'Nother SDSU fan here. Should be a good game on Friday, and my early feeling is that it will simply come down to who can hit their outside shots at a higher clip.
Polee is definitely a fan favorite out here. Had very high expectations coming into the season - Preseason All-MWC and starting at wing for our top 25 squad (again, preseason...). We needed him to be a 12-14 ppg guy shooting the same % he did last year, but a couple games before he went down he was actually pulled from the starting lineup for 6'6" SG Matt Shrigley. Shrigley was supposed to give us that outside shooting spark on O but has been inconsistent, to say the least, all season. When DP finally got back, he brought the same energy he brought last year as our 6th man and has rotated between a 6 man and a starter. Due to his heart condition, he can be out of any game with like two hours notice.
We play anywhere between 8 and 12 guys, with no considerable drop off between them, but each brings something unique and their own pros and cons. With thinner teams, we usually like to play more guys and will mass substitute a la UK after the first TV timeout. We usually press on every made bucket and free throw. My concern here is that you guys playing five guards that know a Big East schedule will be able to handle that press well and get easy looks in transition. Many times, the M2M press is just to put pressure on the ball handler and wear down the opposition - other times we will ratchet it up and go for turnovers depending on the flow of the game. Fisher is a big 'game of runs' coach, so if he smells blood out there the press will come hard and in waves. We play exclusively man to man, so if you happen to see us in a zone it's because we're down 20. That man to man is played "heels on the line" as our D Coach likes to call it - switch every screen and guard out just a bit past the three point line. Skylar Spencer, our junior Center who is already our school's all-time leading shot blocker, makes this an effective way to play as his help defense is second to none (...sounds like Obekpa to y'all).
Your offense sounds very similar to ours, honestly. Our best offense is getting out in transition and finding easy looks before we have to settle into a sometimes anemic half court set. Our offense always looks terrible, but it only actually IS terrible when shots aren't falling. We have multiple guys who are very competent and confident three point shooters (Shrigley, DP, Aqeel Quinn, Malik Pope, Trey Kell), and when one or two of them are making shots we are almost impossible to guard. Shrigley has been baffling at times - he can go entire weeks without shooting, go 0 for 8 in any given game, or make 5 threes in a half. DP is a spot up guy that roams the perimeter, and is good for 2 or 3 attempts per game (though he has been hitting the mid range shot lately). AQ is our walkon point playing out of position, but gets us into our offense adequately and has actually shot better than 40% from distance the last few weeks. 6'10"/7'3" with hair Malik Pope is an absolute freak, has only played in 10 or 15 real games since he broke his leg his junior year of high school. 5 star top 40 guy even after two leg breaks and no HS experience, is on Ford's draft board as a one and done lotto pick even with the very limited minutes he's played at the college level. Mismatch for anyone on the floor as he is our best three point shooter and can also throw down an alley oop over two guys at the back end of a 2-3.
Winston Shepard is always a big question mark for us, and especially considering his ties to SJU he might try to do too much. If he is in attack mode, he is an NBA prospect with great slashing ability and a good midrange game. If he gets tentative, his deep ball can be god awful and his dunks turn into layups. Bad Shep - it's probably yours to win. Good Shep - it's probably ours to win.
Fisher just recently called JJ O'Brien the smartest player he's ever coached. Our entire offense runs through him, and he transitions effortlessly between scorer and facilitator. The only way to guard him on the block, especially with a smaller defender, is to bring a double. He is great off the bounce and back to basket against anyone 6'8" or shorter. Amazing basketball fundamentals, intangibles, and post savvy. Think Perry Ellis for KU.
We are both senior-led teams, both hungry to prove something... I think it should be a great game. Either way, I'll be rooting for a Duke loss on Sunday. I do think we would have been a 2-3 point underdog if your big guy was still playing, as opposed to a 2-3 point favorite. Hopefully everyone stays healthy and the refs don't get too involved.
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P.S. Who is Lou Carnesecca? Had to Google "St. John's Lou..." in order to register an account!