Get Ready to Welcome Simon & Clark

As Louie would say--Don't talk about this; you'll put the horns on the deal.  Speak of this when the fat lady sings

"Get them to sign on the line which is dotted"

Great to hear. Simon is the type of highly ranked kid that can prove to be an absolute star. The backcourt talent at Zona was already RIDICULOUS and then they land Alkins and Ferguson.  He could be a gem and we are due for some good luck.

Clark isn't the same potential talent but what a great complement to the sizzle we already have at the wing. He is strong and athletic and can defend.  We don't get either of these kids in the past.

I think Clark will be more offense than defense. I see and would be thrilled if it were the case, Jeff Robinson from the Hall.

Quote from: Marillac on April 17, 2016, 08:24:25 PM

Great to hear. Simon is the type of highly ranked kid that can prove to be an absolute star. The backcourt talent at Zona was already RIDICULOUS and then they land Alkins and Ferguson.  He could be a gem and we are due for some good luck.

Clark isn't the same potential talent but what a great complement to the sizzle we already have at the wing. He is strong and athletic and can defend.  We don't get either of these kids in the past.

I think Clark will be more offense than defense. I see and would be thrilled if it were the case, Jeff Robinson from the Hall.

Biggest initial dividend for Simon it appears will be defense, which is quite fine.

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on April 17, 2016, 10:52:04 PM

Quote from: Marillac on April 17, 2016, 08:24:25 PM

Great to hear. Simon is the type of highly ranked kid that can prove to be an absolute star. The backcourt talent at Zona was already RIDICULOUS and then they land Alkins and Ferguson.  He could be a gem and we are due for some good luck.

Clark isn't the same potential talent but what a great complement to the sizzle we already have at the wing. He is strong and athletic and can defend.  We don't get either of these kids in the past.

I think Clark will be more offense than defense. I see and would be thrilled if it were the case, Jeff Robinson from the Hall.

For our sake, I hope the opposite is true. Offense will be very potent in two years. I still have my questions about defense. I haven't seen him play, but an article from last year's tournament about him suggested he was very similar to Justin Anderson of UVA.

Apparently, Clark was also homeless at one point in his life.

Biggest initial dividend for Simon it appears will be defense, which is quite fine.

Can never have enough scoring. 
Nova played great defense, it's true.  But they won a championship bc they shot like 70% from 3 for the tournament.  (Or whatever it was.  They didn't miss).

You need to be able to put points on the board. Period

Quote from: desco80 on April 18, 2016, 10:23:01 AM

Can never have enough scoring. 
Nova played great defense, it's true.  But they won a championship bc they shot like 70% from 3 for the tournament.  (Or whatever it was.  They didn't miss).

You need to be able to put points on the board. Period

Nova's defense was incredible. Even with their shooting they could have lost to a team like UNC who was more athletic and got a lot more easy baskets. I think it is what separated them from other potent offensive teams. They also had the strength advantage which was big.

Quote from: Marillac on April 18, 2016, 01:44:30 PM

Quote from: desco80 on April 18, 2016, 10:23:01 AM

Can never have enough scoring. 
Nova played great defense, it's true.  But they won a championship bc they shot like 70% from 3 for the tournament.  (Or whatever it was.  They didn't miss).

You need to be able to put points on the board. Period

Nova's defense was incredible. Even with their shooting they could have lost to a team like UNC who was more athletic and got a lot more easy baskets. I think it is what separated them from other potent offensive teams. They also had the strength advantage which was big.

Ken Pom had them ranked #2 in the country in offensive efficiency and #6 in defensive efficiency.    They were awesome on both sides of the ball.   I won't split hairs.
But their defense benefited from being able to set up after made baskets.   Don't discount that.
That was a big problem for the Harrison-Pointer teams.   We played good D when we had a chance to get set, but we were always giving up long rebounds that led to runouts and mismatches.   

It's silly to say we need one or the other.  We need both defense and offense.  A team full of freshmen and a bare bones  roster is almost never going to play real good d, and we didn't.  We need both...

As far as these kids go, from what I can gather, Clark is quite a good offensive player.  He's more of a wing than a PF as per Michigan state fans, and put up high percentages in his ft and 3pt stats considering his minutes played.  They seemed to say his defense was fair and that he didn't get enough rebounds, but per minutes played, 2.5 rpg isn't bad for only 10 minutes a game.  He's a very good athlete, real strong, long arms.  Looks like he can certainly help us as there are pages of Michigan state fans who didn't want to see him leave. 

As far as Simon, he seems a very gifted athlete who can play both guard and forward spots.   Looks like he excels going to the rim and will likely be a good defender off the bat.  Zona fans don't know if his shot is quite developed yet, but again the kid barely played.  He shot .500 from the field and was 1 of 3 on treys for the season which doesn't seem big enough sample size.  Their impressions seemed to be that he has a high ceiling but they were bringing in such high level talent that he minutes were pinched.

Both guys seem to be ones who had limited minutes with solid stats.  Just look at the level of players both Zona and Michigan state are bringing in at those positions... Some of the best recruits in the country.  As they say, " one man's trash is another man's treasure".  I get the feeling like that is the scenario here.