I wanted to start a new thread so the discussion doesn’t get buried in the game thread and may be ongoing into the summer if anyone hears anything on the grape vine about the teams workouts. Overall an entertaining season with plenty of ups and downs. Clearly, we all would have liked to have played better in the first half last night, but here we are. On to the next year…
…Ok, I’m going to try not to harp on the guys as much as I can, but this a discussion of how and where we can improve, so a bit of constructive criticism is warranted. Overall, we have a very athletic team and excel defensively when we want to exert our will there. We also seem to play better when pushing the pace. So where can we improve? Just sticking with those I think that will be on the roster next year. I’ll leave my thoughts, but I am curious to know yours.
Coach Boynton
Game management - Man, he grew a lot during the year; but he seems still to be slow at recognizing when to make adjustments. I’m not sure how coaches improve their craft, but maybe watching film from other Big 12 veterans and taking note of the flow of games and how they are played and then how those coaches call timeouts and what their teams do differently coming out of those lulls. Also, I know this isn’t what he is known for, but I believe he needs to hold the players more accountable. The sloppy turnovers, poor defensive effort, and bone headed plays should warrant some kind of reaction.
Offensively, we really need to develop more/better sets. In my opinion we don’t seem to have a lot of go-to plays to get baskets when we absolutely need one. Yes, there are missed open shots (the lay-ups last night… woof), but I think the point stands. As a team, we need to get better at making threes. Our spacing sucks and losing our best three-point shooter (CC), it’s only going to get worse if the group as a whole doesn’t improve. Defensively, I don’t have much to complain about other than recognizing earlier when something is hot for the other team. This is mostly out of his control, but I am hopeful HCMB can have a healthy team all year. That will surely pay dividends in practice and overall development of the individual players.
Avery Anderson
Hot damn. What a streak to close the year! I would love to see him really refine that outside shot. Doing so will really open up the driving lanes for him. Also, someone needs to show him tape of the Victor Williams mid-range game. Driving full speed and stop/pop straight up/shoot. Not much to say on his defense.
Kalib Boone
Eat and lift weights. I’m not sure what is going on with Kalib. Eat and lift weights. I think he is susceptible to mentally checking out of games and it really gets him down. Eat and lift weights. However, I’m not sure how to help or fix that. Eat and lift weights. Overall, he did improve from last year, or at the very least looked similar to that closing stretch of play he had at the end of his freshman year. Eat and lift weights. His hands are weak and he comes across as soft when things get physical. Eat and lift weights. Both of things which may be somewhat mitigated by some added muscle. Eat and lift weights.
Keylan Boone
I think being more consistent and adding a few more pounds would make worlds of difference for Keylan. Shooting 25% from three coming into last night is not sustainable. Lots of work on that outside shot over the summer and hitting the weights will pair very well if he can keep up the motor he had at the end of this year. Over the past few games, his defense and presence on the boards was really solid when he was in. I’m sure that will only improve with playing time.
Chris Harris
Before the injury, his shot was still “off”. Not sure what to do about that other than work at the three-point line a whole lot this summer. I think he has some potential defensively based on how he and AA played as freshman, but I worry how the recovery will affect his quickness. Don’t have too much to comment on since he didn’t really play much.
Bernard Kouma
Wow! He closed the year pretty strong considering I doubt many of us thought we would be getting much more than some fouls out of him in spot duty. I am hopeful this is an indication he has a lot more to offer AND that Canen Cunningham is a solid developer of big-men. BK should probably work on his agility and moves around the basket. He has pretty good hands, so running the pick and roll with him could be a great option moving forward if they practice that. Defensively, he seemed to be sound, playing straight up more than jumping at everything. I would imagine more playing time will hone that aspect of his game. Anyone else notice Bernie is our best FT shooter???
Isaac Liekele
Can’t help but feel bad for how his season ended. He clearly wasn’t right and/or had a mental block resulting from the injuries. First and foremost, get healed up and confident with himself, then he can get back to being Fran’s favorite “Linebacker PG”. My thoughts for him really haven’t changed from the end of last year. He has got to get some sort of shot going. Yes, he is a strong defender. Yes, he is a great rebounder; but man, he is a liability on offense at times as our spacing falls off a cliff when he is not playing PF. I didn’t by into all the talk about his improvement from 3 over the summer. Sure, he hit 44% from the arc this season, but NO ONE respected his shot there. Hell, he passed up so many wide-open chances, even in rhythm. It was maddening to watch. Also, FT shooting? Dude….
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe
Gosh he is going to be a great 4-year player here if he can settle down a bit. Such a springy athlete who, entertaining to me, seems to run like a deer on his toes. He really needs to develop some more B-Ball IQ so the game slows down for him. Seems like if he gets the ball, he is driving to the basket, hell or high water. And he is going in despite having worse handle than Lebryan Nash, who used to infuriate me when he would bring the ball all the way down the court and not pass. That said, work on his handle, like a LOT if he is going to continue to drive. That said, he should continue to drive since his springiness is a big asset. Putting on a few more pounds to help absorb that Big 12 contact will keep him healthier in the long run. O-yeah, free throws. As an annoying commercial said to us all night… Free. Free-free-free-free-free. If you are going to whirling dervish into the paint over and over, don’t hurt your team by being a huge liability at the charity stripe.
Rondel Walker
I think RW has huge potential but hit a freshman wall. His shot has been off for a month or so. Another poster in the game thread mentioned a brace of something on one of his fingers, so maybe that is the issue. Whatever AA did over the last summer, RW needs to emulate that. Weight room and 5-10 pounds of muscle. Tighten up the handle. Refine that outside shot. Film room so that game can slow down a bit more. Really good defender with great hops, but watching tape on AA and how he operates at that end of the floor will pay dividends. I’m excited for his future here.
Bryce Williams
I’m not sure what to say about BW since he is already a senior. He is an elite athlete and that translates to excellent defense. His outside shot is pretty good, but he can be streaky. Also, he has a lot of bone headed plays that result in turnovers. Maybe more film time and refining the three-point shot. I would say that if he is going to continue as the back-up PG in any manner, tightening up the handle would be prudent.
Donavan Williams
Don’t have enough game film on him to make a great list of things to work on. So lets say FT’s and the outside shot.
Cade Cunningham
LOL, riiight. IF IF IF he stayed, his high dribble needs work. I don’t think I can complain about his shooting at all. And his defense is solid when he is engaged. Other than that high slow dribble, he needs to jump on teams from the tip. I get that he a smart player who appears to let the game come to him, but as the best offensive player on the court I sure would like to see that dominance earlier.
…Ok, I’m going to try not to harp on the guys as much as I can, but this a discussion of how and where we can improve, so a bit of constructive criticism is warranted. Overall, we have a very athletic team and excel defensively when we want to exert our will there. We also seem to play better when pushing the pace. So where can we improve? Just sticking with those I think that will be on the roster next year. I’ll leave my thoughts, but I am curious to know yours.
Coach Boynton
Game management - Man, he grew a lot during the year; but he seems still to be slow at recognizing when to make adjustments. I’m not sure how coaches improve their craft, but maybe watching film from other Big 12 veterans and taking note of the flow of games and how they are played and then how those coaches call timeouts and what their teams do differently coming out of those lulls. Also, I know this isn’t what he is known for, but I believe he needs to hold the players more accountable. The sloppy turnovers, poor defensive effort, and bone headed plays should warrant some kind of reaction.
Offensively, we really need to develop more/better sets. In my opinion we don’t seem to have a lot of go-to plays to get baskets when we absolutely need one. Yes, there are missed open shots (the lay-ups last night… woof), but I think the point stands. As a team, we need to get better at making threes. Our spacing sucks and losing our best three-point shooter (CC), it’s only going to get worse if the group as a whole doesn’t improve. Defensively, I don’t have much to complain about other than recognizing earlier when something is hot for the other team. This is mostly out of his control, but I am hopeful HCMB can have a healthy team all year. That will surely pay dividends in practice and overall development of the individual players.
Avery Anderson
Hot damn. What a streak to close the year! I would love to see him really refine that outside shot. Doing so will really open up the driving lanes for him. Also, someone needs to show him tape of the Victor Williams mid-range game. Driving full speed and stop/pop straight up/shoot. Not much to say on his defense.
Kalib Boone
Eat and lift weights. I’m not sure what is going on with Kalib. Eat and lift weights. I think he is susceptible to mentally checking out of games and it really gets him down. Eat and lift weights. However, I’m not sure how to help or fix that. Eat and lift weights. Overall, he did improve from last year, or at the very least looked similar to that closing stretch of play he had at the end of his freshman year. Eat and lift weights. His hands are weak and he comes across as soft when things get physical. Eat and lift weights. Both of things which may be somewhat mitigated by some added muscle. Eat and lift weights.
Keylan Boone
I think being more consistent and adding a few more pounds would make worlds of difference for Keylan. Shooting 25% from three coming into last night is not sustainable. Lots of work on that outside shot over the summer and hitting the weights will pair very well if he can keep up the motor he had at the end of this year. Over the past few games, his defense and presence on the boards was really solid when he was in. I’m sure that will only improve with playing time.
Chris Harris
Before the injury, his shot was still “off”. Not sure what to do about that other than work at the three-point line a whole lot this summer. I think he has some potential defensively based on how he and AA played as freshman, but I worry how the recovery will affect his quickness. Don’t have too much to comment on since he didn’t really play much.
Bernard Kouma
Wow! He closed the year pretty strong considering I doubt many of us thought we would be getting much more than some fouls out of him in spot duty. I am hopeful this is an indication he has a lot more to offer AND that Canen Cunningham is a solid developer of big-men. BK should probably work on his agility and moves around the basket. He has pretty good hands, so running the pick and roll with him could be a great option moving forward if they practice that. Defensively, he seemed to be sound, playing straight up more than jumping at everything. I would imagine more playing time will hone that aspect of his game. Anyone else notice Bernie is our best FT shooter???
Isaac Liekele
Can’t help but feel bad for how his season ended. He clearly wasn’t right and/or had a mental block resulting from the injuries. First and foremost, get healed up and confident with himself, then he can get back to being Fran’s favorite “Linebacker PG”. My thoughts for him really haven’t changed from the end of last year. He has got to get some sort of shot going. Yes, he is a strong defender. Yes, he is a great rebounder; but man, he is a liability on offense at times as our spacing falls off a cliff when he is not playing PF. I didn’t by into all the talk about his improvement from 3 over the summer. Sure, he hit 44% from the arc this season, but NO ONE respected his shot there. Hell, he passed up so many wide-open chances, even in rhythm. It was maddening to watch. Also, FT shooting? Dude….
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe
Gosh he is going to be a great 4-year player here if he can settle down a bit. Such a springy athlete who, entertaining to me, seems to run like a deer on his toes. He really needs to develop some more B-Ball IQ so the game slows down for him. Seems like if he gets the ball, he is driving to the basket, hell or high water. And he is going in despite having worse handle than Lebryan Nash, who used to infuriate me when he would bring the ball all the way down the court and not pass. That said, work on his handle, like a LOT if he is going to continue to drive. That said, he should continue to drive since his springiness is a big asset. Putting on a few more pounds to help absorb that Big 12 contact will keep him healthier in the long run. O-yeah, free throws. As an annoying commercial said to us all night… Free. Free-free-free-free-free. If you are going to whirling dervish into the paint over and over, don’t hurt your team by being a huge liability at the charity stripe.
Rondel Walker
I think RW has huge potential but hit a freshman wall. His shot has been off for a month or so. Another poster in the game thread mentioned a brace of something on one of his fingers, so maybe that is the issue. Whatever AA did over the last summer, RW needs to emulate that. Weight room and 5-10 pounds of muscle. Tighten up the handle. Refine that outside shot. Film room so that game can slow down a bit more. Really good defender with great hops, but watching tape on AA and how he operates at that end of the floor will pay dividends. I’m excited for his future here.
Bryce Williams
I’m not sure what to say about BW since he is already a senior. He is an elite athlete and that translates to excellent defense. His outside shot is pretty good, but he can be streaky. Also, he has a lot of bone headed plays that result in turnovers. Maybe more film time and refining the three-point shot. I would say that if he is going to continue as the back-up PG in any manner, tightening up the handle would be prudent.
Donavan Williams
Don’t have enough game film on him to make a great list of things to work on. So lets say FT’s and the outside shot.
Cade Cunningham
LOL, riiight. IF IF IF he stayed, his high dribble needs work. I don’t think I can complain about his shooting at all. And his defense is solid when he is engaged. Other than that high slow dribble, he needs to jump on teams from the tip. I get that he a smart player who appears to let the game come to him, but as the best offensive player on the court I sure would like to see that dominance earlier.
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