The Bonnies: 2022-2023 Season Thread

[3rdShayCripSet]

Saying i wasnt impressed with Rumpel last night was probably too harsh. I think he filled is roll adequately but dont think he has earned more than 5-10 minutes at this point. I just kept seeing buzz about him that he should have been left in or be getting more minutes. As you say he is a polarizing player. I was surprised to see that he hasnt even taken a 3 and now that i think about it i cant remember him shooting away from the paint.

I think the reason Flowers came off the bench for so long was to provide that bench scorer role, that we are missing with him in the starting lineup.

I mean, I get why sane people would dislike him with how a random group of Bona fans hyped him up to be some elite recruit.

Some parts of his skillset are in fact elite, but not enough to warrant major minutes. He has not taken a jumper all year. He has can create separation when driving to the hoop, but that doesn't seem to be the case on the perimeter.

If he can play a bit more under control and at least shoot the ball somewhat decently from outside the paint, he might be a solid player for us.

 

[brownindians85]

When he gets on the court, he looks like he's going twice the speed as everyone else, even though he's not. He looks out of sorts and out of control. He did have a nice drive and created some brief disruption. If he can harness that, we really just need him to be a capable PG and play solid defense. I don't understand why he won't shoot either. It's like he might be the pickup guy who gets a wide-open look and misses the rim by 3' in any of 10 directions. Is that the issue? I thought he was a scorer in HS. Or was most of it slashing and driving against Bingo Catholic boys with less than half his talent?

 

[Bona03]

His lack of shooting at all has made me wonder about him. Didnt he average a ton of points in high school? I cant believe he just drove and scored all the time. I know his competition was terrible but still, to be able to put up that kind of scoring you have to be able to shoot, right? I recall him taking one jumper at the end of a shot clock awhile back and it wasnt pretty.

I do think he has enough skills to be serviceable for us. Like we have said, he is just moving 1000mph right now. Sometimes it works and sometimes it hurts. The way I see it, his floor is Nelson Kaputo unless he cant shoot a lick and his ceiling is above some of our past backup PG's

 

[3rdShayCripSet]

His lack of shooting at all has made me wonder about him. Didnt he average a ton of points in high school? I cant believe he just drove and scored all the time. I know his competition was terrible but still, to be able to put up that kind of scoring you have to be able to shoot, right? I recall him taking one jumper at the end of a shot clock awhile back and it wasnt pretty.

I do think he has enough skills to be serviceable for us. Like we have said, he is just moving 1000mph right now. Sometimes it works and sometimes it hurts. The way I see it, his floor is Nelson Kaputo unless he cant shoot a lick and his ceiling is above some of our past backup PG's

You both are probably right about the HS comp, but he did play for a pretty solid AAU team, City Rocks. He also had some solid offers/looks out of HS according to Verbal Commits.

Would be nice to get something from our bench every once in a while. I can't imagine we will fare too well the rest of the way if we consistently struggle to hit 68-70 points.

With the lack of the bench, it requires one of our starters going off for 20-25 points to win...That's not a great recipe for success given our starters struggles to be consistent. Fordham, Duquesne and SLU are all teams we will struggle to beat if we don't up our offensive output.

The rest of the conference (save maybe GW?) I think we match up well enough with...I think La Salle is decent, but we can hang with them if we play again. (Don't look up Schmidt's record against Dunphy or Mihalic).

 

[bona_gdub2009]

I think Schmidt was smart to play Rumpel more on Saturday, because Luc looked bothered by Duquense defense. Which was interesting based on how well he did vs VCU. I hope Luc really works on shooting over trees and finishing near the rim, over the summer, because his stats are pretty bad shooting wise. I think Luc has promise, he just needs better shot selection. Rumpel showed an okay stroke from three on the one he did take, so maybe he will gain some confidence to knock those down going forward.

 

[Bona03]

How the fuck has this team won 8 conference games? They are terrible

 

[Jive36]

How the fuck has this team won 8 conference games? They are terrible

We havent won 8 yet...

 

[Jive36]

Team is 9-2 when making at least 8 threes, 2-3 when making 7 threes and 2-9 when making fewer than 7 threes.

Other teams have figured this out and are running guys off the 3pt line or playing in the passing lanes to the wing to not let Farell and Banks even get the ball in shooting positions. We dont have the experience or chemistry to take advantage of the overplay with backdoor cuts. When someone does try to backdoor we pass to the position they were in before the cut.

When the threes arent there we force the pick and roll or playing through Venning in the post. Venning in the post isnt a terrible option but cant be our sole offense. Our pick and rolls are similarly easy to guard because we dont have a pick and pop threat or a threat of the guard shooting off the dribble.

Furthermore teams playing aggressive defense on the wings lines up nicely with another of our weaknesses, ball pressure. Pressure the ball and the wings out to NBA range and deny us from starting the offense until there is 10-15 on the shot clock and our default in that situation is to go pick and roll. We are like a football team that has a run, run, throw tendency and the defense knows it.

 

[brownindians85]

Every team should pressure us from start to finish. We'd go winless for the remainder of the season. The only offense we have is big Chad - and he's doing well - but that's about it. Pressure us, turn us over, score points. Didn't 3rdShay say we're winless when letting up 70+?

 

[Bill Russell]

Team is 9-2 when making at least 8 threes, 2-3 when making 7 threes and 2-9 when making fewer than 7 threes.

Other teams have figured this out and are running guys off the 3pt line or playing in the passing lanes to the wing to not let Farell and Banks even get the ball in shooting positions. We dont have the experience or chemistry to take advantage of the overplay with backdoor cuts. When someone does try to backdoor we pass to the position they were in before the cut.

When the threes arent there we force the pick and roll or playing through Venning in the post. Venning in the post isnt a terrible option but cant be our sole offense. Our pick and rolls are similarly easy to guard because we dont have a pick and pop threat or a threat of the guard shooting off the dribble.

Furthermore teams playing aggressive defense on the wings lines up nicely with another of our weaknesses, ball pressure. Pressure the ball and the wings out to NBA range and deny us from starting the offense until there is 10-15 on the shot clock and our default in that situation is to go pick and roll. We are like a football team that has a run, run, throw tendency and the defense knows it.

You pretty much nailed it.

 

[Community Bank 3Pt Tee]

I have made peace with who this team is. They’re not very good. When the inside game works and the opponent doesn’t adjust, or when the deep balls are falling, their offense can look good in stretches. Their offensive success fuels scrappy defense and rebounding. When it’s not, they come unglued, which is not atypical of any team. Even last year’s experienced team would come unglued on hustle plays on night’s the offense was a slog.

• Venning – if he keeps grinding, losing weight and working on his game, he will have all conference potential next year.
• Yann- hopefully he doesn’t get nabbed. Get stronger, work on handle and game to the basket.
• Evans and Hill- athleticism off the charts. Work your ass off on improving your offensive game, discipline, getting stronger.
• Luc- great athletic attributes but I just don’t see him being the PG of the future. We haven’t had decent guard play off the bench since Kaputo. A spark off the bench backing up the PG or playing in combo sets is my hope for him. I just don’t see us turning this core into an NCAAT contender if Luc is a centerpiece.
• Flowers and Banks- surround them with a couple of guys better than them and you will love them. Great complimentary players. If they are your featured players, your head is going to bump that ceiling. I assume both will be back next year, but I hope we’re recruiting playmaking guards even if they are.
• Mellouk and Rumpel- I don’t know man. Rumps had one decent game Saturday, but being better Saturday than Luc who was terrible Saturday isn’t the same as being good. These guys have potential but its going to take all of a 4 year career. Does that exist anymore?

I think BI85 said it elsewhere. Lock in Venning, Evans, Hill, Yann. The rest, recruit as if you need someone better in their place.

 

[Jive36]

Team is 9-2 when making at least 8 threes, 2-3 when making 7 threes and 2-9 when making fewer than 7 threes.

We only took 4 threes in the second half last night while trailing by 10+ most of the half. I realize Fordham's defense was taking the 3pt line away but if we are down like that for a whole half I would expect to force up more than 4 threes.

 

[Bill Russell]

I have made peace with who this team is. They’re not very good. When the inside game works and the opponent doesn’t adjust, or when the deep balls are falling, their offense can look good in stretches. Their offensive success fuels scrappy defense and rebounding. When it’s not, they come unglued, which is not atypical of any team. Even last year’s experienced team would come unglued on hustle plays on night’s the offense was a slog.

• Venning – if he keeps grinding, losing weight and working on his game, he will have all conference potential next year.
• Yann- hopefully he doesn’t get nabbed. Get stronger, work on handle and game to the basket.
• Evans and Hill- athleticism off the charts. Work your ass off on improving your offensive game, discipline, getting stronger.
• Luc- great athletic attributes but I just don’t see him being the PG of the future. We haven’t had decent guard play off the bench since Kaputo. A spark off the bench backing up the PG or playing in combo sets is my hope for him. I just don’t see us turning this core into an NCAAT contender if Luc is a centerpiece.
• Flowers and Banks- surround them with a couple of guys better than them and you will love them. Great complimentary players. If they are your featured players, your head is going to bump that ceiling. I assume both will be back next year, but I hope we’re recruiting playmaking guards even if they are.
• Mellouk and Rumpel- I don’t know man. Rumps had one decent game Saturday, but being better Saturday than Luc who was terrible Saturday isn’t the same as being good. These guys have potential but its going to take all of a 4 year career. Does that exist anymore?

I think BI85 said it elsewhere. Lock in Venning, Evans, Hill, Yann. The rest, recruit as if you need someone better in their place.

Excellent summary of our situation.

 

[tastylicks]

They need a "wide" guard that can shoot midrange off the dribble. By wide I mean thick, phat, strong, difficult to take the ball away from. Like Jaromir Jagr for you hockey fans. Or maybe you prefer Marcus Posley as a comp?

He would draw defenders off of the shooters on the wing and potentially make the pick & roll with Venning nasty.

Fortunately I think wide guards like that can be found in the transfer portal....

More importantly did you see those ugly banners in Fordham's gym?????????

 

[Community Bank 3Pt Tee]

We need anyone who is a threat to take it to the basket and not dribble off their foot or throw up a circus shot with 15% hit rate.

ETA- Thank you, Bill!

 

[brownindians85]

More importantly did you see those ugly banners in Fordham's gym?????????

Awful! They hang NIT banners like it's laundry day on the Hill. I think the majority of their tickets are obstructed seating.

 

[3rdShayCripSet]

We ultimately have two players we really need to "retain" and an additional 2-3 that I'd like to see back.

No surprise here, but Venning and Farrel have been solid for us most of the year. Evans, Luc and Mellouck are the other three I'd like to see back, as well due to the fact they haven't hit their ceiling yet.

I like Banks and Flowers and understand the players they are, but they have both played four seasons of CBB and you know what they will bring. Like others said, they are good complimentary pieces, but likely should be the third or four option on offense.

Hill seems out of place and reminds me of Rob Carpenter or Derrick Woods. I'm not sure he's a long-term fit with us unless something changes. Our Irish brethren is likely gone and maybe BR if we bring in another guard.

We really need an impact-PG transfer and a wing if we want to make a run at the A10 title. I still think we could win out, but my guess is 3-1 and 1-1 in Brooklyn to finish 17-16.

If we bring back the entire team next year, we would improve by 3-4 wins, but that still wouldn't be enough to merit NCAA consideration.

It is important to note that all of these guys are in year 1 of Schmidt's system with no one to lean on for advice. On top of that, all but two of the guys on the roster have 2+ years of eligibility remaining.

If we could land ONE impact G-transfer like Davidson did two years ago with Foster Loyer, we will be in great shape. Easier said than done, I know, but Schmidt has always done well with transfers given adequate time.

 

[Bona03]

Anything from 4-0 to 0-4 the last 4 would not surprise me. I wish I had a fucking clue what to expect.

 

[1946TobaccoBowlMVP]

I think Schmidt has to change up the defense. The starting lineup with Luc, Banks, Flowers, and Farell is pretty small, and difficult for them to cover the ground needed to get out on shooters with the pack the line defense. It looks to me that way too many teams are getting great looks because of this. Also defensive rebounding has been terrible I have to imagine this is because the guards are out of position because of all the chasing they are doing to get to the shooters.

I would like to see a majority of the guys come back. They're still batteling for 10 conference winns and a record above .500. Turnover has really hurt the tram last season with no bench to speak of and building a totally new team this year, The program needs some consistencey year over year.

 

[3rdShayCripSet]

I think Schmidt has to change up the defense. The starting lineup with Luc, Banks, Flowers, and Farell is pretty small, and difficult for them to cover the ground needed to get out on shooters with the pack the line defense. It looks to me that way too many teams are getting great looks because of this. Also defensive rebounding has been terrible I have to imagine this is because the guards are out of position because of all the chasing they are doing to get to the shooters.

I would like to see a majority of the guys come back. They're still batteling for 10 conference winns and a record above .500. Turnover has really hurt the tram last season with no bench to speak of and building a totally new team this year, The program needs some consistencey year over year.

1946,

The lineup you listed is in fact small, but we really can't afford any of those guys out of the lineup for any extended period of time. Our defense wasn't good against Fordham, but for the most part has been very good this year.

Problem is the offense is truly repugnant, and the starting 5 are the only players on the roster that give you any offensive output.

Hill, Rumpel, Mellouk, Mad Max and Evans bring energy but no offense, and when you consistently struggle to score 65 points night after night, you can't afford to run out a lineup that features even worse offensive players than the ones currently on the floor.

Beat GDub.