Most improved Cat this year?
- Thread starter charcat
- Start date
Nicholson. Earlier this season I called him soft. He’s toughened up all season long.. Strong D vs. Eddy today. Solid finishes around the rim.
Nicholson is a beast. He took the ball away from Edey on at least two occasions and rained two dunks on him. Edey did score 24 points but didn't seem like it.
Compared to last year MN. He started out as a very out of position defender that hadn’t caught up to the speed of the game and got pushed around a little. He has since developed into one of the better defensive 5’s in the B1G. Edey got his points but MN walled up and really frustrated him at times. He has some nice strips and deflections today. His positioning is night and day compared to last year. He knows his role in the offense and flashed some skill passing. Very mobile for a man his size. Hit the weight room hard and is visibly stronger and bigger than last year.
Now I don’t wanna say Audige since he was derailed by injuries last year and the biggest change for him is that he’s healthy and doesn’t force shots as much.
Developing during the year Brooks Barnhizer. He started out solid on the defense end this year. The hustle plays were there. A lot of little things offensively keep popping up here and there throughout the season for him. Making the right cut or pass. Setting a good screen. Lots of doing all the little things to affect the game without scoring a whole lot. Then you add a shooting performance like against OSU.
Now I don’t wanna say Audige since he was derailed by injuries last year and the biggest change for him is that he’s healthy and doesn’t force shots as much.
Developing during the year Brooks Barnhizer. He started out solid on the defense end this year. The hustle plays were there. A lot of little things offensively keep popping up here and there throughout the season for him. Making the right cut or pass. Setting a good screen. Lots of doing all the little things to affect the game without scoring a whole lot. Then you add a shooting performance like against OSU.
+1! I'm wondering if there's something akin to Pete Newell's "Big Man Camp" in existence since Pete passed away some 15 years ago? I'd sure like to see Big Matt get that kind of specialized coaching this summer. Imagine him knowing how to catch the ball in the post and drop step into a little baby hook. Might not work that great against a monster like Edey, but there just aren't that many quality low post big guys in the game any more. And I don't see Edey being around next year -- time to move on and cash in. Matt doesn't need a lot of moves, just one or two. A 7' bank shot, ala Duncan, and a little hook shoot would do wonders for our offense. Based upon the level of improvement that we've seen with Matt just during this season, I think he's an untapped source of potential star power. A big guy who can defend, now without fouling? Would also like to see him make 20-25% more of his free throws.
Would also love to see Boo throwing lobs to him again next season -- no reason not to come back and have someone pay your grad school tuition for a year before you go off to Europe to play pro hoops and see the world...
The Big Man Camp that I am most familiar with is Matt Painter's Purdue program.
He recruits limited, big post players like Edey and coaches them up.
Trevion Williams (6'10" 265) , Matt Haarms (7'3" 250), Isaac Haas (7'2" 295)
all playing in the Purdue rotation in their first season. Haas (#84) was the only one rated in the top 100 recruits.