Two bigs

[Jaydumo20]

After the constant "2 bigs" talk last year, now that we've seen it is it as good as you thought it was gonna be? (A thread needed to be attempted at least)

 

[B1GEast]

A little concerned about Clingan lasting the season without a quality big man behind him.

Sonogo was a beast. We don't have anything close to that this year.

Need Johnson to step up and take minutes from other guys and not just be asked to give Donovan a breather.

Either Johnson or Singare need to grow up quickly or Ross or Stewart need to help at the 4 spot.

We have some size, but if that length is just out there not doing the physical things without getting into foul trouble, it's not being properly developed and will be a liability.

Not having a true big backup might be this teams Achilles heel in the tournament

 

[Drame]

We've seen it for about 30 seconds.. Why dont you give a little deeper analysis on what you've seen?

 

[HuskyFich]

A little concerned about Clingan lasting the season without a quality big man behind him.

Sonogo was a beast. We don't have anything close to that this year.

Need Johnson to step up and take minutes from other guys and not just be asked to give Donovan a breather.

Either Johnson or Singare need to grow up quickly or Ross or Stewart need to help at the 4 spot.

We have some size, but if that length is just out there not doing the physical things without getting into foul trouble, it's not being properly developed and will be a liability.

Not having a true big backup might be this teams Achilles heel in the tournament

Yeah, when Karaban got hit with early foul trouble yesterday, it was obvious there is a large void in the strength department. Hurley seems to like wirey 4s over back down guys, hopefully our defense can adjust quickly like last year. That was our first time running double teams in the post this year…they should get better as the year goes on

 

[UC1995]

Nervous but optimistic that we can figure it out during Big East play. I can't see Singare getting many minutes unless we have an injury. That leads us to a lot of long guys who are inexperienced and not confident in their shot yet playing big minutes. I think we will still get rebounds with our guards. If we face a team with a bruiser and Clingan is in foul trouble I for one have no problem using Singare as a body to clog the lane if this is the case unless they want to redshirt him. He will get rebounds but he does not have the body and footwork necessary yet.

Having Sanoga and Clingan together was a dream scenario. That one-two punch doesn't happen overnight or often.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It's fine. Johnson has played well. If anything, I think the team needs to run some things for Samson on the perimeter. Let him take a couple of threes. Our offense from Donovan is essentially PnR, lobs and put back garbage buckets. With SJ we've been running exactly the same, and I think that's making it easier on the defense. He can shoot. Let him shoot. That is especially true when he's in with DC. I do think they could use DC up top to pass to Johnson in the post.

 

[Jaydumo20]

We've seen it for about 30 seconds.. Why dont you give a little deeper analysis on what you've seen?

I saw it for 30 seconds as well. I just felt a thread needed to start in honor of the giant circus we had on here last year regarding this topic. I figured 1/2 the yards heads would've exploded in that brief 30 second window

 

[auror]

Played about 7 possessions on offense and 5 on D over 3 stints. Scored 10 points, gave up 6.

 

[Hunt for 7]

I was fairly certain we would see them in the game at the same time against IU. I think SJ could spell both DC and AK and that could be a decent three man rotation. 80 available minutes AK 30, DC 25 and SJ 25. From what I have seen the other front court players need work. I really don’t see Stewart, Ross or Romoglou ( I am going to learn how to spell his name) being able to compete at the four. AK has trouble at times with the bigger fours. Maybe Stewart has the body but he is not bigger than AK who is a small 6’8”. There are not a lot of teams that have IU’s size. Creighton plays four guys that are 6’9”, 6’10”, 6’10” and 7’1”. Marquette and Villanova are not big so we won’t need to do it in the BE conference games. I am looking forward to SJ guarding Marquette’s Ighodaro. We had trouble with him last year and I think if SJ keeps progressing he has the length and quickness to create problems for him. I think SJ is going to be a key piece for us. I would like to see what he can offer on offense. We need to get him some shot attempts. I am starting to see and NBA player in Johnson because of his length and quickness. Hurley has to be telling him that he has the tools to be an elite defender. Of all the players we have had recently he is the only one that I think could cover a stretch four or even a stretch five at the next level. He may be 6’10” but he plays every inch of 7’.

 

[Scoe]

Not ideal but never off the table. Johnson started last year to begin the season. Johnson is really a 4 anyways.

 

[USNavyDog]

A little concerned about Clingan lasting the season without a quality big man behind him.

Sonogo was a beast. We don't have anything close to that this year.

Need Johnson to step up and take minutes from other guys and not just be asked to give Donovan a breather.

Either Johnson or Singare need to grow up quickly or Ross or Stewart need to help at the 4 spot.

We have some size, but if that length is just out there not doing the physical things without getting into foul trouble, it's not being properly developed and will be a liability.

Not having a true big backup might be this teams Achilles heel in the tournament

How much of an impact will Singare be this year? I think Johnson seems to be ok backing up Clingan.

 

[notEwekon]

Well...Hurley only has 10 fouls to give at that position, so I tend to believe we'll see it only when things are going poorly. It was a defensive adjustment, I assume it wasn't part of the original game plan.

 

[HooperScooper]

Oh no, not this again. There was some posts about it in the Post Game (fka Post Mordem) thread. Here's Hurley's comment after the Indiana game. From the New Haven Register:

For the first time this season, Clingan and 6-10 junior Samson Johnson shared the floor a few different times on Sunday. Certainly, Indiana's size contributed to that, along with the absence of freshman guard Stephon Castle.

"It's a work in progress," Hurley said. "It's something that we have, especially being down Steph, being down a quality player. You're just trying to get your five best players on the court, as long as it doesn't cripple your spacing and skill."

Johnson finished with just two points in 11 minutes, coming on a highlight-reel, putback dunk of a Spencer missed 3.

Hurley was asked often last season why he didn't play Clingan and Adama Sanogo together much, ultimately deciding that the combination just didn't work. But he has promised that Clingan and Johnson would share the floor at times, given Johnson's versatility as an athletic four-man.

"In short stretches, I think it's something for us," Hurley concluded. "But I don't think it's something we're going to be able to do for extended periods."