There's a diff between a pretty good shooter and what TFreeman has done.

The point about Freeman moving the ball quickly should not be overlooked.  Most players on the perimeter hold the ball too long too often, giving the defense the chance to overcome the physics of ball moves faster than man.

Not that it is all that big of a difference but it was 5-8

Tulsa - L
Austin Peay - L
Delaware - W
Illinois St - W
Eastern Kentucky - W
Pitt - L
Elon - W
Robert Morris - L
IUPUI - W
Kent State - L
Akron - L
Fiami - L
Bowling Green - L



I never said it that Tommy was the cure but he definitely makes this team better. Too many people overvalue the athlete over the basketball player.  Sure there are guys that are quicker and can jump higher than Tommy but he brings a lot to the table that some very good athletes don't.  Is Tommy going to shut down the other teams best offensive threat by himself? No, but his vision and ability to take charges on help defense just might get that guy an extended stretch on the bench. Is he going to take over a game offensively by himself? No, but his quick passing and ball reversal might allow another player like Washington or Coleman to.  If one of our new recruits can do those things and do them as well as Tommy and bring some things that he doesn't then I have no problem with him receiving diminished minutes but right now he serves a very big and real need on this team.  Not everything is about being the man.  My guess is that a year or two from now people will be saying "What this team really needs is a Tommy Freeman type."

Slower pace
Cooper
Freeman
Coleman
Washington
Keely/Kellogg

Faster pace
Cooper
Johnson
Coleman
Washington
Baltic

Freeman is going to play, period.  I do think he will play more or less against given teams based on match-ups, but I don't see how that is controversial or any different then last year.

Fair enough.  What's your reasoning for Cooper?

Excellent point Monroe.

Since our staff has not felt compelled to say anything I am going to steal a bit from Mr Freeman's (the senior) Facebook page and let the Cat out of the Proverbial Bag. After all, when was the last time one of our Bobcats led the nation or was Top Ten in any statistical category? I have oft wondered why the PR crew has not at least made notice of the rankings now that the furor  and damage control regarding last year's off court antics has died down somewhat.

In any case Mr Freeman (the junior) has garnered little praise  or public notice for some impressive statistical contributions.

Basketball State ranks him 2nd in True Shooting % whilst Ken Pomeroy brings him in at Numero Uno
www.bbstate.com/stats.php
kenpom.com/leaders.php
Pomeroy also lists him 3rd in Effective FG % and 24th in All Players in Offensive Rating
kenpom.com/leaders.php

In the grand scheme of things one would shake their head in bewilderment as to why anyone would discuss moving him off a starting role or diminishing minutes given the proven stats but from what I have gleaned through contacts in Athens this summer the undersized 3 is finally cracking the 200 lb mark and making absurd amounts of shots in individual and open gym situations ensuring no one is moving him off the role of starter. I would highly suspect that he and DJ Cooper are in the Mega Minutes category when the Ken Pom analysis comes out next March.  Perhaps the discussion should be regarding moving back to his more natural 2/SG spot and which new player will step up to claim the 3/SF spot. In any case it gives the staff several options with which to play. His leadership on the floor will surely benefit the youth on this team as he directs traffic and talks on both ends.

In the NCAA pure statiscal world young Mr Freeman was number 2 in straight 3 pt FG %. Most of us would think that he might get a lot more looks and touches this year than last if the offense flows as it is supposed to.  
www.ncaa.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/ncaa-m-baskbl-div1-ind-three-point-field-goal-percentage.html

Ken Pom shows our Team as Top 100 statistically (93rd) and DJ cracking Top 100 in one category and Top 40 in 2 others. kenpom.com/team.php

Finally, my scenario for the last shot is  virtually the same as IUPUI last year. Ball in Mr. Cooper's hands and shooters in the corners, those being Kellogg the younger and Tommy Freeman with  DVW in the middle to crash boards and clean up any possible misses. But that is just based on what I have heard coming out of the Roundhouse this last 4 weeks.  Open up the floor and look for the ice water.

The thing is, what game did Freeman take over? He knocked down shots last year, but he also got a ton of open looks. Considering during our run of being good we had Bassett and Cooper who were both bigger threats, that usually left him wide open.

Is he a good shooter? Yes, but NCAA statistics don't really tell everything. Different levels of plays, roles on the team, etc. If he starts doing Redick-level stuff and taking over games with his shooting that'd be one thing. Right now he's just doing a good job of being a role player. Role players get minutes, but they also don't get the same luxuries to play through rough times. I'm not saying Freeman won't play a lot, because he will. All I'm saying is Groce will get his younger guys in there pretty quickly since he recruited them for his system, and they are no slouches either.

I think we go....

PG- Cooper- MAC player of the year this year in my opinion. Improving on his 3 point shot, adding muscle and man does his court vision look outstanding.
SG- Coleman- Arguably the most purely talented player on the team. If he works hard, could be one of the most explosive scorers in the conference
SF- Freeman- Great shooter, we know that. Senior leadership. And when I saw him recently he was doing a good job of driving to the basket as well.
PF- Reggie- Most improved player I think at this point. He is doing better and better using footwork to get space in the post, and is adding a nice jumper to his game.
C- D- Dude is just plain athletic. He is our best rebounder, and most explosive player. Love him.

Bench in order:
1. Ricardo- Looked great. Moves well off the ball to get open. Good knock down shooter, and very athletic.
2. AK- Getting better and better. Probably a better defender than keely, but doesnt have the same scoring ability.
3. Nick- See my posts on the recruiting page. Love this dude
4. Ivo- Freak of an athlete as well. Will provide rebounding and can get out and run the floor on opponents with tired legs.
5. TJ- Good scoring ability off the bench. Liability on defense, but he wont see a ton of minutes so it shouldnt be awful.

Overall I cant wait for this season. MAC title needs to happen. I even think this is a team that could advance to the second round of NCAA tourney play again. I think I like this team more than lasts.

I'd agree with that.  The ball goes first to Cooper.  What I love about Cooper is he has shown that he can score the big bucket and he has shown that he will pass up a shot for a better shot by someone else if that is the better option.  I really hate the trend towards doing a clearout for the best offensive player to either hit a shot or miss it even if he gets double teamed.  In fact, I'd probably have Coleman as the second option. No team is going to leave Tommy open unless they are forced to by dribble penetration and Tommy isn't going to create his own shot consistently.  Everything starts with Cooper. 

Why does every player have to take over a game?   The things that he does helps other players take over games.  I liken Tommy to Jeff Boals even though they were very different players.  Boals wasn't the guy that made the flashy play but his quick ball reversal that led to the dump passes to Gary Trent were instrumental in our success.  Once Chad Estis graduated Boals was the only player on the team that did a good job at this. So much about college basketball is timing. A quarter of a second is all it takes for a defender to recover in time to be in good position. If the ball arrives a quarter second earlier the defender is out of position and either fouls or gives up a bucket.  When you all your perimeter guys look to score first you lose that quick passing and passing lanes are less available because by the time a scorer determines that he doesn't have a shot the defense has been able to get into position on the other players.   

In the end, there are a lot of different roles that need to be filled for teams to be successful and not all of them have to be the guy that puts the ball in the hoop.

My point is, he's never going to be the first option. He's rarely if ever going to be the second option. He's not a lock down defender. He's a role player. Role players can be replaced. If Cooper starts the season terrible, he'll be allowed to play on. If Freeman doesn't do much if anything through a few games, he's going to be replaced because we have people who are at his level ready to play.

Was the 2006 squad the one after the year that we won the MAC title?  This year's team seems worlds better than that team.

105--I have the unfair advantage of hindsight on this one.  But that 2006 team fell apart.  Maybe that taints my memory.  But I'll take this year's team any day of the week over that one.  This year's backcourt is hands down better/deeper and the team is deeper.

How did we get off the orig topic here?:  Ivo Baltic and Keely could work out sweet this year.