Quick diagnosis

2,121 Views | 33 Replies | Last: 28 min ago by MaroonRevival
The Shank Ag
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This team is a 7.5 on talent, if not better. They should walk into 75% of peoples houses and win no matter what happens (read not 75% of SEC teams) It's not the most talented roster ever (probably 2006-2007), probably not in the top 3 to 4 (the mid to late Bk teams and the 2005-2006 teams).

But when it comes to the BS adjectives Jimbo levied on the football team from 2018-2023, toughness, effort, discipline, pride, grit, this team is a 9.8. I was a HS senior for the 2004-2005 NIT year following the 0-16 year (where I went to Waco to watch a loss). That team went 8-8 with a couple NBA players (AW and Acie) but they made their hay being tough and playing defense. The next year the offense better but they still lived on defense and won games like 46-43 (the shot game). But I've never, ever, seen a team buy in with 0 probable NBA players and just get down to business like this one.

One day, be it Saturday, in February, or in the conference tourney/dance, this team will find its stride on offense. It may not be an 85 pt team like bama, but the defense will finally meet the offense and this team can beat anybody.

Ive felt if the ball fell right the 2006, 2007, 2010, 2016, 2018 teams could have found their way into the final four based on intangibles.

But I've never felt a teams ceiling as high as this one IF it all comes together. Wade or Phelps could score 30 in any given game if things fall right. Hefner, Payne, Coleman, Mo could go for 10-15+ on any given night. Jace, Solo, or Wilcher can go 6-12+ on any given night. Add all of that to the defense, the offensive rebounding, and getting to the line, and that's a dangerous AF team.

Give us a 75% FT team the rest of the way, 4-5 of those 9 hitting what they can be, I'll never go into a game doubting a positive outcome.

I know after this year is going to be tough with so many out of eligibility but God help us if Buzz ever finds a team like this with a Josh Carter and Robert Williams/Deandre Jordan.

Edit to add: my opinion is just that, an opinion. I'm a nobody fan. I played through HS and intermurals at A&M, but had no offers outside of NAIA having to pay part of my way. I coached HS basketball for 3 years at the highest as JV head coach and Varsity assistant. I know ball but am no savant or bastion of knowledge. I'm just saying what I see based upon what I know and what I've seen in the past from this program.
EliteZags
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Quote:

Ive felt if the ball fell right the 2006, 2007, 2010, 2016, 2018 teams could have found their way into the final four based on intangibles.
I liked the Duke and NC State matchups had we pulled it out over UH last March
bobinator
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I don't think our casuals realize just how good we are on defense yet. We're #7 nationally by KenPom and we've played the #2, #3, #7, and #11 offenses already.

(I just wanted to be in an elitezags and Shank thread for old times sake and this was the first take I could think of)
BigOil
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We are 290th in FG% and 328th in 3PT FG%. That is way sub 7.5 talent wise. It's shocking that the grit and intangibles compensate.
BigOil
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Ok, maybe a 10 for defense talent and a 4 for offense talent gets us to 7.5 ish
Blazer
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The Shank Ag said:

I played through HS and intermurals at A&M, but had no offers outside of NAIA having to pay part of my way. I coached HS basketball for 3 years at the highest as JV head coach and Varsity assistant. I know ball but am no savant or bastion of knowledge. I'm just saying what I see based upon what I know and what I've seen in the past from this program.


Don't sell yourself short. This is more of a basketball resume than 90% of the people on this board.
The Shank Ag
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BigOil said:

We are 290th in FG% and 328th in 3PT FG%. That is way sub 7.5 talent wise. It's shocking that the grit and intangibles compensate.



Those percentages don't tell a full story at all. The way we emphasize defense does effect those percentages but every single player I listed has had multiple games that makes those numbers be laughable. If we could move Wade to the 2 with another true PG, his numbers take off. If we could have a healthy Wade feeding Phelps all year that number takes off. If we feed Payne all game when he's locked in that number takes off. It's all about meld of the team, health, and hitting strides.

In January last year, Mo shouldn't have been on the court. In march he was an all conference player.
The Shank Ag
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bobinator said:

I don't think our casuals realize just how good we are on defense yet. We're #7 nationally by KenPom and we've played the #2, #3, #7, and #11 offenses already.

(I just wanted to be in an elitezags and Shank thread for old times sake and this was the first take I could think of)


Just need CeauxReaux, Ryne, and a few more to jump in and we are in full nostalgia mode
Redfishag93
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Very good points on our defense and the ability of this team to make a run in the tournament.

The defense is massively improved over last season.

Payne is a massive improvement giving us paint offense. He needs more minutes in spite of his defensive liabilities. I think his scoring efficiency outweighs the defense…and his on ball defense is pretty clueless.

Hef has become a damn good player…even defensively surprisingly.
Solo and Andy are just scrappy as hell…awesome defensively.
Coleman has had a very solid, consistent season.

Wade will get it going at a high level again, i have no doubt. We're talking about top 5 all time Aggie.
Phelps has filled the Radford role only better considering his defense.

To me, Manny is the X factor…such a high ceiling. That move he made off the dribble last night and hitting the fall away was nba material. If he can continue contributing something similar to the ole miss game or can approach his play from the end of last year, we can absolutely beat anybody and be the best Aggie basketball team ever.
Method Man
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We have been down double digit points and have come back several times. Is that sustainable? I don't know but it shows we are never out of it.
Proposition Joe
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Defense has shown to be elite.

Rebounding hasn't been elite this year, but it was last year and most of the pieces are still there.

Hustle and perseverance elite.

Shooting is terrible. Free throws are terrible.

That all forms a team that is capable of beating any team on any night out, but has a ceiling. If we can't find an offense, stringing together 4-5 rock fights in a row just isn't likely. As we saw with Kentucky, you're going to run into a team that is hustling as much as you are but CAN shoot.
Kansas Kid
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BigOil said:

We are 290th in FG% and 328th in 3PT FG%. That is way sub 7.5 talent wise. It's shocking that the grit and intangibles compensate.


And we are first in offensive rebounds and 33rd in free throws made per game which offsets a lot of the poor shooting. I'm not saying we are an elite offense but we are better than a lot of posters say since points per possession is more important.
PJYoung
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Yeah there's a lot of ignoring the advanced metrics probably because our offense is not always pleasant to watch.
2nd Generation Ag
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He has recruited great athletes but not great skill. That's why we play great defense. Shooting is a skill . Hand-eye coordination. Solo and Andy are good examples.

It was impressive how he found Payne. That was a huge pickup. I don't think people saw what our coaches saw. I dont think he started for Minnesota which is crazy.
TxAg76
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Kansas Kid said:

BigOil said:

We are 290th in FG% and 328th in 3PT FG%. That is way sub 7.5 talent wise. It's shocking that the grit and intangibles compensate.


And we are first in offensive rebounds and 33rd in free throws made per game which offsets a lot of the poor shooting. I'm not saying we are an elite offense but we are better than a lot of posters say since points per possession is more important.

We've MADE a lot of free throws, yes.
But our free throw shooting is **** rotten awful.
By design, we attack and we get to the line quite a bit, but we still can't hit them for ****, which is maddening.

Side note, i was beyond shocked at the lack of fouls and free throws vs Ole Miss.
The last couple minutes turned into a foul-a-thon just to get them in Bonus situation, but prior to that, i don't know that we've played a game with that few fouls, and that few free throw attemps....like, ever
bobinator
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Neither have they. It was ridiculous officiating both ways.
bobinator
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I'm still optimistic that our offense is going to take a big step forward at some point.

If it wasn't already clear that this thing is a house of cards built on top of Wade Taylor's skill set it's definitely clear now. And I don't care if we're the toughest practicing team in the history of basketball, they're still not game reps.

We need Taylor and Payne to build some chemistry, that's our money making combo that can unlock everything else. If we can get those two working well together then all of a sudden we'll become hard to guard.
TxAg76
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bobinator said:

Neither have they. It was ridiculous officiating both ways.

agreed 100%. the comment was meant for both teams and the game in general, not just us.
bobinator
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Yeah I think the refs literally were like "look if we don't call anything it's going to cancel out because these teams want to play the same way, so let's just let them go and get out of here in two hours and not drag this thing out."
NyAggie
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bobinator said:

Yeah I think the refs literally were like "look if we don't call anything it's going to cancel out because these teams want to play the same way, so let's just let them go and get out of here in two hours and not drag this thing out."


Very possible that's what happened and I had no problem with it

halfastros81
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Also wanted to avoid the foulfest marathon cf vs Bama .

I didn't get to see the OM game but it sounds like they may have allowed it to go a little too far .

greg.w.h
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NyAggie said:

bobinator said:

Yeah I think the refs literally were like "look if we don't call anything it's going to cancel out because these teams want to play the same way, so let's just let them go and get out of here in two hours and not drag this thing out."


Very possible that's what happened and I had no problem with it


That explains the game ending scrum with no called fouls and was what I was thinking last night.
PJYoung
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MaroonRevival
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Buzz teams always start to come together in February/March. Since they are already ahead of the curve, perhaps this year they will miraculously round into decent free-throw shooters just in time for the tournament. It may be asking too much for this team to become actual shooters, but 80% from the line…that seems like a reasonable miracle.
halfastros81
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Good pts. If by a 7.5 you mean we are more talented than 75% of the teams in college basketball then that's probably true but that would still only put us at top 85 in talent which perhaps is about right and maybe even a little low.

Buzz has said many x the whole is better than the sum of the parts and that I believe is absolutely true and that's a credit to him for building and shaping the team/program.

Hopefully all the Buzz detractors can go on mute now.
Kansas Kid
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PJYoung said:

Yeah there's a lot of ignoring the advanced metrics probably because our offense is not always pleasant to watch.

I don't think our offense or defense is pleasant to watch from a pure basketball perspective but it is a lot more effective, especially on defense than the detractors think.

Ex: How often do we see in the game thread complaints about giving up wide open 3s? My answer, that may be but what matters is how many points do we actually give up and the stats say we are one of the best in the country in that critical category because we don't give up a ton of easy 2s.
fatdad84ag
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MaroonRevival said:

Buzz teams always start to come together in February/March. Since they are already ahead of the curve, perhaps this year they will miraculously round into decent free-throw shooters just in time for the tournament. It may be asking too much for this team to become actual shooters, but 80% from the line…that seems like a reasonable miracle.
Only 6 teams out of 364 shoot over 80% on free throws.and 75 shoot 75% and above. I would be extremely happy between 70 and 75%
PJYoung
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Kansas Kid said:

PJYoung said:

Yeah there's a lot of ignoring the advanced metrics probably because our offense is not always pleasant to watch.

I don't think our offense or defense is pleasant to watch from a pure basketball perspective but it is a lot more effective, especially on defense than the detractors think.

Ex: How often do we see in the game thread complaints about giving up wide open 3s? My answer, that may be but what matters is how many points do we actually give up and the stats say we are one of the best in the country in that critical category because we don't give up a ton of easy 2s.


We are ELITE defensively.
TxAg76
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PJYoung said:

Kansas Kid said:

PJYoung said:

Yeah there's a lot of ignoring the advanced metrics probably because our offense is not always pleasant to watch.

I don't think our offense or defense is pleasant to watch from a pure basketball perspective but it is a lot more effective, especially on defense than the detractors think.

Ex: How often do we see in the game thread complaints about giving up wide open 3s? My answer, that may be but what matters is how many points do we actually give up and the stats say we are one of the best in the country in that critical category because we don't give up a ton of easy 2s.


We are ELITE defensively.


….and we are SHEET when it comes to shooting
BigOil
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And when someone goes all in on defensive rebounding, we will be toast. Our modus operandi isn't sustainable for a deep run in March. We could get on a heater, but that's a hope.
halfastros81
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There might be a few teams that can do it but not many. It would definitely mean a change to many team's defensive approach . They also might give up open three's as a result like we do which has it's own risks provided we can take advantage of it . Either way tho, it's our identity and we're gonna go with it and let the chips fall where they may. Matchups matter and teams that can hit open threes in volume aren't the best matchups for us.
Redfishag93
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We are gonna be competitive in most every game because our defense is so good this year.
I think our offense will continue to improve like it normally does with Buzz.
Hoping for a special season.
bobinator
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Everyone we play goes all in on defensive rebounding. I think a bigger key is our own defensive rebounding against some of the three point heavy teams. It killed us against Alabama.

But I'm interested to see what we look like in a few weeks when Wade is back up to speed.
MaroonRevival
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fatdad84ag said:

MaroonRevival said:

Buzz teams always start to come together in February/March. Since they are already ahead of the curve, perhaps this year they will miraculously round into decent free-throw shooters just in time for the tournament. It may be asking too much for this team to become actual shooters, but 80% from the line…that seems like a reasonable miracle.
Only 6 teams out of 364 shoot over 80% on free throws.and 75 shoot 75% and above. I would be extremely happy between 70 and 75%


Well, I did use the word "miracle" so…
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