Fastest Two Hours in Basketball
October 25, 2002 01:37 PM | General
Friday, October 25, 2002
If you get an opportunity to watch a John Beilein practice, be prepared for the fastest two hours in basketball. I've been impressed with many of the drills he runs that are geared toward making his players better fundamentally.
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| Senior Josh Yeager is one of the players Jay believes can thrive in John Beilein's system this season. |
His drills don't discriminate either. Regardless of whether you are 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-11, you are shooting the three. Look for West Virginia to attempt a record number of three-point shots this season based on the fact that his Richmond team attempted 900 last year.
By comparison, West Virginia tried just 494 three-point shots last year.
One player who benefits greatly from this change in philosophy is 6-foot-10 freshman forward Kevin Pittsnogle, who has the ability to step out and hit the 15-foot jump shot.
My opinion of Pittsnogle has changed dramatically since I watched him play in last year's state high school tournament. In the games I watched him play he just wasn't part of anything. It just wasn't there.
But he does the smart thing and comes to school early, he gets into the weight program, addes 25 extra pounds, he's in shape to run the floor and I see a completely different player. Now he's still learning but he will eventually fit nicely into this system, especially when 6-foot-11 D'or Fischer becomes available next season.
A great percentage of West Virginia's practices are geared toward shooting and particularly, toward shooting in situations. In other words the players are not just standing outside shooting the basketball, but rather they are going around an object, catching it from another player on the move, and shooting from all different positions on the floor.
I see senior Josh Yeager having a great opportunity because last year he was really delegated to one area of the floor. Now because of Beilein's motion system, he could be on either side of the floor or in the corners shooting the basketball. He is going to be a guy that is going to be a main cog for them and he's got to shoot the basketball well from the perimeter this season.
One last thought on shooting: I believe that is going to play a major factor in just who Beilein recruits into the program in the future. If you can't shoot you can't play at West Virginia. I think the guys who have already made verbal commitments can all shoot the basketball. From what I've seen so far from freshman Joe Herber, he's a great position shooter who fits into this style as well.
They are not necessarily worried about how athletic a player is but rather how versatile he is -- which is something that I think is becoming a big part of the college game.
In the Big East right now, the average size of the player is between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-9. I think that's why John Beilein isn't that concerned with having a 7-footer. He wants players who can shoot from the perimeter and to be able to do things where everyone gets into the offense.
The high school players that are real talented and above the radar screen are only staying one or two years at the most before going to the NBA anyway. For instance, Carmelo Anthony at Syracuse will be the rookie of the year in the Big East this season but will he be around in four years? He could very well be one and gone.
What I think John Beilein is trying to do here is he's looking at the situation, he's looking at the state, and he's looking at who he is recruiting and I think he's trying to go right under the radar screen at the next cut of players. He's looking for the guy who can shoot the basketball, is pretty smart and has good character, and is going to stay for four years.
What do you want? Do you want the talented player who is going to stay one year and then leave? We had that last year. One year ago at this time we were all excited because we had the Big East rookie of the year.
Obviously that didn't work out.
To me you take the guy who is going to stay in your program for four years. You're going to build your program based on guys that are going to know your offense, who can shoot the ball, and are going to stay here. I think it is a very sound philosophy.
Big East Preseason Poll Thoughts
My opinions are little different than the Big East coaches when it comes to the preseason poll, announced earlier this week. I have Seton Hall and West Virginia tying for last place, and I think it will boil down to those two teams fighting it out for the last tournament spot in the West.
On the Western side I have Pitt first -- which everybody does. That's because of Brandin Knight and his ability. As for No. 2, I'm such a Chris Thomas fan that I think Notre Dame will finish second as opposed to the fourth-place finish the coaches predicted. They've got a guy named Danny Miller who sat out last year after transferring from Maryland who is a very, very good player and he's a great shooter.
At No. 3 I'm taking Syracuse over Georgetown. I know Georgetown has the big guys inside but I'm not sure their guard play is consistent enough. I know they've got bangers but on the road they may have some problems. They were just 6-4 away from home last year and I think some teams are going to get them.
After that it is Rutgers, then Seton Hall and West Virginia.
Jim Boeheim has a big blending job to do this year with only one starter returning in Kueth Duany and Rutgers is just not going to sneak up on anybody this year.
Speaking of blending, Jay Wright has deal with the same thing at Villanova. The Wildcats are the fashionable pick to challenge Connecticut for the Eastern Division title, but I want to see how he works in that great recruiting class with the four starters he has returning. I remember Tommy Amaker trying to do the same thing at Seton Hall a few years ago and that turned into a disaster.
After Connecticut in the East, I picked Boston College second and Villanova third. I flip-flopped St. John's and Miami. St. John's has Marcus Hatten and I think there is a real question down in Miami with their point guard with Marcus Barnes being gone. But they have Darius Rice and James Jones.
After that, I have Virginia Tech finishing sixth this year ahead of Providence. I think this is the year Tech makes the tournament and if they don't, Ricky Stokes will be looking for a new job next year.
As for the preseason player picks, I have Troy Bell edging out Knight for player of the year. Bell is a guy who has been there and this is a big year for him. The pros have not jumped on him and he's got something to prove this year if he is going to get big money.
I agree with Anthony as the preseason rookie of the year. He's a great catcher of the basketball, he can go inside or out on you, he's very quick and he can run the court. Coming in second would be Villanova's Jason Fraser who is very, very good.
As for the two preseason teams, the one player I think was left out was Connecticut's Ben Gordon. Where is Ben Gordon? I would replace Jerome Coleman with Gordon on the second team.
How about Ryan Sidney or Matt Carroll? Those are two more outstanding players.
Remember, West Virginia's first preseason game is Monday, Nov. 4, against Latvia Select at the WVU Coliseum. Tipoff is 7 p.m.
The Mountaineers open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 22, at the Coliseum against Delaware State. That game will also get underway at 7 p.m.
