Stepping Up

Jeff Adrien. He needs to be able to hit the elbow jumper with consistency and attack the zone with the dribble drive without losing the ball. He needs to knock down free throws.

Craig Austrie. The backcourt needs a second scorer and Austrie needs to be able to hit a couple of 3-pointers without jacking up 10 and he needs to be able to mix up his game more and use the floater. Also on defense, he needs to be able to keep his defender in front of him and not let him get to the rim so easily.

Hasheem Thabeet. He needs to be able to make plays with his back to the basket. He also needs to be able to control the ball in traffic, attack the offensive glass and knock down free throws.

A.J. Price. Turnovers have plagued him this year and he needs to take better care of the basketball. On offense he needs to not rely on the three pointer so much. He is the best shooter on the team but he settles for jump shots early in the shot clock and forgets to dump the ball to the bigs and doesn’t attack the zone with dribble penetration.

Kemba Walker. The super-freshman needs to be able to knock down jumpers and free throws. He is talented around the basket but doesn’t seek out contact like Johnny Flynn does. While his defense is fantastic, he hasn’t found his role in the offense yet.

Stanley Robinson. He needs to be able to hit open jumpers and free throws, especially early in games. He shouldn't get discouraged when his first couple of shots clank and needs to remain aggressive. His rebounding has been great in games that he scores well in, so he needs to keep his nose in the paint and battle for loose change.

Gavin Edwards. He needs to keep his defender in front of him and not play on his opponent's hip. He also needs to block out. His minutes have dried up, but he could play a major role in games in which the referees call games tight, sending the big men into foul trouble.

Scottie Haralson. He needs to hit the open shot and show that he can dribble the basketball. With the bench likely to shrink, his time on the court might be slim.