Love his play in the last two wins at CoC and this win at home against Northeastern. IMO, he was the difference.

1. He makes a HUGE difference at the back of our press when it's broken. Players will challenge CJ, and usually will get the bucket or at least a foul. Chuck has shown he can stop the drive and either block the shot or alter the shot without fouling. I thought both NU and CoC began to back off attacking the basket on the break when he was back there.

2. Chuck can run the break, but then is athletic enough to get back on defense if the shot is missed and defend. Twice in a row CJ was up on offense, and couldn't get back on defense and fouled his man.

3. Rebounding. He has a knack for the ball. There were several times list night he ended up with rebounds when it looked like he had no chance.

4. Chuck is hitting .578 of his FG attempts to lead the team. If he can get some more PT, and we can run some plays for him in the post, he's our best back to the basket scorer. Ced likes to face up, and CJ....well, i'm not sure right now.

Stats -

CoC - 13 minutes, 6 rebounds(3 off, 3 def), 2 blocks, 1 steal, 1-2 fg.
NU - 18 minutes, 9 rebounds(8 def, 1 off), 3 blocks, 1 steal, 2-2 fg

I especially like when he and Ced are in together. Those two can shut down the rim, alter or block shots, then snag the rebound and start the break. They had 15 rebounds and 5 blocked shots between them last night. If we can just get them some more shots close to the rim and get about 13 points from the post, this team will be really hard to beat.

Looks like Keatts likes this combo, and we'll see more to end the season.

Good job Chuck!

I think coach said it best in his post game " Chuck earned his time through practice". Just like CJ and Ced earn there minutes or not. They come ready to help the team. Our low post players practice hard and play hard !!! Nice problem !!

Absolutely spot on 82. NE was an entirely different team on the offensive end with Chuck in the game. With CJ in they attacked relentlessly, but they were very hesitant with Chuck underneath. Must admit at the beginning of the year I thought there was no way Chuck could contribute the way he has done.

Chuck came in raw and is slowly blooming into something special. His hands have especially gotten better. He also had some wicked scoring moves that he could not have made at the start of the season.

It's a joy watching players develop like that. His tenacity on defense was great to see. Every time I looked his way he was in the defender's face waving his arms and just making things as difficult as possible on them. Things like that make all the difference. He will be special, and CJ better get it together or he's really going to be watching a lot of basketball down the stretch.

In CJ's defense, he has improved a lot since he first got here. And he is willing to improve more. If he hadn't, I don't think he would still be here. He got serious and lost a ton of weight in the off season. Keatts is now trying to convince him that he is 7' tall, not a 6' 2" guard. I think he is one of those big men who takes a few seasons for it to click. If or when it does, we will have two dominant big men to compliment the athleticism this team is bringing in.

IMO, CJ is going to have to get in the 245-255 lb. range to be effective on this team. We get up and down the court, and hauling 270 lbs. around in a heavy college schedule just doesn't work with our style of play. He ends up being too much of a liability on defense.

On 82hawk's point:
3. Rebounding. He has a knack for the ball. There were several times list night he ended up with rebounds when it looked like he had no chance.

I thought this was the difference maker in the second half last night. Lots of rebounds that got tipped around wound up W&B ball in the first half, but Chuck seemed to come down with those every time. Good hands? Whatever it is, he is developing a great "knack for the ball". Thanks for the insightful post 82hawk!

I that early on, Chuck looked like he had bad hands because of nerves. He feeling more and more confident with himself in game situations.

He really had a good game last night. And, it was fun to see him having fun. I like CJ a whole lot too. We have 2 solid guys that are very different, but compliment one another.

Chuck should use the Bob Pettit method to improve catching the ball by playing ping pong with Keatts in the Student Union for an hour every day

(02-16-2015 10:42 AM)Big Alpha Hawk Wrote:  Chuck should use the Bob Pettit method to improve catching the ball by playing ping pong with Keatts in the Student Union for an hour every day

You should ask solohawk about his all-time ping pong record in the student union.