Originally Posted by
Saratoga2
There was a thread comparing the talents of Smith and Paulus, based on the importance of PG play to the team, an area that could certainly improve. Also, the 5 position on the team could improve as well and results have been subpar of late. My thought is to compare the four guys who have been given any real minutes this year.
Zoubek
A 7'1" guy who cedes jump balls to a 6"4" athlete. That tells you something about his own jumping ability. He has a pretty good handle on the ball and passes well but is little threat inside. He can rebound when the ball comes to him but is slow getting to rebounds that aren't near. One of his best assets is just size, since it appears to intimidate players who try to score inside. He is still foul prone and is probably not going over 20 minutes in any game.
Thomas
At 6'8" and with more strength this year I had expected his play to come along and he did have some games where he showed offensive ability. I think both his defense and rebounding have regressed, maybe because we have faced bigger frontcourts of late. He seems to overplay on defense, frequently picking up unnecessary fouls. I also don't see him rotating to provide help defense or boxing out. His rebounding numbers haven't been there either. He needs to turn things around or his minutes will steadily diminish.
McClure
At 6'6" and with good athletic ability he has been outstanding with his defense virtually all the year. With Thomas not coming through of late, he is the definite choice for coach K. Trur, he is not much of an offensive threat, but he does box out well and gets more rebounds than you would expect from a 6'6" guy.
Plumley
A 6'10' guy with much better mobility and jumping ability than Zoubek. I defer to coach K on what he sees regularly in practice, but given that neither Zoubek or Thomas are having outstanding seasons, there appears to be room to use his abilies for some part of every game. His offensive, back to the basket, game is not there yet, but the other alternatives have very little back to the basket capability either.
While we need better play from the 5 position, the bigger teams we have been playing have exposed our guys weaknesses. I would be interested in how others see things going forward.