Not sure I see Skaljak ahead of Ipsaro. I’m hoping to be impressed with Luke, but I wonder if his size and speed will translate to D1. Ipsaro has the ankle injury behind him and the year of experience. I guess there’s a lot of interchangeability with all the guards.
3 Likes
I envision Ipsaro making a huge impact next season for the Hawks. The fact that Skaljak is right there to pressure him for floor time is a benefit to both. The question will be: who has the bigger heart and the most resilience in the long term. It’s a long season. We will need boih.
6 Likes
I am not expecting the two freshmen to just walk in and start, more so in the long run. Traditionally, players have made their biggest jump in performance in their second year in the regular rotation, which does apply to 4 of the 5 freshmen we had last season.
1 Like
He’s was the same height (6’2") but weighed more than Dean (175lbs) before this season started. He played in one of the toughest leagues in Ohio and played in the Nike AAU circuit. That’s ignoring he he has this off season to continue getting bigger and faster. So I’m very curious what wouldn’t translate.
There’s a reason he was recruited by every MAC program, Indiana State, Belmont, and App State. There’s a reason Steele called him the best guard in Ohio.
3 Likes
I anticipate the 2 freshmen will begin to increase their minutes similar to Elmer halfway thru the first season.
3 Likes
I’m sure you’re right (Steele also said Bultman would be an all-conference type of player).
I’m the guy complaining that Miami can’t attract an elite impact player- Luke could certainly be that guy. I went to the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star game to see him. Looking forward to seeing more!
1 Like
I am all in with the BB program but why do we not recruit ( or cannot recruit ) bigs- physical centers-we were last in the MAC I believe last year in rebounding and it does not appear we have changed our rebounding position for next year. Approximately 60 % of the time or more a shot will not be made and which team controls the " rebound " is critical. I realize Potter will be stroger and the Rutgers transfer has rebounding skills but we lost our best albeit somewhat undersized rebounder in the transfer portable. It is of course more than just rebounding as a strong physical presence in the paint is necessay on defense. I simply do not understand the lacck of emphasis in this area - a team of 6’5 or so guards and medium stength forwards is not going to get it done. For those that disagree lets compare notes at various points next season to see who is correct- I would welcome losing this point but I doubt I will.
I don’t know if anyone would disagree with you.
However, it is a question of supply and demand.
Less than 0.1% of the male population in the United States is 6’6" or taller.
I saw a stat one time that if you saw a 7 footer on the street anywhere in the world who was between 18-30 the odds were 1 in 7 that they were playing in the NBA.
The supply of big men who are athletic is very, very small. There is a huge demand by those who have much more to offer than we do. We should be ecstatic that we have a 7 footer on the roster. When have we ever had one before?
3 Likes
CalO - I’ve probably posted on this topic more than any other in my years on HawkTalk. I’m with you.
I spent all of last year whining that we can’t play a 6’5” guy at the 4 and expect to rebound with high level teams. I thought we under-played our bigs and got killed on the boards. The stats absolutely back that up. #306 in the country in rebounding margin last year.
The good news. I think Potter will be bigger and stronger and will rebound better. The Rutgers transfer will help. And I’m hoping Kotecki gets more minutes. (I think he’s got big upside despite not getting a lot of minutes last year.)
But I certainly wouldn’t mind another big. Or at least hope for more minutes for bigs. Doesn’t matter how many we have if we don’t play them. (And I love Elmer - but I count him as a wing - not a big.) Haven’t seen Byers play, so not sure where he fits.
The argument made by some in here is that modern basketball requires you to spread everyone out and shoot. My argument would be that we need the versatility to win in different ways. I’m fine with spread and shoot. But Freeman ended our season by putting up 30 on us in the MAC tourney by going 13 for 16 from the field.
Jaquel played 3 minutes that game. Potter played 13. But Mirambeaux and Bultman played 54 minutes combined. We tried to stop Akron - who had 3 guys over 6’7” playing 89 minutes that game - with a small lineup. We got beat 9-1 on the offensive glass and 44-28 overall on the glass.
Tough to win that way, unless you’re really hot from 3.
Sorry to Brady Koehler for the threadjack. But with your offer from Virginia yesterday, I’m sure you’re doing fine. 
3 Likes
Just a couple things to consider:
- Modern basketball is more about putting up as many shots as possible while considering points per shot attempt
- Morris was not the best rebounder, Elmer was. Stats posted below
- Morris was a turnover machine. His 23.5% turnover percentage is almost as bad as it gets, and is the equivalent of giving up an offensive rebound
- Mirambeaux was a bad rebounder. Steele touched on his graduation improving their defensive numbers and part of that will be because of rebounding
- The team has added height at every position except the 3, which is where the best rebounder on the team was playing
Yes, Freeman did this against Mirambeaux. He also only had 3 offensive rebounds. You can live with a guy on the Karl Malone award watchlist getting 12 rebounds. 6’8" Ali Ali had 5 total rebounds. The bigger issue was 6’3" Nate Johnson had 8 rebounds.
Woolfolk:
Suder:
1 Like
[quote=“Mid90sGlory, post:174, topic:2654, full:true”](And I love Elmer - but I count him as a wing - not a big.)
[/quote]
I agree Elmer was a wing last year. However, with his athleticism, if he bulks up, I think he can play some interior defense against opponents 6’8” or even 6’9”.
2 Likes
If so, we should want to be great at offensive rebounding, right? We ranked #339 of 362 in offensive rebounding last year.
So, yes, I think CalO’s question - ‘should we be looking bolster our rebounding’ is an excellent question. And as I stated, I think guys getting older/stronger will help, but I also think our minutes distribution (and personnel) helped lead to a bad rebounding team last year.
1 Like
Yes, Morris ended up with way too many minutes. And adding Woolfolk and Byers should bolster the rebounding.
Maybe I’m confused by what you mean when you say a “big.” The roster has 3 or 4 players that can play center. Worth noting that of the top 20 leaders in the MAC for ORB%, only 2 were above 6’9". Agee, who was the best, is 6’8" 225.
2 Likes
According to your chart - he was a great rebounder. Perhaps there are some truths that aren’t completely told by the chart.
More offensive rebounds = more shots.
Morris - Had 44 offensive rebounds last year while playing 14.9 mins/game
Bultman - Had 28 offensive rebounds last year while playing 27.3 mins/game
Our team rebounding % wasn’t great when Morris was in there because he played center when he was in there and he’s more of a 4. Sure, he’s out there getting rebounds, but if we’re overall undersized, which we typically were, we’re going to have bad numbers when he’s out there. We’ve debated this before.
I was told by a HS coach (admittedly, a very long time ago) that rebounding is more about attitude than height…I think his comment rules to this day.
1 Like
Was your high school coach Charles Barkley?
1 Like
Ah, this is where we aren’t aligned. Morris can’t play the 4. When he played with Potter, Potter covered the other team’s 4 and Morris defended the center. He doesn’t have the lateral quickness and it was clear every time he had to guard someone away from the rim. Akron’s 4 was Ali Ali. Kent’s 4 was 6’4" Rahiem Moss. OU’s 4 was Aiden Hadaway. Central’s was Brian Taylor. BG’s was Agee. From that list, I’m not sure who Morris would match up well with.
4 Likes
Morris played 17 minutes of MAC play with Potter at the 5. It’s a worthless sample size. But for what it’s worth - our defensive rating and eFG% were both quite high in those 17 minutes. (*Source - your fancy chart from last time we had this argument.)
Hoping for much better rebounding this year. It’s May - I’m moving on.
1 Like
Pete Bell?