I can actually pinpoint the time and date when this program decided to go down the tubes.
It was11:48p on April 6, 2019 when thousands of Wahoo faithful pledged silently or out loud that they would never complain about their team again if they only pulled this one out.
The rest is history. And unfortunately we must now live with the choices we made that day.
Hard to argue.
Truer words were never spoken, and I ainât broke that promise. Iâm just suggestinâ not complaininâ and I believe everyone in here is of the same mindset.
On another note, itâs clear that either Auburn and Wake got very lucky with transfers or they did a lot better homework than everyone else (Kentucky did well, but then they are Kentucky). Of course, both may be true at the same time.
I still consider that the best basketball-related deal of my life.
A lot of you guys want to see Taine and Igor get more minutes. So do I but I havenât said much. But next year if the 2 Isaacâs donât get some opportunities Iâm going to be pissed. As bad as we have played this year a little better offense would have made a big difference. I see this class as the future starting next year!
I think most of us want to see the most productive players get the appropriate amount of playing time. However, I donât know how many here actually get to attend practices and see whatâs happening there. I imagine if Murray and Milicic were being especially productive there, then they would be getting more court time during games. I might go so far as to suggest that on recent occasions when either of them were part of the rotation, it was due to a good series of practices prior to the game. I suspect that the same will be true of the incoming frosh. If they produce in practice, theyâll see the floor during games. If they donât, they will sit. I doubt very seriously any player is being denied opportunities unfairly. Of course, if anyone here does attend the teamâs practices and would like to enlighten me if someone is excelling there and not getting playing time during games, I would welcome their comments.
ACC Games Only Data after 7 Games: Per 100 Possessions
Individuals:
Net Rating:
Beekman +8.7 â 256 minutes
Shedrick +7.9 â 145 minutes
Stattmann: +2.1 â 100 minutes
Murray: -2.1 â 48 minutes
Franklin: -3.4 â 225 minutes
Caffaro: -6.5 â 124 minutes
Gardner: -13.8 â 217 minutes
Clark: -13.9 â 244 minutes
Milicic: -35.1 â 26 minutes
Poindexter: 8 minutes total
McCorkle: 7 minutes total
Offensive Rating:
Stattmann: 118.7
Beekman: 114.9
Murray: 113.2
Franklin: 107.8
Caffaro: 106.4
Shedrick: 104.5
Gardner: 97.9
Clark: 97.1
Milicic: 77.8
McCorkle: 7 minutes
Defensive Rating:
Shedrick: 96.6
Beekman: 106.2
Clark: 111.0
Franklin: 111.2
Gardner: 111.7
Milicic: 112.9
Caffaro: 112.9
Murray: 115.3
Stattmann: 116.6
McCorkle: 7 min total in 7 conf. games
ACC Play only
| Rk | Player | G | GS | MP | PER | TS% | eFG% | TRB% | AST% | STL% | BLK% | TOV% | WS/40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kadin Shedrick | 7 | 6 | 145 | 19.8 | 0.549 | 0.5 | 13.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 16.3 | 17.1 | 0.112 |
| 3 | Armaan Franklin | 7 | 7 | 225 | 19.4 | 0.535 | 0.506 | 8.4 | 14.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 8.9 | 0.11 |
| 2 | Reece Beekman | 7 | 7 | 256 | 19.2 | 0.537 | 0.528 | 5.6 | 27.4 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 12.5 | 0.102 |
| 10 | Carson McCorkle | 3 | 0 | 7 | 16.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0.087 |
| 4 | Kody Stattmann | 7 | 0 | 100 | 15.9 | 0.565 | 0.538 | 5.2 | 15.2 | 0 | 3.7 | 6.8 | 0.073 |
| 7 | Jayden Gardner | 7 | 7 | 217 | 15.3 | 0.483 | 0.435 | 10.8 | 14.3 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 12.9 | 0.067 |
| 5 | Taine Murray | 5 | 0 | 48 | 13.6 | 0.613 | 0.6 | 9.5 | 4.5 | 0 | 2.6 | 14.9 | 0.056 |
| 6 | Francisco Caffaro | 7 | 1 | 124 | 12.5 | 0.542 | 0.519 | 10 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 1 | 12.8 | 0.042 |
| 8 | Kihei Clark | 7 | 7 | 244 | 12.2 | 0.508 | 0.469 | 7.8 | 21.4 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 21.1 | -0.031 |
| 9 | Igor Milicic Jr. | 4 | 0 | 26 | 8.3 | 0.357 | 0.357 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 9.6 | 12.5 | -0.061 |
| 11 | Malachi Poindexter | 1 | 0 | 8 | -13.5 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | -0.248 |
|  |
Iâve wondered the last few seasons what does being productive at a Bennett practice mean? J Willy makes it sound like there arenât many live segments in Tonyâs practices. So if they arenât paying actual basketball then how do the young guys have an opportunity to show you anything? Obviously guys who have been in the program for years are going to be better at doing things like the 3 on 3 close out drill purely from experience. But is that really what we are basing PT on? I hope when we hear about practice performance the coaches and insiders are referring to 3 v 3 and 5 v 5 work and not stop/start drills the upperclassmen essentially must be better at because theyâve done them thousands of times more.
I have similar questions. The unassailable answer to why we arenât seeing more PT for younger guys / higher ceiling shooters is âpractice.â But what does that mean? The truth is somewhere between:
One of the only practices Iâve ever seen (probably THE only) was the public run through at MSG before the first Michigan St tourney game (2014). Hard to glean too much from public run throughs, but one thing that I could see was tension between Darion and the staff (esp. J-Willy). On one hand, given the personalities of those two, itâs not at all surprising (but not replicated that I could see by anyone else on the roster or staff). This was just a few days after Darion lit up Norm Woodâs notebook with some complaints, so again, not really surprising. But then, the next day, we needed a defensive specialist after Gill got hurt, and Dawson was lighting us up, and there Darion sat on the bench. Did Darion have a âbad practiceâ? I mean, yes, in a manner of speakingâŚ
Everyone should know what âgood at practiceâ means. Itâs means being good at defense. Not good at shooting three pointers or actually getting a rebound. I donât need to see practice to know for the umpteenth time, TB has prioritized packline âsoundnessâ; ie., how to try to win a game by 50-48. Ironically, the defense still stinks
Even if you limit it to just defense what does good at defense mean if you arenât actually guarding 3 v 3 or 5 v 5? Are coaches really making PT decisions based off who can slide between cones the best? Who can stand on the correct piece of tape while the walk ons pass the ball around the perimeter? Do other programs function the same way but itâs offensive drills instead of defensive drills? How does a freshman make his mark in those kind of drills?
Tangent, but this would sort of be a good J-Willy show question. I think Mark/Fresh have a better sense so donât think to ask, but what does a practice look like at this point of the season? How long? What is the focus? How much drill v. 5-on-5? How much scout team playing the opponentâs sets?
Of course not.
This is a wild thread
Clearly thatâs hyperbole lol but what does it look like if we donât do much live action? And why do the drills carry so much weight if it doesnât translate to when they play actual defense in real basketball?
Because it has won Tony a shit ton of games at a place where itâs very hard to win a shit ton of games? Why wouldnât he continue to follow what brought him all of that success?
I think we need to define the âitâ that has won Tony those games. Basically, I think identify and getting great talent and being great at coaching guys in his systems and something like âmotivationâ has won Tony those games, but whatever that âitâ is, is not working so great this season.
I donât think this thread is âwildâ at all. I think the thread opener was a bit wild, but I think this has generally been a good discussion.
Good starting point I think is what did Kihei do year one that forced TB to play him. A LOT and in crucial times. Imma guess of course on ball D but also trust on offense playing with great guards to be efficient with the ball etc.
âItâ is defined as whatever Tony wants it to be. I think we all know why weâre not as good this year. Because the talent isnât as good. And the roster isnât a good fit for what he wants to do. I think heâd rather have McKoy over Gardner right now, but thatâs just the way it rolled.
But the question was why does he rely on drills and the way guys âlookâ in practice to make roster decisions, and my answer was because thatâs the way heâs always done things and that âwayâ has won him a shit ton of games.
So you donât know either but you are willing to defer to Tonyâs judgement. Completely reasonable perspective. But Iâm still hoping Fresh or someone else who has witnessed practices can elaborate what a âgoodâ versus âbadâ practice week looks like for our guys on the back end (and out of) the rotation. Especially for freshman. Tony references it so much in his pressers Iâm just trying to get a clearer sense of what he means. Especially in a year where our defense isnât that good anyway and weâve let multiple games slip away due to 5+ minute scoring droughts on the offensive end. What could any of those guys actually do in practice to earn more time? Or is practice performance just a code for rotation inertia?