Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2009 14:47:28 GMT -5
I have been able to see these guys a half a dozen times, not a whole bunch, but enough make some observations, here are my first impressions:
Lew Leonard – Is better then Matthews, more consistent. Not nearly is flashy, just makes sound, solid basketball plays. Nice release from 20+feet. Does not force anything. Deceptively quick. Good leaper. Can take it to the rim, is very physical, and can finish in traffic or get hacked. A MUCH better defender then Matthews. Not a great ball handler, but a good passer.
Brett Roseboro – 4 year starter! Not sure what the issue was with Marquette, but he can play. Old school big man. Doesn’t play above the rim, but uses his body VERY well and has an array of moves and release points to get his shot off, over, under, and around Andy. On one play he dropped his shoulder into Andy (probably would have been a charge), knocking him 5 feet under the basket, to create space and banked in a 5 foot baby hook. A good positional defender, not a shot blocker at all, (even from the weak side), and a very good positional rebounder. Great hands and is not afraid to shoot out to three. Good release, a little slow, but when you’re a legit 6-10 you really don’t have to worry too much about it getting blocked. Will get beat by quicker guys, that being said, can’t wait to see him match up against a guy like Kenny Frease!
Demetrius Conger – This year’s Michael Davenport for me (surprise of the year!) This kid is good! Straight up, a big point guard. (Point forward!?!) Best court vision on the team. Very good dribbler in the open court and, again, sees the whole court. Extremely athletic and has a good shot out to three. Good defender, too. Like Roseboro plays beyond his years. And like Roseboro, I have not seen him have a bad game of pick up. You can tell a lot about a player on how his teammates treat him. When I have watched the games, I would say (other then when Ogo is on Conger’s team) Demetrius is leading the fast break 90% of the time. The only problem is that he has Jonny, Lew, Chris, and Michael ahead of him, minutes will be tough to come by!
Ogo Adegboya – Has been REAL streaky from what I’ve seen. One time, his great. (Making all the plays he needs to for this team to be real good) Next time I see him he’s turning the ball over and taking WAY too many threes. Ogo is very good in the open court, one man press break. Very fast, actually too fast at times, he beats his teammates down the court with the ball. Good defender, actually quite physical on the ball. Get’s in the passing lanes well, also. Has a JR Bremer type release (kind of off the left shoulder in front of his face, not great). Also spreads his legs out on his release, almost makes it look like a desperation heave. When he’s making his shoots he will be very difficult to defend. Good court vision, finds the open man very well. Leader, very vocal.
Jake Houseknecht – before they signed Brett, I had told people I thought he would have been the starting PF. I still think he’ll be the first big off the bench. Jake has all the tools to be a good A10 forward. He is very quick off the floor, making him a good rebounder and shot blocker. Still doesn’t have any back to the basket moves that he needs to keep defenses honest. A VERY good face up shooter, will knock down the 15 footer. A good defender that will give SBU another big body. (think Matt Morgan.)
Marquise Simmons – Haven’t seen much of him, no more then 3 times. First time I saw him was probably the best. Ran the floor great, handled the ball well in the open court and knocked down a hand full of threes. Is a wing forward, will be over powered on the low blocks. The other games he was kind of, non-existent. Didn’t make a lot of offensive plays, but didn’t make any mistakes or allow is opponent any easy baskets either. Still he is long and lean, can run the floor with the best of them, and at 6-8 can shoot the ball. Will need time to adjust to the A-10.
Horace McGloster – would like to see the people that were playing in front of him at Houston. Horace is another one of those glue type guys Coach has mentioned. REALLY understands his game. Is a long wing that probably is the best three point shooter on the team. Will take what the defense gives him. The first time I saw him play he was matched up with Hall. Since he could beat him off the dribble, he hovered around the three point line and knocked down 3 out of 4. One game he had Agee guarding him and posted up at will and hit several turn-a-round jumpers in the lane. Physical wing that is really long. Good handle in the open court and a surprisingly good defender. Rebounds his area real well. Had one highlight real layup, where he came in from the left baseline only to have Andy waiting for him, went up and under him, and the rim, to hit a reverse (Ala – dare I say it? Mike Gansey). Will be real interesting to see who takes the three next year, Horace or Demetrius.
Kelvin Agee – not as tall as I would have hoped. 6-2 may be stretching it. Will need a year to get use to the A-10. Needs to work on his ball handling, right now is an undersized 2 guard, which isn’t a bad thing. I have only seen him play twice, but he has hit 6 of 7 threes. A slow release, but if left open will make you pay. Good on the ball defender. Has really good leaping ability that allows him to be a good defensive rebounder.
I know a lot of this sounds like I cut and paste, but that’s what you’re going to see. Long athletic wings, that are real aggressive. Each can handle the ball in the open court, and each can knock down the open three. Each of them are good on the ball defenders that can rebound their area well.
I think for the first time 6 – 7 years you will see that SBU has 10 – 12 A10 level players on the roster. Unlike years past where the drop off after the first 5 (hell some years the first 3) was so large that the starters had to play 35 minutes a night, coach has options, and if a player isn't playing well, or isn’t feeling well, get in foul trouble, then he can plug in another without losing a scoring option.
This is the most talented team SBU has had in years. Point guard and turnovers will be the key. If they can get consistent play out of that position and have players like Jon Hall reduce their turnover totals this will be an upper half A10 team. Given that, I predict two more wins then last year and a 17-12 (9-7 A-10) record.
My current Starting 5
Malcolm
Chris
Jon
Andy
Brett
Bench (in order)
Lew & Mike-(tie - each brings something a little different to the table.)
Ogo
Jake
Demetrius
Quan
Marquise
Lew Leonard – Is better then Matthews, more consistent. Not nearly is flashy, just makes sound, solid basketball plays. Nice release from 20+feet. Does not force anything. Deceptively quick. Good leaper. Can take it to the rim, is very physical, and can finish in traffic or get hacked. A MUCH better defender then Matthews. Not a great ball handler, but a good passer.
Brett Roseboro – 4 year starter! Not sure what the issue was with Marquette, but he can play. Old school big man. Doesn’t play above the rim, but uses his body VERY well and has an array of moves and release points to get his shot off, over, under, and around Andy. On one play he dropped his shoulder into Andy (probably would have been a charge), knocking him 5 feet under the basket, to create space and banked in a 5 foot baby hook. A good positional defender, not a shot blocker at all, (even from the weak side), and a very good positional rebounder. Great hands and is not afraid to shoot out to three. Good release, a little slow, but when you’re a legit 6-10 you really don’t have to worry too much about it getting blocked. Will get beat by quicker guys, that being said, can’t wait to see him match up against a guy like Kenny Frease!
Demetrius Conger – This year’s Michael Davenport for me (surprise of the year!) This kid is good! Straight up, a big point guard. (Point forward!?!) Best court vision on the team. Very good dribbler in the open court and, again, sees the whole court. Extremely athletic and has a good shot out to three. Good defender, too. Like Roseboro plays beyond his years. And like Roseboro, I have not seen him have a bad game of pick up. You can tell a lot about a player on how his teammates treat him. When I have watched the games, I would say (other then when Ogo is on Conger’s team) Demetrius is leading the fast break 90% of the time. The only problem is that he has Jonny, Lew, Chris, and Michael ahead of him, minutes will be tough to come by!
Ogo Adegboya – Has been REAL streaky from what I’ve seen. One time, his great. (Making all the plays he needs to for this team to be real good) Next time I see him he’s turning the ball over and taking WAY too many threes. Ogo is very good in the open court, one man press break. Very fast, actually too fast at times, he beats his teammates down the court with the ball. Good defender, actually quite physical on the ball. Get’s in the passing lanes well, also. Has a JR Bremer type release (kind of off the left shoulder in front of his face, not great). Also spreads his legs out on his release, almost makes it look like a desperation heave. When he’s making his shoots he will be very difficult to defend. Good court vision, finds the open man very well. Leader, very vocal.
Jake Houseknecht – before they signed Brett, I had told people I thought he would have been the starting PF. I still think he’ll be the first big off the bench. Jake has all the tools to be a good A10 forward. He is very quick off the floor, making him a good rebounder and shot blocker. Still doesn’t have any back to the basket moves that he needs to keep defenses honest. A VERY good face up shooter, will knock down the 15 footer. A good defender that will give SBU another big body. (think Matt Morgan.)
Marquise Simmons – Haven’t seen much of him, no more then 3 times. First time I saw him was probably the best. Ran the floor great, handled the ball well in the open court and knocked down a hand full of threes. Is a wing forward, will be over powered on the low blocks. The other games he was kind of, non-existent. Didn’t make a lot of offensive plays, but didn’t make any mistakes or allow is opponent any easy baskets either. Still he is long and lean, can run the floor with the best of them, and at 6-8 can shoot the ball. Will need time to adjust to the A-10.
Horace McGloster – would like to see the people that were playing in front of him at Houston. Horace is another one of those glue type guys Coach has mentioned. REALLY understands his game. Is a long wing that probably is the best three point shooter on the team. Will take what the defense gives him. The first time I saw him play he was matched up with Hall. Since he could beat him off the dribble, he hovered around the three point line and knocked down 3 out of 4. One game he had Agee guarding him and posted up at will and hit several turn-a-round jumpers in the lane. Physical wing that is really long. Good handle in the open court and a surprisingly good defender. Rebounds his area real well. Had one highlight real layup, where he came in from the left baseline only to have Andy waiting for him, went up and under him, and the rim, to hit a reverse (Ala – dare I say it? Mike Gansey). Will be real interesting to see who takes the three next year, Horace or Demetrius.
Kelvin Agee – not as tall as I would have hoped. 6-2 may be stretching it. Will need a year to get use to the A-10. Needs to work on his ball handling, right now is an undersized 2 guard, which isn’t a bad thing. I have only seen him play twice, but he has hit 6 of 7 threes. A slow release, but if left open will make you pay. Good on the ball defender. Has really good leaping ability that allows him to be a good defensive rebounder.
I know a lot of this sounds like I cut and paste, but that’s what you’re going to see. Long athletic wings, that are real aggressive. Each can handle the ball in the open court, and each can knock down the open three. Each of them are good on the ball defenders that can rebound their area well.
I think for the first time 6 – 7 years you will see that SBU has 10 – 12 A10 level players on the roster. Unlike years past where the drop off after the first 5 (hell some years the first 3) was so large that the starters had to play 35 minutes a night, coach has options, and if a player isn't playing well, or isn’t feeling well, get in foul trouble, then he can plug in another without losing a scoring option.
This is the most talented team SBU has had in years. Point guard and turnovers will be the key. If they can get consistent play out of that position and have players like Jon Hall reduce their turnover totals this will be an upper half A10 team. Given that, I predict two more wins then last year and a 17-12 (9-7 A-10) record.
My current Starting 5
Malcolm
Chris
Jon
Andy
Brett
Bench (in order)
Lew & Mike-(tie - each brings something a little different to the table.)
Ogo
Jake
Demetrius
Quan
Marquise