10Q
Professor
Posts: 23199
Loc: Suburban Philly
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-28-18 05:42 PM - Post#267397
I haven't looked at the stats, but to my eye, he doesn't look all that much better now than he was as a freshman. Of course, he was a revelation as a freshman. I just am hoping that he will continue to improve, to the point where he can be more dominant. Maybe I'm asking for too much.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32685
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Has Brodeur Improved? 11-28-18 05:45 PM - Post#267399
In response to 10Q
I think you're correct in that his scoring is down and his shooting percentage is down--missing far too many bunnies. But he's getting his shots. I think he'll be fine.
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10Q
Professor
Posts: 23199
Loc: Suburban Philly
Reg: 11-21-04
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Has Brodeur Improved? 11-28-18 05:48 PM - Post#267402
In response to palestra38
When I was attending games at Alligator Alley in the late 70's the Gators' big men always got much much better as they got older. Of course, they were athletic guys who were at least 6' 10". Brodeur isn't that tall, but he also doesn't look like he lifts weights much. Shouldn't that be a priority?
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Quakers03
Professor
Posts: 12480
Reg: 12-07-04
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Has Brodeur Improved? 11-28-18 05:57 PM - Post#267403
In response to 10Q
Very interesting thread topic. I think I've made my feelings known about the non-development in using his left hand, I'd have hoped that his free throw % would have improved (like Pavlik was raving about Max's growth in this department), I hoped he would follow the Mark Zoller path with shooting 3s, and I do get frustrated at all the misses around the basket, BUT his passing is better, the putrid put the ball on the floor turnovers are down, and he is many times the focus of opposing defenses. All in all I think there is still a lot of room for him to grow. He has the skill to create those open bunnies, so as Palestra says, he should be fine.
I disagree on the weights. I think he has gotten stronger and his wide shoulders help.
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penn nation
Professor
Posts: 21086
Reg: 12-02-04
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Re: Has Brodeur Improved? 11-28-18 06:13 PM - Post#267406
In response to Quakers03
BUT his passing is better, the putrid put the ball on the floor turnovers are down, and he is many times the focus of opposing defenses.
This. Such an important difference from his freshman year. This didn't matter much out of conference when teams played him straight up, but against Ivy teams where he faced constant doubles from the get-go this was a killer early on. He has gotten so much better at this, and the offense is much more efficient as a result.
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TheLine
Professor
Posts: 5597
Age: 60
Reg: 07-07-09
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11-28-18 06:32 PM - Post#267412
In response to penn nation
Let's keep perspective. While he might not have improved much, I'd peg him as a favorite to be POY.
I'd wait a few more games to let his numbers settle.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3765
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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11-28-18 07:19 PM - Post#267418
In response to TheLine
I think AJ has also gotten significantly better at seeing around the double team and finding open teammates.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3580
Reg: 02-15-15
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11-28-18 07:47 PM - Post#267420
In response to Silver Maple
Certainly not his FT shooting. He has a lot going on at the line. His feet point left, he bends his knees a lot and holds the ball low. Anytime you are misaligned and have multiple large joints that have to move to shoot a FT, that's too much going on.
He has worked on his left hand, but seems to have a mental block using it. He also was using his hook shot as a bit of a mid lane floater in early games and has gotten away from it recently for some reason.
I don't think he has improved as much as he could have, but that doesn't mean he isn't still our best player.
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SomeGuy
Professor
Posts: 6391
Reg: 11-22-04
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11-28-18 08:58 PM - Post#267436
In response to PennFan10
I think he is improving each year, but he also came in as a highly developed player. He may have been a lot closer to his ceiling than a lot of guys. On the strength/fitness issue, he’s playing 35+ when the games are competitive. Max isn’t able to do that, despite appearing more muscular. I think AJ is fine on that score.
The one thing that surprised me, though, is that AJ gave an interview during the off-season where he basically said he wouldn’t be adding much to his game. May be a context thing, and could be he didn’t want to give anything away, but usually even the best players are going to be picking out something to add/improve every offseason.
Finally, he came in playing well enough that the individual improvement can be hard to see. Did Ryan Wittman and Louis Dale improve at Cornell? The individual numbers say no, but they won a lot more games as they went on. That seems to be the case with AJ thus far too (and hopefully it continues).
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weinhauers_ghost
Postdoc
Posts: 2125
Age: 64
Loc: New York City
Reg: 12-14-09
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11-28-18 09:03 PM - Post#267438
In response to SomeGuy
When you guys talk about whether or not AJ has improved, you guys are talking almost solely about his offensive game. I think he's gotten better as a defender. He's arguably our best post defender, and he manages to play the position while only rarely getting into foul trouble (would be nice if he could cut down on the moving screens, though). He's a good help defender and gets a significant number of blocks in that role.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3765
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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11-28-18 09:22 PM - Post#267442
In response to weinhauers_ghost
AJ is a great player, and Penn is very lucky to have him-- he'll go down as one of the greats. I'd like to suggest we cut the kid a break.
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10Q
Professor
Posts: 23199
Loc: Suburban Philly
Reg: 11-21-04
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11-28-18 09:47 PM - Post#267449
In response to Silver Maple
We all appreciate AJ. I wish we had lots more just like him.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3580
Reg: 02-15-15
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11-28-18 11:24 PM - Post#267468
In response to Silver Maple
AJ is a great player, and Penn is very lucky to have him-- he'll go down as one of the greats. I'd like to suggest we cut the kid a break.
What are you his mother? Cut him a break? This is a discussion board. Criticize the hell out of him.
That said, I’d take 3 AJ’s if we could get them!
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Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1878
Reg: 11-29-04
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11-29-18 01:16 AM - Post#267475
In response to PennFan10
AJ had such a high motor from the beginning, so he had less development than many. The easiest and lowest hanging fruit for the whole team is to just hit their free throws. I would suggest that they see a sports psychologist about it, as I think it is more mental than physical or technical.
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Silver Maple
Postdoc
Posts: 3765
Loc: Westfield, New Jersey
Reg: 11-23-04
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11-29-18 08:54 AM - Post#267479
In response to Penndemonium
Isn't there already a sports psychologist on the staff?
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Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1878
Reg: 11-29-04
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11-29-18 09:04 AM - Post#267481
In response to Silver Maple
If so, then maybe they're need a shooting coach!
Isn't there already a sports psychologist on the staff?
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3580
Reg: 02-15-15
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11-29-18 11:28 AM - Post#267495
In response to Penndemonium
AJ had such a high motor from the beginning, so he had less development than many.
I don't think there is a player in the game who can't develop their game dramatically. Certainly none in the Ivy league.
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Quakers03
Professor
Posts: 12480
Reg: 12-07-04
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11-29-18 12:10 PM - Post#267497
In response to Silver Maple
No question he will go down in Penn lore as one of those decade players...Not to mention he helped bring us back from the brink.
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Jeff2sf
Postdoc
Posts: 4466
Reg: 11-22-04
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11-29-18 12:24 PM - Post#267502
In response to Quakers03
pf10, i just don't think that's true (everyone significant development). it seems to reward tommy try-hard more than others who either developed those parts of their game earlier or are more advanced.
A way I think of it is that when i started running, i was super slow (i still am super slow) but was able to cut my mile time by 25% with moderate work outs. faster, more advanced runners just aren't able to realize those gains because either they already made them or they just run against a natural limit. I mean if AJ improved as much as Max or Darnell improved, he'd be an NBA all star.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3580
Reg: 02-15-15
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11-29-18 12:38 PM - Post#267504
In response to Jeff2sf
Of course its true. It is true of Michael Jordan who had no jump shot when he entered the league and became a deadly 3 pt shooter, or when they said he couldn't play defense and then he won multiple DPOY awards. Or of Kobe Bryant, who will tell you all the ways he developed dramatically.
Every player can improve dramatically, they may not all have the same skill level, but they can improve dramatically whether slow or fast, small or big. It's ridiculous to think someone can't improve because they are already good.
I can tell you if AJ worked nearly as hard on his game as Max or Darnell, he might well be an NBA player.
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