Thoughts on Perry...

[Classof93]

If BP can play the 3 spot next year, then he should have a magnificent year. However, if he is asked to play the 4 a lot then he will frustrate us quite a bit. BP is not a great leaper, nor is he the strongest guy in the world. He has difficulty fininshing around the basket for these reasons. But if you can get him out on the wings where he can be a triple threat and attack rebounds by sneaking in from the perimeter he can be very good. If Rondo goes then Bradley slides into the point with JC at the 2. Those guys with Perry at the 3 would be a potent offensive backcourt. But once again the almighty question comes to mind...who the heck is going to play the 4!!

I will add that Morris did a pretty good job of defending on the perimeter against UCONN. If he could get quicker and better at that sort of thing it would allow him to play the 4 and Carter/Woo/Alleyne to play center. I believe this will be Tubby's plan if he is unable to bring in a quality PF who can play immediately.

[Will Lavender]

I've been thinking about this since the Cats were booted out of the tourney.

Where to play Perry?

He's a natural 3, as you say. Obviously. But the benefit to playing him at the 4 - and it's important to note that he has played virtually every game the last two years at the 4 - is that he can slide his man away from the basket and really abuse him on the perimeter. If he plays the PF, that opens up his outside game.

But the downside to that is that Bobby can really be destroyed underneath the goal. He needs to add a lot of strength to rebound and bang against bigger people.

Two possibilities, then:

Bobby needs to bulk up and become a "true" power forward. He has the size. He has pretty good length. He could play power forward if he learned how to finish around the basket and add muscle.

Or he needs to go back to his natural position and play on the wing. If he does this, his abilty to get to the basket will be shut down by quicker people, but he will have the advantage of being able to shoot over smaller defenders.

It's a pickle. My first inclination is to move him out to the wing, because one of our major problems this year was the constant mismatch against our small forwards. But considering how well he played at the 4 in three of his last four postseason games, I don't know if I like the idea of moving him.

If he is kept at the wing, though, then what does the line-up look like?

Rondo/Bradley
Meeks
Crawford
Perry
Morris

Could we go with that considering how badly Joe got whipped on defense this year?

[T75]

WL, you describe an interesting dilema. Crawford is going to be too good to leave on the bench, but he's not all that good at handling the ball a lot, nor is he big enough to play inside with the tll timber consistently. So unless all our incoming PG's flunk out, Joe will not be playing the 2, I think. So this leaves him with nothing much but the 3.

Perry will never be a huge strong three, but along with his greatly improved shooting late this season, he was going harder to the boards than I've ever seen him do. Once or twice I was quite surprised at how high he can go when he charges in on the run for a rebound. I think maybe, in addition to lack of size and strength, he can't jump very high on the vertical.

I'd sure like to see Carter come on well enough that he and Morris could play at the same time now and then when we need height and rebounding help.And one of our 6' 9" guys come on strong. I think Morris could become a good PF and working at it would be sure to improve his status with the NBA scouts. Or Thomas----he did improve somewhat this season, not great but some. He could help if he'd liven up a bit and get a bit of a mean streak inside--tougher would be good, not dirty mean.

Another thing that I'm wondering about: PG if Rondo leaves. Bradley seemed to come and go most of the season---good game now and then but completely inconsistent, therefore not reliable. I didn't see improvement in his decision-making as I'd hoped to this year. Are any of our incoming frosh good enough to un-seat Bradley either as a starter or first sub?

Dang, I wish we had some big strong angry young man coming in for next year---nearly everybody seems to have at least one, why don't we? If I were coaching the Cats, I'd get Morris into some visits with a sports psychologist and see what it would take to fire him up and make it last for more than a game or two---if it can be done.

Maybe I'd send Joe and Thomas to the man too---try to get that "hang-dog" (as my dad used to say) expression changed into a more confident, ready-to-go look. And as time goes by and he doesn't get many opportunities, that same look is starting to show on Sims' face at times.

I also wish I had more confidence in Tubby to recognize his personnel problems and deal with them properly to get the most out of what he's got---rather than finger-pointing,with "house-cleaning" beinghis approach to solving the problems. This just doesn't seem to be one of his strengths.

[Will Lavender]

T75 wrote: Another thing that I'm wondering about: PG if Rondo leaves. Bradley seemed to come and go most of the season---good game now and then but completely inconsistent, therefore not reliable. I didn't see improvement in his decision-making as I'd hoped to this year. Are any of our incoming frosh good enough to un-seat Bradley either as a starter or first sub?

Derrick Jasper is the only true point guard. He's very big for a point guard, maybe the biggest point UK has had, and he's also athletic (check out the Rivals videos if you're a subscriber), but the downside to his game seems to be that he might be TOO deferential. The anti-Bradley, if you will. Seems to have a pass-first mentality to a fault. But he would be the only guy, I think, who will be able to come in and make a run at the starting PG spot. Meeks is more of a 2, and Michael Porter is going to be a situational player.

But you bring up a dilemma: I don't think Ramel has a point guard's mentality at all, and not only that - he seems to not even have it in him to think like a point guard. He's shoot first all the way.

I can envision a scenario where Jasper starts, Bradley moves to the 2, and Joe Crawford stays at the 3. I hope that doesn't happen because I would love to see Joe get back to his natural position, but I also think Ramel does have a great fearlessness that is essential for winning teams. You almost can't afford for him to not be out there, but he also doesn't bring anything as the team's point guard.

[Classof93]

T75 wrote: WL, you describe an interesting dilema. Crawford is going to be too good to leave on the bench, but he's not all that good at handling the ball a lot, nor is he big enough to play inside with the tll timber consistently. So unless all our incoming PG's flunk out, Joe will not be playing the 2, I think. So this leaves him with nothing much but the 3.




I tend to disagree with your assessment of JC's ball handling. I actually commented a week or two ago that his ball handling is actually better than I thought. I agree it isn't super but I think it is good enough to play the 2.

[BigCat33]

T75 wrote: WL, you describe an interesting dilema. Crawford is going to be too good to leave on the bench, but he's not all that good at handling the ball a lot, nor is he big enough to play inside with the tll timber consistently. So unless all our incoming PG's flunk out, Joe will not be playing the 2, I think. So this leaves him with nothing much but the 3.

Perry will never be a huge strong three, but along with his greatly improved shooting late this season, he was going harder to the boards than I've ever seen him do. Once or twice I was quite surprised at how high he can go when he charges in on the run for a rebound. I think maybe, in addition to lack of size and strength, he can't jump very high on the vertical.

I'd sure like to see Carter come on well enough that he and Morris could play at the same time now and then when we need height and rebounding help.And one of our 6' 9" guys come on strong. I think Morris could become a good PF and working at it would be sure to improve his status with the NBA scouts. Or Thomas----he did improve somewhat this season, not great but some. He could help if he'd liven up a bit and get a bit of a mean streak inside--tougher would be good, not dirty mean.

Another thing that I'm wondering about: PG if Rondo leaves. Bradley seemed to come and go most of the season---good game now and then but completely inconsistent, therefore not reliable. I didn't see improvement in his decision-making as I'd hoped to this year. Are any of our incoming frosh good enough to un-seat Bradley either as a starter or first sub?

Dang, I wish we had some big strong angry young man coming in for next year---nearly everybody seems to have at least one, why don't we? If I were coaching the Cats, I'd get Morris into some visits with a sports psychologist and see what it would take to fire him up and make it last for more than a game or two---if it can be done.

Maybe I'd send Joe and Thomas to the man too---try to get that "hang-dog" (as my dad used to say) expression changed into a more confident, ready-to-go look. And as time goes by and he doesn't get many opportunities, that same look is starting to show on Sims' face at times.

I also wish I had more confidence in Tubby to recognize his personnel problems and deal with them properly to get the most out of what he's got---rather than finger-pointing,with "house-cleaning" beinghis approach to solving the problems. This just doesn't seem to be one of his strengths.
If rondo leaves then that would move bradley to the starting point guard spot and crawford to the 2. then perry could play some 3 where he needs to be. morris at the 4 spot and one of our bigs at the 5. i say maybe carter if he gains much strength like i think that he might. just my thoughts.

[BigCat33]

Will Lavender wrote: I've been thinking about this since the Cats were booted out of the tourney.

Where to play Perry?

He's a natural 3, as you say. Obviously. But the benefit to playing him at the 4 - and it's important to note that he has played virtually every game the last two years at the 4 - is that he can slide his man away from the basket and really abuse him on the perimeter. If he plays the PF, that opens up his outside game.

But the downside to that is that Bobby can really be destroyed underneath the goal. He needs to add a lot of strength to rebound and bang against bigger people.

Two possibilities, then:

Bobby needs to bulk up and become a "true" power forward. He has the size. He has pretty good length. He could play power forward if he learned how to finish around the basket and add muscle.

Or he needs to go back to his natural position and play on the wing. If he does this, his abilty to get to the basket will be shut down by quicker people, but he will have the advantage of being able to shoot over smaller defenders.

It's a pickle. My first inclination is to move him out to the wing, because one of our major problems this year was the constant mismatch against our small forwards. But considering how well he played at the 4 in three of his last four postseason games, I don't know if I like the idea of moving him.

If he is kept at the wing, though, then what does the line-up look like?

Rondo/Bradley
Meeks
Crawford
Perry
Morris

Could we go with that considering how badly Joe got whipped on defense this year?I gotta have joe c's back. this guy played with knee problems all year long. im sure that had alot to do with him getting beat. you arent going to find too many guards strong then joe c.

[RaleighCat]

Bobby Perry is a natural 3 and obviously has more than enough talent to contribute there (see: vs. UAB, vs. UConn). Next year we should have Morris at the 5/4, Carter and Shag at the 5, Stevenson and Thomas at the 4, Sims at the 4/3, and Woo at the 5 (unless he's playing pro ball overseas after graduation).

After what we saw this weekend (and what we've seen in glimpses previously), if Perry is forced to play the 4 next year, we are really hurting. I'd have to seriously question the coaching logic if that's the case. Bobby can play the 4 in brief spurts, but he could be a 12 & 5 player at the 3.

[Will Lavender]

BigCat33 wrote: Will Lavender wrote: I've been thinking about this since the Cats were booted out of the tourney.

Where to play Perry?

He's a natural 3, as you say. Obviously. But the benefit to playing him at the 4 - and it's important to note that he has played virtually every game the last two years at the 4 - is that he can slide his man away from the basket and really abuse him on the perimeter. If he plays the PF, that opens up his outside game.

But the downside to that is that Bobby can really be destroyed underneath the goal. He needs to add a lot of strength to rebound and bang against bigger people.

Two possibilities, then:

Bobby needs to bulk up and become a "true" power forward. He has the size. He has pretty good length. He could play power forward if he learned how to finish around the basket and add muscle.

Or he needs to go back to his natural position and play on the wing. If he does this, his abilty to get to the basket will be shut down by quicker people, but he will have the advantage of being able to shoot over smaller defenders.

It's a pickle. My first inclination is to move him out to the wing, because one of our major problems this year was the constant mismatch against our small forwards. But considering how well he played at the 4 in three of his last four postseason games, I don't know if I like the idea of moving him.

If he is kept at the wing, though, then what does the line-up look like?

Rondo/Bradley
Meeks
Crawford
Perry
Morris

Could we go with that considering how badly Joe got whipped on defense this year?I gotta have joe c's back. this guy played with knee problems all year long. im sure that had alot to do with him getting beat. you arent going to find too many guards strong then joe c.
I think Joe had a pretty good year.

What I'm talking about is his inability to guard these big, athletic small forwards that most good teams seem to have. Reyshawn Terry of North Carolina; AJ Ratliffe of Indiana; Brandan Rush of Kansas; Shan Foster of Vanderbilt; Jean Felix and Alonzo Gee of Alabama; Tarence Kinsey of South Carolina; Rudy Gay of Connecticut.

Unsurprisingly, every team we were beaten by this year had a big, strong, long small forward.

Joe isn't that. He's a short, short-armed (though powerful and pretty athletic) 2 guard.

The kid's out of position, and that's why it would be great if we could land Tyler Smith to at least give us some defensive help at that spot.

[kipper265]

Joe C - I think Joe must play SG next season. MUST. I don't care if Perry and Sims are the forwards....or Perry and Sheray....or Perry and Travis Ford; Joe MUST get out of that SF position. He is a fabulous player who gets torched when he has to guard larger than his SG position.

Perry - is definitely a better SF than PF.....but if he occasionally plays PF next year, I would not mind. He showed in the NCAAs that he has the chops to go out there and compete in the paint. Hopefully there will be a balance in how he's used. I think the tourney was just the beginning of what kind of leader he will be next year.

Bradley - I love the guy....but I really have concerns if Rondo leaves and Bradley is expected to be the starting PG. He handles the ball great.....can score in bunches. But this team needs to have a PG that will distribute the ball and make good decisions when making those passes. I'm not sure Ramel can do that (at least he hasn't shown that yet).

[Old Blue]

Assuming Rondo is gone, I think Tubby is thinking that his line up is: Bradley at the point, Crawford at the 2, Perry at the 3, Morris at the 4 and Carter at the post.

[Classof93]

Old Blue wrote: Assuming Rondo is gone, I think Tubby is thinking that his line up is: Bradley at the point, Crawford at the 2, Perry at the 3, Morris at the 4 and Carter at the post.


That's the lineup I had in mind. Shag should start if he would learn to work hard. Problem is is that most teams don't start traditional lineups. Usually they have 3 guards and 2 forwards or something like that. Morris would be a HUGE pwerforward in college.

[UKBlue2321]

Perry is definetly the most improved player for this year. If he continues to get bigger and more confident he will be a big time contributor next year. He can play the three or the four, and he seems to be comfortable in both positions.

[RCS]

You can play Morris at PF and one of the 7 footers at center in certain situations, but there are way too many super athletic PFs that would torch Morris. If any of our 7 footers were good enough scorers you might off set that by forcing the other team to play your game, but right now all our centers other than Morris are a black hole on offense. I think a more likely lineup is Bradley(Scares me to death), Crawford, Perry, Stevenson, Morris. You might slide Sims into the 4 and Jasper in at point. I don't think you will see two FR starters, but you might see one. I love Bradley off the bench as the backup to the PG and SG but don't think he can be your main option ath the PG spot.

My ideal lineup is Jasper, Crawford, Perry, Stevenson and Morris. Not sure Tubby will play that many FR, but that gives you a true PG, slides both Crawford and Perry over to their natural positions, gives you a shot blocker and someone to help with Morris' short comings, ie, defense and rebounding. That would be a very athletic, big team and should be a great defensive team. Neither Stevenson nor Jasper are great scorers and neither may be ready to be startersare the negatives. If Jasper and Stevenson can come in and contribute right away at a high level this can be a very good team. If not we have major holes again.