By Steve DiMiceli
Ok so back to what I was doing before I was so rudely interrupted by the program completely blowing up.
Andre Marhold was given the dubious task of playing the post for the Dukes at only 6'7.'' While his height is a bit deceptive due to excellent wingspan, Marhold is in no way a traditional post player. However, he did more than held his own at times and emerged as the Dukes most effective big man.
What he did well
For the most part Marhold, defended better than I expected. He shut down Andrew Nicholson in the second half of their first meeting with St Bonaventure. I thought he did fairly well staying out of foul trouble. His offense came around a little more than I expected. When he finished with confidence, he could score in bunches. He showed some emerging ability to attack facing the basket toward the end of the year.
What he didn't do well
Marhold needs to improve his ball skills. He did not secure rebounds with both hands and he had difficulty receiving passes that came in below his waist. When he puts the ball on the floor, he folds his entire body and dribbles too close to the ground. As a result, he had to move too far to transfer the ball from the floor to a shooting position minimizing his length. As a result, his shots were blocked frequently. Marhold struggled mightily from the free throw line. He had difficulty switching back after screens in the high post.
Moving Forward
It remains to be seen how Marhold will be used by the next coach. While his height is more suited for the 4, I'm not sure his game matches it. That being said, I have a very difficult time believing the next guy will continue to push Marhold into the paint alone. Unless another big is brought in from elsewhere, I simply don't see Marhold plus another one of our current post players producing enough offensively when they're on the floor at the same time. Questions will continue to persist about the post, but they will no longer be about the level of talent we have. In my opinion, we have a pretty good idea there. The questions becomes how the new hire will use what we already have.
