3-0 without Audige! What is the ceiling for this wildcat team?
- Thread starter NREPP Fraud
- Start date
Let's see what happens once we play a P5 team, but I'm cautiously optimistic that 9 or even 10 wins in the BIG is possible.
Also, Roper and Simmons getting minutes while Audige is hurt is going to pay dividends later this season and bodes well for next year. Especially since it looks like Berry has taken a meaningful step forward.
Also, Roper and Simmons getting minutes while Audige is hurt is going to pay dividends later this season and bodes well for next year. Especially since it looks like Berry has taken a meaningful step forward.
Berry has a lot of positive intangibles. He is very active on defense, gets a hand on the ball pretty often. Quite noticeable watching the last two games in person. Last night he stepped up on offense too.
I'm not sure Audige is a starter... It sort of depends on what Collins does with the 3 position.
Our options at the 3 are Simmons (young, talented and potentially unable to defend against a Big Ten body), Williams (looks slow to me) and Barnhizer (havent seen him play).
We have Buie, Greer, Audige, Berry and Roper all vying for minutes in the backcourt. Buie is (or should be) a starter. Collins played a lot of 3 guard sets last night. Somebody has to play the 3 position. It may be Audige or Berry who are both physical guards.
I'm not sure Audige is a starter... It sort of depends on what Collins does with the 3 position.
Our options at the 3 are Simmons (young, talented and potentially unable to defend against a Big Ten body), Williams (looks slow to me) and Barnhizer (havent seen him play).
We have Buie, Greer, Audige, Berry and Roper all vying for minutes in the backcourt. Buie is (or should be) a starter. Collins played a lot of 3 guard sets last night. Somebody has to play the 3 position. It may be Audige or Berry who are both physical guards.
I don’t see more than 6 wins. Buie is a terrible ball handler and Beran can’t play defense. We are still a poor shooting team. I hope that I am wrong.
You are entitled to your opinion, but so far Buie is averaging 7 assists per game and less than 1 Turnover per game. It's his third year and he may have turned a corner. He may not be McIntosh, but if you look at his historical TO numbers I don't think they are "terrible" and he seems to be improving. He's playing 30 mins a game and he's had two games where he had zero turnovers.
The competition hasn't been great, but I'm cautiously optimistic.
Our offense definitely seems more potent this season, and his assists are a big part of that.
We did have our dry stretch at the end of the first half where New Orleans took the lead, which gave me some flashbacks of last season, but we seemed to have adjusted in the second half and were dominant.
In the sample size of three games, we do seem to have a more powerful offense. I'm sure we'll learn more in our next game.
Yup, I think we will know what we have in in the next five games. We have 3 P5 opponents during that stretch (Wake, Providence, Maryland). If we go 4-1 or even 3-2 with a close losses, then I think we can be a bubble team.
Collins is less tied to the traditional positions than we fans are, but he seems to be going with Simmons and Roper at what we would call the 3. They are almost never on the court together, and they are usually out there with two other guards. Simmons has the size and quick hands if not the physicality to handle a B1G wing. Roper is smaller, but he seems really tough. There will be some versatile wings (6'5"-6'8") who both shoot and drive that we will have trouble covering, but I think Roper and Simmons will be able to handle most of the rest of them. And, truth is, we've had trouble covering those versatile wing guys for the last 30 years.
We should win more than 6. I think 9 wins is a reasonable guess in the Big Ten, given the schedule.
As I said before the season, I think we have 4 guys who are above average for the league (Nance, Young, Buie, Berry).
I do agree that against pressure we could have difficulty getting the ball up the court.
Not agreeing that Buie is a "terrible" ballhandler, but he's probably our best and thats a problem in late game situations.
Interesting thoughts... Have you given up on Williams? I don't see him as being good enough to play 20 minutes a night (more like 10). Simmons will get some of the minutes at the 3, but to me it is Audige or Berry, just because they are fairly physical defenders. I'd be really surprised if Roper or Simmons played more minutes in the Big Ten than Audige, Buie or Berry.
I haven't given up on Williams at all. I just see him as more of an inside banger. He plays the 4 opposite Young when Nance and Young aren't playing together. I guess he could play some 3 if Beran steps up, but I'm not sold on Beran yet regardless of the really great stretch in the second half last night.
I agree that it does not matter if you call it a #3 or not. But it matters how you match up with other teams. That's why a traditional idea of a 3 is one that is 3rd tallest (or shortest) on the court. How he works in the offense, could not care less.
You are right about Simmons, and Barnhizer could be added to the mix. But neither of those guys are, right now, ready to give us more than 10 minutes. The ones that are are Buie, Berry, Audige and (arguably) Greer.
So that's a lot of minutes with a relatively short back court (assuming CC does not do the stretch 3, as we have seen no signs of him doing that so far).
Question is if these combos get us to be competitive on the boards. We struggled last year. While Kopp was not a great rebounder, and it's plausible we don't lose quality in rebounding, keeping the status quo is not good. We have to improve our rebounding.
If I'm going to use coach speak, I'd say this team feels like they still don't "know how to win" at a higher level.
Bad starts, droughts and Beran are concerns for me with an unproven team like this. I think there's also a lack of toughness and hustle that leads to the bad starts. I'm not sure they value each of the 40 minutes.
I'm really surprised Elyjah has received as little time as he has. To me, he offers almost exactly what Beran lacks. It's also a toughness this team needs.
Nance or Buie also need to play at a high level more regularly.
I feel good about the Cats against the junk of the league - Minn, Nebraska and PSU. I have no clue how this translates to the next tier or two of the league. Talk to me after Providence and Virginia.
Bad starts, droughts and Beran are concerns for me with an unproven team like this. I think there's also a lack of toughness and hustle that leads to the bad starts. I'm not sure they value each of the 40 minutes.
I'm really surprised Elyjah has received as little time as he has. To me, he offers almost exactly what Beran lacks. It's also a toughness this team needs.
Nance or Buie also need to play at a high level more regularly.
I feel good about the Cats against the junk of the league - Minn, Nebraska and PSU. I have no clue how this translates to the next tier or two of the league. Talk to me after Providence and Virginia.
As the Buie fan club on this board, I can understand wanting more from his defense and 3-pt consistency. However, allow me to offer another Buie - BMac comparison. Let's look at BMac's first three junk games in his junior year - Miss Valley St, East Washington and Bryant. I left out Texas ND and Butler to try to make it a level comparison.
BMac
99 mins
15-38 FG%
37 pts
16 assists
7 TO
Buie
92 mins
17-40 FG%
49 pts
22 assists
2 TO
BMac
99 mins
15-38 FG%
37 pts
16 assists
7 TO
Buie
92 mins
17-40 FG%
49 pts
22 assists
2 TO
You are at least wrong on the player analysis. 9 assists and what 0 turnovers isn’t bad. One of Berans strengths is his defense. His offensive production is where he leaves something to be desired. He does have potential so there’s hope.
Again, I hope I am wrong. But let’s see in 10 games. Buie throws the ball away under Big 10 pressure and Beran fouls legitimate big men. Go Cats!