New Commit Signed - Marlon Sierra

[BillyLP]

BG Athletics's twitter shared the news this morning. I didn't even know he was considering us, but it looks like he chose BG over a pretty large number of low-to-mid-major offers. The stats aren't eye popping but he seems to be pretty efficient and shot 50% from 3 in conference play and he has good size. Haven't looked up or seen any videos yet. I'll leave all of that to Globe.

http://bgsufalcons.com/news/2018/5/1/me ... o-nli.aspx

[Globetrotter]

BG Athletics's twitter shared the news this morning. I didn't even know he was considering us, but it looks like he chose BG over a pretty large number of low-to-mid-major offers. The stats aren't eye popping but he seems to be pretty efficient and shot 50% from 3 in conference play and he has good size. Haven't looked up or seen any videos yet. I'll leave all of that to Globe.

http://bgsufalcons.com/news/2018/5/1/me ... o-nli.aspx

Marlon Sierra 6-6 to 6-7, 225 power forward, Western Nebraska Community College
http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/marlon-sierra" target="_blank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... jb9KCn8w8Y" target="_blank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=y ... pp=desktop" target="_blank
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs1m2yXA9hM" target="_blank
http://bgsufalcons.com/news/2018/5/1/me ... o-nli.aspx" target="_blank
http://wnccathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20 ... arlon_vcjw" target="_blank
http://wnccathletics.com/sports/mbkb/20 ... arlon_xcat" target="_blank

Interesting guy,
1-Shot 4 total 3's as a freshman then shot 46% on 3s as a sophomore on 71 3s
2-Improved in every statistical category from Fr to So year with more minutes.
3-His team averaged 95 ppg and had 5 guys in double figures. They went 27-8
4-From Miami
5-Flawed scouting report
-Looks like h has decent touch, nice fadeaway, can shoot the three. Curious why that wasn't part of his game as a freshmen.
-Athletic enough to handle the ball and attack the basket although we wouldn't want that to be a primary role or have him play the wing
-Looks for other players and isn't a terrible passer.
Overall: A more athletic 4 with a nice step back jumper that will be able to find teammates and stretch the floor for us. Not an elite athlete at the 4 but not a liability either.
-

[JohnFloyd4Life]

He's definitely an offensive upgrade from Koch. I like how he obviously developed a 3 point shot from his frosh to soph year. Looks like he can score inside and out. His highlight videos don't show any defense, I'm hoping he can rebound like Koch because he averaged 6.8 boards a game last year but I would assume he won't be the rebounder Koch was. I hope I'm wrong but I think he might end up being a defensive issue for us as well. At 6'6" and not extremely athletic looking I think he may struggle to guard other teams 4s in the post and may struggle to guard quicker players off the dribble like Koch. But overall I think this is a good get for us. Hopefully, we get one more.

[BleedOrange]

This is why I didn't mind seeing Koch transfer. He had a disappointing FR year and I figured we could get an upgrade.

[Globetrotter]

Here is his game. I would love to know what others think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs1m2yXA9hM" target="_blank

5:22 Game starts, he is a starter. Doesn’t crash boards very hard.
5:55 Nice past from the post
Within the first few series I already count 3 times he didn’t crash the boards when he should have. Now 5.
7:49 Just took his man off the dribble. I think he will be a much better ballhandler and passer than what we are used to at the 4. He isn’t afraid to put the ball on the floor at all and seems to look for the very good pass. From the offensive end I think he will be an easy 8-10 pt guy. He seems like he has a good shot and isn’t just a rebound and put back guy. Definitely a 3rd to 5th scorer in the group but not a guy you won’t want shooting.
We essentially have 4 PFs now (Uju, Matiss, Plowden and Sierra). I think Plowden plays more SF this year, which he is very capable of athletically.
8:55 Nice fadeaway and creates some separation with dribble. Misses, and doesn’t follow shot.
9:53 Burys a 3 (3 pts)
13:35 Great Kevin Lovesque outlet pass for an easy score after their made bucket (1 assist)
He plays with lots of confidence, not afraid to shoot, not afraid to be in control of the ball on offense.
17:05 Fired up three, looked good but missed.
18:41 Rebound in traffic (Rebounds 1)
20:00 He subs out Score 13-17
26:42 Subs in Score 15-25
27:00 Rebound in traffic (Rebounds 2)
28:45 Attacks the basket and is fouled (1/2 4 pts)
30:15 Jump shot off the dribble, miss
30:30 Man he is covering hits a 3 in his face
He inbounds the ball for his team, which tells me they trust him to make good passes.
33:00 Rebounds and then brings the ball up the court. (Rebounds 3) (Score is 18-36)
33:50 Breaks up pass to his man on defense
34:00 Blocking foul but close to a charge
36:50 Great pick, I only say that because he does a great job of making the offense work.
37:20 Great Defense
37:30 Great handles and pass and then his teammate has an open shot so he just runs the other way. Doesn’t seem very tenacious.
38:15 Quick Jumper, miss
40:15 Blocking foul, late to move his feet
40:52 SUBS OUT Score 25-40
Halftime 31-44
1:00 easy rebound (Rebounds 4)
He is not a standout on defense but he has been covering a 6’10 guy for most of the time.
1:02 They went to a press and he was the top. Good enough athlete for that which is a great sign
1:04:18 they run an inbounds play for him and he hits a very nice banked jumper (6 pts)
1:07:20 Terrible help D gives up a play
1:07:30 Drives to the basket and misses
1:11:10 Great play that shows a wide variety of skillsets, cross court assist, handles, vision (2 assists)
1:13:05 Nice board in traffic (Rebounds 5)
1:19:04 Rebound off foul shot miss (Rebounds 6)
1:20:15 Rebound (Rebounds 7) then brings the ball up court and has a great inlet to a guy posting up who misses.
123:50 Great board (Rebounds 8) and put back (8 pts)
124:14 Sub out
1:29:10 Sub in
1:31:00 Lost his man and he hit a 3 to put the game within 2
1:31:40 Man pumped faked him and he bit and he scored 2 to tie.
1:36:15 Up 1 he had a wide open three with tons of time on the shot clock and passed it up, I wish our current guys did that more. Ended up turning it over at the end of the play
1:39:02 Missed jumper, then fouled a driver on the way to the hoop
1:45:36 Fouls out on a reach

[BleedOrange]

Globe, that looks like it was a lot of work!

[Globetrotter]

Globe, that looks like it was a lot of work!

I wanted to watch a game to get more context. It helped my OCD more than anything.

Overall I think he will be a very capable, confident member of the rotation. Won't be afraid to have the ball in his hands, pass or shoot. I think he can be the worst starter on a good team or simply the 8th man who comes in and isn't an issue. A very good roster filling signing but unlikely to be a star. His team shot tons of threes so I think he got used to not crashing the boards. If he can play with more aggressiveness I think he can be very good.

[hammb]

If he can be useful on both ends of the court away from the basket he'll be a good signing for us.

Koch did some promising things as a Freshman, but his body type/style of play was from an era of basketball that is gone, and not returning any time soon. We shouldn't be trying to build a team to win the 1989 MAC championship, we should be trying to win the 2019 MAC championship.

[BleedOrange]

If he can be useful on both ends of the court away from the basket he'll be a good signing for us.

Koch did some promising things as a Freshman, but his body type/style of play was from an era of basketball that is gone, and not returning any time soon. We shouldn't be trying to build a team to win the 1989 MAC championship, we should be trying to win the 2019 MAC championship.

Yes. Sierra is a clear upgrade.

And, "continuity building a program" doesn't mean jack squat if you're doing it with mediocre talent. The two best teams in modern MAC history... 2002 Kent and Majures's Ball State teams...came together quickly.

Globe, concerning the OCD, the Buddhist practice of following-the-breath can help. I speak from experience.

[Globetrotter]

If he can be useful on both ends of the court away from the basket he'll be a good signing for us.

Koch did some promising things as a Freshman, but his body type/style of play was from an era of basketball that is gone, and not returning any time soon. We shouldn't be trying to build a team to win the 1989 MAC championship, we should be trying to win the 2019 MAC championship.

He's definitely a better fit for that. He got beat outside a few times but often it was more laziness or perhaps conditioning than anything else. It wasn't like his feet were in stone and he was just completely blown by.

We just offered another big who isn't super athletic and have shown interest in 2 others. It looks like we are still trying to get that guy. In the scheme you are talking about Uju should really be playing C, which, tbh, he wasn't terrible at late last year for a few plays despite his height deficiency. Matiss and Sierra are upgrades athletically over Koch I think and Plowden is light years ahead of him.

My worry is that if we sign this last offer we have 7 guys who can play PF or C. I get, getting a young center with Wiggins gone next year, I just think this pushes Plowden to play alot more SF.

[BleedOrange]

Plowden, Sierra, Matiss can all play wing as well. It's good to have versatility. Wiggins and Gadsen are the only players who are strictly post players.