Just curious, How good is this team?

[Globetrotter]

Been following the first five games and even though its online, I really can't get any feel if they will be good or not. I think we lack scoring which is not good and we are starting 2 players that peope on here said should not even be playing D1 ball. What can we expect from this team in a month or 2?

[OSUFALCON]

I don't see any non D1 palyers in the starting lineup but several players are weak D 1 players. This will improve as the year goes. I'm impress with Dee Brown and Jordan Crawford. Foul shooting must improve.

[ZiggyZoomba]

I think December is really going to be a month of growth for this team... and by the St. Louis game in early January, we'll have a pretty good feel for where this team is at headed into the MAC.

Tonight we play Savannah State. They look like a decent match for us right now... it'd be nice to get a little win streak going!

Things I've liked thus far:

Marc Larson - as much as we like to rip on him, he's been solid. He's gotten a surprising little mid-range jumper, has some decent post moves, and while he's not quick, he's improved his defense a little....(a little)

Otis Polk - I've seen shades of what I thought Otis could be all along early this season. Aggressive... going straight to the hoop and not "thinking" as much. Going for the dunk when it's there instead of going soft.

Dee Brown - Again, I see some aggression towards the hoop. A lot less passive than in the past and less apt to settle for the jumper. Dee likes to shoot, when he was settling for 3s and jumpers, it was frustrating, when he takes it to the hoop or drives to improve his shot, he's much better!

We're young... we'll get better.

Things I haven't liked:

Inconsistent D: It seems like we have stretches where we can totally shut our opponents down. However, it seems like we have LONGER stretches where we let them score on us at will. Our defense is what won us a championship last year and it needs to be more consistent if we want to do that again!

No grace under pressure: We've had trouble against pressure defense this year. Whether it's full-court or half-court. Teams that play a tight man-to-man or a trapping zone have frustrated us. These are the times when we should be able to keep our composure and get easy buckets.

Our free throw shooting is atrocious: Coming in to the Savannah State game tonight we're shooting 57.3% from the line. That's 334th in the nation... there are 347 D1 teams.

Our bigs are veterans... they should be able to take over a game. AND they shouldn't be as foul-prone as they all are.

[hammb]

I don't think we can really tell how good this team is just yet. They don't have any established D1 scorers, so I don't think it's a surprise that they struggle to score at times. Scott Thomas & Dee Brown have both shown the ability to be quality scorers, but they're both sophomores who weren't asked to do a ton last season. It doesn't look like either of them is ready to be our goto scorer on a nightly basis yet, but hopefully as the season goes on one, or both, of them will step up. Otis has looked much better offensively this year, but I don't think he's ever going to be a consistent scoring threat.

The foul shooting is inexcusable, though. I'm not even sure what you can do to improve it, but we REALLY struggle at the line and it's quite frustrating. Seems like just about everybody across the board struggles, which makes it even more annoying.

Right now we've got a very inexperienced collection of players that have shown flashes of talent, but not much consistency. Unfortunately our upper classmen aren't really scorers either. Polk is great defensively, but only a marginal offensive player. Larson is a hard worker but doesn't excel in any aspect of the game. Jakubowski is a nice player, but he's not great in any capacity either (although his jumper has looked pretty good this year).

Overall I've really liked what I've seen from Jordan Crawford. The kid is tiny, but he has insane quickness, both in picking pockets and off the dribble. When you see a kid his size you immediately wonder why you'd give him a scholarship, but when you see his quickness the question is answered. He's going to be a real fun player to watch grow.

We also don't know what we have in Calhoun, but apparently he's struggling to earn playing time in practice. He's supposed to have a wealth of talent, so let's hope that everything clicks for him some day soon.

Looking at the roster this team is going to be one that struggles early, but if some players step up they might be ready to compete by the end of the year. It's going to take time with this group, they're VERY inexperienced. Polk, Larson, and JoJak are really the only guys that have ever played much at the D1 level.

[Globetrotter]

It seems like a good group of complimentary players with no scoring threats and no great athletes. That does not bode well for success.

[BGorDeath]

I think Kraus is going to become a player with huge scoring potential.

[hammb]

It seems like a good group of complimentary players with no scoring threats and no great athletes. That does not bode well for success.

I don't necessarily agree, at all. This team has more athleticism than we've seen in year's past. Scott Thomas is a good athlete. McElroy is a very good athlete. Dee Brown has shown the ability to beat people off the dribble. Goins looks like pretty good athlete as well. Crawford, despite his size, looks like a tremendous athlete; great quickness.

We also have scoring THREATS, what we don't have is a consistent scoring threat. JoJak has always been a hot & cold scorer, same with Polk. Thomas & Brown have both shown the ability to have big scoring games, but neither has done it consistently yet. Crawford had a pretty nice game Saturday scoring as well.

This team has some athleticism, and it has some talent. The problem is that none of our experienced players have ever really been asked to score in year's past and now that we need that scoring, I'm not so sure they have the talent to carry that load. So we're asking freshmen & sophomores to do the scoring. Hopefully by the time MAC play begins they'll be ready to play a consistent role.

[Globetrotter]

It seems like a good group of complimentary players with no scoring threats and no great athletes. That does not bode well for success.

I don't necessarily agree, at all. This team has more athleticism than we've seen in year's past. Scott Thomas is a good athlete. McElroy is a very good athlete. Dee Brown has shown the ability to beat people off the dribble. Goins looks like pretty good athlete as well. Crawford, despite his size, looks like a tremendous athlete; great quickness.

We also have scoring THREATS, what we don't have is a consistent scoring threat. JoJak has always been a hot & cold scorer, same with Polk. Thomas & Brown have both shown the ability to have big scoring games, but neither has done it consistently yet. Crawford had a pretty nice game Saturday scoring as well.

This team has some athleticism, and it has some talent. The problem is that none of our experienced players have ever really been asked to score in year's past and now that we need that scoring, I'm not so sure they have the talent to carry that load. So we're asking freshmen & sophomores to do the scoring. Hopefully by the time MAC play begins they'll be ready to play a consistent role.

I thought we were heading to more athleticism, but when you took away night and Graves(?) I dont see how we are any more athletic then even last year when we had Miller, Moten and Clements. As far as scoring threats....who gets the ball down by 1 with 12 seconds to play? I have no idea. Of this group who can get their own shot if necessary?

[BGorDeath]

As far as scoring threats....who gets the ball down by 1 with 12 seconds to play? I have no idea. Of this group who can get their own shot if necessary?

Thomas.

[Flipper]

Based on my very limited exposure to this year's team...I think we are seeing issues right now that have more to do with a lot of guys being asked to do more than they were asked to in the past than a lack of talent or that wonderful catch all "athleticism". You can look at the stat lines form last year and think..."wow, we lost a lot of points", but it's more than that. You lost guys who were willing and able to be depended on. Unless you're a freakishly talented kid, that's a role that you have to grow into. Given time, I think kids like Thomas and Brown can get there.

[Globetrotter]

Based on my very limited exposure to this year's team...I think we are seeing issues right now that have more to do with a lot of guys being asked to do more than they were asked to in the past than a lack of talent or that wonderful catch all "athleticism". You can look at the stat lines form last year and think..."wow, we lost a lot of points", but it's more than that. You lost guys who were willing and able to be depended on. Unless you're a freakishly talented kid, that's a role that you have to grow into. Given time, I think kids like Thomas and Brown can get there.

I have always pictured Thomas as a second or third fiddle to a dominant MAC player. The kind of guy who makes everyone on the floor better but will never truly be great. This assumption, that I have had of him since I saw him in HS, certainly can strongly cloud my judgment.

[JWEIII]

To soon to tell? Last November/December was rough, but they rallied and played great in conference. I'm a hudge MAC fan, but the fact of the matter is conference play is all that matters. I think, like last year, Coach will see what he's got, get some guys some minutes and get ready for MAC play. I hope that's what he's doing.

I think we have good guard play and good senior leadership. MAC quarterfinals in Cleveland is waht I'm looking for.

I could be wrong...

[OSUFALCON]

To soon to tell? Last November/December was rough, but they rallied and played great in conference. I'm a hudge MAC fan, but the fact of the matter is conference play is all that matters. I think, like last year, Coach will see what he's got, get some guys some minutes and get ready for MAC play. I hope that's what he's doing.

I think we have good guard play and good senior leadership. MAC quarterfinals in Cleveland is waht I'm looking for.
I could be wrong...

I hope this team can make it to the quarterfinals.