Scouting Report: Robert Morris Colonials

The Robert Morris Colonials enter Rupp Arena with a 0-1 record after a season-opening loss to Central Florida. Likewise, the Kentucky Wildcats are coming off of a 79-71 defeat against #9 Duke. Tonight’s 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time tipoff begins The Kentucky Classic which features the Colonials along with Mount St. Mary’s and Ohio.

Historically, Robert Morris is a solid low-major program. Under head coach Andrew Toole, the Colonials are 192-170 as he begins his 12th season. During that span, they were automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Tournament twice (2015, 2020) and won two other Northeast Conference regular season crowns (2013, 2014). However, things are a little tough now in the Horizon League.

The Colonials were just 4-15 last season including a 3-12 mark in their inaugural Horizon League campaign. Now, an influx of transfers will raise the talent level to compete in their new and improved conference. Let’s dive in to the Robert Morris Colonials.

Personnel

Starters

#1 Michael Green III: 5’11” 150 lbs, Junior Point Guard

16.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg (Bryant)

Point Guard. Very quick with the ball in his hands. Capable shooter, but more aggressive as a driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES! You can play a step off of him and just give a hard contest if he shoots it. 1/4 from three in their opener. Get the ball stopped in transition. Closeout to stay between him and the basket and guard the right hand drive. You can start by hoping under the ballscreens and handoffs. Be in help when he doesn’t have it. No layups.

#3 Rasheem Dunn: 6’2″ 190 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

9.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.0 apg (St. John’s)

Scorer. Very aggressive with the ball in his hands. Willing shooter but has a very bad percentage for his career. Still need to chase him off of downscreens and flares to be ready to contest. He wants to shoot jump shots. Get over the ballscreens and handoffs. Switch if there is space in order to stay between him and the basket. Give a hard contest to the pull-up jumpers. Will look to drive it to the rim especially going right. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES! Very quick first step. Bounce back after you take away the initial catch and shoot. You can stunt and fake off of him, but be ready to recover. More shots than points for him.

#5 Enoch Cheeks: 6’3″ 190 lbs, Sophomore Guard

4.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.7 apg

Driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES! He really wants to attack closeouts driving it right. Closeout short. He should not get by you off of the dribble because you are closing out short. Stay between him and the basket. Very athletic. Crashes the offensive glass hard from the perimeter. Be physical and box out! Go under any ballscreens and handoffs. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it. No layups. 12 points and 10 rebounds (5 offensive) in their opener.

#35 Justin Winston: 6’8″ 220 lbs, Junior Forward

8.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 0.7 apg (St. Bonaventure 2019-2020)

Physical, athletic forward. Willing shooter. Was 0-4 from three in their opener. Just get a hand up to contest when he is on the perimeter. Closeout short with your hands up. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES! Don’t let him attack your closeout. Just give a hard contest to the catch and shoot. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it. Come take it off of him when he drives it. Be in help and come steal the ball. Six turnovers in their opener. Box out.

#2 Kahliel Spear: 6’7″ 220 lbs, Senior Forward

9.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.2 apg

More of a true post player. Non-shooter. Closeout short when he is on the perimeter. Don’t go with him when he lifts in their ballscreen continuity. Be in help off of him. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Right hand driver from the high post. No right hand drives! Need to be physical with him. Contest if he shoots the turnaround jumper in the post. Box out when the shot goes up.

Bench

#11 Jaron Williams: 6’6″ 210 lbs, Senior Forward

10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg (UT Martin)

Good shooter. No catch and shoot 3’s!!! Be there on the catch to take away the initial catch and shoot 3’s. Once you do that bounce back to guard the right hand drive. Big, physical wing/forward. Excellent rebounder. Had three offensive rebounds in their opener. BOX OUT! Need to chase him off of downscreens and get over flares. Be ready to switch if he ballscreens to take away the 3. Stunt and fake off of him but then give a hard closeout.

#31 Ferron Flavors Jr.: 6’3″ 190 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

3.4 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 0.7 apg (Oklahoma State)

SHOOTER! NO 3’s!!! 73 of his 92 attempts last season were from 3. 6 of his 7 attempts in the opener were from 3. Be tight to him at all times and take away his attempts. If he isn’t dribbling you aren’t close enough. Chase him off downscreens and flares. Find him in transition. Your job when guarding him is to take away his attempts. No help off of him. No 3’s!

#21 Matt Mayers: 6’8″ 210 lbs, Junior Forward

17.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.2 apg (Hutchison Community College)

Very strong, athletic forward. Plays with a high motor. Runs the floor hard. Need to be physical and get him off of the block. No deep post catches. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Make him score with you between him and the basket. Percentages go down the further off the block he catches it. Must be physical when the shot goes up. Excellent offensive rebounder! Help off of him if he is on the perimeter. Don’t go with him when he lifts in their ballscreen continuity. Be physical and box him out!

#4 Mattia Acunzo: 6’8″ 225 lbs, Sophomore Forward

5.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.9 apg (Toledo)

Stretch 4-man. Good shooter. No catch-and-shoot 3’s. Need to be tight when he lifts in their ballscreen continuity to take away the 3’s. Be ready to switch if he ballscreens. Physical around the basket. Right hand, left shoulder if he gets it in the post. Will face you up. Contest if he shoots the jumper. Stunt and fake off of him when he is on the perimeter, but then give a hard closeout. When he comes in he is looking to score. Box out.

Robert Morris Colonials Offense

Traditionally, the Robert Morris Colonials play at a very methodical pace. Under Coach Toole, they have never been in the top 100 of adjusted tempo per KenPom and have’t been in the top 200 each of the past three seasons. With an influx of transfers that don’t mind playing fast you can expect the pace to pick up a little, but this is still a half court ball club. The Central Florida press sped them up some in the opener and it led to 16 turnovers and just 59 points on 32.8% shooting.

They will run a 4-around-1 base offense with a lot of ballscreen continuity principles. There is more freedom though versus the traditional structure of a continuity which makes it more like motion. When they do ballscreen they will always lift their opposite forward to the perimeter. Also, they will randomly flash to the elbows for a catch to get into an almost pinch-post type of action.

Overall, they are not a good three-point shooting team. Seven of their nine rotation players came this season from the transfer portal, but they weren’t good shooters for the most part at their previous stops. We need to pack it in much better than we did against Duke and make these guys shoot three-pointers. They were 4/23 from deep against UCF. Make them shoot 20+ again tonight.

Ballscreen Continuity

This is not a great possession because the ball never changes sides of the floor, but it gives you an idea of how their offense looks. They will handoff on the wings and then run into a ballscreen. When the screener rolls the other forward is going to replace up behind the play. When better shooters like #4 Acunzo are down low they will just lift up to the perimeter looking for a shot like he gets here.

Staggered Ballscreen

As we touched on already, their offense has a lot more freedom than a traditional continuity. In this clip, they interchange on the wing and then are running into a middle ballscreen. However, the other forward decides to lift early and just gets into a staggered middle ballscreen. The randomness and freedom gets them into some really interesting and hard to guard actions at times. The second screener ends up wide open on the roll.

Motion to Elbow Action

Here is a look at when they flash the elbow and get into a two-man game on a side. It isn’t really pinch-post due to the corner being occupied, but once he cuts through it has similar principles. After the initial wing ballscreen you can see the point guard #1 Green III call for the low forward to flash to the elbow. He then cuts overtop following his pass and they get into a little rub action try to let #35 Winston drive it. Good ball movement leads to a corner 3.

Horns-Staggered Double

This is a set play they will run to try and get a 3. Out of a Horns alignment, the ball is entered off of a little ballscreen at the right elbow. The opposite forward pops to reverse the ball to the left wing. As the post follows the ball to the left block, a staggered double is set for the guard still in the right corner. This is #31 Flavors Jr. coming off. He is a SHOOTER! Chase him off of the double or switch if there is space to take away the 3-point attempt.

Robert Morris Colonials Defense

The Robert Morris Colonials are a man-to-man defensive team. The only thing to really know about their scheme is that they do “ICE” the ballscreens and try to keep drives from going to the middle. This means we need to be very deliberate on changing sides of the floor because they try to take that away. They are small around the basket and we should be able to capitalize in the paint and on the glass.

Keys to the Game

• Pack it in. This is not a very good shooting team. No right hand drives. Make them shoot 20+ 3’s.
• More shots than points for #3 Dunn. Very good all-around scorer. Need to make it hard on him. Contest everything.
• REBOUND! RMU got 17 offensive rebounds in their first game. We should dominate the glass. Hold them to 10 or fewer.
• Stops = transition baskets. We need to control the pace and take advantage of transition opportunities. That begins with getting stops. Layups or rhythm 3’s in transition. Hold them under 40% FG.