Gaines again..

mikewebb68

Senior
Oct 24, 2009
9,811
501
113
He should play ever single minute that he can, imo. Once again, we were a ridic +17 when he was in the game. And he put the absolute clamps down on whomever he was guarding on defense.
 

Pete Purple

Redshirt
Mar 6, 2012
648
31
0
Agree. And he doesn’t seem to foul much. Of course more minutes will change that. He’s also built like a tank. I think he, Nance, and Kopp will be great next season.
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
He should play ever single minute that he can, imo. Once again, we were a ridic +17 when he was in the game. And he put the absolute clamps down on whomever he was guarding on defense.

Ya his defense is sick and he is the one guy who plays with swagger. If he can develop even average offensive skills he could be all big ten. Personally I think he could be an NFL LB if he wanted to go that route.
 

mikewebb68

Senior
Oct 24, 2009
9,811
501
113
Ya his defense is sick and he is the one guy who plays with swagger. If he can develop even average offensive skills he could be all big ten. Personally I think he could be an NFL LB if he wanted to go that route.

He played free safety and wide receiver (?!?) on his high school football team, Imagine that truck coming at you on offense or defense...
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
He played free safety and wide receiver (?!?) on his high school football team, Imagine that truck coming at you on offense or defense...

Can he play as a 5th yr senior on the football team? I thought I heard you can get a 5th yr if you change sports. If so Fitz should be all over it. Seriously he’s like a bigger version of Napo who was also a decent b-ball player.
 

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
25,499
1,884
113
Love his athleticism. He skied for his put-back dunk. He had another monster dunk that was not counted because he was fouled on the way to the rim.
 

NUCat320

Senior
Dec 4, 2005
19,469
495
0
Love his athleticism. He skied for his put-back dunk. He had another monster dunk that was not counted because he was fouled on the way to the rim.
He is very athletic, and his development has been the brightest spot of this season.

Physically, I realized tonight that Gaines (6-4, 205) reminds me of Tim Doyle (6-5, 215). (Doyle was not particularly athletic.) Maybe next year Gaines starts slinging 25-foot bounce passes :) , though probably not.

Gaines needs to shoot more.
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
He is very athletic, and his development has been the brightest spot of this season.

Physically, I realized tonight that Gaines (6-4, 205) reminds me of Tim Doyle (6-5, 215). (Doyle was not particularly athletic.) Maybe next year Gaines starts slinging 25-foot bounce passes :) , though probably not.

Gaines needs to shoot more.

He looks much bigger than 205 lbs. That would be prettty skinny at 6 ft 4.
 

freewillie07

Sophomore
Aug 22, 2017
5,240
100
33
Yep he’s a strong dude. 90% of his offseason work needs to be on developing his jump shot. IMO, NU does not win the game against Illinois if Gaines doesn’t hit two 3-pointers and make the defense respect him.
 

Jonny2TheP

Junior
Dec 11, 2007
8,550
298
57
He reminds me a lot of Jeremy Nash, but a little more offensively advanced at this point. Nash wasn’t asked to play man defense much, but if you remember, he was an absolute force at the top of the 1-3-1. His offensive game was lacking early in his career, but by the time he was a senior he had developed some on offense.

Gaines reminds me a lot of Nash, but is a better natural basketball player and athlete.
 

willycat

Junior
Jan 11, 2005
21,448
318
0
He is very athletic, and his development has been the brightest spot of this season.

Physically, I realized tonight that Gaines (6-4, 205) reminds me of Tim Doyle (6-5, 215). (Doyle was not particularly athletic.) Maybe next year Gaines starts slinging 25-foot bounce passes :) , though probably not.

Gaines needs to shoot more.
He certainly is helping the team but one thing he shouldn't be doing more of is shoot.
 

NUCat320

Senior
Dec 4, 2005
19,469
495
0
He certainly is helping the team but one thing he shouldn't be doing more of is shoot.
Yeah, I mean, he’s only hitting 43% of threes. We need Taylor (36%) and Turner (30%) taking more. Vic (34%) and Nance (28%) too.
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
He certainly is helping the team but one thing he shouldn't be doing more of is shoot.

He needs to shoot wide open 3s and hit a respectable rate otherwise the offense which struggles 5 on 5 will effectively be 4 on 5 and dead in the water. He only needs to shoot 35% on wide open 3s to keep teams honest. He is capable of that based on his shooting so far.
 

DaCat

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
25,499
1,884
113
Yeah, I mean, he’s only hitting 43% of threes. We need Taylor (36%) and Turner (30%) taking more. Vic (34%) and Nance (28%) too.

He's hit some clutch threes this year. I like to less forced drives to the basket, he got like 2 or 3 shots blocked, better to drive and kick out. Yeah but he's our 3rd best player at this point.
 

Walker Fan

Freshman
Feb 16, 2015
751
88
0
Great night and win! Gaines and Kopp took big strides and so did CC. Finally, after 18 games, he realized he had to play two bigs at the same time. Most of the teams in the Big 10 have two guys that are 6’8” and larger on the floor at the same time. (See Iowa and MSU losses as we got manhandled on the defensive and offensive glass). Now CC will have to figure out that playing a PG might be a good idea v. Indiana because we can not fall behind 7-0 every night against NCAA level teams like UM, MSU, IU, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Fresno State and win. Maybe he will figure that out also soon and we can get a quality win (0-7 so far against tournament level teams)

Greer needs to play 8-10 minutes a game at least and we need to play two bigs or else we will get crushed on the boards v. UNL, UMD, PU, etc. who have quality bigs and quick and experienced PGs (Cowan, Watson and Edwards come quickly to mind). And maybe we can switch it up on defense once or twice a game as a novel thought to keep a team off balance.
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
Gaines should start every game. We can't keep starting each game in a big hole.

Summarizing this thread we need to start about 8 guys so we can avoid early holes. I think it would work if the Refs don’t notice. I’m pretty sure James Harden could get away with this in the NBA.
 

JournCat

Junior
Aug 4, 2009
4,512
242
63
Great night and win! Gaines and Kopp took big strides and so did CC. Finally, after 18 games, he realized he had to play two bigs at the same time. Most of the teams in the Big 10 have two guys that are 6’8” and larger on the floor at the same time. (See Iowa and MSU losses as we got manhandled on the defensive and offensive glass). Now CC will have to figure out that playing a PG might be a good idea v. Indiana because we can not fall behind 7-0 every night against NCAA level teams like UM, MSU, IU, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Fresno State and win. Maybe he will figure that out also soon and we can get a quality win (0-7 so far against tournament level teams)

Greer needs to play 8-10 minutes a game at least and we need to play two bigs or else we will get crushed on the boards v. UNL, UMD, PU, etc. who have quality bigs and quick and experienced PGs (Cowan, Watson and Edwards come quickly to mind). And maybe we can switch it up on defense once or twice a game as a novel thought to keep a team off balance.

I saw that we were -15 in the 17 minutes that Pardon and Benson played together.
 

Katatonic

Sophomore
Oct 23, 2004
86,854
134
0
Great night and win! Gaines and Kopp took big strides and so did CC. Finally, after 18 games, he realized he had to play two bigs at the same time. Most of the teams in the Big 10 have two guys that are 6’8” and larger on the floor at the same time. (See Iowa and MSU losses as we got manhandled on the defensive and offensive glass). Now CC will have to figure out that playing a PG might be a good idea v. Indiana because we can not fall behind 7-0 every night against NCAA level teams like UM, MSU, IU, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Fresno State and win. Maybe he will figure that out also soon and we can get a quality win (0-7 so far against tournament level teams).

This is where not having someone like Lumpkin has hurt.

While undersized, Sanjay could defend all 5 positions and that versatility on D was priceless; Gaines is a beast, but can't defend all 5 positions like Sanjay could.

But other than that, Gaines is making a pretty mean mini-Sanjay impression.

W/ an improved jump-shot, can see Gaines being like (a healthy) Cobb.

One thing for sure, Gaines is the guy on the roster who has the least problem driving to the basket.
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
This is where not having someone like Lumpkin has hurt.

While undersized, Sanjay could defend all 5 positions and that versatility on D was priceless; Gaines is a beast, but can't defend all 5 positions like Sanjay could.

But other than that, Gaines is making a pretty mean mini-Sanjay impression.

W/ an improved jump-shot, can see Gaines being like (a healthy) Cobb.

One thing for sure, Gaines is the guy on the roster who has the least problem driving to the basket.

Gaines is unafraid to drive but if he doesn’t get fouled he usually can’t finish. I didn’t think he would be as good as Sanjay but he’s getting there and I think has more offensive upside.
 

GOUNUII

Junior
Jan 4, 2004
6,418
238
63
He is very athletic, and his development has been the brightest spot of this season.

Physically, I realized tonight that Gaines (6-4, 205) reminds me of Tim Doyle (6-5, 215). (Doyle was not particularly athletic.) Maybe next year Gaines starts slinging 25-foot bounce passes :) , though probably not.

Gaines needs to shoot more.

Gaines needs to shoot better....before he shoots more. More than 5 feet out is not pretty.

GOUNUII
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
Gaines needs to shoot better....before he shoots more. More than 5 feet out is not pretty.

GOUNUII
Well he shoots 43% from 3 this year so I don’t really care about pretty if it’s goIng in. He needs to shoot when open on the 3 otherwise defenses don’t play him and our offense is screwed.
 

Jonny2TheP

Junior
Dec 11, 2007
8,550
298
57
Well he shoots 43% from 3 this year so I don’t really care about pretty if it’s goIng in. He needs to shoot when open on the 3 otherwise defenses don’t play him and our offense is screwed.

Gaines is similar to Sanjay in this regard. They aren’t/weren’t counted on for scoring, especially from the 3 point line, so he is smart in his shot selection. People are right that he’s not a great shooter, so it’s a credit to him that he shoots 43% from long distance due to his selection of moments to take those shots.
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
Gaines is similar to Sanjay in this regard. They aren’t/weren’t counted on for scoring, especially from the 3 point line, so he is smart in his shot selection. People are right that he’s not a great shooter, so it’s a credit to him that he shoots 43% from long distance due to his selection of moments to take those shots.

Agree that he doesn’t force shots. But he is also left open quite a bit so I think he’ll need to take more of those if we’re gonna beat good big ten teams.
 

NUCat320

Senior
Dec 4, 2005
19,469
495
0
Agree that he doesn’t force shots. But he is also left open quite a bit so I think he’ll need to take more of those if we’re gonna beat good big ten teams.
Like that one game against Purdue where Pardon made a bunch of jumpers, except always.
 

hdhntr1

All-Conference
Sep 5, 2006
37,228
1,075
113
Great night and win! Gaines and Kopp took big strides and so did CC. Finally, after 18 games, he realized he had to play two bigs at the same time. Most of the teams in the Big 10 have two guys that are 6’8” and larger on the floor at the same time. (See Iowa and MSU losses as we got manhandled on the defensive and offensive glass). Now CC will have to figure out that playing a PG might be a good idea v. Indiana because we can not fall behind 7-0 every night against NCAA level teams like UM, MSU, IU, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Fresno State and win. Maybe he will figure that out also soon and we can get a quality win (0-7 so far against tournament level teams)

Greer needs to play 8-10 minutes a game at least and we need to play two bigs or else we will get crushed on the boards v. UNL, UMD, PU, etc. who have quality bigs and quick and experienced PGs (Cowan, Watson and Edwards come quickly to mind). And maybe we can switch it up on defense once or twice a game as a novel thought to keep a team off balance.
Foul trouble had a lot to do with that. The other night the Bigs weren't getting fouls called on them so CC was able to have them in together for a while.
 

hdhntr1

All-Conference
Sep 5, 2006
37,228
1,075
113
Gaines should start every game. We can't keep starting each game in a big hole.
It is more about the total minutes played and who is in at crunch time. CC feels he is better coming off the bench. Maybe to give him a chance to see what needs to be done. But his minutes played and crunch time says starter even though he technically isn't.
 

GOUNUII

Junior
Jan 4, 2004
6,418
238
63
Well he shoots 43% from 3 this year so I don’t really care about pretty if it’s goIng in. He needs to shoot when open on the 3 otherwise defenses don’t play him and our offense is screwed.

You are urging Gaines to do exactly what opposing defenses/coaches would like him to do. For good reason. Great example of stats being for losers.

GOUNUII
 

torque-cat

Redshirt
Dec 11, 2018
1,234
0
0
You are urging Gaines to do exactly what opposing defenses/coaches would like him to do. For good reason. Great example of stats being for losers.

GOUNUII

Other teams leave him open because he usually doesn’t shoot. If he proves he can hit a third of his open 3 pt shots they will start guarding him. Based on evidence to date he’s capable but he’s been hesitant. We ain’t gonna win much playing 4 on 5 offense so we might as well see what he’s got.