Greene off Crutches, on schedule for fall return!
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Encouraging news from Brannen today on his progress back from injury. Plans to be full speed by the start of practice. Says injury occurred in January.
Glad to here his progress is on schedule, we will need him!
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My biggest question on Greene is his role and how he expands that role.
How does he achieve anything greater than the 5th perimeter guy?
What does Greene do better in any statistical category or otherwise, beyond shooting three pointers, than any of the other four returning perimeter players?
He is a decent rebounder.
As I mentioned last season, I would have started Greene over Selden. The three point shooting ability is a big deal, and trumps many other deficiencies – in my eyes. But not in the eyes of the guy that counts, Bill Self. Thus my questions.
Mason and Graham are locked in as ball handlers. Selden is the chosen one. So it’s Greene vs. Svi.
What does Greene do better than Svi other than hit the step-in three?
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Nothing. Svi is a MUCH better passer and ball handler and can get to the rim. His defense is better and hopefully his 3 % will improve this year.
Svi should start and Greene or the chosen one should come in to briefly give him rest.
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You couch the struggle Brannen faces well.
BG’s only ace in the hole is that he played operable from January to April; that usually puts guys on Self’s short list ever after; that is how Selden became the chosen.
Greene has to be waaaay better than we realized to be able to beat out Svi, while BG was operable, because Svi has a lot of talent and he was healthy.
Everything hinges on how far he can come back from the cut. It’s a long way to come back in one season. With Vick signed, I believe BG will get a MEDRED --medical red shirt–and rehab for a great season after this. BG is a potentially great player once the age dependent developmental wild hair is outgrown (which it now is) and he is healthy, which he will be after a MEDRED.
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Hard to say what he does better but what we expect from Svi is all projection at this moment.
I guess when I look at the SF position this year I consider it to be the most unproven position on the team. Even more so than the 5 now that Diallo is signed.
We all expect Svi to really improve but we also have to remember he’s just now turning 18. A year to acclimate & learn the nuances of how Self wants him to play are probably big factors in his development. Also a full summer to spend on his body and individual work will also push him to be better. I still wonder about his shooting, was his low %'s a product of being overwhelmed and young or a true indication of a streaky shooter? If he’s a streaky shooter than Greene is definitely the better option.
Defensively, Svi already looked capable could move his feet and really showed good pressure on his man. I didn’t see him rebound much, and Greene actually was pretty good on the boards so you could consider him a better rebounder as well.
Passing and court awareness, Svi already has that going for him so advantage to the youngster.
Athletically both are downgrades from Wiggins & Oubre but those 2 guys are freak athletes so its a mute point to compare. Maybe Greene will have better movement, lateral quickness now that the injury has been dealt with. You have to think Svi will just be better at those skills because he seems more agile on his feet.
If Svi is a better shooter than last year showed, then I would probably give him the slight nod to start the season. Greene is very capable off the bench instant offense. His rebounding & shooting are his best skills at the moment.
How does Greene expand his game? Learn how to dribble and take care of the basketball. If he had a capable handle he could get his own shot more instead of relying on being set up by Mason or Graham. He’s got such a great shot that he just has to learn how to fully capitalize on it. Watching Steph Curry film would be a start. Learn positional defense to limit his exposure to blow by’s and out of position mistakes.
I do think Greene is very valuable to this team and I’m really holding out hope that he will improve this year…
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I really think Svi will blossom this year. Even with his International experience, off the bench, he has never seen, or suffered, the physicality of playing Division 1 hoops in the States. HCBS runs a complicated defensive scheme with ‘rules’ that take time to learn and, if you don’t, you sit. The true Hi/Low offense is complicated with several options at each pass, starting with whether the entry is wing pass, center or ball drive. They never really ran the Hi/Low last year because of post trouble (either passing into the posts or action after the post received the pass). The offense penalizes the defense for doing the right thing, and our squad last year seldom had the patience or skill sets to run it, and seemed to diet on the AAU weave and dribble drive routine. I think Svi’s shot issues were from having a tired bodily physically (growth, conditioning and banging) which developed into spiraling mental pressures with each missed shot though his diminished playing time. I think he will be stronger, more mature mentally and physically, and more comfortable with his environment. His skill set is awesome and I think/hope he will take advantage of his increased playing time opportunity that is now open with BG rehabilitating. I just wish he could play WUG as that would be bonus development opportunity, although the summer practices will be great for this team and the young-uns coming on board. I’m jazzed about the upcoming year and squad ( to quote Gomer and Goober Pyle: ‘sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise’!.) BG, I think, will have a challenge for playing time, and that’s a good thing. Rock chalk y’all.
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Got to love this:
““I think it’s always there,” Greene said of his outside shot. “I think I’ll definitely pick up where I left off during the middle of the season (he hit 17 of 24 threes during a seven-game stretch in league play) and hopefully keep moving from there. I’m just looking forward to our season. It’s time now. We have no excuses. We can’t look at being young or anything like that. Me, Frank (Mason), Wayne (Selden) are juniors. Perry (Ellis)’s a senior. Jamari (Traylor) is a senior. We have a ton of veterans. There’s no excuses.””
I’m hoping ALL minutes are up for grabs this year and Self doesn’t concede to “the chosen one” mentality. That killed us last year when he clearly favored Wayne, and Wayne disappeared for most of the season. Self shouldn’t just play Wayne regardless. It actually isn’t fair to Wayne. Wayne needs the pressure put on him for the entire season. He should fear more from the guys over his shoulder fighting for his minutes than the opponent in front of him. That is what you want. Guys stepping up and facing the challenge. All real competitors love to face competition and compete. It is the only way to push a guy to maximize his potential.
We all see the gifts of Svi… but I have to be sold on him ready to play “big boy” ball. Lets see the strengthening and execution. I still think he will need another year of Hudy… but we won’t know until November. He should be on a high protein diet and pounding big weights all summer. Some kids strengthen quicker than others. DNA.
Greene should mimic his development off the same development Klay Thompson used. Klay used to be just a spot up shooter like Greene, but has developed into a guy who can create his own shot. Greene could develop a game similar to Thompson’s game. They both have a great stroke and elevate well.
I like @jaybate-1.0 comment on a medical redshirt. This would not only be in Greene’s best interest… but also the team, because he then gets to add a year and spread out our big loss year to seniors when we lose Selden and Mason. This would give Greene his senior year where he could earn a ton of PT… just what you want to help him secure a look from NBA scouts.
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Didn’t Greene end up being the best FT shooter on the team last year?
Svi may not have the 3 point shooting or FT shooting that Greene does, but is the better all around player. His handles, driving, passing, finishing, and defense are all better than Greene. Svi’s biggest problem last year was culture shock and nerves. It’s not easy to everyone you know and just move to a new country and culture. You could also tell nerves got the best of Svi a lot last year because he was playing too fast and rushing stuff and that’s where the majority of his mistakes resulted from. Both of those should be better with a year in America under his belt.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 said: Svi’s biggest problem last year was culture shock and nerves. It’s not easy to everyone you know and just move to a new country and culture.
Are you sure it wasn’t the fact that basketball players don’t lift weights over seas? Or could it have been that he was only 17? I think he had been in numerous big games and even played professionally over seas so I completely doubt it was nerves! I believe nearly every 3pt attempt was long and he was unable to adjust to his newly found strength due to being in the weight room. Superstitiously they believe that lifting weights messes with your shot where Svi comes from! I am 100% sure without a shadow of a doubt that it was superstition/weight training > culture shock/nerves!
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Green was starting to play better defense (particularly rebounding) last year when his slump occurred and now we know why. I guess how much he plays will depend on how well he can learn to create his own shot and what kind of defense the opposing team has. If the defense sags to protect the paint and leaves open room then he can come in and fire away; however, if the defense play tight, a player like Svi would be the better option. In a way, it also depend on how well our inside game develops. If it is good enough to force defenses to pull in, then the outside opens up; if the inside game does not draw the defense in, then the chances of getting open shots from the outside decreases and so does Greene playing time.
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@Statmachine Shooting was not the only thing Svi was long on frequently last year. He sailed a lot of his passes as well and played on fast forward a lot last year. That is a sign that his adrenaline was pumping and he couldn’t control it which is a sign his nerves were getting the best of him a lot last year.
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Why not play both? Greene has shown when he is on look the f**K out. As for Svi we all know and believe this kid can have break out year.
Forget the Medical red shirt card. If Greene is ready to go then play him along with Svi.
Why wouldn’t you ???
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MEDRED = only if necessary for a full heal
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we will need both and the competition can only make them both better. I think its encouraging that Greene is expected back on time and at full health. No red shirt needed, doesn’t help KU this year which is the only thing that matters.
I read on the .com that Svi has put on 15 pounds since arriving last summer. That’s great news and seems like an ideal weight area for him. Glad to know that he worked on his game while he was home.
