Scouting the New Orleans Privateers

Rap mogul, general of the No Limit Soldiers, entrepreneur, father of Mercy, and now president of basketball operations for the University of New Orleans men’s basketball, Percy “Master P” Miller joins head coach Stacy Hollowell to bring their Privateers (3-7) to Houston for a 2 pm matinee against No. 8 Houston (9-1).

The Privateers have played a heck of a non-conference schedule. They have visited TCU, LSU, Tulane, Mississippi State, Texas Tech, Memphis, and more. UNO beat TCU, blew out Tulane, and took Mississippi State to overtime. They have a talented team that some believe will be an NCAA Tournament team.

UNO has several guys that I would consider their “head of the snake.” I would look to cut off #22 Coleton Benson, who is their best shooter. If he’s left open, he’s deadly from three. He is also a master at flopping on his shot. Their point guard, #5 Jakevion Buckley, makes them go, but Benson is a real problem when he gets hot.

This should be a solid opponent for the Coogs: UNO has a good starting lineup and a couple of good pieces off the bench. They were super entertaining to scout! I would not be surprised if it’s a bit closer than expected, but UH’s defense, intensity, and athleticism will be too much for the Privateers.

New Orleans Offense Notes

Offensively, UNO is pretty balanced.
They have some outstanding outside shooters in #22 Benson (40%), #5 Buckley (36%), #99 Pagonis (38%), and #21 Osby (37%). They LOVE to run Benson off of off-ball screens to free him up for an open shot.
Buckley and #6 Cope are looking to get in the paint to score. Cope is one of the best athletes I’ve seen on film this year. They’ll try to extend the defense and try to free him up for a lob dunk.
#23 Thomas, #9 Abass, and #11 Majok are all big guys with different skills. Thomas is a bit more nimble, Abass is the most powerful, and Majok is probably the biggest guy on the UH’s schedule (7’4″).
They have many ways to score. Buckley tends to get them going and will look to find whoever is hot.

Privateers Defense Notes

They primarily play half-court, man-to-man defense.
UNO may sprinkle in some half-court 2-3 zone or 1-3-1 zone defenses. They rarely run either, which is good, because it usually leads to their opponent scoring.
They rarely attempt a full-court, face-guard press to make it “difficult” to get the ball in-bounds. It’s not effective.

New Orleans Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)

*#22 – Coleton Benson – 6’2 – SR – Guard – (Army, Texas State) – 15ppg, 3rpg, 2apg.

Starting shooting guard. Probably the best shooter I’ve seen this year – shooting 40% from three (35-88). He’s a guy you love to have on your team and hate to play against;
Head of the Snake due to his shooting ability;
Moves really well without the ball. Looks to back door cut when he can. They like to set several off-ball screens to get him open;
Quick release on his three-point shot – Think “poor man’s” LJ Cryer…I know…He’s playing against a Houston defense, so I expect him to struggle, but he can REALLY shoot;
Loves to kick his leg out to draw fouls on his shot. In 50% of the clips that I watched, he fell like a sniper had shot him. The refs keep falling for it. If I’m on the UH coaching staff, I’m making the referees aware that he’s notorious for it. He’s such a good shooter, it’s just unnecessary to flop on every shot attempt.

*#5 – Jakevion Buckley – 6’2″ – SR – Guard – (Trinity Valley CC, Lamar, Southeastern) – 14ppg, 5rpg, 5apg, 5TOpg.

World traveler. On his 4th college team;
Scoring point guard. LOVES to get in the paint and shoot off the bounce. Really good at driving left;
Likes the Damian Dunn head-fake to get you off your feet and jump into you to draw the foul. He flops, too. Kicks his leg out on his jumper;
Solid three-point shooter, but doesn’t take many. Has 115 shot attempts, but only 25 are from beyond the arc (9-25, 36%);
Turnover machine – had 10 at TCU and 48 total in 10 games. I think the BLITZ could give him fits.

*#6 – TJ Cope – 6’7″ – JR – Guard – (South Plains CC) – 8ppg, 3rpg.

EXTREMELY athletic guard;
Above the rim athlete. They love to lob to him for the dunk and he attempts some INSANE dunks!!;
Better at catching to score going towards the basket, rather than putting the ball on the floor to create for himself;
Capable outside shooter…It looks ugly, but it goes in sometimes (6-18, 33%);

*#23 – MJ Thomas – 6’8″ – SO – Forward – 10ppg, 8rpg, 2apg.

Pretty big post player;
Led the Southland Conference in offensive rebounding last year;
Really good as a roller in the pick and roll game. Solid around the basket;
Not bad catching in the mid-range and taking his guy one-on-one. JOJO DON’T FOUL HIM!!!;
Not overly athletic, but uses his body well to get in position to score;
98% of his shot attempts are in the paint;

*#9 – Churchill Abass – 6’10” – JR – Forward/Center – (DePaul, Wake Forest) – 6ppg, 5rpg.

Big/strong post player;
Abass and Thomas look similar and have similar games; Abass is a bit more powerful at the rim; Abass will look to rip the rim off the backboard when he can;
Not an outside threat; Not a horrible mid-range shot, but would prefer to be at the rim;
He certainly plays with “an edge”; I could see him and Jojo getting into it.
Ejected from a game earlier this year for BITING AN OPPONENT!!!

#99 – Panagiotis Pagonis – 6’9″ – FR – Forward – 7ppg, 3rpg, 2apg.

Pronounced “Pa-na-YO-tees Pa-GO-nees.” Good luck;
Stretch forward; Mismatch problem;
At 6’9″, he can play outside vs slower competition or post up vs smaller guards;
He’s a terrific three-point shooter (9-24, 36%);
He’s a little loose with the ball when driving to the basket.

*#11 – Mathok Majok – 7’4″ – JR – Center – (UMASS, Oral Roberts) – 3ppg, 2rpg.

Tall;
At his best when getting a put-back, following an offensive rebound;
Pretty good in the pick and roll game. Has good hands and finishes at the rim;
Not a bad little hook shot;

#21 – Kedrick Osby – 6’7″ – JR – Forward – (Odessa CC, Pearl River CC) – 4ppg, 2rpg.

Tall “Three and D” Forward;
Really good three-point shooter in the corner. Funky release, but it goes in at a good clip; (7-19, 37%);
Not really a threat to take it off the bounce.

#3 – Irish Coquia – 6’2″ – JR – Guard – (Simon Fraser) – 3ppg, 0.7rpg.

Back up guard off the bench; I don’t think he’s 6’2’. Feels like he’s a little nervous;
Looking to shoot the three: 21 of his 28 shot attempts have been from three-point land; (6-21, 29%);
Allergic to rebounding: 7 total in 10 games;
Last school was Simon Fraser, a DII school in British Columbia.

#25 – Enzo Boudouma – 6’9″ – FR – Forward – 5ppg, 2rpg.

Had been starting, but did not dress out in UNO’s last game. I haven’t been able to find out why;
Another stretch forward. Mismatch issue;
Can play inside or outside. Not a great outside shooter, but is capable at 26%;
Decent pick and pop guy. Can take it off the bounce as well to score in the paint;

What I’ll Be Watching…

Identifying Who Is Hot. UNO has several guys who can score. I always watch how the Coogs adjust their defense when someone is scoring at a high rate.
Battle Of The Boards. UNO has some big guys that attack the glass on both ends. It will be crucial to limit their extra opportunities.
Milos’ Outside Shooting. The Coogs need Los to make his outside shots to take the team to another level. As a former deadly outside shooter myself (trust me!), I know what it’s like to fall into a shooting slump. The good news…when you get out of it, you usually catch fire! Maybe Saturday is that day for Milos.
Lack Of Depth In the Front Court. Will the Coogs play Ced Lath more or look to play small and roll with Ramon Walker and Chase McCarty more? Either way should be fine, but if they go small, they will have to rebound against the New Orleans big guys. It’s more important than ever for JoJo to stay on the floor.