basketball camp & pick up games
- Thread starter Tom79
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Yeah, the way I see a green light is it being a bit outside of the normal offense. Different guys have different spots and different positions that a shot is good for them. Example, on a kick back out catch and shoot, Kenny taking the trey is great but taking the same distance shot when the ball is just swung side to side to him isn't his sweet spot. Justin, Marcus, Joel all had green lights to take what usually are bad shots if they felt they had a good enough look.
When we talk green light I think that guy is looked at to take over at times when the regular offense bogs down, for this trip down court or at times for stretches of a game. Most guys have a pretty well defined good shot for them, Roy wants every player to take that great look for them but what is a good shot for 1 player is not a good shot for another. Example, that same inside kick back out to Kenny is a good shot for him but would NOT have been for Theo. Neither were or are what I consider green lighted, you saw a green light with Justin in his senior season, saw it from Joel, maybe at times a touch more than I was always comfortable.
I think maybe Cam will be the most close to a green light, Luke to an extent, I think Coby has a great chance to get that light at least greener by end of the season. I do think both Kenny and Platek need a little more room to get their shots off but both (Kenny has shown but I think same will apply to Platek) are very selective in the shots they take.
Green Light is exactly what has been defined. At UNC, to earn it takes either time in the system and built up trust OR overwhelming skill at a certain move. KW, Bird, and to a certain extent, CJ have built that trust in the coaches and their teammates to the point that they can take shots, even if they are outside the flow if THEY feel they are good shots. These guys will have plays designed to get them shots in their hot spots and others will pass up shots to get the ball to them. For example, if CJ decides to take his man one-on-one and drive baseline to put up a floater (I expect this shot to be a bigger part of his arsenal this year)-whether it goes in or not, he will stay in and be expected to either hit it next time or choose differently. If someone without this cachet does this, they get benched and have to explain themselves to an assistant coach.
Green Lighters also are indeed the ones you go to when everything breaks down or at the end of the clock. A team must have someone with the confidence from all involved, self-confidence, and a go-to move that works most of the time in order to win when it counts (tourneys). I trust the guys on our team to know the difference between a good shot and one they can get up. We have up to 5 guys with this potential. This is one of the reasons I am so optimistic about this team!
Green Lighters also are indeed the ones you go to when everything breaks down or at the end of the clock. A team must have someone with the confidence from all involved, self-confidence, and a go-to move that works most of the time in order to win when it counts (tourneys). I trust the guys on our team to know the difference between a good shot and one they can get up. We have up to 5 guys with this potential. This is one of the reasons I am so optimistic about this team!
TP, as I have shared so often, I am much more concerned with how our front court has developed than I am about who plays point guard. I am for a really simple reason, if our bigs (especially our soph bigs) develop in to reliable scorers that force teams to collapse more, it can opens the outside shooting for cleaner looks and in that case I strongly believe we have guys that can knock those down (Cam, Kenny, Platek, Coby, Luke, Naz, Brob), pretty much our entire 2 deep at the 2 and 3 positions.
But when you do not have that solid inside threat, like last season, that demands help D, then teams can force your offense to be executed further outside, making for harder jumpers, allowing defenders to put more pressure on the longer shot and that drops your make %.
One real key for our bigs is to recognize and make a decision quicker, you either have a good position that you can finish with or kick it out quickly. Don't hold the ball and don't take it to the strength of the defense, something that at times Luke has struggled with (resulted in to many of his shots being blocked). That is very important vs teams that play a lot of zone or UVa's "pac man", force defenses to rotate by making that quicker decision to kick it, slip it, or take it.
But when you do not have that solid inside threat, like last season, that demands help D, then teams can force your offense to be executed further outside, making for harder jumpers, allowing defenders to put more pressure on the longer shot and that drops your make %.
One real key for our bigs is to recognize and make a decision quicker, you either have a good position that you can finish with or kick it out quickly. Don't hold the ball and don't take it to the strength of the defense, something that at times Luke has struggled with (resulted in to many of his shots being blocked). That is very important vs teams that play a lot of zone or UVa's "pac man", force defenses to rotate by making that quicker decision to kick it, slip it, or take it.
I agree with everything you just said, and I expect to see 1-2 of our bigs develop enough O to demand more attention. But I also know that we will need that Green Lighter at the end of clocks, or if that D does disrupt our O. I also think you left Bird off the list for the knockdown shooters. I know he must be a post player some, but I think his real value is to bring a big outside and thereby open up lanes for drive and finish or the kick out you referenced. Finding that exterior player that can distort the D is important to this style too; I figure 7TH, KW, Coby, and will provide this from the 1-2 slot! All of these are part of Roy playing the way he wants to!
As I've posted before, a "green light" from Roy is relative to position, and has different levels. As he likes to say, players first need to learn the difference "between a shot and a good shot". Thus, the green light means he trusts you to decide when to take shots appropriate for your position and won't pull you for one indiscretion.... and even if you're "heat-checking" you get the leeway of "that had better go in" before he yanks you #DannyGreen.
(As a counter-example, one of the first things Roy did with Jackie Manuel was take away any illusions of having a green light from the Wing. And once Jackie came to grips with the fact he wasn't a 3-pt shooter, his game became what we needed it to be.)
At the highest level Roy will bestow what I jokingly call the "double-secret green light", which is license to create your own shot beyond the flow of the offense. Very few guys get that because it entails that the player can be trusted to know when that is actually good for the team. The most recent recipient was JB. Psycho is maybe the only Big who's had that --- usually it's a perimeter guy. Interestingly, McCants was probably the first Wing to have it... HB is another example.
As for this coming season it will be interesting to see how the trust dynamic plays out. As you mentioned we have plenty of returning guys who have earned normal green lights in our offense --- some of whom will probably step up their aggression (KW, AP). In all honesty, Cam (and occasionally Luke) pushed the envelope a bit last year at times, but we'll need that aggression now without an alpha PG. As for Bigs, Manley and Brooks I would presume will be less hesitant. Both of them have credible turn-around jumpers and once they get the rock inside the triangle our skilled Bigs are told to go whenever they think they get a shot up.
As for the frosh, there will always be that shot-vs-good-shot adjustment. I suspect Nas will make that adjustment somewhat quicker than Coby.
Will anyone have the coveted double-secret this season? I dunno. Luke is better in flow, but he has earned the trust. Honestly, I hope Roy gives it to KW --- it might help light that fire to the next level.
