We Have a Problem at Point Guard

[imno1]

Fair point but they'd eat Gaffs breakfast, lunch and dinner in comparison. Give Cole credit he may not be Ricky Moore but he plays his man very tough and relentless without the super quickness of Ricky or Boat. He's kind of more like Bazz on man but not as good as an anticipator off his man. He did his job well last night and was really good against Zegs/Creighton too.

Funny that the report on Cole when he came here was he can score but not a great defender.

 

[mauconnfan]

Funny that the report on Cole when he came here was he can score but not a great defender.

I know huh? For now he's a solid defender, works really hard on that end for sure. A little concerned at his ability on offense as we expected he could make shots and for now he's not consistent there. Getting to the lane isn't easy for him, he's made a couple runners but he struggles getting to the rim for sure. I mean he's easily our best option until Gaffney gets better hence the title of this thread. Together they are good enough to "help" us win but if we had more from either of them we'd be even scarier. Waiting to see if one steps up eventually.

 

[Palatine]

It may take Cole a little longer to find his rhythm in the offense. PG has more facets than other positions. He has found a nice groove defensively. The offense should catch up over time.

A snap shot of Cole right now shows 9.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.2 turnovers and a steal plus, per game. Those are decent numbers. His shooting has been poor as he is 32% from the field overall and 34% from three. He's 81% from the foul line but his misses were catastrophic. But just watching him play, I believe there is upside to his offensive game.

Defining this as a "problem" is probably an overstatement.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I know huh? For now he's a solid defender, works really hard on that end for sure. A little concerned at his ability on offense as we expected he could make shots and for now he's not consistent there. Getting to the lane isn't easy for him, he's made a couple runners but he struggles getting to the rim for sure. I mean he's easily our best option until Gaffney gets better hence the title of this thread. Together they are good enough to "help" us win but if we had more from either of them we'd be even scarier. Waiting to see if one steps up eventually.

His defense has been a welcome surprise. He's short, but pretty strong. I think he has been impacted on the offensive end by playing against bigger guards than he likely faced in the past. I think Gilbert had the same problem. Six foot guards cannot rely on scoring at the rim in high major D1 hoops anymore. He needs to penetrate and dish, or hit pull-ups and floaters. He's a solid 3 point shooter despite the bad game against Marquette.

Gaffney can, and should get to the rim. He's good down there. His shot needs to be better, and he needs to execute his passes better.

 

[the Q]

Our PG’s are either passing it around the perimeter aimlessly or probing with the dribble and not really getting anywhere. I think they just need to be more aggressive.

Completely agree.

But their defense has been better than expected while the offense....has not

 

[mauconnfan]

His defense has been a welcome surprise. He's short, but pretty strong. I think he has been impacted on the offensive end by playing against bigger guards than he likely faced in the past. I think Gilbert had the same problem. Six foot guards cannot rely on scoring at the rim in high major D1 hoops anymore. He needs to penetrate and dish, or hit pull-ups and floaters. He's a solid 3 point shooter despite the bad game against Marquette.

Gaffney can, and should get to the rim. He's good down there. His shot needs to be better, and he needs to execute his passes better.

Agree on Cole just needs to pull up much like AG should have. AG's problem was he easily got past his guy as he was much quicker than either of these guys but many times he went way too deep. Again they should have learned from Boat who had a nice pulp 10-12 footer.

 

[Umami Zen]

Let's approach this a different way..What kind of productivity would you be satisfied with out of the PG position??.. Between RJ and JG.. On offense?? 20 pts/10 assists/5 RBs.. 3 TOs as an example?? If you can get some semblance of that kind of productivity on a game to game basis from their combined efforts.. Does it really matter about minutes??

RJ is never going to get any taller.. Most games he is a mismatch vs the other teams guards.. Not gonna change.. I think if he was letting the game come to him for occasional shots instead of getting doubled or in traffic with the Bigs..He could be effective as a third or fourth option on offense..His on ball D seems adequate..Bazz-like in his footwork..

Jalen has plenty of talent but seems to still be playing somewhat tentatively.. If he played looser. .Like Tyler Phommachanh was at Marquette.. Just having fun.. I think his results would be quite good. Neither are Alphas at this point in their careers..

So far.. We have a two-headed PG situation with neither player clearly demanding(through their superior play) more PT than the other.. We'll need them both to produce as the season goes on.

We're still 5-1.. And working on on-court chemistry.. It could be a lot worse..

 

[mauconnfan]

It may take Cole a little longer to find his rhythm in the offense. PG has more facets than other positions. He has found a nice groove defensively. The offense should catch up over time.

A snap shot of Cole right now shows 9.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.2 turnovers and a steal plus, per game. Those are decent numbers. His shooting has been poor as he is 32% from the field overall and 34% from three. He's 81% from the foul line but his misses were catastrophic. But just watching him play, I believe there is upside to his offensive game.

Defining this as a "problem" is probably an overstatement.

Agree he's fine with his numbers again minus the 2 FT's which won't go away quite yet. And while "problem" may be overstating the issue, it's an issue for us as Husky fans having had so many really good PGs over the years. I mean these 2 would be great if either were backing up Jalen Adams for instance, imagine that. But they are instead Craig Austrie (probably not as good), Donnell Beverly type players but are starting and playing huge minutes for a team who could use a stud in that spot. But at 5-1 early on we have a ways to go so let's see what happens.

 

[Kenny11]

Completely agree.

But their defense has been better than expected while the offense....has not

Cole has definitely been a better on-ball defender than I expected.

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Cole wasn’t exactly a prolific 3pt shooter at Howard. Was hoping he’d get better with a lower volume, but that hasn’t been the case so far. He needs to start driving more and not settle for contested floaters and 3s.

 

[imno1]

It may take Cole a little longer to find his rhythm in the offense. PG has more facets than other positions. He has found a nice groove defensively. The offense should catch up over time.

A snap shot of Cole right now shows 9.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.2 turnovers and a steal plus, per game. Those are decent numbers. His shooting has been poor as he is 32% from the field overall and 34% from three. He's 81% from the foul line but his misses were catastrophic. But just watching him play, I believe there is upside to his offensive game.

Defining this as a "problem" is probably an overstatement.

Unfortunately for RJ he's now playing for a school that has had so many exceptional points. He has not been great but we need to give him some time.

 

[the Q]

Unfortunately for RJ he's now playing for a school that has had so many exceptional points. He has not been great but we need to give him some time.

Plus we picked bones over him.

That’s the other comparison right now

 

[Umami Zen]

On D.. Once we get our shot-blocker back.. AA(combined with IW).. Provides a backstop if their man was to get around them. .I think you'll find there will be less concern about PG defense and more about their proficiency on the fast break off of blocks/TOs.. IMO.. One of their strengths.. Open floor effectiveness.. Let's get out and run..

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

Agree on Cole just needs to pull up much like AG should have. AG's problem was he easily got past his guy as he was much quicker than either of these guys but many times he went way too deep. Again they should have learned from Boat who had a nice pulp 10-12 footer.

Cole may be short, but he’s strong and quick. To me, he should be driving more and looking for contact / fouls.

Alterique was definitely much quicker and had an easier time getting separation. There were times his drives looked like completely horrible decisions (out of control, into like 3 huge guys), but don’t think his shot selection was too too bad other than that. His problem was just that his shot wasn’t falling. Don’t blame him after 3 shoulder surgeries and essentially 2 years of not playing.

What I do like about Cole is that he’s not playing us out of games, in that he realizes when he’s not shooting the ball well, and makes plays for the hot hand (ie. Bouknight, Martin, Polley last three games each). Also he is a good person to trust with the ball late in the game when we’re getting fouled (Creighton game was an anomaly 100%), that’s essential. Think he will keep getting opportunities, especially as we have played only 6 games and we also don’t have better options. Gaffney plays like more of a combo guard, not quite the pure point guard we need.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Let's approach this a different way..What kind of productivity would you be satisfied with out of the PG position??.. Between RJ and JG.. On offense?? 20 pts/10 assists/5 RBs.. 3 TOs as an example?? If you can get some semblance of that kind of productivity on a game to game basis from their combined efforts.. Does it really matter about minutes??

RJ is never going to get any taller.. Most games he is a mismatch vs the other teams guards.. Not gonna change.. I think if he was letting the game come to him for occasional shots instead of getting doubled or in traffic with the Bigs..He could be effective as a third or fourth option on offense..His on ball D seems adequate..Bazz-like in his footwork..

Jalen has plenty of talent but seems to still be playing somewhat tentatively.. If he played looser. .Like Tyler Phommachanh was at Marquette.. Just having fun.. I think his results would be quite good. Neither are Alphas at this point in their careers..

So far.. We have a two-headed PG situation with neither player clearly demanding(through their superior play) more PT than the other.. We'll need them both to produce as the season goes on.

We're still 5-1.. And working on on-court chemistry.. It could be a lot worse..

It's not just the raw numbers, it's the low shooting percentage and the high volume of shots needed to get to a combined 16 ppg. Plus, their total assists are low and that's more attributable to Gaff's assist numbers than Cole's.
I guess combined 17 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 TO's would be good averages. Would like to see their combined FG% get above 40% and 3PT FG% above 35%. Both are plenty good at the FT line (Yes, I know Cole choked on two of them).

 

[back2BE4us]

Taliek Brown is a great comp for Cole's intended stat line and role. Taliek put up around 7-9 ppg his whole career and wasn't known as a shooter. He did small things to help facilitate and keep cohesion for the other studs on the court. Same concept for Cole. Occasional 3 will be just a bonus but shouldn't be expected. And Gilbert last few years was a momentum killer, two completely opposite situations. If Cole puts up 8 ppg, 5 assists and plays great on-ball defense and limits mistakes then we could see overall success later on in the season as players develop.

 

[rip7774]

Taliek Brown is a great comp for Cole's intended stat line and role. Taliek put up around 7-9 ppg his whole career and wasn't known as a shooter. He did small things to help facilitate and keep cohesion for the other studs on the court. Same concept for Cole. Occasional 3 will be just a bonus but shouldn't be expected. And Gilbert last few years was a momentum killer, two completely opposite situations. If Cole puts up 8 ppg, 5 assists and plays great on-ball defense and limits mistakes then we could see overall success later on in the season as players develop.

Good points, I agree we don't need Shabazz or Kemba with this squad. But, Taliek was a jet getting it up the court quickly and could finish with his size. I miss the fast break. Cole has dad runner speed and plays well below the rim.

Because of that, I think Gaffney needs to play through it a bit more and we need to find
out if he's going to be a player for us or not. I think Cole can be a valuable piece, but he's been pretty disappointing compared to reports what he'd give us (secondary scorer, excellent passer from the GOAT JC). Give Gaffney some leash, esp in situations where we can get a lead. And drill into his head, there's no glory in playing small or scared.

 

[boog204]

Why is everyone so shocked at Cole's numbers?

At Howard - Fr Year 39/36/77 and Soph Year 41/39/82 on a terrible team against horrific competition. He put up big scoring #'s, by shooting a lot, while his team more often than not lost.

He comes here, plays significantly better comp, and is at 31/34/81. He's not a great athlete and his asst/to ratio at Howard was not very good. Yes, he averaged 6apg, but he had the ball in his hands ALL the time.

He's an okay player. I think most people were not blinded by the coach speak etc. with him as we've been through this before with Purvis, Majok, Deng, and others.

 

[MexicoHusky]

During the Marquette game the announcer mentioned that UCONN was Cole's dream school as a young kid. I didn't know that. I was a bit moved by it. Made me like Cole a bit more.

 

[Umami Zen]

It's not just the raw numbers, it's the low shooting percentage and the high volume of shots needed to get to a combined 16 ppg. Plus, their total assists are low and that's more attributable to Gaff's assist numbers than Cole's.
I guess combined 17 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 TO's would be good averages. Would like to see their combined FG% get above 40% and 3PT FG% above 35%. Both are plenty good at the FT line (Yes, I know Cole choked on two of them).

Don't disagree with your numbers.. Just think being satisfied with a range of production out of that position is what we're looking at this year.. Assist numbers can also be affected by the recipient of the pass.. Tyler Phommachanh is more of a catch and shoot guy (easier for an assist).. JB and TM like to create off of a pass by dribbling into a comfortable position before shooting ..( no assist possibility).. Generalizations of course..

Once ball movement improves and RJ/JG are receiving passes back from teammates(rotating the ball).. I think the opportunity for uncontested shots will go up and consequently their percentages will improve..

Good field goal shooters are usually very good FT shooters.. And they both seem comfortable at the Line..

I think RJ has been humbled a little bit with the quality of play from our opponents/BE.. Knows he has to turn it up a notch..

 

[NJHusky]

Cole may be short, but he’s strong and quick. To me, he should be driving more and looking for contact / fouls.

I think guys like Boat & AG were quick...Cole seems to me to be smart player that knows where to be on the court, but not quick enough to get past guys at will.

 

[pj]

It may take Cole a little longer to find his rhythm in the offense. PG has more facets than other positions. He has found a nice groove defensively. The offense should catch up over time.

A snap shot of Cole right now shows 9.7 points, 4.0 assists, 2.2 turnovers and a steal plus, per game. Those are decent numbers. His shooting has been poor as he is 32% from the field overall and 34% from three. He's 81% from the foul line but his misses were catastrophic. But just watching him play, I believe there is upside to his offensive game.

Defining this as a "problem" is probably an overstatement.

I like this take. Cole's biggest problem is building chemistry with his team. Virus stoppages haven't helped. I expect things will come together for him and he'll be seen as a quality PG before the season is over.

 

[Marat]

If people expected Cole to be 95% El-Amin, then they will be disappointed. I guess you can say he has similar height/build/speed as KEA did, but that's about it (for now). RJ needs the time to build chemistry with the others and get more games/reps in. I can see him improving his leadership, playmaking, and shooting as the season goes on. If he can be 75% El-Amin, that would be good enough for me.

 

[Waquoit]

Taliek Brown is a great comp for Cole's intended stat line and role. Taliek put up around 7-9 ppg his whole career and wasn't known as a shooter. He did small things to help facilitate and keep cohesion for the other studs on the court. Same concept for Cole. Occasional 3 will be just a bonus but shouldn't be expected. And Gilbert last few years was a momentum killer, two completely opposite situations. If Cole puts up 8 ppg, 5 assists and plays great on-ball defense and limits mistakes then we could see overall success later on in the season as players develop.

For Taliek, the occasional three-pointer came at the rate of one per year.

 

[Marat]

For Taliek, the occasional three-pointer came at the rate of one per year.

But that 30 ft heave in OT against Pitt (Big East Championship) was pretty big !