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Old 11-08-2007, 03:07 PM   #1
K-dog
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Default Analysis of BYU after Bryant

While watching the Bryant game it occurred to me that with so few people there it might benefit Cougarguard to hear some thoughts on the players. I'll break it down by position.

PG: This is definitely a position I wanted to watch because of the conerns in this area. If I missed something at another position, it was probably because I was watching the pg.

Murdock -- Murdock won't hurt us this year but he won't help us either. I like his tendency to push the ball up with the pass. I like his form on his shot and think he has some ability as a spot up shooter. He dribbles pretty high and doesn't guard particularly well. I expect he will start.

Loyd Jr. -- Looks like a short version of Cummard...iow, an Auschwitz survivor. Loyd has a better ability than Murdock to put the ball on the floor and get by a guy and to handle pressure. Displayed a nice floater. Quick feet and long arms make me think he can guard but he needs to stay in his stance better and become used to guarding other college players. I think this kid could blossom into a long term solution for us. He has a very fiery personality that is great in a pg.

Morgan -- Tiny, tiny, tiny, sideways rotation on his "J". I'm very unimpressed with this kid. He is very small but not really that quick. I would say he is slightly quicker than Murdock but not quicker than Loyd Jr. He is too small to penetrate and shoots too poorly to be a true long range bomber. Gets down in a nice defensive stance but it doesn't matter because a decent sized guard can shoot over him or get a step on him because he isn't that quick. I was very unimpressed.

Martineau -- I assume he has mission rust on him. He didn't get many minutes and didn't show much when he did. Had good eyes though, seemed to see cutters before they knew they were going to cut.

Summary -- The best pg on the floor played for Bryant. Murdock is serviceable. Morgan could do situational stuff for us. Martineau should red shirt. Loyd Jr. probably won the second string spot last night and has a shot at starter depending on his mental development and defensive effort.

Wing: We have an interesting group of experience, length, athleticism and talent in this group. I really like what I saw from them.

Cummard -- My man crush on Cummard continues. He still isn't as assertive offensively as I would like but he is a guy who will get his points. Most of his points come out of system and therefore, aren't at the expense of others points. Best kind of guy to have on a team. He can guard, he can rebound, he can run the floor and finish above the rim, he can spot up, he makes great cuts, he hits others in stride on their cuts. I want to see if he can score off the dribble...I am undecided on that point.

Burgess -- Burgess definitely deserves the other starter spot. He seems to have done away with his need to try and drive on people and is now shooting the "J" more. Has always had a nice looking shot and is a very good perimeter defender. The addition of him to the starting lineup makes our perimeter D much better than last year. He doesn't finish that well in transition and gives us 0 rebounding from the 2 spot. All in all, he is a nice compliment to Cummard as a wing.

Fredette -- This won't be a trendy analysis because I'm planning on being critical. Fredette has a slow release. He is shorter than I thought he would be and less athletic than I thought. The reason they aren't trying him at PG...he is too slow. Those things combined make him a guy that I can't predict. If he has that extra sense that allows certain guys to find their shots, he could be a very good player because of how accurate he is. If he doesn't have that 6th sense, he will be a bench player his whole career. A guy who comes in to shoot a few threes but generally can't do more. Now that the bad is out of the way, the good. His intangibles and complimentary skills are great. He plays a great floor game. Has excellent spacing and anticipation. Understands what is trying to be accomplished on a play and implements it. His hands are very quick. He will see time this year as a reserve and may prove to be all that he is advertised but I doubt it.

Rose -- Takes plays off, makes bad decisions and is lazy but has incredible upside potential. He jumps well, is smooth and effortless, has long arms, good mechanics on his shot, and is a big body for a 3. I loved him in stretches but then he seemed to lose focus or interest and make stupid plays. I'd love to see the coaches develop this kid like they did Young. He could be the same type of mismatch in conference, just at a different position.

Summary: Cummard and Burgess are a better tandem than Cummard and _________ last year. Fredette could be the "off the bench" shooter that this offense needs but needs to develop for his game to move to starter level and won't be that far along by the end of the year. Rose is an enigma and will be a coaching coup if he turns into something.

PF: This is our best position on this team.

Tavernari -- has worked on his post game. His lower body is stronger and his quick release makes him a bear in the post. He hasn't lost anything on the long range shooting. His passing in better and his rebounding is serviceable. He still plays perimeter defense upright with his heels driven into the floor. He will score effectively in every game and should be fine in rebounding and D.

Collinsworth -- this kid has scary potential. His feet are as quick as our starting pg but he is 6-9. He has a very nice, high arcing, jumper from downtown but can also finish around the rim. In short, he is athletic, skilled, talented, and well trained. He is still young and a little inconsistent but the kid is a baller. If there is any one freshman that I think could create himself a starting spot on this roster it is Collinsworth. He could move to the wing or Tav could move to the wing creating a starting lineup of Murdock, Cummard, Collinsworth, Tavernari, and Plaisted. Collinsworth needs to hit the weights and mature but his upside is as high as anyone on this team.

Summary -- solid position despite the youth. Rose can provide depth at the 4 and both Tav and Collinsworth are so versatile that I expect this team to see very good production from this group all season.

Center: Plaisted has fixed some things but not others. We are solid and deep at center.

Plaisted -- Plaisted is a scary athlete with bad basketball habits. He seems to have fixed some of them. His jump hook with his left hand has better extension than it used to, his foul shot has less motion and should be more accurate as a result, he is playing more defense with his feet. He still has terrible baseline footwork and, consequently, still looks uncomfortable going to the baseline but he is definitely trying to go that direction. Unfortunately, and most importantly, Plaisted still can't tell where his defender is when he has the ball. I don't think he knows where the D is and accordingly, just uses his best move a lot. That said, there isn't a better big man at filling the lane, at least not in the MWC.

Miles -- I'm so glad to have this guy back. He can run, he can jump, he has great footwork and fundamentals. Most of all, he knows how to defend the post. Have you ever noticed that Plaisted bangs with guys while they bang against him...strength against strength. Miles is smarter than that. When the offensive player's balance is forward or sideways, he nudges them and moves them off the block. It won't be called often because it looks like they took a voluntary step. Very sophisticated. Miles won't overtake Plaisted but will provide depth that is invaluable and should settle for that big dude at Utah.

Ivanovic -- Slow, has no lift, plays below the rim, doesn't defend or rebound well. At least he is big and has crafty moments. I hope we never need serious minutes out of Vuc. He is...disappointing.

In summary, I don't know yet. This team has all of the pieces to be better than last year. It is definitely more athletic than last year but it is also younger and dumber. If these guys learn their roles and gel, this could be a great year. At the worst, this team is #3 in the MWC and playing in the NIT. My prediction, they make the second round of the NCAAs and have a close loss there. They could be better but that is hoping for too much development out of Loyd and Collinsworth.
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Old 11-08-2007, 03:45 PM   #2
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An NCAA tourney win! Sweet! Not sure I go that far, but I like this team.

Good analysis. We only have a little bit to go on, but we can start to get a picture of how this team might look and how the newcomers will integrate.

PG--I agree, though on Morgan I disagree about his quickness. I've been extremely impressed with his quickness everytime I've seen him. But I agree with your overall evaluation--don't think he's going to amount to much. I think Martineau is a true frosh and will go on mission after the season.

Wing--Mostly agree. I'm higher on Jimmer, though. I think he's going to be a star. His D will get better, and his O is already avg MWC wing player. Rose would be a good candidate to redshirt. He has potential but I don't see him getting a lot of minutes this year.

PF--don't quite see the talent in Collinsworth you see in him, but I like him and see him as a solid starter in his upper class years. JT might be the star of this team. He's going to explode on the MWC scene this year.

Center--mostly agree. I still see Plaisted as a MWC first team kind of player. I hope he can deliver, because if he does, this team could be very good. Miles will be nice for the Utah game especially, but Plaisted is the 5 on this team.
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Old 11-08-2007, 03:48 PM   #3
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Great analysis K-Dog. Thanks for the report.
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Old 11-08-2007, 04:55 PM   #4
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Thanks for that K-Dog. That must have taken you some time. We appreciate it.
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Old 11-08-2007, 05:52 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jay santos View Post
An NCAA tourney win! Sweet! Not sure I go that far, but I like this team.

Good analysis. We only have a little bit to go on, but we can start to get a picture of how this team might look and how the newcomers will integrate.

PG--I agree, though on Morgan I disagree about his quickness. I've been extremely impressed with his quickness everytime I've seen him. But I agree with your overall evaluation--don't think he's going to amount to much. I think Martineau is a true frosh and will go on mission after the season.

Wing--Mostly agree. I'm higher on Jimmer, though. I think he's going to be a star. His D will get better, and his O is already avg MWC wing player. Rose would be a good candidate to redshirt. He has potential but I don't see him getting a lot of minutes this year.

PF--don't quite see the talent in Collinsworth you see in him, but I like him and see him as a solid starter in his upper class years. JT might be the star of this team. He's going to explode on the MWC scene this year.

Center--mostly agree. I still see Plaisted as a MWC first team kind of player. I hope he can deliver, because if he does, this team could be very good. Miles will be nice for the Utah game especially, but Plaisted is the 5 on this team.
I don't dislike Jimmer but I don't think he becomes a key contributer until his D improves. I thought he had slow feet. Of course, maybe he was working hard in practice and had tired legs. That could explain his shooting woes. His b-ball IQ looks really high.

I think JT leads this team in scoring this year. He has an assassin's personality.
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Old 11-08-2007, 05:54 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K-dog View Post
I think JT leads this team in scoring this year. He has an assassin's personality.
And I love the new look with the shaved head.
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Old 11-08-2007, 06:10 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
And I love the new look with the shaved head.
My wife viewed it favorably too.
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Old 11-08-2007, 07:05 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K-dog View Post
I think JT leads this team in scoring this year. He has an assassin's personality.
I could see JT's season totals being around 500 points and about 5 assists. Once he gets the ball on the block, he's damn well going to shoot it. But the way he shoots, that may not be a bad thing.

I noticed the same thing about Vuk last night, once he got the ball on the block, there was no way he was not going to shoot it.
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Old 11-08-2007, 07:12 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keyzer Soze View Post
I could see JT's season totals being around 500 points and about 5 assists. Once he gets the ball on the block, he's damn well going to shoot it. But the way he shoots, that may not be a bad thing.

I noticed the same thing about Vuk last night, once he got the ball on the block, there was no way he was not going to shoot it.
I disagree, JT passed well when facing the basket. He actually has quite good court sense, imho. He isn't going to be an assist machine but he will pass well.
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Old 11-08-2007, 07:41 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K-dog View Post
I disagree, JT passed well when facing the basket. He actually has quite good court sense, imho. He isn't going to be an assist machine but he will pass well.
I agree that he passes well facing the basket, I meant that if he got the ball on the block with his back to the hoop, he was going to shoot it. I was also a little disappointed that on the one fast break, he had a wide open Chris Miles trailing the play for a likely dunk, but instead took it in against two defenders. Now he got fouled and hit the FT's so it was no big loss, I just wanted to see him give up the ball in the particular situation.

Don't misunderstand me, I love JT. He has absolutely zero conscience on the court, which I love, and will be a great player for the next three years. I think the assassin comment is right on.
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