299 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

BSL: Terps Head to Cancun

http://baltimorespor...ps-head-cancun/

[bnickle]

It's early, but looks like we could have really used Sima. Starting at Rutgers and rebounding and blocking shots. The lack of a rim protector and rebounding from C is a big issue that wasn't expected.

[Mackus]

I don't really see rim protecting, interior defense, or rebounding as an issue yet.  Certainly not a big issue. 

 

We did get pushed around on the blocks against Georgetown, but I don't think that's going to become a trend.  Guess we'll see.  Certainly should have the size to get rebounds, I think a lot of the offensive boards we saw against Georgetown came over guys like Nickens and Sulaimon, rather than Carter or Dodd not boxing out.  Preferably everybody would be able to find their man and pin him behind, but if it's the guards struggling with that it's less of an issue than if the bigs aren't clearing.  I'm not too worried about defensive rebounding being a problem as we move forward, similar to how we've struggled at the FT line so far but I'm confident that will be an asset as we get going.

 

 

Turnovers and scoring against zone defense are the big issues I see so far.  I expect both to be solved, but need some work for sure.

[bnickle]

As Chris said, on ball defense is a big issue. If we had a rim protector to block or affect shots that would certainly help cover. In particular, Jake and Carter are playing the 3 at times and just can't hang with most wings. It sucks, we need to go small more often instead of big but we don't really have the wings or guards to do it. A lineup that includes Melo, Sulaimon, and Nickens leaves no one on the bench to cover the 1 or 2 spots.

[BaltBird 24]

We really need Brantley to become not a liability..... only having two or three true guards could become troublesome. 

[bnickle]

We really need Brantley to become not a liability..... only having two or three true guards could become troublesome.

It's already troublesome. No reason to believe Brantley will give us anything. Turge went to Varun over him the other night

[BSLChrisStoner]

Why is there no reason to believe Brantley can't develop into a usable back-up PG? There were plenty of people excited about his ability.

As I said in the article, it's on Turgeon to build him up over the course of the year.

[BSLZackKiesel]

It's already troublesome. No reason to believe Brantley will give us anything. Rutgers went to Varun over him the other night

Right, because we can obviously predict a player's entire career after watching him play 3 collegiate games. Give me a break.

[bnickle]

He's completely overwhelmed. Turge is not going to be going to him in conference play unless it's desperation.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Terps move up to #2 in the AP Poll.

[Mackus]

It's already troublesome. No reason to believe Brantley will give us anything. Rutgers went to Varun over him the other night

 

Varun only came in to try and give the team a spark.  Brantley played over Varun early, but struggled and was relegated to the bench for the rest of the night (same thing with Cheko).  Ram was called upon solely as a sort of wake up call, like Dean Smith putting in the 5 schlubs at the end of his bench when Carolina was playing half-assed. 

 

Agree that Brantley has looked completely overwhelmed.  Was hoping to see him get some more extended minutes against weak competition like Rider.  Not encouraging that he couldn't stay on the floor.  I don't think he gets many minutes in Cancun, as the competition should be even tougher, but maybe they try to get him some run if the first game is going well since it'll be tough for Melo, Sulaimon, and Nickens to play all the minutes on back-to-back nights.

 

It's really important to get Brantley comfortable and able to give a handful or two of minutes each night once conference play starts.  He hasn't shown anything promising yet during games, but he had a decent reputation coming in, so there has to be some hope that the game will slow down for him at some point.  We've only got another 5 games against what should be cupcakes before conference play (rest of the games are against solid teams), Jaylen is running out of time to get low-pressure minutes and get comfortable.  I would agree that if he doesn't start looking better before December ends that he's not going to get any run at all in conference play.

[bnickle]

It's just hard to envision it happening. Again, foul trouble or an injury and he'll be forced into action, but it's not going to be by choice. For the most part, Turge will have his rotation figured out in the next few weeks. He better show something quickly.

[Mackus]

Yes, he definitely needs to show something quickly.  Not good enough to just be practicing well (if he's even doing that).  We've got mostly big games through the UConn game on Dec 8, but then all cupcakes until league play starts (and we start with PSU, Northwestern, and Rutgers).  If he isn't contributing by then, he likely won't be all season unless something goes horribly wrong like you say. 

[BSLChrisStoner]

As I said in the article, Turgeon's use of Brantley in the Georgetown game was telling. Obviously Turgeon doesn't believe Brantley is ready to compete against that type of competition. 

But you can't give up on developing Brantley. Might be a full season long process, but getting him to a point where you're comfortable using him 5-10 minutes a game vs. anyone shouldn't be some unobtainable goal.

For that to happen, he has to protect the ball, create for others, and show he can play defense. Really hope that's not too much to ask for.

[Mackus]

Right now it's way too much to ask for.  But agree we need to try and find him some minutes to get comfortable during the remaining cupcake games.  If he hasn't gotten there by league play though, I don't think we can afford to really force him minutes against legit competition.

 

I can't recall someone looking as lost as Brantley has early on and then contributing in a meaningful way by the time conference play rolls around.  However, that's a pretty random thing to try and remember, so it could be a fairly common occurrence and we (I) just forget how lost the player looked early on once they start contributing effectively.

[bnickle]

You can, and Turge will, give up on developing him for this year at some point. I understand continuing to get him min against cupcakes and hoping that builds confidence and translates, but ultimately it means nothing until you show something against better competition.

[Mackus]

You can, and Turge will, give up on developing him for this year at some point. I understand continuing to get him min against cupcakes and hoping that builds confidence and translates, but ultimately it means nothing until you show something against better competition.

 

Him playing well against cupcakes would mean something at this point, in my opinion.  He's been really terrible against everybody so far, would be a solid step forward to see him play well even if it's just for 6-8 minutes against Cleveland State on Saturday.  Crawl, walk, run.  So far, he hasn't even crawled.

[NewMarketSean]

I don't currently get CBS Sports.

 

I may try to catch it at a bar but I am envisioning disaster trying to explain to a bartender which channel the game is on.

 

"Hey do you mind putting on the MD game? It's on CBS Sports."

 

"CBS? OK"

 

Turns on Big Bang Theory.

 

"Looks like it's not on, buddy."

 

"No, it's CBS SPORTS".

 

"But this IS CBS. No sports on right now."

 

Ugh.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I don't currently get CBS Sports.

I may try to catch it at a bar but I am envisioning disaster trying to explain to a bartender which channel the game is on.

"Hey do you mind putting on the MD game? It's on CBS Sports."

"CBS? OK"

Turns on Big Bang Theory.

"Looks like it's not on, buddy."

"No, it's CBS SPORTS".

"But this IS CBS. No sports on right now."

Ugh.

Just tell them channel 221 if, like 95% of bars, they have Directv.

Learning most of the major channels for DTV has been a life saver.

[Chris B]

Asking waitresses to change the channel at bars and them actually succeeding continues to be like searching for and finding the holy grail.