grades v Savannah St.

[tupacbiff]

Man that was an ugly game. Clearly a team we should have blown out but sometimes the shots just don't fall. Glad it happened against an inferior opponent. Hope KB is OK. Post entry and FT shooting remain a concern.

Onto the grades...

Rosario, 5: Pretty typical game for Mike. He does some great things and then some maddening things. Missed two very easy shots. In the 1st half looks like he couldnt decide whether to dunk it and in the 2nd was anticipating contact on the run out. Great pass to young on the dunk. Also had at least two opportunities to lay it off to patric on the drive for a dunk but kept it. At least it looks like his 3 pt shot is back and he was much more balanced shooting it. Now the bad...his defense was really poor. He was over hedging and any time the guy he was guarding jabbed step he really went for it and pulled himself way out of pos. A better opponent would have exploited it. Poor job checking back for the ball against the press.

KB, 3: The grade is only for his playing and ignored the injury and missed time. Not a good game for Kenny. He forced things offensively when it was not necessary. Unlike last game where patience was a very good attribute he was impatient. He seemed to make the wrong decision with the ball too much today. He drove and passed when he should have kept it and when he kept it to shoot he should have passed. His def was fine.

Murphy, 3: Poor shooting night and it looked like it effected him. Koss made a great point that he did not seal his man posting enough leading to turn over on the entry pass.

Young, 6: Finally imposed himself physically. He shot too poorly from the field and line to grade out higher. I love that he is unselfish but sometimes when he grabs the offensive board I would like to see him attack more. Excellent effort and defensive shot blocking presence.

Yeguete, 5: Typicaly WY game. A pest defensively and on the boards. Great help def. Im getting tired of him picking up moving pick fouls when Rosario doesnt show enough patience in letting him set the pick. (Not WY fault). 5 TO just too much against this type of opponent.

D. Walker, 4: I hate when you come in the game after sitting 3/4 of it and take a bad shot the 1st time you touch it. He was weak defensively and I think he can tell he needs to greatly improve his strength to compete in college. Nice FT shooting and a sweet cross over but I think he surprised himself because he paused for a sec too long.

Kurtz, NG: 1 min

Frazier II, 3: No impact on the game in 9 min. He didn't do anything good. Held his own defensively.

Graham, Inc.: Somewhat surprised he didn't get more min and anytime in the 1st half when up 20.

Ogbueze, 4: Happy that he finally showed something. Prior to this game I just didn't see it in him. Took an absolutely horrendous shot as soon as he got on the floor. Im not sure he has the PG instinct yet. Seems to be a real liability on def. For his size the quickness remains a question mark. However, on a positive note he settled in showed decent hands defensively and helped on the glass. PLus like I said in previous grade posts Im not saying he doesnt have it but may just need to settle in to show it. He looked more comfortable today.

Wilbekin, 5: Just grades out at a 5 due to his def. His on ball defense was very solid. He also handled the ball well against pressure and made good decisions. Loved that he shot the 3 with a defender on him and nailed it. He had the spacing to take it. Could have done a bit more drive and dish.

Billy, 5: I didn't see anything good or bad from Billy. I would have liked to see Graham in the 1st half with such a big lead. Frazier and Ogbueze didn't show anything special in the 1st half so could have tossed graham a chance. Clearly need to work on post entry by both the passer and receiver. FT shooting rears its ugly head again.

refs, 5: They clearly were poor on the charge calls. Nothing else was much of an issue.

Announcers, 7: Night and day for Koss compared to Wise. One is a pro and one doesn't deserve to be on TV. Koss just makes simple but smart points and most importantly he is not annoying. Larry was worse today than with Wise but think that is more a comfort factor w/ Koss that he is willing to step out more.

Feel free to discuss...

[G8rNkoko]

The grades seem fair as the whole team was just out of sync tonight. The only standout performance was Patrick on the defensive end of the floor.

[NorthCaptivaGator]

One of Patrick Young's better games, hopefully more to come as he gets used to the three guards handling the point vs. just Walker. Koss was right about patience around the rim, he still guesses what his defender is going to do vs. feeling what his defender is going to do, great effort though

Hope Wil realizes that against better opponents he is going to have to be more careful regarding the fouls he picks up

I think Rosario deserves a better score, he had some nice assists and ran the floor really well, nice to think we can count on him to replace Erv's 12 Pts and 4-5 boards

Was great to see Scottie handle the press a couple of times without Kenny in there and Patrick providing a nice outlet in the middle

Anxious to see how Prather fits in as the Freshman are not going to be able to provide much, only Frazier has the body at this point

[GatorJason]

Young, 9: He missed some shots but had a 13 pts, 11 rb, 6 blocks and only 1 turnover
Rosario, 7: Scored 13 points, 3 assists vs 1 TO and 2 steals. Very good stats for Mike
Murphy, 6: Didn't shoot well but scored 10 points with 5 rb, 2 steals and block shot on D.
Wilbekin, 5: Solid with 4 points, 3 rb, 2 assists, and 2 steals and no TOs
Yeguete, 4: Not up to his standards with 7 points, 6 rbs, 2 steals and 5 TO.
Boynton, 3: His energy level was lacking scoring only 5 points, 1 assist and 3 TOs in 24 min

[your_perfect_enemy]

couldn't agree more with you on Koss vs wise. I would like to hear Koss call a game where we're losing or having a bunch of calls go against us, just to see how he avoids bias.

The block/charges were terrible- how they called a charge on the play Boynton hurt his ankle is beyond me.

Rosario really seems to have a nice chemistry with Young and tries to feed him more while driving to the basket than our other guards.

I think Muphry was a little better than a 3. He shot poorly but he seemed to do a few more little things to make up for it. They always bring up the cliche of playing offense inside out which is referring to the team as a whole; but it seems like that's how Murphy should play individually. Work more inside earlier in the game dragging his defender down even further and start to drift out more as the game goes on. Not to say he shouldn't shoot when he's open early, but I think if he worked the ball inside earlier it would open things up more for him later on.

[Go2gtr]

Originally Posted by tupacbiff

Man that was an ugly game. Clearly a team we should have blown out but sometimes the shots just don't fall. Glad it happened against an inferior opponent. Hope KB is OK. Post entry and FT shooting remain a concern.

Onto the grades...

Rosario, 5: Pretty typical game for Mike. He does some great things and then some maddening things. Missed two very easy shots. In the 1st half looks like he couldnt decide whether to dunk it and in the 2nd was anticipating contact on the run out. Great pass to young on the dunk. Also had at least two opportunities to lay it off to patric on the drive for a dunk but kept it. At least it looks like his 3 pt shot is back and he was much more balanced shooting it. Now the bad...his defense was really poor. He was over hedging and any time the guy he was guarding jabbed step he really went for it and pulled himself way out of pos. A better opponent would have exploited it. Poor job checking back for the ball against the press.

KB, 3: The grade is only for his playing and ignored the injury and missed time. Not a good game for Kenny. He forced things offensively when it was not necessary. Unlike last game where patience was a very good attribute he was impatient. He seemed to make the wrong decision with the ball too much today. He drove and passed when he should have kept it and when he kept it to shoot he should have passed. His def was fine.

Murphy, 3: Poor shooting night and it looked like it effected him. Koss made a great point that he did not seal his man posting enough leading to turn over on the entry pass.

Young, 6: Finally imposed himself physically. He shot too poorly from the field and line to grade out higher. I love that he is unselfish but sometimes when he grabs the offensive board I would like to see him attack more. Excellent effort and defensive shot blocking presence.

Yeguete, 5: Typicaly WY game. A pest defensively and on the boards. Great help def. Im getting tired of him picking up moving pick fouls when Rosario doesnt show enough patience in letting him set the pick. (Not WY fault). 5 TO just too much against this type of opponent.

D. Walker, 4: I hate when you come in the game after sitting 3/4 of it and take a bad shot the 1st time you touch it. He was weak defensively and I think he can tell he needs to greatly improve his strength to compete in college. Nice FT shooting and a sweet cross over but I think he surprised himself because he paused for a sec too long.

Kurtz, NG: 1 min

Frazier II, 3: No impact on the game in 9 min. He didn't do anything good. Held his own defensively.

Graham, Inc.: Somewhat surprised he didn't get more min and anytime in the 1st half when up 20.

Ogbueze, 4: Happy that he finally showed something. Prior to this game I just didn't see it in him. Took an absolutely horrendous shot as soon as he got on the floor. Im not sure he has the PG instinct yet. Seems to be a real liability on def. For his size the quickness remains a question mark. However, on a positive note he settled in showed decent hands defensively and helped on the glass. PLus like I said in previous grade posts Im not saying he doesnt have it but may just need to settle in to show it. He looked more comfortable today.

Wilbekin, 5: Just grades out at a 5 due to his def. His on ball defense was very solid. He also handled the ball well against pressure and made good decisions. Loved that he shot the 3 with a defender on him and nailed it. He had the spacing to take it. Could have done a bit more drive and dish.

Billy, 5: I didn't see anything good or bad from Billy. I would have liked to see Graham in the 1st half with such a big lead. Frazier and Ogbueze didn't show anything special in the 1st half so could have tossed graham a chance. Clearly need to work on post entry by both the passer and receiver. FT shooting rears its ugly head again.

refs, 5: They clearly were poor on the charge calls. Nothing else was much of an issue.

Announcers, 7: Night and day for Koss compared to Wise. One is a pro and one doesn't deserve to be on TV. Koss just makes simple but smart points and most importantly he is not annoying. Larry was worse today than with Wise but think that is more a comfort factor w/ Koss that he is willing to step out more.

Feel free to discuss...

Koss is a financial planner.

[outbackjack]

OK. While I disagreed with Will last game, I am adjusting to your grading system.

And while I still disagree with Will's grade vs. MTSU, I am absolutely loving reading your reports (as an airball should be no different than a miss for rankings)

Seriously. I woke up this morning looking forward to reading this.

Thank you for taking the time to do this, and for being a tough grader.

I can tell you watch basketball like I do, frustrated with Mike not allowing Will the time on the p and r. It's happened 3 times this season.

And Murph sealing weakly last night.

When an interior pass is stolen, sometimes it's the angle, sometimes it's the placement of the pass, sometimes it's the post not sealing, sometimes it's where the pass is thrown, just can't say it's the passers fault each time.

One thing I'd like you to consider adding.....team defense.

It's a huge component of this team, and it requires "all 5 working as one"...to steal a line from the great Norman Dale

Our help defense has been very strong, our closeouts have been very strong...we haven't been this good in the halfcourt team D since 06-07.

It's really interesting watching the freshman trying to play team defense when they are out their with a few veterans. Right now Dillon Graham is the best at this.

[exiledgator]

Great job as always!

I couldn't believe the announcer going over the KB charge over and over as KB lay on the ground injured in a game that had been decided.

Nice to see the Gators have an off game and still handle a team like this. Great D.

[gatorbogey]

Sav State played really tough defense. they were surprisingly strong and very physical. i would imagine they'll make it to the ncaa's w/ that style and provide a stern test for a 1 or 2 seed come tourney time. if they make some shots, they could pull a dramatic upset.

i like both koss and wise. personally, and i must be in the minority, i prefer wise. i like his more technical explanations. koss is better for the layperson, simplier, but his phrases seem almost cliche to me and sometimes don't seem to be applicable, like he's got some pre-conceptions and wants to support those views. it might be because wise is used to doing radio and koss is used to doing tv, wise, to me at least, paints a better [technical] picture.

[gatorbogey]

right now - gators are impressing on the defensive end of the court. put, to me at least, we're suffering a bit w/ our pg play. difference is EWalk - on both ends. of course, erv was prone to have a few turnovers, that frustrated us, but he usually had no problems w/ any pressure - his turnovers were usually driving in the paint. i think, right now, we may be susceptible to pressure - bring the ball up the court.

entry passes to the post still remain an issue. although, some trips down the court we run the offense reasonably well.

what other weaknesses to you see? or areas of improvement we need?

[ufgator4ever]

Originally Posted by gatorbogey

entry passes to the post still remain an issue.

what other weaknesses to you see? or areas of improvement we need?

As Kos pointed out (and Tupac acknowledged), it's not just the passes, but the bigs boxing out their man and receiving the ball. Both ends are inconsistent or not good right now.

Overall, PG / Gs handling of full court pressure d needs work. Left the bigs alone too many times and spacing/passing not great. needs to improve. Unfortunately, I don't see anybody on team capable of consistently, single-handedly dribbling through presses.

[InstiGATOR1]

Whatever the grading system, the score of Wilbekin is too close to that of Ogbueze. Ogbueze had more than one "get your butt on the bench" plays last night. The most glaring was not the shot but turnover for a layup when trapped in the backcourt.

With Wilbekin I was quite impressed with his ability to handle the ball against a press. That is one concern about him that seems answered so far.

[FranceGator]

Originally Posted by outbackjack

I can tell you watch basketball like I do, frustrated with Mike not allowing Will the time on the p and r. It's happened 3 times this season.

After all this time on this and the preceding board, I'm still a bball newbie, so I enjoy learning more about the game from threads like his.

I was just watching the UF-Wisconsin replay. Boyton didn't wait for Yeguette to get set. Jay Bilas said "Boyton has to give Yeguette more time to get his feet set." I had just read this thread so I picked up on it.

[HALLGATOR]

One of the concerns at the end of last season was how Scottie was going to handle pressure. While there is room for improvement I don't think he did that bad and maybe a little better than I was expecting.

[GatorsGators]

Originally Posted by HALLGATOR

One of the concerns at the end of last season was how Scottie was going to handle pressure. While there is room for improvement I don't think he did that bad and maybe a little better than I was expecting.

Other than one time where he had the ball knocked out of his hands and out of bounds, he didn't have any problems against the press. Most of our problems against the press were either when Ogbueze was leading the offense or when our bigs had to handle the ball (other than the one time where Young dribbled the ball across the halfcourt line and passed it off, which he did very well).

[tupacbiff]

Originally Posted by InstiGATOR1

Whatever the grading system, the score of Wilbekin is too close to that of Ogbueze. Ogbueze had more than one "get your butt on the bench" plays last night. The most glaring was not the shot but turnover for a layup when trapped in the backcourt.

With Wilbekin I was quite impressed with his ability to handle the ball against a press. That is one concern about him that seems answered so far.

Actually it's not. I stand by the grades.

[Singaporegator]

Remember that the grades are relative to expectations. If we had Magic or Michael in our backcourt the wouldn't get many tens because we would expect them to play like that. Scotty is a junior, you expect more.

[GatorLurker]

[quote=gatorbogey;6175411]Sav State played really tough defense. they were surprisingly strong and very physical. i would imagine they'll make it to the ncaa's w/ that style and provide a stern test for a 1 or 2 seed come tourney time./QUOTE]

I agree and thought this would be true before walking into the O'Dome.

Those that think that we only beat them by only 18 means that we had a bad night are delusional.

Yes, if we shot better we could have had a bigger margin, but S St is a very feisty team and shooting well against them is not easy. Give those guys some well deserved props.

And I bet that they make a 3 seed sweat in the first round of the Dance. And maybe somebody else in the second.