mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 512
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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11-15-10 10:50 AM - Post#88925
And I still don't know what to expect about this team, other than it is going to be a bumpy ride.
Groebe, Miles A-A and Coury all look like role players who don't have the all-around game to be starters -- at least without stars around them. Groebe can't handle the ball and brings little to the table but three point shooting; Miles and Coury have severely limited offensive games. Courtney is going to be tested to use them well.
With Wrobo and Scelfo out, Courtney was forced to used Wire as his #2 guy to handle Seton Hall's press. If that's not an indictment of the other guards, I don't know what is.
Peck remains an enigma. Cornell is better with him on the floor, but he can't stop fouling and he was awful against Albany. I don't want to worship at the cult of potential, but his play could well determine our season.
There were bright spots. Aaron Osgood looks like a legit post player; he's been Cornell best player after two games and it hasn't been close. Former Manager Johnathan Gray has been the Red's best guard so far. That isn't quite as bad as it sounds -- he was all Hillsborogh County (Tampa) in high school. Wire looks like a good fit with Courtney's system and may be our best (only?) offensive rebounder. Tarwater, Figini and Gatlin played well enough in limited roles that I'd like to see more of them. Matthews' play in garbage time yesterday was better than I expected.
There are some pieces on this team, I think. Not as many as Princeton, Harvard, and maybe Penn, but enough to be dangerous. But I still have no idea how this season will turn out.
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TheLine
Professor
Posts: 5597
Age: 60
Reg: 07-07-09
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11-15-10 11:04 AM - Post#88927
In response to mountainred
What's wrong with Wrobo?
From what I saw last year Peck has two areas he needs to work on. One, as you say, is that he is foul-prone. The other is that once he gets the ball on offense he either shoots or turns it over, he never passes the ball.
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Howard Gensler
Postdoc
Posts: 4141
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-15-10 11:05 AM - Post#88928
In response to mountainred
That's a pretty reasoned assessment. Did BRF ban you from his board?
In fairness, you won't know what you've got in terms of competing until Wroblewski returns. This early in the season it would be hard for anyone to lose seven seniors AND your best returning player and be anything other than a mess.
The emergence of Osgood, however, is astonishing - another case of an Ivy big man who hibernates for three years and puts up big numbers (at least at the start) as a senior. Next we'll see how he plays when teams start preparing for him.
How long is Wroblewski out?
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mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-15-10 11:15 AM - Post#88930
In response to Howard Gensler
From all reports Wrobo is day-to-day with a sprained ankle, they're just keeping him out as a cautionary measure.
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mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 512
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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11-15-10 03:58 PM - Post#88977
In response to mrjames
He could play on Wednesday, from what I've read in the IJ. No reason to play him on Sunday -- we weren't beating the Hall even with him -- and really no reason to risk him against Delaware. Much more important that he be healthy for league play than non-conference play, but that's fairly obvious.
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mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 512
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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11-15-10 04:18 PM - Post#88981
In response to Howard Gensler
Thanks Howard. I haven't been banned yet, but I have left a few posts that I'm not believing the hype on Ferry until I see something other than 19% shooting and 6 turnovers. So, we'll see.
The first half/second half split for Osgood is concerning; though he won't have a player the quality of Herb Pope guarding him very often. And the outside shooting shouldn't be that anemic once Wrobo returns. I think (hope?) he'll be fine so long as we have other legitimate options. If not, it won't matter anyway.
Osgood's emergence does give me a good feeling about the Cornell program in general. I'm used to Princeton and Penn having seniors emerge to become useful cogs of their machines. I don't remember it so much in Ithaca; though I'm sure someone here will correct me. Jacques and now maybe Osgood have me hopeful that Cornell's recruiting has reached a point that there really are good players sitting on the bench waiting for their chance to play. Which is what happens at schools that have good basketball programs and not just a really good team.
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IvyBballFan
Masters Student
Posts: 479
Age: 77
Loc: Central Florida
Reg: 11-19-09
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Re: Two games in
11-15-10 04:55 PM - Post#88987
In response to mountainred
Aaron Osgood looks like a legit post player; he's been Cornell's best player after two games and it hasn't been close.
I am not sure that Aaron Osgood is your best player, and it's certainly close if at all. Yes, 4R/16Pts/1.5A (on 77% FG shooting) is a mighty fine big man’s line. But let’s be sure to look past the scoring line here. Last year, Wittman scored the most points, but many fans admitted that on any night Louis Dale or Jeff Foote was the “best player,†even when Wittman was the leading scorer. Heck, even Wittman admitted it.
A strong case can be made that Adam Wire is your best player. The guy was a holy terror during his 12-15 minute stints the last couple seasons. Now, after two games this season, it looks as if he has bulked up and is capable of doing the same for twice as long each game. Pity the opposition. Nice line, too (except for points). 9RB/5A, 50% from the floor (within himself), 75% from the line, brings the ball up. He also does a lot of the dirty work that coaches and good fans see, but the scorekeeper doesn't.
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mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 512
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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Re: Two games in
11-15-10 05:12 PM - Post#88988
In response to IvyBballFan
Fair point, I probably did do a disservice to Adam Wire and engageed in a little hyperbole. Can I just blame BRF for teaching me that trick? How about this: thus far, Osgood has been Cornell's only depending scoring presence?
The thing about Wire is keeping him on the floor. His style leads to foul trouble -- 4 fouls in 23 minutes against the Hall.
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CUJacob
Senior
Posts: 353
Reg: 12-05-04
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11-19-10 11:27 PM - Post#89419
In response to mountainred
Real rough loss tonight; total no show by the frontcourt and some poor decisions down the stretch by the otherwise impressive Wroblewski.
Peck is the real concern for Cornell right now. The coaching staff has to figure out how to get some production from him. My theory is that he'd be way better as an undersized 4 than as a perimeter player like they are using him now, but who knows. Maybe he just isn't that good. I dunno. Osgood's shown some promise, but good frontlines have totally neutralized him in the last two games.
Cornell's D has been pretty decent so far, which is nice, since there are major issues on offense-- Wroblewski and Groebe (and sometimes Ferry) gunning the 3 is about all we have right now. Peck and Osgood need to provide something.
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mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 512
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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11-23-10 11:53 AM - Post#89618
In response to CUJacob
And now back to back tough losses. Pretty much every thing you said Jacob on Friday still applies after Monday.
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IvyBballFan
Masters Student
Posts: 479
Age: 77
Loc: Central Florida
Reg: 11-19-09
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11-24-10 01:36 AM - Post#89678
In response to mountainred
Real rough loss last night.
And now back-to-back tough losses.
Sure, Fri and Mon were definitely a couple tough losses. According to how their opposition has opened the season, Cornell, along with Penn, has booked the toughest non-conference schedule in the league.
Quality of opposition matters. There’s a pretty good chance that, in the midst of playing some decent ball and getting 10-11 guys a fair number of minutes, Cornell will be 2-6 in another eleven days. And, it’s very likely that they will end up with a losing pre-season record.
However, considering that many other Ivy clubs are tuning up with a bunch of bottom-half of D-1 teams, it’s just possible that Cornell will be among the best prepared to rumble come mid-January.
Between now and then, Big Red fans, not to mention the team and coaching staff, should remain patient and optimistic.
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mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 512
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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Two games in
11-24-10 11:07 AM - Post#89690
In response to IvyBballFan
I remain optimistic -- I fully expected this season to be a bumpy ride. New coach, new system, basically a new team. As long as everything gets sorted out by the league slate, I'm good.
Edited by mountainred on 11-24-10 11:07 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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