The Bonnies: 2022-2023 Season Thread

Should we expect anything major this offseason? We have one open scholarship and I can't imagine more than 2-3 players leaving.
 
I dont want to step onto Jive's corner (he does an awesome job breaking down players and schemes) but I had some thoughts on our roster and what to get them out of my head.

Its incredibly obvious we need some guards who are bigger and stronger that what we have. Maybe Rose will help there. You can tell by who we are recruiting that the staff also knows this. So here are my own random notes:

Farell - Improve on scoring at all 3 levels. He can shoot it really well but struggles on drives. He is athletic enough and talented enough to add this to his game and we will need that. Also, tell any P5 asshole to fuck off and stick around with us. Hes not good enough for P5 yet with the holes I just talked about but we know they will be after him.

Venning - Lose a few more pounds. His footwork is great but he is a lumbering freight train when on the move. If he became a little more nimble he would see even more increase in his game and touch around the basket. Kid is a stud though.

Luc - He takes alot of shit and its warranted but I also think the hate goes a little far. He does have some good games for us and he is asked to do a very difficult job: run the offense when nobody knows it. He is undersized but he can get to the rack and hit some floaters, which is good. He also gets into trouble if there is anyone in his path. That is when he needs to find someone else. Granted, if they could run any semblance of an offense he might not have to do some of the stupid things he does. I wouldnt mind a true PG coming in and allowing Luc to go off ball more.

Banks - go to a hypnotist and have him convince you every gym is the RC. He is asked to do too much and needs support and time off. More capable guards should help there. Remember, he came here expecting to be the 6th man.

Flowers - More consistency on scoring at all 3 levels. As the season went on, he improved a lot (unlike most of the other guys). He is what he is and can be a very solid 6th man or starter if they want. I really liked him coming off the bench but getting starters minutes.

Hill - He just doesnt seem to fit or be comfortable. Prime transfer candidate but I would hate to see him go.

Mellouk - Another year might do him some good. He has the makings of a good pick and pop guy. He can hit an open 3 and when under control can get to the rim. Hes just raw. I dont see him being more than a backup 4 but thats not a bad thing.

Rumpel - shoot 1000 jumpers a day. Does anyone know if he can shoot? Hes probably a career backup like Kaputo but given the staff is after guards, one has to wonder what his future is.

Amadasun - Never seemed like a good fit, not sure why we even brought him in. He is ok with is back to the basket but I dont see any future with him

Martinez - I dont know much about him but I heard he was raw offensively. He has good defensive skills so I could see him being a capable backup until Venning is done.

Evans - He looks so timid offensively but looks great on defense and in transition. Clearly he needs to work on his offensive game and confidence on that end. I hope he isnt a transfer candidate.
 
@Bona03 go for it take the corner. I agree with most of your points.

I'm going to bang this drum again now that it is the offseason. Farell and Evans need to learn each other's spot in the offense. Flowers and Banks need to split time at the 2 guard. Hill needs to be Venning's backup and Mellouk can be our weapon to play big or small if we have him at the 4 or 5.

A 3-2 defense with Evans, Rumple, Banks across the top and Farell and Mellouk/Hill underneath would be a solid wrinkle that would force turnovers and easy transition points. (we need a path to easy points)

Evans and Rumple looked like Ben Simmons at times, they had the chance to shoot and probably should have 10-20% more often just to keep the defense more honest and to open up driving lanes. I dont think either will become 35%+ 3pt shooters but being willing to take the shot at least keeps the defense honest. (look at the prior 4 years team we had one shooter but 1-4 would shoot if left alone and teams couldnt completely pack the paint).

I normally try the sandwich method when criticizing a player, but I'm going to really bitch about Luc. I'm sure he is a great guy and in the right role he can be additive but... 1. he isnt a floor general, Schmidt's best teams the PG is the leader Kloof, Adams, Lofton were guys that were in charge with the ball in their hands, I dont see that in Luc. 2. a starting PG needs to make it easy for a defensive rebounder to find him for the outlet pass. too many times Luc wouldn't go back far enough to make the pass easy or would take off down the floor before controlling the pass. 3. he struggled to create separation when initiating the offense which lead to sloppy or bad first passes and ruined the flow of the offense (when guys actually were running the play). 4. I think he is too small to play the minutes Schmidt tends to give to his starting PG. 5. is a combo of 2-4 he cant break a press. He is too small to be a good target for the in-bounder, struggles to use his speed to create separation and doesn't move to the ball which exacerbates the other two.

Now that I have taken him to task and defined my criticisms. I think he would be a really nice 6th man that could bring a change of pace and provide scoring off the bench. Which is what i would like to see from him next year.

I would love to know what Banks' road routine is and if there is something that could help him get dialed in away from the RC. When he was locked in he was an awesome defender, probably played too many minutes to keep that level up consistently. Like i said above either going zone or getting Flowers some of his minutes would probably elevate his overall play. Maybe getting him an easy look early in the game, something like the Holmes mid paint floater or wing elevator play we would run for Welch could help him find some road rhythm.

Venning far surpassed my expectations, working on his lateral movement and defensive positioning would be my keys to his offseason, but I'm the idiot that thought he would get pick and rolled to death and that didnt really happen except maybe vs LaSalle that played super small.
 
Now for the post i came here to write (after getting sidetracked and writing 600ish words about the mens team)

Congrats to the school and to Jim Crowley for reuniting. Hopefully he can rebuild the womens program to being at least competitive in the A10. If he gets them back to the dance great, but I will truly be happy with having a team that is respectable most nights.
 
Jive36 said:
Now for the post i came here to write (after getting sidetracked and writing 600ish words about the mens team)

Congrats to the school and to Jim Crowley for reuniting. Hopefully he can rebuild the womens program to being at least competitive in the A10. If he gets them back to the dance great, but I will truly be happy with having a team that is respectable most nights.
Click to expand...
I like the Crowley hiring. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about a ‘national search’ that turned out to be anything but. He knows how to win here, which is vital.
 
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