Cincinnati Postgame Report

#27
#27
Our zone offense was poor for the 2nd game in a row. Cincy should have defended us the entire 2nd half with a zone. We are missing shots, for sure but they are at least good shots. I haven’t seen a lot of poor shot selection, just have to knock them down especially layups and shots at the rim.

Vescovi isn’t an elite PG and no one has claimed that he is, but Barnes isn’t going to change his role, there is no way. Our PG is a high school senior to arrive next year. Springer should start and get more minutes than Bailey (who is strictly a nice pure catch and shoot scorer), because when the clock is running down I’m convinced he can get a decent look, but he is no PG either (1 assist in 2 games). He got away with 2 poor passes today that should have been turnovers. Offensively he should be our 2nd option behind Fulkerson. I expect James will end up getting more responsibility as a point forward as the season progresses. Nkamhoua has only played 14 minutes in 2 games, not a lot but he has 0 rebounds. Not good and he is not going to earn time if this continues.

I’m still waiting for a lineup on the floor at times that includes, Vescovi, Springer, Johnson, James, and Fulkerson....we may see it soon. I like Anoskie (he is physical but no defensive rebounds yet), but based on 2 games I don’t think he will command the number of minutes per game I was originally expecting. We may need to play small to be our best. Early ....but would like to see it.
 
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#29
#29
BruinVol said:
He looked off the first half. And then in the second half before you realized it he had one heck of a stat line
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Really, outside of the poor shooting percentage, he didnt have a bad 1st half. 5 pts and 7 rebs, IIRC.
 
#32
#32
BruinVol said:
yea it’s about expectations I guess. It seems quiet
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He was definitely quiet on the scoreboard. Only 1 made shot, but he worked the boards hard and got to the FT line three times. Also contributed to the 3 fouls called on Vogt and Ivanauskas, both, in the first half.
 
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#33
#33
cncchris33 said:
He was definitely quiet on the scoreboard. Only 1 made shot, but he worked the boards hard and got to the FT line three times. Also contributed to the 3 fouls called on Vogt and Ivanauskas, both, in the first half.
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Yeah, he was a machine at drawing fouls this game
 
#34
#34
Namorto1 said:
Our zone offense was poor for the 2nd game in a row. Cincy should have defended us the entire 2nd half with a zone. We are missing shots, for sure but they are at least good shots. I haven’t seen a lot of poor shot selection, just have to knock them down especially layups and shots at the rim.

Vescovi isn’t an elite PG and no one has claimed that he is, but Barnes isn’t going to change his role, there is no way. Our PG is a high school senior to arrive next year. Springer should start and get more minutes than Bailey (who is strictly a nice pure catch and shoot scorer), because when the clock is running down I’m convinced he can get a decent look, but he is no PG either (1 assist in 2 games). He got away with 2 poor passes today that should have been turnovers. Offensively he should be our 2nd option behind Fulkerson. I expect James will end up getting more responsibility as a point forward as the season progresses. Nkamhoua has only played 14 minutes in 2 games, not a lot but he has 0 rebounds. Not good and he is not going to earn time if this continues.

I’m still waiting for a lineup on the floor at times that includes, Vescovi, Springer, Johnson, James, and Fulkerson....we may see it soon. I like Anoskie (he is physical but no defensive rebounds yet), but based on 2 games I don’t think he will command the number of minutes per game I was originally expecting. We may need to play small to be our best. Early ....but would like to see it.
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Springer isn't a perfect PG by any means, and he is definitely not one who is going to average 6+ apg, but he is at least a threat to get to the basket OR pass the ball. Vescovi is never looking to score inside the 3-pt line, so isn't a dual-threat PG. Neither guy is Jordan Bone, but Springer seems to have the better chance of the two to become that with some coaching.

You are right, the answer is Kennedy Chandler, but we don't have him, yet. Vescovi is still very left-hand dependent, to a detriment, too. Springer only has 1 assist, but I'm not sure how much true PG he has played to this point, either. He has mostly filled in for Bailey off the ball.

I'm with you on Nkamhoua, and the lack of rebounding. He isn't needed to score, but if he can't rebound, either, what does he bring other than 5 fouls? This was my chief complaint with him, last year, too.
 
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#36
#36
Many of the 1 and done schools that churn players are really struggling this year (UK, Duke, UNC)

It just goes to show you how hard it is to integrate a bunch of new players with some of the practice challenges.

Honestly, we are doing pretty well so far. We’ve got a lot of potential. I’m excited.
 
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#38
#38
EtowahVol said:
Auburn will beat us by 10. Our guys can't defend the 3. I've a Rec team that does a better job.
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This borders on derangement.

Did you really sit there and try to come up with a reason to disparage this team and mention Bruce Pearl?

He was given a show cause. He had to be fired. It’s been almost 10 years now. Let it go.
 
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#40
#40
Volfan1000 said:
Fulkerson had a double double today which was huge in a defensive slugfest and this is a better quality win than the one over Colorado.
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He definitely looked much better today than Tuesday. He is so smooth at the line I’d love for him to help spread the floor by squaring up and taking 2 or 3 15 ft+ jumpers per game.
 
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#41
#41
Vescovi is probably better at the 2 than PG, but he has 8 assists (leads the team) and only 4 turnovers thru 2 games. I think he is more than adequate.

We have 2 guys now that can beat you off the dribble and actually want to do that. Been a while since we could do that.

Our D continues to be very good and still has much room to improve.

Never would have thought that JJJ would not be one of our best 5, but I do now.

Another game where we still didn't bring our A game, but managed to beat a good team.
 
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#42
#42
My biggest observation through 2 games is that no one seems to be really looking to take a shot. Our offense seems almost unselfish to a fault. I know this team doesn’t have any natural 1a/1b scorer options that we necessarily need to run the offense through. However, defenses have so far seem to have success playing a packed in zone that we haven’t been able to bust yet.

We can overcome that by 1) attacking the basket with our freshman/guards/JJJ/Santi to his left), 2) making more outside shots 3) getting better playmaking when we feed it into the top of ft line soft spot. Grant Willams was always so good catching it there, facing up, and creating a shot for him or a perimeter shooter. Zones are gimmicky in the long run, our squad is too good and well-coached to not overcome this issue.

Fortunately, we know the talent is there, and I think our two freshman guards are going to improve leaps and bounds during SEC play, plus JJJ is finally healthy and currently averaging a quiet 8pts/6rbs/3assists (that stat line will only get better).

I think this issue will sort itself out soon, the cream will rise to the top (and the rotation will slightly decrease as roles become established) and we’ll have the offensive firepower to match our already stingy defense.
 
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#43
#43
Just listened to Barnes post game interview. He doesn’t want anyone to have to play a ton of minutes. That is a good sign because if our best players are under 30 we are going to have a healthy rotation. He also basically said to expect some lineup changes at some point. These next 4 games or so before we get to SEC play will show us what the rotation will be the rest of the year, assuming no one is set back due to Covid-19 exposure.
 
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#46
#46
cncchris33 said:
He was definitely quiet on the scoreboard. Only 1 made shot, but he worked the boards hard and got to the FT line three times. Also contributed to the 3 fouls called on Vogt and Ivanauskas, both, in the first half.
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He kept a few balls alive that turned into turnovers or offensive rebounds as well, one in which Fulky got credit. I think it's possible we see JJJ/Springer/Keon with Vescovi fitting in anywhere off the bench come league play for their defensive capabilities alone. It's possible that we play basically a 7 man rotation come tournament time as those are 4 of our best players alongside Fulky and Pons.
 
#47
#47
Why can I not watch this game on my dvr? I almost never miss a game and now I can’t watch the recording I made?
 
#48
#48
start the day with the game, and must say it was more interesting than the football being played ..

the night side of football Saturday was absolutely crazy

glad i recorded the shows from Cuonzo land
 
#49
#49
They appear to still be seeing where all the pieces fit exactly.

I would say that we don't have a great point guard option - but we have 3 or 4 good options. Right now, I would disagree with you and Bruin on your assessment - yes the freshmen are better at dribbling but tend to overdribble and stagnate the ball movement a little. They seldom seem to be looking for cutters or other options - so not loving either of them at the point. Their assist numbers also don't lead me to think ahhh there is the perfect point guard.
They both played over 20 minutes with only one assist. Vescovi is at least looking inside consistently and right now he and JJJ seem most willing to move the ball, see and pass to the open guy. The two freshman can pretty easily find a shot off of the dribble - and that seems to be some of their focus. I also like it in Vescovi's hands at the end of the game because when fouled he is going to hit about 95 per cent of his free throws. It's a work in process, but our defense will give people absolute fits.

We have too many quality guards right now and the front line is lacking at times, so I would consider playing JJJ some at small forward.

Without question - the most improved play - or one area of improvement that I witnessed this year over last - has to be Vescovi's defense. He was the best defensive guard on the court today and that is really saying something. He is so much better than he was last year. He and the coaches should be comended - took what was a major weakness last year and have transformed it into a strength. I never thought that I would see it but he was lights out on defense on Cincy's point guard.

This team will be fun.
 
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#50
#50
Fullfillmer said:
They appear to still be seeing where all the pieces fit exactly.

I would say that we don't have a great point guard option - but we have 3 or 4 good options. Right now, I would disagree with you and Bruin on your assessment - yes the freshmen are better at dribbling but tend to overdribble and stagnate the ball movement a little. They seldom seem to be looking for cutters or other options - so not loving either of them at the point. Their assist numbers also don't lead me to think ahhh there is the perfect point guard.
They both played over 20 minutes with only one assist. Vescovi is at least looking inside consistently and right now he and JJJ seem most willing to move the ball, see and pass to the open guy. The two freshman can pretty easily find a shot off of the dribble - and that seems to be some of their focus. I also like it in Vescovi's hands at the end of the game because when fouled he is going to hit about 95 per cent of his free throws. It's a work in process, but our defense will give people absolute fits.

We have too many quality guards right now and the front line is lacking at times, so I would consider playing JJJ some at small forward.

Without question - the most improved play - or one area of improvement that I witnessed this year over last - has to be Vescovi's defense. He was the best defensive guard on the court today and that is really saying something. He is so much better than he was last year. He and the coaches should be comended - took what was a major weakness last year and have transformed it into a strength. I never thought that I would see it but he was lights out on defense on Cincy's point guard.

This team will be fun.
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Agree with you on Vescovi’s defense. To be honest through two games I’m not sure there’s a player in the rotation who one could confidently say is not an above average defender in college basketball
Did you mean play JJJ at power forward?
 
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