worst offensive player getting more than 10 minutes a game in all of college basketball. And he’s doin it on a team that NEEDS shooters. NEEDS legit ball handlers. NEEDS people to space the floor.