vs UIC (1-11) - Wednesday, 2/7/2024 - 7 pm - ESPN+/Marquee Network

[CaliRdBrd]

3 years left on Pedon deal, still paying Muller and an interm A.D. that buyout right now is a far cry. Seat will get hot next year but Pedon has 2 more years at least.

Barring a complete implosion, ya gotta give Pedon 5 years.

 

[Dmills]

if you are saying that the definition of a " 5'11 frosh being a good defender" includes currently being a bit of a liability due to size and age then we are saying the same thing. jk does a lot of things the right way indeed and brings excellent energy but there are currently many limitations too. how do you feel jk will do guarding siu johnson one v one? do you believe if jk starts he will get that defensive assignment as point guard vs point guard? i too like jk and i am a fan but i do believe he is a target on the defensive end.

if jk or any guard does not get over/thru the screen then what are our bigs suppose to do?..... not switch/stay home and let the guard whose man was picked roam free for an open shot or pass?

I agree. I think he is a great defender but he is limited mostly by things he cannot control. For that reason, he is not very versatile which is the point you are focusing more on. I really wish he was closer to 6'2". I think if we could clone a 5'11", 6'3", 6'5", 6'8", and a 6'9" JK, I think it would be our best defensive lineup.

As far as the SIU game, I think its more likely he guards Trent Brown to your point. Technically, point guard vs point guard would be Banks v. Johnson. Obviously Banks and Kinziger are interchangeable at the PG position though. Admittedly, I wasn't able to watch much of the first SIU game, so I am not sure what to expect nor am I super familiar with Johnson's play style other than scorer. If he would be thrown off by a pesky defender that stays tight on him, I think we would do well with Kinziger; however, if he is more physical and is going to try to post up then we would be better served with a different matchup.

Regarding the screens, I am beyond frustrated with the switches. I think we did a little bit less switching against UIC but I really think it is on the coaches. If the coaches want us fighting through screens, they need to communicate that to the players. It seems like they are fine with JK being on an island fronting a 6'9" forward because it happens 5 times a game, at least. To me, it seems to clearly be an issue of strategy because we rarely miscommunicate on it. It seems the big knows that he is picking up the guard and the guard knows he is following the roll to the basket.

One thing that might be interesting to watch is how Chase plays it. I think the strategy is different with Chase than with Myles and Kendall. Chase usually hedges the screen and runs back to his man. I don't recall him getting caught 1 v 1 against many guards. It seems the switching happens most often with the other players.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

I agree. I think he is a great defender but he is limited mostly by things he cannot control. For that reason, he is not very versatile which is the point you are focusing more on. I really wish he was closer to 6'2". I think if we could clone a 5'11", 6'3", 6'5", 6'8", and a 6'9" JK, I think it would be our best defensive lineup.

As far as the SIU game, I think its more likely he guards Trent Brown to your point. Technically, point guard vs point guard would be Banks v. Johnson. Obviously Banks and Kinziger are interchangeable at the PG position though. Admittedly, I wasn't able to watch much of the first SIU game, so I am not sure what to expect nor am I super familiar with Johnson's play style other than scorer. If he would be thrown off by a pesky defender that stays tight on him, I think we would do well with Kinziger; however, if he is more physical and is going to try to post up then we would be better served with a different matchup.

Regarding the screens, I am beyond frustrated with the switches. I think we did a little bit less switching against UIC but I really think it is on the coaches. If the coaches want us fighting through screens, they need to communicate that to the players. It seems like they are fine with JK being on an island fronting a 6'9" forward because it happens 5 times a game, at least. To me, it seems to clearly be an issue of strategy because we rarely miscommunicate on it. It seems the big knows that he is picking up the guard and the guard knows he is following the roll to the basket.

One thing that might be interesting to watch is how Chase plays it. I think the strategy is different with Chase than with Myles and Kendall. Chase usually hedges the screen and runs back to his man. I don't recall him getting caught 1 v 1 against many guards. It seems the switching happens most often with the other players.

i dont believe pedon or any coach wants their 5' 9 frosh attempting to defend a player in the post ....just like pedon and every other coach loves to end up having a 5'9 opponent trying to defend their post players....ie the 5'9" frosh will be versed on trying to avoid switches and the other team will target him

 

[Dmills]

i dont believe pedon or any coach wants their 5' 9 frosh attempting to defend a player in the post ....just like pedon and every other coach loves to end up having a 5'9 opponent trying to defend their post players....ie the 5'9" frosh will be versed on trying to avoid switches and the other team will target him

Either I was wrong or there was more hedging on the screens rather than switching against SIU. I saw Myles do it a few times and run back to his man. I believe Lewis did it and it led to a dunk for SIU. We didn't seem to have as big of a problem with mismatches and switches this game. What did you see?

 

[DWRedbird]

Barring a complete implosion, ya gotta give Pedon 5 years.

I would disagree, but only because we aren't showing any team improvement. If we are in this same position next year with no real improvement, I think we need to cut our losses and move on. If he can't have us trending upward in 3 years, he won't do it in the last two miraculously.

 

[ChiRedbirdfan]

Either I was wrong or there was more hedging on the screens rather than switching against SIU. I saw Myles do it a few times and run back to his man. I believe Lewis did it and it led to a dunk for SIU. We didn't seem to have as big of a problem with mismatches and switches this game. What did you see?

Agree. The bigs were definitely helping the guards by hedging. It also seemed like the salukis were not picking on the ball or away from the ball as much as uic. There were a couple of pick and pops for a 3 where guards tried to go under the screen but that is going to happen once in awhile. Will be interesting to see the sycamore game vs isu as they torched siu earlier in the year with some pick and pops and their good 3 point shooting. Going to need a lot of good communication on the picks to defend the sycamores