From LSUSports.net ... "We just need to make some timely shots," said Brady. A coach can only control who shoots the ball and from where, but once it is in the air, there's not much a coach can do about it. If we just play more consistently, then our team will be fine." Hey Coach ... Can you not teach kids to shoot an outside shot? Can you not recruit an outside shooter? And btw Coach, if you do "control who shoots the ball and from where", why do you continue to let Koundjia shoot from the outside? He's only 5-30 from 3 point land! Anyway, a must win tonight against lowly Georgia ... yeah I know they beat Kentucky, but they are 9-7 and 1-4 in SEC play.
Recruiting an 'outside shooter' is becoming harder and harder these days as players would rather practice their dunks than their jump shooting. Players like JJ Redick of Duke just don't come along as often anymore. He is touted as the best shooter in college basketball and he hits 44% from three point range. Our best outside shooters check in at 35% (Minor and Mitchell) and 30% (Hudson and Whipple). Sure they can improve with good coaching but these guys have been playing basketball for most of their lives. Changing their shot is much like a golfer trying to change their swings - it's very tough to do.
About six years ago I played against a guy in high school that was a typical guard (could shoot and outside Jump shot and pass with the best of them). His name was Kyle Hornsby he was from a small town in central LA. Anacoco unfortunately Bob Knight while at Indiana did a little in home visit and got the kid. To me Brady should have recruited him harder. That is the type of player this LSU team needs right now.
Mike, I agree there are fewer skilled players these days ... everyone wants to dunk the ball. Guess that's why they don't shoot free throws very well, too! But, they do have kids out there who can shoot ... they just aren't the great athletes and a superstar. Collis Temple falls into this category. He worked very hard on his outside game while at LSU and became a pretty good shooter. Maybe Brady should focus on finding a pure shooter or two to compliment the athletes he wants to recruit. Think Georgia will play alot of zone tonight? LOL
uga coach, felton, said he doesn't like it but he'll have to play zone. i think if you have a player in the game with an open 3 (assuming they play the 1, 2, or 3 position) they must shoot. you cannot let the d sag on you. it effectively makes it harder for the other 4 guys to get open. so either koundja shoots or you take him out. i think brady is resigned to suffer through some of the problems of the freshman (especially minor and koundja) this year because they need to develop for next year---and to have a good team this year they must contribute. hopefully they develop as the year goes on its really tough to find collis temple. you usually have to take a big chance and hope they will be smart enough to overcome lack of athleticism. lets face it, 95% of shooters arent too athletic---that's why the learn to shoot so well. i think the major problem is that its hard for them to overcome lack of quickness/speed/jumping ability to play good d in sec. i think your best chance is to take someone with some size, like temple or taller so they can rebound and will usually not be on the quick players
No, you are wrong, wrong , wrong if you think it is hard to recruit decent outside shooters. Look at 2 Sun Belt schools like ULL and UNO. I have watched them both alot this year, and both teams have several very good outsider shooters. If those schools can do it, Brady has no excuse. Period. End of discussion.
Yes, there are a few pure shooters still around but they are few and far between. Players don't learn the fundamentals and are not taught the fundamentals of shooting like they were in the past at the high school level. Sure, you can still see a few good ones like Dan Dickau who played for Gonzaga a couple of years ago but MikeB is right about players wanting to practice highlight type dunks than they do the rest of the game. Outside shooting percentages are atrocious not only in college BB but even in the NBA outside of a few great shooters like Allen Iverson and Mike Bibby. Tack Minor had a 72 point game in high school. He must have been able to shoot the rock but he is shooting less than 35% for LSU. I have played pickup games where some little guy you will never hear about or see on TV could shoot the lights out from outside. Even guys who were not great athletes. And free throws!! I could walk onto a court right now in the dark and make a lot better percentage of free throws than Jaime Lloreda who will be playing in the NBA next year or even Shaq who makes $multi $millions per year.
Wait one minute all you great shooters! We have great shooters on the team who just haven't found their shot yet. Antonio Hudson is a pure shooter. Though he's streaky. His confidence for some reason isn't where it should be, but this guy has a great shot. Darrell Mitchell is also a great shooter, but streaky. This guy has great rotation and form. I watched Antonio as a senior at Grambling and no one could stop this guy. I also watched Darrell as a senior at St. Martinville and he was unstoppable. Give these guys a little mor time. Also the guy that made the comment about Kyle Hornsby from Anacoco. Hornsby was decent. He averaged about 6 points for Indiana. He was also a streaky shooter, but by far not one of the best. J.J. Reddick of Duke is one of the only pure shooters in the NCAA right now. Most players are very streaky. Anyway, just my two cents.
Hornsby also had 18 TO in 762 min his senior year. Your right we never could have used someone like that. Hudson is a jr./sr. and has not done much since that SEC tournment. How much more time does he need. Mike Mallet who use to coach for Dale Brown (helped recruit Shaq) said that he was disappointed that Brady did not go after Hornsby. I would have to say Mike was a decent judge of talent.
J. J. Reddick never stops moving without the basketball and works his tail off to get an open look. He has solid fundamentals, he's very coachable, he understands and embraces his role, he's cool under pressure and he shoots free throws exceptionally well. John Brady would have no idea what to do with a guy like Reddick - his head would explode and he would waste the talent.
