Offense With Philips

[cncchris33]

Gotta switch it up. Key can play and we are gonna need him come tourney time imo

That's still no justification for benching one of our best players for a significantly worse player. That's just making a change for the sake of making a change. There isn’t one single thing Key does better than Santi on the floor.

 

[tennrich1]

I haven’t noticed that and if true we should have wide open buckets. He has looked horribly slow and cannot Break anyone down on the dribble.

He has been schemed against every single game this year. Breaking down off the dribble is not his game though. And yes…it does result in people being open. Many of his open looks come on the inside out game too. CLEARLY he works harder than any one else on the floor.

 

[keenobserver]

I think we've got a really good team. But ive been saying all season that our chances at a deep tournament run depend on Phillips' ability to take the next step offensively. His length, versatility, and skill set is critical in creating the offensive mismatches that would truly unleash our offensive potential. He has got to be aggressive from this point forward.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

Except he’s proven to be a capable backup PG when needed. He’s also much bigger & stronger and better defender.

No Way he's a better defender than Santi. Couldn't disagree more.

Edit: I see from further reading you were talking about Powell. So, never mind the above.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

This team is best offensively when they work from inside out, cause that's what they're coached to do. Trouble is, it aint easy to get the ball into our bigs, and we don't have a dominant offensive big, although ON is the biggest offensive threat among them. Our bigs have to be a genuine scoring threat to make it work, and Jonas and Awaka are not, and Uros is a one trick pony with his right handed jump-hook.

 

[wmcovol]

Would like to see this lineup more

ZZ, Key, Phillips, James and Nkamhoua

Big Santi fan but wished he had more of a inside game. He would be elite if he did. We know he can make those shots but he doesn't attack enough.

No

Every opponent’s first plan is how to defend Vescovi. They start there, no place else. Placing him on the bench is exactly what they’d love.

When SV is gone next year, just watch how those remaining with be challenged more starting with ZZ.

 

[RockyTopTexas]

That's still no justification for benching one of our best players for a significantly worse player. That's just making a change for the sake of making a change. There isn’t one single thing Key does better than Santi on the floor.

He bigger. We don’t need to have Zz on the floor with Santi. Zz is a better facilitator. Santi off the bench can still put up 20 a night.

 

[TROLLVOL]

Key has been terrible! What have you been watching? He was 0-January it seems

 

[RockyTopTexas]

Key has been terrible! What have you been watching? He was 0-January it seems

Indeed he has but.. doesn’t mean he can’t fix it

 

[berryvol]

He bigger. We don’t need to have Zz on the floor with Santi. Zz is a better facilitator. Santi off the bench can still put up 20 a night.

SV is 6’3” 195 lbs. Key is 6’2” 210 lbs. Key is wider, Santi is taller. It’s not some massive difference with Key being much larger. Are you just trying to make as many bad points as possible?

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Key over Santi?!?!? Are you just looking to take the contrarian perspective, because I can assure you that is the minority opinion to bench our leading scorer in favor of a guy shooting an almost identical shooting percentage from 3, and 17 points lower from 2, which seems to be your issue with Vescovi.

Vescovi 2pt% - 49.1%
Key 2pt% - 32.0%

You'll have to explain that one to me. Key has the worst 2pt% on the entire team while Santi is the best 2pt shooting guard on the team.

I’m not advocating for key over Santi, but I don’t recall Santi taking many 2s that weren’t layups. Key usually does a couple of little post ups per game which is a much more difficult shot. The difference in role probably has a lot to do with that %

 

[cncchris33]

I’m not advocating for key over Santi, but I don’t recall Santi taking many 2s that weren’t layups. Key usually does a couple of little post ups per game which is a much more difficult shot. The difference in role probably has a lot to do with that %

I'm not really sure that matters though. The takeaway is what? That Key takes more low percentage, ill-advised shots? It's not like the difference is minimal, either. It's a 17 percentage point difference. They've taken nearly the same number of 2s, also, so Santi is clearly getting better looks if most of what we remember are layups.

 

[ColinS]

Except he’s proven to be a capable backup PG when needed. He’s also much bigger & stronger and better defender.

He's not a point guard. He's just a guy that dribbles the ball up the floor three or four times a game while we attempt to buy time getting ZZ a rest. This team has one point guard period.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Thought he said better defender than Santi. You’re a better defender than Powell.

True, but I'm known as "The Glove" in my YMCA pickup group.

By me, I mean. I'm known as that by me.

 

[southgatevol]

You’re the second person I’ve seen today suggesting we bench our leading scorer, best shooter, and one of our best defenders in favor of Tyreke Key of all people. I don’t get it.

All good opinions are still opinions, But not all opinions are good opinions.

 

[KTrain]

Phillips has done NOTHING to indicate this would work. He needs to quit getting shoved around and looking like a new born giraffe out there.

Yep, if the refs are calling touch fouls Phillips would be really good but, in the SEC, he gets bumped and it throws his trajectory and line to the basket off, ergo throwing his shot off and not getting to the foul line. He needs at least 1 more year to get bigger and get the college game to slow down for him. Not watched a lot of his HS tape but I'd bet being a star he got the favorable whistle that he does not see in the SEC. He's going to be really good but not this year.

 

[KTrain]

You’re the second person I’ve seen today suggesting we bench our leading scorer, best shooter, and one of our best defenders in favor of Tyreke Key of all people. I don’t get it.

Only thing I can figure with their thinking, is Santi is a foreigner and Key is a Tennessean.

 

[CAVPUT]

We don’t need to necessarily run our offense through Phillips but it would be nice to see some sets specifically called for him in the halfcourt on occasion. He doesn’t get enough looks. Currently he gets a shot up once every 3.7 minutes played which is basically the same as Awaka and Plavsic. James gets a shot up every 2.5 minutes played which is the most usage per minute currently. Barnes said after the Florida game that we need to be more aggressive offensively. It appears they have handcuffed Phillips. He is doing well if they want his role to be as a rebounder and defender…..but we need him to score, and they aren’t looking for him in my opinion.

I don't think they've handcuffed anyone. I really believe that the problem with both Key and Phillips comes down to energy expended on defense. It's tough playing for Barnes. Even vets like Vescovi hit a wall and he's used to it. It's no coincidence that a vet like Key and a freshman like Phillips are both struggling offensively. It has to be the intensity expended on the defensive end. Look at the players who transferred out are performing offensively at their new homes. Might be experience and a different perspective but I have to wonder if it's the system under Barnes. It would also kinda go hand in hand with his post season lack of success both here and at Texas. Once again I'd go deep into that bench until March rolls around. Shake things up. Once again.... definition of insanity.

 

[savannahfan]

New to posting threads, but in my opinion
we should think about biting the bullet and running the offense thru Philips.

We need something to spark this offense and maybe its time to take the blinders off Julian.

Your opinion?

You can take the blinders of if you want to. However I don't think the horse will (as with any horse unblindfolded in the face of a fire storm) know what to do soon enough to keep himself and the rest of the team from getting burn pretty badly.

 

[jaguinn5]

Would like to see this lineup more

ZZ, Key, Phillips, James and Nkamhoua

Big Santi fan but wished he had more of a inside game. He would be elite if he did. We know he can make those shots but he doesn't attack enough.

Key has been terrible in every phase of the game. No way he should still be playing a big role on this team at this point.

Santi should still be playing a big role, but as a defender and spot up shooter. The offense shouldn't be run through him. It should be flowing through our best athletes with Vescovi spotted up for the dish out.

Even ZZ is limited in what he can do, as much as I love him. He's a great defender and facilitator, but he is still a spotty shooter and way too undersized to play as physical as he tries to sometimes.

Barnes is too stubborn when it comes to offense. Our most talented players are forced to work within his system instead of him finding ways to build the offense around their strengths. He also benches guys for defensive lapses in a heartbeat, but let's guys play like 5 year olds on offense for an entire game.

 

[Namorto1]

I don't think they've handcuffed anyone. I really believe that the problem with both Key and Phillips comes down to energy expended on defense. It's tough playing for Barnes. Even vets like Vescovi hit a wall and he's used to it. It's no coincidence that a vet like Key and a freshman like Phillips are both struggling offensively. It has to be the intensity expended on the defensive end. Look at the players who transferred out are performing offensively at their new homes. Might be experience and a different perspective but I have to wonder if it's the system under Barnes. It would also kinda go hand in hand with his post season lack of success both here and at Texas. Once again I'd go deep into that bench until March rolls around. Shake things up. Once again.... definition of insanity.

Understand point but Phillips has shot 49% FG and even 42% from 3 pt line since the Ole Miss game. That isn’t struggling but volume of shots are low. Guy played 37 minutes against Miss. St a few weeks ago which I think were his highest of the year and scored 18. Maybe he is thinking too much but they need him to score and he is the 5th option on offense out the gate, and few plays are run for him.

 

[lifeisdeep]

For the most part he and JJ are the two people we have that can generate their own one on one moves and offense, get themselves open and score.
There is a lot more to it - but he needs to be shooting more than 4 times a game. He has a great, short to midrange game, typically is going to be hitting 60 - 80 percent from mid and close range. I am extremely comfortable with
he or JJ shooting 6 - 10 footers or taking it to the rim and getting fouled. So I would say not necessarily running it through him, but certainly more involved.
He needs to be shooting more than 4 times and the point guard doesn't need to be shooting 13 - 16 times a game unless it is uncontested layups and 3's.

I thought the same thing the first time I saw Phillips play - “Wow, we have a guy that can create his own shot. I hope we use him.” And of course we haven’t.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

Only thing I can figure with their thinking, is Santi is a foreigner and Key is a Tennessean.

I am a Tennessean, but no way in Haiti is Key better than Santi. It isn’t even close. Key can contribute and we need him too but Santi is vital night in and night out. Key looks uncomfortable at times on offense and Santi plays defense just fine and we absolutely have to have his offensive production. Keys has to play more consistently. GBO

 

[ColinS]

I am a Tennessean, but no way in Haiti is Key better than Santi. It isn’t even close. Key can contribute and we need him too but Santi is vital night in and night out. Key looks uncomfortable at times on offense and Santi plays defense just fine and we absolutely have to have his offensive production. Keys has to play more consistently. GBO

Everybody keeps saying Key needs to play better and I guess that's true to an extent. The problem is that he simply isn't athletic enough for this level of basketball. Hopefully he finds something close to his ceiling but I still think that only leaves us a minor role player.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

I'm not really sure that matters though. The takeaway is what? That Key takes more low percentage, ill-advised shots? It's not like the difference is minimal, either. It's a 17 percentage point difference. They've taken nearly the same number of 2s, also, so Santi is clearly getting better looks if most of what we remember are layups.

Just that I wouldn’t use 2pt% as the justification. I think it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison. There’s plenty of better ways to justify Santi starting over key.