TJ Buchanan

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

22 mins, 11 pts, 5 rebs - 4 offensive. I think that turf toe injury is fully healed.

Just because I'd love to start a firestorm debate...did he just earn a starting spot over Mike Powell?

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 11 years ago

I'll take the bait, Blue Man.

TJ played great yesterday, but I would say no he did not earn a starting spot and if he did, it should certainly not be over MikeP.

Despite some ball-handling issues, MikeP has in my opinion been the second most valuable player (behind Munford) for Rhody this year. He has struggled at times, but it's not easy playing 38 minutes a game as a teams only viable point guard.

I think going forward TJ should see 20-25 mins/game, as the primary back up whenever MikeP, Munford, or Andre need a breather.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 11 years ago

I thought TJ was more effective at PG than MikeP against VCU. At the very least he needs a few more minutes at PG next game to show that his performance was not a fluke. TJ is stronger than MikeP and more effective at protecting the ball against physical defenders, he is a better defender, and his additional height makes a difference against the press. So, BlueMan, I support your suggestion.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

No. Powell played 36 minutes bringing the ball up against all out full-court pressure, he needed more of a rest than 4 minutes but Hurley couldn't rest him because he's the only true ball handler on the team.

Andrew · Unread post by **Andrew** » 11 years ago

I don't think he should be starting, but 20-25 mins per game, especially if he's going to continue to improve as he has the past few games.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

I don't mean this to sound extreme after only 1 game...

but it really looks like Mike has maxed out his potential - I just don't see him being the starting ball-handler or decision maker next year...though at times he's looked capable, as many times he's looked equally incapable. An inability to bring the ball over the timeline cost us timeouts and turnovers. I don't care how old you are that shouldn't happen that often in a game. This is the 2nd home game in a row where back-to-back powell turnover plays resulted in huge swings for the other team in close games.

We aren't going to make a big splash in the a-10 tourney this year anyway, what would it hurt to give powell more of a rest and see what TJ can do from the starting spot?

Not that I see TJ as a point guard, because last night he certainly looked like the heir apparent to the 2 guard in the next few years when X graduates.

BFC · Unread post by **BFC** » 11 years ago

Shouldn't TJ become a true back-up point guard before he becomes a starting point guard? If Hurley had any confidence that TJ could be the primary ball handler, why would Powell only get 4 minutes of rest against that type of pressure?

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 11 years ago

I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 11 years ago

Why either or? Look at it as two capable sophmores improving. Essentially we have a three guard rotation between them and X. Maybe more minutes for T.J. now as his offense is coming around?

Andrew · Unread post by **Andrew** » 11 years ago

adam914 wrote:I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).

I'd put (no order) Munford, Malone, TJ all ahead of Nik in the rebounding dept. I don't think he's a particularly good rebounder at all.

RhodeIslandBred · Unread post by **RhodeIslandBred** » 11 years ago

Here's all I'd say about the ball handling while they only got one turnover from the HAVOC press, Mike Powell looked really uncomfortable bringing the ball over halfcourt. There were a multiple times when he could've just put his head down and picked up some fouls and got it across half court easily rather than trying to crossover dribble his way past half court sometimes having to throw up a pass before 10 seconds was called.
TJ shouldn't start over Mike, but I could see TJ getting some good minutes based on the defense he plays and even the offense he's found in the last few games.

EasyEdBrown · Unread post by **EasyEdBrown** » 11 years ago

adam914 wrote:I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).

Normally I wouldn't say this, but saying Nik is our best rebounder is laughably false. Aaman is our best overall rebounder (technique wise) and Hare/Brooks are better by numbers. Guard rebounding is a strange beast because it has less to do with hard work and technique and more to do with being well positioned after a long shot, but I have been impressed with Andre Malone's ability to read the rim as well.

But our best rebounder, in almost every sense of the word, is Mike Aaman.

RhodeIslandBred · Unread post by **RhodeIslandBred** » 11 years ago

As an aside Hare played terrible on defense in last nights game as we got picked apart on the inside. Going down the stretch i was hoping for Hurley to put in Ryan Brooks as at least he wouldn't be as vulnerable inside as Hare looked last night.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

No way TJ starts over Powell. He's no point guard.
I love how Powell getting ONE turnover in 41 minutes against St. Louis,
is totally forgotten.
Yes, he's has a couple of subpar games in a row, along with Munford.
He's stil the ONLY PG on the roster.
TJ isn't big enough to replace 6'7" Nik, either.
Every team needs a good sixth man, and on this team, TJ has become that man.
Oh, and Nik is our top rebounder stat-wise at 4.9, followed by Brooks amd Malone.
Aaman is fifth at 3.4.
VCU players went around Hare all night long. Our interior defense and offense is
non existant.

EasyEdBrown · Unread post by **EasyEdBrown** » 11 years ago

Nik is also playing 3x as many minutes as Aaman, and plays much more than Hare or Brooks individually.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 11 years ago

Ive always said this kid was good, jusst needed more playing time to build self confindence. SEE WHAT I MEAN

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

He plays that many minutes, because Dan Hurley wants and needs him to.
We don't have a real forward on this team.
Nik and Malone are really swingmen, asked to play the 3 and 4.
Aaman's play has been severely limited, because of injury problems.
When healthy, I think he should be the starting center.

EasyEdBrown · Unread post by **EasyEdBrown** » 11 years ago

I don't disagree with any of that. Only that Nik is our best rebounder.

Actually I do...I think in a perfect world, you have Powell - Munford - Malone - Aaman - Hare with Nik/TJ/Brooks rotating in liberally off the bench.

But I do agree with you that Aaman would be getting more PT if he were never concussed or sprained his ankle.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 11 years ago

His ball handling skills to start/run the half court offense are not enough to start over Mike. he/s coming along with his shot and currently offers a good of the bench role, but not at the point.

Keaney.Blue · Unread post by **Keaney.Blue** » 11 years ago

EasyEdBrown wrote:
adam914 wrote:I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).
Normally I wouldn't say this, but saying Nik is our best rebounder is laughably false. Aaman is our best overall rebounder (technique wise) and Hare/Brooks are better by numbers. Guard rebounding is a strange beast because it has less to do with hard work and technique and more to do with being well positioned after a long shot, but I have been impressed with Andre Malone's ability to read the rim as well.

But our best rebounder, in almost every sense of the word, is Mike Aaman.

Nik being our best rebounder is laughably false? Hare/Brooks are better by the numbers? Look at the statistics, Nik averages the most rebounds per game at 4.9.

If you're trying to break down their numbers, Mike and Ryan have the highest rebounds/min numbers. Granted, if they were to play 30+ mins/game their rate would invariably go down. However for the sake of comparison here are the figures below:

Min/G Rebs/G Reb/Min Rebs/40 Mins
Mike Aaman 12.4 3.4 0.274193548 10.96774194
Ryan Brooks 16.5 4.3 0.260606061 10.42424242
Nikola Malesevic 30.6 4.9 0.160130719 6.405228758
Andre Malone 33.4 4.5 0.134730539 5.389221557
Jordan Hare 20.5 3.9 0.190243902 7.609756098

*Jordan has surprisingly low reb/min numbers. No 6' 10" player should ever be under .20/min, especially one with his athletic ability and motor.
*As expected Mike is our best reb/40 min player

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 11 years ago

Andrew wrote:
adam914 wrote:I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).
I'd put (no order) Munford, Malone, TJ all ahead of Nik in the rebounding dept. I don't think he's a particularly good rebounder at all.

And thats exactly the problem, he leads our team in rebounds.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 11 years ago

EasyEdBrown wrote:
adam914 wrote:I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).
Normally I wouldn't say this, but saying Nik is our best rebounder is laughably false. Aaman is our best overall rebounder (technique wise) and Hare/Brooks are better by numbers. Guard rebounding is a strange beast because it has less to do with hard work and technique and more to do with being well positioned after a long shot, but I have been impressed with Andre Malone's ability to read the rim as well.

But our best rebounder, in almost every sense of the word, is Mike Aaman.

Maybe the use of the word "best" was not wise. He is our LEADING rebounder. I agree it is laughable, but not because it is false, but because it is very true.

RAM67 · Unread post by **RAM67** » 11 years ago

In defense of Mike, once Hare gave him the inbound, he was all alone with sometimes up 2-3 defenders on him. He is by far our best ball handler, but the pressure last night was really intense.

RhodeIslandBred · Unread post by **RhodeIslandBred** » 11 years ago

They need to stop handing him the ball in the corner to prevent the traps from being effective.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 11 years ago

TJ had a nice game with some nice numbers. He also had only one assist in those 22 minutes. He's not a PG.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 11 years ago

Sometimes I feel like I am in some kind of bizarro world. This is one of them. The fact that some of you are looking to sit down the second best player on the team who is only a sophomore to play the 7th best player on the team who is also a sophomore and a role player shows how little some of you know about basketball. I'm actually embarrassed to read this thread.

Also, just because we have a highly recruited pg coming in next year doesn't mean you start kicking players off the team. The more good players the better. Mike is a real pg who will have much more experience next year and will def be a huge part of the team even if EC Mathews comes in and years it up which I hope he does. There will be time for everyone just like every other division one basketball team in the country.

Oh and the reason mike might not have looked comfortable against that press is....did you see that press??!!! VCU runs a textbook full court press they are really all over the place not many other teams out there will look like that.

Some of you people amaze me though. I don't even want to feel like I'm bashing TJ because I'm not but I feel like a lot of you miss all the good things mike does while he's playing 40 mins a game with the ball in his hand the whole time and praise the guy who hit a one open jumpshot and drove to the basket once and scored. It's the craziest thing I've ever seen. Now I'm on here talking down TJ because of you and feel like a bad fan too. Thanks for ruining my Thursday. Did rod make the shot I missed it?

Ramulous · Unread post by **Ramulous** » 11 years ago

I would like to see mike on a team with good rebounders who can get him the ball in transition and then see his point skills......

....getting the ball out of bounds after made baskets make it difficult to assess against a team like VCU....

EasyEdBrown · Unread post by **EasyEdBrown** » 11 years ago

adam914 wrote:
EasyEdBrown wrote:
adam914 wrote:I love TJ and he played really well yesterday, but no way should he be starting over Powell right now. If you want to start him over anybody I would say Nik, but thats not really possible either since Nik is playing the 4 and is our best rebounder (which is scary in its own right).
Normally I wouldn't say this, but saying Nik is our best rebounder is laughably false. Aaman is our best overall rebounder (technique wise) and Hare/Brooks are better by numbers. Guard rebounding is a strange beast because it has less to do with hard work and technique and more to do with being well positioned after a long shot, but I have been impressed with Andre Malone's ability to read the rim as well.

But our best rebounder, in almost every sense of the word, is Mike Aaman.
Maybe the use of the word "best" was not wise. He is our LEADING rebounder. I agree it is laughable, but not because it is false, but because it is very true.

Absolutely. Makes me miss ARD all the more.

Unread post by **SGreenwell** » 11 years ago

I agree with most of Lurker's sentiments. If TJ was the primary ballhandler against VCU, he probably would have had about 10 turnovers. As is, he had three in 22 minutes, even though he was at-most the primary ballhandler for four minutes. In contrast, Powell had four turnovers in 36 minutes, serving as the only true point on the roster in that time.

As far as the rebounding debate, Aaman is probably the team's best guy on the boards, but you run into chicken-egg problems with him. He would lead the team rebounding if he could play more minutes, but he can't play more minutes for health, conditioning and skill limitations. Hare doesn't have great hands unless it's a dunk, which shows up throughout his game - trouble making shots beyond five feet, fumbles away passes (three turnovers last night), trouble securing rebounds and instead tips them into the hoop, etc. Malesevic plays more minutes than those two, which is probably why he leads the team in raw rebounding per game, but his whole game is so maddeningly inconsistent that I doubt anyone would consider him really good at it.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 11 years ago

In his pre-game radio interview DH did say that TJ was the best pure passer on the team. However, in general I agree with the POV of 15yearlurker. TJ is not a PG. And for all those who think EC is going to tear it up immediately you should really table those hopes. Kris Dunn was a Top 20 player and he is a role player at PC in his first season. Even if he didn't have Council and Cotton in front of him to handlethe ball handling duties, he still would not be tearing it up. He has taken a lot of ill advised shots and made many a dumb pass, because that's what FR do. The jump from HS to College is a big one, and even the best FR will take time to adjust to the speed and size difference. If EC is as advertised he will come in and put up 10 pts and 5 assists, that would be success. Roughly what we get out of Mike Powell rt now. I am not saying MP is the second coming, in fact I think because he is not a natural PG he lacks the court awareness and ability to make those around him better that a true PG should possess, but he does a pretty good job with the cards he has been dealt. For 2 seasons he has handled all the ball handling duties on a team with limited offensive weapons.

If TJ was a better PG than MP I have a feeling someone like Bobby Hurley, rather than a poster on this board, might have figured that out. And if Jordan Hare could handle 10 touches in the post with his back to the basket I am sure we would feed him the ball.

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Agree 100% with Lurker and BAR.
Please, get a grip and realize that while Powell has limitations, he's
worked very hard to negate his bad habits, and has done a good job.
Lurker, I hit a shot from the far baseline and won a trip to Central Falls.

ballallday · Unread post by **ballallday** » 11 years ago

I laugh so hard at many of you who chose to
point the finger and blame "anyone this year".
Also, the "we love our team" reason is crap.
Heck everyone loves there team.

If I wasn't Mike Powell's dad, I would still watch this team
play. The effort is there primarily every game. Sometimes
you are simply out manned in team sports.

This team is in transition this year and I for one love what
Mike and TJ both are doing in only their second year. It
appears to me that some of you think this D1 game is easy.
Next year with a deeper more talented team you will see
two juniors playing better and adding value to the NCAA march.

BTW, for someone to suggest a 19 year old has reached
his peak, especially how hard we work, is incredibly funny.

You can tell a lot from what comes out of a person's mouth.
Well, In this case, what a person writes. Hope to see ya soon Rhody

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 11 years ago

rodfromcranston wrote:Agree 100% with Lurker and BAR.
Please, get a grip and realize that while Powell has limitations, he's
worked very hard to negate his bad habits, and has done a good job.
Lurker, I hit a shot from the far baseline and won a trip to Central Falls.

Haha...can you give that prize back?

rodfromcranston · Unread post by **rodfromcranston** » 11 years ago

Second prize was a trip to Brockton.

Unread post by **ATPTourFan** » 11 years ago

Third was a trip to the corner of Eaton and Pinehurst.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 11 years ago

I like Powell, and I respect how tough he is and how hard he works. But while he's had some good games this year I'm still not convinced he'll ever be better than good. Next year he'll be better because he'll be with better players, but a great PG makes everyone around them better and I haven't seen that with Mike. Basically, he's too often unable to overcome his lack of size. That's evident when he gets in the paint and can't find teammates to pass to. And his lack of size was a real factor against the VCU press. URI did a better job getting across half court when Munford or TJ had the ball.
As for TJ, he's not a PG or a SG, which makes him a solid role player off the bench. I love the way he's playing but he's not a starting PG and he's not going to take Munford's place when X graduates.

ballallday · Unread post by **ballallday** » 11 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote:I like Powell, and I respect how tough he is and how hard he works. But while he's had some good games this year I'm still not convinced he'll ever be better than good. Next year he'll be better because he'll be with better players, but a great PG makes everyone around them better and I haven't seen that with Mike. Basically, he's too often unable to overcome his lack of size. That's evident when he gets in the paint and can't find teammates to pass to. And his lack of size was a real factor against the VCU press. URI did a better job getting across half court when Munford or TJ had the ball.
As for TJ, he's not a PG or a SG, which makes him a solid role player off the bench. I love the way he's playing but he's not a starting PG and he's not going to take Munford's place when X graduates.

Iggy:

Mike being a great PG? Hmmmmm.... is that
the new standard for RhodeIsland now? Great?
If it is, you may be on to something.

Mike being really good and helping this team to a
winning season and a birth to the NCAA? I'll
take that bet any day of the week.

VCU traps really well and causes turn overs for many teams.
Here are a few stats from other VCU games in 2013. VCU plays
folks tough, with the exception of Carl Jones.

VCU vs URI: Team 18 TO's PG - 5'-11" Mike Powell (36min 6ast. 6pts. 4 To's)

VCU vs Dayton: Team 26 TO's, PG - 6'-1" Kevin Dilliard (34 min 1 ast. 17 pts 7 To's)
VCU vs Lehigh: Team 22 TO's, PG - 6'-0" Mackey McKnight (6 to'S)
VCU vs Alabama: Team 18 TO's, PG - 6'-0" Trevor Releford ( 29 min 1 ast. 9pts 1to)
VCU vs St. Joseph: Team 20 TO's PG - 5'-11" Carl Jones (35 min 5 ast. 21pts 2to's)

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 11 years ago

I actually think the added players brought in next year has the potential to really help Mike. I'm not sure any team wants their PG having to play 36-38 minutes a game (unless you are Bobby Hurley maybe). The experience he is gaining this year, along with the ability to not have the pressure that comes with being a PG on you every minute of every game can only help in my opinion.

Like someone else stated earlier, I think we all need to temper expectations if we are thinking EC will come in here and take over from day one.

Dunn was also mentioned, and even Marcus Paige who was the top PG recruit is playing 27 minutes a game for UNC and shooting 31% with 4.5 assists to 2.5 turnovers.

We need Mike in a big way, it'll just be nice to have some depth at the position.

Plyuri02 · Unread post by **Plyuri02** » 11 years ago

That press last night was crazy! Every dude on that team has size and length. The fact we didn't have more TOs and 10 second violations against a squad like that is a testament to Mike's ball handling. Is he Stockton, no, but he's 19 and with Pmurph and Bobby running him at practice, his best days are in front of him. If anything I'm sick of Nik disappearing! I do agree with some of the posters, TJ has impressed me, especially the last 2 games. Go Rhody!

gene1052 · Unread post by **gene1052** » 11 years ago

What do most of you think we will see from Mike Aaman in the future. To me he reminds me of Shingalla from last year

Optimistic · Unread post by **Optimistic** » 11 years ago

Aaman is no stud but comparing him to Shengelia is an insult.

gene1052 · Unread post by **gene1052** » 11 years ago

Both are like a bull in a china closet

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 11 years ago

Some on this thread including me question whether MikeP is capable of being the starting PG for an NCAA tournament team in two years. That is my gold standard. If we are right, then we need to look elsewhere sooner rather than later for such a PG. TJ hasn't shown us yet that he can be that player but he has been injured and is now returning to good health..

TJ reminds me of Howie Smith who despite his size played some PF and SF before becoming a good PG who couldn't score but excelled at ball-handling and defense. All I'm saying short-term is that TJ should get more minute at PG. This will also give MikeP some rest which others believe is needed for him to play more consistently.

MikeP's problem isn't shown by As and TOs. He is unable to get us into our half-court offense and get off good shots. He is not making good decisions when the shot clock is expiring and is a major culprit in getting us into these situations in the first place bu allowing defenses time to recover.

All our players can look good when we are playing inferior competition. The VCU game showed us how players stack up against an NCAA tournament team.

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 11 years ago

Yes. Great is the new standard. URI fans have already seen good and that didn't cut it. If Mike can lead URI into the tournament that would be great. The only opinion on Mike that counts is Hurleys

sf2010 · Unread post by **sf2010** » 11 years ago

Rhody72 wrote: TJ reminds me of Howie Smith who despite his size played some PF and SF before becoming a good PG who couldn't score but excelled at ball-handling and defense.

I don't recall Howie ever playing anything besides point guard because he couldn't score. He certainly never was in a lineup intended to be a PF or SF. He had a solid senior year, but before that was mediocre at best for three years.

Also, regarding "not being able to get us into our half-court offense," what half-court offense?

When watching a smoothly functioning half-court offense, I notice how dependent it is on having skilled players who can handle the ball and fill a useful role consistently. As we have reiterated ad nauseum and seen first-hand this year, offensive skill is not something that this current Rhody team possesses. Therefore, I think that getting the team into their half-court offense is a lot easier said than done.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 11 years ago

The Dude wrote:I'm not really concerned about TJ. He's not a defensive liability. I think the offensive part of his game will develop as the season goes on. He's way behind the rest of the team in terms of development because of the injury. There are good point guards that aren't the biggest offensive threats. Rondo was never much of an offensive threat in his first few years with the Celtics, but he was great at creating opportunities for everyone else on the team. Now I'm not saying TJ is Rondo, but as long as TJ plays well on defense, doesn't turn the ball over and learns to distribute the ball well to his teammates I'll be perfectly happy with him as a point guard. He's a nice compliment to Powell. Powell is a smaller, quicker and currently more of a scorer. TJ is has more size, can't get bumped off the ball easily and is a force on defense. I like the one two punch Powell and TJ offer. It will be hard for teams to create a mismatch at the point guard position with these two on the team.

The Dude wrote:SMU in 20 minutes
0-2 FG
0-1 3pt

GSU in 15 minutes
1-2 FG

SMU in 14 minutes
2-2 FG

It appears he's making slow progress after coming off his injury. I think he'll continue to improve as the season goes on.

The Dude wrote:I agree with Blue Man. TJ appears to be playing within his comfort zone right now. He doesn't appear to be trying to do too much. Players can build confidence from a number of things in a game. You can gain confidence by playing good defense or by contributing to the team in other areas. The confidence from other aspects of a person's game can slowly help a person to take steps towards becoming more confident on offense. In my opinion, TJ seems to be taking things one step at a time. One of the most difficult things to do is to regain confidence in your body...meaning when you come off an injury. TJ was injured for a good portion of the beginning of the season. His first couple games back you could tell by the way he was moving (somewhat awkwardly) that he wasn't 100% but was good enough to eat up some minutes.
Soccer and Basketball are very different sports, but both require quick foot movement and they're demanding on the lower body, if you consider all the cuts, fast breaks and side-to-side lateral movement they require. I've been playing indoor soccer with a bum ankle that I rolled a couple weeks ago. I played last night and had one assist. I typically average 3 goals when healthy. The point is even if you're healthy enough to play it takes even longer for the mind to get comfortable (so a person no longer thinks they are going to re-injure it). Until then people tend to move a little differently, or favor the formally injured area, or have a so called "hitch in their giddy up".
After watching TJ play with the team last year and after watching the games this season, it looked to me like he was moving more fluidly on the court during the Brown game, which is generally a sign of a person no longer thinking about their body or injury and simply moving and reacting like a healthy person. In the games prior, it appeared to me that his stride was slightly awkward. This is my take on things.
I see TJ improving throughout the season.

SAY WHAT! NO WAY!....GET OUTTA TOWN! Who would've thought TJ would emerge as a decent player on offense and defense?
PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:02 pm "I think the offensive part of his game will develop as the season goes on." - The Dude

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

(normally above the whole shameless self promotion thing...but had to...just once...haha.)

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 11 years ago

Nice to see TJ coming on, a great asset off the bench and his minutes are increasing

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 11 years ago

Rhody72 wrote:Some on this thread including me question whether MikeP is capable of being the starting PG for an NCAA tournament team in two years. That is my gold standard. If we are right, then we need to look elsewhere sooner rather than later for such a PG. TJ hasn't shown us yet that he can be that player but he has been injured and is now returning to good health..

TJ reminds me of Howie Smith who despite his size played some PF and SF before becoming a good PG who couldn't score but excelled at ball-handling and defense. All I'm saying short-term is that TJ should get more minute at PG. This will also give MikeP some rest which others believe is needed for him to play more consistently.

MikeP's problem isn't shown by As and TOs. He is unable to get us into our half-court offense and get off good shots. He is not making good decisions when the shot clock is expiring and is a major culprit in getting us into these situations in the first place bu allowing defenses time to recover.

All our players can look good when we are playing inferior competition. The VCU game showed us how players stack up against an NCAA tournament team.

Howard Smith played power forward? Now I have heard it all. Howard became a pretty good pass first point guard in his senior year. Do you remember him as a freshman? Mike has surpassed him and is only a sophomore and will provide the upperclassman leadership this team needs
When they are an NCAA tourney team.

And the next time someone says mike aaman reminds them of Shengalia I will go on a hunger strike. Mike aaman is playing better than almost every freshman forward I can remember in the last ten years with the exception of holton. When was the last time we had a low post player know how to do a low post move besides Jonathan? (This is where someone is going to come in and talk about how good Dominique McCoy was)

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 11 years ago

As much of a troll post as that was...I'm actually starting to buy into some of what I said.

Really the point I'm trying to make is why not just see what happens with a different starter for a game or two?

They'll both be here next year, why not see what can happen when there really aren't any consequences this year? I think no matter how bad Mike plays this year, he's head and shoulders better than he was last year. But just because you're coached by Bobby Hurley doesn't mean you'll become Bobby Hurley.

And I'm probably wrong, and players make huge jumps during their careers, but the freshman/soph jump is usually the biggest. I am very confident he'll get better moving forward, especially with how hard he's been working and who our coaches are, but not THAT much better.

I just don't see him as the starter moving forward. I see him as a key role guy and ballhandler to give a rest to whoever the starter is - but I don't see him as more than a 15 min/game guy. He's not the guy I want handling the ball in pressure situations with the game on the line.

All I'm saying is why not try something different just to see?

PS - The similarities between Aaman start and stop at effort and hustle. They both are animals in those categories. Aaman is a world away in terms of skill and potential though.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 11 years ago

Um because if you try something different we will lose by 50. They're doing a great job being competitive with a team that was decimated.

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