2018 Recruiting: Isaiah Mucius - update

[Kmba2Rmemba]

All of this talk about bruisers at the 4/5 reminded me of Rakim Lubin and how excited I was for us to scoop up a big with serious mass. Man, that dude was terrible...

We need Patric Youngs

 

[Chief00]

Except for UConn.

Roscoe Smith and Deandre Daniels were our 4s in the last 2 NCs. Both were taller than Larrier however. Roscoe was also tough. Deandre, not so much.

When we went deep over the years we had good Bigs - Charlie, Jake, Emeka, Hilton, Jeff, Josh, Thabeet, Travis and even Alex. 2014 was a little abnormal but our Big was 7-0 with a 6-10 dude off the bench.

 

[superjohn]

He might be thin but he is muscular. He is athletic enough to make up for his lack of size. Most really big college players that play the 4 in college normally like to shoot alot of 3's like cincy and smu. He will be fine there but I'm not sure we have a good complement on the roster to play the other forward. Is Polley better than advertised?

Larrier is going to get pushed around by basically anyone that plays the 4, just have to hope the advantage is negated by Larrier whooping them on the offensive end. We have to play a lineup that features the 5 best players and we can't have two black holes on offense anymore. The Larrier is a "strong" 190 lbs. is nonsense though.

 

[3rdbass]

When we went deep over the years we had good Bigs - Charlie, Jake, Emeka, Hilton, Jeff, Josh, Thabeet, Travis and even Alex. 2014 was a little abnormal but our Big was 7-0 with a 6-10 dude off the bench.

that's wonderful and all but I don't see enema, Josh or Charlie sitting on the bench. We have to out our best lineup on the floor and with what we have on the bench it is going to be a small lineup with Terry at the 4.

 

[superjohn]

that's wonderful and all but I don't see enema, Josh or Charlie sitting on the bench. We have to out our best lineup on the floor and with what we have on the bench it is going to be a small lineup.

Last years whole team was like an Enema.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Interesting.

The most fascinating thing about this thread is the large number of posters who, with absolute certainty, know precisely how each player on the roster will perform and how they will be best used. And then get upset when their hypothetical is challenged. You know, we haven't seen most of them play in college, let alone play together. You can't necessarily plug this year's 6'9" guy into the role the last 6'9" guy had. Or the one before that.

Reminds me of the barbershop scene in Hoosiers. "Zone is all we've ever played and that's all that'll work this year."

Larrier could play the four. He could play the three. You know, situationally you might even see him a few minutes at the two. Situationally. I see a potentially very versatile roster, and a number of guys who could step up. How about you?

 

[Huskymagic]

We need to play big and not worry about Terry guarding the Gary Clarke's of the world because he isn't that type of player. Not to mention we have options.

Alterique needs to come off the bench to ease him into the flow and speed of the game and to prevent him overexerting himself. With Polley, Carlton, and Whaley, along with Cobb, Mama and Onuorah we have enough height and beef on the team. Mamadou and Onourah won't get bullied and they rebound and defend well. We need our wings to worry about scoring and defending their own position.

We just need our core of Jalen, CV, Terry, and Alterique to play to their capabilities. Everyone else needs to be a defender, glue guy, lunch pail guy, rebounder, shot blocker.

Starting lineup: Jalen, Vital, Terry, Mamadou, Onuorah.
Bench: Alterique, Anderson, Cobb, Polley

 

[superjohn]

We need to play big and not worry about Terry guarding the Gary Clarke's of the world because he isn't that type of player. Not to mention we have options.

Alterique needs to come off the bench to ease him into the flow and speed of the game and to prevent him overexerting himself. With Polley, Carlton, and Whaley, along with Cobb, Mama and Onuorah we have enough height and beef on the team. Mamadou and Onourah won't get bullied and they rebound and defend well. We need our wings to worry about scoring and defending their own position.

We just need our core of Jalen, CV, Terry, and Alterique to play to their capabilities. Everyone else needs to be a defender, glue guy, lunch pail guy, rebounder, shot blocker.

Starting lineup: Jalen, Vital, Terry, Mamadou, Onuorah.
Bench: Alterique, Anderson, Cobb, Polley

That starting lineup has two players who can't score at all, we can't afford to have that anymore.

 

[MSGSeven]

Interesting.

The most fascinating thing about this thread is the large number of posters who, with absolute certainty, know precisely how each player on the roster will perform and how they will be best used. And then get upset when their hypothetical is challenged. You know, we haven't seen most of them play in college, let alone play together. You can't necessarily plug this year's 6'9" guy into the role the last 6'9" guy had. Or the one before that.

Reminds me of the barbershop scene in Hoosiers. "Zone is all we've ever played and that's all that'll work this year."

Larrier could play the four. He could play the three. You know, situationally you might even see him a few minutes at the two. Situationally. I see a potentially very versatile roster, and a number of guys who could step up. How about you?

I agree with this. Not to disrespect anyone's opinion on this board but guys like Larrier and even Polley probably will see time at the 4 and Diarra will see time at the 5. While definitely not ideal on paper hopefully more times than not a smaller lineup and the quickness will produce good results. Our small lineup in the 2014 NCAA tourney proved to be very effective. I understand we don't have Bazz and Boat but guys like Samuel stepped up in a big way and played above his talent level. Again not saying it's ideal I wish we had a stud at every position but that's not the case.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

That starting lineup has two players who can't score at all, we can't afford to have that anymore.

Our power forward and center are gonna be players that can't really score regardless of who it is, unless we do 3 guard and TL at the 4.

 

[upstater]

When we went deep over the years we had good Bigs - Charlie, Jake, Emeka, Hilton, Jeff, Josh, Thabeet, Travis and even Alex. 2014 was a little abnormal but our Big was 7-0 with a 6-10 dude off the bench.

I'm sorry, but after the beating Brimah took here over the last 4 years, we can't really tout that, nor Phil Nolan. It would seem to me that their level of play is reproducible, if that's what you want.

 

[superjohn]

Is anyone talking about how he was on campus again today? Cause he was on campus all day today. I'd say that's a good sign.

Fingers crossed.

 

[CGarr]

100% wrong about him being on campus. I got my Isaiah's mixed up on snapchat. My bad.

 

[superjohn]

100% wrong about him being on campus. I got my Isaiah's mixed up on snapchat. My bad.

Damn, that hurts. Why can't we have good things anymore?

 

[Chief00]

I'm sorry, but after the beating Brimah took here over the last 4 years, we can't really tout that, nor Phil Nolan. It would seem to me that their level of play is reproducible, if that's what you want.

Still they were ten fouls - one could block shots and the other could set screens and take charges.

 

[Chief00]

Interesting.

The most fascinating thing about this thread is the large number of posters who, with absolute certainty, know precisely how each player on the roster will perform and how they will be best used. And then get upset when their hypothetical is challenged. You know, we haven't seen most of them play in college, let alone play together. You can't necessarily plug this year's 6'9" guy into the role the last 6'9" guy had. Or the one before that.

Reminds me of the barbershop scene in Hoosiers. "Zone is all we've ever played and that's all that'll work this year."

Larrier could play the four. He could play the three. You know, situationally you might even see him a few minutes at the two. Situationally. I see a potentially very versatile roster, and a number of guys who could step up. How about you?

Quite frankly, I need to get up to Storrs again in the next couple of weeks to evaluate a couple of the new guys I hadn't seen in session #1.
Over-all our shooting is not where it needs to be yet, we finally have some muscle guys but I need to do a skills assessment and they are a couple inches short in the length dept and they are not super athletic.
We do have a few guys who try to find a way to score - still trying to determine how effective that will be in tandem.

 

[Huskymagic]

That starting lineup has two players who can't score at all, we can't afford to have that anymore.

John Mamadou has good hands and can finish around the basket.

The problem we have had is no offense when an elite guard is not present to create and elevate the team independent of strategy.

We have not utilized pick and role in the offense nearly enough to create easy opportunities for the bigs and for the wings on the perimeter. That's coaching. Mamadou and Carlton need to be utilized this way.

 

[3rdbass]

Even the NBA is embracing the two small forwards playing together. San Antonio just picked up Rudy Gay to team up with Kahwi Leonard to play together at the same time.

 

[mauconnfan]

All of this talk about bruisers at the 4/5 reminded me of Rakim Lubin and how excited I was for us to scoop up a big with serious mass. Man, that dude was terrible...

We need Patric Youngs

He was good against Cincy for about 5 minutes one game at home!

 

[mauconnfan]

John Mamadou has good hands and can finish around the basket.

The problem we have had is no offense when an elite guard is not present to create and elevate the team independent of strategy.

We have not utilized pick and role in the offense nearly enough to create easy opportunities for the bigs and for the wings on the perimeter. That's coaching. Mamadou and Carlton need to be utilized this way.

If the new guys can pick and roll they will utilize it. Brimah was useless on it, half the time rolling the wrong way while the other half left his pick too early. Need better players with some offensive sense to make that happen or else they will continue to double on Adams or the other guards anyway. So I agree they need to play that way so our guards can create but we need stronger, smarter kids to throw their weight around on top.

 

[Mr. French]

100% wrong about him being on campus. I got my Isaiah's mixed up on snapchat. My bad.

BAN HIM!!


Btw, many negative posts about our upcoming roster is panic mode and often hypocritical.

I don't know they're gonna be ok, but no one knows they won't be either. We've had some lineups that the "college basketball nation" didn't exactly get excited about, and they ended up being much better than anticipated.

Also, depth is important, but people don't seem to understand that basketball can be successful with 2 really good players and well placed role guys. Not everyone needs to be a stud, I'd argue sometimes that's a problem.

None of that is supposed to say I think this is the best team we've had or anything crazy, just that the negative overreactions are often just that.

 

[Hurleyman216]

The reality of our team next year is that we have 4 players returning who have at least been in the same system together for 2 years who are all projected to be double digit scorers. It's been a long time since we could say that. Our problem last year was that if Adams and Purvis weren't both on and we didn't get decent contribution from at least one other we were doomed. Call me an optimist, but we have a lot of talent in Adams, Gilbert, Larrier and Vital. We also have a whole bunch of unknowns, but those guys basically need to step in to fill 1.5 positions (the 5 spot plus subbing out our main 4 guys). If we stay healthy I really believe we are a top 25 caliber team...if not it could be a long year just like last year.

 

[Kmba2Rmemba]

Not everyone needs to be a stud, I'd argue sometimes that's a problem.

Always thought that's what (usually) plagues Cal's Kentucky teams, especially in big games (i.e., the tournament). The guy runs out a starting 5 of top-10 recruits, and then gets nearly beat by the likes of Wichita State. At some point, you have to think that role guys with team chemistry can outlast 5 studs with little experience being the beta and not the alpha.

 

[upstater]

The reality of our team next year is that we have 4 players returning who have at least been in the same system together for 2 years who are all projected to be double digit scorers. It's been a long time since we could say that. Our problem last year was that if Adams and Purvis weren't both on and we didn't get decent contribution from at least one other we were doomed. Call me an optimist, but we have a lot of talent in Adams, Gilbert, Larrier and Vital. We also have a whole bunch of unknowns, but those guys basically need to step in to fill 1.5 positions (the 5 spot plus subbing out our main 4 guys). If we stay healthy I really believe we are a top 25 caliber team...if not it could be a long year just like last year.

Same system for 1 year? Gilbert, Larrier and Vital.

I don't have high hopes for these kids, if only because they have no played much together.

Past teams with Shabazz, Deandre, Boatright, Giffey, had spent a lot more time together.

Jalen 2 years, Vital 1 year, Larrier and Gilbert have basically seen little to no court time at all.

 

[Hurleyman216]

Always thought that's what (usually) plagues Cal's Kentucky teams, especially in big games (i.e., the tournament). The guy runs out a starting 5 of top-10 recruits, and then gets nearly beat by the likes of Wichita State. At some point, you have to think that role guys with team chemistry can outlast 5 studs with little experience being the beta and not the alpha.

It's the guys who are great role players with toughness who play D (Christian Vital types) who when paired with 1 or 2 stars win National Championships. We've been lucky in the past to have guys who live for taking the last shot and thriving on it. When everyone in the building knows you're taking the last shot and the other team doubles or triple teams you and you still make it...come tournament time you want those guys used to taking the critical shots. That's what Kentucky has really lacked even with all the talent.

 

[Hurleyman216]

Same system for 1 year? Gilbert, Larrier and Vital.

I don't have high hopes for these kids, if only because they have no played much together.

Past teams with Shabazz, Deandre, Boatright, Giffey, had spent a lot more time together.

Jalen 2 years, Vital 1 year, Larrier and Gilbert have basically seen little to no court time at all.

You do realize that guys do practice with each other from time to time? Vital and Gilbert are in their 2nd seasons here (come March they will have been playing together for basically 2 full years). This is the start of Larrier's 3rd year. He and Jalen have played quite a bit together. These guys literally play with each other EVERY day. You can argue that chemistry takes 4 years, but I would say it's more about personality and coaching than overall number of years...just look at 2011

 

[upstater]

You do realize that guys do practice with each other from time to time? Vital and Gilbert are in their 2nd seasons here (come March they will have been playing together for basically 2 full years). This is the start of Larrier's 3rd year. He and Jalen have played quite a bit together. These guys literally play with each other EVERY day. You can argue that chemistry takes 4 years, but I would say it's more about personality and coaching than overall number of years...just look at 2011

There is no substitute for playing games, especially when these players were injured last year and didn't even practice at all.

I mean, not at all.

Previous UConn stars didn't blossom until their 3rd year of playing a full slate of practices and games.

 

[Hurleyman216]

There is no substitute for playing games, especially when these players were injured last year and didn't even practice at all.

I mean, not at all.

Previous UConn stars didn't blossom until their 3rd year of playing a full slate of practices and games.

Right...no substitute for games..that's why someone like Semi Ojeleye who played a total of 23 games for Duke and averaged 2 points/game can sit out one year and PRACTICE and come back and score 19 points and be an NBA pick. It must have been all that game time that made him better, right?

 

[upstater]

Right...no substitute for games..that's why someone like Semi Ojeleye who played a total of 23 games for Duke and averaged 2 points/game can sit out one year and PRACTICE and come back and score 19 points and be an NBA pick. It must have been all that game time that made him better, right?

OK, man, whatever, hang your hopes on that

All I know is that this board was highly critical of Kemba, Shabazz, Boatright and Daniels after their sophomore years. After 2 full years of practice, games, being in the system.

2 years.

It wasn't until the 3rd year that those 4 players shined.

 

[husky429]

John Mamadou has good hands and can finish around the basket.

The problem we have had is no offense when an elite guard is not present to create and elevate the team independent of strategy.

We have not utilized pick and role in the offense nearly enough to create easy opportunities for the bigs and for the wings on the perimeter. That's coaching. Mamadou and Carlton need to be utilized this way.

Ollie is an NBA guy he loved pick and roll. Our sets often set it up. Problem is with no other options ( our bugs could catch a bounce pass standing still, let alone rolling to the basket) they just doubled jalen CONSTANTLY. Watch Cincis defense on him l.

IF any one of our bugs can catch a pass off the pick and roll and finish 3 times a game, our offense could be astounding. I'll wait to see it though. Pick and roll is incredibly difficult to execute well at any level