jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 17, 2024 12:12:14 GMT -5
I find it pretty unlikely we grab two bigs from the portal that are better than these two guys. But I do think that it's pretty natural to not want to start freshmen. And tyou can't go into next year without someone to compete because while you should give them every chance to earn 25+ minutes ... you can't add a player later easily if they don't earn it. Can you risk next year on the idea that they will absolutely step up? And Cook is a defensive disaster. It's risk mitigation. But in general, I am hyped for these two to step up this year. My brain tells me that it's far more likely we play smaller due to defense, but I really love the idea of these two playing together. Both can pass, shoot and play at the rim -- seems tailor-made to destroy a zone, frankly. And against man defenses, pull out Fielder to the three point line, put Sorber at the high post and let the guards cook and Sorber play distributor. I'm only worried about getting the youngsters as much experience as possible. There isn't any risk to next season after going 2-18 in my opinion of course. Coaches love the "experienced" player so I have little faith that Cooley wouldn't give them the bulk of the time regardless of productivity. Massoud was terrible this past season but still saw a lot of time. I'm all for letting the two youngsters play as much as possible. I think you are in the vast minority. The rest of us want to compete respectably.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 17, 2024 11:38:38 GMT -5
If you want to win, do you really want to bet that Fielder who was not ready to be a starter on a winning team at the end of last year is going to transform into starter on a winning team just 6 months later? Simultaneously, you want to bet that a freshman that was ranked #54 in the country in the final ranking, is going to be ready to carry the mantle on a winning BE team as a freshman? I love Sorber, but he is not Alonzo Mourning and the #1 ranked recruit in the country. He is definitely going to make an impact, but you want to bet your season that he is up to the task as a freshman?!!!!
That is insanity…..unless you love losing.
We need an 20 minute per game, big bodied, experienced big who can take the pressure off of these guys and then they can develop at their own rates. Cliff O would be perfect.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 17, 2024 9:26:09 GMT -5
Hammond is shorter than 6’ but I believe his team won the Peach Jam and the WCAC. He is a winner and can play. He is unselfish and can be a problem defensively for opponents….seems to be a super-quick type. If he is willing to have a backup role, he is a great add though some may prefer more experience on the bench.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 16, 2024 22:13:47 GMT -5
This is why a $4-$5 million NIL budget doesn't necessarily get you as far as one might imagine. EvanMiya lists him as a the #1 portal player in the country.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 16, 2024 11:00:59 GMT -5
How many times was his disappearance the result of PG who was dribbling the air out of the ball and not finding their teammates. Give him a great PG and he probably looks a lot better. He's gone, so we are crying over spilled milk at this point. Losing him may mean we have less positional flexibility. Styles could guard a larger set of players than Mack, Epps, and Sorber. Peavy may be forced to guard a wing. I think you get what you get with Stylez. A solid player that isn't a great defender but can guard wings. Peavy should be guarding wings. Well, TCU had him guarding Epps.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 16, 2024 10:56:18 GMT -5
Styles was spotty at best. How many halves would he disappear? Next year, he would have gotten 10-15 minutes per game if he had been lucky. He saw the numbers and the competition. Time to move on. How many times was his disappearance the result of PG who was dribbling the air out of the ball and not finding their teammates. Give him a great PG and he probably looks a lot better. He's gone, so we are crying over spilled milk at this point. Losing him may mean we have less positional flexibility. Styles could guard a larger set of players than Mack, Epps, and Sorber. Peavy may be forced to guard a wing.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 20:18:05 GMT -5
Styles departure is disappointing. He looked like a Big East player for a program that hasn’t had many the past several years. I figured he could be part of the solution when we’re ready to compete, and now we need to replace him in addition to adding at the positions where we are clearly deficient. Wish him well, hope he gets lots of money to pay for a winner in front of his family, but kinda sucks for us. Only so many people we can add from the portal, to say nothing of the constant turmoil we can’t seem to escape. Already committed to NC State.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 19:25:14 GMT -5
I expect this means Peavy starts at the 3, which is probably his natural position. Assuming we get Mack and my being among those that does not want to see a Mack/Epps starting back court, I would like to see us bring in a taller starting two guard who can shoot and also play d, and a defense minded center as our two biggest priorities. I hope we can pull it off. Also, in regard to CO, I really only know what I read here. Can anyone compare him to Adem Bona? Bona was defensive player of the year in the Pac this year, has limited but improving offensive skills, and is a foul machine. That said, if CO is comparable to Bona, I would be thrilled to have him. Get used to disappoitment.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 18:48:53 GMT -5
Why would Styles stick around until after being recruited over? That would make no sense. As I mentioned before Peavy was confirmed him and Styles, especially since Epps is not coming off the bench and will play as much as he wants, made no sense together. Styles saw the writing on the wall and left. That's what is going to happen in the current system. Exactly. Even if he would still get considerable minutes and would even be able to fight for a starting spot, it's hard to blame someone in that situation We could play with 2 wings....
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 12:49:52 GMT -5
Fake news….that keeps popping up like a groundhog.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 12:44:45 GMT -5
I don't think so Etomic. We brought in a group last year and are relying on this freshmen group to rebuild the core. You've got to get old. We tried a one year rental with Massoud and then a bunch of walk ons. The difference between this and the ST. John's way is they brought in almost exclusively one year guys in free agency (Ledlum/Jenkins/Alleyne/Dingle) and we brought in multiple year guys (epps/styles/brumbaugh/cook). Ideally we would have kept Brumbaugh but reality is a very low turnover roster is the best you can hope for. THey have turned over much more of their roster with Dunlap/WIlcher/Luis likely as their core coming back and I don't think they have much of an incoming freshmen group. To make it work, it took over half the season and by the time they got it together, it didn't matter for tournament purposes with all the conference upsets and the BE getting hosed out of spots. At the end of the day, we would much rather have had their year one. I think we are going to look pretty even by year two and I think we pass them by in year three. We shall see but the plan seems to be working it's just our year one was worse then any of us could have expected. Imho it's not about getting "old" it's about getting experienced, particularly in the coach's system. Peavy is undoubtedly a great defender, but I think some of his productivity comes from playing in the same system under the same coach for 3 years. Dude, go re-watch the Georgetown vs. TCU game watching Peavy exclusively….as I did. You won’t make the statement above. It had nothing to do with the system. He is a fantastic on ball and perimeter defender
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 10:47:28 GMT -5
Sure, overall: 2023-2024: 105th 2022-2023: 39th 2021-2022: 75th 2020-2021: 42nd I'm excited to see the incoming freshman class as well, but I don't think Sorber is ready to handle a 28-30 mpg workload and even if he is, we've already seen what happens to our defense when Cook gets regular rotation minutes. It wasn't pretty. I also don't hold it against any coach who has realized that utilizing the portal is a virtual necessity for success these days. NIL and transfer rules have unfortunately forced their hand in that direction. I don't think chasing wins is the best route to take in the rebuilding of the program. Yes, because last season was so much fun...and you can count on everyone to return (see styles.)
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 9:32:25 GMT -5
If we were to add Cliff O to Sorber and Fielder at C, then I would get pretty optimistic about our ceiling next year. Definitely top 1/2 of the conference. Probably in the tournament.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 9:30:30 GMT -5
Agree. He makes this team better defensively and will help set a tone that others can follow. He is also strong in transition both offensive and defensively. We could totally use that.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 15, 2024 9:24:08 GMT -5
Both Peavy and Mack seem like solid enough players providing an upgrade in certain areas of need................but would not really consider them game-changers by any means. I mean, are they really expected to be above average players in the Big East? Would be happy to throw some open scholarships their way but I hope Cooley et al are not dedicating too much NIL (I mean bag) $$$ for their services. It will also be interesting to see how Cooley uses these guys............and the impact on other players on the team (Epps, Fielder, Styles). Go rewatch Georgetown vs. TCU from last season. You can put Peavy on the opponent's best guard/wing, and basically take him out of the game. He gave Epps fits. Watch Peavy in transition offense and defense where he is ++. In halfcourt offense, he was good driving to the hole but nothing extraordinary. He was also a good rebounder. Notice how good TCU's defense was against us. Peavy was their best defender. Definitely a difference maker defensively which we desperately need. Tremendous on-ball and perimeter defender. Then go watch the highlights of Mack before he came down with mono....basically the first few games of his college career. He will be a difference maker too.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 14, 2024 18:20:47 GMT -5
Saw a video interview a week back in which he said the fall before the season starts.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 14, 2024 13:47:33 GMT -5
Current state: Finally trending up? Bigly. Cooley should use this momentum to go find the right one-year big.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 14, 2024 13:44:31 GMT -5
No, but he canceled his UVA visit...so we think it is imminent and worth taking to the bank. I won't believe it until he signs on the dotted line In this new world, I am not sure a signature on a line gets you much more.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 14, 2024 12:57:48 GMT -5
No, but he canceled his UVA visit...so we think it is imminent and worth taking to the bank.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Apr 14, 2024 11:57:49 GMT -5
Peavy could be your small ball 4 and Sorber or Fielder could be traditional forward when the match-up requires.
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