Lumpkin?

[VirginiaWildcat]

By no means is this an attempt to take shots at Sanjay...all of us love the kid and what he's already accomplished for us.

That said, I'm just slightly concerned about his recent production. He's scored 2 points TOTAL in the last six games. We all know he's not out there lift us offensively, but that's really anemic production. Is his solid defense and phenomenal team attitude strong enough to justify extended minutes or will we see his PT drop more than it already has? What role does he hold going forward?

With the notable burgeoning emergence of Taphorn, can Sanjay maintain confidence in his game (I'm not concerned about his attitude...the kid has an awesome attitude)? I'd prefer Lumpkin to start for a couple reasons. Number 1, he seems to play better with more minutes/involvement. 2, it'd be nice to keep Tap as a guy that can come off the bench and score, considering we don't currently have much of that. However, Tap has made a quick case since returning from injury that he should be a starter. If he continues to play similar to how he played last night, it will be very difficult to keep him off the floor...and his defensive has seemingly improved as well.

Just hoping Sanjay stays confident in his game. We've seen an indecisive player on offense the last few games, and I still think we really need this kid in the future.

 

[lunker35]

I agree. He needs to produce more. I also have a problem with the way Olah plays at times. Last night he was just awful on offense. While it's not a turnover it might was well be when you're chucking up brutal shots that have no chance. He shows flashes of promise and always finishes with decent numbers because of his size, but he really needs to be smarter with the ball on offense.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[docrugby1]

The institution of the 2-3 zone will reduce Lumpkins minutes. He can play man better than Taphorn but both Olah and Taphorn are better suited to defend in the zone and can contribute more offensively

 

[hdhntr1]

He really has taken two shots or less during that time. Seems he is there for D and rebounding more than anything else. And they do not seem to be running any O for him. Perhaps he has an undisclosed injury to a shooting hand or something but is still meaningful on D and rebounding.

 

[VirginiaWildcat]

Originally posted by docrugby1:

The institution of the 2-3 zone will reduce Lumpkins minutes. He can play man better than Taphorn but both Olah and Taphorn are better suited to defend in the zone and can contribute more offensively

That's an excellent point. The 2-3 does downplay his strengths, which consists of that bulldog style man-to-man D (and fundamentally sound boxing-out which leads to most of his rebounds). If he can't deliver anything offensively, and we continue to utilize the zone, can he find alternative ways to contribute, or is the lower amount of minutes something he'll have to adjust to? CC went with Tap (rightfully so) in clutch time last night.

 

[JournCat]

Originally posted by docrugby1:

The institution of the 2-3 zone will reduce Lumpkins minutes. He can play man better than Taphorn but both Olah and Taphorn are better suited to defend in the zone and can contribute more offensively

Taphorn shot well last night and didn't make any glaring mistakes in the zone. He also seems to have become the designated inbounder when we're being pressed. I think it's a matter of time before he's starting.

 

[julescat]

I think Sanjay is NU's thug and will be used to get under the skin of vulnerable good opponents. I am not implying that there is anything wrong with being a thug.

 

[Gladeskat]

Originally posted by JournCat:

Originally posted by docrugby1:

The institution of the 2-3 zone will reduce Lumpkins minutes. He can play man better than Taphorn but both Olah and Taphorn are better suited to defend in the zone and can contribute more offensively

Taphorn shot well last night and didn't make any glaring mistakes in the zone. He also seems to have become the designated inbounder when we're being pressed. I think it's a matter of time before he's starting.

Taphorn did make a few mistakes tossing a ball out of bounds once and an over and back violation when he dribbled into the corner of the front court. He did a great job scoring and his pick on Mason was devastating. He should also be more effective in the 2-3 zone relative to Lumpkin, who is better man-to-man defender (as docrugby pointed out). He should get more minutes if he continues to remain hot from 3-point range. He's shooting 53.1% from three so far this year.

 

[CappyNU]

I think next year, barring a significant offensive improvement in Sanjay's game, that he is in line for a Sobo-esque minutes reduction. Taphorn's defensive deficiencies are less bad than Sanjay's offensive deficiencies, so between Tap and Falzon, I think Sanjay's the odd man out.

 

[NUCat320]

Lumpkin has definitely lost confidence offensively. He didn't even look at the basket yesterday.

A far cry from the player whose hot shooting got NU the early lead against Maryland last month.

It will be interesting to see how much Tap eats into his playing time. It seems that Law, Tap, Lumpkin will all have shots for the nominal 4 spot on a game by game basis, with the biggest contributor prevailing.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Originally posted by NUCat320:

It will be interesting to see how much Tap eats into his playing time. It seems that Law, Tap, Lumpkin will all have shots for the nominal 4 spot on a game by game basis, with the biggest contributor prevailing.

Law has been mostly playing the three along with Lindsey with Tap and Lumpkin alternating at the four. That may change some if Cobb gets back, but I'm starting to think that Law's future is at the three.

 

[GOUNUII]

Good Question V-Cat

Sanjay is a tough guy supreme, but with the continued/likely development of Taphorn and Skelly, both of whom have tough guy qualities and more, I don't see how Collins can avoid having those guys on the court at Sanjay's expense. I think Pardon will be given every chance to back-up Olah next year. Even as a freshman, he will have the only true center skill set on the team. And Collins will do all that he can to get Pardon minutes because he will need Pardon to be the man in the middle in 2016. Collins knows he can't go a whole season post Olah with Skelly or an inexperienced true freshman at center. Add to this Falzon"s expected contributions as a true freshman ( Collins loves stretch 4s who can hit the 3 ), and Sanjay's dilemma is made worse. The analogy to Sobo is a good one. Sanjay will have to remain tough and ready to go even as his minutes look to diminish during his senior year. If all this plays out and he's largely reduced to a practice, situational minutes and leadership asset, will Sanjay be back for his 5th year in 2016? I hope so. That would be "finishing" in the truest sense of the word.

If I were Collins, I woud put Sanjay and Sobo in the same historical category as Crawford. Guys that were there from the beginning in redefining NU basketball. That Sanjay and Sobo took/will likely take it on the chin in the transformation process shouldn't reduce the recognition Collins talks about for those who were with him from the beginning.

GOUNUII

This post was edited on 2/19 1:18 PM by GOUNUII

 

[thewildcat2011]

SANJAY

*

 

[NUCat320]

Yeah, mostly agreed PURP.

I think Law played as the nominal four when Tap was out, whether with Lindsey or Cobb as the running mate.

When Tap plays next to Law, I guess Tap is the 4.

When Lumpkin plays, it's as the four regardless of who is there.

Conclusion: it'll be nice if Falzon is a 4. I don't think I've seen one at NU since Tavaras.

 

[GOUNUII]

Re: SANJAY


Thanks for the correction.

 

[Sec_112]

This is a good thing

First of all, one of the reasons we're having this discussion is the improvement of Taphorn. If there's anything this team has needed, it's additional offense and ESPECIALLY outside shooting. Taphorn's reasonable threat of an outside shot is gold ... "Gold, Jerry, gold."

For a while, I've had issues with Lumpkin on offense. I don't think it's an accident that the team's slow starts became less-than-a-regular occurrence when he was taken out of the starting lineup. As one poster said, he's getting to the point where he barely looks at the basket. This is not a one-game scenario.

Lumpkin is just not that much of a defensive stopper to make up for what little he offers on offense. He's a "nice" defensive player, but I'd argue whether he stands out.

In the end, he's a nice sixth or seventh man on a reasonable team.

 

[Walker Fan]

Re: This is a good thing

Sanjay was recruited as a SG and at 6'5" he has gotten a lot of minutes at PF. The problems are that he is no threat as an offensive player and teams have left him open and his man can rotate over and disrupt Olah. In the MSU game in Evanston, Dawsen would come over to double Olah and block his shot and then abuse Lumpkin on numerous offensive rebounds. I do not think with the development of Skelly and Taphorn and arrival of Falzon and Pardon who is being advertised as a more physical 4/5 that there will much of a role for Lump. At pier forward in the Big 10, you have to be 6'7"-6'10" and have some muscle. But that is just my opinion.

 

[Turk_rivals223269]

Sanjay is doing fine imo. He isnt taking the shots but could if the plan went to him. I think the team is starting to play consistently and sanjay is a big reason.