Ben Howland Q & A

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Guys anybody that has access to MSU 247 sports need to take a look at the interview Paul did with Howland. Really good interview & goes in depth about the guys & what he's looking for. Also about putting the staff together. This is just part 1 of a 2 part interview. Here are a few highlights

Gavin - Wants the offense to run through him. Has to be in better shape
Chicken - Working more pick & roll & pushing the ball
Daniels - Will play more of a stretch 4 this year
Fred - 1 of the best shooters on the team need to get open shots
Houston - Wants him to be that lock down defender

[Brad Stevens]

Guys anybody that has access to MSU 247 sports need to take a look at the interview Paul did with Howland. Really good interview & goes in depth about the guys & what he's looking for. Also about putting the staff together. This is just part 1 of a 2 part interview. Here are a few highlights

Gavin - Wants the offense to run through him. Has to be in better shape
Chicken - Working more pick & roll & pushing the ball
Daniels - Will play more of a stretch 4 this year
Fred - 1 of the best shooters on the team need to get open shots
Houston - Wants him to be that lock down defender

I don't have access, but I've been calling for Daniels as a stretch 4 as his most impactful position, and get hammered for it. I hope that's exactly what Howland does. Good enough ball handler for the outlet pass after the inbounds, and can shoot the 3 as the trailer. Love it

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I don't have access, but I've been calling for Daniels as a stretch 4 as his most impactful position, and get hammered for it. I hope that's exactly what Howland does. Good enough ball handler for the outlet pass after the inbounds, and can shoot the 3 as the trailer. Love it

Yea if he shows more toughness the move could work out for him. I just question his motor & desire on defense to guard a big & rebound. If he can do that it can work.

[tcdog70]

it is amazing that he immediately sees this and Ray was blind to it after 3 years. A real Coach fires me up.

[Coach34]

I thought Daniels was going to be the 4- was surprised by his role this past season

[AROB44]

Fred - 1 of the best shooters on the team need to get open shots

He sees more that I see. Fred is not an SEC player.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Fred - 1 of the best shooters on the team need to get open shots

He sees more that I see. Fred is not an SEC player.

Fred can be a really good shooter if he can get some open looks. Fred is just as good a shooter as Barry Stewart, Winsome Frazier, or Jalen Steele. The big difference is those guys had playmakers & bigs all around that could get them open looks. The problem with Fred is we've depended on him to be 1 of our premier scorers. That shouldn't be his role. His role is that of a great defender & spot up shooter. If we get Malik to go along with Chicken & Gavin gets better at passing out of double teams that will lead to a lot more open jumpers. Then people will wonder what happened to Fred nothing happened he's just being used properly.

[trob115]

Fred - 1 of the best shooters on the team need to get open shots

He sees more that I see. Fred is not an SEC player.

I think Fred's issues are more between the ears than anything. If he gets that figured out, he could be a big help this year.

[thf24]

it is amazing that he immediately sees this and Ray was blind to it after 3 years. A real Coach fires me up.

You know I was a Ray supporter for most of his stay here, but I have to admit I thought the same several times while reading the interview as well.

[Big4Dawg]

Fred - 1 of the best shooters on the team need to get open shots

He sees more that I see. Fred is not an SEC player.

I thought this was interesting:

"He is going to make shots when he is open and he is improving. I noticed, for example, we are working with him to not watch the ball when he shoots it. A lot of players do that and have a habit of watching the ball and they jerk their head. In a game when you have defenses, it throws your shot off because it lifts your shoulders back."

Nice to have someone who is going to improve our players.

[drunkernhelldawg]

You know I was a Ray supporter for most of his stay here, but I have to admit I thought the same several times while reading the interview as well.

It could be that Ray recognized and worked on these things but just didn't get over the hump. Somebody mentioned the mental toughness to take the win. That's the main thing we lacked last season. I hope Howland can get the W's that many expect, but I also think Ray deserves credit for growing the team back to competitiveness when they had been so far from that when he started. It reminds me of Felker and JWS. Felker took over a hopeless football team but built them to having a chance to win by his final year. Unfortunately for him, we lost those close games, AU, Kentucky, and USM if I remember correctly. JWS was hired and the rest is history. JWS did lift our football program overall (though he left us in horrible shape at the end). Hopefully, Howland can do the same with our Hoops team (sans the parting destruction).

[Coach34]

It's mental with Fred for the most part- he is a timid type of guy. Howland has to find his hot button and push it. Ray never did.

[I seen it dawg]

Newman to State.

[tcdog70]

Fred can be a really good shooter if he can get some open looks. Fred is just as good a shooter as Barry Stewart, Winsome Frazier, or Jalen Steele. The big difference is those guys had playmakers & bigs all around that could get them open looks. The problem with Fred is we've depended on him to be 1 of our premier scorers. That shouldn't be his role. His role is that of a great defender & spot up shooter. If we get Malik to go along with Chicken & Gavin gets better at passing out of double teams that will lead to a lot more open jumpers. Then people will wonder what happened to Fred nothing happened he's just being used properly.



Agree. It is important to have your dribble when you shoot. Having to shoot off the dribble cause problems squaring up. Really good players can do both. But Fred needs to be spotted up.

[Coach34]

Agree. It is important to have your dribble when you shoot. Having to shoot off the dribble cause problems squaring up. Really good players can do both. But Fred needs to be spotted up.

totally agree