Ponds This Season

He'll be fine, he's definitely adjusting to playing a new roll within the team, probably a roll he's never played in his life. This is a very very talented team.

Ponds only hope to get drafted is playing the point. I think he only gets better and better as the year progresses even if his point total decreases. Heron will be the leading scorer on the team each night but this squad could have 5 double digit scorers this year.

Would like to see more of Dixon. He looks lost so far.     

Like I said I know he works extremely hard putting in reps into these type of things but college game is different than NBA.

For starters the NBA game is longer which is more forgiving of a bad shot. Everything from spacing, pace, etc is different.

Comparing a HOF player is pretty lofty.

Not comparing them as players.  Just illustrating the beauty of the unorthodox delivery and its effectiveness.  An opponent once said to Earl Monroe, you didn't even look at the basket.  Monroe replied (a line I stole), "I looked at it when I walked in the gym." 

Who has been more loyal to a player than I've been to Ponds since we recruited him?!

I just call it like I see it. As a soph the thinking was his D suffered because he had to carry the offense and was the only ball handler. Now he's got Heron and Figueroa to shoulder the scoring load but he's still not where it should be...and he loses the benefit of the doubt as a junior.

Heron plays better defense. Time for Ponds to step it up on that end.

Please note I am evaluating Ponds with strict scrutiny based on what he has shown in the past and what I expected from him. If Dixon or Trimble did what he's done I'd be ecstatic. Perhaps we see him for his senior season.

Didn’t read the whole post but As to the first Line, Carmine I think may have been Phil Greens Dad. He was that loyal.

Maybe his defense suffered because his coach didn’t demand him to play defense

I am known as the president of the Ponds fan club, but I don't like the way he looks this season. His NBA feedback obviously centered around his defense and he has the opportunity to do so now with more talent and depth around him. So why can't he can't stay in front of anyone as a junior?

Having great hands and instincts only gets you so far. He needs to show A LOT more.

I'd like to announce my new favorite player is Heron and Figureroa is coming up quickly behind him since he's the only player who cares about offensive rebkunding.

Heron looks like a much better  NBA prospect than Ponds early in the season.

No take backs!

AW Marillac having a tiff with his first love.
THREE GAMES!
I actually like the way he has played. Basically won the BG game for us. Against Rutgers he didn't really have it and didn't force it.
Defensively last year his effort wasn't great. Chalked it up to him having to do too much once Lovett quit. Thought his closeouts were a little better so far this year but still not great.
Needs to pick his spots better for three pointers especially the off one foot ones and 35 footers.
But he will be fine. Scores 30 tonight.

We are Nostradamus

He had a great game 15 minutes from his home and high school. How great is that. Let's take the the trophy home tomorrow night for St. John's, in BROOKLYN , where it all started.

No take backs!

His offense isn't the problem. He got burnt again tonight on D. That's got to improve. Shot selection was awful as well.

Again, strict scrutiny for a guy who is the best player we've had in 20 years.

Super gutsy performance from Ponds. Great players have short memories. Ponds put up a bad three early in shot clock in 2nd half and bricked it. Few plays later he pulls a crazy step back from NBA range and drains it.

The free styling and gambling on defense needs to minimize because when we play better teams they'll make you pay. Cal actually hit a lot of shots due to poor switches and rotations (not exclusive to Ponds)

His offense isn't the problem. He got burnt again tonight on D. That's got to improve. Shot selection was awful as well.

Again, strict scrutiny for a guy who is the best player we've had in 20 years.

Tough crowd. Had a steal that damn near one the game. Slid over and took a great charge in the first half. It wasn’t him getting burnt off the dribble all night.

Tough crowd. Had a steal that damn near one the game. Slid over and took a great charge in the first half. It wasn’t him getting burnt off the dribble all night.

After 4 games he almost at the mythical 50 / 90 /40 plateau.
50% from filed, 90% from line, 40% from three
Marillac is right though, defensively he has to give better effort.
Last year got a pass because he had to do so much.

His offense isn't the problem. He got burnt again tonight on D. That's got to improve. Shot selection was awful as well.

Again, strict scrutiny for a guy who is the best player we've had in 20 years.

Shot selection was awful???  11-15 for 30 seems OK to me.  Kid knows how to play, has great small guy moves and jumper  is improving.  What game were you watching?

Through the first four games, Ponds is at .391 from deep.

For comparison, team is at .408, with Figueroa at .529, Heron ast .500, and Clark at .346 (along with a stupefying 2 for 12 from two). With limited attempts, Simon and Dixon are at .500, with Simon at 2 for 4 and Dixon at 3 for 6.

Of course, none of this takes in level of difficulty or situation in the game, where Ponds has hit some crucial shots, as have Figueroa and Clark.

After 4 games he almost at the mythical 50 / 90 /40 plateau.
50% from filed, 90% from line, 40% from three
Marillac is right though, defensively he has to give better effort.
Last year got a pass because he had to do so much.

Imagine how mythical it would be if a bad shooter like ponds were able to achieve it 😉

Imagine how mythical it would be if a bad shooter like ponds were able to achieve it 😉

He has a nice touch and a volume / rhythm shooter.
I like Ponds but he simply has to many moving parts to ever be a consistently good shooter.
One other issue he has is his shot selection is not good. HOWEVER he is a bad shot maker so it is hard to discourage him from taking some of those shots. I would def cut out the one legged stuff from three.
Inside the three point line he seems to shoot it different and squares up  more.

Imagine how mythical it would be if a bad shooter like ponds were able to achieve it 😉

Outside of when Ponds is on one of his runs where any shot he takes might go in of the 5 starters I would rank Ponds as the 4th best three point shooter.
Though I think Clark might need to chill a bit on those.

Outside of when Ponds is on one of his runs where any shot he takes might go in of the 5 starters I would rank Ponds as the 4th best three point shooter.
Though I think Clark might need to chill a bit on those.

IDK how id rank them but I would have LJ first. The other 3 lefties I think are all good but streaky shooters. Clark is forcing shots right now. Wouldnt surprise me if any of them shot 40% or 30% from 3 this year. I will agree that Ponds does shoot it differently from behind the arc, he changed his shot from his freshman year and I think it will get back to where it was.

IDK how id rank them but I would have LJ first. The other 3 lefties I think are all good but streaky shooters. Clark is forcing shots right now. Wouldnt surprise me if any of them shot 40% or 30% from 3 this year. I will agree that Ponds does shoot it differently from behind the arc, he changed his shot from his freshman year and I think it will get back to where it was.

Well he shoots too far out for one. But again he made a crazy one last night...
I like the way Heron's shot looks though needs a little more arc. Clark needs his feet to be totally set. Figueroa should shoot more.

Shot selection was awful???  11-15 for 30 seems OK to me.  Kid knows how to play, has great small guy moves and jumper  is improving.  What game were you watching?

The one in his head.