Should Calhoun start at shooting guard......

[Calhoun's Court]

Worth a shot. While I don't think he is the answer-he is no worse than our other options.

The way that the second half unfolded that should have been Purvis's time to step it up-it didn't happen. More missed shots, turnovers and bad decisions from him.

He wasn't the sole reason we lost but he sure didn't help. I realize he has been hurt but it's starting to look like the hype wasn't warranted.

I hope I'm wrong. Would love to see the guy that we all thought we were getting show up.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Agree but against Florida we will have trouble even getting it to Omar on the other end without handling and passing. As you said nyc, give and take - 6 or one half dozen of the other! It will be a learning thrashing, er uh experience I mean.

It could get ugly, but if T-sam steps up we will be much better off as a team in the long run. I like him more than most on here, but we desperately need a second ball handler and he's our best chance. With Boat out don't be surprised if D-ham and Rodney see a little time at point.

 

[James]

maybe hamilton needs to play the 4 more. to incorporate calhoun . ollie needs to turn into d'antoni

 

[Gurleyman]

I dot really want to take away from Purvis. It's hard being efficient when you're the only person on the floor creating your own shot. Hamilton racked up boards, but aside from that was awful yesterday. He threw away several passes, shot the ball horribly, and of course we saw him in the closing seconds. He's a freshman. I'm glad Calhoun is looking productive, but this team needs someone to find their 3 point stroke or they'll fail to stretch the defense.

Awful is too strong a word. Uneven or mediocre, yes. But in addition to the boards, five assists on this team is pretty good - especially when you figure Brimah cost him two early by missing shots at the rim and Boat wasn't there to kick the ball to. His defense was good, save for the out of bounds play when he ran into Facey and took them both out. He obviously rebounded. He made some mistakes on offense (turnovers and passing up good looks to take worse ones), but so be it. He has a lot on his shoulders as a freshman, and I like the learning curve he's on early in his career.

And actually what we saw in the closing seconds was Purvis try to create his own shot and he couldn't do it - he had to throw a bailout pass to Hamilton to avoid getting it blocked and then the onus was on Hamilton, who gave a good fake to create space and at least got to the line. That was about the sixth time Purvis had to bail on a shot in midair with a "hot potato" pass, none of which resulted in turnovers but they bogged down possessions. One of our problems this year is precisely that Purvis has had trouble creating his own shot well from the 2 (his good days have mostly been knocking down shots on kickout passes) and he doesn't create for others. Hamilton can clearly do both - he's created dozens of his own midrange shots and has been our best guy at feeding the bigs. Would be nice if Hamilton could be third in the pecking order as a freshman getting his feet wet but he's had to be second. Which means you'll see some mistakes.

They both need to get better, and I'm sure they will. I definitely don't think we've seen all that either of them will be yet. But at this point, I feel like Hamilton needs to keep getting the basketball for some fine-tuning and experience, while Purvis seems better suited to a limited role depending on others to create shots (or driving lanes) for him. If Purvis becomes better than that as he gets more comfortable and can be a consistent creator himself, great. We can sure use that.

 

[djct1999]

Rodney put up a lot of points the last few games, and shot really well. I have no idea what Omar did that made you think he could do the same.

Couldn't agree more. I suppose I loved the energy and heart Omar showed on the floor, but he did nothing yesterday that suggests he is a better player and deserves more minutes than Rodney. Even the three that Omar hit, I was cursing the shot until of course it went in. From his hands, it looked like it had no chance. Again, Omar is an energy guy who can provide a spark off the bench. If he is our starting 2, this season will be in more trouble than it already feels.

 

[David 76]

I think the idea of replacing RP with OC shows how desperate we are. We desperately need a ball handler, Beyond desperate with Boat out. I think Omar can help the team more but I don't think he solves our ball handling guard woes. I think we have to get what we can from RP and TSam. Certainly more time for Omar. But the ball handler we need? I don't see it.

 

[tentoes4rings]

I agree Sam 2 has more handle, but I think Omar is playing with a lot more toughness and is a more versatile scorer. But like you said, there is give and take with all our players, so it's open for debate. I just think Sam is more of a one trick pony while Omar has been doing a lot more of the little things. If you're strength is shooting you sure as hell need be better than 21% from 3 and 27% from the field if you want to play around here.

The problem is Sam's one trick hasn't been a treat to watch. A shooter who is shooting under 20%.

 

[BoatShow]

I dot really want to take away from Purvis. It's hard being efficient when you're the only person on the floor creating your own shot.

Hamilton racked up boards, but aside from that was awful yesterday. He threw away several passes, shot the ball horribly, and of course we saw him in the closing seconds. He's a freshman.

I'm glad Calhoun is looking productive, but this team needs someone to find their 3 point stroke or they'll fail to stretch the defense.

Early in the game I was telling my buddy great Hamilton is because he can just grab boards and go coast to coast. Then in a key moment late he just straight up dribbled off his foot with no one pressuring him.

 

[Gurleyman]

Early in the game I was telling my buddy great Hamilton is because he can just grab boards and go coast to coast. Then in a key moment late he just straight up dribbled off his foot with no one pressuring him.

Someone reached in and tipped that off his leg, I thought, as he tried to dribble through a seam. I only saw it the one time live, so I won't vouch for my accuracy, but he was maneuvering through some defenders either way.

You're correct, though - he is great at it, even if one time it didn't work.

 

[BoatShow]

Someone reached in and tipped that off his leg, I thought, as he tried to dribble through a seam. I only saw it the one time live, so I won't vouch for my accuracy, but he was maneuvering through some defenders either way.

You're correct, though - he is great at it, even if one time it didn't work.

You might be right

 

[Danzz]

Couldn't agree more. I suppose I loved the energy and heart Omar showed on the floor, but he did nothing yesterday that suggests he is a better player and deserves more minutes than Rodney. Even the three that Omar hit, I was cursing the shot until of course it went in. From his hands, it looked like it had no chance. Again, Omar is an energy guy who can provide a spark off the bench. If he is our starting 2, this season will be in more trouble than it already feels.

"Shot really well"
I missed that.

 

[champs99and04]

I don't think you can start Calhoun at shooting guard. He's hardly played any shooting guard in his two years here, and given he struggles to stay in front of small forwards, it's probably not a great idea. Hopefully Purvis, Samuel, and Hamilton can man the brunt of the ball-handling duties better than they did yesterday. Maybe with a little extra notice they'll handle it better than they did being thrown into the fire.

I'm curious to see if a lineup featuring Purvis at point guard with Calhoun and Hamilton at the wing and Facey and Brimah up front could function with any degree of competency. The initial protest is, "no way in hell Purvis can handle the point", but I don't know how much worse he could be than what Samuel was yesterday - Purvis was basically the de facto point guard for most of crunch-time yesterday, and he's going to have a better chance succeeding in that role with Samuel on the bench.

 

[imno1]

I don't think you can start Calhoun at shooting guard. He's hardly played any shooting guard in his two years here, and given he struggles to stay in front of small forwards, it's probably not a great idea. Hopefully Purvis, Samuel, and Hamilton can man the brunt of the ball-handling duties better than they did yesterday. Maybe with a little extra notice they'll handle it better than they did being thrown into the fire.

I'm curious to see if a lineup featuring Purvis at point guard with Calhoun and Hamilton at the wing and Facey and Brimah up front could function with any degree of competency. The initial protest is, "no way in hell Purvis can handle the point", but I don't know how much worse he could be than what Samuel was yesterday - Purvis was basically the de facto point guard for most of crunch-time yesterday, and he's going to have a better chance succeeding in that role with Samuel on the bench.

Purvis at the point? The ball may never get over half court. Rodney still has good value to this team but I'll take my chances with Samuel at the point over Rodney if Boat is a no go. I expect Hamilton to have the ball in his hand a lot.