Some Strides for Lance

[Jumbo]

This got some play in the post-game thread, but I believe the kid deserves a thread of his own. After a few tough weeks dealing with injury, illness and ineffective play, Lance Thomas had his best game in a while against Clemson.

Sure, the stats were solid -- 19 minutes, two points, five boards, three steals and a block. They could have been better -- Lance missed three free throws and a couple of chippies around the basket. But Lance had an intangible impact on the game. He was a plus-17, which trailed only Scheyer in many fewer minutes. His defense was outstanding. He might not have shut down Booker, but he did a great job at the head of Duke's token pressure and did a wonderful job of switching/jumping out on guards. His versatility was really evident.

Lance is in a tough spot. He clearly didn't come to Duke to play any version of the "5." He's clearly learning to adapt, and I think that once he gets comfortable, Duke's system will work for him, because his best assets are his quickness and versatility, and I'd rather have him exploiting bigger players with those skills than facing similarly sized guys.

Some of Lance's improvement will have to come in the offseason. It seems to me that he tends to lose his balance easily -- this is why he doesn't finish particularly well around the hoop and struggles with his footwork on his post moves. That can be fixed with work in the weight room. Lance just needs to build a stronger base to hold his position better. And hopefully he'll explode to the rim more.

But Lance can still help this team a lot this year. He needs to believe in himself, because the talent is there. He needs to trust himself to knock down 12-footers when he is open. He needs to stop bringing the ball down low and to go up strong. He needs to realize that he's quicker than just about anyone matching him, and to use that to his advantage. He needs to realize that his quickness on D can make him and extraordinary help defender.

Let's hope Lance can build on the Clemson game and keep getting better. I know he has it in him.

[delfrio]

I agree in that Lance is one of my favorite players. Probably has to do with his (what seems to be) ever-positive attitude. In addition to hitting the weights, I think he needs to fundamentally adjust his thinking on close shots. Seems to me that he shoots falling away, or leaning backwards, more often than not. I'm not sure if this is because he wants to avoid contact or what. But if he leaned forward more, invited the contact, he might 1) get more fouls called, and 2) the stance might lead to him getting blocked less.

[Jumbo]

I agree in that Lance is one of my favorite players. Probably has to do with his (what seems to be) ever-positive attitude. In addition to hitting the weights, I think he needs to fundamentally adjust his thinking on close shots. Seems to me that he shoots falling away, or leaning backwards, more often than not. I'm not sure if this is because he wants to avoid contact or what. But if he leaned forward more, invited the contact, he might 1) get more fouls called, and 2) the stance might lead to him getting blocked less.

Yeah, I think we're observing the same thing. This is what I meant when I reference the "balance" issue. I think with a stronger, more explosive lower body, he'd have an easier time finishing down low. That will come with time, I think.

[jma4life]

Can't agree more. The stats were indeed a step up but more importantly, in watching him play you could just see that he was more comfortable and seemed to be enjoying himself more. He was more confident and assertive in his play and it translated to one of his better games in a while. I also liked that he kept up the defensive aggressiveness but toned down the excessiveness which sometimes got him bad and unnecessary fouls.

[shadowfax336]

watching Lance frustrates me...

I feel like if he was just a bit more confident offensively he'd be a genuine threat and our team would be a lot better. He did play a fantastic game saturday evening though

[dukeENG2003]

another thing that Lance did quite well against Clemson. . .

He picked up his 4th foul with ~13 minutes left, and K LEFT HIM IN. He did not foul out of the game. He bought us valuable minutes, and continued to play solid D without fouling, something he couldn't do as a freshman.

[dyedwab]

another thing that Lance did quite well against Clemson. . .

He picked up his 4th foul with ~13 minutes left, and K LEFT HIM IN. He did not foul out of the game. He bought us valuable minutes, and continued to play solid D without fouling, something he couldn't do as a freshman.

This is an outstanding point. This was one of the key developments in Shelden's game as he became more experienced.

Re: Lance. One guy who I think of when I view the trajetory of Lance's development is Alaa Abdelnaby. Though they have very different skill sets, one thing they seem to have in common is that on offense, they tend to make themselves small. I remember sitting in the stands during Alaa's career and the most common refrain you'd here when he got the ball inside was "Don't dribble Alaa." In his senior year, however, he stopped that part of his game, and his natural strength and athleticism became more evident.

I hope Lance can do that too

[Jumbo]

This is an outstanding point. This was one of the key developments in Shelden's game as he became more experienced.

Re: Lance. One guy who I think of when I view the trajetory of Lance's development is Alaa Abdelnaby. Though they have very different skill sets, one thing they seem to have in common is that on offense, they tend to make themselves small. I remember sitting in the stands during Alaa's career and the most common refrain you'd here when he got the ball inside was "Don't dribble Alaa." In his senior year, however, he stopped that part of his game, and his natural strength and athleticism became more evident.

I hope Lance can do that too

That's where I come back to leg strength. It's a guess -- and only a guess -- but Lance seems to almost crouch before elevating. It's like he's gathering himself to elevate, rather than just being springy enough to catch the ball high and jump from that position.

[kramerbr]

Jumbo interesting thread. I made a similar observation in the game thread vs Clemson. He seemed to be on the ground alot due to balance and one time even fell backwards after grabbing a rebound. It will be interesting to see how the staff can help him develop from now till his senior season.

[Matches]

I thought he looked better against Clemson than he has in some time, which is doubly encouraging given that Clemson has the kind of bigs who could usually put him out of the game quickly.

I'd still like to see him finish when he gets the ball in the post, and hit his free throws. But Saturday was definitely a step in the right direction. I'm guessing he starts at Va. Tech.

[mpj96]

I've already said in another post that I thought the game vs Clemson was the best game I had seen him play. He was confident, quick, assertive, got back on defense, hustled every play, was communicating extremely well with his teammates, only had one foul in the first half and played for quite a while with 4 giving Singler a much needed breather. Great game Lance.

As for improvements these are kids and they all can improve. Lance's potential seems to me to be through the roof if he continues to work hard and build confidence. One thing I expect to see change over time is his tendency to double / triple / quadruple pump fake the ball before taking a shot. There were a couple of possessions in the Clemson game where he would have had a basket if he had just gone up cleanly or limited his move to the basket to a single pump fake.

[weezie]

Can't agree more. The stats were indeed a step up but more importantly, in watching him play you could just see that he was more comfortable and seemed to be enjoying himself more. He was more confident and assertive in his play and it translated to one of his better games in a while. I also liked that he kept up the defensive aggressiveness but toned down the excessiveness which sometimes got him bad and unnecessary fouls.

Absolutely spot on. He seemed to get bigger, his shoulders were straight and his sharpness was intensified.

[grossbus]

"It seems to me that he tends to lose his balance easily "

i think he does this on defense too, leading to the reaching fouls. he was indeed effective at the top of the token press. really slowed their offense down.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

"It seems to me that he tends to lose his balance easily "

i think he does this on defense too, leading to the reaching fouls. he was indeed effective at the top of the token press. really slowed their offense down.

A number of things can contribute to the tendency to lose one's balance. One factor often overlooked is the need to increase core body strength.

[MChambers]

Seems to me you should weigh in on the topic of basketball players and balance.

[buddy]

It seemed to me that Lance was being what in hockey they call "short shifted", meaning he was playing only about three minutes at a time. At one point against Clemson when he went to the foul line (I think when he actually made two shots) he looked quite winded, bending over at the waist. This could be the result of his upper respiratory problems. I too thought he had a better game--5 rebounds in 19 minutes, although at least two were off missed Clemson foul shots (and how many opportunities did those offer!). Anybody else notice the "short shift" or am imagining things?

[Chitowndevil]

Terrific thread. This is the kind of stuff I come here to read. I completely agree that Lance has the physical abilities to contribute this year.

What troubles me most about Lance is his rebounding, particularly defensively. Taylor King, who is listed at two inches shorter and (at least in my opinion) doesn't have close to Lance's athleticism, has more total rebounds on the season despite playing about 40 fewer minutes. Out of players with at least 100 minutes total this year, Lance is dead last (actually tied for last with Dave McClure) in defensive boards.

So one thing I noticed about the Clemson game was Lance was tied for the team lead in rebounds (5), and had 4 on the defensive end (he came into the game with 16 DR for the season). Finishing around the basket would be great, but if he could be a presence on the defensive glass, I think that's arguably an even bigger plus.

[Indoor66]

In my view Lance has made tremendous progress. If you watch last night's game again, note that his pisitioning is much better, footwork much better, awareness much better. IMO he is close to a light bulb experience. He will soon really get it.

Also, Nolan seems to now be adjusting very quickly to the speed of the college game.

[Atldukie79]

I enjoyed reading this thread and agree with the analysis.

One other point...for a long and lean player who runs the floor well, I don't recall Lance finishing on a fast break or a secondary break. You certainly wouldn't expect him to flare out to the corners (in our new and improved Phoenix Suns inspired break!) but you might see him trailing and tossing down a slam. I just don't recall seeing him on on any breaks...does anyone else?

[jma4life]

Obviously up to the saturday game Lance's rebounding had been sub par if not embarrassingly bad in a few games. But in only 19 minutes, he had 5 of I believe 26 rebounds. So playing 10 percent of the total minutes in the game, he had 20% of the rebounds. I don't know what typical rates are for big men but having two times more percent of rebounds than your share of minutes has to be a lot better than he had doing before.