By Paul Meyer
www.rmucolonials.com
October 29, 2010
Meyer on Morris Link
Moon Township, Pa. - After watching his Robert Morris University players go through an intrasquad scrimmage several days ago, first-year head coach Andy Toole had a favorable view of his team.
Sort of.
"I think overall it was a positive impression,'' said Toole, who didn't really coach during the scrimmage, leaving those chores to assistants Robby Pridgen, Matt Hahn and Michael Byrnes. "I think you could see some of the things we've been working on in practice (relative to) helping to build our defense and rebounding.
"Offensively, we were a little sloppy just because we haven't spent as much time offensively as we have defensively. But we have some pretty talented offensive players who were able to make plays.''
That said …
"I think at times we're going to have to put some interesting lineups out there,'' Toole said. "Maybe do some 'small ball.' Maybe run and jump. Find ways that we can use some of our talent to matchup differently against opponents.''
Going "small'' could be a bit of an indictment of the play of the Colonial big men. And keep in mind that these young Colonials aren't that big in the first place.
"We're small to begin with,'' Toole acknowledged, "but I think our guys in the front court have a bit of a sense of entitlement - like they're going to play (just) because they're taller. But when we look at some of the rebounding statistics from practice, that extra three or four inches you have on the other guys doesn't make you get more rebounds apparently. So I think those guys need to figure that out sooner rather than later.
"It's part of our job (as coaches) to convince them, but it's part of their job to buy into that if they don't go after every rebound I'll put someone else out there who's smaller who maybe can do some other things and we'll just be creative about how we play.''
That could mean that these Colonials sometimes play four guards.
"In the past at times we played four guards,'' Toole said. "You look at our first team (under head coach Mike Rice in 2007-08) with Jeremy Chappell playing what was supposedly the four spot. We played Jimmy (Langhurst) and Bateko (Francisco) and Tony (Lee) and Jeremy our first year. That's basically four guards, and even A.J. Jackson was probably more of a guard than he was a true big man. So it was almost five guards out there in a lot of ways.''
Consider, then, that at times the Colonials on the floor could include senior guard Gary Wallace, sophomore guards Karon Abraham and Velton Jones and freshman point guard Anthony Myers. None is taller than the 6'3'' Wallace.
One lineup look that almost seems a lock to be used would include Abraham, Myers and Jones, the starting point guard who would shift to a wing.
Toole was impressed with Myers, who's become known by his teammates as "Ant.''
"I thought Anthony Myers had a very good scrimmage,'' Toole said. "His defensive pressure and his ability to make plays in transition were pretty good. I think he's going to be able to back up Velton. I think he's going to be able to play alongside Velton. And maybe even those two and Karon. We'd be super small on the perimeter, but you know what? We would be really hard to get dribble-penetration on. And we'd be really hard to guard in terms of our ability to dribble-penetrate. I think that can be an interesting lineup for us. And I think (those three) are tough enough to go in and fight for rebounds and do the things you need to do to win.''
Myers, the cousin of former Colonial star Derek Coleman, originally committed to Fordham in high school. However, he asked for his release after Fordham standout Jio Fontan decided to return for his sophomore season last year, leaving Fordham without a scholarship for Myers.
The loss for the Rams was a gain for the Colonials.
"Anthony Myers is a good ballhandler and a good, aggressive point guard,'' Wallace said.
Toole has said that he'd like for this team to run more, and Myers would seem able to handle that.
"My favorite thing is transition - making a play in transition,'' Myers said. "I love that.''
What else can he offer the Colonials?
"Energy,'' he said. "I think I bring a lot of energy, especially on defense.''
Toole gained another positive impression from that intrasquad scrimmage. This one centered on Colonial sophomores Russell Johnson, Lijah Thompson, Jones and Abraham.
"Looking at the confidence they have, the maturity they have, the belief they have in what we're doing, it's multiplied by a hundred (from last season),'' Toole said. "Like Russell Johnson, from last year to this year, his on-the-court maturity and leadership have been, and I'm going to knock on wood because it's only October, incredible.
"I think he started to figure out that, even as talented as he is, this stuff's not easy. Like you actually have to work. You have to prepare. You can't just go out and show up 20 minutes before the game and go, 'Well, I'm going to go and dominate these dudes.' Everybody else has talent. Everybody else has a game plan. Everyone else is working hard. Why not buy into ours and now you'll make yourself even that much better?''
Johnson, who last season averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, should improve those averages this season.
"He has to,'' Toole said. "He's going to have to average 11 or 12 (points per game). And we're going to give him some freedom to do that. Hopefully, he'll shoot a higher percentage (than the 37.2 percent he shot last season). Hopefully, he'll understand the good shot, bad shot situation. He's going to be our leading rebounder. And he's going to be one of our best playmakers.''
MTV VJ: Here's something for Colonial fans to follow, beginning with the exhibition game against McGill Tuesday evening.
Last season, Jones shot only 58.9 percent from the free throw line - a poor mark for any player but a really poor percentage for a player who likes to penetrate. Jones last season attempted 129 free throws, second on the team to Abraham's 148 attempts.
During the summer, at the strong suggestion of the coaching staff, Jones worked on his free throw shooting.
"They've been on me about it,'' Jones said recently, nodding to the coaches. "I'm trying. I worked real hard on a lot of things during the summer, and (foul shooting) was one of them. It got a lot better. I changed my routine. I think I should be at about 80 percent (this season).''''
