The Offense
As I noted after the aTm game, this team is (unfortunately) going to be a "live by the 3, die by the 3" team. That's what we are stuck with when we don't have a post scorer, or an adept driver (like J Evans). However, there may be a glimmer of hope from an unlikely source. Against Pitt, I noticed 3 occasions where N'Guessan made a play in the high post. He might be a good enough (and smart enough) passer to give the offense some flexibility. He is clearly tall enough that he can stand in the high post and position himself to catch a pass and force the defense to react. It will be interesting to see if Boynton tries to use him more in this capacity.
Of course, things might change when Sima is activated. Even if he isn't a low post force, he can make a positive impact on the offense if he is good at positioning himself, and/or a good passer.
These guys may be shooting a lot of 3's, but it is still a lot better than what we saw under Ford. Everyone setting screens while Page/Forte ran around like a rat in a maze, trying to get an open look. This team does a much better job using spacing and passes.
The Defense
As others noted in the Pitt game thread, what Boynton is running is not working. Clearly, extending the offense is leading to too many easy layups/dunks for the other team. You just can't do it without an athletic, quick shot blocker on the back end. Maybe Sima can make it work. But, when he isn't on the floor, I agree that we need to play a more traditional defense and not be as focused on generating turnovers. We are giving up more than one layup/dunk for every turnover we force. Not a good trade off.
The Rebounding
So far, so good. It is really glaring the difference between rebounding under Ford vs rebounding under Boynton and that guy who coached last season. These guys all get after it. The offensive rebounding has been especially impressive.
The Starters
Clearly it is time to get Carroll back into the starting lineup. What other changes do you guys think HCMB needs to make? I would like to see these guys start: Averette, Waters Carroll, Shine and Solomon.
Averette is better on both ends than Hill.
Waters isn't exciting, but he is a decent ball handler and not mistake prone. There simply are not a lot of options at 2G right now
JC...self explanatory
Shine... I know some are down on him right now, but he is a leader. He rebounds well, and plays with a lot of energy. His shot hasn't fallen the last 2 games, but they were falling in the prior games. If his shooting picks up a bit, he can be an impact player on both ends.
Solomon...He ain't great, but he is our best low post defender and a very good rebounder.
The Rotation
I love McGriff as an energy guy off the bench.
Hill is our best alternative to BA at the point
DZ has improved his defense to "decent". He is too good of a 3 point shooter to not get significant minutes on this team.
N'Guessan can provide energy, in the post.
The Other guys
Dillard can help a ton if he gets his shite together
Hopefully Sima is the impact player many of our fans expect him to be
Dawson is not quite ready, but he is very athletic. Maybe he will be able to help down the line.
The Outlook
Too soon to tell. This team has giant killer potential when the 3's are falling. There will be games where the shooting is impressive. Hopefully it happens against WSU/FSU/Big 12 teams. Hopefully Sima helps a lot. Hopefully Dillard escapes the dog house. I don't see this team finishing 10th in the Big 12, Sixth to eighth seems about right to me, but there are still a lot of questions that need answering.
The Coaching
All in all, better than I expected. He is going to need to make some adjustments (as detailed above) if he wants to maximize our chances at the NCAA tourny. That's why he gets paid the big bucks. Hopefully we are all happy with him as the season is winding down. Seems like a good guy. I'm rooting for him to succeed.
As I noted after the aTm game, this team is (unfortunately) going to be a "live by the 3, die by the 3" team. That's what we are stuck with when we don't have a post scorer, or an adept driver (like J Evans). However, there may be a glimmer of hope from an unlikely source. Against Pitt, I noticed 3 occasions where N'Guessan made a play in the high post. He might be a good enough (and smart enough) passer to give the offense some flexibility. He is clearly tall enough that he can stand in the high post and position himself to catch a pass and force the defense to react. It will be interesting to see if Boynton tries to use him more in this capacity.
Of course, things might change when Sima is activated. Even if he isn't a low post force, he can make a positive impact on the offense if he is good at positioning himself, and/or a good passer.
These guys may be shooting a lot of 3's, but it is still a lot better than what we saw under Ford. Everyone setting screens while Page/Forte ran around like a rat in a maze, trying to get an open look. This team does a much better job using spacing and passes.
The Defense
As others noted in the Pitt game thread, what Boynton is running is not working. Clearly, extending the offense is leading to too many easy layups/dunks for the other team. You just can't do it without an athletic, quick shot blocker on the back end. Maybe Sima can make it work. But, when he isn't on the floor, I agree that we need to play a more traditional defense and not be as focused on generating turnovers. We are giving up more than one layup/dunk for every turnover we force. Not a good trade off.
The Rebounding
So far, so good. It is really glaring the difference between rebounding under Ford vs rebounding under Boynton and that guy who coached last season. These guys all get after it. The offensive rebounding has been especially impressive.
The Starters
Clearly it is time to get Carroll back into the starting lineup. What other changes do you guys think HCMB needs to make? I would like to see these guys start: Averette, Waters Carroll, Shine and Solomon.
Averette is better on both ends than Hill.
Waters isn't exciting, but he is a decent ball handler and not mistake prone. There simply are not a lot of options at 2G right now
JC...self explanatory
Shine... I know some are down on him right now, but he is a leader. He rebounds well, and plays with a lot of energy. His shot hasn't fallen the last 2 games, but they were falling in the prior games. If his shooting picks up a bit, he can be an impact player on both ends.
Solomon...He ain't great, but he is our best low post defender and a very good rebounder.
The Rotation
I love McGriff as an energy guy off the bench.
Hill is our best alternative to BA at the point
DZ has improved his defense to "decent". He is too good of a 3 point shooter to not get significant minutes on this team.
N'Guessan can provide energy, in the post.
The Other guys
Dillard can help a ton if he gets his shite together
Hopefully Sima is the impact player many of our fans expect him to be
Dawson is not quite ready, but he is very athletic. Maybe he will be able to help down the line.
The Outlook
Too soon to tell. This team has giant killer potential when the 3's are falling. There will be games where the shooting is impressive. Hopefully it happens against WSU/FSU/Big 12 teams. Hopefully Sima helps a lot. Hopefully Dillard escapes the dog house. I don't see this team finishing 10th in the Big 12, Sixth to eighth seems about right to me, but there are still a lot of questions that need answering.
The Coaching
All in all, better than I expected. He is going to need to make some adjustments (as detailed above) if he wants to maximize our chances at the NCAA tourny. That's why he gets paid the big bucks. Hopefully we are all happy with him as the season is winding down. Seems like a good guy. I'm rooting for him to succeed.
