Holmen

[edcollopy]

they say players make the biggest jump from their freshman to their soph. year. I just don't see that in him at all.

[greenminer]

So everyone else on our roster showed you that jump?

[greeninok]

Looks like he has regressed and he isn't making good decisions

[MDH]

So everyone else on our roster showed you that jump?

This.

[BleedGreen]

I am not losing hope in Holmen. He has more than potential to contribute this year. I see him improving this year for sure. Next few weeks will tell more. Don't pass judgement yet on this guy.

[Talon90]

they say players make the biggest jump from their freshman to their soph. year. I just don't see that in him at all.

So far your right....but I need to see another couple of months before making a decision...sometimes during that second year the "light" comes on and that is when the kid takes off. Sometimes it's right away and sometimes in mid-late season. Let's hope for sooner than later.

[MeanMag]

Aside from a stupid tech for slapping the back board, he was one of the 2 bright spots (the other is Odufuwa)in an otherwise poor 1st half.

Then, for some reason, he wanted to pull up and test his range in the 2nd half. He's better down low, and can make teams pay from the stripe when drawing fouls. That's where his game is, and where he needs to take it.

[GrandGreen]

If I were JJ, I would bench Holmen ever time he ventured over 10 feet from the basket to take a shoot and the same goes for Edwards. Not that they can't make some of those shots, it is just not what NT needs. NT needs an around the bucket presence not another wing player firing up threes. Odufufa did the same thing his sophomore year and he seldom takes those shoots anymore. Once you establish an inside game it is probably a good thing to move outside occasionally, but nether of these guys has shown he has any business shooting outside. NT although you can't tell it from the last two games, has some very good outside shooters. It needs front court players who can post up and play defense.

[Army of Dad]

If I were JJ, I would bench Holmen ever time he ventured over 10 feet from the basket to take a shoot and the same goes for Edwards. Not that they can't make some of those shots, it is just not what NT needs. NT needs an around the bucket presence not another wing player firing up threes. Odufufa did the same thing his sophomore year and he seldom takes those shoots anymore. Once you establish an inside game it is probably a good thing to move outside occasionally, but nether of these guys has shown he has any business shooting outside. NT although you can't tell it from the last two games, has some very good outside shooters. It needs front court players who can post up and play defense.

Odd that you would say that since at one point last night Jacob was playing the wing. It certainly looked like JJ was trying him as another wing.

I'm not saying...

[Censored by Laurie]

Odd that you would say that since at one point last night Jacob was playing the wing. It certainly looked like JJ was trying him as another wing.

I'm not saying...

Got a pre-game text from TTG saying Holmen was working with the wings in warm-up. It's clearly borne out of necessity, but I absolutely abhor it. JJ's gone with Holmen at the 3, especially with DoMo and Josh on the floor together...in theory it makes sense, but it gives a poor shooter even more rationale in his thinking he can shoot beyond 15 feet.

I haven't seen him in person, and TTG says he has nothing, but I still think I'd prefer to see what Tyler Hall might have at this point. I know Henderson State isn't much for competition, but he's of solid build, shot confidently and will work his ass off for 10 minutes a night. We have to find some serviceable depth...even if its just defensively...I just don't think we can get away with a minute distribution like we had last night...White 35, Odufuwa 34, TT 33, Hogans 31, DoMo 27, Shorter 21, Holmen 9, Edwards 6, Knox 4.

[MeanGreenTexan]

...I just don't think we can get away with a minute distribution like we had last night...White 35, Odufuwa 34, TT 33, Hogans 31, DoMo 27, Shorter 21, Holmen 9, Edwards 6, Knox 4.

Not if we want to finish strong down the stretch and have a shot of running through the SBC Tourney. The guys will be too tired.

[Army of Dad]

Got a pre-game text from TTG saying Holmen was working with the wings in warm-up. It's clearly borne out of necessity, but I absolutely abhor it. JJ's gone with Holmen at the 3, especially with DoMo and Josh on the floor together...in theory it makes sense, but it gives a poor shooter even more rationale in his thinking he can shoot beyond 15 feet.

I haven't seen him in person, and TTG says he has nothing, but I still think I'd prefer to see what Tyler Hall might have at this point. I know Henderson State isn't much for competition, but he's of solid build, shot confidently and will work his ass off for 10 minutes a night. We have to find some serviceable depth...even if its just defensively...I just don't think we can get away with a minute distribution like we had last night...White 35, Odufuwa 34, TT 33, Hogans 31, DoMo 27, Shorter 21, Holmen 9, Edwards 6, Knox 4.

Defensively Holmen should be fine on the wing (of course he should shoot better than he does...) and I like his length out there.

I share your concern about our lack of quality depth. Holmen and Edwards simply have to play better and losing Mangrum and Mcghee is coming around to bite us in the ass now that Alzee is down. I wouldn’t mind seeing Hall play some in the first half to see how he competes in a D-1 level game.

[UNT90]

Still has the deer in the headlights look of a freshman. He could be buried at the end of the bench next year if he doesn't figure it out.

[foutsrouts]

He looked pretty good defensively (especially in the press) during crunch time, but I really want to see more offensive effort and production from him down low. He was a track guy in high school, and was advertised as having something like a 42 inch vertical, so athleticism should not be a problem with him playing around the rim. Guess he just needs to get the right mindset to match his abilities.

[untjim1995]

they say players make the biggest jump from their freshman to their soph. year. I just don't see that in him at all.

Actually, I think a lot of players tend to remain stagnant or even regress as sophomores because they think they have it all down from playing one year of college hoops. Usually, the sophomore to junior jump is the biggest because of a lot of factors: maturity, understanding roles better, continuing to refine your game, and having to fight for PT if the incoming freshman have something. Holmen, though, is a huge disappointment. He has size and athleticism, but his thought process during offensive sets is clearly lacking. My guess is that he will either get it in the off-season and the lights will coem on or he will get buried on the depth chart next year and beyond. There is no doubt, though, that if he continues to play like this that it will hurt this team, just because of the depth issues.

Edited November 24, 2010 by untjim1995

[GrandGreen]

Odd that you would say that since at one point last night Jacob was playing the wing. It certainly looked like JJ was trying him as another wing.

I'm not saying...

Yes he logged quite a few minutes at the wing in the Henderson or Tech game. Not a good idea in my mind, but if Williams is indeed out for an extended period, they are going to have to do more of this type of thing. I still don't know why JJ went into this season without signing another guard. Just about anybody would help them now, and if there is another guard injury, NT will be in real trouble. The last few years with great depth, has got me spoiled; this team scares me.

[GrayEagle]

Holmen is still in the developing stage but look at the numbers. Holmen is our third best scorer per minutes played behind Thompson (.594) and Johnson (.455). Holmen has scored .444 points for each minute played.

When calculating per minute played again, he is our second best rebounder behind Odufuwa. What shocked me is that Hogans comes in a poor fourth in rebounds per minute in spite of being our best shot blocker.

Holmen is only averaging about 11 minutes a game compared to our starters 30 or so meaning that you can't expect starter-like numbers.

I do agree that he should be learning to play more with his back to the basket. With his speed and agility I believe that he could dominate the heavier forwards.

Edited November 24, 2010 by GrayEagle

[Pen Yan Fan]

Missing in this discussion is how absolutley awful Ben Knox was last night. He just doesn't get it. I would like to see Edwards get some more minutes. I like his intensity on the floor.