tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 20, 2010 15:44:35 GMT -5
While I have no "inside" knowledge, I would be shocked if we picked up another 2010 recruit. Not only are we in play with a number of high level 2011 recruits, but we are not being listed with any of the remaining 2010 recruits who could actually steal minutes on next year's roster. Picking up a project at this point would be dangerous for the program considering we are already locked in with Vee, Jerelle and Moses. Indeed, we already have 12 scholarship players on board for next year which is quite impressive in itself. I think we hold on to the four 2011 scholly's -- and hope for the best with the "impact" recruits who are currently listing us.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 19, 2010 23:29:49 GMT -5
So, with Singler now officially coming back, it is pretty clear that Duke will be the clear cut favorites to win it all in 2011.
That said, I was just thinking about potential matchups, and I'm not sure that they will be that much better than us (even without Greg).
Hypothetical matchups:
PG: Chris Wright v. Kyrie Irving (Advantage Georgetown)
Irving is a really nice player. A McDonald's All-American scoring point who is transitioning into a pure pass first point. Chris Wright was all of those things three years ago. I'll take Chris.
SG: Austin Freeman v. Nolan Smith (Even)
I initially had advantage Georgetown here, but we'll have to see which Austin shows up next year (pre or post-diagnosis). Nolan Smith grew up a lot last year. Still think Austin is the superior player when healthy.
SF: Jason Clark v. Kyle Singler (Advantage Duke)
Singler is an assasin.
PF: Hollis Thompson v. Mason Plumlee (Even)
They each have their strengths, and I think each will be better players next year than they were this year as they slide into starting roles. Plumlee would kill on the boards, but couldn't guard Thompson on the perimeter in his dreams.
C: Julian Vaughn v. Miles Plumlee (Advantage Georgetown)
Julian made huge strides last year and I haven't seen anything from Miles Plumlee to think he is a high-level center.
Bench (Even):
(Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, Ryan Kelly, Josh Hairston, Tyler Thornton, Carrick Felix) v. (Markel Starks, Nate Lubick, Jerrelle Benimon, Henry Sims, Vee Sanford, Aaron Bowen, Moses Abraham)
Duke has two studs off the bench in Seth Curry and Josh Hairston, but I don't think they are as well-rounded of players as Markel Starks and Nate Lubick. Dawkins and Kelly will likely be better next year, but didn't show all that much this year. I'm not convinced that those two will be better than Sanford and Benimon, who got big minutes as freshman (far more than Dawkins and Kelly). Don't see Thornton or Abraham getting many minutes on their respective teams. Felix, Sims, and Bowen are wild cards on both teams.
Conclusion:
The team that is now the clear cut number 1 team in the nation is still not a clear winner over our 2010-2011 Hoyas.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 19, 2010 20:04:00 GMT -5
Ewing Jr. over Monroe blows my mind. I really liked Pat as a player, but he is/was not nearly as good a player as Monroe in any facet of the game. He is more athletic, but the reason he is not in the NBA is that the dude is not really that good of a basketball player. If Greg had Jeff and Roy standing next to him he would've been unreal.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 19, 2010 12:35:26 GMT -5
Greg was a great college player. I agree that, with him, we would have had an opportunity to do great things. I also think that, sometimes, teams and players become overly dependent on star players and it is not until the stars depart that they truly blossom and the "team" grows (See Duke w/o Gerald Henderson, Paulus). So, I really am not willing to place a cap on this team's ceiling at all because I don't know what to expect out of Nate, Moses, and Henry and the rest of the crew.
Also, consider this briefly. I also follow the Terps. A lot of fans thought that the Terps would have no chance to compete down low last year given what they had previously lost. No one knew what to expect out of some kid named Jordan Williams. Turns out, he was pretty good and had a game in the tournament where he dropped 21 and had 17 rebounds. Had a ton of double doubles.
He was also Nate Lubick's back-up in AAU ball which was a major reason he was under recruited. He couldn't take Nate's minutes. Point being, in a watered down Big East, we may still be pretty good down low. We still have as much talent as most of the top teams in the league down low, and I think we will have the best backcourt.
Our team's ceiling, in my opinion, is dependent on how the team comes together and performs when the lights are on.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 19, 2010 12:03:19 GMT -5
This thread has taken a ridiculous turn.
The reality is that college players can improve DRASTICALLY in the off-season.
To say that there is little to look forward to in next year's team, or to say the team's upside is limited, is ridiculous. Who knew that Julian and Jason would take such strides coming into this season? That Greg would become a dominant force on the boards? That Austin would become a 20 a night guy?
Greg is a big loss. But some of you folks need to take a Xanax and cool out. Too many question marks on next year's team to already put a ceiling on the team's ability to achieve. No one has any idea what Moses, Lubick or Sims are truly capable of yet as Monroe's replacements-by-committee.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 13, 2010 14:30:38 GMT -5
Apparently, he is now down to 7 schools, and Hoyas are still on the list (eliminated Arizona State, Wyoming, UVA and North Carolina).
Kansas, Washington, UCLA, Alabama, UConn, Florida, and Georgetown still in it.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 12, 2010 22:03:34 GMT -5
From what I hear, O'Bryant wants to be more of a 3/4, and Christmas a 4/5.
I think we can get both and I think III will target both. Actually still think we should grab Tyrone Johnson at guard, pray for O'Bryant and Christmas to commit, and then with our fourth grab Jordan Omegbehin. Summers/Green/Hibbert worked pretty well - let's go back to what works.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 12, 2010 12:29:21 GMT -5
Sounds like Mississippi State's coach is Clemson's leading target. His departure would help.
Also, LSU's program was terrible this year and is losing it's best player in Tasmin Mitchell. Thus, they should be terrible again.
In other words, I like our chances.
Edit: Looks like Stansbury is staying at MSU.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 12, 2010 12:26:32 GMT -5
St. John's. Because they return a whole team of seniors in a conference that will be significantly weakened by the graduation and early departure of star players.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 12, 2010 11:39:17 GMT -5
Devin Ebanks and Wes Johnson in today...have to think we'll be hearing about Greg soon.
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tonyparker
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Hollis
Apr 11, 2010 21:10:00 GMT -5
Post by tonyparker on Apr 11, 2010 21:10:00 GMT -5
By the end of the year, I didn't think Clark was giving us that much more than Hollis on the offensive end. Indeed, I think by next year Hollis may surpass Clark as a pure scorer and facilitator in our system.
On the other hand, I thought of all of our players who got significant minutes, Hollis was easily our worst defender. Didn't guard, didn't box out, fouled a lot, complained every time he got called for a foul, etc. I think some of this is likely attributed to having to play too many minutes at the 4, but still - he has a lot to learn.
Clark, on the other hand, is a great defender. Did he get lit up on occasion, yes. But there is a reason he was guarding the opponent's best perimeter player - he is our best perimeter defender. On top of that, Freeman and Wright are pretty bad perimeter defenders, particularly Free who doesn't have the foot speed to keep up with most guards and is a bad rebounder.
I guess what I'm saying is that, unless Hollis improves significantly defensively, you can't put him in the lineup over Clark due to his importance as an elite defender on what is otherwise a poor defensive team.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 11, 2010 12:07:57 GMT -5
Reminds me a lot of Jeff Green. More advanced than Jeff, however, when he was a junior in high school. Sky is the limit for O'Bryant.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 10, 2010 17:00:56 GMT -5
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 7, 2010 14:10:12 GMT -5
Well, I wouldn't say that Starks is proven, and I wouldn't say that Irving and Curry are not studs. Indeed, I'd say all three are studs and none of the three are proven at the highest level. My argument was that we have three proven guys in Wright, Clark and Freeman -- whereas Duke really only has Nolan Smith who has shown he can consistently get it done. Sorry if I was (or still am) being unclear. Like I said, just on potential, I still think Duke is likely a Top 3 backcourt.
As for Michigan State -- pretty hard to argue with Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Chris Allen, Korie Lucious and Keith Appling. That is a tough, experienced group with multiple deep tournament runs under their belts now.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 7, 2010 13:28:29 GMT -5
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 7, 2010 13:27:49 GMT -5
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 7, 2010 13:02:16 GMT -5
I don't think Greg is coming back, and despite being frustrated with early prognostications, I like the fact that everyone is sleeping on the rest of our returning team. The Hoyas should come out with a chip on their shoulder next year.
In Goodman's rankings, I think the only two teams that are likely to have a better backcourt are Michigan State and Duke. And I'm not even sure about Duke - given that Irving and Curry are not yet proven. Wright, Freeman, Clark, and Starks are all studs - and I think Sanford and Bowen will provide quality depth. I think that backcourt alone will keep us in the Top 25.
As for our frontcourt, question marks all over the place but we still have a ton of talent in comparison to most schools. In Thompson, Vaughn, Sims, Lubick and Abraham we'll have five former four star recruits, not to mention Benimon who I anticipate will make a nice jump next year.
Even without Greg, I think this is a really good team next year.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 3, 2010 22:42:47 GMT -5
Watching what Zoubek has been doing this season - pretty much since he disappeared in Duke's game against us - makes me realize just how much I want III to take a flyer on this kid. He is HUGE, and with proper coaching could be a solid anchor for future Hoya teams.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Apr 3, 2010 17:51:44 GMT -5
Brief clip from a game this year - his highlights start at 1:06 mark.
Looks like he has nice form and can explode to the basket.
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tonyparker
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Post by tonyparker on Mar 31, 2010 22:24:45 GMT -5
Why can DePaul not work out an agreement to play at the United Center in downtown Chicago? That would seem far more do-able to me than building an on-campus arena. I've never understood why the school doesn't make that happen.
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