As of Tennessee's last game on March 3rd

[BruinVol]

I disagree that Springer has #1 overall pick ceiling like Lawrence and that Vescovi is an average to below average college basketball player on a struggling P5 team...I think you’re overselling one and underselling the other.

SV is a good college PG. not an elite one. Same can be said about Bryant as a QB

 

[BruinVol]

You never know how a change effects things, could be a trickle effect...maybe Vescovi isn’t as effective at the 2 and thus loses minutes to Johnson and Bailey?

with the Clemson analogy once the change was made it was permanent. Bryant transferred immediately but in this case it’s Much less risky. You simple to back to the status quo if it doesn’t work.


Besides all I am suggesting is Springer be the initiator of the offense in the half court. SV can still be a primary outlet on rebounds and TOs. It’s just when the defense is allowed to get set that it gives him trouble. He’s much better at the other stuff than I ever expected him to be

 

[therickbol]

Maybe I’m missing something, but once the ball is past half court, is there a decernable difference in any of the 3 wing players roles? Seems like they start their motion and most everyone touches the ball?

100% correct

 

[therickbol]

As a few other said, too much going into the 'who should be the PG discussion' because we run a ball movement motion offense. So at the end of the day the variable carrying the most weight is as simple as what player knows all our offenses and makes the right decisions to get us into our offensive sets. After the first pass, the perimeter players will all have ample opportunity for swing/kickout 3's and driving lanes. And if we haven't gotten a shot and the shot clock is winding down we can, and have, gotten the ball to Springer and cleared space for him to score late in the shot clock.

 

[cardvolfan]

As a few other said, too much going into the 'who should be the PG discussion' because we run a ball movement motion offense. So at the end of the day the variable carrying the most weight is as simple as what player knows all our offenses and makes the right decisions to get us into our offensive sets. After the first pass, the perimeter players will all have ample opportunity for swing/kickout 3's and driving lanes. And if we haven't gotten a shot and the shot clock is winding down we can, and have, gotten the ball to Springer and cleared space for him to score late in the shot clock.

Too many times last night Vescovi had trouble setting the offense in motion because of the pressure which affects him. Ask Rick Barnes his opinion on Jordan Bone and his value as a point guard.

 

[walkenvol]

I personally feel there’s more potential negatives than positives to that move at the moment...you could disrupt team chemistry, if Vescovi struggles at the 2 his minutes drop a bunch and now other guys go up, right now a strength of ours is nobody over 28mpg. There’s many other possibilities too, and again it’s not as if Vescovi is struggling, he had a couple rough moments last night but so did Springer (who’s had rough moments in other games).

Seems like Springer and Johnson have plenty of unforced errors when they have the ball and they also have some wow plays. Vescovi is not the weak link and makes some wow plays also. Our offense doesn’t have a single point guard setting everything up. Whether these guys play the 1, 2, or 3, they will all bring their individual strengths to the game and all will facilitate the offense at times. CRB knows what he’s doing and if a change is needed he will make one. IMO

 

[BruinVol]

CRB knows what he’s doing and if a change is needed he will make one. IMO

And last night was the first time I can recall him doing just that. He moved SV out of the role of initiating the offense in the half court but kept him in the game and it was a thing of beauty once he did that.

 

[therickbol]

Too many times last night Vescovi had trouble setting the offense in motion because of the pressure which affects him. Ask Rick Barnes his opinion on Jordan Bone and his value as a point guard.

He did "struggle" with pressure. But his struggle is not beating the pressure. He doesn't turn it over much against that initial pressure. It just takes him more time/dribbles to beat it. We used the trail post to relieve pressure by walking up the middle and running interference as the PG attacks off his backside. Seems like we could help Vescovi out by doing more of that this season.

 

[The Dog]

The best player on the team, come March, will be Springer. He already can get his shot and/or in the lane, any time, he wants, so strong and above average handles. He is definitely not the best shooter on the team, but his 3 ball is more than respectable and his mid-range game is elite. Jaden plays great man defense and rebounds extremely well for a 6'4 guard. Where I expect Jaden to improve the most, as the season continues is assist/turnovers, which isn't bad, currently. Now, he has become my favorite player, so I guess I may be a little biased, but he wouldn't be my favorite player if he wasn't a balla

 

[omghulkhands]

Point Guard by committee seems to be going fine

 

[BruinVol]

Point Guard by committee seems to be going fine

That was what we saw last night and I agree.

But I don’t think it’s been PG by committee before. It’s been SV and Keon.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

What we need in a PG is a press breaker. I don’t think we’ve been tested yet. Instead of one guy like Bone we can manage with 2 or 3 guys on the court that make quick, sound decisions moving the ball and avoiding getting trapped. If Vescovi can handle pressure he’ll earn more playing time. Chandler will make pressing defenses pay.

 

[The Dog]

What we need in a PG is a press breaker. I don’t think we’ve been tested yet. Instead of one guy like Bone we can manage with 2 or 3 guys on the court that make quick, sound decisions moving the ball and avoiding getting trapped. If Vescovi can handle pressure he’ll earn more playing time. Chandler will make pressing defenses pay.

Yes, sir. Next year, the Chef will run the show and nobody will want to press us, especially if Keon and/or Springer are on the floor, too. Which, I kinda doubt, but I hope, at least one of 'em, comes back. If not, Vescovi, Ticket and hopefully Mashack will be ready to run with Chandler. As good as this team is, next year's team could be even better, although losing Pons will hurt.

 

[cncchris33]

I personally feel there’s more potential negatives than positives to that move at the moment...you could disrupt team chemistry, if Vescovi struggles at the 2 his minutes drop a bunch and now other guys go up, right now a strength of ours is nobody over 28mpg. There’s many other possibilities too, and again it’s not as if Vescovi is struggling, he had a couple rough moments last night but so did Springer (who’s had rough moments in other games).

The chemistry issue is a fair concern, though this group seems to serve the "INAM" mantra as much as any other under Barnes. Vescovi seems like a team player, and playing less PG may not necessarily mean less minutes.

And I think you know I've held this opinion of Springer at PG for a year, now. This isn't a rash reaction to one game.

 

[BruinVol]

The chemistry issue is a fair concern, though this group seems to serve the "INAM" mantra as much as any other under Barnes. Vescovi seems like a team player, and playing less PG may not necessarily mean less minutes.

And I think you know I've held this opinion of Springer at PG for a year, now. This isn't a rash reaction to one game.

have I lost my mind thinking that on made baskets and timeouts Springer/James/Johnson should be the “PG.” and on rebounds and fast break opportunities SV is the best option to get the outlet passes?


There’s no doubt SV is plenty good in transition(better than I expected) and makes good decisions. Other posters and they are correct have mentioned that once we are into the offense it really doesn’t matter due to the motion.

So if it’s the half court on ball defender that gives SV fits and makes him go to his right that is the issue why can’t we just run the “hybrid” Pg deal where it’s a different player depending on what happens on D ?

would that create issues with who has what responsibility on rotating back on D ?

 

[Namorto1]

... who's the best player on this team?

Depends on the game. It is what makes us good. It could be argued that our best player on our 7 wins to date were 6 different players. Pons clearly was the best player on the court last night. I still think our most important player is Fulkerson...not because he is the most talented but because he is a leader and is easily our best offensive interior player in an area we have little depth.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

SV is a good college PG. not an elite one. Same can be said about Bryant as a QB

Again, I think Lawrence>Springer and Vescovi>Bryant

 

[bleedingTNorange]

That was what we saw last night and I agree.

But I don’t think it’s been PG by committee before. It’s been SV and Keon.

Sptinger has played PG previously

 

[BruinVol]

Sptinger has played PG previously

Yes very spotty. Mostly in mop up duty for a few possessions.

he played more of it yesterday than any other game I think

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Yes very spotty. Mostly in mop up duty for a few possessions.

he played more of it yesterday than any other game I think

That game was mostly mop up duty after about the first 12 minutes too though lol

 

[Namorto1]

I just don’t understand the SV haters either and sometimes think it’s be he plays a different style verses the American guy. Very good outside shooter whose percentage would be higher if the late in the shot clock heaves were removed. Good a/to ratio. Good rebounding for a pg. plays much better D than his detractors give him credit and he just turned 19. A super solid player who I hope to continue enjoying watch for a few more years!

Vescovi isn’t going to be replaced as our starting PG. At least not this year. I don’t believe it. We have a handful of decent ball handlers who will rotate at the position but no great PG....and that is just how it is. Barnes seems to see more in Vescovi than others, and if we continue to try and push tempo more often (I still think we can play faster), I actually think that would be even better suited for Vescovi despite his lack of quickness.

 

[BruinVol]

That game was mostly mop up duty after about the first 12 minutes too though lol

Meh.

Barnes played the 8 rotation guys until about 2 minutes left in the game. Mizzu missed a wide open there that would have cut the lead to single digits right before half.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Meh.

Barnes played the 8 rotation guys until about 2 minutes left in the game. Mizzu missed a wide open there that would have cut the lead to single digits right before half.

He also played 9 man rotation for about 35 minutes of most all of the games too

 

[BruinVol]

He also played 9 man rotation for about 35 minutes of most all of the games too

Sure. But we dang sure didn’t see SV move off the ball and JJJ and springer start playing some PG is any of those games Midway thru the first half

 

[azvol03]

If you frame question “who could we least afford to lose for an extended period of time” then Pons or Fulkerson because of our depth.

Been following since king/gruntled days and never seen such a deep team

I saw the Ernie and Bernie show from the rafters at Stokley when I was 24-25 years old. Interesting arena and loud. Agree with you about the depth of the team and the potential to have 5-7 players in double figures FREQUENTLY.