Streamers
Professor
Posts: 8257
Loc: NW Philadelphia
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-24-04 03:13 PM - Post#249
What do you make of this team? Are they the juggernaut that destroyed Quinnipiac and Drexel at home, or the cupcake that went to Providence and Wisconsin. Here is what I think we know so far:
1) This is a young emotional group. Prone to some big mood swings. They need to settle down a bit, but not too much. One banked 3 from Z was all it took to set them off.
2) They are as deep at forward as they are shallow in the backcourt. Teams that cannot matchup against the forwards are in trouble. Teams with a real clog-the-lane-demands a double-team center and a quality backcourt have an advantage. Penn MUST get some outside shooting from the forwards (Z? Fik? Heil?) to take the pressure off of Begs. Ibby should focus on beating guys off the dribble, if the 3 is there, fine, but not what he should be looking for. Defensively, Ibby is a major ballhawk and gets some blocks that are unreal from all angles. You can put him on anyone, but he is still learning the fine points. Oz, is having trouble staying in front of people. That is a matchup that can be exploited. If his shot does not come around, look for Kach (he is the real deal) to start taking minutes away, if not start outright once he learns to play D to Fran's satisfaction.
3) It may be an 8 man rotation now, but going to 10 would allow this team to run opponents off the court. That means Heil, Ebede, or maybe Whitehurst have to start inspiring some confidence. Memo to Fred: that wild flip into the lane last night did not help your cause. If last night told us anything, it is that these guys are more comfortable running than they are in half-court sets.
4) Last night was an aberration. 11-14 from 3?? outreboinding the opposition 47-26?? Do not count on that to happen much. Drexel just came unglued.
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