As you mentioned dunking, and using the correct basketball, I have a couple of questions (but I'm not a dunker). The predictive model has Bham Legion at 6th, while almost all of the write-ups I've seen have them more like 10th in the East. With the additions this off-season, what's the driver for predicting a worse finish than last season? There's also been a decent amount written about Crognale departing to San Antonio, with talk of his distribution skills out of the back. As far as defensive stats, how does he compare to Kavita (who was retained)?
I personally ranked them 5th as part of my Backheeled series, so I think this Legion team is going to be good. If I'm playing devil's advocate, I think that Soehn's system is a little slow and not great at generating counterattacking chances, while Damus/Trejo are best in a higher-tempo setup. The lack of a legit "destroyer" in the central midfield also matters – neither McCartney or Hernandez-Foster have shown 100% that they can be a ball-stopper in front of a back line.
Kavita had a *really* bad 2024 in a statistical sense. His duel win rate and aerial win rate were both in the 10th percentile or worse, and he ended up with ~70 less defensive actions than Crognale in similar minutes. A lot of that comes down to role, given that Kavita was more of a stay-at-home defender next to the more aggressive Crognale, but it's at least a minor red flag even if I rate Kavita very highly.
I should also add that there's been a pretty clear emphasis on a faster attacking form during preseason. During the match against Huntsville, I could really see a unified blast forward for attack, which hasn't been the way in the past.
That's good information, and feedback. I share the concerns in midfield until proven otherwise. If you're looking for stopping power in front of the CB's, Rufe looked better there last sesson than anyone expected. I wouldn't be mad about that this season, if other things don't pan out.
In preseason it looked more like the CB's will generally be stay at home, although Hamouda did some roaming. I personally felt like Kavita got hung out to dry too much last season (and arguably 2023 as well), due to some of the play forward from Crognale. I'm hoping they can get that buttoned up for this season. Preseason didn't really squashed the fears on that.
As you mentioned dunking, and using the correct basketball, I have a couple of questions (but I'm not a dunker). The predictive model has Bham Legion at 6th, while almost all of the write-ups I've seen have them more like 10th in the East. With the additions this off-season, what's the driver for predicting a worse finish than last season? There's also been a decent amount written about Crognale departing to San Antonio, with talk of his distribution skills out of the back. As far as defensive stats, how does he compare to Kavita (who was retained)?
I personally ranked them 5th as part of my Backheeled series, so I think this Legion team is going to be good. If I'm playing devil's advocate, I think that Soehn's system is a little slow and not great at generating counterattacking chances, while Damus/Trejo are best in a higher-tempo setup. The lack of a legit "destroyer" in the central midfield also matters – neither McCartney or Hernandez-Foster have shown 100% that they can be a ball-stopper in front of a back line.
Kavita had a *really* bad 2024 in a statistical sense. His duel win rate and aerial win rate were both in the 10th percentile or worse, and he ended up with ~70 less defensive actions than Crognale in similar minutes. A lot of that comes down to role, given that Kavita was more of a stay-at-home defender next to the more aggressive Crognale, but it's at least a minor red flag even if I rate Kavita very highly.
I should also add that there's been a pretty clear emphasis on a faster attacking form during preseason. During the match against Huntsville, I could really see a unified blast forward for attack, which hasn't been the way in the past.
That's good information, and feedback. I share the concerns in midfield until proven otherwise. If you're looking for stopping power in front of the CB's, Rufe looked better there last sesson than anyone expected. I wouldn't be mad about that this season, if other things don't pan out.
In preseason it looked more like the CB's will generally be stay at home, although Hamouda did some roaming. I personally felt like Kavita got hung out to dry too much last season (and arguably 2023 as well), due to some of the play forward from Crognale. I'm hoping they can get that buttoned up for this season. Preseason didn't really squashed the fears on that.
Rufe is one of my favorites, I'd love if he stepped up into that role. Might be needed if that CB point bears out during the regular season.