The growth of cf

[shoxtop]

Count me in the skeptical category when it came to cf. Count me in the disappointed category with what went down when he first arrived here. Don't count me as disappointed when he doesn't go 8 of 15 to score 20+ points right now. He is filling the role we need right now. Whether vocal or not, he is the best at running the half court offense and getting others involved. That should pay dividends moving forward. Along with most on this board, I hope that when neccesary he shows the ability to take over, but I am beyond excited that he has gotten everyone else involved before going that direction. I'm not saying he is on fvvs level. But his play so far is exactly what we needed from a pg this season.

[Shock Top]

I hate to appear argumentative, because I am truly rooting for Connor's success, but based on what I've seen from AR-15 (really, AR-12, but I am just going to roll with it forever until he feels forced to change it... anywho..), I feel he could pass up CF some playing time.

Granted it's a small sample size, but I really like what AR-15 brings to the table: length, vision, williness to push play and go to the basket. I feel, unless CF can start to hit his shots at a more consistent rate, the AR-15 will slowy start to eat into his minutes; probably not start.

That being said, it VERY early in the season and AR-15 could still show us that his is, indeed, a freshman and CF could still become the score we believe he can be. The bright side is, both a good players and play with a bunch of other good players!

[WuDrWu]

Let's just say it's a really good problem to have, and that's why Gregg gets paid the big money.

[proshox]

AR is very good. With that said, I think most people are missing what CF is bringing to the table.

Last night's color analyst was as nice as possible to Fred in the pre-game when he was explaining why this team is dangerous compared to last year. The guy setting the tone for this positive evolution throughout each game is CF. He makes sure the ball doesn't get stuck in one spot on the court and that it gets to the right spot. When your point guard does that it is easy for the other players to do so as well. The inverse was last year when Fred and Ron pounded the ball for long stretches. Ball movement was atrocious and it lead to most other players struggling to be effective.

From game to game shooting percentages will be all over the board for most of our best players. The good news with CF is that he is getting the ball to others in such way that him missing shots doesn't sink the ship.

[molly jabali]

AR is very good. With that said, I think most people are missing what CF is bringing to the table.

Last night's color analyst was as nice as possible to Fred in the pre-game when he was explaining why this team is dangerous compared to last year. The guy setting the tone for this positive evolution throughout each game is CF. He makes sure the ball doesn't get stuck in one spot on the court and that it gets to the right spot. When your point guard does that it is easy for the other players to do so as well. The inverse was last year when Fred and Ron pounded the ball for long stretches. Ball movement was atrocious and it lead to most other players struggling to be effective.

From game to game shooting percentages will be all over the board for most of our best players. The good news with CF is that he is getting the ball to others in such way that him missing shots doesn't sink the ship.

I think this is spot on( hate that phrase,btw)...but as odd as it may seem, NOT having the ball in Fred's hands nonstop may be a huge benefit to THIS team...please don't misunderstand...Fred is an icon to me, but this style of guard movement may better play into this team's strengths...

[Shox1979]

I love Fred and Ron, and will always love them, but I tend to agree. I felt last year we had players waiting for Ron and Fred to bail us out. Or players who seemed hesitant to shoot Bc they were too busy deferring to them. I love our ball movement and unselfishness this season. Connor is doing what is asked if him. But it's gotta be hard keeping Austin off the floor, and becomes harder to do every game.

[Dave Stalwart]

Perhaps with Austin we will get to experience what we missed out on during Baker's freshman year. Assuming Austin stays healthy, we won't have to wait till February to see him play.

[boltforge]

Assuming Austin stays healthy ...

I think Coach's worry about this is why we will see his minutes limited. He has mentioned that maybe they should have braces on BOTH shoulders. And that he is worried about his health.

[_kai_]

In terms of the rotation of point guards, I think that is the key to success. It's like having a running game by committee in football, with Jerome Bettis and Warrick Dunn. Our PG's are so different in their style to the game, you have CF who is a great distributor, a great shooter, a little weak on the drive game. Then you throw in Smith who is lightening in a bottle quick, plays a nice dribble drive, good passing, ok shooting. Then you have Mr. Everything Shamet who does it all well, and throw in the young prodigy Reaves who is a dynamic Doogie Howser with everything basketball. The scary part is that we have CF and DS for 2 years, and AR & LS for 4.

[Ol skool]

I find the guard depth intriguing. And the potential combination unlimited.
Conner keep it steady pg with shamet mr. Versatile sg.
Smith lightning streak pg with Reaves I can make it happen sg

I also like the idea of Conner and Reaves
Conner bringing it up setting it up. Reaves using pg skills as a shooting guard
That's a lot for opponents to deal with.
Same with smith and shamet working together.

These are just potential ideas. Potential unlimited amongst these four.

[1972Shocker]

I think Connor, Landry, Daishon and Austin gives 3G a lot of flexibility to mix and match his guard tandems to take advantage of whatever matchups and defenses the opponents throw at the Shocks. What will work best will vary from game-to-game and at different points within a game. 3G has to love having the tools to respond and he is probably still learning how to play with his new toys. Plus his new toys are evolving and will continue to evolve. Good this year. Holy moly what will this group be next year.

I also think C.J. will show a lot of growth as well just practicing and competing against these guys in practice.

[BOBB]

Our margin in these past games would be little different without Austin. Nonetheless, his play has been scintillating. Conner has been steady. Until one or the other can be both steady and scintillating expect to see heavy doses of each player.

[60Shock]

Coach must be sleeping very well at night and having great dreams knowing he has anyone of four players who can play PG, without losing a step.

[im4wsu]

Count me in the skeptical category when it came to cf. Count me in the disappointed category with what went down when he first arrived here. Don't count me as disappointed when he doesn't go 8 of 15 to score 20+ points right now. He is filling the role we need right now. Whether vocal or not, he is the best at running the half court offense and getting others involved. That should pay dividends moving forward. Along with most on this board, I hope that when neccesary he shows the ability to take over, but I am beyond excited that he has gotten everyone else involved before going that direction. I'm not saying he is on fvvs level. But his play so far is exactly what we needed from a pg this season.

Just sayin'

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[Dan]

Coach always says he likes having 2 point guards on the floor (Ron/Fred, Malcolm/Fred). This year we have 4 point guards that can all play the 1 or 2. It's a nice luxury.