Thoughts on Sycamores vs. Lewis

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SycamoreStateofMind

SycamoreStateofMind

The Odum Level
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http://www.sycamorehoops.com/140/

Over the last two or three season of Sycamore Basketball I have provided my “Thoughts on Sycamores” on the sycamorepride.com forum after each game. I’m going to keep that tradition going this season by posting my comments on the sycamorehoops.com page and I hope that you all will discuss my thoughts as you have in the past on the pride forum. Please feel free to provide your own breakdown as many of you have done in the past. It just adds to the overall experience and conversation.

The lone exhibition game for the Sycamores showed fans a mixed bag of what the Sycamores might be capable of this year. For fans it was the opportunity to see a Sycamore roster filled with new faces. Some credit must be given to Division Two Lewis who played the Sycamores tough to the very end of the game. Lewis (15 turnovers) turned the ball over just one more time than the Sycamores (14 turnovers) and they managed one more steal than the Sycamores with 10 in the game. Although Indiana State was sloppy at times they did spread the wealth with 20 assists. They seemed to be more comfortable playing a more up tempo game against the less athletic Lewis team. They will not always have that luxury in MVC play that style of basketball as many MVC games are won and lost in a more half court style, grind-it-out type of game. As much as these guys are getting use to playing with each other, as a fan I find myself getting use to watching them.

Read more here:Over the last two or three season of Sycamore Basketball I have provided my “Thoughts on Sycamores” on the sycamorepride.com forum after each game. I’m going to keep that tradition going this season by posting my comments on the sycamorehoops.com page and I hope that you all will discuss my thoughts as you have in the past on the pride forum. Please feel free to provide your own breakdown as many of you have done in the past. It just adds to the overall experience and conversation.

The lone exhibition game for the Sycamores showed fans a mixed bag of what the Sycamores might be capable of this year. For fans it was the opportunity to see a Sycamore roster filled with new faces. Some credit must be given to Division Two Lewis who played the Sycamores tough to the very end of the game. Lewis (15 turnovers) turned the ball over just one more time than the Sycamores (14 turnovers) and they managed one more steal than the Sycamores with 10 in the game. Although Indiana State was sloppy at times they did spread the wealth with 20 assists. They seemed to be more comfortable playing a more up tempo game against the less athletic Lewis team. They will not always have that luxury in MVC play that style of basketball as many MVC games are won and lost in a more half court style, grind-it-out type of game. As much as these guys are getting use to playing with each other, as a fan I find myself getting use to watching them.

Complete player by player breakdown here: http://www.sycamorehoops.com/140/
 

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SSOM...thanks for taking the time from your Deer Stand to go watch the game, and from Tweeting to write this up!

Excellent job, and much appreciated!!!

Thanks!
 
Good read SSOM! I know it was exhibition, but do you think this might be a team that plays down to the level of the competition? That is a very dangerous way to play the game. Why do I ask this? It seems like we have suffered from the lack of a killer instinct for some time.
 

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Sycamore Proud said:
Good read SSOM! I know it was exhibition, but do you think this might be a team that plays down to the level of the competition? That is a very dangerous way to play the game. Why do I ask this? It seems like we have suffered from the lack of a killer instinct for some time.
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I think its too early to tell what kind of team this is going to be. I certainly hope we didnfor much of the game last night because Lewis made things difficult on us.

I think its fair to point toward these guys being new. Many of them playing in an actual game for the first time. The pressure is different, the nerves are different, the energy is different. I mean just because your playing Lewis doesn't mean you don't hry a little nervous those first couple games out. I thought they played better in the second half.

My biggest concen is likely your biggest concern. We should have dominated Lewis on the inside and I didn't feel like we did that. Although our points in the paint was probably really high - we didn't really look good on defense on the inside and that's what I was looking at. On the other end of the floor we got up shots that we wouldnt normally have gotten off in the MVC - that bothers me.
 
I was really disappointed with the game last night with the exception of Mahurin's scoring which came on some positive moves to the (they were a quite 21 except at the end when we were able to beat their press by Odum's outlet passes down court) and Kitchell's passing and effort when he was taken in and out of the game as often as he was. I also liked and impressed with Burnett's effort--he made silly mistakes too but he was hustling. There were moments when Cummings, Brown, K. Smith, and Gant played well but not with much consistency. For me it was akin to last years team play. We really struggled to score and Lewis was able to get to the basket too easy. I saw Cumming's swat a 6' 8" players shot directly from under the basket and I was thinking unbelievable but then I saw him on the next defensive play running side by side with the person he was guarding in their front court and again thinking unbelievable--rather than facing up to the Lewis player and putting the pressure on.

I will offer one excuse in that it was one of most physical games played at the Hulman Center in awhile. We were getting mugged all over the court. A number of calls were made but twice as many could have been called. Lewis came to play a physical game.
 
Nice write up, SSOM. Here are some of my observations:

Kitchell-- I hope he is able to get healthier in the coming days, as we are really going to need him this season. A few things that I would like to point out about Kitchell: 1) I think he is a "plus" passer out of the post (I had heard this from a few people who saw him play quite a bit in HS), however, he is going to need to assert himself a little more down low to be able to get the ball in the first place. 2) I know that he didn't play major minutes last year, but, I don't recall seeing him miss a block-out assignment. If you have a child who plays basketball, tell them to watch Kitchell when a shot goes up--dude finds a man and gets his butt into him. 3) It didn't show up in the stat sheet, but, he actually laid out in an attempt to save a loose ball--I'm not saying it was necessarily the best use of his body against a DII team in an exhibition game, but, he does play with some desire.

Gant - I have always liked his energy--just a matter of asserting himself more going toward the basket. Don't be afraid to rip the rim down, big fella!

Arop - Good athletic ability. Like you said, it never seemed like he was in the rhythm of the game. It seems like he has the ability to "take over" a game with the right match-up and energy level. Although that was his first time wearing Sycamore blue, I would like for him to become a more vocal leader--he has experience and is a junior after all.

Cummings - This guy gets after it on the defensive end. Whoever he is match up with is going to need some Gold Bond Powder, because this dude will be IN HIS SHORTS all game. Yes, he appears to have the tendency to overplay the pass sometimes, but, I'll accept the fact that he'll give up 2 layups a game if he is going to come away with 5 steals in the process. I think that Cummings and Odum could be a very good defensive combination on the court together; both are above average on the ball and above average playing the passing lanes as well. He did hit a 3 that he took from about 4-5 ft behind the arc without hesitation.

Odum - didn't end up doing a whole lot last night. It seemed like he was trying to assert himself a little too much early. Then he kind of disappeared after that.

Eitel - I thought they would put him at the PG position more last night, but, he really just played the SG. With the athleticism that we have on the roster, he needs to be hitting his shots and playing smart if he is going to stay on the floor.

RJ - I was glad that he was looking to create his own shot. When his shot is falling he can score in bunches. I hope that he continues to evolve his offensive game. Teams are going to start rotating a little more toward him which should open up others for opportunities as well.

Brown - I think he has a solid performance as a RS freshman backup point guard. He needed to be a little crisper with his passing (as did the whole team). As you mentioned, he did show the ability to get to the basket.

Rhett Smith - He seemed to put forth decent effort last night. I am hoping that he can be more of an energy/hustle guy. I think his quickness is going to have to improve if they expect him to guard the 3 position.

Khristian Smith - Great athlete. I hope he puts forth good effort on the defensive end during the entire year. I'm looking forward to him to knocking down some shots and getting in the rhythm of the offense.

Burnett - I'm wondering what he did to get forced to the end of the bench. He seems to be a good athlete, maybe just a half step slow to react.

T.J. Bell--I definitely agree with you. I made the same comment to a couple people sitting around me last night--I think he as at least a couple more inches to grow.
 
Pretty good assessment of what I saw last night.I agree that Gant needs to go strong to the basket,he is tentative inside and pulls the string on a lot of his shots,not sure the hands and upper body are ready to do what needs to be done.He did do a good job rebounding and is a good secondary defender.

Cummings and Brown were on the floor together at times and I think we actually moved the ball better.I'm not suggesting that either replace Jake but this could be a good combo when Jake needs a rest.

Arop looked like he was pressing a little but I'm sure he will be a contributor all year.K. Smith is going to be a stud if not this year very soon.He has the jumping ability and you can see he wants to be the man already.If he plays within the systemhe will be a great find.

Mahurin has a nose for the basket.Driving some last night instead of settling for the outside shot will make him hard to guard.Look for big nights if he stays healthy.Kitchell doesn't need to score a lot,just rebound and play decent post defense and he will help a lot.

Jake Odum will get to the basket more as the other guys develop as threats.I just wish he had an outside shot,he would be so much harder to defend.He is the unquestioned leader of the team though.

I wish Rhett Smith could redshirt just to save a year with all the guys leaving after next year but our depth this year may prevent that.At this point it's hard to judge if he's big enough or quick enough to contribute at this level.Time will tell.

Eitel will hit some big shots this year without a doubt.His playing time will depend on matchups I think.He's a solid sub with good skills when put in the right situation.Burnett could contribute,he has a nice body that should develop as he matures.He's still just a first year player who may well be important in the future.Minutes will be hard to come by for the next 2 years at least.

All things considered I fell like we have a good combination of athletic players who should get better the longer they play together.
 

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Sycamore Proud said:
Good read SSOM! do you think this might be a team that plays down to the level of the competition?
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ALL, and I mean ALL teams do that in all sports all the time.

In most cases, we haven't appeared to have the killer instinct when really it was because we didn't have the talent to kill anybody.
 
What's up with both the men's & women's teams not being able to shoot the basketball on their OWN court?? Wow......they're really going to be in trouble on the road then!
 
I personally think if we put out the type of effort as we did here we will be below 500 on the year. I thought the effort on many of the players were lackluster and forget the excuse of we play down to the compettiton . that was used last year to many times and look what we got. I thought K Smith played well when he was allowed time to get in the groove. I also thought that Gant played poorly he missed easy shots against a D2 team . Brown is fast but from what I saw has a poor shot missed alot of shots but gets to the rim . Arop you can see talent there just not showing it against Lewis. Cummings I like he is a pretty decent player I think we will be pleased with his play. Got to leave for work just realized it was getting time so I will cut it off at this . See you guys at the Football game come on out its not suppose to rain all day
 
I wasn't happy with how hard we played. Or didn't play. The only person I saw go on the floor to get a loose ball was Kitchel, and he was hurt. I didn't think many of the new guys played hard at all. Considering there is a lot of playing time up for grabs between a lot of similar people, this is mind-boggling to me.

I did like how Cummings pushes the ball up the floor.

This is a two-year project. We will have the exact same team next year (plus Brenton Scott), and it's going to take some time. I wish we had found some shooters. A shooter. Somebody who can shoot. We are going to get zoned a lot this year, and we just don't have the guys who can knock it down other than RJ from what I've seen. Better get out on the break before they set up their zone. I like the pieces overall, and eventually I think this will be a good team. Might not be until next year though.
 
bigsportsfan said:
I wasn't happy with how hard we played. Or didn't play. The only person I saw go on the floor to get a loose ball was Kitchel, and he was hurt. I didn't think many of the new guys played hard at all. Considering there is a lot of playing time up for grabs between a lot of similar people, this is mind-boggling to me.

I did like how Cummings pushes the ball up the floor.

This is a two-year project. We will have the exact same team next year (plus Brenton Scott), and it's going to take some time. I wish we had found some shooters. A shooter. Somebody who can shoot. We are going to get zoned a lot this year, and we just don't have the guys who can knock it down other than RJ from what I've seen. Better get out on the break before they set up their zone. I like the pieces overall, and eventually I think this will be a good team. Might not be until next year though.
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You're right. We could peak, probably, next year. I don't understand your shooters comment. I think we have many guys that can shoot. This may be the best shooting team we have ever had. If our % isn't good this year, then we have other problems.
We have NEVER had three bigs that can shoot like RJ, Kitchel and Gant. And everybody is saying that Arop and Cummings can shoot. And I know K Smith made a lot of shots 2 years ago in prep school. And I know Eitel can shoot.
 

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sycamorebacker said:
You're right. We could peak, probably, next year. I don't understand your shooters comment. I think we have many guys that can shoot. This may be the best shooting team we have ever had. If our % isn't good this year, then we have other problems.
We have NEVER had three bigs that can shoot like RJ, Kitchel and Gant. And everybody is saying that Arop and Cummings can shoot. And I know K Smith made a lot of shots 2 years ago in prep school. And I know Eitel can shoot.
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I agree!

Watch this highlight and tell me that Cummings aint a player/shooter http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/sports/in...ler&categoryId=10004&status=true#.UJf3E8X3oi4

That steal and pass to K. Smith was excellent. That 3 he shot was deep and he looked very comfortable from that range - he can shoot the 3 ball.

You look at our best shooting line-up compared to two years ago:

Odum
JP
Carter
Richard
Walker

Now:

Odum
Cummings
Arop
RJ
Kitch

I like now better. I'd say that Odum is a better shooter than he was two years ago. I'd say that Cummings is as good of a 3 point shooter as JP. I'd say that Arop is as good of a 3 point shooter (that can do a lot more) than Carter. I'd say that RJ is a better 3 point shooter than Richard. I'd say that Kitch is a better 3 point shooter than Walker.

I'm not worried about our shooting - I am worried about our ability to stop teams on the inside and our ability to take care of the ball. 15 turnovers against Lewis is like 25 turnovers against UCLA. You can't turn the ball over that many times against Lewis - those are self inflicted turnovers. In all fairness Illinois turned the ball over 15 times against Lewis in a 79-47 win a few days prior. The biggest difference between that game and our game? Illinois out rebounded them by 20. You want to talk about this team and how far we are going to go this season you need to talk about RJ, Kitch and Gant - these guys have to rebound the ball and have to defend the basket. If we don't - we will get killed.
 
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I don't like to be so negative but it will be ugly at UCLA and we will get killed/drilled. This team is good but they have along way to go before they can beat the good teams.
 
sycamorebacker said:
You're right. We could peak, probably, next year. I don't understand your shooters comment. I think we have many guys that can shoot. This may be the best shooting team we have ever had. If our % isn't good this year, then we have other problems.
We have NEVER had three bigs that can shoot like RJ, Kitchel and Gant. And everybody is saying that Arop and Cummings can shoot. And I know K Smith made a lot of shots 2 years ago in prep school. And I know Eitel can shoot.
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I hope I'm wrong. I had 10-20 conversations with different people at the football game about this, and we all thought the same thing. Not sure I think even at our best it'll be the "best shooting team we've ever had," but I hope it is. The shooting form of the new guys doesn't look good at all. Hopefully it was just a bad night. Time will tell.
 
bigsportsfan said:
I hope I'm wrong. I had 10-20 conversations with different people at the football game about this, and we all thought the same thing. Not sure I think even at our best it'll be the "best shooting team we've ever had," but I hope it is. The shooting form of the new guys doesn't look good at all. Hopefully it was just a bad night. Time will tell.
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Well - who's form didn't look good Joey? I mean I've seen Cummings and Arop shoot the ball a-half-a-dozen times and I think both are capable shooters. Best shooters ever? Naaa - but I think both can light it up.
 
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