StepCross
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This is a followup post to the positions/roles post I pasted here yesterday. Same author. Enjoy!
*****BEGIN QUOTED POST*****
In a previous post I laid out what roles are needed for offense in college hoops. Bear in mind that these are ROLES, not POSITIONS; multiple guys can fill a role, and it doesn't have to be filled from the "traditional" position.
I want to take a look at these roles, contrasting last year's team with this year's expected one. That way we can say something more specific than "we'll miss Wayne more than we think." Let's actually pin down where we might miss him, and see who (if anyone) might be able to pick up the slack.
Some caveats. First, I'll basically compare to the lineup at the end of the year, when UT was playing its best, not the lineup that took the floor against, say, Kansas. Second, if I say (for instance) that "Joe Blow is shaky from outside the arc," I mean that he was last year and we don't yet know differently. If Blow has improved in the offseason, I may not know that yet.
Finally, I reserve the right not to mention every single player in a role. For instance, our main handler last year was Maze. Sure, Goins spelled him, but Maze was mainly our guy. If I feel like it, I will omit backups and spot-duty guys.
On with the show.
Handler
2010: Maze
2011: Goins
Trending: slightly down
Maze got the ball down the floor, kept his turnovers down, and gave us the occasional spark-basket. Goins, from what we've seen, is a bit more turnover-prone than Maze. There's no reason to think it's a serious problem, but if we're looking at nothing other than getting the ball downcourt and starting an offense, at this point Maze gets the nod.
Shooter
2010: Hopson, Tatum, Chism
2011: Hopson, Tatum, Harris
Trending: up
Since the main two shooters return, it can't very well trend down, now can it? Honestly, none of the three were supremely dangerous last year from deep. Tatum was the most consistent, but between suspension and recovering from injury his contributions were limited. Hopson was inconsistent. Wayne's percentage was never great, but because of his position and who had to guard him (i.e., a big guy), he was dangerous anyway.
Harris is simply a better natural shooter than Wayne, so his presence alone will make our collective shooting ability improve. There's no particular reason to predict Hopson and Tatum will jump to lights-out behind the arc, but it's fair to assume marginal improvements and more consistency from both. Tatum is healthier than he's been, and Hopson had changed his mechanics in the offseason last year. Slight improvement is definite, significant improvement a real possibility. I don't foresee any Lofton-esque 43%'s, though (but we don't need that, either).
We might as well mention that Woolridge, Bone, and McBee all apparently have the skill to shoot a basketball well, at least in the right circumstance. None really translated that to the court last year. If they don't this year either, then no loss...they'll be what we had last year. If even one of them puts it all together, though, then there again we have significant improvement. I have no prediction about those guys, but wish them all the best. I almost think Bone is the most likely to break out this year, and Woolridge and McBee need one more year; but who knows.
Scorer
2010: Chism, Hopson, Prince, Tatum (basically in that order?)
2011: Hopson, Tatum, Harris, Williams, and then a mountain of newcomers/unknowns. (Hall? Maymon? Goins? Hard to project at this point)
Trend: up
We lose Chism. He was never quite dominant in the post, never quite consistent from outside, never quite got to the FT line as much as you'd like, and never quite finished quite as well as you'd like. But he did enough things well enough that he was very effective overall by his senior year.
Tatum had become our most reliable scorer from the wing by the end of the year, but that was in limited duty. Hopson was our most dynamic scorer, but everyone knows he was a little up and down. At worst, we get those two back as they were, which isn't bad. At best, they both become more consistent with both their shooting and their driving, and they become extremely hard to match up with...they're both tall, can both shoot, can both drive. Even if they're inconsistent, they're not the easiest duo to match up with, considering we have two legit bigs in the game with them and a legit quick, strong PG. Again, a guy who can both shoot and drive is really hard to guard; potentially, we have three (counting Harris) this year.
Harris is intriguing. He's not athletically unguardable (like a Wall or a Cousins); rather, he's intriguing because he fits so well into this system and this group of players. Harris might not be a great slasher as a freshman at the SEC level if he were option 1, and he might not be a great post player as a freshman at the SEC level if he were option 1. But he doesn't have to be. Hopson and Tatum are already options 1 and 2 as slashers, and Williams is skilled enough not to be ignored in the paint. Harris is a patient, old-school type player who will take good shots, get to the free-throw line, and has good enough touch around the basket to convert some covered shots. To compound things, he can shoot from outside at a higher level than Wayne could. Combined with what we already field, he's a matchup problem without question.
Williams has never been stellar as a post-up guy, and I don't expect him to have improved to that level this year. But he does have soft hands, and he's finished better and better as his career has progressed. This year he'll still be more opportunistic than dominant offensively, but if somebody has no height or puts a lame defender on him, he'll be able to take advantage.
Goins is quick enough to break down defenders, but can he finish? Hall showed nice touch last year but grew inconsistent. Maymon is a total unknown, as are Golden and McRae.
Rebounder
2010: Chism, Williams, Hall
2011: Williams, Harris, Hall, Maymon, Fields
Trend: Way up
We were only mediocre at offensive rebounding last year. This year, we could be stellar. Williams has always been a beast on the offensive glass, and this year he's a full-time, all-year starter. Last year the next best offensive rebounder was probably Hall, who was a bit skinny and inexperienced as a true frosh. This year he's stronger and knows more, and is joined by a host of big tough guys like Maymon and Fields. With Williams leading the way, and with depth and physicality way up, there's really no comparison.
Distributor
2010: Prince, Maze
2011: ????
Trend: ????
Last year, option 1 was Prince on the wing to Chism in the post; and option last-gasp was Prince to force something if the shot clock was low and nothing else had worked yet. Maze wasn't a primary creator, but the stats say he got a few assists.
We'll miss Prince.
This year, I think it's not yet clear who will get the ball to the scorers. It might not even matter much, because we do have lots of scoring options. We should be tough to guard at all 5 positions, and we should have shooters, slashers, foul-drawers, and poster-uppers (?). I guess I'd root for Melvin to be the main distributor, but it certainly doesn't have to be him (it's been the SF or PF since Watson graduated).
Summary
Our handling and distributing should be down a little. Our scoring and shooting should be up (with the potential for way up), and our rebounding should be way up without a doubt. For all the things they accomplished last year, it was one of Pearl's weaker offensive teams at Tennessee. This year's version should be better putting the ball in the hole, and unless they implode it really shouldn't be all that close.
*****END QUOTED POST*****
*****BEGIN QUOTED POST*****
In a previous post I laid out what roles are needed for offense in college hoops. Bear in mind that these are ROLES, not POSITIONS; multiple guys can fill a role, and it doesn't have to be filled from the "traditional" position.
I want to take a look at these roles, contrasting last year's team with this year's expected one. That way we can say something more specific than "we'll miss Wayne more than we think." Let's actually pin down where we might miss him, and see who (if anyone) might be able to pick up the slack.
Some caveats. First, I'll basically compare to the lineup at the end of the year, when UT was playing its best, not the lineup that took the floor against, say, Kansas. Second, if I say (for instance) that "Joe Blow is shaky from outside the arc," I mean that he was last year and we don't yet know differently. If Blow has improved in the offseason, I may not know that yet.
Finally, I reserve the right not to mention every single player in a role. For instance, our main handler last year was Maze. Sure, Goins spelled him, but Maze was mainly our guy. If I feel like it, I will omit backups and spot-duty guys.
On with the show.
Handler
2010: Maze
2011: Goins
Trending: slightly down
Maze got the ball down the floor, kept his turnovers down, and gave us the occasional spark-basket. Goins, from what we've seen, is a bit more turnover-prone than Maze. There's no reason to think it's a serious problem, but if we're looking at nothing other than getting the ball downcourt and starting an offense, at this point Maze gets the nod.
Shooter
2010: Hopson, Tatum, Chism
2011: Hopson, Tatum, Harris
Trending: up
Since the main two shooters return, it can't very well trend down, now can it? Honestly, none of the three were supremely dangerous last year from deep. Tatum was the most consistent, but between suspension and recovering from injury his contributions were limited. Hopson was inconsistent. Wayne's percentage was never great, but because of his position and who had to guard him (i.e., a big guy), he was dangerous anyway.
Harris is simply a better natural shooter than Wayne, so his presence alone will make our collective shooting ability improve. There's no particular reason to predict Hopson and Tatum will jump to lights-out behind the arc, but it's fair to assume marginal improvements and more consistency from both. Tatum is healthier than he's been, and Hopson had changed his mechanics in the offseason last year. Slight improvement is definite, significant improvement a real possibility. I don't foresee any Lofton-esque 43%'s, though (but we don't need that, either).
We might as well mention that Woolridge, Bone, and McBee all apparently have the skill to shoot a basketball well, at least in the right circumstance. None really translated that to the court last year. If they don't this year either, then no loss...they'll be what we had last year. If even one of them puts it all together, though, then there again we have significant improvement. I have no prediction about those guys, but wish them all the best. I almost think Bone is the most likely to break out this year, and Woolridge and McBee need one more year; but who knows.
Scorer
2010: Chism, Hopson, Prince, Tatum (basically in that order?)
2011: Hopson, Tatum, Harris, Williams, and then a mountain of newcomers/unknowns. (Hall? Maymon? Goins? Hard to project at this point)
Trend: up
We lose Chism. He was never quite dominant in the post, never quite consistent from outside, never quite got to the FT line as much as you'd like, and never quite finished quite as well as you'd like. But he did enough things well enough that he was very effective overall by his senior year.
Tatum had become our most reliable scorer from the wing by the end of the year, but that was in limited duty. Hopson was our most dynamic scorer, but everyone knows he was a little up and down. At worst, we get those two back as they were, which isn't bad. At best, they both become more consistent with both their shooting and their driving, and they become extremely hard to match up with...they're both tall, can both shoot, can both drive. Even if they're inconsistent, they're not the easiest duo to match up with, considering we have two legit bigs in the game with them and a legit quick, strong PG. Again, a guy who can both shoot and drive is really hard to guard; potentially, we have three (counting Harris) this year.
Harris is intriguing. He's not athletically unguardable (like a Wall or a Cousins); rather, he's intriguing because he fits so well into this system and this group of players. Harris might not be a great slasher as a freshman at the SEC level if he were option 1, and he might not be a great post player as a freshman at the SEC level if he were option 1. But he doesn't have to be. Hopson and Tatum are already options 1 and 2 as slashers, and Williams is skilled enough not to be ignored in the paint. Harris is a patient, old-school type player who will take good shots, get to the free-throw line, and has good enough touch around the basket to convert some covered shots. To compound things, he can shoot from outside at a higher level than Wayne could. Combined with what we already field, he's a matchup problem without question.
Williams has never been stellar as a post-up guy, and I don't expect him to have improved to that level this year. But he does have soft hands, and he's finished better and better as his career has progressed. This year he'll still be more opportunistic than dominant offensively, but if somebody has no height or puts a lame defender on him, he'll be able to take advantage.
Goins is quick enough to break down defenders, but can he finish? Hall showed nice touch last year but grew inconsistent. Maymon is a total unknown, as are Golden and McRae.
Rebounder
2010: Chism, Williams, Hall
2011: Williams, Harris, Hall, Maymon, Fields
Trend: Way up
We were only mediocre at offensive rebounding last year. This year, we could be stellar. Williams has always been a beast on the offensive glass, and this year he's a full-time, all-year starter. Last year the next best offensive rebounder was probably Hall, who was a bit skinny and inexperienced as a true frosh. This year he's stronger and knows more, and is joined by a host of big tough guys like Maymon and Fields. With Williams leading the way, and with depth and physicality way up, there's really no comparison.
Distributor
2010: Prince, Maze
2011: ????
Trend: ????
Last year, option 1 was Prince on the wing to Chism in the post; and option last-gasp was Prince to force something if the shot clock was low and nothing else had worked yet. Maze wasn't a primary creator, but the stats say he got a few assists.
We'll miss Prince.
This year, I think it's not yet clear who will get the ball to the scorers. It might not even matter much, because we do have lots of scoring options. We should be tough to guard at all 5 positions, and we should have shooters, slashers, foul-drawers, and poster-uppers (?). I guess I'd root for Melvin to be the main distributor, but it certainly doesn't have to be him (it's been the SF or PF since Watson graduated).
Summary
Our handling and distributing should be down a little. Our scoring and shooting should be up (with the potential for way up), and our rebounding should be way up without a doubt. For all the things they accomplished last year, it was one of Pearl's weaker offensive teams at Tennessee. This year's version should be better putting the ball in the hole, and unless they implode it really shouldn't be all that close.
*****END QUOTED POST*****
