Game 30: South Florida 2/26 7:00 ESPN+

[Rufus]

In another thread, CWM is explaining the rotational process he' s wanting to utilize in the offense he's designed. He wants five guys on the court that can run, pass, dribble and handle the ball, shoot, willing to scrum for rebounds and man up guard, but most of all, court awareness. You must be aware of where you and your team mates are on your end of the court. Now to do that you have to have at a minimum 8-9 guys to rotate on and to keep from tiring out. And you need to have the guys who are in the rotation not only unselfish, but excited for other team members to have a hot hand and be the leading scorer on any given night. It would be rare to have every players be cold on a typical night. You cant have just two of the entire rotation able to score the basketball. Ideally all the guys are are 6'3" and taller "guards" types capable of handling the ball. See Skillings, Reed, Sage T. etc. We don't have anyone on the team presently that can do all these things. Some can shoot, some can dribble, some are not afraid of scrumming for loose balls and rebounds, and some can learn to guard but none possess all the tangibles that CWM covets on this years version. Out of the normal rotation we have not one player that does each of these things on a consistent basis. So it may take 2-4 years to get the type of ball players he cherishes to get his idea up and hitting on all cylinders. That's why next years roster will look different. The days of being thugs under the rim and snatching balls away from opponents for second and third chances at the offensive rim, running set plays, and looking for the post underneath are long gone in Clifton I'm afraid. This is what I'm reading in this first version of CWM's first season. I apologize for the length of this post

[richard k.]

In another thread, CWM is explaining the rotational process he' s wanting to utilize in the offense he's designed. He wants five guys on the court that can run, pass, dribble and handle the ball, shoot, willing to scrum for rebounds and man up guard, but most of all, court awareness. You must be aware of where you and your team mates are on your end of the court. Now to do that you have to have at a minimum 8-9 guys to rotate on and to keep from tiring out. And you need to have the guys who are in the rotation not only unselfish, but excited for other team members to have a hot hand and be the leading scorer on any given night. It would be rare to have every players be cold on a typical night. You cant have just two of the entire rotation able to score the basketball. Ideally all the guys are are 6'3" and taller "guards" types capable of handling the ball. See Skillings, Reed, Sage T. etc. We don't have anyone on the team presently that can do all these things. Some can shoot, some can dribble, some are not afraid of scrumming for loose balls and rebounds, and some can learn to guard but none possess all the tangibles that CWM covets on this years version. Out of the normal rotation we have not one player that does each of these things on a consistent basis. So it may take 2-4 years to get the type of ball players he cherishes to get his idea up and hitting on all cylinders. That's why next years roster will look different. The days of being thugs under the rim and snatching balls away from opponents for second and third chances at the offensive rim, running set plays, and looking for the post underneath are long gone in Clifton I'm afraid. This is what I'm reading in this first version of CWM's first season. I apologize for the length of this post

no apology necessary - but isn't what you are describing as Miller "wants" what most coaches are ":looking for?" If you want unselfish players who can run, shoot (& score), dive for balls/scrum, play "d", and rebound, who wouldn't want those players?

[Rufus]

Yes it is but not in the traditional format of having 2 guards a 3 pos., a 4 pos. and a traditional low post (center). Were used to seeing a shooting guard and a point guard. Then usually a power forward and a three which is your slashing / driving forward. As I see it he is wanting 5 Hybrids any and all capable of bringing the ball up the court and setting up. For instance JD could never bring the ball up the court, don' t have the ball handling capabilities, when opposing teams press, neither could / would Newman or Hensley or Ogauma or MM. With Millers system and rotation, players roles are not defined or set in stone other than all can and will be able to handle they ball, pass proficiently and score from wherever on the floor. His system would see anybody bring the ball up the floor and fast paced movement with lots of passing and whoever works their way into the first open shot takes takes advantage of it.

[Rufus]

This is a variation of the 4 guard format as it was called then when Jay Wright and Villanova won the national championship a few years back (2016?) From everything I've seen from this years team this is what I think ( and I am not a coach) is the direction CWM is taking things.

[RedDog]

Call it what you want but his preference is for an open post flowing offense where all 5 guys can shoot. Hes not big on posting guys low unless circumstances present itself. He will always prefer the 3 ball and in the future this should dictate playing time. It will look like a traditional 1 thru 5 team size wise but will more accurately be 1 big who can pick and pop and take his guy out with him to open the lane, 1 preferably tall point guard who is the primary ball handler, and 3 long wings like Reed and Skillings who can slash or shoot, deflect defend and press. The emphasis will be on individual creation rather than set plays, and hopefully guys will be perceptive enough and unselfish enough to dish for assists off the drive. This style is what the big boys play today which appeals to todays kids but the emphasis will be on quality depth to pull it off. Neuman fits the role and probably Mcginnis in the short term. If he stays Vik can play the 5 but Ody may not be able to find his niche just like this year. So bottom line is we have a long way to go and need 2-3 good recruiting classes in a row. We didn't have the talent this year no matter how we played so Wes ran the planned offense so recruits could clearly see what we want to do.The tradeoff was frustration and lack of wins for us fans this year but hopefully recruits concluded that they would excel in this system and it fits their freedom prefences. My concern is if we can ever recruit enough star power to execute this plan on a regular basis. If you have enough 4 star type of leaders, they can elevate the 3 star role players to success. If you lack the go to guys like this year, this style can look very ugly. To accelerate this transition, I am hopeful we can get some jucos or transfers for next year - I would really not like to suffer through this again next season. That's the direction I see us heading and this year was a throw away season that teased us initially but became the reality it was projected to be.

[longtimefan]

Call it what you want but his preference is for an open post flowing offense where all 5 guys can shoot. Hes not big on posting guys low unless circumstances present itself. He will always prefer the 3 ball and in the future this should dictate playing time. It will look like a traditional 1 thru 5 team size wise but will more accurately be 1 big who can pick and pop and take his guy out with him to open the lane, 1 preferably tall point guard who is the primary ball handler, and 3 long wings like Reed and Skillings who can slash or shoot, deflect defend and press. The emphasis will be on individual creation rather than set plays, and hopefully guys will be perceptive enough and unselfish enough to dish for assists off the drive. This style is what the big boys play today which appeals to todays kids but the emphasis will be on quality depth to pull it off. Neuman fits the role and probably Mcginnis in the short term. If he stays Vik can play the 5 but Ody may not be able to find his niche just like this year. So bottom line is we have a long way to go and need 2-3 good recruiting classes in a row. We didn't have the talent this year no matter how we played so Wes ran the planned offense so recruits could clearly see what we want to do.The tradeoff was frustration and lack of wins for us fans this year but hopefully recruits concluded that they would excel in this system and it fits their freedom prefences. My concern is if we can ever recruit enough star power to execute this plan on a regular basis. If you have enough 4 star type of leaders, they can elevate the 3 star role players to success. If you lack the go to guys like this year, this style can look very ugly. To accelerate this transition, I am hopeful we can get some jucos or transfers for next year - I would really not like to suffer through this again next season. That's the direction I see us heading and this year was a throw away season that teased us initially but became the reality it was projected to be.

Well said, but I think if CWM had a truly dominant big that could be a force in the post he may adapt. But very few teams have that guy. You’re right that the open post is frustrating when you have only 2, or even 1 shooter on the floor. But I do think I see where this is going.

[bearcated]

2 to 4 years? Sorry, I don't see it. The bad streak they are on now increases the urgency.

A 2-6 record in February, a home loss to the last place team in the league, and finishing with 2 road games they are going to have a hard time winning, are bad omens. The AAC is down big time this year, yet they found a way to be a league bottom feeder. They started out reasonably well. Had they held things together a bit better, and just avoided the bad losses and finished even 4th or 5th in the league, I think the perception would be different. The train wreck finish we are seeing now will just invite that much more scrutiny. Fair or unfair.

Miller needs to get better at leveraging transfers. Depending on freshman recruits primarily, unless they are Memphis style world beaters, will take too long. If you look at the top 3 teams in the AAC right now, they all made heavy use of transfers and the transfer portal. Houston started 3 transfers versus UC. SMU lost 7 guys, yet rebuilt through the portal, all in the same off season.