Word on the street is Miller is back! Really thought we had seen the last of him.👍
Tony Miller
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I really liked what he brought to the table when he was healthy. It was tough to see him not right from game 1 on and then disappear. Especially when he was all-in on getting another year. Hope it works out.
Wow, 5 deep at the 4 spot with:
4. Efe, 4b. AJ, 4c. Kim. 4d. Miller. 5e. 6ft 9 in Walk On
Center would be 4 deep:
5. Dischon Jackson. 5b. Vova, 5c. Efe, 5d. 6 ft 9 in Walk On.
Depth is amazing, fantastic, incredible.
Would be beyond description if Bonton also came back.
Instead of the typical 7,8,9 man rotation, WSU could easily have a 9, 10, 11 man Rotation.
I think WSU, Smith wins 19 to 23 games in Regular Season, 9-9, 10-8, 11-7, 12-6 in conference, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th,7th in conference. 2,3 Pac 12 Tourny wins, NIT Final 2/4/6, NCAA Tourny 2nd Round, Sweet 16, and 22 to 26 Total wins by the end of NCAA Tourny, end of season, if count the Pac 12 tourny wins, And NCAA/NIT Tourny wins
I think that is very doable for WSU, Smith, this coming season.
I think less then that, would be WSU, Smith underachieving, with the LOT this team has.
I think that is very doable for WSU, Smith, this coming season.
I think less then that, would be WSU, Smith underachieving, with the LOT this team has.
The Cougs need more offense, Miller is not as athletic or as long others on the team, he does provide something in short supply, polished offensive skills in the paint. Hopefully, Coach Smith can find a way to take advantage of that, to lessen the scoring droughts that plagued us last season.
Miller is also a very good rebounder and gets more than his fair share of tip-ins and putbacks on the offensive end. As the roster now stands, this is perhaps the deepest team the Cougs have had in ages.
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
My question is...assuming this is true, where does he get minutes? Doesn't seem like it's going to be a whole lot.
I would hope they've had that conversation.
Coach Smith has a group that doesn't really have a poor defender in the bunch. Some are better than others, and some are probably better in specific situations, but they can all play D.
Presumably, that means he will have his first 7 or 8 players in terms of playing time being the guys who can score. Tony needs to work on his mid-range jumper and his penetration to the basket if he wants much PT. The good news is that he is at the point in his career where he might be able to make that improvement, given the effort. We'll just have to see.
One thing for sure...there will be some very lively & physical 5 on 5 scrimmages in practice!
Presumably, that means he will have his first 7 or 8 players in terms of playing time being the guys who can score. Tony needs to work on his mid-range jumper and his penetration to the basket if he wants much PT. The good news is that he is at the point in his career where he might be able to make that improvement, given the effort. We'll just have to see.
One thing for sure...there will be some very lively & physical 5 on 5 scrimmages in practice!
What seems apparent is that Smith and staff are better recruiters than Tony and staff at WSU...but Tony is the better coach (which is not meant as a slight against Smith as Tony is one of the best in the game).
Tony Bennet would take this team, with Gueye on it to about a Sweet 16, Elite 8, maybe even a Final 4, and at least the same number of wins his Sweet 16 team had, as this team has MORE higher rated talent then his Sweet 16 team.
Tony Bennet is the Better system, X's and O's, while Smith is the better Recruiter.
But while Smith's system, X's and O's, is not as good as Tony Bennet's, Smith's Coaching, system, X's and O's, etc, are, is nothing to snide at either(Not saying anybody is Sniding Smith)
How, I understand your reasoning. However, I'd give Smith another season to show his coaching abilities. Last year was not a good year to serve as a baseline, for a lot of reasons. This year he has better raw talent, and some of last year's raw talent will be more fully developed. I saw Tony make some Bonehead (I'm sorry, but that pun was deliberate) moves. Tony is a very good X's and O's coach, but I would not go so far as to say that he is on par with the best in the game at this time. We all continue to learn and develop, and Tony will too, so maybe he eventually will be considered to be one of the best. I could say the same for Coach Smith. Both would agree that they can improve, and I suspect that over the next few years, both will improve. We'll see where we stand then.
Fair enough. Who would you put in your top 10 of current college men's basketball coaches? I know...not a simple question.
I think Tony belongs in that list, by the way. As does Mark Few, by the way (duh?). 😊
There are websites like Kenpom that rate the teams. In his head coaching career, Coach Smith has always out performed what was predicted. He is a very very good coach.
How, that is a good question, to which I have not given adequate thought. I suppose before I could answer the question, I'd have to come up with a criteria for judging. W/L is obvious, but what about performance with a limited budget, or in a sparsely populated area that lacks a lot of local recruits? Ability to raise funds with alums to improve facilities? Or working in the shadow of a more prestigious program in the same media market? Probably other criteria that would play some role, as well.
Few without question. Tony is certainly working on it. Again, probably depends upon your criteria.
Since we've mentioned coach Smith in our string, I'd give him marks from very good to better than very good in most areas except controlling his temper. Yes, there is a place for the occasional temper tantrum, and one technical doesn't necessarily cost you a game. But he does have a tendency to hurt himself in that area.
Rapp is NOT a good defender, ASU's Verge, and Remy TORCHED Rapp, due to Rapp's SLOW LATERAL defending speed.
I'm assuming you are talking about the 77-74 OT loss to ASU in which Rapp played 28 minutes. Remy Martin was 7-23 in that game, Verge was 3-10 (Rapp didn't guard both guys). Martin did hit the game winning shot against Rapp but that was really the only big shot he hit in that game. I would not classify that as being "torched". I would be happy with any Cougar defender who kept Martin and Verge at 10-33 shooting, wouldn't you?
The other ASU game (the conference tournament game as the 2nd regular season game was cancelled due to COVID), Rapp played only 8 minutes. Even so, Martin was only 2-10 in that game. Verge had a very good game in that one but Bonton and Williams both played 35+ minutes in that game and were mostly responsible for defending Verge & Martin.
The statistics and facts don't support your statement that Rapp got torched. I know you want him off the roster but you don't have to resort to making unsubstantiated comments in order to make him look worse as a player.
Glad Cougar
And if Rapp was such a good LATERAL defender, then why didnt Rapp cover Remy more closely, to prevent the 3 point shot? Answer: Rapp didnt cover Remy more closer to prevent the 3 point shot, and went under the screen, instead of in front of the screen, to guard Remy more closely, because he Rapp knew he wasnt a good LATERAL defender, and that if he were to guard Remy more Closely, Remy would have BLOWED RIGHT BY HIM for a chance to score in the lane.
That was a bad decision by Smith.
Noah should have been the one to guard Remy. Noah would have gone in front of the screen, covered Remy closely, and Remy would have been LOCKED DOWN, and either would not have gotten by Noah, or would not have EASILY gotten by Noah, and would have had a lot TOUGHER time getting by Noah, and thats because NOAH is a very good LATERAL defender, with very good LATERAL speed, UNLIKE Rapp.
Put Bonton on him. Bonton is also a better defender then Rapp, and if not Bonton, Bamba, as Bamba is a better defender then Rapp.
Excellent. Rapp is a smart player who seems to have a great attitude...a terrific team player.
I don't know if he is staying, but I hope he does.
You need to relax and get your facts straight instead of changing with the wind when you are flat wrong. It gets tiring.
So basicallly since Noah fouled out, Bonton was hurt, if Bamba was also fouled out, hurt, there was almost nobody else left but Rapp, at almost the bottom of the "Defenders Available" to defend Remy Roster. If thats the case, that's not a good sign of how good of a defender Rapp is.
And if Bamba was not hurt, fouled out, then Smith made a mistake not putting Bamba on Remy, as Bamba is a good defender, way better then Rapp, Bamba would have gone in front of the screen, covered Remy more closely, denied the 3 point shot, because he knows that he is a good defender, and Remy would have had a tough time getting by him.
Rapp didnt FORGET to go in front of the screen, instead of under the screen. He PURPOSELY CHOSE to go under the screen, because he knew that he was not a good lateral defender, and that because of that if he were to go in front, cover Remy more closely, to deny the 3 point shot, Remy would have BLOWN RIGHT BY HIM, for a chance to score in the lane.
Good Defenders go in front of the screen. Gary Payton would have gone in front, because Gary Payton knew he was a Awesome Defender, Gary Payton almost always went in front of screens because of his defensive Prowess back in the day.
Bad LATERAL defenders go under the screen.
Rapp is a Bad LATERAL Defender. He only averaged 3.5 points per game(2nd,3rd lowest scoring production on team), rebounded ok, only reason why averaged as many minutes as he did, was how extremely bad the PG situation was(Bonton was a SG, not a PG). He is the 2nd worst scholly player on the team. This coming season Rapp is going to be at the BOTTOM of the 1,2,3 spots depth chart. He will only average about 6 to 8 to 10 to 12 minutes per game. He will probably only score about 3 ppg. He will likely be THE WORST SCHOLLY PLAYER ON THE TEAM, this coming season.
NICE kid, I understand why some defend the kid, like the kid, want the kid to stay, want someone else on the team besides Rapp to transfer.
And if WSU didnt need Rapps scholly, I would be happy to have Rapp on team.
But WSU needs the scholly of one of the worst scholly players on the team, in order to sign recruits, improve, and since Rapp is one of the worst scholly players production, defense, stat wise on the team, then that means that WSU needs Rapp's scholly, and that Rapp needs to go, is the best choice to have go.
