First I've seen of him last night. There is a lot to like about his game. Hard to cover on the pick n pop. IMO he'll help us a lot
E Fitzner
- Thread starter chaboom
- Start date
Agree ..I was fairly impressed with him at H.H...
Has a good high release. .Looked comfortable already in Assembly Hall.
Has a good high release. .Looked comfortable already in Assembly Hall.
I could only listen to the game on Tunein but will watch the DVR of the replay. It sounded like Fitzner made some solid defensive plays as well as demonstrating his shooting skills.
This could be a better shooting team than I thought it would be. It may not be our guards shooting the 3 as much as they have in the past. Fitzner, Anderson, Hunter, and maybe Smith seem to be comfortable shooting 3s while Romeo and the guards can drive more to the basket and draw fouls.
It will be interesting to see how the offense comes around and who will be our best outside shooter.
This could be a better shooting team than I thought it would be. It may not be our guards shooting the 3 as much as they have in the past. Fitzner, Anderson, Hunter, and maybe Smith seem to be comfortable shooting 3s while Romeo and the guards can drive more to the basket and draw fouls.
It will be interesting to see how the offense comes around and who will be our best outside shooter.
I was surprised at how many threes they shot. Coach Miller just stated, and i'm paraphrasing, they are looking to get to the rim and get fouled. The stats turned out great, but it seemed like they settled more than I thought they would. If they can shoot it at a high rate, it's a great weapon. Just not what I expected against a smaller and less athletic team.
The biggest unexpected positive for me last night was the play of Phinisee. He looked fantastic -- especially for it being his first* collegiate game. It's not that I didn't expect him to be a good player. But it usually takes PGs a while to seem comfortable at the college level...I even remember that being the case with Yogi.
Damezi's outside shooting was -- obviously -- another bonus (as was Zach's... parking over there in the corner draining a couple baseline treys!).
As for Romeo, some of his drives to the basket -- his quick first step, and his ability to stretch past the defender -- were incredible. He didn't have a great night shooting the ball. But, yeah, his ability to do that is going to create.....a lot.
I can't wait to watch Phinisee. I know it is a DII opponent and it is only one data point, but he seems to be ahead of where Yogi was in his first game. I was wondering if someone that saw the game would compare the two players.
I hope he starts, having a big guy that can shoot the 3 opens up the lanes for driving and instantly makes Romeo, Smith, and Morgan all that much more effective. He is definitely one of the keys to improving an offense that was the main reason we struggled soo much last year. If we can get effective point guard play out of Green/Phinesee as well this team could be really fun to watch, and after that trainwreck last year that has to be something we're all hoping for. We know they're going to defend as Archie will demand it or they won't play. A far cry from the previous regime.
But he's not a 5 star. Did your account get hacked?
I remember being pretty frustrated with Yogi early in his freshman year. That might partly be that the expectations were so high. And I recall he was taking a lot of jumpers and not hitting many — I remember thinking “Either start hitting them or stop taking them until you find your stroke.” Well, he eventually found his stroke.
Last night, RP didn’t strike me as dynamic an athlete as Yogi. But he took very good care of the ball, made good and well-timed passes, and was a legit scoring threat. He also played terrific defense. The word I kept thinking of was “poised.”
I don’t want to make too much of one game — especially an exhibition game against an overmatched opponent. But Rob’s stock ticked up a few points for me last night.
I watched the game last night. IU had many shots 5 ft and closer. I thought it was a good mix of inside/out, as Archie likes to say.
Doesn't seem to have the handles Yogi did/does, but there are other ways of achieving the same ends. Less flash and better defense would seem like an upgrade if that is indeed how it plays out. But as you say, early days...
You mean he didn't over dribble the ball like Yogi did, doesn't stall it up as he looks for his own shot, is more focused on running the offense and is more into the fluid flow of the game?
I agree..
Not to put to fine a point on it or anything, but when you put it like that, yeah.
Check the recent get from UK:
Though the competition was sub-par and it makes it hard to gauge, he was impressive in a few notable ways. Always advancing the ball, doesn't stop it to gather or access what to do, already knows the play. My favorite part - especially after watching Yogi, Newkirk, Green - no wasted dribbling. Also played through contact on both ends of the court.
He’s not the type of player we need to compete for a national title, but we had a weakness in the frontcourt and he helps fill that hole. We’re better with him.
But I want to compete for titles. That’s why we’ll have to recruit better going forward. That’s not a knock against Archie. He’s just getting started. He knows to compete for titles he has to be an elite recruiter.
He has to recruit better than... what? His last class??
Great class. But not on the level of duke, Kansas, UK, etc. Archie knows that. It was his first class. Need to continue the momentum.
Ill take Phinesee every day over flash and turnover. Best PG play in over a year.
You are nuts. A class ranked that highly? I'd take it every year.
A lot of Green's turnovers last season were due to IU players not knowing how to catch a basketball.
Watch the Illinois in Champaign game if you want proof.
And which of those programs have won a title in the last 3 years? We'll do just fine with classes like that and they will enable us to compete for NC's if they are well balanced and address needs.
Green needs to reign in his play and quit going for the home run play and make the plays that need to be made. It's not even up for debate as he, his teammates and his Coach have recognized that and stated it in interviews. Last year was a very limited roster, so some of that may be true, but equally true is knowing your teammates, and their abilities, preferences and likes and getting them the ball when and where they can be successful.
Sorry, let me make my point more clearly for you: LAST YEAR'S CLASS IS EASILY ON PAR WITH NOVA'S AND UNC'S AND THEY'VE MANAGED TO WIN THE LAST 3 TITLES. WE'LL DO JUST FINE RECRUITING AT THE LEVEL WE DID LAST YEAR.
Villanova and UNC had multiple 5 stars on those teams. And they’re few and far between. Archie knows 3 and 4 stars don’t win titles. That’s why he’s going after so many 5s. Hopefully he lands them.
You're really just being a hopeless little bitch. You bitch at his recruiting when he brought in one of the best IU classes ever and best in the country in his first flippin year. Then you bitch that you want more 5* players (but oh yeah, not the ones who leave after one year, so you can stock a few like UNC and Nova did), and we're still in for 5-6 in next year's class by my count. Their rosters were also full of 3 and 4 star players too, but you're conveniently neglecting that. Give it a break and sit back and enjoy what Archie is doing and building. Oh yeah, and quit bitchin'!
I didn't go to or stream Thursday's game but I'm eager to see Phinisee play on Tuesday.
My comments after seeing him play last summer were generally that he seemed too tentative and deliberate and perhaps was too little/ not strong enough right now to drive to the basket effectively. Fischer's game commentary and postings of others as to Thursday's game tells me I may have been wrong or that he has since risen to the occasion -- I'll be happy either way.
I think Devonte Green is supposed to play on Tuesday too. Will be interesting to compare their playing styles.
Last year, in the Marian exhibition game, Green scored 22 points (9-14), 6 rebounds, seven assists (2 turnovers), and 2 blocks. I liked what I saw from Rob against USI, but exhibition games against DII talent isn't a great barometer.
Yes, remember how out of context it was when Yogi hit the winning basket at against Georgetown?
I’m not complaining at all. Said last year’s class was good. I said I’m not blaming Archie, he’s had one year.
And I’ve never said we only need 5 stars who stay multiple years. I’ve just said we need 5 stars. If they leave reload. And the more you have the easier it gets to reload.
Simple in theory, hard in practice. That’s why we pay Archie the big bucks.
- Nov 4, 2005
- 10,925
- 1,328
- 113
Villanova, from 2013 on, ie the classes that built their two championships, had zero top ten recruiting classes, and only 2 top 20 players.
Should Villanova lower Wright's pay?
You must not be very good with percentages.
Sure, you can win a championship with only two 5 stars on your team, but the percentages get better the more you have.
Let’s make it simpler. If you had a ticket in a raffle for the same prize...would you rather have 1 out of 10 total tickets or 1 out of 100?
Uhm, you must not be very good at percentages. Villanova has won two of the last three NCAA titles. That’s 66.66%. IU’s incoming class is rated higher than any of Villanova’s classes on those teams. Thus the incoming IU class is a class capable of winning a title. Not sure where the disconnect is with you. I think you just thrive off of negativity
Let's take this a step further.
Last year, Duke had an incredible freshman class. Some pundits were picking Coach K's crew to possibly go undefeated. Yet they didn't even get to the Final Four.
After the season, we found out from Wendell Carter's mom that they felt slighted when Marvin Bagley, Jr. was signed by Duke - Wendell was no longer the "showpiece".
Think Carter might have had his own agenda? One quote I remember from Brad Stevens was how important it was to have "everyone pulling in the same direction." I get how you want talented players, but when you're getting all the top 10-15 talents like Duke, UK, et al . . . you might also be getting baggage you don't want.
Let’s also take a look at how Villanova recruited since 2012 (original class toward their 2016 title)
RSCI Recruit Rankings
2012
Daniel Ochefu – T44
Ryan Arcidiacono - 55
2013
Kris Jenkins – 78
Josh Hart – 94 (selected 30th in 2017 NBA Draft)
2014
Phil Booth – T84
Mikal Bridges – 96 (selected 10th in 2018 NBA Draft)
2015
Jalen Brunson – 19 (selected 33rd in 2018 NBA Draft)
2016
Omari Spellman – 17 (selected 30th in 2018 NBA Draft)
2017
Jermaine Samuels – 45
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree – 74
Highest player was Spellman at #17. Yet, somehow, Jay Wright managed to win 2 of the last 3 National Championships. Damn shame he can't recruit any better . . .
