Time to start looking forward to next year boys. I think the team played hard this year, but we all will be wanting some improved results next season. Here are some of my thoughts on the team and off-season improvement needs.
What does each player do well and what does each player need to improve on?
Overall team improvement needs:
1) better shooting
2) better shooting
3) better shooting
Overall coaching improvement needs:
1) Need to develop a better half court offense, creating easier shots for certain players.
2) Need to teach better defensive rebounding.
3) Need to figure out if Branch is the answer at PG. Do we need a back-up PG if we can’t land Rysheed Jordan, or is Phil Greene the answer?
4) Need to figure out if Harrison can fit in.
5) Need to continue to recruit like crazy.
Player by player analysis:
Jakarr Sampson:
Does well: Elite athlete, good midrange game. Developing into a leader.
Need to Improve on: Put on a touch of weight, get stronger. Needs to improve his dribbling in close-quarter situations, especially his ‘spin’ move – it often turns into a turnover. He needs to extend his shooting range. I know this would be hard to do in one off-season and I doubt it happens, but: if he were somehow able to get rid of his hitch in his jump-shot that would do wonders for his NBA potential. If he has a normal jump shot, I think he can get himself drafted high next year. If he doesn’t….I don’t know what his NBA potential is. He is hard to figure out.
Phil Greene:
Does well: Good on the tear-drop shot, doesn’t turn the ball over because he didn’t take risks with the ball. Good free throw shooter.
Needs to Improve on: His three point shooting is atrocious. He really needs to improve his jump shot. He also needs to get of the ball faster and not ‘circle-dribbble’. His shot selection needs some improvement a lot. I hope that if he gets playing time next year it’s because he’s improved his jump shot and not because we don’t have other back-court options. If he is getting major minutes next year, his jump shot, or lack thereof - maybe a huge swing factor in our wins total.
Dom Pointer:
Does well: Good defensively generally, improved his shot.
Needs to improve on: He improved moderately in all aspects of the game this year vs. last year. He needs to continue on this arc. His jump-shot needs improvement, his handle needs improvement. He needs to stop picking up ticky-tack fouls. Free throw shooting in general needs to improve.
Chris Obekpa
Does well: Tremendous shot-blocker, getting better at rebounding, even foul-shooting showing signs of life. Quietly, he is a pretty good passer.
Needs to improve on: Foul shooting – please get up to 60%+ next year! Needs better decision making on boxing-out vs. going for the block every time. If he could add one or two post moves, that would be huge. Needs to get a touch stronger, but without losing the quickness.
D’Angelo Harrison:
Does well: streaky shooter, surprisingly decent rebounder. Decent passer.
Needs to work on: Does Lavin even allow him to play next year? Can he get his head screwed on straight? He gets Kobe-itis too much, forcing too many shots (is that a product of bad alternative offensive options, or because he doesn’t want to play within whatever half court offense system we are operating?). His shooting percentage has to go up, whether by better pure shooting, or better shot selection. Can he control himself and be additive to team instead of a distraction? Improve his left-handle. He plays completely one-sided.
Jamal Branch:
Does well: Shows moments of being a good passer. His knee injury really de-railed his season and our ability to evaluate him if can be the answer for the next two years. He’s a pretty good free throw shooter.
Needs improvement. Way inconsistent as a passer. Needs to improve his shooting. More importantly he has to stop turning the ball over. He’ll make some sloppy passes as well and loose the ball in the open court. He needs to get to the rim stronger, and instead of ‘under-arming’ a prayer shot for the ball to go in and hope for a foul. Is his lack of explosiveness because of his injury or because he doesn’t have confidence? He needs to drive to the paint more often to create for others. Our season, if he’s our starter next season, hinges very much on him I think.
Marco Borgualt –
Does well – Overall, he really didn’t stand out this year. I think all the riding the pine-time took his confidence away. He does seem to have a sweet stroke, but his shooting percentage was poor.
Needs improvement - His shooting percentage. I think his three point shot was too ‘flat’ all season long. He needs to figure a way to get open for shots (not sure if its on him or his coaches). Somehow be able to win the confidence of your coach to stay in games.
Amir Garrett
Does well – only guy would consistently goes after it on the offense boards. He’s all hustle.
Needs improvement – for the little burn he gets, he needs to improve decision making, free throw shooting. He also really needs to decide this off-season if baseball would be a better use of his time to maximize his ability. I would be remiss if missed out on an MLB career because he was screwing around on the basketball court.
Christian Jones
Does well – He is strong, and a good, albeit slow, leaper. His jump shot seemed ok at the beginning of the year but that disappeared when he stopped getting playing time.
Needs to improve: Rebounding. He showed some flashes of toughness these last few games. Improve his confidence in a ability to hit the boards and ‘mix it up’ on the court. Learn to create havoc with his big body.
Orlando Sanchez
Does well - He’s hard to evaluate. Apparently he’s a good passer and a good shooter, also defensively at shooting bloacks.
Things to improve on: Even before he steps on the court, I hope he has some kind of sense of how to direct the offense – being a 2nd point guard – from the post. I pray he has some post moves.
Max Hooper
Does well – we don’t know. He is supposedly a good shooter.
Needs Improvement – we don’t know – Is he quick enough to get playing time?
Felix Balamou
Does well – Elite athlete, but doesn’t have elite height or basketball skills.
Needs Improvement – He’s a four-year project. Needs to work on all aspect of his game.
Overall the team: I think the team will have an amazing front-court defensively. I think our rebounding deficiencies will get better. Our biggest questions is in our back-court. Is Branch the answer? Does Harrison come back or does Rysheed come on board? Can Greene improve his shooting? I think we know what we are going to get next year from the front-court, despite not knowing much about Sanchez. I think our back-court makes or breaks us if we are going to be a good team.
Thoughts? Criticisms?