Carino on Holloway
- Thread starter Halldan
- Start date
Good interview. Some news here— Godswill had surgery on his foot and was out all summer. Sha clearly likes his guards and wings and went for experience at those positions. We’re going to pressure full court a lot. Agree, just having Budd makes us better. Sounds like Hines is going to get a lot of minutes. IMO, they’re a proven PF away from being solid. But those guys cost a lot of $$$.
A question: I was always able to open and read the links to Jerry's work posted on this site by @Halldan, but since the change to On3, I'm blocked by the paywall. That's fair enough, as I'm not a Gannett subscriber, but I seem to recall it said that perhaps Dan had been posting links that bypassed the paywall (with Jerry's consent, of course). Am I imagining that? One way or another, I was able to read them.
The reality is what would any of us expect a coach to say about the team regardless of the school. At this point they all exude unbridled optimism. That is reasonable to see a coach do this. This happens every year and it often plays out differently. I am expecting an up and down season with "W"s hard to come by. If we have a winning season Sha should get voted BE coach of the year!
Godswill foot surgery is scaring me! Center is a big part of the game and where we need a boost at that position. A foot injury is something that can take a long time to heal in this sport. Nothing to take lightly when it requires surgery. Sorry to read about the injury.
Great article by Jerry and you can tell Sha knows no one will believe his positive spin until we see it on the court. Sounds like he has a lot of coaching to do on the defensive side of the ball which we knew with these players. And it sounds like we have a lot of talent at the guard position. Can't wait to see Bud on the court - if Sha says "he's so quick" that will be fun to watch.
Overall good spot - now we need Sha to keep the program in the press and continue with availing himself so more articles like this can be published.
Overall good spot - now we need Sha to keep the program in the press and continue with availing himself so more articles like this can be published.
He missed his Sr yr of HS due to that injury, then played all last year and none of us saw any problems. Seems to me that they went in to clean up some stuff and he should be fine.
Jerry's stories are also in the Bergen Record's website (Northjersey.com). Maybe trying at that link will give you better luck?
Otherwise, yeah, you probably should just subscribe if you think you'll be reading the APP articles a lot.
Godswill having foot surgery and missing the summer hurts but other than that being healthy and having most of the players working together since June is important.
Based on this interview, the makeup of the roster and our depth at guard, I still believe our best bet is to play small without a PF much of the time. 3 guards, a Wing and a Big. If a team has a big, physical PF, we may see Suemnick there.
PG Clark
SG Staton-McRay
SG Simpkins
Wing Fisher
Big Payne
Based on this interview, the makeup of the roster and our depth at guard, I still believe our best bet is to play small without a PF much of the time. 3 guards, a Wing and a Big. If a team has a big, physical PF, we may see Suemnick there.
PG Clark
SG Staton-McRay
SG Simpkins
Wing Fisher
Big Payne
I agree with you. To further solidify your lineup, Sha really downplayed Rivera, who was guessed to be a starter at the 4 by Dan, and said that Suemenick would be a backup 4 & 5. We have no other power forwards as Payne, Hines and Godswill are said to be strictly centers.
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With the news on Godswill's injury, seems Hines will play much more and sooner than some of us thought. I expected him to play anyway given his pedigree and our needs in the front court. Godswill absence/recovery also explains some of the insider-stuff we've heard about Payne.
I cant accept that Hines will not be a major part of the team from Day One but I can understand why Sha is saying what is is saying. A top tier NJ HS coach called hines as good a rebounder as he has seen at the HS level. He agrees that he needs to get into better shape.
It’s a soft OOC so Hines getting minutes actually is a good way to cut his teeth
Gannett has definitely tightened up their paywalls. It has nothing to do with Jerry or Dan.
Yeah, I read his comment on Rivera as someone who is on the outside looking in at the regular rotation.
I'll summarize a bit for those who can't read it.
He wanted a lot of guards to be able to have depth and not have to rely on 1 or 2 guys, not be stuck when someone gets injured or sick. Claims he wants to play uptempo, use the press and run. (I feel like this is something coaches usually say preseason although we do have players more suited for this style).
Sha really likes Budd. Calls him tough with a tremendous chip on his shoulder. One of the fastest guys he's seen in a long time, an unbelievable mid-range game. Loves his ability to score and create. Challenges with him are getting him to improve his 3-point shot to keep defenders honest and to realize he doesn't have to do everything himself. Also getting him used to playing man after playing all zone at Merrimack is an adjustment. Sha acknowledged that the team has not even practiced any Zone yet, still trying to install their trademark man and press.
He was high on Staton-McCray's shooting which would be a positive if true. AJ had a very good year at Samford and shot over 41% on a strong NCAA tourney team that led the country in 3pt shooting. His numbers fell to 32% on a terrible Miami team. If he can be a solid 35%+ shooter for us, it will be a big help as Budd should be able to get him some open opportunities. He's experienced, has good size and is a productive defender so I think he'll start for us.
Sha likes Simpkins. All-around player, good handle, can create for others a little. NYC attitude. Twice now he compared him to Deeno - high praise.
Looking to Fisher to score. Not from article but he makes sense as the small 4-man. He's 6'6" 220 pounds and plays like a PF offensively. 72% of his shot attempts come from the paint. He's physical and draws a lot of fouls. Style-wise he has some similarities to Dre Davis.
Sha said he wants to use Payne like UConn does with Samson Johnson. Strong and athletic with good foot speed to run the floor, roll hard to the basket and look to catch lobs and dunk.
Potential X-factors in my mind -
Parker is intriguing. He has major upside. Sha called him a freak athlete. Has all the ability - amazing athleticism, can handle, can shoot, can defend but needs the reps and to play within the team concept.
Dar is another potential X-factor. The guy can shoot and played really well in the AAC for a 10-game stretch. Sha keeps comparing him to Ish? We need his shooting, can he play good enough D to get more minutes?
And lastly is Hines. Big physical monster on both ends Sha says he has to drop some weight but he could be impactful for us as a traditional Center.
I think by the end of the season Hines will have played more minutes than either Payne or Godswill. If we somehow end up better than most of us are expecting, then Hines will be one of the big reasons why.
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I've been tempted to believe for some time that Fisher will play the 4 for us. We have too many talented guards who need minutes and no PF anyway, so it would be as natural as possible of a fit, especially considering Fisher's mainly inside-oriented offensive game and our need to incorporate more 3-point threats in the lineup. Sliding him to the 4 will help do that.
Sha's comments comparing Dar to Sanogo are intriguing, since by all accounts Dar's obvious strength is 3-point shooting, and I can't remember Sanogo ever even attempting a 3 until maybe his senior year. But if Dar can be scrappy and play defense even close to Sanogo's level, then I have to see him getting a lot of time at the PF spot also.
Sha's comments comparing Dar to Sanogo are intriguing, since by all accounts Dar's obvious strength is 3-point shooting, and I can't remember Sanogo ever even attempting a 3 until maybe his senior year. But if Dar can be scrappy and play defense even close to Sanogo's level, then I have to see him getting a lot of time at the PF spot also.
Ish: 12/30 (40%) for his career. 11/24 his senior year.
Thanks. So he shot 6 threes between his freshman and junior years. My point exactly.
Ish was an undersized 4 and he has 40 lbs on Dar. How is he going to defend a 4 that posts him up or provide rebounding being stick thin?
I dont take the comparisons too literally. And lots of things are said to get something into a kid's head. If Sha said he defended like Ish, that would be one thing. He said he hoped he could learn to defend like Ish. "I look at him as an Ismael Sanogo-type, but a better scorer. Ish was a tremendous defender. I’m hoping that Jacob could become that, but as more of a scorer because he can shoot"
I see a platoon system. I think Payne will play about 20 minutes per game with Hines eventually surpassing Godswill to get the majority of the other 20 minutes. Payne not only has 3 years of starting experience under his belt, he got all the Summer reps (no Godswill or Hines) and has the foot speed and agility to play the hedging defense Sha expects from his Bigs.
Despite showing a bit of promise late in the season, Godswill missing the summer with surgery hurt his development and his Free throw shooting makes him hard to play for long stretches or at the end of games. I think he'll be #3 on the depth chart.
Hines has the ability to be an old-fashioned Big man. Big, powerful, plays with attitude and owns the paint. But he's a freshman who missed most of the Summer workouts and Sha needs to get him in better shape. He'll have ups and downs as freshman do. On one hand, he will do things that will drop our jaws to the floor with his raw power and tenacity. But he'll also have times where he may look lost trying to play Sha's defense on the perimeter or pick up quick fouls.
Having 3 guys who all offer a little something different is good. And you also have Suemnick who has physicality and experience banging in the Big 12 for 3 years. I don't know where it came from because its an outlier from the rest of his career, but he started a game in 23/24 where he went up against All-American Center Hunter Dickinson and got the best of him. Had 20 pts & 6 rebounds in an upset over Kansas.
If we can keep them all healthy and working hard, these 4 guys should be able to supply decent play for us.
Yeah I never take comparisons to mean a player is going to produce like the player he's compared to unless it's stated in that way. Coach's use comparisons when they see traits, styles or physical attributes that are similar to a person they had in the past.
With Dar & Ish he likely sees a forward who is quick off his feet and has lateral quickness. Ish moved like his feet were on fire.
With Simpkins and Khadeen, he sees a lefty guard from Brooklyn who can get to the hoop and has some ball-handling and passing skills.
