Comments on: Thankfully, We Have Two Days Off… http://www.caahoops.com/2009/12/thankfully-we-have-two-days-off/ Life As A Mid Major Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:53:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: WRBB Sports » Off The Wires: Déjà vu http://www.caahoops.com/2009/12/thankfully-we-have-two-days-off/comment-page-1/#comment-1105 WRBB Sports » Off The Wires: Déjà vu Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:21:06 +0000 http://www.caahoops.com/?p=1892#comment-1105 [...] >>> Mike Litos talks about Northeastern’s next basketball opponent - Drexel. [CAA Hoops] [...] [...] >>> Mike Litos talks about Northeastern’s next basketball opponent – Drexel. [CAA Hoops] [...]

]]> By: Jim McConnell http://www.caahoops.com/2009/12/thankfully-we-have-two-days-off/comment-page-1/#comment-1101 Jim McConnell Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:10:49 +0000 http://www.caahoops.com/?p=1892#comment-1101 Forgive me for playing devil's advocate, but playing freshmen (especially CAA-level freshmen) is why a lot of college basketball coaches no longer have use for combs or brushes. Some days, they light it up and you have visions of similar performances swirling around in your head for the next three seasons. Other days, they play as if they've never actually seen a basketball before. This is not to say that Drexel shouldn't play both Thomas and Fouch a lot. Both kids should play, if for no other reason than the Dragons aren't going to the NCAA tournament and this is as good a time to get them on-the-job training as ever. Same goes for Mason and its kiddie corps. But while Fouch is gonna have games where he just absolutely goes bananas from 3 (like he did in that AAU game two years ago), I can't see how Drexel's guards are big or strong enough to get away with playing a 4-guard set. Thomas would basically be your PF in such a lineup, and he'd get absolutely abused trying to defend and rebound against 6-7/6-8 guys in the CAA. A better option, IMHO, is to use the young guys to keep the veterans' feet to the fire. If Fouch and Givens keep playing well, give them more of Colds' and Harris' minutes. That should be all the motivation the juniors need to avoid another combined 0-for-17 FG performance. Forgive me for playing devil’s advocate, but playing freshmen (especially CAA-level freshmen) is why a lot of college basketball coaches no longer have use for combs or brushes. Some days, they light it up and you have visions of similar performances swirling around in your head for the next three seasons. Other days, they play as if they’ve never actually seen a basketball before.

This is not to say that Drexel shouldn’t play both Thomas and Fouch a lot. Both kids should play, if for no other reason than the Dragons aren’t going to the NCAA tournament and this is as good a time to get them on-the-job training as ever. Same goes for Mason and its kiddie corps.

But while Fouch is gonna have games where he just absolutely goes bananas from 3 (like he did in that AAU game two years ago), I can’t see how Drexel’s guards are big or strong enough to get away with playing a 4-guard set. Thomas would basically be your PF in such a lineup, and he’d get absolutely abused trying to defend and rebound against 6-7/6-8 guys in the CAA.

A better option, IMHO, is to use the young guys to keep the veterans’ feet to the fire. If Fouch and Givens keep playing well, give them more of Colds’ and Harris’ minutes. That should be all the motivation the juniors need to avoid another combined 0-for-17 FG performance.

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