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vancouvercougarDoes anyone know much about Mercer? I didn't see them play Tennessee, and I don't know what to expect from them.
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Mercer?
by vancouvercougar · 3/21/2013
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SpiffCougI expect them to lose.
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EM_PumaI had to go Goggle them to find out that they were from Macon, GA. They beat USU last season in Logan in the CBI championship.
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QmanI watched a fair portion of the UT vs Mercer game.
They are skilled half-court team with good size.
They play D in a fundamentally sound way but had problems keeping Tennessee off the boards.
Very little one on one play and they swing the ball from side to side effectively.
They play mostly juniors and seniors. They weren't rattled or bother by the crowd or pressure D.
This game is going to be about tempo. If we can get turnovers/stops and get some fastbreak point we might blow them out. Or they might grind us to a pulp in the half court.
They are skilled half-court team with good size.
They play D in a fundamentally sound way but had problems keeping Tennessee off the boards.
Very little one on one play and they swing the ball from side to side effectively.
They play mostly juniors and seniors. They weren't rattled or bother by the crowd or pressure D.
This game is going to be about tempo. If we can get turnovers/stops and get some fastbreak point we might blow them out. Or they might grind us to a pulp in the half court.
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GunkWhile we shouldn't take anyone lightly, we should be able to handle Mercer.
According to realtimerpi, Mercer's RPI is 137.
Mercer's strength is their front court. Both their guards are the teams' leading scorers. Langston handles point (11.2 pts/game) and Smith plays the 2 (13.8 pts/game). Langston and Smith are the only two players averaging double figures.
Travis Smith, by the way, averages more turnovers (2.1) than assists (1.9). He is a decent shooter, shooting 45% from the field and 42% three-point land.
Langston appears to be a slightly better PG than Carlino, averaging 5 assists/game and 2.2 turnovers. He shoots 42% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc.
Down low, 6'6" forward Jakob Gollon (200 lbs) leads the charge averaging 8 pts/game and 5 boards. He also turns the ball over as often as he makes an assist.
Bud Thomas (200 lbs), 6'6" forward, chips in 7 pts/game and just over 4 rebounds a game.
Daniel Coursey is their biggest guy at 6'10" and 210 lbs. He only averages 18.6 min a game, but I suspect they'll try to play him more in an effort to contain Davies. Daniel averages 7 pts/game and just under 4 boards.
After those five, it drops off pretty significantly for Mercer.
They have an advantage at the 2. PG play is about even, I'd say. Perhaps a slight edge to Mercer. In the post, we should have have the advantage. Haws, of course, will be a mismatch.
If I am Rose, I start Davies, Austin, Haws, Zylstra and Carlino. Feed Davies the ball down low to get things going and run Mercer out of the gym.
According to realtimerpi, Mercer's RPI is 137.
Mercer's strength is their front court. Both their guards are the teams' leading scorers. Langston handles point (11.2 pts/game) and Smith plays the 2 (13.8 pts/game). Langston and Smith are the only two players averaging double figures.
Travis Smith, by the way, averages more turnovers (2.1) than assists (1.9). He is a decent shooter, shooting 45% from the field and 42% three-point land.
Langston appears to be a slightly better PG than Carlino, averaging 5 assists/game and 2.2 turnovers. He shoots 42% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc.
Down low, 6'6" forward Jakob Gollon (200 lbs) leads the charge averaging 8 pts/game and 5 boards. He also turns the ball over as often as he makes an assist.
Bud Thomas (200 lbs), 6'6" forward, chips in 7 pts/game and just over 4 rebounds a game.
Daniel Coursey is their biggest guy at 6'10" and 210 lbs. He only averages 18.6 min a game, but I suspect they'll try to play him more in an effort to contain Davies. Daniel averages 7 pts/game and just under 4 boards.
After those five, it drops off pretty significantly for Mercer.
They have an advantage at the 2. PG play is about even, I'd say. Perhaps a slight edge to Mercer. In the post, we should have have the advantage. Haws, of course, will be a mismatch.
If I am Rose, I start Davies, Austin, Haws, Zylstra and Carlino. Feed Davies the ball down low to get things going and run Mercer out of the gym.
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GuestGunk wrote:
If I am Rose, I start Davies, Austin, Haws, Zylstra and Carlino. Feed Davies the ball down low to get things going and run Mercer out of the gym.
Honestly this starting lineup seems like a no-brainer. I don't know why Rose didn't go with it for most of the year.
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KYCougOnly concern is Mercer is a well seasoned team and has road wins at Alabama, Florida State, and Tenn. They won't be intimidated and we will need to be on our game.
Go Cougs!
Go Cougs!
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EM_PumaQman wrote:
They weren't rattled or bother by the crowd
There were only 4,468 fans at the UT game, and Mercer had a good showing, so I don't know that the fans could have rattled them a whole lot. Wrubell said Mercer has only played in front of 4K fans plus, 4 times this season.
Without looking two of them were probably their wins on the road vs. Florida St and Alabama.
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MarsSo...
If I understand the scouting report correctly, Mercer shoots very well from 3, and they like to play a very slow paced game, where they wait until they get the best shot possible late in the clock.
Sounds like a horrible mismatch to me. A team of Jonny Dees and Matthew Delladovas.
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BYULVMars wrote:
So...
If I understand the scouting report correctly, Mercer shoots very well from 3, and they like to play a very slow paced game, where they wait until they get the best shot possible late in the clock.
Sounds like a horrible mismatch to me. A team of Jonny Dees and Matthew Delladovas.
Mismatch for us or them?
Watching the game last night, they played solid on both ends of the court, but their guards are not the caliber of Dees and what's-his-dova. If Tennesee would have played with a little motivation I think they could have won easily. The mismatch will definitely be Davies vs their guys. They will have a hard time stopping Davies and . . . (I can't believe I'm about to type this), Austin. If sharp were healthy, I think he would be perfect for these matchups.
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MarsBYULV wrote:
Mismatch for us or them?
Them. Slow ball, double-team Haws all game, break up any transition potential we have on defense. Pass around on offense until they find the weak spot on our perimeter (which we have plenty of) and exploit them. It's our nightmare match-up (IMO), outside of a size/athleticism monster of a team like the old Texas A&M squads.
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BYULVMars wrote:Mismatch for us or them?
Them. Slow ball, double-team Haws all game, break up any transition potential we have on defense. Pass around on offense until they find the weak spot on our perimeter (which we have plenty of) and exploit them. It's our nightmare match-up (IMO), outside of a size/athleticism monster of a team like the old Texas A&M squads.
I think this only works if you have some size down low to balance it out. Mercer is going to have to out rebound us to beat us and they don't have the bigs to do it. Once their 6'10" guy gets a couple of fouls guarding Davies, their 6'6" guys are going to be eaten alive. Carlino, haws and Davies are going to be tough for Mercer to keep up with. Austin can have a breakout game Monday, if he uses his head a little. They don't have anyone to cover him. If he plays like a big man, and stays out of foul trouble, he will score 15+.
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MarsBYULV wrote:
I think this only works if you have some size down low to balance it out. Mercer is going to have to out rebound us to beat us and they don't have the bigs to do it. Once their 6'10" guy gets a couple of fouls guarding Davies, their 6'6" guys are going to be eaten alive. Carlino, haws and Davies are going to be tough for Mercer to keep up with. Austin can have a breakout game Monday, if he uses his head a little. They don't have anyone to cover him. If he plays like a big man, and stays out of foul trouble, he will score 15+.
Quick Mercer roster height check:
6-11/250 Jr C
6-10/220 Jr F
6-9/205 So F
http://mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/roster" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
BYU's official page:
6-11/230 So F
6-11/215 Fr C
6-9/235 Sr F
6-8/225 Jr F
6-7/260 Fr F
6-7/185 So F
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GuestI'm a little concerned about their outside shooting. We all know BYU does not play perimeter defense at all, so if they get hot and got 18 of 20 from the 3 we're dead.
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QmanI think they will have plans to double/send help on Haws and Davies. We need to be in position to hurt them by moving the ball/offensive rebounding.
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BYULVMars wrote:
Quick Mercer roster height check:
6-11/250 Jr C
6-10/220 Jr F
6-9/205 So F
http://mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/roster" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
BYU's official page:
6-11/230 So F
6-11/215 Fr C
6-9/235 Sr F
6-8/225 Jr F
6-7/260 Fr F
6-7/185 So F
I discounted their 6'11 guy because I didn't see him play at all vs TN and doesn't look like he gets very many minutes. Their 6'10" looks pretty good, but will need to play more than 18 mins this game if they're to be effective. Their 6'9" guy looks decent - I thought he was shorter than that watching him on TV. He seems more like Sharp's size, but 10 pounds heavier. I still think they are going to have a hard time matching our size and speed, especially at altitude. If we run they (Mercer) will really struggle in the second half.
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BYULVhawkwing wrote:
I'm a little concerned about their outside shooting. We all know BYU does not play perimeter defense at all, so if they get hot and got 18 of 20 from the 3 we're dead.
Anyone shooting 18/20 (90%) from three would be hard to beat. Even with our poor perimeter D this season, no one has come close to that except USF's second half, I believe they did shoot 90%. I think we need to keep mercer running all game so they don't have the legs to hit their 3's late in the game.
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GuestBYULV wrote:I'm a little concerned about their outside shooting. We all know BYU does not play perimeter defense at all, so if they get hot and got 18 of 20 from the 3 we're dead.
Anyone shooting 18/20 (90%) from three would be hard to beat. Even with our poor perimeter D this season, no one has come close to that except USF's second half, I believe they did shoot 90%. I think we need to keep mercer running all game so they don't have the legs to hit their 3's late in the game.
Yeah, it's nearly impossible, except for teams that play BYU... :blush: :~(
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SchmoePlaying more man D like we did last game should cut down on some of the open threes that we gave up so much playing zone all game long.
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GunkMercer's bench is even worse than ours
We'll need to play some solid perimeter defense because 3 point shooting is all Mercer really has on us. I don't see heir front court getting much on us.
Mercer's biggest player that actually plays doesn't even put in half a game.
Play tough D, rebound and run.
We'll need to play some solid perimeter defense because 3 point shooting is all Mercer really has on us. I don't see heir front court getting much on us.
Mercer's biggest player that actually plays doesn't even put in half a game.
Play tough D, rebound and run.
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