Let's get back on track

[Red Fox 5]

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of personal attacks between posters and arguments that have drifted off the subject of basketball. In addition there are many posters who have made some heavy accusations that are impossible to prove.

Going forward I would like to see us get back on the topic of basketball 100% of the time. The discussion and varying viewpoints on stay or go are legit b-ball discussions but please drop the personal attacks and the repetitive posts. Also, please make a post in only one thread, do not copy it into 2 or 3 other threads.

I do not want to start deleting posts, censoring or handing out temporary suspensions. It's never been done here...let's not start.

[ggaff]

Thanks RF5.........

[jgood]

Red Fox 5, great idea! Here is my take on the team and the future of the Red Foxes!
First off I will give my personal opinion on each individual player:

Menelik Watson- Watson clearly is out of shape, but he seems to be getting better. He needs to work on catching the ball cleanly because he has a tough time holding onto the ball. His game really is not a back to the basket player because from videos on youtube he has the ability to drive the ball to the basket and get fouled. Clearly by Martin making him put his back to the basket makes him less effective.

Peter Prinsloo- Prinsloo is just not ready this year as a basketball player. He has shown the ability to shoot the ball as a 6' 10 player which was similar to James Smith who was a 7' from the previous Marist team. Peter needs to also work on his hands like Watson because he seems to loose the ball to many times while going after rebounds and catching the ball from the guards when passed to him. I see an upside to his game if he can put on some muscle weight and keep working on his inside game. He will become an effective player in the coming years if he works on these particular parts of his game.

Adam Kemp- Adam has a very bright future ahead of him and he has shown that he can score the ball and grab rebounds. He has a wide body and can be a more effective scorer when he develops a counter to his hook shoot. When he develops a counter this will give opponents bigs headaches making them eventually double team him like we saw in a few previous games. This will open up Rusin, Hall, Prescott, and Morton next year when he arrives and joins the team. Adam is going to be a All-Conference player and he might be up for All-Rookie team this year.

Korey Bauer - I have been following Bauer since his freshmen year and his development wasn't what I expected. When he came to Marist his freshmen year Brady had him on the perimeter following in the steps of Shae McNamera. I think Bauer's game was a "Face Up" player, but when Martin came he put his back to the basket and I'm not sure if Bauer was ever comfortable in the Post. It's a shame to see his senior season be thrown out by Martin. He played well last year being the only Big Man for Marist, but many of the blogger's on here disagree. I think Brady brought him there to be 15-20 minute role player. Wish him the best of luck!

Devin Price - Its nice to see Price finally back in the lineup. I think Price is playing fairly well even though he hasn't played much this year. Martin buried him behind RJ although RJ was playing well he still should be getting minutes at the 1 and the 2 positions. Price has a nice 3 point shot and he has the ability to drive to the basket. His game has not improved much since last year, probably because he hasn't played many minutes this year. He needs to get a little stronger and work on pushing the ball harder up the court in transition which will benefit the shooters on the team.

RJ - RJ was having a great season and it seemed like he had finally found his game from Freshmen year. He played with a lot of intensity and seemed like a leader on the court when he was playing. But by him being academically ineligible completely crushed the team mentally and the chemistry. He pushed the ball hard every game up and down the court and made Marist offensive and defensive teams run hard up and down the court. One of his only issues was turnovers. He had to many turnovers in crucial times of the game. Hopefully he pulls it together and has a nice senior season because he is a heck of a player and I think he can lead the team.

Candon - Candon has been struggling this year. His shot has been off and he turns the ball over to many times. The missing piece of Candon's game is the ability to guard. He cannot seem to guard anybody. He leaves his feet on shot fakes all the time and never can keep his man in front of him. He has great intensity, but sometimes its to much for he himself to handle. I was hoping to see an improvement of Candon's ability to drive the ball to the basket this year, but he seems to not have added that part to his game yet. He needs to eliminate turnovers and be able to guard to play significant minutes next year.

Alexis Anell- Anel has a lot of potential, but he seems to be lost out there a lot. I'm not sure if he has trouble understanding the game or what, but he just seems lost. He has shown the ability to score the ball and he has a nice shot. On defense he seems to be able to guard, but seems to struggle a little bit. I can see him improving significantly over the summer. He is coming off an ACL injury from last year and maybe its taking him time to get a feel for the speed of the game. I think he is going to be a great player for this Marist team someday.

Jay Bowie- Jay has shown that he can score the ball and he has a very good 3 point shot. He also has shown that he can drive the ball hard to the basket and grab rebounds which is very important. It seemed to me that Martin started him at the 4 in the beginning of year and then moved him to the 3 when they started Kemp and Prinsloo (Watson) as well together. He is a very strong player and I think will be a great player when he becomes a better passer and makes better decisions on offense. He needs to develop his right hand so he can drive both left and right making him very difficult to guard.

Prescott - Sam is by far the best player on this Marist team. He has shown the ability to shoot 3's and score the ball. He is a difference maker because defenses must key in on Prescott which will open up some of the other players that are on the floor with him. One part of his game that needs a little improvement is his ability to drive the ball to the basket strong. He seems to shy away from contact whereas I think he can get fouled and get to the foul line more during games. Sitting Prescott down to start Prinsloo in the middle of the season why ridiculous and I just wanted to point that out to everybody. Martin needs to get him more shots during the game because he is there best scorer. When Morton comes next year, he and Prescott will be the key guys that teams are going to focus on making this Marist team very difficult to guard. Sam's only issue is going to come from his own head coach who continues to run that garbage "dribble drive" that doesn't work. He needs to run plays and offense that players like Prescott the ability to use his talents.

Dorvell Carter- Dorvell should have been playing his whole career with Marist. He has shown he can be a Key role player and contribute to this Marist team. He can rebound the ball and he can contribute points when needed. Although Dorvell is not the most athletic player he seems to know the game very well and hopefully he can finish out his senior year contributing like he has been the last few games.

What Marist needs to do to become a better team next year:

Chuck Martin or his replacement needs to do something about the offense. The Marist team has been struggling with scoring the ball because they run the "dribble drive". The dribble drive does not work with his players and he needs to change this. Also, the zone defense seems to be giving some teams problems, but he needs to know when to switch out of the zone when the opposing team is shooting well from behind the 3. Some of the players need to work on their hands and strength for next year that will help the Marist team out significantly. Martin needs to monitor all of the players grades all year long so that no player is academically ineligible. Martin also needs to stick with a core group of players and play them instead of trying 10 different lineups. He needs to find out what works with his players and he needs to stick with it. Individual improvement is key for the Red Foxes next year
because the Freshmen & Sophomore class will be the core group for the future of this Marist team.

I could continue to write, but this is just my take on players this year and what needs to happen for Marist to become a better team!

[petagay77]

Goodwin, you have way too much time on your hands but good to fair assessment of each players ... ;-)

[Red Fox 5]

Awesome player analysis jgood..I agree with most of it. Especially agree about needing to switch out of the zone on D occasionally.

I think Kemp is going to be a star. He seems to be improving steadily...saw him score a couple of new ways in the SPC game...drive left, head fake, up and under off glass...spin right into double team, stop, baby jumper over the D...also tried a turn around 6 footer which didn't go but was a solid attempt. I did not see Smits play here but I would say Kemp is at or ahead of Tomidy's level as a freshman.

[ggaff]

Nice write up jgood.. I think you are pretty much right on. I think Alexis and Watson can both turn out to be nice players if used effectively. The thing I worry about with him, Bowie, and Carter are minutes... I think they are rock solid with Kemp and Prescott. For significant improvement as a team, one or two of the others will have to step up in a consistent way. I do think Morton will make everyone better. I'm hoping for an immediate contributor with the last scholly.

[dewd]

I also agree with most of what jgood said! I am just not sure how the precious minutes will get spread around to keep everybody happy, especially with all of the quality guards there are/will be.

[Red Fox 5]

FYI...I closed the coaching thread cause there was not anything constructive going on and two posters got a short 1 day "time out"