PG camp for Tony

[sailordeac]

My bad the two huge plays he made don't count....only the bad ones count with TC.

With some people that's just the way it is. They only see what they want to see. Give TC a break. He's not an instant top notch ACC point guard. But he has some virtues and can develop. He has not yet played a full year of college ball.

 

[dot com]

love to see him pass more upon entering the lane

This. Every time he tries to finish it himself and usually is swarmed by three guys a foot taller than him.

 

[MBDeac08]

I think Tony is just gonna be one of those guys who isn't gonna be all world or anything but will just be a solid player by his senior year.

Agreed. Thanks to healing from injury and having a full offseason to work on his game, he has improved in every statistical category. His decision making has to improve as already noted. He isn't going to make a team better on his own like some point guards we have had in the recent past, but surround him with more talent and he will get them the ball.

 

[PhonsoINT]

CMM can't get here soon enough. Was really hoping for more out of Fields, but he just doesn't seem to have the game to compete in the ACC. Oh well, maybe we're better than we think. We beat an ACC opponent without a PG.

 

[RJKarl]

love to see him pass more upon entering the lane...lots more potential for this team as a whole if he can...is willing to do that...

The biggest problem with this is our guys don't set themselves up for passes.

Fast breaks are a perfect examples. Ty didn't run the lane with him. Travis didn't wide enough.

If you watch the motion on our offense, you often see hands down as they cut across the lane. Any time you make a cut or set up, your hands need to be in position catch a pass. This is something our bigs rarely do.

Also Travis and CJ need to DEMAND the ball more. If they have to go up to Tony and shake him saying,"get me the ball". That's what they need to do. they aren't doing that now.

 

[88Deac]

I see your point on TC, RJ, but TC is still so young and learning, and this team needs each other's support, so Travis et al can't demand anything from him yet. If he is still making these decisions next year, OK. That being said, TC is being castigated for not finishing at the rim. The thing is, he DOES finish at the rim about 50-50, even against Tech, which isn't too bad at this stage. But he THINKS he can. That is good. Needs to be reined in, but is very good. He is actually pretty good at it, and probably was automatic in high school, AAU, playgrounds of Philly, so that is what he did. It is ingrained in him. At this level, he has to learn all the options and pick the best. But it is hard when all you know from 8 years old to 19 years old is I WILL score, period. But again, your point is well taken. And I think Buzz, Travis, CJ et al are working with him, but a bit more gently until he gets his feet under him. He had some very nice finishes against VT and he can score. And he isn't afraid to take big shots within the offense, even at crunch time. He is learning. I think he is doing just fine for his experience level. We're going to have to live with some mistakes. Like Joe Torre always preached, even to the Yankees: Don't be afraid to make a mistake. TC's got mettle. And we need that. As well as his ballhandling and ability to get in the lane.

I also completely agree with your point re our bigs. They're all still learning. On the fly and under the spotlight. But they are getting it. Not criticizing your post as I know you know that. Just adding thoughts to it. We are such a work in progress this year. It is so funny how once this team surpasses all reasonable expectations for the season, all of a sudden come people are going to start demanding NCAA bubble level play from everyone.

Loved Seth's quote about how their problem was his young guys didn't pay enough attention to detail. Apparently that just means their socks aren't right to some Wake fans..... It is how all but a few freshmen and sophomores play. If they are recruited in this league, they are used to it being easy. It ain't easy doing all the little things for 40 minutes. Their guy who made a quick decision to go under Carson's screen at teh end when he was probably tired. His quote "Lesson learned." I'm guessing Seth has told him that 1000 times. NOW he gets it. Hard lesson learned.

 

[sailordeac]

I don't agree with the let's gang up on TC crowd. Tony has some real virtues as basketball player that can't be, or are difficult, to learn. These include: courage, quickness, hustle, the ability to penetrate, and most important of all the will to win.

He can learn to pass better and finish better once he gets inside. He'll probably never be a great shooter. But he can score, and once he gets the hang of passing off penetration, he'll be a very valuable member of this team.

 

[RJKarl]

Like everyone on our team, Tony has things to learn and improve on but many here are irrational about him for some reason.

 

[88Deac]

No he's not anjd CJ will wear down playing PG. We need CJ's scoring.

This all day. CJ is tired enough by the end of games without running the point and pushing the pace when it is there. Geez. CJ is a VERY good 2, and is becoming a huge PG when we need him at then end. Gotta roll with TC and CJ for the bulk of the PG, SG minutes.

 

[TheIshThatSaved WakeForest]

Please don't forget Ish was very frustrating to watch for 2.5 years. Then he became NBA material. It wasn't like he was great from the start. People sometimes just remember the senoir year. I expect TC's senior year to be much better, though it may be tough getting PT with Chase and CMM.

While he played too fast as a freshman, Ish also led the ACC in assists that year. You either have court vision or you don't.

 

[PTownDeac]

Tony just needs to learn when to slow down and back it out. Not force things.

 

[TexasDeac10]

Ish suffers badly from revisionist history by our fans.

He was good when he stepped on campus. Too fast sometimes? Maybe, but the talent was obvious and if he'd been surrounded by better players he would have had even more assists.

 

[SteveLeporefor3]

Ish suffers badly from revisionist history by our fans.

He was good when he stepped on campus. Too fast sometimes? Maybe, but the talent was obvious and if he'd been surrounded by better players he would have had even more assists.

I agree. Didn't Ish average 6 or 7 assists a game his freshman year?

 

[mercurydime]

The biggest problem with this is our guys don't set themselves up for passes.

Fast breaks are a perfect examples. Ty didn't run the lane with him. Travis didn't wide enough.

If you watch the motion on our offense, you often see hands down as they cut across the lane. Any time you make a cut or set up, your hands need to be in position catch a pass. This is something our bigs rarely do.

Also Travis and CJ need to DEMAND the ball more. If they have to go up to Tony and shake him saying,"get me the ball". That's what they need to do. they aren't doing that now.

I agree, and have taken note that our spacing/pacing on the break needs some work, it seems...

Also love to see a more consistent third scoring option...Fischer, maybe?

 

[Demon09]

Also Travis and CJ need to DEMAND the ball more. If they have to go up to Tony and shake him saying,"get me the ball". That's what they need to do. they aren't doing that now.

You're a bad point guard if you don't realize 15 games into the season you need to look for your top two scorers more.

Wtf is the point of a PG if you have to go up to him and take the ball out of his hands

 

[tau06]

and if he'd been surrounded by better players he would have had even more assists.

Lets pump the breaks here. He played with 2 NBAers his soph year, 3 his junior year, and then with several really good older players his senior year as well as AFA. It's lets not use revisionist history to say he played with some scrubs.

 

[tiltdeac]

It's actually pretty stunning how similar early Ish and Tony's stats were, apart from about 2 more assists per game of course.

 

[TexasDeac10]

Lets pump the breaks here. He played with 2 NBAers his soph year, 3 his junior year, and then with several really good older players his senior year as well as AFA. It's lets not use revisionist history to say he played with some scrubs.

Sorry, I was referring to his freshman year. That was the year when cries of "Not ACC material!" were loudest.

Ish was playing at a fast pace, getting the ball to open teammates Swinton, Hale, Visser, etc. Sometimes they'd convert, sometimes not.

 

[RJKarl]

You're a bad point guard if you don't realize 15 games into the season you need to look for your top two scorers more.

Wtf is the point of a PG if you have to go up to him and take the ball out of his hands

No, you need players to make themselves available.

The job of the PG in this offense is to get it started so we get good shots. somehow our two leading scorers are each shooting over 50%.

 

[Demon09]

Sorry, I was referring to his freshman year. That was the year when cries of "Not ACC material!" were loudest.

Ish was playing at a fast pace, getting the ball to open teammates Swinton, Hale, Visser, etc. Sometimes they'd convert, sometimes not.

With Swinton, it was more of a question of catching the ball than converting the shot. I remember one play where he finally secured the ball with those two stone clubs of his that he called hands, and he proceeded to launch the ball over the backboard from 2 feet away.