Biggest offseason questions/improvements...

[bleedingTNorange]

I'm not gonna lie I'm already in basketball withdrawal. With that said I figured we could start a discussion on what everyone thought were some of the key things needed to improve on in the off season for a succesful season next year. I know we could rattle off 100 things and say if all this happens we could win it all, but I'm gonna try and stay realistic.

Here's mine:
- can Trae take the next step at PG? He did a great job for a "freshman" PG, but we need him to take the next PG step for us to be better IMO. I'd like to see his shooting drop some and his assists increase and turnovers decrease. Ideally, 10ppg 4rpg 5apg 2to.

- can Jordan find that consistency? In order for us to be good/great and for trae to be more of a distributor not a scorer, we need that 2 that can score at will. Jordy has the makings of that kind of guy, but the consistency hasnt been there. I'd like to see him bust it in the offseason improve his shot, dribbling, defense and add about 15-20 lbs. a 14ppg 6rpg 3apg 40%3pt would be nice.

- can jeronne become the versatile player CCM wants? Jeronne was arguably our best and most consistent player, now can he become better? His post game isn't the question, but can he extend his game out now making himself more dangerous? CCM envisions that draymond green type guy for maymon, handle the ball, shoot the 3, rebound, post up, do it all type. If he can become remotely close to that watch out.(I'd like to see his to drop, he has good vision just needs to be wiser. 16ppg 8rpg 4apg 1.5to is something he's capable of IMO.

To me those are the 3 biggest ?. A few others, how effective will Edwards be, can Richardson offense improve, can stokes become quicker with decisions, can Kenny be aggressive, can yemi continue to progress???


Your thoughts?

[Chris4Vols22]

IMO, we need Stokes to be closer to his true potential as well. I doubt it will be a problem.

[bleedingTNorange]

Originally Posted by Chris4Vols22

IMO, we need Stokes to be closer to his true potential as well. I doubt it will be a problem.

Yea I agree. As you said though I don't think it'll be a problem, I'm not too worried about him. He shot a good fg% IMO the biggest problem was just a lack of touches.

Like to see his defense and mid range game improve though, and that 18ft jumper become consistent.

[johnnybravo]

I think Golden can become a slightly better decision maker at the point, but I don't think he will get any quicker and still have the same issues with the smaller fast guards.

I think we can become better with Maymon and Stokes getting a 3 pt shot. The thing with Maymon is that he doesn't jump when he shoots. He shoots flat footed, so not sure how accurate he can be shooting the 3 without changing his shot some.

Best thing for this team is we get a decent pg where Golden can slide to the 2, McBee drops from the starting rotation, Jordan slides to the 3 and becomes a consistent 10+ ppg player.

[bleedingTNorange]

Your last paragraph was my hope and would be ideal. It'd have taken care of the quick guard problem that we face, and would make us better offensively.

This is why I was so high on Fabyon, unfortunately from what it's looking and sounding like our roster is pretty well set.

[Vols188]

I agree, but it is also nice to have a scoring PG, use it to our advantage

[bleedingTNorange]

Originally Posted by Vols188

I agree, but it is also nice to have a scoring PG, use it to our advantage

Trae will always have the scoring ability, but we need him to learn to be a distributor first. There will be games well need him to score, but for the most part if he'll handle the ball, limit turnovers, and continue his progression hell be a very good PG.

My biggest concern is his quickness on defense. Hell never be quick enough to stick with the smaller quicker guards, so he needs to learn how to still be effective and keep them out of the lane though.

If trae puts his mind to it I think he can be one of he best PG in the sec, and country. He has the scoring ability now he just needs to improve the true PG areas and if he does that he'll be a good one IMO. Lots of ifs but he's more than capable of it.

[_vol]

Perimeter play, perimeter play, and perimeter play.

[cncchris33]

I agree that perimeter play is the key. Jordan McRae is our most dynamic player at that position, and he has the highest ceiling of anyone there. You could argue that next year's team will go as far as his improvement takes them. If he develops a desire and a will to get to the basket off the dribble, and gets a little more arc on his jumper, this team could be top 3 in the conference again. If we get 10+ppg and smarter decisions from him, that will be a giant upgrade from what we had this season.

Stokes will be better, Maymon needs to work on his game outside the paint to become complete, Trae needs to cut back on bad decisions, and Kenny needs to stay eligible and focused. If we get a secondary PG (Stanton) who can provide some relief at the position, we will be much improved.

[calban]

Learn to defend the high ball screen.

[WesternKyVol]

Give Stokes the next 6 mos. in an SEC conditioning program. He'll be an absolute stud next year, I think.

[Chris4Vols22]

Originally Posted by WesternKyVol

Give Stokes the next 6 mos. in an SEC conditioning program. He'll be an absolute stud next year, I think.

BTO and I agree. I just hope we're not setting ourselves up for a letdown. But I'd be surprised if he's not studly next season.

[cncchris33]

Originally Posted by calban

Learn to defend the high ball screen.

Agree. I was speaking purely offensively. Defense seemed to really come along as they picked up the system, but you're right, there are certain aspects that they need to work on like ball screens and switches (Stokes particularly). I'd also like to see them introduce a wrinkle of zone as a change of pace, not as a primary defensive scheme.

[Rockytopman]

Agree with all above, but my X factor has got to be Jordan. If he hadn't disappeared down the stretch the season would have ended much differently imo.

[TNDRIVER]

I fully expect the returning players to excell in the off season workouts, my biggest question surrounds that former 5* walk on point guard that will be eligable in JAN. Just how good is he, could he be the answer that we need at point that finally makes Trae more of a shooting guard, Cause Stokes is going to be our work horse for the next few years.