Gustys and team defense

[budman]

How many games does Hofstra have to start the game down by 7 points. Gustys just kills us on defense.To many times he just steps out of the way and gives our opponent a easy lay up. Many times he does not help it is because he is not above the arch in the lane, he must do a better job to stay above the arch. When he is above the arch he still gives it an o-lay and gives up a easy lay up or he stops the man driving and then steps back and gives the opponent a short jump shot. Gustys had a very good offensive today did a great job rebounding today. Gustys is not the only problem we have on defense teams are shooting 48 percent against us. To often when someone gets beat on defense there is no help defense. There is no way Hofstra wins the tournament ever if the coaches do not put more importance on team defense.

[HofstraMathew]

We definitely need to improve defense but I wouldn't say gustys is our worst defender. He definitely seems to be playing better defense this year compared to last year.

[HUSID74]

You guys crack me up with all the negativity. We won the friggen game and the guy had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Gods sake. Yes he started poorly and Joe put in Sabety who jump started our offense but come on!

[HUclassof19]

You guys crack me up with all the negativity. We won the friggen game and the guy had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Gods sake. Yes he started poorly and Joe put in Sabety who jump started our offense but come on!

couldnt agree more. it is actually embaressing. some of you would actually prefer to be negative. like even after a win there is more negativity than happiness.

[joeg1]

Gustys will make a run for POY. Mark my words. We will miss him when he's gone. Like Pecora used to say, seniors have an awakening, when they realize it won't last forever, and want to leave their imprint. Our time is NOW.

[stuball888]

When we talk about easy layups its not one players fault. Gustys is who he is. he is not a shot blocker. What he is, is a spaceeater who is a rebounding machine and when fed properly can be an offensive force in the paint. yes he does miss some easy bunnys but overall he will go down as one of the best centers to play for Hofstra. Part of the problem is that our guards cant keep the opponents guards out of the paint. They have to move their feet better on defense and keep their bodies in front of their opponent. Our backside help does not rotate fast enough when our man is beaten off the dribble.

[triplec2195]

When we talk about easy layups its not one players fault. Gustys is who he is. he is not a shot blocker. What he is, is a spaceeater who is a rebounding machine and when fed properly can be an offensive force in the paint. yes he does miss some easy bunnys but overall he will go down as one of the best centers to play for Hofstra. Part of the problem is that our guards cant keep the opponents guards out of the paint. They have to move their feet better on defense and keep their bodies in front of their opponent. Our backside help does not rotate fast enough when our man is beaten off the dribble.

Some good points Stu and while ROK may not be the best defensive player on the floor and does sometimes let players blow by him seemingly not contesting enough shots he's an imposing force down low. His size alone makes it difficult for opposing players to score in the paint and think about all the misdirect shots and misses he causes because of his wingspan stats that will never show up in the box score. Also give him credit for having quick hands pay attention to steals he is directly responsible for that he doesn't get credit for because he doesn't wind up with the ball a lot of the time. And YES HE WILL BE MISSED unless we can find a shot blocking, rebounding animal that can take over the game down low. Think about that when you cast aspersions his way. We know he has faults but far more positive then negative IMO!!

[stuball888]

Triple we have been spoiled by some of the previous centers who have played for Hofstra. Greg Springfield and Adrian Uter who hold the Hofstra record for blocks in a game(10). Even Greg Washington who despite his shortcomings was a very good shot blocker coming off the ball.

[HUclassof19]

others would know better obviously. but isnt gustys probably if not the best, the second best big man hofstra has ever had. how many have gone over 1k in both scoring and rebounding??

[HUSID74]

I believe he is the third...John Irving was a beast for us in the late 70's. He led the nation in rebounding at least one year and was close two others. His teams went to the NCAAs twice the first ever appearances for Hofstra.
Pre division One era was Bill Thieben, whose rebounding totals will never be broken...kind of like Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak.

[Polito]

I mean, is this a thread to note that Rok stinks on D? If so, then yep, he does. But this is nothing new, so not sure what this is supposed to do. At this point, this is his weakness and it isn't changing.

What we SHOULD be talking about after this latest win is the fact we've seen him show an ability to hit 10-15 foot shots, at least a somewhat improved FT %, and last night a beautiful turnaround jumper off the glass - was anyone else like holy cow did I just see that?!?!?

The problem at times with Rok is when he gives you nothing but rebounding, it's really not enough and very frustrating. But give me the Rok we are seeing now with rebounding, offense, good screens, pick and rolls, etc, and I'll take it every single game, with joy.

[Pride97]

Triple we have been spoiled by some of the previous centers who have played for Hofstra. Greg Springfield and Adrian Uter who hold the Hofstra record for blocks in a game(10). Even Greg Washington who despite his shortcomings was a very good shot blocker coming off the ball.

It’s hard to compare Rok to guys like Uter. I think Rok is a much better player, but Uter will always be a fan favorite because of his passion and emotion - something Rok never really shows. Shouldn’t be a knock on Rok. There are plenty of successful players who are the same (Eli Manning for one), but fans usually gravitate to the Uter types because we can relation to the emotion.

We will all ABSOLUTELY miss Rok when he is gone. We all just want so bad for him to be the POY we thought he’d develop into two years ago.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[triplec2195]

I mean, is this a thread to note that Rok stinks on D? If so, then yep, he does. But this is nothing new, so not sure what this is supposed to do. At this point, this is his weakness and it isn't changing.

What we SHOULD be talking about after this latest win is the fact we've seen him show an ability to hit 10-15 foot shots, at least a somewhat improved FT %, and last night a beautiful turnaround jumper off the glass - was anyone else like holy cow did I just see that?!?!?

The problem at times with Rok is when he gives you nothing but rebounding, it's really not enough and very frustrating. But give me the Rok we are seeing now with rebounding, offense, good screens, pick and rolls, etc, and I'll take it every single game, with joy.

The word STINKS is a harsh word Polito and I can't agree with that because that not an always thing with ROK because he changes the game with his size something that's not always measurable. Let's agree to disagree here but with the stipulation that "D" is not the best part of his game. BTW Kenny Rood played on the aforementioned teams with John Irving,Rich Laurel and also Pat Kammerer. I'd like to see Rood weigh in on this subject.

[daHUPride]

You guys crack me up with all the negativity. We won the friggen game and the guy had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Gods sake. Yes he started poorly and Joe put in Sabety who jump started our offense but come on!

couldnt agree more. it is actually embaressing. some of you would actually prefer to be negative. like even after a win there is more negativity than happiness.

So true. Remember these are 20-something year old kids being critiqued by - myself included - overweight washed up wanna-be players/coaches. We all get carried away with our passion for the team and or favorite player(s) but we should try to limit the bashing and accentuate the positive.

[Cards]

Isnt the idea of defense to stop the other team from scoring?? With all the offensive and defensive boards he Roks gets isn't he helping to keep the ball out of the other teams hands and hence stopping them from scoring. Yes, the uncontested drives can be frustrating to watch, but all in all Rok will go down as one of HU best middle men. Hands down.

As i recall, in 2016 Rok was CAA all defensive team - so how in the world is it possible that he is horrible on defense. I guess he had all the coaches who voted for him fooled

Polito - Yes I love the jumpers. I had posted a few weeks ago about this shooting after he drained one from about 17 ft and then had a 12 footer from the baseline against Villanova. He is definitely getting bolder with his jump shooting and its now an every game happening. I LOVE that short turnaround bank shot.

[triplec2195]

I mean, is this a thread to note that Rok stinks on D? If so, then yep, he does. But this is nothing new, so not sure what this is supposed to do. At this point, this is his weakness and it isn't changing.

What we SHOULD be talking about after this latest win is the fact we've seen him show an ability to hit 10-15 foot shots, at least a somewhat improved FT %, and last night a beautiful turnaround jumper off the glass - was anyone else like holy cow did I just see that?!?!?

The problem at times with Rok is when he gives you nothing but rebounding, it's really not enough and very frustrating. But give me the Rok we are seeing now with rebounding, offense, good screens, pick and rolls, etc, and I'll take it every single game, with joy.

The word STINKS is a harsh word Polito and I can't agree with that because that's not an always thing with ROK because he changes the game with his size something that's not always measurable. Let's agree to disagree here but with the stipulation that "D" is not the best part of his game. BTW Kenny Rood played on the aforementioned teams with John Irving,Rich Laurel and also Pat Kammerer. I'd like to see Rood weigh in on this subject.

[triplec2195]

Triple we have been spoiled by some of the previous centers who have played for Hofstra. Greg Springfield and Adrian Uter who hold the Hofstra record for blocks in a game(10). Even Greg Washington who despite his shortcomings was a very good shot blocker coming off the ball.

I like guys that contest and block shots down low Stu also and we had a kid who spent too much time on the bench here maybe because he didn't have the proper work ethic or maybe the skills or possibly they didn't take the time or interest in developing his game but Andre Walker was a shot blocking machine. Last year(I believe it was) he played some minutes in an important CAA game and he really played well in that game. Now there was a lot of bad press released about him not having the talent to ever see any game minutes but some people might have been surprised if ROK wasn't around and this kid got a chance to play and develop his game here. Recall a player named Zeke Upshaw who was scoring 2.5 points a game at Illinois State and was reborn here to the tune of 19.2 points per game. All I guess he needed was the chance to prove himself!

[krood]

I mean, is this a thread to note that Rok stinks on D? If so, then yep, he does. But this is nothing new, so not sure what this is supposed to do. At this point, this is his weakness and it isn't changing.

What we SHOULD be talking about after this latest win is the fact we've seen him show an ability to hit 10-15 foot shots, at least a somewhat improved FT %, and last night a beautiful turnaround jumper off the glass - was anyone else like holy cow did I just see that?!?!?

The problem at times with Rok is when he gives you nothing but rebounding, it's really not enough and very frustrating. But give me the Rok we are seeing now with rebounding, offense, good screens, pick and rolls, etc, and I'll take it every single game, with joy.

The word STINKS is a harsh word Polito and I can't agree with that because that not an always thing with ROK because he changes the game with his size something that's not always measurable. Let's agree to disagree here but with the stipulation that "D" is not the best part of his game. BTW Kenny Rood played on the aforementioned teams with John Irving,Rich Laurel and also Pat Kammerer. I'd like to see Rood weigh in on this subject.

Thanks for the opener..., I posted some of my thoughts earlier today (below):

As for Gustys, I think the coaching staff has maximized Rocks skill and talent level. Knowing a little bit about shooting mechanics, Rock should not shoot beyond 5-10 feet. That said, his scoring ability is a function of his teammates knowing when, and where to pass to him. This was best evidenced with J. Green and we saw The Rock was VERY effective on the pick/roll. Without Green, the staff has reverted to more of a motion offense and none of our guards are effective in the Pn'R.
This year, I like the "combined" contribution of Gustys and Sabety (14pts./14rbs) with Sabety keeping Rock on the floor. Although, they BOTH lose their men on defense!

As for Team Defense, there are no 'defend-1st players' on our team - and that takes both desire and athletic ability. I do think Wormley and Buie have the ability, but have not seen the desire.

I think the staff will continue to experiment with zones and stunts to disguise this weakness...

But, 2 roads wins and 3 days to prepare for the next game (home) feels nice! Hope we draw a better crowd at Home!

Aside from JWR's play,
our PG-play has been inconsistent, AT BEST!
AND, Ray is already playing like a sophomore, and has proven he can shoot (J's and FT's) in the clutch.
AND, Pemberton can handle the pressure at crunch-time and make FT's. He had a clutch assist to The Rock in the last 3 minutes.

BUT, we need to find our PG and #5 at crunch-time (neither big can shoot FT's)

But unless the PG's mature, more CAA teams will press us, AND sooner than down 10 w/ 3min to go.

But, 2 roads wins and 3 days to prepare for the next game (home) feels nice! Hope we draw a better crowd at Home!

[Polito]

My goodness, krood, you touched my heart on those PG comments. You have NO idea just how hot and infuriating that topic is for this guy right here.

[triplec2195]

I mean, is this a thread to note that Rok stinks on D? If so, then yep, he does. But this is nothing new, so not sure what this is supposed to do. At this point, this is his weakness and it isn't changing.

What we SHOULD be talking about after this latest win is the fact we've seen him show an ability to hit 10-15 foot shots, at least a somewhat improved FT %, and last night a beautiful turnaround jumper off the glass - was anyone else like holy cow did I just see that?!?!?

The problem at times with Rok is when he gives you nothing but rebounding, it's really not enough and very frustrating. But give me the Rok we are seeing now with rebounding, offense, good screens, pick and rolls, etc, and I'll take it every single game, with joy.

The word STINKS is a harsh word Polito and I can't agree with that because that not an always thing with ROK because he changes the game with his size something that's not always measurable. Let's agree to disagree here but with the stipulation that "D" is not the best part of his game. BTW Kenny Rood played on the aforementioned teams with John Irving,Rich Laurel and also Pat Kammerer. I'd like to see Rood weigh in on this subject.

Thanks for the opener..., I posted some of my thoughts earlier today (below):

As for Gustys, I think the coaching staff has maximized Rocks skill and talent level. Knowing a little bit about shooting mechanics, Rock should not shoot beyond 5-10 feet. That said, his scoring ability is a function of his teammates knowing when, and where to pass to him. This was best evidenced with J. Green and we saw The Rock was VERY effective on the pick/roll. Without Green, the staff has reverted to more of a motion offense and none of our guards are effective in the Pn'R.
This year, I like the "combined" contribution of Gustys and Sabety (14pts./14rbs) with Sabety keeping Rock on the floor. Although, they BOTH lose their men on defense!

As for Team Defense, there are no 'defend-1st players' on our team - and that takes both desire and athletic ability. I do think Wormley and Buie have the ability, but have not seen the desire.

I think the staff will continue to experiment with zones and stunts to disguise this weakness...

But, 2 roads wins and 3 days to prepare for the next game (home) feels nice! Hope we draw a better crowd at Home!

Aside from JWR's play,
our PG-play has been inconsistent, AT BEST!
AND, Ray is already playing like a sophomore, and has proven he can shoot (J's and FT's) in the clutch.
AND, Pemberton can handle the pressure at crunch-time and make FT's. He had a clutch assist to The Rock in the last 3 minutes.

BUT, we need to find our PG and #5 at crunch-time (neither big can shoot FT's)

But unless the PG's mature, more CAA teams will press us, AND sooner than down 10 w/ 3min to go.

But, 2 roads wins and 3 days to prepare for the next game (home) feels nice! Hope we draw a better crowd at Home!

Kenny thanks for weighing in it's a pleasure to have a former basketball player part of the discussion. You have more insight then the average guy here while we're all passionate about HU basketball/sports you bring us inside the game that probably a lot of us just played recreationally. We all know we have issues at the PG position which is perplexing since DB comes to this school with some nice pedigree from HS. I don't want to talk about this subject ad-nauseum since we have already beat it to death but I know I posted my concerns about being pressed to death by some teams going with no PG on the floor. Some of us were of the opinion that JR could step in and play the point cause he had some experience there in HS.What's your feeling about that option??