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| by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator. |
Well, we have reached the point in the Zag basketball season in which we each can sit back and breath a deep sigh of relief. Armed with the knowledge a brutal non-conference schedule is firmly affixed in our collective rear view mirror (Butler game aside) and we can now shift our focus to the WCC conference slate. This years conference play means a bit more as GU is no longer the hunted but rather looking to enact some sweet revenge and reclaim it's right full place as top *cough, cough..err...Dog of the WCC.
Before we dive into our first game against the Waves, let us first take this opportunity to reflect upon what the first couple months of non-conference play has shown us. It is time for you, the quintessential and consummate Zag scholars to assess and assign your mid-term grades for this 2012-13 bulldog class.
- First, please tell us who is your "top of the class" thus far and why.
- Second, please tell us who should be wearing the "dunce cap" and why.
- Third, assess the greatest strengths and the greatest area's of improvement, opportunity for the following:
GU: Back court, Front court, Coaching staff
- Fourth, give each player an overall letter grade and a one liner "comment from the teacher" so that his mommy and daddy will know if he is a joy to have in class or not.
- Finally, provide an over all letter grade for the team's success during their non-conference slate.
Sit back, turn on the tunes, pull out your red marker and get to grading!
-Go Zags!
18 comments:
You don't ask for much. Just a good thing my Data Base is down today and I have some time. This will take a while:
"top of the class"
Harris. Displays a lot of maturity, class on the floor, and his production has been very good. I hate it when Few takes him out of the game.
"dunce cap"
I'm not sure I like this moniker for a team like this. Obviously thinks are clicking on the floor. Off the floor . . . well KO's missing three games probably didn't hurt us but I wish the situation had never arisen.
Third, assess the greatest strengths and the greatest area's of improvement, opportunity for the following:
Back court,
The strength and weakness is the same. 3 point shooting. Very good the last couple games. Not so good in many other games.
Pangos shoots too much. Bell should shoot more. Where is KD? I know he can shoot the three but he seldom shoots out there in games. Instead he will step inside the line and let fly (and he's very good when he does this).
Front court,
Very very good on the offensive end. KO is playing much better than I ever thought he would -- and I have been one of his supporters.
Rebounding is pretty good other than Dower.
Defense . . . may be a weakness. KO is playing much better but is still not candidate for defensive player of the year. Harris still forgets about his weak side help responsibilities but this too is much improved from last year. SK is learning and will only get better. We have to cut him some slack this year. Dower has his moments on D but is often just barely adequate.
Coaching staff
I am loath to criticize the coaching staff. Looks like business as usual to me.
Dranginis: C+ He can be so much better than we have seen.
Pangos: B- Hot and cold on the offensive end. Defense is so weak, other teams look to go right at him. He is often the weak link on the floor.
Bell: B+ Needs to be more assertive. This is an outstanding player. Wish he would give us more.
Edi: C+ He is just not fluid in the offensive half court offense. Defense has been generally good but he picks up fouls in situations where he shouldn't.
Stockton: B He gives us all he can but limited minutes and limited size / aestheticism limit his productivity.
Olynyk: A He needs to understand that Defense is never going to be his strong point and staying on the floor is probably more important than trying to do Robert Sacre imitations.
Bakamus: A Air Guitar??? This is a great walk on and he has a nice three point shot. Gives you every thing you need from a guy that will seldom see the floor.
Harris: A I'd give him an A+ but his occasional lapses on Defense cost him that "+"
Coleman: Incomplete. I want Coleman to dress a bit more "flashy" maybe a bright "red shirt" with a blue blazer. (sorry couldn't help myself).
Karnowski: B- What a fun guy to watch! He has a long way to go -- especially on defense -- but this will come with time.
Hart: A- I should really give him an A+ but I can't figure out how he picks up some of his fouls. This will be the WCC defensive player of the year.
Dower: D Well, he's been sick so maybe I'm being unfair here. I know this guy can do so much more -- and he probably will. Still not the defensive player I thought we would see this year.
Barham: C+ Has only been playing clean up minutes so far. Hard to fairly assess his contribution on that basis.
Finally, provide an over all letter grade for the team's success during their non-conference slate.
A+ Illinois was a 'good loss'. Pangos was exposed in a big way and adjustments were made. All things considered, you cannot ask much more of a team than you saw from GU during the pre-season.
Great comments Quid! Thanks for taking the time to give some great responses!
Top of the class: The Terrible Twins
Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris have been absolutely dominant this season, and are in my opinion the most dynamic front court duo in the country. Both have a knack for scoring, run the floor incredibly well, are incredible passers for their size, and have the sheer determination to win games. I wish they could play 40 minutes a game.
Dunce Cap: Sam Dower (Sorry for extreme talk)
What happened to that guy who was supposed to be league MVP? Oh right, he should be sitting on the end of the bench. GU has a loaded front court, Obviously The Terrible Twins get the bulk of the minutes, and Karnowski is a freshman, but Dower has been a huge liability for the Zags this season. Defensively, he is atrocious and I see him laying on the floor more often then not. In transition he is generally the last guy down the floor (Unless he was the last guy down the floor before, in which case he has a head start). Offensively he is O.K., has one move that good teams in March will know about and a decent outside jumper...Definitely not as good a passer as The Terrible Twins, and doesn't move well without the ball other to set screens.
Back Court: The Perimeter
It was said above, offensively, our three point game opens up our strengths inside (now if only Harris and Olynyk could start connecting). Defensively, we struggle vs teams with good three point shooters.
Front Court: Mismatches
The greatest strength of our Front Court in my opinion is mismatches. Olynyk is 7' tall, and has the agility to take opposing big men off the dribble. Harris does the same thing, with a slightly more explosiveness to make up for his lesser size to Olynyk. If they have a big man who can't step outside, we can put in The Polish Hammer to wreak havoc with his back to the basket beat downs.
Coaching Staff: Adjustments & Preparedness
It has been said a million times all over the internet, so I'll keep this one brief. Few has a tendency to make adjustments in games too late. We also tend to come out of the gates fairly slow until we can establish a rhythm (exception: OSU game, we played incredibly well in the first 5 minutes.)
David Stockton: B: Much improved over last year, finally seems to be comfortable in role as a passer instead of scorer this season.
Rem Bakamus: C: Mean air guitar, probably won't ever see significant court time. Good dance moves on trick shot video.
Gary Bell Jr.: A: Would like to see him take over a game offensively (something we haven't really seen yet). Has all the tools, just needs to put it together.
Kevin Pangos: B+: Is doing everything we need him to. Better passer then most our players can handle I think. Been very streaky so far.
Kyle Dranginis: D: So much potential and skill, WAY TOO HESITANT. This guy could have all the minutes at the three spot if he wasn't so content to pump fake and pass the ball. I give a D simply because he hasn't lived up to what we know he is capable of.
Guy Landry Edi: C-: Started out very promising in the first 2 or 3 games, and hasn't done jack for us since. Is a very average defender, laterally too slow to guard guys like Brandon Paul and Marcus Smart who we struggle to defend, and his shot just hasn't been there.
Mike Hart: A: He has done everything we need him to and more. Hart is a guy who needs to be used sparingly because his lack of offense, but he is invaluable in close games due to extra possessions.
Drew Barham: D: Very average player. Not overly athletic, basically just a worse Mathis Monninghoff. Won't see the court often.
Elias Harris: A+: Our teams captain and co-best player. Been the model of consistency. Definitely shows Senior level maturity.
Sam Dower: F: See above.
Kelly Olynyk: A+: The other half of The Terrible Twins, Kelly Olynyk is our offensive Juggernaut. No other team has even come close to matching his power or speed inside. Scored 21 points against a very good OSU defense without playing the first half...WCC Player of the Year right here.
Przemek Karnowski: B: My personal favorite Zag player, and one of my favorites of all time. This guy is a freshman, and has it all. PHENOMENAL passer, incredible back to the basket mentality and skills, and has a right and left hand shot with his back to the basket. Playing behind The Terrible Twins, his minutes have been limited, but this guy will be a stud in the NCAA for the next 4 years. He destroys smaller foes, (Suck it Brad Waldow).
Overall, gotta give these guys an A. Leaving off the "+" because they did lose, and it wasn't the absolute toughest schedule out there like we are used to. But they got great experience in close games, and great experience in blowouts.
"top of the class"
Olynyk. He has filled out into an amazing post player- the red shirt year did wonders.
"dunce cap"
Sam Dower was suspected by many to be the breakout player this year. Thus far, his play has been a disappointment.
Third, assess the greatest strengths and the greatest area's of improvement, opportunity for the following:
Back court,
The back court is streaky. Sometimes they deserve an A+, other nights they deserve an F. If Gary Bell Jr and KP could get going at the same time, it could be awesome. Gary is also timid in his shot selection. He should be shooting the ball more and driving in more, because he has the skills and the body to do damage.
Front court,
Offensively one of the deepest, most talented front courts in the country. As I said earlier, I have been expecting more from Sam Dower, and I hope he erupts in conference play.
Coaching staff
The only time the coaching staff worries me is when they don't let anyone get into a rhythm. Sometimes we fall too in love with how 'deep' we are, and don't go with what works.
Dranginis: D. He could be so much more than he has been thus far. I want him to prove the name "Draino".
Pangos: B. His passes have gotten more creative, and I admire his ability to have confidence and keep working through a slump. However, he is streaky, and until I see more games from him like the last two I don't want him taking so many shots.
Bell: B. Gary frustrates the hell out of me. He can do everything, and every game he holds back.
Edi: C-. Has never really been able to get in rhythm all season. He still reeks of potential.
Stockton: B. Stockton sees the floor better than anyone else on our team. Some of the passes he makes are inspired. His height and weight will always be a disadvantage though.
Olynyk: A+++ He still has things to work on, but holy crap, have you ever seen someone improve so much over a red shirt season? The amount of work he put in is really showing, and he's gone from a dopy kid hanging around the perimeter to a man to be reckoned with in the post.
Bakamus: A. He has stepped onto campus and become a joy to watch on the bench. He obviously loves the game, and while he will never get much playing time, the enthusiasm he brings to the team is awesome.
Harris: A+. Harris has made his presence known. Freshman year Harris is gone, but as we keep hearing during games: "He was an overrated freshman, now he's an underrated senior." Harris' performance down the stretch is key to our season.
Karnowski: B. In a few short months, Przemek has shown himself to be a finesse big man, and I really look forward to seeing what he can do going forward. He has lived up to big expectations.
Hart: A. Hart is the best glue guy we could ask for. He knows his role, and he plays it so well- I have no idea how he always ends up with the ball.
Dower: D-. I know Dower had the flu, but what did he have the rest of the season? I know he can be a power house offensively, and it just hasn't been happening.
Barham: C. I think he's doing what the team wants him to do, which is to come in and play garbage minutes. It would be nice though if he could make the occasional three.
Finally, provide an over all letter grade for the team's success during their non-conference slate.
A. No plus because we lost the Illinois game.
Hmmmm...
Top of Class: Tough call - I pick Kelly Olynyk. The guy flat out ROCKS! I've been calling his numbers since the season started before he could play (see anything I've ever posted about him). 20+ points twice in one half alone is phenomenal. Hope GU doesn't lose him to the NBA after this season.
Dunce Cap: Guy-Landry Edi. Sorry, I really love his desire to compete but he just makes too many bone head moves on offense.
BACKCOURT
Strengths: 3 experienced & heady guards. Stockton, Pangos, Bell Jr all possess great IQ and are limiting turnovers (well, at least compared to last year).
Improvements: 3-point shooting. None of the 3 have their percentages up to last years mark.
FRONTCOURT
Strengths: Size and depth are definitely strengths but IMO strong moves to the rim are what is putting this group above their peers. Attack that rim!
Improvements: Defense. Olynyk needs to remember that he is a big guy now and trying to make plays like a guard isn't going to cut it - no more fouling out. Harris seems to forget to play defense sometimes - wake up you sleepy head. Karnowski makes me laugh when he pokes the ball away from other players (his hands are pretty quick) but I would like to see him block a few more shot attempts.
COACHING STAFF
Strengths: Making what so far seems to be the correct rotational calls. In my heart I would love to see other players share more playing time for confidence boosting but hey, if it ain't broke - don't fix it.
Improvements: In game adjustments. Seems in earlier years this was a given but loosing Rice and Grier has cost the staff greatly in this category.
GRADES/COMMENTS
Rem Bakamus: A / Rem has made the most of his playing time with a couple of buckets and the most of his bench time with a 3pt air guitar solo.
Drew Barham: B / Drew shows desire to perform when in game but needs to sink a better percentage of his only chance shots (sorry)
Gary Bell, Jr.: A- / Gary has shown signs of brilliance but should strengthen his game more by driving to the rim.
Sam Dower: C / If you just play average then you just get and average grade (wtf - he's a great player).
Kyle Dranginis: C- / Kyle seems to be lacking the confidence that he can shoot and make the basket against elite players (hint: you are playing for GU and therefore elite yourself!).
Guy-Landry Edi: B+ / Guy-Landry has a damn good high-lite reel started with some monster dunks but needs to take better care of the ball when moving in the offense/driving the lane.
Elias Harris: A / Has all the right moves but would like to see him finish at the rim better.
Mike Hart: A+ / Mike obviously eats his Wheaties every morning and should be a roll model to every student athlete everywhere!
Przemek Karnowski: A+ / I admit prejudice in this grade as I am also a member of the "ski" club (Go Polocks! Go Zags!!).
Kelly Olynyk: A+ / Kelly has played from a level above everyone's expectations (I think 3rd in the nation in shooting percentage? wow).
Kevin Pangos: A / Kevin started the season a little slow but is gaining momentum.
David Stockton: A / David's assist to turnover ratio has improved greatly from last year and he is living up to the Stockton tradition.
All things aside, this team has exceeded even this fans expectations. Being the #10 ranked team in the nation at 13-1 and having knocked off 5 teams in a supposedly stronger conference couldn't be a better place to be right now. The icing on the cake, heading into conference play is that the players recognize they can improve. Full steam ahead!
(sheesh, it took me an hour to come up with all this bs!)
Geez, looks like Gaelfan found this site too!
At least Gaelfan always owned up to his school of fan ship. These two bozo's can't even do that. By the way our s.o.s. for all division 1 teams played is 8 and our rpi is 5. This does go down with conference play unfortunately.
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Sorry. Meant that I really liked your comment about Garlfan. : )
Sheesh. Can't type today. Gaelfan.
These guys are Trolls, i am turning on comment moderation to stop all these posts...
what did I say that was troll worthy and warranted my comments being removed?
i dont recall deleting a comment by you, if i did im sure it was in error due to all of the other posts i deleted. There was a lot of really dirty and ugly posts over the last couple days so i apologize.
Maybe it was due to the comment being so wildly inaccurate and timed so as to show up at the same time the other trolls showed up.
I mean you did say:
"the zags are 69th in SOS. their opponents are barely over .500. until they improve their non-conference schedule they will continue to be a mediocre team and flame out in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the tourney.
the most obvious is the need to improve their non-conf schedule, they play pretty much anyone, anywhere. Their SOS is 7 not 69.
As far as flaming out...ok that may be true at times but this GU team makes the big dance year in and year out without any top 100 recruits let alone the multiple ones most power conferences have. You want to hate of them then fine but at least use actual facts.
Believe me I am MORE than happy to debate the value of this or any other Zag team based off factual arguments. I am in need of a TSSF dust up...it has been too long. LOL
Also, your name is "Zaghole" nuff said.
I'll admit I made a mistake and was looking at last years SOS, which the zags were ranked 69th. again, nothing that I think warranted my comments being removed.
You are correct, and I apologized, it was in error. I will take better care when moderating comments in the future
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