If I was the coach, I think my biggest focus right now would be free throw %. If a player shoots less than 80% during a game or practice, he would be required to spend extra time working up to 80%. Shooting free throws around 50% will lose us close games this year.
It is really disappointing that our 3-pt % is so low, especially when we have 4 potential "good" shooters on the team in Kamara, Sommer, Smith, and Hafford. I have the feeling that Smith just isn't feeling his shot. I'm not sure where Hafford's shot went. Kamara isn't shooting as well as last year, and Sommer just isn't taking any shots. I think that once Smith and/or Hafford get their shot back, that the 3-pt % will go up. It has to, that's the only way it can go. I agree with your point that we should be working the ball for better shots, either getting inside to Morrison or just getting a shot from a few feet inside the arc.
I really like the fact that we don't have a "bad" player on our team. I noticed that when we played UVSC. They rotated 8 or 9 guys for most of the night, and there was definitely a couple that held the team up and a couple "role" players. I feel our team is very different. I think we are very deep in our skill level. We lack in size, but every one of our players is good enough to go up against just about any in-conference player we will face (Stuckey excepted). We don't have any real superstars (Kamara and Morrison excepted) but we don't have any players that are bad enough to not see decent minutes.
I think that as we get closer to conference play, the minutes will begin to increase for the starting players. I'm sure Coach Bone has been experimenting with lineups and getting players comfortable in the system. I feel that the players are getting there, and now we will see what our Vikings can do.
Is anybody else as excited about the next few years of Viking basketball as I am? Morrison will be back next year. Kyle Coston has shown me a lot of hustle, and Julius Thomas is just a beast, and they are both freshman. I think that Jenkins could be the starting PG next year, and he is just a freshman also. I think Tyrell Mara will take a redshirt this year, so he will be a SO as far as eligibility goes. The only two players we will lose are Paul Hafford and Juma Kamara. Paul will be easy to replace, but someone will need to step up to fill Juma's shoes.
I think we will end up about 3rd in conference this year (though I always hope for a championship) and I think next year we should be battling for the top spot, as well as for the next couple of years.
GO VIKS!!!
