iogyhufi
Masters Student
Posts: 681
Age: 27
Reg: 10-10-17
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03-20-24 07:08 PM - Post#365924
In response to james
I found myself with a little spare time today and I thought it would be fun to write a little primer on Yale for any Auburn fans who might come looking. Here's what I came up with:
Starting 5:
PG - Bez Mbeng
A pacy floor general with quick twitch instincts. He was the Ivy League DPOY this year, and he did a very capable job of it down the stretch. (Before you scoff, the IL had several guards who would absolutely start for just about anyone at the P5 level.) He's an excellent driver, and recently he's looked to drive for assists rather than for his own shot. He's got a tight handle and great vision - in his last 6 games, he's had an A/TO ratio of 4 to 1. He can hit a three, but it's not really a go-to thing for him.
Wing - August Mahoney
The captain, he's a heady player who has a sweet stroke from outside. He's 27 of his last 46 from three - over 58% - and many of those were from very deep. He's a capable ball-handler who can both pull up and spot up, and he's got a good floater in his bag too.
Wing - John Poulakidas
He's a dangerous three-level scorer who may well be best when the shot's hard. He's a momentum shooter from deep - if he hits two, he'll probably hit 5 - and he's deadly on the midrange pull-up. He's shown a lot of improvement on defense this year, and he guarded Cornell's first teamer pretty well on Saturday.
PF - Matt Knowling
The unsung hero of the Bulldogs (odd to say about a guy who was first-team all-Ivy last year), he's a crafty 4-man with a point guard's handle and vision and elite touch from 10 feet in. He's got 27 assists and only 4 turnovers since returning from injury in February. As a power forward, I remind you. He's Yale's need-a-basket guy and is no stranger to big moments - he's hit two critical buzzer-beaters in league play when Yale has trailed by 1.
C - Danny Wolf
The guy at the top of the scouting report, he's a legit 7-footer with handles, court vision, and a three-point shot. The NIL scavengers are circling him, and for good reason. He's a capable rebounder and shot blocker, and I can give him no better endorsement than to say that he was the best center on the court when Yale visited Phog Allen. (Yes, really.)
Why Auburn should be concerned:
Yale has threats at all five positions, they're an elite team at both defensive rebounding and holding onto the rock, and The Danny Wolf Problem is not so easy to solve defensively. Yale's offense has had periods where it's looked frighteningly good, and if the shooters are hitting and the ball is moving, it has the potential to be elite. Yale is also a very solid defensive team, which means Auburn is going to have to work hard for everything they want to get on offense.
Why Yale should be concerned:
Yale isn't long on shooting - it has two elite shooters, one good shooter, and nobody else who the scouting report would flag as a serious concern (though sixth man Nick Townsend has proven he can knock one down). This has caused Yale some spacing issues when teams will give a little extra help off of Knowling or Mbeng. Yale also isn't the deepest team out there - granted, this hasn't been a huge problem for the most part, but if Yale has problems with foul trouble, things could get tricky.
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