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Iona Scouting Report

Rico444

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We should kill them on the glass. We should get 15-20 OReb's and dominate them.

Also, if they are using their 7ft'er to start the press, we have to get the ball up quickly and just lob it up to Sanogo or Clingan.

If Andre is playing well then we should be in good shape. Getting the ball to him around the halfcourt line in the press is going to lead to a good shot for us the majority of the time.
 
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Is Iona similar to St Johns, but maybe a slightly worse shooting team?
Much more disciplined and structured. Not nearly as big & athletic as SJU.
 
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Great report as always :) You should send this to Kimani Young. He probably wouldn't read it, but give it a shot.

That being said, I’d put our worst defensive guard on JeanLouis and then I love the idea of Jackson shadowing Dannis Jenkins with Newton on Clayton: if these two are stymied then Iona will be neutralized in the halfcourt as Iona loves playing in transition of turnovers caused by their press.

This could be the key right here. Defense is always important for the Huskies, but if they can neutralize Iona with the half court D that means Iona can't set up their press as easily.

Another thing I noticed, too, from watching the Siena-Iona highlights (first game) was that Osborn Shenma had a lot of trouble with Jackson Stormo's muscle and was easy to seal down in the blocks. Getting Shenma in foul trouble looks like it would defang their full court press as their guards are shorter. If Nelly Junior Joseph is guarding Karaban that means NJJ won't be near the basket as much to help out with their deficient defensive rebounding. If Pitino decides to put Shenma on Karaban he could get some wide open 3s with off the ball screen action as Shenma is probably not used to defending at the 3 pt line in their half court D.
F it, thanks to you I just emailed Kimani! :)

I'm not expecting it to be even opened or read, but no harm no foul!
 
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i hope i don't eat my words here, but i think we can get enough good looks off of offensive rebounds and transition/semi-transition to negate whatever turnover concerns there might be.

someone with stats can contradict this, but i also really don't think we have been bad against the press this year. if we can get the ball across midcourt quickly, we'll be able to get open threes. plus, they won't even be able to set up their press if we don't let them score.

win lose or draw, i will be in the building, screaming like hell! let's go huskies!!
I think sanogo will get their big in early foul trouble with his shiftiness and bulk.
 
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Can’t set up a press if you don’t make baskets. Own the boards, lock up the perimeter, and this should be smooth sailing

We’ve let other teams dictate the playstyle and then tried to beat them at it all year. Let’s try to change that. If they want to press and get steals and slow the game down, we should try to be running them off the floor with our superior athletes and size. The only way they have a chance if is we try to beat them at their game.

Seems like they don’t really have depth. How about making them work hard on their press, and then throw in a press ourselves? Tire them out and then clobber them with Joey, Alleyne, and Clingan. Like we did OOC. Let’s make this a rough welcome for Pitino to the Big East.

Thank you as always!
 
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Our defense will be key to handling their press. They press fanatically after a make but get back after a miss.
 
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Basketball is simple and like Pitino said, "Basketball, because of the three point shot, it's a game of runs. Anything can happen with the 3 point shot. If you go cold from the 3, and the other team gets hot, and you control tempo, you turn them over, so many underdogs can win."
 

caw

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I assume Jeanlouis defends Hawkins. He’s athletic enough but hes also only 6’4 as opposed to Prospers 6’8.

Much closer to how PC defends UConn than Marquette I bet. Actually similar makeup though PC is a better team, IMO.
 

huskyharry

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I went back and re-watched Iona at New Mexico. Iona didn't press much because New Mexico's guards broke it easily and pushed ahead for scores.
In the half court on offense they ran a similar offense to ours with a lot of dribble handoffs around the perimeter.
On defense, if was almost exclusively 2-3 zone.
Close game but U New Mexico won. UNM had also beaten St. Mary's at Maryville the week before...interesting coincidence to have both teams in our pod
 
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F it, thanks to you I just emailed Kimani! :)

I'm not expecting it to be even opened or read, but no harm no foul!

Someone is going to be this year’s St. Peter’s. Is Iona capable of being that team?
 
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Something in Iona’s favor is turnovers. They take care of the ball, as evidenced by the fact that they are 21st in the country in fewest TOs per game out of 360+ teams.

And on the other hand, they force their opponents to turn the ball over, ranking 52nd in this department.
 
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Some advanced stats for their starters:
ionaRAPM.png


They have a very clear offensive top 3. Their PG Jenkins rates out as their best player in large part to his superior defense (and still good offense). Clayton and Junior Joseph rate out as superior offensively, but not as important defensively. Jenkins would rate out to be our 7th best player by RAPM, but he's the 5th best player from all low major teams.

Some nuggets from watching an hour of extended highlights and analytical play style inference about each player:

Scoring PG - Daniss Jenkins - Takes more mid-range jumpers and floaters than anyone on our team and actually hits them at a decent rate. He probably does that because he's a very poor finisher at the rim. Expect him to pull up, especially when Clingan is in the game. Because of this, he shoots a lot less FTs than a lead guard normally does. His assist rate is pretty strong, but not outstanding, on par with Newton. Protects the ball pretty well. Takes more off the dribble 3's by rate than anyone on our team (we're a heavy catch and shoot team).

Combo Guard - Walter Clayton - Has the best box score stats on the team and conference POTY. Sniper from beyond the arc, would be 2nd on our team in 3pt makes. Leads his conference in PRPG! (essentially efficiency adjusted by volume), around Trey Alexander-level. Good secondary playmaker and really takes care of the ball. Has the highest steal rate on the team. Very smooth handle with a bit of burst. Okay but not great finishing in the paint (and was pretty bad at the rim against top comp). One of the best FT shooters in the country.

Wing Forward - Berrick JeanLouis - About as large a role on offense as Karaban, but totally different player. Can't shoot. Physically reminds me of Sir'Jabari Rice of NMSU and now Texas. Good but not all world bounce, wiry but strong. Despite being a slasher-type, he doesn't really draw fouls, because he scores a lot of his points in transition. Based on reputation among their fans, I thought his Def-RAPM would be higher, but he does have a decent block rate.

Stretch Power Forward - Osborn Shema - Limited role in the offense. Spreads the court and takes 1/3 of his shots from 3 as a 7 footer, and also takes some midrange jumpers. Decent offensive rebounder when he's not at the arc. Only 220 lbs and vulnerable to get pushed around on the boards on the defensive end or to get out of position going for a block. Good, not great rim protector. Against good teams this year he was a bit of a turnover machine, but fine in the larger sample.

Center - Nelly Junior Joseph - He's shorter than Shema at 6'9ish, but operates much more like a traditional below the rim center. Has some faceup game and also a pivot post game, but almost everything ends up at the rim. A bit like a hybrid of Sanogo and RI Hurley guy Cyril Langevine. Part of their big 3, but is the one who played significantly worse against top 100 teams. For the season, he was a very strong rebounder and drew more fouls than anyone on the Huskies did this year, but did both significantly worse against better comp, especially in regards to drawing fouls and defensive rebounds (actually still got offensive rebounds at an elite clip). He protects the rim about as well as Shema, which gives them good coverage independent of defensive matchups.

Bench:
Their bench is pretty replacement level and doesn't get a ton of minutes. Michael Jefferson is a wing and can't shoot or finish. He's in for energy plays and some rebounding. Sadiku Ibine Ayo is similarly an athletic wing type, but with a bit more skill, although also can't really shoot. Anton Brookshire is a jitterbug guard that's a bit more involved in the offense as mostly a volume 3pt shooter.

Most intriguing matchup - They feature the same stretch 7' footer paired with bruising energy offensive rebounding PF/C of Xavier (Nunge/Hunter) that gave us a ton of trouble this year. But Shema is a lot worse in the post than Nunge, so I'd be interested in inverting our guys and having Karaban guard Shema and Sanogo take Junior Joseph. Might also be interesting to use double bigs in this matchup.

There's also no real natural player for Jackson to guard, since their guards are quick types, JeanLouis isn't impactful, and their 4 is more of a center. I assume he'll either take JeanLouis and play a bit of free safety or try to stick with one of the guards and let Hawkins rest a bit on D.
 
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Iona has a fantastic starting five and the 2 best bench players that were good enough to play are both out with injuries. the starting 5 will give UCONN a helluva game .
 
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Some advanced stats for their starters:
ionaRAPM.png


They have a very clear offensive top 3. Their PG Jenkins rates out as their best player in large part to his superior defense (and still good offense). Clayton and Junior Joseph rate out as superior offensively, but not as important defensively. Jenkins would rate out to be our 7th best player by RAPM, but he's the 5th best player from all low major teams.

Some nuggets from watching an hour of extended highlights and analytical play style inference about each player:

Scoring PG - Daniss Jenkins - Takes more mid-range jumpers and floaters than anyone on our team and actually hits them at a decent rate. He probably does that because he's a very poor finisher at the rim. Expect him to pull up, especially when Clingan is in the game. Because of this, he shoots a lot less FTs than a lead guard normally does. His assist rate is pretty strong, but not outstanding, on par with Newton. Protects the ball pretty well. Takes more off the dribble 3's by rate than anyone on our team (we're a heavy catch and shoot team).

Combo Guard - Walter Clayton - Has the best box score stats on the team and conference POTY. Sniper from beyond the arc, would be 2nd on our team in 3pt makes. Leads his conference in PRPG! (essentially efficiency adjusted by volume), around Trey Alexander-level. Good secondary playmaker and really takes care of the ball. Has the highest steal rate on the team. Very smooth handle with a bit of burst. Okay but not great finishing in the paint (and was pretty bad at the rim against top comp). One of the best FT shooters in the country.

Wing Forward - Berrick JeanLouis - About as large a role on offense as Karaban, but totally different player. Can't shoot. Physically reminds me of Sir'Jabari Rice of NMSU and now Texas. Good but not all world bounce, wiry but strong. Despite being a slasher-type, he doesn't really draw fouls, because he scores a lot of his points in transition. Based on reputation among their fans, I thought his Def-RAPM would be higher, but he does have a decent block rate.

Stretch Power Forward - Osborn Shema - Limited role in the offense. Spreads the court and takes 1/3 of his shots from 3 as a 7 footer, and also takes some midrange jumpers. Decent offensive rebounder when he's not at the arc. Only 220 lbs and vulnerable to get pushed around on the boards on the defensive end or to get out of position going for a block. Good, not great rim protector. Against good teams this year he was a bit of a turnover machine, but fine in the larger sample.

Center - Nelly Junior Joseph - He's shorter than Shema at 6'9ish, but operates much more like a traditional below the rim center. Has some faceup game and also a pivot post game, but almost everything ends up at the rim. A bit like a hybrid of Sanogo and RI Hurley guy Cyril Langevine. Part of their big 3, but is the one who played significantly worse against top 100 teams. For the season, he was a very strong rebounder and drew more fouls than anyone on the Huskies did this year, but did both significantly worse against better comp, especially in regards to drawing fouls and defensive rebounds (actually still got offensive rebounds at an elite clip). He protects the rim about as well as Shema, which gives them good coverage independent of defensive matchups.

Bench:
Their bench is pretty replacement level and doesn't get a ton of minutes. Michael Jefferson is a wing and can't shoot or finish. He's in for energy plays and some rebounding. Sadiku Ibine Ayo is similarly an athletic wing type, but with a bit more skill, although also can't really shoot. Anton Brookshire is a jitterbug guard that's a bit more involved in the offense as mostly a volume 3pt shooter.

Most intriguing matchup - They feature the same stretch 7' footer paired with bruising energy offensive rebounding PF/C of Xavier (Nunge/Hunter) that gave us a ton of trouble this year. But Shema is a lot worse in the post than Nunge, so I'd be interested in inverting our guys and having Karaban guard Shema and Sanogo take Junior Joseph. Might also be interesting to use double bigs in this matchup.

There's also no real natural player for Jackson to guard, since their guards are quick types, JeanLouis isn't impactful, and their 4 is more of a center. I assume he'll either take JeanLouis and play a bit of free safety or try to stick with one of the guards and let Hawkins rest a bit on D.
Why not put Jackson on Clayton?

Sanogo should guard NJJ.

Karaban, despite a height mismatch, shouldn't have a problem with Shema (dare them to run their offense through him).

Newton can take Jenkins and Hawkins can guard JeanLouis (not much of a scorer anyway, right?).

Alleyne can also come in to defend any of the guards.
 
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Why not put Jackson on Clayton?

Sanogo should guard NJJ.

Karaban, despite a height mismatch, shouldn't have a problem with Shema (dare them to run their offense through him).

Newton can take Jenkins and Hawkins can guard JeanLouis (not much of a scorer anyway, right?).

Alleyne can also come in to defend any of the guards.
Clayton is only 6'2" (if that), so Andre may struggle with his agility. But re-watching the highlights, Clayton is more smooth than quick, so I'm probably overstating Clayton's quickness. I'm guessing that's probably what Hurley will do.
 
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Some nuggets from watching an hour of extended highlights Wing Forward - Berrick JeanLouis - About as large a role on offense as Karaban, but totally different player. Can't shoot. Physically reminds me of Sir'Jabari Rice of NMSU and now Texas. Good but not all world bounce, wiry but strong. Despite being a slasher-type, he doesn't really draw fouls, because he scores a lot of his points in transition. Based on reputation among their fans, I thought his Def-RAPM would be higher, but he does have a decent b

Fun fact: Berrick Jean Louis started at NMSU and was teammates with Rice.
 
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Attack the rim! Dominate the boards and put-backs. UConn can run with anyone - its one of their biggest strengths. I hope we play fast.
 

dennismenace

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good call. Alleyne should get major minutes in this game. The doubling of the posts will leave 3 point shooters open as long as the perimeter players make it easy for Sanogo to pass out of the double teams. Also, if UConn can get the ball out of any traps on pick and rolls or anywhere else beyond the 3 point line they should look to attack 4-3, make them pay for doing it.
One would hope Alleyne should get minutes soon and often. Pitino used to shred us at Louisville with full court pressure. Wouldn't expect anything less from him since we have had mixed results against that and are committing foolish turnovers lately. We need to break their press, score quickly and then turn the tables on them. Dominating the boards is key. Ball control and heady play will be important so we need good minutes from Alleyne and Karaban; minimal mistakes from Jackson. A good game here would bolster our confidence going forward. Pitino is no day at the beach with any team. Not my favorite coach but definitely on the all worthy opponent coach list. I expect a barn burner.
 

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