Yes
The 2014 team finished third in the league due to two regular season losses to Georgia State. Defeated Georgia State in OT during the conference tournament finals. One of my favorite players was actually MVP during that tourney. It was not Peyton or Long. That was Bryant Mbamalu. He was a guy no one thought we should have signed as a freshman and through hard work was able to improve greatly over his career. Made some cash playing overseas for a time.
No doubt Brown will be the focal point but the team won't have success unless others contribute. Point guards need to distribute the ball without turning it over, forwards need to help on the glass, wing guys need to knock down open perimeter shots, and the whole group needs to play "team defense". That means to communicate better than they sometimes did in the past. Jordan needs to pass the ball back out when doubled more effectively than in the past for this to work. The secret scrimmages and the Puerto Rico games indicated they can do all that at times. Can they do it consistently enough to win a title is something I can't answer. I recognize everything I said needs to be done is the blueprint for all teams. Regarding Kobe, he won't play until mid December but should be full go at conference time.
Mike is there any timeline for Richards’ return?
I'm going to temper my reactions to what I saw. First, we turned the ball over too much. I know this has been a problem in the preseason as Marlin talked about it in pregame. He wanted to see a 18/8 Turnover to assist ratio. We were at an 18/12 ratio. Doesn't seem to be a big difference but the competition matter. Some of the passes I saw by our guards were concerning since they are supposed to be the best decision makers and handlers.
I like some of the newcomers. Lewis will be steady and seems to be a smart player on the offensive end knowing where to position himself for rebounds and such. Issue is he plays under the rim and is a little undersized compared to what we've had on the court the last couple of years. I liked Fulks but he played out of control a lot. I love him if he settles down a bit as the year goes on.
I think Kobe Julien has a lot to do with how far we can go this year. We need to get a healthy Julien back for conference. I don't think I've ever seen or heard comments from Marlin so focused on winning a championship as I have this year. I like it. These are the comments you want to see coming from the most successful tenured coach in our league and with the best talent. We'll see if they can stay focused enough to do it.
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