PG spot still very troubling for Heath and USF

[Vega]

Men’s hoops: Three starting spots up for grabs

University of South Florida men’s basketball coach Stan Heath is less than a week away from having to pencil in his first starting lineup, but it doesn’t look like that will be an easy task.

Speaking before Wednesday’s practice at the Sun Dome, Heath said junior Augustus Gilchrist and senior Jarrid Famous have solidified their roles as starters in the post but that the other three positions are still up for grabs.

The battles taking place are between juniors Shedrick Haynes and Anthony Crater at point guard, sophomores Shaun Noriega and Mike Burwell at the 2 guard position and sophomore Jawanza Poland and Hugh Robertson at the No. 3 spot.

“I’m just going by practice, and every day I seem to shuffle the lineup around,†said Heath, who added redshirt junior forward Ron Anderson has shown enough to earn a starting spot in the post, but that he would defer to returning starters Gilchrist and Famous. “But that’s a good and a bad because I think that means we have pretty good depth and we have pretty good parity.â€

The biggest battle could be at point guard, where Heath says the play has been the most inconsistent on the team, specifically in regards to taking care of the ball.

“They’re very much neck and neck ... because I’m not sure who is ready to run and lead our team,†Heath said of Haynes and Crater.

Heath would like to establish a set lineup in order to establish some consistency, but says the players have to step up and take ownership of the starting jobs in order for that to happen.

If that doesn’t happen within the next week of practice, it could come Monday in the Bulls’ lone preseason game against Eckerd, scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip in the Sun Dome.

“Sometimes you practice, practice, practice and the lights come and you’re in front of a crowd and some guys show you something else,†Heath said, “so it will give me another measuring stick to gauge who deserves what.â€

http://sports.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/related/C127/

[beastiebull]

If we have poor PG play our 2 down low scoring threats will be easily neutralized.  This does not bode well.  If Crater doesn't get it by now let showtime take his lumps.  And Noriega battling for a starting spot??  Yeesh....

ANyone who says Dojo will not be missed is not very bright.

[DELdaBull]

PG is a weakness.  We knew that going into the season.  Howard might be the biggest loss from last years team

[Guest AstroBull]

If we have poor PG play our 2 down low scoring threats will be easily neutralized.  This does not bode well.  If Crater doesn't get it by now let showtime take his lumps.  And Noriega battling for a starting spot??  Yeesh....

ANyone who says Dojo will not be missed is not very bright.

Thought Poland and Robertson would be the 2 and 3 this year, with Noriega first off the bench. Heath has said that Noriega's defense has improved enough to get in the rotation.

[Velcro]

If we have poor PG play our 2 down low scoring threats will be easily neutralized.  This does not bode well.  If Crater doesn't get it by now let showtime take his lumps.  And Noriega battling for a starting spot??  Yeesh....

ANyone who says Dojo will not be missed is not very bright.

Thought Poland and Robertson would be the 2 and 3 this year, with Noriega first off the bench. Heath has said that Noriega's defense has improved enough to get in the rotation.

He played very well in the S. American tournament... I think having him on the floor, if he does play at least moderately well defensively will help.  I'm surprised to hear that Burwell is in the mix if he was such a poor defensive liability. 

I think we'll see lots of rotation, with big lineups where Robertson and Poland are on the floor at the same time, and others that are even bigger with one of those two playing the two, with Famous, Gilchrist, and either Toarlyn, or Anderson also on the floor (3 bigs, a wing and a guard).

The frontcourt depth and shooting ability of Gilchrist and Toarlyn really open up numerous possibilities to create mismatches.

But guard play is still going to be critical, and this is what scares me.  You can win with great point guard play and avg big men.  Much tougher with great big men and avg PG play... especially in the Big East which is loaded with solid big men AND solid guards, on most every team.

[dabull80]

I hear Matt Yob has another year of eligibility left.

[Guest AstroBull]

He played very well in the S. American tournament... I think having him on the floor, if he does play at least moderately well defensively will help.  I'm surprised to hear that Burwell is in the mix if he was such a poor defensive liability. 

I think we'll see lots of rotation, with big lineups where Robertson and Poland are on the floor at the same time, and others that are even bigger with one of those two playing the two, with Famous, Gilchrist, and either Toarlyn, or Anderson also on the floor (3 bigs, a wing and a guard).

The frontcourt depth and shooting ability of Gilchrist and Toarlyn really open up numerous possibilities to create mismatches.

But guard play is still going to be critical, and this is what scares me.  You can win with great point guard play and avg big men.  Much tougher with great big men and avg PG play... especially in the Big East which is loaded with solid big men AND solid guards, on most every team.

Agreed, I thought Burwell was still a huge liability, and why I have him low on TMIPFUSF list this year. Noriega's shooting does make up for his lapses defensively, but the comments on Crater and Haynes scare the crap out of me.

[Vega]

He played very well in the S. American tournament... I think having him on the floor, if he does play at least moderately well defensively will help.  I'm surprised to hear that Burwell is in the mix if he was such a poor defensive liability. 

I think we'll see lots of rotation, with big lineups where Robertson and Poland are on the floor at the same time, and others that are even bigger with one of those two playing the two, with Famous, Gilchrist, and either Toarlyn, or Anderson also on the floor (3 bigs, a wing and a guard).

The frontcourt depth and shooting ability of Gilchrist and Toarlyn really open up numerous possibilities to create mismatches.

But guard play is still going to be critical, and this is what scares me.  You can win with great point guard play and avg big men.  Much tougher with great big men and avg PG play... especially in the Big East which is loaded with solid big men AND solid guards, on most every team.

Agreed, I thought Burwell was still a huge liability, and why I have him low on TMIPFUSF list this year. Noriega's shooting does make up for his lapses defensively, but the comments on Crater and Haynes scare the crap out of me.

What I was told:

From positions 2-5 this is a top 5 team in the BE without question.  Burwell has finally had the light go on, and after struggling early Jawanza Poland is an athletic force on the wing.  Noriega and Robertson are in the lead but there's really not much of a drop off and Dominique Jones is NOT MISSED, point production will be made up for and the locker room is a much healthier place.  In regards to the PG position, I think by the time they tip off in Game 1 on Nov.12 if not then soon after Showtime Haynes will be our starting point guard.  He's actually made significant progress learning the position and he WANTS TO LEARN and be good.  Crater has the want to and the desire as well but its getting to the point of "he is what he is".  A good defensive player who can run the team for 12- 15 minutes and get the occasional bucket.  That's it!  I also think Showtime Haynes is a gamer and will play better in games than he does in practice.  When Heath talks about the light going on and guys getting it together he's specifically talking about him.

Looks like the practice reports by Adam and myself are right in line with what I said to you earlier this year. Chris Howard would be the hardest to replace not Jones, and Shedrick Haynes will be the key to this season.

[Matt]

Please tell me we have a better 2 guard than noriega?

[Guest AstroBull]

Please tell me we have a better 2 guard than noriega?

I think Shaun will surprise you. He's the best shooter we've had since Reggie maybe, and teams will have to respect his range. I remember reading something last year where Heath said that Noriega was the only player who had the green light no matter where he was on the floor.