Agree on adding a game or 2, esp after losing Monmouth - I hope they are trying, there are a lot of games that are popping up out of nowhere as other teams scramble to fill spots impacted by COVID - HU should be no different and should be actively trying to get more on the books. This team needs practice yet, but live game experience against real teams is even more important in my book.
I'm going to revert back to my concern with Kante when it comes to Green and others - he was AWFUL the first half of last year, hugely disappointing - and then at some point the light came on and he has become one of the best bigs in the league (if not the). This similar trajectory also happened with Taylor. Heck even Schutte has become truly serviceable. This staff has now proven their ability to bring guys along, and I'm going to allow for that to happen with Green (especially as a freshman) and the PG's. Even though in game my passion may overtake my senses for a bit
Eh, the shooting still is a concern until proven otherwise - heard the same thing before and HU has had some years where they actually never shot the ball well with the high % expected, and the final success suffered for it - they would mask by taking a million shots to get points, I'd rather not see that anymore. They are getting great looks, they simply need to knock em down at a respectable clip. And I'm not convinced until they show it consistently.
Re PG: FD, to speak to your question, I do not see Ray in this spot full time for a couple of reasons:
1) He is an adequate ball handler, but not superior - and the PG needs to be superior with the rock. Full court press seems to be hot right now across the country, and your primary ball guy needs to be expert with it.
2) This may have an impact on his actual scoring production. He has not had to think about running the O, ever, and that is a huge mental element that will distract him from doing what we need most, put the ball in the hoop.
3) He is not excellent at creating his own shot yet, nor creating awesome opps for his teammates, as he has not had to do that full-time before. If we're going to have someone learning on the job, I'd rather focus the attention on the actual PG's who have that in their DNA.
CAN he do it full time? Sure. Should he? Not in my opinion. I love the idea of him doing it in spurts, that lineup was powerful, there is no denying that. But it should be done strategically for certain situations or key game moments / swings.
I think the 2 PG's will continue to develop and they
need the opp to do that. They are not sitting 2 actual floor generals who were brought here for that exact reason, nor should they. Those 2 simply need to elevate and produce in the position. So far I see:
- Burgess showcasing an excellent handle, actually running the offense, and playing fantastic defense. He needs to develop his offense clearly, and I would like to see more aggressiveness and more urgency or swiftness in running plays. He showed a couple of brief flashes against FDU, but this is obviously still a work in progress.
- Cowart is aggressive and attacks on both sides of the ball. Love that. But he has yet to show me he's actually running plays. I'm sure it will come, but that's the biggest requirement for me.
So for now I think it's Burgess's job with Cowart pushing. And Ray adds a dynamic of showing how to handle things as a mature senior. And that competition and education will be great for them both.
