We play Central Michigan at the Barn, tonight.. Central Michigan is supposed to finish in the middle of the pack in the west division of the MAC, this year.. They have a forward that is a pretty good player.. But this game is about getting our guys "out of a funk".
Daniel Oturu is playing like a beast this year but he still has a long ways to go and quite a bit of room to improve.. Marcus Carr is our 2nd best rebounder as a guard. THAT HAS TO CHANGE.. Ali Demir needs to be an offensive presence more than he has shown, up to this point... Gabe Kalscheur has to show as an outside threat.. Tre WIlliams is still trying to learn to make good decisions with the ball. I think Payton Willis has been steadying for us.
BUT THERE ARE THINGS I REALLY WANT TO SEE:
1. Unless there is a discipline issue, academic or offcourt issue, or injury, WE NEED TO SEE SAM FREEMAN AND ISAIAH IHNEN ON THE FLOOR, COMING OFF THE BENCH.. PERIOD!! I have thought a lot about the concept of "DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYERS".. To me, this is a perfect situation to get these guys in the game...
I get frustrated with the term, "DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYER", because this is basketball and not football.. This is a DIvision 1 Power 5 school so I am assuming the recruits are at that level, when Pitino is signing them... These guys should be on the floor for decent amount of minutes or it was a HUGE MISTAKE to recruit them in the first place.. Ihnen and Freeman were 4 and 3 star guys, respectively, so its not like they are learning the game of basketball from scratch.. Ihnen needs to develop strength, no doubt, but Freeman has the size to help us right now... Either we made a BAD MISTAKE in recruiting them and they are not D1 P5 players, or they can do some learning, on the job. Cmon Richard, let's get them some time on the floor!!!
2. Rebounding - Omersa still does not position himself well for rebounds.. That is a problem for us.. Omersa is athletic but not always in a way that is helping the team. Demir is definitely smaller and not nearly as physical as I thought he would for the Gophers... Oturu has skill to shoot the jumpshot and so far, it can be argued that he has been our MOST CONSISTENT OUTSIDE SHOOTER, at times... But we are going to need him inside, for the sake of the team for both rebounding and defending.. Oturu has to avoid the ticky-tack fouls and Omersa the same.. I look around and say I am thankful for Carr's willingness to rebound.. So far, neither Demir, Hurt, Omersa, nor Tre Williams can be dependable for rebounds.. Heck, even Payton Willis, another GUARD, has been the 3rd most consistent rebounder at times. THAT CANNOT BE THE CASE FOR US TO HAVE ANY CHANCE. WE NEED THE FRONTLINE GUYS TO STEP UP, We can control our rebounding and defense with supreme effort and the thinking aspect of the game.. Much more than shooting.
3. Shooting - Free throws and FG percentage... We just need to find shots that we can hit on a regular basis.. I have not seen anyone on the team, including Kalscheur this year, that has any spot on the floor that we can see a dependable scoring opportunity, outside of Oturu..Willis has shown some glimpses and Kalscheur certainly has the capability.. Gotta get into the 70% range or higher from the charity stripe, EVERY GAME. Would like to see the FG% rise to that mid to high 40% range. Shot selection, ball movement, and footwork/form need to be priority.
We have 2 games now with Central Michigan and North Dakota that should be wins.. Gotta get all of our guys to buy into whatever is happening in the program.. If it does not happen now, I think this is going to be confirmed as a dismal season... Cmon Gophers.. Let us get this turned around.
Daniel Oturu is playing like a beast this year but he still has a long ways to go and quite a bit of room to improve.. Marcus Carr is our 2nd best rebounder as a guard. THAT HAS TO CHANGE.. Ali Demir needs to be an offensive presence more than he has shown, up to this point... Gabe Kalscheur has to show as an outside threat.. Tre WIlliams is still trying to learn to make good decisions with the ball. I think Payton Willis has been steadying for us.
BUT THERE ARE THINGS I REALLY WANT TO SEE:
1. Unless there is a discipline issue, academic or offcourt issue, or injury, WE NEED TO SEE SAM FREEMAN AND ISAIAH IHNEN ON THE FLOOR, COMING OFF THE BENCH.. PERIOD!! I have thought a lot about the concept of "DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYERS".. To me, this is a perfect situation to get these guys in the game...
I get frustrated with the term, "DEVELOPMENTAL PLAYER", because this is basketball and not football.. This is a DIvision 1 Power 5 school so I am assuming the recruits are at that level, when Pitino is signing them... These guys should be on the floor for decent amount of minutes or it was a HUGE MISTAKE to recruit them in the first place.. Ihnen and Freeman were 4 and 3 star guys, respectively, so its not like they are learning the game of basketball from scratch.. Ihnen needs to develop strength, no doubt, but Freeman has the size to help us right now... Either we made a BAD MISTAKE in recruiting them and they are not D1 P5 players, or they can do some learning, on the job. Cmon Richard, let's get them some time on the floor!!!
2. Rebounding - Omersa still does not position himself well for rebounds.. That is a problem for us.. Omersa is athletic but not always in a way that is helping the team. Demir is definitely smaller and not nearly as physical as I thought he would for the Gophers... Oturu has skill to shoot the jumpshot and so far, it can be argued that he has been our MOST CONSISTENT OUTSIDE SHOOTER, at times... But we are going to need him inside, for the sake of the team for both rebounding and defending.. Oturu has to avoid the ticky-tack fouls and Omersa the same.. I look around and say I am thankful for Carr's willingness to rebound.. So far, neither Demir, Hurt, Omersa, nor Tre Williams can be dependable for rebounds.. Heck, even Payton Willis, another GUARD, has been the 3rd most consistent rebounder at times. THAT CANNOT BE THE CASE FOR US TO HAVE ANY CHANCE. WE NEED THE FRONTLINE GUYS TO STEP UP, We can control our rebounding and defense with supreme effort and the thinking aspect of the game.. Much more than shooting.
3. Shooting - Free throws and FG percentage... We just need to find shots that we can hit on a regular basis.. I have not seen anyone on the team, including Kalscheur this year, that has any spot on the floor that we can see a dependable scoring opportunity, outside of Oturu..Willis has shown some glimpses and Kalscheur certainly has the capability.. Gotta get into the 70% range or higher from the charity stripe, EVERY GAME. Would like to see the FG% rise to that mid to high 40% range. Shot selection, ball movement, and footwork/form need to be priority.
We have 2 games now with Central Michigan and North Dakota that should be wins.. Gotta get all of our guys to buy into whatever is happening in the program.. If it does not happen now, I think this is going to be confirmed as a dismal season... Cmon Gophers.. Let us get this turned around.
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