Sissoko>Abou?

[Tom McKrackin]

He was substituted for Abou early and did quite well making some good plays and playing good defense.  He has not played basketball for very long.  I think it is time for Mac to give him a chance in the starting lineup starting Sunday. 

[RiseUNT]

20 minutes ago, Tom McKrackin said:

He was substituted for Abou early and did quite well making some good plays and playing good defense.  He has not played basketball for very long.  I think it is time for Mac to give him a chance in the starting lineup starting Sunday. 

No. And they are different types of posts.

[BleedingGreen]

Abou has continued to progress every year and I want to see him back next year with Sissoko also back as his capable backup.

[NT80]

SHSU has some big bodies.  Why not play them both if the matchups warrant?  Keep them out of the paint!

[Green Otaku]

Abou has just been in a slump recently. We all know he can do better, he just needs to snap out of it. Sissoko has improved tremendously, and we are all enjoying watching him do it, but he is not the scoring threat Ousmane has been for us in many games. What Sissoko has been getting lately is where he should be IMO, with minutes increasing as he continues to get better.  

[Big Z]

Sissoko all the way!

[Hunter Green]

3 hours ago, Tom McKrackin said:

He was substituted for Abou early and did quite well making some good plays and playing good defense.  He has not played basketball for very long.  I think it is time for Mac to give him a chance in the starting lineup starting Sunday. 

I don't think it's a good idea to disrupt the chemistry on the team at this point unless it's due to injury. Sissoko has been getting significant minutes giving Abu a breather. Let's stick with what's been working.

[NorthTexasWeLove]

They are teammates. It's unnecessary to have a **** measuring contest with teammates. They can both contribute on a 27 win (and counting) team. Let them. 

[Censored by Laurie]

everybody loves a back-up. 

[Hookset]

On 3/16/2023 at 4:00 PM, Tom McKrackin said:

He was substituted for Abou early and did quite well making some good plays and playing good defense.  He has not played basketball for very long.  I think it is time for Mac to give him a chance in the starting lineup starting Sunday. 

Sissoko has potential (0 points today) but Abu is ready now. We missed him inside today. Thankfully the perimeter shooting was on fire!!!

[greenminer]

16 minutes ago, Hookset said:

Sissoko has potential (0 points today) but Abu is ready now. We missed him inside today. Thankfully the perimeter shooting was on fire!!!

I didn't miss him.

...before y'all downvote me...

...rather, I spent some time thinking, "gosh we look different without him.  As in, seems like a different offensive gameplan."

Thankfully for today, it worked!  DISCLAIMER: I did not think, "gosh we could be winning by 50 if Abou was here."

[TheColonyEagle]

I would prefer to not have to depend on shooting 16-29 from three to prove we don’t need Abou. Sissoko had 0 points and 1 rebound and 30 of our first 35 points were from beyond the arc. That’s not sustainable…..

 

[Green Otaku]

18 minutes ago, greenminer said:

I didn't miss him.

...before y'all downvote me...

...rather, I spent some time thinking, "gosh we look different without him.  As in, seems like a different offensive gameplan."

Thankfully for today, it worked!  DISCLAIMER: I did not think, "gosh we could be winning by 50 if Abou was here."

Against a weak opponent that wasn't athletic enough to cover our shooting, while shooting lights out. What happens when we aren't on fire and the other team is in your face on every shot? 

It was good to show a different look and adapt, but having more options is always better. There is nothing stopping us from running this system even if Ousmane is available (we did at the beginning of the year when Martinez was getting all of the backup minutes), however without him we are severely limited going down low for points in the paint. 

[Jonnyeagle]

How can you argue against the lineup change?  This team played exceedingly well today hot shooting or not.

[Shark84]

36 minutes ago, Jonnyeagle said:

How can you argue against the lineup change?  This team played exceedingly well today hot shooting or not.

It worked today but OSU is a big, physical team. Sure like our chances better with Abou, Sissoko and Martinez to rotate.

[ADLER]

Any and all doubts were answered by this game today.The first rebound came directly down to Sissoko and he lost the grip on it because he still lacks basketball instincts. He then missed layups which should have been high percentage dunks.

We desperately need another big for next year either way. Hopefully we can find something in the Transfer Portal.

[BigWillie]

2 hours ago, ADLER said:

Any and all doubts were answered by this game today.The first rebound came directly down to Sissoko and he lost the grip on it because he still lacks basketball instincts. He then missed layups which should have been high percentage dunks.

We desperately need another big for next year either way. Hopefully we can find something in the Transfer Portal.

Abou does this stuff too. Especially when he was at the point in his career that Sissoko is at now. How many bunnies has Abou missed this season?

With that said, I see some glimpses of what could be a good big in Sissoko, he just needs experience. And I think, to your point, that's where we need an experienced big right now while he is learning.

[ADLER]

2 hours ago, BigWillie said:

Abou does this stuff too. Especially when he was at the point in his career that Sissoko is at now. How many bunnies has Abou missed this season?

With that said, I see some glimpses of what could be a good big in Sissoko, he just needs experience. And I think, to your point, that's where we need an experienced big right now while he is learning.

I like Sissoko a lot and I am thrilled we have him. But at this point Moulaye needs a lot of training and experience.

To see what Moulaye could become, please look no further than this example, with both at 6-9" 240, the similarities are uncanny:

Michigan State roster

Very similar, though no relation that I know of.

[GMG_Dallas]

FDU has the smallest team in D1 and that didn't stop them from beating Purdue and almost beating FAU. Maybe we don't absolutely need him to beat OSU.

I like Ousmane a lot but I worry he lacks the athleticism at his size to make much of a difference against an OSU. His best asset, from the outside looking in, is his basketball savvy. Often seems to be in the right place. Hopefully he's able to give us a good interior presence on Tuesday. We can't keep missing the easy opportunities near the basket like we have so often this season. He missed a dunk and 2 layups early in the UAB conference tournament game. Can't have that here.

[bstnsportsfan3]

If he was in New York last night for a family emergency, id say the likely hood he is back by Tuesday is pretty slim. I just hope everything is all right with his family!

[GrandGreen]

Both Sissoko and Ousmane are very valuable pieces of NT's team.   Ousmane as inconsistent as he has been is able to dominance games.   Sisscoko may have improved more than anyone in the last year. 

Morgan is an unknown, but with McCasland's reluctance to play deep bench players; it is hard to determine how good he is. Being  that all three are underclassmen, it does not appear that recruiting a big is a high priority. 

Retaining Perry and Huntsberry has to be the major emphasis in recruiting. 

Eady, Martinez, and Browne are apparently out of eligibility, but who can tell these days.  

 

 

[Green Otaku]

2 hours ago, bstnsportsfan3 said:

If he was in New York last night for a family emergency, id say the likely hood he is back by Tuesday is pretty slim. I just hope everything is all right with his family!

Agree, and as much as I love UNT basketball what he is dealing with is more important. Hoping that he and his family are ok and it's nothing major. 

[outoftown]

This has nothing to do with why Abou was missing. If he had a family emergency, then he had to go, and that is understandable. Family is important.

But concerning the Sissoko vs Abou debate on the field: In theory Abou is further along. he is technically better, knows where he oughta be and has that hook that can be really nice when it works and it may feel like the ceiling and floor should be higher than Sissokos. Except of late he failed to be decisive way to often, and performing much closer to his floor than his ceiling someqhat frequently. opponents sometimes almost dared UNT to go to him on a 1 on 1 alone at the hoop. Meanwhile Sissoko has been working on raising his ceiling, and performed like it fairly frequently.

Edited March 20, 2023 by outoftown

[MeanGreenZen]

I would say the biggest recruiting priority is keeping Grant (and I believe it has been established that Kai is out of eligibility.)

Grant is gonna find a Ryan Woolridge/Javian Hamlet/Tylor Perry.

[Glory to the Green]

When Abou is in the post, I feel that he’ll usually get off a good shot. When Sissoko is in the post, I’m hoping he doesn’t turn the ball over. 

They both are contributors, but in different ways. The team needs both to have a good game tomorrow.