Younes Idrissi is playing these days for the Bahrain Basketball Association. Bahrain is a small nation, close to Saudi Arabia.
Idrissi is playing for Sitra. He scored 30 points in his most recent action.
Showing posts with label Younes Idrissi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Younes Idrissi. Show all posts
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, November 13, 2009
All We Are Saying is Give Fox a Chance
As readers of the Blog may know, I was concerned with the hire of Mark Fox. I hadn't heard of him. You hadn't either.
Supporters of the decision touted Fox's victories over Georgia and his overall record of wins and losses. I wasn't too impressed with either.
I remembered that Georgia's really bad teams had played Fox's Nevada squad really close. In 2004, Georgia lost by single digits at home. The next year out at their place, Nevada had no answer for Younes Idrissi. He scored a career-high 16 points.
From what I recall from listening to the 2005 game, Georgia's announcers were quite unhappy at the way the game was called. Our guys were hammered, but didn't get the whistle. On the other hand, Nevada ended up shooting a whopping 32 free throws. Georgia shot only 11.
Even with the benefit of "home cooking," Nevada was losing with 10 minutes to play. They escaped with a narrow 6 point margin.
As far as Fox's record was concerned, I felt that Nevada's wins and losses should be viewed in the light of their yearly opponents. His Nevada teams faced conference foes Hawaii, Idaho, Boise State and Utah State.
During much of the time that Fox was compiling his consecutive 20-win seasons, SEC basketball was at its height, ranked number one in the nation in RPI. If fans remember, Georgia often played Florida 3 times annually during the Gators' two national championship runs, not to mention UGA's twice yearly contests against Tennessee and Kentucky.
I doubted that Nevada would have had anything near 20 wins if they had to play an SEC schedule.
As Nick Fazekas said about the narrow victory over Felton's team, "We really didn't know what it took to beat a good team, because we haven't been playing the best competition."
I would have preferred that UGA hire a coach with impeccable winning credentials at the highest levels, someone who would be immediately successful in recruiting the Atlanta area. I think Damon Evans was concerned about the pay scale for such a coach, and whether Georgia would be able to keep him, once hired.
Evans opted for Mark Fox.
I will say this, I warmed up to the idea. I like what Fox has done so far. He has gone out and gotten some decent recruits, and he has a shot at bagging some of the more elite-level guys in the next few months.
Most of us just want a guy who will recruit, keep the program clean, and run a credible-enough offense that UGA has a chance to win. I haven't seen the Fox version of the triangle offense, but I am eager to do so. I believe if it is as good as advertised, the victories will come in time.
As Georgia begins the 2009/2010 campaign, supporters are lining up behind Fox. Rightly so.
In the meantime, Kentucky has garnered an incredible recruiting class, and the other SEC East teams are as talented, top to bottom, as I can recall. As a result, Georgia may struggle.
The AJC correctly notes that we've had a lot of coaches since 1995. Accordingly, fans who are on the bandwagon now, may jump off very quickly if things do not go UGA's way early on.
Don't.
Let's give Fox a chance. That's the real point of this post. Let's get behind the program and stay there. Georgia basketball opens its season tonight.
Go Dawgs!
Supporters of the decision touted Fox's victories over Georgia and his overall record of wins and losses. I wasn't too impressed with either.
I remembered that Georgia's really bad teams had played Fox's Nevada squad really close. In 2004, Georgia lost by single digits at home. The next year out at their place, Nevada had no answer for Younes Idrissi. He scored a career-high 16 points.
From what I recall from listening to the 2005 game, Georgia's announcers were quite unhappy at the way the game was called. Our guys were hammered, but didn't get the whistle. On the other hand, Nevada ended up shooting a whopping 32 free throws. Georgia shot only 11.
Even with the benefit of "home cooking," Nevada was losing with 10 minutes to play. They escaped with a narrow 6 point margin.
As far as Fox's record was concerned, I felt that Nevada's wins and losses should be viewed in the light of their yearly opponents. His Nevada teams faced conference foes Hawaii, Idaho, Boise State and Utah State.
During much of the time that Fox was compiling his consecutive 20-win seasons, SEC basketball was at its height, ranked number one in the nation in RPI. If fans remember, Georgia often played Florida 3 times annually during the Gators' two national championship runs, not to mention UGA's twice yearly contests against Tennessee and Kentucky.
I doubted that Nevada would have had anything near 20 wins if they had to play an SEC schedule.
As Nick Fazekas said about the narrow victory over Felton's team, "We really didn't know what it took to beat a good team, because we haven't been playing the best competition."
I would have preferred that UGA hire a coach with impeccable winning credentials at the highest levels, someone who would be immediately successful in recruiting the Atlanta area. I think Damon Evans was concerned about the pay scale for such a coach, and whether Georgia would be able to keep him, once hired.
Evans opted for Mark Fox.
I will say this, I warmed up to the idea. I like what Fox has done so far. He has gone out and gotten some decent recruits, and he has a shot at bagging some of the more elite-level guys in the next few months.
Most of us just want a guy who will recruit, keep the program clean, and run a credible-enough offense that UGA has a chance to win. I haven't seen the Fox version of the triangle offense, but I am eager to do so. I believe if it is as good as advertised, the victories will come in time.
As Georgia begins the 2009/2010 campaign, supporters are lining up behind Fox. Rightly so.
In the meantime, Kentucky has garnered an incredible recruiting class, and the other SEC East teams are as talented, top to bottom, as I can recall. As a result, Georgia may struggle.
The AJC correctly notes that we've had a lot of coaches since 1995. Accordingly, fans who are on the bandwagon now, may jump off very quickly if things do not go UGA's way early on.
Don't.
Let's give Fox a chance. That's the real point of this post. Let's get behind the program and stay there. Georgia basketball opens its season tonight.
Go Dawgs!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Changing the Persona of the Dawgs: Five Keys
I like the premise of the article in the Red and Black. One way or another, Georgia basketball needs to get over the hump. We need to be a perennial winner, instead of a team that struggles to escape the cellar of the SEC East.
It can be done.
If a few things go our way, Fox can turn things around. However, I don't think that citing the win by Fox in 2004 does anything to make the writer's case.
Nevada did not play well against UGA. Georgia's 2004 squad was the team that was pretty much cobbled together during Felton's second year. I don't know how to say this without sounding unfair to our former players, but the fact remains that in 2004 we featured Younes Idrissi, a hobbled Dave Bliss, seriously injured Corey Gibbs, Levi Stukes and the freshman Sundiata Gaines. Kevin Brophy and Buzz Wehunt were key guys off the bench. That team played hard, but they did well to go 8 and 20 on the year.
Against Nevada, Georgia shot 17% from the field during the first half, and still was within ten points at the break. Nevada won the game by single digits.
Instead of looking back for inspiration, Fox and UGA fans should see our potential and seek to exploit it in the near future. Georgia is much, much more talented than it was in 2004.
Fox has inherited a team with SEC-quality players. Travis Leslie is one of the best athletes in the conference. Jackson, Price and Barnes will provide bulk in the post. Ware can and will play well at the point. Thompkins is highly skilled.
Here's what needs to happen for Fox to give UGA basketball a make-over.
1. Focus on the fundamentals
The article is right in that Georgia needs to cut down on turnovers. Not sure how that will happen with just one point guard with any experience, but if UGA can decrease turnovers, box out for rebounds, defend reasonably well, and hit free throws, we can steal a few games.
2. Install and execute the offense
I was discouraged by the lack of plays that Felton's team seemed to run. His teams did not have the skill to succeed in a motion offense. Most of the time, it seemed that Sundiata Gaines was the only player who could beat his guy off the bounce. Therefore, instead of having multiple players executing drives to the bucket (like Memphis did under Coach Calipari), Georgia always seemed to stagnate offensively until the end of the shot clock and Gaines was forced to try to create something on the fly.
The point is that given the fact that Fox has decent athletes, Georgia already has the nucleus for a successful year. If Fox can teach the triangle offense and really get the team to run it well, then guys like Thompkins and Leslie should be able to put points up on the board, and UGA can win some of the close games that the team lost in the past.
3. All hands on deck
Albert Jackson has an injury, but the word is that he will be able to play either this week or very soon. Ebuka Anyaorah is coming off of surgery on his shins last year.
We'll need some good luck to avoid any future injuries, but we'll also have to have discipline so that no players will be lost due to academic suspension.
4. Find a Scorer on the Wing
Georgia lost Terrance Woodbury to graduation. Do we have anyone on the roster that can shoot the ball from deep or drive it to the basket? I'm hoping that person is Ebuka Anyaorah or Drazen Zlovaric, but Fox needs to find somebody.
5. Recruit like crazy
We lost out on some Georgia-based talent for the class of 2010, like Kevin Ware, Trae Golden, Shawn Kemp, Rion Brown, and Jason Morris. My hope is that Fox and his staff will be able to rebound with 1 or 2 other 2010 signees, particularly, Jalen Kendrick.
If we get a couple of key guys for 2010, and Fox brings in a banner class for 2011, Georgia will have a roster that can do some serious damage in the SEC.
Our persona will change if Georgia is competitive in 2009, and if we can move the program forward in recruiting.
It can be done.
If a few things go our way, Fox can turn things around. However, I don't think that citing the win by Fox in 2004 does anything to make the writer's case.
Nevada did not play well against UGA. Georgia's 2004 squad was the team that was pretty much cobbled together during Felton's second year. I don't know how to say this without sounding unfair to our former players, but the fact remains that in 2004 we featured Younes Idrissi, a hobbled Dave Bliss, seriously injured Corey Gibbs, Levi Stukes and the freshman Sundiata Gaines. Kevin Brophy and Buzz Wehunt were key guys off the bench. That team played hard, but they did well to go 8 and 20 on the year.
Against Nevada, Georgia shot 17% from the field during the first half, and still was within ten points at the break. Nevada won the game by single digits.
Instead of looking back for inspiration, Fox and UGA fans should see our potential and seek to exploit it in the near future. Georgia is much, much more talented than it was in 2004.
Fox has inherited a team with SEC-quality players. Travis Leslie is one of the best athletes in the conference. Jackson, Price and Barnes will provide bulk in the post. Ware can and will play well at the point. Thompkins is highly skilled.
Here's what needs to happen for Fox to give UGA basketball a make-over.
1. Focus on the fundamentals
The article is right in that Georgia needs to cut down on turnovers. Not sure how that will happen with just one point guard with any experience, but if UGA can decrease turnovers, box out for rebounds, defend reasonably well, and hit free throws, we can steal a few games.
2. Install and execute the offense
I was discouraged by the lack of plays that Felton's team seemed to run. His teams did not have the skill to succeed in a motion offense. Most of the time, it seemed that Sundiata Gaines was the only player who could beat his guy off the bounce. Therefore, instead of having multiple players executing drives to the bucket (like Memphis did under Coach Calipari), Georgia always seemed to stagnate offensively until the end of the shot clock and Gaines was forced to try to create something on the fly.
The point is that given the fact that Fox has decent athletes, Georgia already has the nucleus for a successful year. If Fox can teach the triangle offense and really get the team to run it well, then guys like Thompkins and Leslie should be able to put points up on the board, and UGA can win some of the close games that the team lost in the past.
3. All hands on deck
Albert Jackson has an injury, but the word is that he will be able to play either this week or very soon. Ebuka Anyaorah is coming off of surgery on his shins last year.
We'll need some good luck to avoid any future injuries, but we'll also have to have discipline so that no players will be lost due to academic suspension.
4. Find a Scorer on the Wing
Georgia lost Terrance Woodbury to graduation. Do we have anyone on the roster that can shoot the ball from deep or drive it to the basket? I'm hoping that person is Ebuka Anyaorah or Drazen Zlovaric, but Fox needs to find somebody.
5. Recruit like crazy
We lost out on some Georgia-based talent for the class of 2010, like Kevin Ware, Trae Golden, Shawn Kemp, Rion Brown, and Jason Morris. My hope is that Fox and his staff will be able to rebound with 1 or 2 other 2010 signees, particularly, Jalen Kendrick.
If we get a couple of key guys for 2010, and Fox brings in a banner class for 2011, Georgia will have a roster that can do some serious damage in the SEC.
Our persona will change if Georgia is competitive in 2009, and if we can move the program forward in recruiting.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Recruiting: Tough Business
I saw recently that both Jason Morris and Shannon Scott have eliminated Georgia from consideration.
UGA is, however, still in the running for Cady Lalanne.
These developments show just how difficult it is to get basketball recruiting going at Georgia.
Looking back at recent history, Dennis Felton arrived in Athens after the awkward personnel decisions were reached with Jim Harrick. Due to the looming NCAA penalties, Felton appropriately agreed to release Harrick's incoming class from their letters of intent.
Since Harrick had largely been unsuccessful in recruiting, Felton faced a roster with several seniors, but no juniors and no sophomores. Felton's recruiting efforts achieved the following results:
UGA is, however, still in the running for Cady Lalanne.
These developments show just how difficult it is to get basketball recruiting going at Georgia.
Looking back at recent history, Dennis Felton arrived in Athens after the awkward personnel decisions were reached with Jim Harrick. Due to the looming NCAA penalties, Felton appropriately agreed to release Harrick's incoming class from their letters of intent.
Since Harrick had largely been unsuccessful in recruiting, Felton faced a roster with several seniors, but no juniors and no sophomores. Felton's recruiting efforts achieved the following results:
- 2003: Corey Gibbs, Marcus Sikes, Steve Newman and Levi Stukes (two 3-star players, and 2 unranked guys. Decent last minute work, but no home runs, especially given the fact that Gibbs was coming off of a knee injury)
- 2004: Channing Toney, Younes Idrissi, Dave Bliss, and Sundiata Gaines (two 3-stars and two unranked)
- 2005: Louis Williams, Mike Mercer, Rashaad Singleton, Terrance Woodbury, Kendrick Johnson, and Billy Humphrey (two 5-stars and four 3-stars)
- 2006: Takais Brown and Albert Jackson (one 3-star and one unranked Juco)
- 2007: Chris Barnes, Troy Brewer, Jeremy Jacob, Jeremy Price and Zac Swansey (two 4-stars, and three 3-stars)
- 2008: Ebuka Anyaorah, Travis Leslie, Howard Thompkins, Dustin Ware, and Drazen Zlovaric (one 4-star and four 3-stars)
- 2009: Demario Mayfield and Daniel Miller (one 3-star that would stay, and one that would ask out of his commitment after Felton was let go)
Felton did a respectable job in recruiting, especially so, given the fact that he had to recruit under the cloud of an NCAA investigation for the first couple of years. His third year, 2005, was supposed to be his "money year," the year in which his recruiting and the team's performance were supposed to take off.
And from all indications, things were pretty much set. He got early commitments from two 5-star players. However, Louis Williams opted to go straight to the pro's, and didn't show up at all. Another player, Kendrick Johnson, who was supposed to provide depth in the post, showed up with hobbled wheels.
From there, instead of taking off, things went down-hill for UGA. Injuries, transfers, suspensions and dismissals decimated the roster and the team's record. Although Georgia went to the NCAA Tourney in 2008 under Felton, the team's disappointing record in 2009 and the failure in quality recruiting during the year ultimately led to Felton's dismissal.
Now what? Mark Fox is on the scene. Can he reverse the tide?
Maybe. There are reasons for optimism here. No NCAA investigation. A new training facility. Even better news, Fox does not have to recruit like crazy to be successful. He has a roster full of scholarship players. He has 9 players-- 1 senior, 2 juniors, 5 sophomores, and 1 freshman, from the Felton tenure.
He can field a competitive team with Thompkins, Ware and Leslie, with Albert Jackson, Jeremy Price and Chris Barnes. All he needs to do is have a good offensive system, and he can win now.
But Fox won't be able to win later unless he recruits. So looking at how things are shaping up, Fox has the following recruiting results:
- 2009: Vincent Williams (one 3-star to go along with Felton hold-over, Demario Mayfield).
- 2010: Gerald Robinson (former 3-star from 2007).
Coach Fox wasn't a "big splash" recruit like John Calipari. I don't think it was realistic for fans to expect him to bring talent with him, so his first year is sort of like Felton's. The expectation was for him to plug up as many holes in the roster as possible. Vincent Williams is decent work, considering the circumstances.
The key for Fox is whether he can compress the schedule. Make his second year much better, like a money year, if you will, and really do well in 2011.
So far, the jury is still out on the 2010 recruiting for Fox. Georgia has missed out on some guys, but we still have a shot at Jelan Kendrick, a 5-star, and Cady Lalanne, a 3-star forward. If Fox can get Kendrick, Georgia recruiting is definitely on its way up. Follow the successful recruiting of Kendrick with the commitment of Julian Royal, Dai-Jon Parker, Tony Parker, and a couple of the other elite recruits for 2011 and 2012, then Georgia will have finally hit its stride.
Let's all keep our fingers crossed. Recruiting is tough business.
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