MBB v St John's post-game thread

[Devilsfan]

Good post!

[Papa John]

Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)

Oh boy... Here we go again with the Paulus-Smith starting debate... Not that there's anything wrong with spinning your intellectual wheels on said topic--after all, it's a free country... But placing Paulus in a 'has not show as much at this stage in the season' category is simply ridiculous and ignores the fact that for a stretch of this season he was the guy who willed us back into some games that we definitely would have lost last season. Geez, what a fickle group ye Paulus-detractors be...

[duke211]

Good role player, d is not there against quick guards, nolan should start or jon at pg, I think greg needs to come off the bench and get his shoots

[wilko]

Good role player, d is not there against quick guards, nolan should start or jon at pg, I think greg needs to come off the bench and get his shoots

I get what you are saying and have felt that way too ...at times... Gregs 3 ball and leadership feed alot more intangibles than I realized. Hes a key.

But then are times when the matchups dont favor him and I wish we were a bit quicker to recognize where the advantages and disadvanges are and exploit them with Nolan or Jon.

But when it comes down to endgame... I want Greg on the floor when we have the lead and trying to close out a game. His FT and leadership to get us thru.

[CDu]

Oh boy... Here we go again with the Paulus-Smith starting debate... Not that there's anything wrong with spinning your intellectual wheels on said topic--after all, it's a free country... But placing Paulus in a 'has not show as much at this stage in the season' category is simply ridiculous and ignores the fact that for a stretch of this season he was the guy who willed us back into some games that we definitely would have lost last season. Geez, what a fickle group ye Paulus-detractors be...

He gets oodles of praise when he plays well. He should be worthy of discussion when he doesn't play so well. There's nothing wrong with pointing out both his good games and his not so good games. It's not being fickle - it's the reality of how Paulus has played. He's had some really good games and some struggles.

[Dbluedevils1530]

Greg is huge to this team wtf u talking about?

[dukegirlinsc]

Then there are players who have not shown as much as we had hoped for at this stage in the season:

1. Paulus
2. McClure
3. King (expect freshmen to take time to develop)


Isn't it amazing how some of us quit on a player so readily! To say that Paulus is a disappointment is incredulous! Yes, he has had a couple of bad outings lately but what about his overall performance this year? The kid is glue.... a leader...a fighter...we were praising him just few weeks ago and now he should be sitting on the bench!

We need Greg!

I agree. Greg drew some quick fouls yesterday, the first one which was questionable. (IMO.) While he was on the bench you could tell he was more frustrated than ever. He's played SO well for the most part of the season, I don't think 2-3 bad games right now are a reason to dump him. (Not that anyone is really "dumping" him...) I think Greg will be fine in the long run. He made some nice shots at the end of the game yesterday, and was already looking a LOT more confident than he has been in the last 2 weeks.

[Papa John]

He gets oodles of praise when he plays well. He should be worthy of discussion when he doesn't play so well. There's nothing wrong with pointing out both his good games and his not so good games. It's not being fickle - it's the reality of how Paulus has played. He's had some really good games and some struggles.

Like I said, it's a free country... Perhaps I become a tad more sensitive with regard to Greg, because I believe he's been treated as a whipping post for the past two seasons by [IMHO] reactionary fans who don't sound [to me, at least] like they know a whole lot about the game of basketball... But please, go ahead and debate the merits of starting the freshman PG or even a shooting guard over our seasoned veteran junior PG, simply because he's had a couple of bad games... And while doing so, feel free to ignore the similar bad outings that said freshman PG and shooting guard have had recently...

[Saratoga2]

I agree. Greg drew some quick fouls yesterday, the first one which was questionable. (IMO.) While he was on the bench you could tell he was more frustrated than ever. He's played SO well for the most part of the season, I don't think 2-3 bad games right now are a reason to dump him. (Not that anyone is really "dumping" him...) I think Greg will be fine in the long run. He made some nice shots at the end of the game yesterday, and was already looking a LOT more confident than he has been in the last 2 weeks.

I do not advocate dumping him Paulus or anyone else. We face teams with point guards who are quick and athletic. Virtually no one looks good guarding them, however, Greg is at more disadvantage than DeMarcus or Nolan due to his speed and length.

To make up for his defensive disadvantage, he has to hit a fair percentage of his shots and more importantly, he has to be solid handling the ball. During the SJ game he definitely was not solid. He telegraphed his first pass and quickly fouled out of frustration. He then made a couple of passes directly across court (no no) that were picked up and had another frustration foul. Greg is a good ball handler so it is hard to understand why he makes poor passes at times. The SJ game is not the first one where he has struggled in that way. It may be a confidence problem and I am certain the coaches are trying to help him return to his better form, which at times this year has been stellar.

[stingy]

I didn't get to see any of the game living in Chicago, and was hoping to see video of what I read was this terrific one-handed put-back by Singler at the end of the first half that didn't count. It wasn't on sportscenter, or WRAL's online video. I guess there aren't any other places I could look for this, eh? Anyone want to describe the shot a little more, just for the sake of my own curiosity?

[mapei]

Isn't it wonderful that Coach K doesn't seem to give up on any of the players? Guess that's why he's the coach and we just watch!

Actually, he does. See: Pocius, M, and King, T.

On Greg, I continue to believe he's a net positive. Nolan is earning more minutes but isn't overall the better player IMO, not yet anyway.

[Karl Beem]

Actually, he does. See: Pocius, M, and King, T.

Completely disagree.

[Jumbo]

Actually, he does. See: Pocius, M, and King, T.

On Greg, I continue to believe he's a net positive. Nolan is earning more minutes but isn't overall the better player IMO, not yet anyway.

In what way has Coach K "given up" on either Pocius or (especially) King? Can't wait for this answer...

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

In what way has Coach K "given up" on either Pocius or (especially) King? Can't wait for this answer...

Thank you, Jumbo. Your comment is stated better and more diplomatically than what I thought when I read that comment about Coach K giving up on Marty and Taylor.

[CDu]

Like I said, it's a free country... Perhaps I become a tad more sensitive with regard to Greg, because I believe he's been treated as a whipping post for the past two seasons by [IMHO] reactionary fans who don't sound [to me, at least] like they know a whole lot about the game of basketball... But please, go ahead and debate the merits of starting the freshman PG or even a shooting guard over our seasoned veteran junior PG, simply because he's had a couple of bad games... And while doing so, feel free to ignore the similar bad outings that said freshman PG and shooting guard have had recently...

I don't ignore the struggles Smith has had. Nor do I ignore the struggles Paulus has had. Nor do I think Smith should start ahead of Paulus. I think they're both very important. But I think there are plenty of people on this board who are WAY to sensitive to any criticism of Paulus' performance. That's all. You can still support Paulus while critiquing his performance at times.

[DangerDevil]

Like I said, it's a free country... Perhaps I become a tad more sensitive with regard to Greg, because I believe he's been treated as a whipping post for the past two seasons by [IMHO] reactionary fans who don't sound [to me, at least] like they know a whole lot about the game of basketball... But please, go ahead and debate the merits of starting the freshman PG or even a shooting guard over our seasoned veteran junior PG, simply because he's had a couple of bad games... And while doing so, feel free to ignore the similar bad outings that said freshman PG and shooting guard have had recently...

Completely Agree!

[dukegirlinsc]

Completely Agree!

me as well!

[Papa John]

I don't ignore the struggles Smith has had. Nor do I ignore the struggles Paulus has had. Nor do I think Smith should start ahead of Paulus. I think they're both very important. But I think there are plenty of people on this board who are WAY to sensitive to any criticism of Paulus' performance. That's all. You can still support Paulus while critiquing his performance at times.

I'm really not that sensitive... ;-) I just had some rare free time over the weekend and decided to jump in on what I perceived to be yet another silly, ill-informed statement regarding Paulus [the 'has not played to expectations up to this point']... I think someone coming to that conclusion hasn't payed very close attention to our games this season... The jab about a Paulus-Smith starter debate was simply sarcasm, though I imagine you caught that the first time around...

It sounds like you and I probably view the PG situation quite similarly... We have solid experience in Greg, and a wonderful raw athletic talent in Nolan, and are fortunate to be able to throw them at teams in a 1-2 punch... They both bring different things to the table, which forces teams to adjust when one or the other enters the game... One of the main reasons I prefer starting Greg is because neither is leagues beyond the other [yet] with regard to what they bring to the table, and I actually think not starting is beneficial to Nolan: it does not place undue pressure square on his shoulders from the outset, and it also provides a learning experience, as it allows him to watch the game unfold for a bit from the sidelines before jumping into the action himself... I regard it somewhat akin to young QBs in FB--standing on the sidelines is usually a good learning experience because they have time to just watch things unfold without being forced to make the split-second decisions they'd need to make on the field...