Laettner Documentary

[Walker Fan]

After watching the Laettner 30 for 30 documentary and hearing Collins being interviewed on NBC Sports on Sunday Night and discussing the value of skilled players and speaking very highly of Falzon and Ash, it is obvious that Falzon (fingers crossed) is a perfect fit for Collins' system and his offense follows the Bilas-Ferry-Laettner tree of stretch 4 forwards who can hit the outside jumper which is now becoming the trend of college basketball (see UW's big men who shoot the three). Collins is not looking for one-dimensional players, but multi-talented skilled players and athletes and he has recruited them in Law, Lindsey, McIntosh (on the offensive end) and hopefully, Skelly and Vasser will develop into those types of player.

As for Falzon, I not saying that he will be as good as the players mentioned, but he was recruited to be in that mold of a forward who can hit the open jumper or three point shot if teams double Olah or sag to help on a drive by Demps or McIntosh or to help defend a slashing Law and Lindsey drive to the hoop. I have only seen snippets of Falzon, but if he is in fact, one of the best shooters in high school at the forward position, he will play a key part of NU's offense and stretch the floor to allow Olah and Demps do their damage. I do not think that the VaTech transfer will prevent Falzon's development or take his minutes, but he will be Olah's backup and play minutes at PF and bang with the big boys in the Big 10 that MSU, OSU, Iowa, Purdue stockpile. Falzon is a building block and the VaTech transfer will play a key part as a banger and physical presence near the basket.

 

[clarificationcat]

He's likely not going to shoot any better than Taphorn from deep this year so I think the real issue for Falzon will be if he can play defense, rebound and create his own shot better than Taphorn. Taphorn's minutes were limited because of rebounding and defense, I assume, because he clearly could stretch defenses better than Lumpin. Falzon is not tall for a 4 so hopefully he can bang with the big boys when necessary and still be quick enough to guard smaller players on switches.

 

[Walker Fan]

Clarification Cat,

If Falzon is one of the best stretch 4s in the nation, then he is a better shooter than Taphorn. But I don't disagree with you in that I like Tap's shot and have no idea why he did not play more in his freshman year and in his sophomore year (when he wasn't injured) over Lumpkin who was a non-factor for all but 2-3 Big 10 games. I think Falzon has a little more weight on him than Taphorn as a frosh and hopefully, he is willing to bang with the big boys.

 

[Gladeskat]

Originally posted by Walker Fan:

Clarification Cat,

If Falzon is one of the best stretch 4s in the nation, then he is a better shooter than Taphorn. But I don't disagree with you in that I like Tap's shot and have no idea why he did not play more in his freshman year and in his sophomore year (when he wasn't injured) over Lumpkin who was a non-factor for all but 2-3 Big 10 games. I think Falzon has a little more weight on him than Taphorn as a frosh and hopefully, he is willing to bang with the big boys.

You do know Taphorn made 20-40 (50%) of his 3-pointers, right? That doesn't mean that Falzon isn't one of the best stretch 4's in the nation. It only means that Taphorn is a pretty darn good spot-up shooter.

 

[Walker Fan]

My intention was not to get in an elaborate debate about the respective three point shooting abilities of one guy who I have not seen shoot the ball other than in snippets on a 3-5 minute video. But I think based on his rating as a top 100 recruit, the analysts who have seen Falzon think highly of his shooting ability. As for Tap, I like his shot.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

I think the VAtech guy starts immediately and nobody, that I have seen, will get in his way. He is 'turnkey'. He may spell Olah for 10 minutes, but I'd be surprised if he isn't our starting 4 and allows Law to be a SF.

Someone shot better than Falzon in High School, i.e., McIntosh. But shooting 42 threes in a row when not on a college floor is a lot different than an actual college game. Kale Abrahamson could shoot lights out in High school but got roughed up and didn't have nowhere close the confidence on a college court.

If what you say is true, and that Falzon shoots lights out here, then we are clearly going dancing. But still, not in any way, is he a stretch 4. He is only 6'6' on some sites, and I think 6'7" on others. I think Laetner, Ferry, were at least 6'10'. I'd say Falzon is a pure PF, maybe a power forward in relief, but definitely not a stretch 4.

 

[NUThump]

I think Pardon will be the backup to Olah. Given that there will be no other center on the roster after next year, CCC will want to get Pardon some experience to limit the drop off from that position in the 2016-2017 season.

 

[Walker Fan]

A NU blogger who follows the team a lot closer than you or I said that Falzon will see more minutes than the JVZ at PF. The blogger said JVZ has limited range and is more of a 5 or center. I can see him as the backup center and PF. Falzon is listed a the no. 78 prospect for the 2015 class by the ESPN rankings. He is listed at 6'7"-6'8" on all the main sites. Collins describes him as one of the best catch and shoot forwards in the class and ESPN describes his range as NBA range (23'9" v. 19'9"). Collins is not a big fan of Taphorn as you are if he did not replace the minutes of Lumpkin who was a serious offensive liability over the past two years. A stretch 4 is a PF who stretches the defenses which a PF with a good shot like Falzon is. Ferry was 6'8" (PF) and Laettner was a college center and 6'11". The bottom line is NU needs more guys to score and put the ball in the basket and I am hoping that Falzon will fit in seamlessly (fingers crossed when I say this).

As for Kale Abrahamson, my recollection was his shot was not smooth and his release was more of a push than a fluid release. There is a reason he is at Drake and not a power conference.

 

[Gladeskat]

Originally posted by Walker Fan:


As for Kale Abrahamson, my recollection was his shot was not smooth and his release was more of a push than a fluid release. There is a reason he is at Drake and not a power conference.

And Shurna should have played in the CCIW with his weird shooting style.

Nobody cares what your shooting style is like if the ball goes in the basket.

 

[Walker Fan]

And it did not go in the basket enough and that is why his minutes were limited and why he is no longer at NU.

 

[EvanstonCat]

B-I-N-G-O

On any other NU team, including this past year's, I would probably have Falzon starting (though even that is a reach as I have not actually see him play live - everyone looks great in highlight film). However, this is not the Northwestern team we are used to. It is actually deep, balanced, and talented. We have B1G talent deep into the roster, with some experience, and at every position, for the first time ever. NCAA caliber. The only question in my mind is whether we aren't still a bit too young (though with Demps, Olah, and JvZ you have 3 seniors that have been around the block) and chemistry (still not sure what JvZ did to get kicked off and whether he's going to mesh seamlessly), but I have us reaching the Dance this fall, with all the right pieces - for the first time ever.

On this team, I put the probability of Falzon starting at 5%. Our issue is not offense. Our issue remains defense and rebounding, especially against bigger more athletic teams.

Falzon may be skilled, but I doubt he is ready to bang in the B1G and thrive as a starter. In fact, I think Taphorn may end up playing ahead of him, as he can shoot and if he puts on as much muscle as he did the past offseason, he will be a factor. If Falzon is physically and mentally ready, then perhaps you'll see him play starter's minutes.

Doesn't mean I think Falzon doesn't get solid minutes, but generally speaking bigs who are ready to play at the highest level (i.e. please do not reference past NU players who may have done well as frosh on non-NCAA caliber teams, and would be 3's on any other team) as freshmen are largely limited to 5 star players and one and dones.

JvZ will start and he will spell Olah when the latter rests. When Olah goes out, and we need more offense as a result, that's when we will see someone like Falzon and/or Taphorn, playing with JvZ in the middle, probably with Demps (go 2 scorer) also on the floor as well.

My humble opinion, noting I was wrong about BMac and Vassar last year. BTW, BMac was as B1G ready as a frosh, but he was also a year older than most freshmen and he is decent sized already for a guard (though he would do well to get thicker over the off season himself).

 

[Gladeskat]

Originally posted by Walker Fan:
And it did not go in the basket enough and that is why his minutes were limited and why he is no longer at NU.

That I can agree with. That's the reason (or one of the reasons) why he transferred, not the nature of his shooting style.

 

[Walker Fan]

Actually, I respectfully disagree. A main problem with this year's team is scoring along with the void of a real power forward. On offense, the offense would repeatedly stall until 10 seconds were left on the shot clock when Demps was forced to dribble drive or force a contested fallaway jumper. JVZ clutters the offense in that his range is limited according to reports on what he can do. As for this year when Olah did get the ball, he could be double-teamed because Lumpkin was a non-factor so we were playing 5 on 4 on offense. Skelly was too raw offensively and Law could not figure out when to drive or when to shoot or that he needed to go up strong instead of shoot an off-balance shot off of one foot. Falzon is needed to spread or stretch the defense and hit the open shot on the baseline or elbow and if the defense comes out to deny his shot to dribble and penetrate. These are skills that he appears to have. Let's take the second Indiana game, you are not going to beat that talented of an offensive team with just Olah and Demps scoring. You need a third, fourth and hopefully, a fifth option. In the game in Evanston, Olah, Demps and Law had good games. We need McIntosh/Lindsey/Falzon also to be consistent scorers to get over 60 points more frequently.

 

[TejasCat]

I would like to see some pick and rolls with BMac/Demps and someone who is athletic like JVZ. I envision many alley oop dunks. This won't work with Olah in the lineup and his man clogging the middle, but only when JVZ is playing the 5.

 

[Walker Fan]

TejasCat,

I hear you, but I think that Skelly was doing the pick and roll with McIntosh and Demps a little bit of that in the 5-10 minutes of action when he was in the game and he will be on the team for the three next seasons. I am hopeful that JVZ will be an excellent backup to Olah and a big step up from Kreisberg and play some minutes at PF but I don't see him starting but I could be wrong. His signing shows me that Collins thinks we can win and take a big step next season (at least five more wins takes us to 20-12) and he wants to leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of a winning season next season and (fingers crossed) a trip to the bubble or maybe the tourney next season. Collins correctly thinks that a backup center of Skelly and a true frosh Pardon (fingers crossed with him also) is not going to work or succeed in banging with 7'2" Purdue's Isaac Haas, 7'1" Iowa (Eye Gouger) Woodberry and highly rated guys coming to the factory schools of MSU (Schilling and 5-star Davis) and OSU (5-star Giddons) and the other centers in the Big 10.

As for why JVZ transferred which has been asked on this board, I have bumped into a couple of Va Tech fans who said that Buzz Williams basically redid his roster in one year and ran off the players from the prior coach's team. He did it the typical crooked coach fashion in getting rid of the players as quickly as possible even in mid-season if they showed any sign of not jumping on board with Buzz's style.