steel_hop wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2024 1:28 pm
I will also add that one of the more concerning issues was basically the entire offense (outside of English) returned and the offense took a decided step back.
Most, if not all, of this was due to the aforementioned English injury and Melendez's ineffectiveness (though he certainly wasn't the problem in the quarterfinals, and thus not the reason we didn't advance to the Final Four, even if it was a struggle for much of the year). They were our two primary initiators heading into the season. Suddenly one of them is done for the year and the other is in a major slump, which may or may not have been injury related as well. So it's not a huge surprise the offense was sluggish in the second half of the year, especially as the two freshmen — Chauvette and Ayers — who had been productive in the early/middle parts of the season, hit the infamous freshman wall. Bauer was
also banged up. Evans, who got us 12 pts last year, was simply not healthy enough to contribute either. That, quite frankly, didn't leave you with a ton.
The offense wasn't a whole lot better late in the year last year either. Fewer than 10 goals in two of the last three games (including the QF loss to Notre Dame). Hm I wonder what could have been a big part of the offensive explosion against Bryant, let me think: A program record 9 points from Melendez and a first quarter hat trick from English to set the tone. Arguably the two most critical O players in that game and neither were available/healthy/effective for the majority of 2024.
Angelus and Degnon are real, impactful losses. But there is a chance the offense is better next year despite those losses if:
- English comes back healthy (and stays healthy)
- Melendez plays more like his 2023 self than 2024
- Collison takes a step
The good things re: Melendez are A) we know what he's capable of, so it doesn't require some quantum leap or magical thinking to get him to where he needs to be. This is a guy who was taking Brett Makar, Chris Fake, and Marcus Hudgins to the rack last year... and B) he is going to
have to carry more and be more assertive simply by virtue of us losing Angel. We can't afford for him to be a secondary presence of the offense. He's got to drive things from the attack while English, Collison, Bauer, and others run the midfield. Assuming the other attackmen are Chauvette and Ayers — Chauv is not a dodger and while Ayers has shown flashes in that area (great first step), that's mostly been against SSDMs and is unproven as a college attackman against top poles. Long story short, Russ is going to have more responsibility in '25 than he did in '24. I predict that'll help to unlock the ability we know he has.
The other thing is Collie's got to take the next step. He was basically the same player this year as last (a very good one), except a bit more clutch (which is not unimportant). Need him to develop a bit more as a playmaker (e.g. the unbelievable pass he made against Michigan) and be more assertive
without forcing things. He has 1st team AA potential.
And then of course there's a whole bunch of guys (Iler, Jewell, McCleary, Crogan, etc.) who are unknown entities as collegiate players but pop on tape with the very skill that is needed: midfield dodging. We'll see if any of them pan out. I think the odds are good that someone will.