Ish

[Halldan1]

I think all of us were very impressed with Ish's defense (on switches) against the lightening quick guards on Baruch. There's little doubt his calling card is on that side of the court.

But coming out of HS Ish was thin as a rail and only 6-5. He has now added two inches or more to his frame and put on maybe 20 pounds. But he's still thin. And at this level guarding quality PF who can be in the 6-8/6-9 range and 240lbs plus might be an issue.

Do you feel comfortable having Ish split time at the 4 with the also thin Nzei or do you expect to see Anderson there depending on match-ups?

 

[pmulcahy96]

Teams that have size I feel more comfortable with Delgado at the 4 and Anthony(Starter)/Anderson at the 5. I think you go with the hot hand between Ish/Nzei to backup Delgado at the 4.

 

[catholicman]

I almost don't care who plays the four and five, as long as they know how to box out. Lack of this basketball fundamental by our bigs has been a problem for so long. Meanwhile, schools like Butler always have such fundamentals down.

 

[SHUBigT]

Delgado at the 4 and Anthony at the 5. If Anthony can learn to not foul and stay on the court he could be an asset for the team.

Ish is a good matchup player when playing small/quicker teams. I like Dezi at the 4 and Delgado at the 5 as well.

 

[catholicman]

Anthony doesn't seem to have very good leaping ability.

 

[Seton75]

I almost don't care who plays the four and five, as long as they know how to box out. Lack of this basketball fundamental by our bigs has been a problem for so long. Meanwhile, schools like Butler always have such fundamentals down.

Yes, so true. I have seen teams whose bigs killed us get stopped in the tourney by a smaller, low level team by using good position and fundamental play.

Back to Dan's question, yes, I assume we will need one or more of Anderson, Anthony or Carter to step up and be able to give us productive minutes at times.

 

[HallBall10]

Let's not forget Anthony was horrible last year.

Anthony doesn't score, he doesn't rebound, and he doesn't play defense without fouling.

If Willard brought in two guys in Anderson and Carter that aren't better than Anthony then forget about analyzing anything else about this team.

We need Anderson to be a decent defender and grab some boards.

 

[Halldan1]

The way I see it on D is this.

Until we see them play more Ish and Nzei can play quality D against mobile PFs and even SFs.

Against big PFs with less mobility but more strength I can see Anderson playing there. He did after all match-up well in the short scrimmage I saw going against Delgado. Or I can see Delgado playing some 4 (not sure if he's ready to play there yet) against size with Anderson playing in the middle. Also against size as mobile bigs will cause him problems.

This is all being said with me witnessing the team playing three times. And one of those times was against all guards and wings last Saturday so there's wasn't much to take away from that game.

Desi's an option too at PF since he got experiencing there last season. But except for special situations I'm not sure Willard will go there except as a last resort.

BTW, that's my gut talking not anything I am privy to.

 

[Burnsly]

Anthony was horrible last year because when he did play, he was the only legit big man on the court for us. I really wish Willard would have played Anthony & Angel together at least once in a while.

 

[HallBall10]

The kid had more fouls than points and rebounds combined. He was horrible last year because he is not a big east level talent not because he played next to Mobley or Desi.

 

[Burnsly]

I beg to differ but I'm right.

 

[statenman]

If Willard couldn't play our bigs against baruch because their players were too small, I'll bet that he will play SHU small so that other BE teams will be forced to leave their 4-5 star bigs on the bench

 

[Halldan1]

If Willard couldn't play our bigs against baruch because their players were too small, I'll bet that he will play SHU small so that other BE teams will be forced to leave their 4-5 star bigs on the bench

I believe Willard's thinking was he didn't want to embarrass his players on D. Baruch played all guards and wings who were in constant movement around the perimeter.

What good would that have done to get Anthony, Carter or Anderson ready for the season.

Hell, it was a wasted game for Delgado as well.

If the final score (other than winning) was important he would have pressed all game. If he did Baruch would have had around 30 turnovers. But that wouldn't have helped get the players any D in the halfcourt.

And yes I know the halfcourt D was awful, but that doesn't mean you don't work on it in a game like this.

 

[sportsfantatic44]

Just need Ish to bang on the glass and play solid D. Any kind of scoring out of him is a bonus. Just hope Willard doesn't yo-yo him when he started him at Butler (I thought he played solid) and then basically buried him on the bench the rest of the season. Ish needs to play early in the season and see what you got with him.

 

[HALL85]

Sorry but I haven't stopped laughing about the "lightning quick guards from Baruch"....

 

[mbraue]

I almost don't care who plays the four and five, as long as they know how to box out. Lack of this basketball fundamental by our bigs has been a problem for so long. Meanwhile, schools like Butler always have such fundamentals down.

Couldn't agree with you more. I watched Karnishovas and Walker box out and outrebound Georgetown teams with the liked of Mourning and Dikembe Mutumbo. PJ's teams were usually very fundamentally sound.

I like Ish's quickness and foot speed on defense. I also like his desire - he seems to be on a mission and I hope,it is to fill a gaping hole at the 4 or wherever we need him this year!

 

[Halldan1]

Sorry but I haven't stopped laughing about the "lightning quick guards from Baruch"....

There's kids in HS who are way quicker than either Carrington or Whitehead but don't have a fraction of their BB ability. I assume you didn't go to the game or you wouldn't have made that comment.

The 6-7 Ish staying in front of the two 5-10 Baruch guards on switches was very impressive.