As we enter the NIT a question might be raised about what Tony should do with Sheldon. Sean's performance has tailspinned terribly the last quarter of the season and his contributions on the floor have almost disappeared.

His rebounding, point contribution, blocked shots and defense have sagged markedly.

In the past five games he has, jarringly, zero blocked shots, a total of 10 points (and taken just 3 shots in those five games, meaning a disappearance of his many pick & roll points earlier in the season), just 16 rebounds (2 offensive) and a poor 5 for 11 from the foul line,meaning he can't be on the court in crunch time.

And he has been pummeled by opposition centers who have scored and rebounded greatly when he's on the court.

Is he hurt, is there some other problem that has caused this backwards slide? What does this portend for the NIT and next season? His active and contributing game from the first half of the season are memories right now. Is his ankle still limiting him?

Perhaps we should see a great deal more of Whitman, perhaps a chance to light a fire under Whitman, who has moves around the basket and greater athleticism. And, also consider, as we've occasionally seen,
utilizing Omar into the pivot more often where he's shown ability to score with a hook shot and speed moves to the basket.

We are seeing much more of Schalk, who has played with verve and energy and contributed some points although, as in the Northeastern game, was beaten on the boards.

I am puzzled by Sheldon's precipitous decline and wonder if others, too, have noted this and have any answers.

We need to find a scoring threat out of the post. Too many times opponents sagged off our post players because they are no threat to score and stood around the hoop to prevent the inevitable back cut by Marcus or Tarpey. Teams also wouldn't focus on the screening big man, instead opting to double Marcus. Sometimes the Tribe made them pay with the pick-and-roll, but I felt like for the most part (especially the 2nd half of CAA play and the tourney), the screener rarely scored when doing a pick-and-roll.

With Marcus gone, defenses are going to start focusing their attention on Prewitt and I don't think he has the dribbling prowess to dribble by double teams. Tribe also badly need to find a point guard capable of running the pick-and-roll effectively and Tarpey to gain more confidence in his jump shot

Dixon is our best 3 shooter this year and will step up next season! Also a year of conditioning will help Whitman a lot as he has good foot work and O. Finally David Cohn will be playing next year. While MT is probably our great player, Tarpey was the leader and as a senior will take charge.

I don't see Sheldon getting any better. He can't shoot well enough to make him a threat from the high post and his free throw shooting makes him a liability and honestly wastes possessions. He can't jump well either which makes his size less of an advantage.

Just remember that Whitman was Mr. Everything in Kentucky and he's been hurt most of the time he's been here. His shoulder issues are double edged because you have to let it heal and can't do a lot of lifting until range of motion is correct. I think he will either step it up this off season or he'll never make it. If he doesn't, we have issues.

I'm not worried about Sheldon. Sure, I want him to improve, but his role was always to hustle, defend, and rebound. He was never a scoring threat. His consistency is what the issue is. Some of his performances have built unfair expectations of what he provides. I think he will continue to work hard and improve.

I've mentioned it before, my greatest hope is that Rowley is ready to contribute in that stretch 4 role. Not in the post, though his length in rebounding could help. One thing everyone says about Rowley is that he can shoot. If he can hit those top of the key shots, it opens up everything. Bigs can't sag off to bump cutters and clog the lane. If he is smart & a decent passed, both things people use to describe him, it greatly improves this offense. He needs to put on mass and get stronger though. I have no doubt that the trainers and coaches have focused on just that.

The most frustrating thing about Sean for me is that he seems to have trouble tracking the ball off of rebounds. Too often he positions himself in the wrong spot to grab the ball. And he hardly ever jumps. Most of his rebounds simply seem to fall near him when there's no one else around.

In defense of Sheldon, W&M basically live the 5 man on an island inside. Many times his job is to box out and let one of the guards get the ball. I think Kitts used to do a better job of recognition and would go after the ball when he was the only Tribe player in the vicinity. Of course Kitts was also more athletic than Sean, but they both had the same free throw stroke.

(03-15-2015 10:28 AM)NC Tribe Wrote:  Of course Kitts was also more athletic than Sean, but they both had the same free throw stroke.

Come on. Sean has struggled, but his shot resembles a real shot. Difference is, Kitts was a definite empty possession. Sheldon is a likely empty possession. Surprises occasionally occur.

(03-15-2015 10:28 AM)NC Tribe Wrote:  In defense of Sheldon, W&M basically live the 5 man on an island inside. Many times his job is to box out and let one of the guards get the ball. I think Kitts used to do a better job of recognition and would go after the ball when he was the only Tribe player in the vicinity. Of course Kitts was also more athletic than Sean, but they both had the same free throw stroke.

I agree with this. Part of the reason Tarpey gets as many as he does is that he can crash the defensive boards from the top of the key while Sheldon keeps the opposing big from getting it. Sheldon also usually does a lot of positioning work on defense. He's slow to get out to the corner three because his main responsibility is the cutter to the basket. It doesn't get to recognition at all, it gets to how the opponents move the ball and cut.

When our offense was clicking, the ball was also getting to Sean in the post. He is a good passer, and when we worked inside out it was very effective. He is capable of recognizing when the defense was playing the pass and attacking the basket for a quick layup/hook shot, too.

Can Sean get back to being a 20 year-old student-athlete now? Is court adjourned, Your Honors?