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Username Post: 2019-2020        (Topic#22538)
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
01-29-19 12:01 PM - Post#274014    

Very excited about the fact that Harvard loses only Corey Johnson while adding Chris Ledlum and Luka Sakota next year. Ledlum is a beast SF at 6'5", averaging 26ppg and 8rbg for Northfield/Mt Hermon. Sakota seems like a replacement for Corey as a 6'6" shooting guard recognized most for his long range shooting.

If Bryce and Seth are healthy, the Crimson could be relevant on a national level as the recruiting class of 2016 enjoys their senior year.

From what I'm hearing, Amaker is gearing up for another big recruiting year next year to replace that outgoing class. I see needs at Center, PG and PF. Ledlum and Kirkwood have SG and SF covered.



 
CrimsonBlood 
Freshman
Posts: 46

Age: 33
Reg: 03-15-18
Re: 2019-2020
02-17-19 04:40 PM - Post#277002    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

100% agree. While any run this year will be nice... it's clear that next year with a return of Towns is the best opportunity Harvard will have to make a dent in the NCAA tournament again.

Chris Ledlum looks like the kind of player who can come in and make an immediate impact. Kind of reminds me of Kyle Casey-- someone who is long and can play inside/outside and throw down some ridiculous dunks. Chris is probably thicker/more physical.

Way too early but can't resist thinking about a starting 5 next year of:

1: Aiken
2: Bassey
3: Towns
4: Ledlum
5: Lewis

Seems like a top 25 team to me if they stay healthy and can gel (and assuming Towns can return to the same level of play).

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
02-23-19 04:03 PM - Post#277688    
    In response to CrimsonBlood

Given how good a rebounder Bassey is, and how strong Ledlum looks, I'd be interested in a unit of:

1. Aiken
2. Bassey
3. Towns
4. Kirkwood
5. Ledlum

That'd be a switch everything, spread the court with shooting lineup that should still be able to hold their own on the boards. Might not be able to get away with it against really good bigs, but it could be something we turn to, say, at the end of a half to try to get a spurt.

 
ExHAA 
Pre-Frosh
Posts: 3

Age: 98
Reg: 11-18-18
02-23-19 10:22 PM - Post#277760    
    In response to mobrien

Might want to start thinking about Catchings. He's very mobile.

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
02-23-19 10:45 PM - Post#277762    
    In response to ExHAA

Most interesting to me is that Catchings has no turnovers in 32 minutes vs Yale.

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
2019-2020
02-24-19 05:57 PM - Post#277856    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

If we can get Towns back — and he's back to himself —we can play a version of this lineup with Catchings this year:

Aiken, Bassey, Kirkwood, Towns, Catchings. That's a versatile defensive lineup that should be able to compete on the boards and really put pressure on teams offensively with all of its shooting. I don't know what teams would do against our 1-5 high screen with Catchings at the 5. Double-team Bryce, and you're just conceding an open three to a good shooter somewhere else.

This lineup would also make it very difficult for Brown, for example, to put a long defender like Okolie on Bryce instead of on Towns. Would open things up big time.

Edited by mobrien on 02-24-19 05:59 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
02-24-19 06:04 PM - Post#277858    
    In response to mobrien

It’s a versatile offensive lineup, not unlike Princeton a couple of years ago. Problem is the lack of a rim protection. Our defense has for years funneled guystp the middle

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
02-24-19 06:19 PM - Post#277860    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

That's true. There wouldn't be much rim protection. It's probably more likely that we'd go with one big and four shooters to make sure that we did have some.

I still think it's something worth trying, though. That's a lineup that could switch even more without having to worry about giving up a mismatch, and — this would be the big question — maybe force other teams to adjust to us by going small as well. We'd probably want to pressure full court with it too.

The biggest thing is just getting as much shooting on the court as we can with Bryce. That makes it hard to double him. It'd be nice if we didn't turn it over too.

 
Old Bear 
Postdoc
Posts: 3988

Reg: 11-23-04
02-24-19 07:51 PM - Post#277876    
    In response to mobrien

I recognize that we still have 4 to play, but i'm hoping that Obie joins his H brother and gets the recognition a D player of the year. How grate would that be for the Okolie family.

 
PennFan10 
Postdoc
Posts: 3580

Reg: 02-15-15
Re: 2019-2020
02-24-19 08:23 PM - Post#277879    
    In response to mobrien

There isn't a guy in your proposed lineup that can matchup with Knight, Arriruguzah, AJ, Atkinson, and Tape. Those guys would destroy that Harvard lineup.

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
02-24-19 08:39 PM - Post#277882    
    In response to PennFan10

And they would get destroyed trying to chase guys out on the perimeter on defense.

It's something you'd mostly want to do as a change of pace when a dominant scoring big is taking a breather, but Catchings and Ledlum might be strong enough to stand those guys up. You'd want to double and dig if one of them started really getting going.

 
mrjames 
Professor
Posts: 6062

Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
02-24-19 08:53 PM - Post#277888    
    In response to mobrien

Not for nothing, but I think it's far more likely that we see Towns this season than he's at less than 100% returning next season.

All I care about more than anything is that the Ivy League is at (reasonable) full strength next year - including Harvard - and schedules in such a way that it can show off its prowess. It's going to be a top-of-the-cycle that we've never seen before, but if it gets derailed by injuries, that would be a shame.

FWIW... Harvard 2018-19 is 0.1 wins above bubble (53rd) over the 10 games since Bryce has been back. If he had been there for a full season along with Seth, and those two had just cleaned up the Q3 and Q4 records for Harvard, we might be talking about the Crimson's 1-1 Q1a, 2-2 Q1 and 2-0 Q2 mark being enough for at large consideration.

 
SRP 
Postdoc
Posts: 4894

Reg: 02-04-06
02-24-19 08:59 PM - Post#277889    
    In response to mrjames

Aririguzoh can guard a stretch five on the perimeter. If he has to switch onto a nifty, speedy guard it's a different story. But the dude has quick feet and can bother a pick-and-pop shooter.

 
PennFan10 
Postdoc
Posts: 3580

Reg: 02-15-15
02-25-19 01:13 AM - Post#277906    
    In response to mobrien

  • mobrien Said:
And they would get destroyed trying to chase guys out on the perimeter on defense.

It's something you'd mostly want to do as a change of pace when a dominant scoring big is taking a breather, but Catchings and Ledlum might be strong enough to stand those guys up. You'd want to double and dig if one of them started really getting going.



AJ can guard Kirkwood or Bassey without a problem and neither can guard Him. Richmond and Knight can probably both stay with those guys too. Aiken is the only rabbit out of that group.


 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
2019-2020
02-25-19 12:43 PM - Post#277945    
    In response to PennFan10

The idea is to pull the shot blockers away from the hoop so that Aiken, Towns, and Kirkwood would have easy driving lanes. The help would have to come from far away, and, if it did get there, you'd be conceding an open three to someone shooting around 40% from distance.

In that sense, it doesn't really matter if AJ can stay with Bassey. And besides, it's one thing to stay in front of a guy hedging or on a switch for a few seconds; it's another to do that for 30 seconds every possession. Plus, it'd be easy to try to make them switch AJ onto Aiken — just keep re-screening until you get it — and then put him in some very uncomfortable positions.

Defensively, you can front the post, dig, and even double and then recover. With a versatile defensive group, it doesn't really matter if you all end up switching out of that. If that didn't work, you could go with one big instead, or save this for when their scoring big was on the bench.

The point is that smaller lineups really can force the other side to downsize as well. Bigs don't rule basketball like they used to.

Edited by mobrien on 02-25-19 01:13 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
02-25-19 01:04 PM - Post#277948    
    In response to mobrien

That's what Princeton was able to do two years ago. Led to Caruso and then Cook driving the lane once the opponent had gone small or the defensive big had been drawn away from the basket.

I still like some rim protection, but either you have to play 2 bigs (Lewis & Baker this year) or risk screening or a big like Stone Gettings who sets up away from the basket.

 
Mike Porter 
Postdoc
Posts: 3615
Mike Porter
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
Reg: 11-21-04
02-25-19 11:18 PM - Post#278002    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

Penn fan here, but if Chris Lewis is healthy, Coach Amaker would be CRAZY not to play him as much as possible as a senior. I know he is off last year’s numbers (but still good), but didn’t he have some injury earlier this year?

Last year he was a beast and I’d feel much better about our chances as a Penn fan if you kept him on the bench.

So that said, I hope Coach Amaker is crazy and follows strategy of this thread.

 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
02-25-19 11:35 PM - Post#278003    
    In response to Mike Porter

I think, if anything, Coach Amaker will look at the strategy as a small ball option under the right circumstances. For instance, in the final minutes at Yale, Amaker went small with Djuricic, Catching, Kirkwood, Juzang and Aiken.

By the way, anyone notice how an injured Justin Bassey picked up Bryce Aiken after the game winning shot. Guess his recovery regimen includes post game celebrations. Hope that's an indication that we'll see a healthy Bassey this weekend.

Immediately after bring Bryce back down to earth, Bassey gave a long and obviously meaningful bear hug to Kale Catchings. I read that Catchings rooms with Bassey on the road and attributed much of his success to Bassey's mentorship.

All is good when you beat Yale at the buzzer I guess.






 
HARVARDDADGRAD 
Postdoc
Posts: 2685

Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
02-25-19 11:46 PM - Post#278006    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

Need to note that Chris Ledlum seems to be averaging about 30 ppg for Northfield Mt. Hermon. At 6'6" 215, he'll get court time. Currently at top 100 recruit.

With 6'7" Noah Kirkwood, that's a big backcourt (not front court).

 
mobrien 
Senior
Posts: 390

Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
02-26-19 02:18 AM - Post#278017    
    In response to HARVARDDADGRAD

I know Lewis killed you guys last year in the game up in Cambridge, but I think that, sadly, you're overrating him.

His offensive game is very rudimentary. He's great finishing with his right and his left, but his only real move is to try to overpower guys and then finish over them with a hook in the middle. Far too often, we get bogged down trying to force it into him in the post when we'd be better off just reversing the ball and running another ball screen or two. That not only clogs up the lane, making it harder to drive, but it also results in a lot of turnovers.

Defensively, he's still great as a rim protector. That's where his biggest value probably is, and it's important. But he's really struggled as a post defender this year—AJ, RA, and Knight have all had big games against him. I don't know if that's a lingering injury or what, but it can't be ignored.

The bottom line is that he's still a very similar player to what he was a freshman. There hasn't been a ton of development in his post game or his shooting. That said, he's a valuable defensive piece we're definitely going to need this year and the next. But, as much as it hurts me to say this because I'm a big fan of his, I think the offense looks better when we play a smallball five instead — like, lightyears better. The offense should absolutely run through Aiken, Towns, and Kirkwood, (and in that order).

I'm not saying we should go small all the time. Just that I think it's by far our best offensive lineup, that it can hold its own defensively in at least small doses (and maybe more), and we should use it, or something like it, when we really need to get things on track.

 
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