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Post by Chuck on Jan 4, 2009 15:09:43 GMT -5
Here is an out of conference report card on the Bonnies.
Jonathan Hall (A+) he leads the Bonnies in points, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, steals and minutes played. He is second in assists and blocks. Quite frankly Jonathan does everything for the Bonnies. His dominating stats are also reflected in the A-10 stats as he is listed in the top 15 in 6 different categories and top 10 in 4 categories. According to the stats he is deserving of All A-10 honors.
Andrew Nicholson (A+) he is 8th in the nation in blocks (first among freshmen). He is listed in the top 20 of the A-10 in scoring, offensive rebounds and blocks (2nd in blocks). A-10 has a solid freshman class with Eric Evans and Jio Fontan, but in comparison they are listed among leaders in the A-10 only once. Evans is 12th in free throw % and Fontan 5th in assists (also 12th in assists/to ratio but this is basically the same award as assists). Andrew should be the clear choice for A-10 rookie of the year.
Ray Blackburn (A) he is the leading scorer in the 2nd half of this season (last 7 games) with 104 points for an average of 14.8 ppg. Everyone points to him leading the team in turnovers, but do you realize he also leads the team in assists. Ray leads the Bonnies in attempted free throws, which is proof he makes things happen when he is in the game. Most important attribute is his "leave all out on the court attitude." He is currently the team's 3rd leading scorer and I believe he is the team's 3rd best player.
Chris Matthews (B) he was a star during the first 3 games. Then he became less than adequate over the next 4 games. Now he is on a trend of being good one game and struggling the next game. His shot is improving, but the team needs some consistency from him. By the way he has just 3 less turnovers than Ray. Unlike Ray he has more turnovers than assists. Team needs a return of the player we saw in the first 3 games.
Maurice Thomas (B) he leads the team with 2 double-doubles and just 2 points shy of another. Maurice problem is a lack of playing time. In the 5 games where he played more than 20 minutes, he averaged 12.6 points and 9 rebounds a game. He had just one game of 30 minutes of playing time. Can you imagine if he averaged 30 minutes a game? He is a double-double waiting to happen.
Malcolm Eleby (C+) he is a solid distributor, which is reflected with him having a 35/22 assist to turnover ratio. Unlike earlier in the season he is not listed among the leaders in the A-10 in this category. Malcolm is a passive distributor and not a creator. This is reflected by him having less than half of Ray's free throws. Is a passive distributor enough in A-10 play?
Mark Schmidt (A) team has 9 out of conference wins, but his ability to recognize and develop talent is his most impressive attribute. Andrew Nicholson was not listed on any top recruiting services top 300 lists. How do you explain a player who transfers from a JUCO, because of a lack of playing time and then is playing against the likes of JCC at Olean and Alfred Ag Tech. Now he is the 3rd leading scorer for the Bonnies. Incredible to see the development of Andrew and Ray Blackburn. Schmidt's ability to recognize and develop talent is the only way Bonnies are going to return and stay at the top of the A-10. Hopefully Schmidt likes it in Olean and we have a president who appreciates him.
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therc
Junior Member
Posts: 390
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Post by therc on Jan 4, 2009 15:33:42 GMT -5
Nice post Chuck. Here are my thoughts:
Jonathan Hall (A+) For all of the reasons you described. Hall is as versitile of a player that I've seen in a Bona uniform in a very, very long time. Our success in the A-10 portion of the season will certainly have a lot to do with the play of Hall.
Andrew Nicholson (A+) I think it's safe to say he's surpassed everyones expectations. His ability to not only block, but alter shots is really impressive. It creates a lot of problems inside for opposing offenses, which will certainly help in conference.
Ray Blackburn (A-) Blackburn has already given us more than I thought he would. He's a great shooter, and is very dangerous in open space. I like the way he can create with the dribble, and I'm pleased with his ability to drive the lane and draw fouls. Two things I'd like to see him improve: He's got to become a smarter player when things are down, and he needs to remain in the flow of the offense. That means, when the offense is in a rhythm, he can't start dribbling all over the place. Quick and smart passes. Other than that, he's been very solid, and I've been impressed.
Chris Matthews (C+) Elevate this grade to a B+ when he's shooting. I think Matthews can improve defensively, and I still maintain that he needs to become more than simply a perimeter shooter. I know that's where he thrives (when he's on), but I think he'd be an asset driving ala Blackburn.
Grease Thomas (B-) Elevate this grade to an A- if Thomas plays more. We've talked a lot about Blackburn's attitude in the other thread, but Thomas has got to pick it up as well. No more talking back to Coach Schmidt, no more game suspensions for violation of team rules. Maurice can play a MAJOR role in the second part of this season if he puts the hard work in that's necessary to succeed.
Malcolm Eleby (B-) Much better than last year, and I'm very impressed with his assist to turnover ratio. Needs to get better offensively, but does provide a spark on defense. Malcolm is still learning, and hopefully better things are to come.
Mark Schmidt (A-) I've been 100 percent sold on Schmidt after last season, where he found a way to win eight games with a team that had a very, very slim amount of talent. So far, so good this year. I - like many others- wasn't very pleased with the Niagara game, but that really isn't his fault.
Regarding Schmidt - if he can get this team to the A-10 Tournament, I think he deserves serious consideration for A-10 Coach of the Year. Less than two years ago he inherited a roster of five players (three of which were thinking of transferring) and now we already have won nine games, we're 5-0 on the road, and we're tied for 4th in the conference. Great job from Coach Schimdt thus far.
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Post by Copenhagen on Jan 5, 2009 8:10:34 GMT -5
Based on those generous grades you would think we had only 1 or 2 losses, played a strong schedule so far and were headed to a post season tourney.
Agree that Nicholson and Hall deserve A grades, Blackburn a B or B+, Matthews, Thomas and Eleby somewhere in the C range.
Carter, Cook, Davenport, Benson also in the C range.
The most deserving high grade should go to the Coach and his staff, a definite A!
for me an A+ is perfection, although Nicholson and hall have played solid ball they were far from perfect..... foul trouble or missed foul shots could be 2 considerations. Wasn't Hall MIA in a few games.
Blackburn's Cansius game knocks him down from an A.
Thought Eleby would be more effective on the offensive end especially scoring.
Matthews and Thomas have both had good solid moments but both have been inconsistent for different reasons and have underperformed based on the preseason reports from here.
The reserves all of had solid moments but also small of no impact in almost ½ of the games.
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Post by bonabacker95 on Jan 6, 2009 11:09:30 GMT -5
Here is an out of conference report card on the Bonnies. Jonathan Hall (A+) he leads the Bonnies in points, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, steals and minutes played. He is second in assists and blocks. Quite frankly Jonathan does everything for the Bonnies. His dominating stats are also reflected in the A-10 stats as he is listed in the top 15 in 6 different categories and top 10 in 4 categories. According to the stats he is deserving of All A-10 honors. Andrew Nicholson (A+) he is 8th in the nation in blocks (first among freshmen). He is listed in the top 20 of the A-10 in scoring, offensive rebounds and blocks (2nd in blocks). A-10 has a solid freshman class with Eric Evans and Jio Fontan, but in comparison they are listed among leaders in the A-10 only once. Evans is 12th in free throw % and Fontan 5th in assists (also 12th in assists/to ratio but this is basically the same award as assists). Andrew should be the clear choice for A-10 rookie of the year. Ray Blackburn (A) he is the leading scorer in the 2nd half of this season (last 7 games) with 104 points for an average of 14.8 ppg. Everyone points to him leading the team in turnovers, but do you realize he also leads the team in assists. Ray leads the Bonnies in attempted free throws, which is proof he makes things happen when he is in the game. Most important attribute is his "leave all out on the court attitude." He is currently the team's 3rd leading scorer and I believe he is the team's 3rd best player. Chris Matthews (B) he was a star during the first 3 games. Then he became less than adequate over the next 4 games. Now he is on a trend of being good one game and struggling the next game. His shot is improving, but the team needs some consistency from him. By the way he has just 3 less turnovers than Ray. Unlike Ray he has more turnovers than assists. Team needs a return of the player we saw in the first 3 games. Maurice Thomas (B) he leads the team with 2 double-doubles and just 2 points shy of another. Maurice problem is a lack of playing time. In the 5 games where he played more than 20 minutes, he averaged 12.6 points and 9 rebounds a game. He had just one game of 30 minutes of playing time. Can you imagine if he averaged 30 minutes a game? He is a double-double waiting to happen. Malcolm Eleby (C+) he is a solid distributor, which is reflected with him having a 35/22 assist to turnover ratio. Unlike earlier in the season he is not listed among the leaders in the A-10 in this category. Malcolm is a passive distributor and not a creator. This is reflected by him having less than half of Ray's free throws. Is a passive distributor enough in A-10 play? Mark Schmidt (A) team has 9 out of conference wins, but his ability to recognize and develop talent is his most impressive attribute. Andrew Nicholson was not listed on any top recruiting services top 300 lists. How do you explain a player who transfers from a JUCO, because of a lack of playing time and then is playing against the likes of JCC at Olean and Alfred Ag Tech. Now he is the 3rd leading scorer for the Bonnies. Incredible to see the development of Andrew and Ray Blackburn. Schmidt's ability to recognize and develop talent is the only way Bonnies are going to return and stay at the top of the A-10. Hopefully Schmidt likes it in Olean and we have a president who appreciates him. Very nice Chuck I agree with your grades exactly, well done! |
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Post by mangham on Jan 6, 2009 12:57:06 GMT -5
I agree with Cope. The only two players deserving an A are Nicholson and Hall. To me Matthews and Grease are closer to a C. Blackburn a B- and Eleby a C+.
I do agree that Schmidt has done an outstanding job, even though many of you don't like the dribble drive offense he installed. Let's hope in conference we can at least maintain these grades.
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Post by njbona02 on Jan 6, 2009 16:46:32 GMT -5
I would just like to give the whole team a grade of AWESOME
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Post by hnk373431 on Jan 6, 2009 17:19:13 GMT -5
Am I the only person disappointed with this team so far? Like the individuals on this team especially Hall and Nicholson and Thomas has huge potential. Not sure that the team has developed an "identity" though and have gone hot and cold in stretches during almost every game with the exception of Marist. The defense looked great in that game. Hasn't been all that great in some of the recent games. Expected the team to be 10-3 at this point and only expected 5 conference wins. This team has to improve a great deal in order to stay competitive in the A-10. Has potential but right now it is only that - potential.
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Post by Chuck on Jan 7, 2009 12:45:48 GMT -5
Am I the only person disappointed with this team so far? Like the individuals on this team especially Hall and Nicholson and Thomas has huge potential. Not sure that the team has developed an "identity" though and have gone hot and cold in stretches during almost every game with the exception of Marist. The defense looked great in that game. Hasn't been all that great in some of the recent games. Expected the team to be 10-3 at this point and only expected 5 conference wins. This team has to improve a great deal in order to stay competitive in the A-10. Has potential but right now it is only that - potential. Agree with most of this post. Other than Jonathan Hall being "John of all trades" (nickname from gobonnies.com) team has not developed an identity and this is for various reasons. 1. Chris Matthews was a hot during his first 3 games, but since has been struggling with his shot. 2. Only thing that has stopped Andrew Nicholson is fouls. Fouls has limited Andrew to only 2 games of 30 mintues of playing time. Hopefully he can cut down on the fouls, because he'll cement Bonnies growing reputation as an athletic team that blocks shots (currently team is 2nd in A-10 in blocks). 3. Maurice Thomas has been hampered by limited playing time, because of fouls and differences with Schmidt. He needs to correct both, because he can give the team an identity of a hard nose team that is going to battle on the boards. As for player grades, really disagree with downgrading Ray Blackburn for 1 bad game. He is the leading scorer for the last 7 games. Ray offers much more at point than Eleby. Agree, considering the schedule the Bonnies 9 wins are overrated. Only unexpected win was Rutgers, which is still a quality win with Rutgers having a 9-6 record and 120 RPI. More revealing than the number of wins is the way the team has played. Other than Niagara the team has been competitive in all of their games. The one bad loss against Niagara is more than compensated by solid games against Rutgers and Mississippi State. |
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Post by West End Stench on Jan 7, 2009 13:02:46 GMT -5
As for player grades, really disagree with downgrading Ray Blackburn for 1 bad game. He is the leading scorer for the last 7 games. Ray offers much more at point than Eleby. Chuck, no doubt Ray offers more than Eleby but I think downgrading Ray's grade is justified. No, we can't base that on one game, but the stupid mistakes that he made against Canisius are ones that he continued to make throughout the non-conference slate. Dumb fouls, questionable shot selection, and not knowing when to slow the tempo are his major downfalls as a point guard. But, like others have said, I'll take the good with the bad, without his toughness and clutch free throw shooting we would have easily lost the double OT game. The "bad" that is coupled with his "good" is what keeps him from getting an A from me and maybe others. (B+) |
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Post by magnusbu on Jan 7, 2009 13:39:53 GMT -5
Thats all fine and dandy if your grading players solely on Stats like pts per game. But, you can't dismiss looking at other stats like Assists and TO's also. You can score 12 pts/game and it looks decent until you see 4 TO's/game that lead to 8 easy pts for the other team and a lost shot at 8 pts for your team.
Personally, I would grade Blackburn and Eleby about the same so far this season. B-
Nicholson because without his shotblocking his defense is not that good and foul trouble and lastly - Boxing out for rebounds he gets a B
Matthews - when hes on a B when hes off a C
Thomas - Can't underestimate his toughness inside or his troubles keeping him on the bench, but he gets a C+
Hall - Love how he fills up a stat sheet, Hate his control and decisions at times B+
Benson and Carter - Good subs to fill a few minutes and thats about it B for their efforts
Davenport - He will be good in a year or two. B for his promise
Lastly - Schmidt - Gets an A- Lots of new faces this year and still pulls out a 9-4 record while going 5-0 on the road.
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