Really hope staff sees the folly in starting Ames and Rohde next to each other. Rohde should be strictly a backup ball handler until he proves he can make an outside shot.
2 Likes
$5, OK $6 says Taine starts in November, just for the sake of early season mental stability.
I think they want to start Power at the 3 badly. Since he maybe is perceived as having the higher ceiling of all the options at the 3 AND it gives a way for Cofie to play more minutes.
But I donāt think you can give him the start right off the bat after how atrocious he was in both scrimmages/ probably single handedly costing us those games with his poor shooting and poor defense.
I think itās going to be Rohde because
-
the heavy minutes he played in the secret scrimmages and him already being 6th man in their eyes at the blue white scrimmage
-
His good dose of assists help pair with Dai Daiās downhill-ness since we donāt have much to point to of Dai Dai having a high assist rate + I feel like with Taine or Power there will be even more standing around if there arenāt 2 play makers on the floor and
-
his individual defense is passable and probably way better than Powerās on the perimeter even though he probably shouldnāt be helping off his man where he struggles to run and close out on his man further away after helping
Do need Power to get up to speed though and hopefully Im wrong and we taking the bumps in rough starts vs the cupcakes getting Power acclimated to real game experience where heās depended on somewhat. Donāt think Sanchez will play Taine too much. Hopefully Bliss also makes strides in earning Sanchezā trust.
2 Likes
Well if itās Rohde he better be more aggressive. And Iām not just talking with shooting, Iām talking about taking his man off the dribble. Just do something. Work in a floater. Use your size to get position on the interior. Play with confidence.
Iāve held my Rohde stock because, well, you certainly canāt get worse than last year, but seeing the 100th retreat dribble last year about killed me. Scoring ZERO points in 2 games against VT killed me. If he plays heavy minutes and just continues to be content being a zero out there, Iām selling every remaining share I have.
Yet some small piece of me still believes, foolishly perhaps, that heāll get his 3-pt shooting numbers to respectable levels and will be a valuable player. Still hope that version of Rohde is a 15-20 mpg guy and not what we saw last year.
Edit: 1st paragraph im talking about doing what he does at the 6:10 minute mark of this video. Thatās Ty Jerome esque but you can count on one hand the number of takes he had like this all year (also itās hilarious someone compiled an Andrew Rohde highlight reel lol)
Did he airball one last year? Seriously canāt remember. Definitely remember a good amount from RD, a couple from Blake, maybe Minor?
If the announcer says Ronchez or Sanchize, you must immediately consume the rest of your beverage.
6 Likes
So much aimless dribbling and action, not just Rohde but everybody
Also no one on last yearās team could set a legitimate screen. Think that is an underated aspect of our offensive struggles last season. Hopefully Saunders Cofie Buchanan and even Robinson can help right that
1 Like
Ok. I will play. What evidence do you have that powers defense was poor in the scrimmages? (Hintāthe answer is none).
1 Like
The fact that coaches said as much (from the VIP threads), that he struggled to guard Ishan Sharma in the blue white scrimmage at times, and that VCUās leading scorer against us was most likely the person Power was guarding at the 3.
That and Power having the worst +/- in both of our secret scrimmages
3 Likes
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the idea that poor screening was an aspect of our offensive struggles, I wouldnāt call it underrated. It was frequently discussed! (I disagreed with it, but it was a frequent topic of conversation).
2 Likes
One plus is that Rohde was one of the only one showing assertiveness on offense the last 3-4 games of season, which seemed to track with his injury improving.
In general I hope guys feel like they can make mistakes more than they did last year. Thatāll come with both good and bad but hopefully less āunwatchable.ā
1 Like
Rohde had his best games last year when they stopped running blocker/mover too. Unfortunately that coincided with his injury so it was only like a 2 or 3 game window of full health.
14 Likes
The duke game
1 Like
I remember the Texas A&M game and finally feeling like Rohde had arrived.
So fleeting, but man what a moment in time.
3 Likes
Dunn had 5 airballed free throws. I think one landed 3 feet out.
Whoever the Suns used as Dunnās shot doctor or sports psychologist or hypnotist can we buy out their contract?
8 Likes
no one will take it off your hands at any price 
4 Likes
Bold Prediction: people will be least patient with Rohde making mistakes this season compared to rest of team. Buchanan will come in second.
7 Likes
and weāll be most patient with Power, Bliss, and the frosh
Dai Dai and Saunders will be in the middle
3 Likes
More bold prediction Rohde goes for 25 against Campbell on Wednesday and 22 more against Coppin State
11 Likes