I’m not saying we are set at guard. I’m saying that a kid who may now be the best player in the portal, isn’t the kind of guard who is going to come here, when there are schools where he’d be a clear #1 PG. We need guys who are ok coming off the bench. Hawkins is working on his handle, he will be fine as a ball handler.
We need a starting guard from the portal.
We "need" a guard who will start over Hawkins? I mean, if such a person exists and is willing to commit, I'd be thrilled, but I don't agree that we need it. We do need more at the guard position, but finding someone to start over Hawkins seems like gravy, not a necessity.
another starting G means we're either committing to a small ball lineup (e.g. hunter / newton / hawk / aj / sanogo) or hawkins is not starting...
Nope. Jackson isn’t the starting 4. He’s the 3. Hawkins the 2. Newton the 1. If Dan Hurley doesn’t want Johnson as the 4 then we need a 4. But what we need most is a backup 1 and a backup 2/3. The 2/3 will get lots of minutes. The backup 1 less so, but still 10+. If we treat AJ as the backup 1, then we need two guys in that wing category, or even one that’s a pure 2 like Ramey.
We have 8 players right now and every single player we're reaching out to is a guard. I understand you may want Jackson to play the 3 and Hawkins to play the 2 but there is nothing to suggest we're targeting a wing to start at the 4 with them. Yet we keep reaching out to guards who would want to start if they come here
We need three guards to start...Newton, TBD, Hawkins.
I don't understand your question.
Jackson is a guard. Forget for the moment whether you think he can play the 4. His future as a pro is as a point guard. Hurley has said so. That’s what he’s going to want to showcase in what is probably his last season. He is working on the things that will allow that, just as Martin did last summer. I kept saying he’d be our starting SG and nobody believed me. Jackson and Newton will be big versions of Bazz and Boat. Hawkins the wing. The missing starter isn’t going to be a guard. It will be Johnson or good luck keeping him. Hopefully Hurley learned that lesson. Two big passing guards feeding Sanogo and a lob dunk machine like Johnson who can also shoot. Very hard to stop that.
Jackson at shooting guard, okaaaaay.
Posh Alexander?????
No, dual point guards. Hawkins at 2/3. Hurley's pitch is getting guys ready to go pro. Well there is only one way to do that with Andre, play him as a PG. Meanwhile, Sanogo will shoot 3's this year and more face up midrange shots too. I think Andre is a square peg round hole at every position except PG. You can disagree, I'm pretty confident they will play much like Bazz/Boat with Newton and Andre shifting on/off the ball.
If Clingan isn’t getting 35 minutes a game we have a culture problem
I see Clingan playing a bit less around 18 to 20 a game. He’ll need to catch up on the college cardio and strength level so it’ll be an adjustment.
this is sarcasm, right?
Sanogo's going to be a 3 point shooter next season? I won't hold my breath.
The whole "where will Andre play" discussion feels like 90% semantics at this point. Whether he's officially the 1, 2, 3, or 4, he's going to handle a pretty decent chunk of point duties. That could be with Samson/Karaban at the 4 or it could be with 3 guards on the floor along with Andre in a small ball lineup (my guess is we'll see a lot of both). People are getting too hung up on a) his height, and b) the word "guard".
I agree. I think he plays the same position he did this year with improved scoring.
Yes. He will take them. He has to. This is almost certainly our last season with Adama. He doesn't have to be great at it, or take any volume, but if he shows he has a good stroke and can hit some, NBA teams will know he can improve at it. He'll put the ball on the floor from further out as well. He's done that a few times pretty effectively.
Yes. I would be surprised if he gets significant minutes.
