Jaylin Stewart Tidbit from Rob

[WhereistheDove?]

On second thought, I could see that happening since you could easily split the 40 minutes at PG between Castle and Newton

This feels like the most likely scenario. Love what Diarra brings to the team defensively, but he doesn't really have point guard skills on the offensive side of the ball and you take a significant hit if he has to be the one running the offense for more than very short stretches. I assume they'll split point duties between Castle and Newton similarly to how they did last year between Castle and Jackson.

 

[Incursio007]

A lot of the scouting reports mentioned a player profile similar to Bryce Hopkins. Not sure he's tall enough to legitimately play the 5, but he could certainly play the 3/4 & maybe even the 2 if needed.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Welp looks like Stewart may be the freshman to step up instead of Ross. For it regardless! He seems super skilled if he can play within the offense.

I kind of expected that. Strength matters. Overly skinny forwards get abused in this league. We played against some absolute monsters last year.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I kind of expected that. Strength matters. Overly skinny forwards get abused in this league. We played against some absolute monsters last year.

I assumed Ross could have a Karaban-like role who wasn’t the biggest but made it work.

But Stewart was always more skilled. It was just about being able to play within the offense which he probably has shown he can do early on based on reports.

It’ll be good to have the iso scorers we do within the offense this year. Think guys like Castle, Spence, Ball, and Stewart have that ability.

 

[aburks41]

This feels like the most likely scenario. Love what Diarra brings to the team defensively, but he doesn't really have point guard skills on the offensive side of the ball and you take a significant hit if he has to be the one running the offense for more than very short stretches. I assume they'll split point duties between Castle and Newton similarly to how they did last year between Castle and Jackson.

Diarra just needs to distribute the ball and he'll be fine. Surround him with Newton, Spencer, Karaban, and Clingan and he'll be a lot more effective

 

[husky429]

On second thought, I could see that happening since you could easily split the 40 minutes at PG between Castle and Newton

That was what I imagined. Castle playing the 1 on offense whenever Newton sits and Spencer guarding the other teams PG. I don't think offense is the issue as much as defense without Newton. Castle can't guard college 1s.

 

[yungdowork]

Diarra just needs to distribute the ball and he'll be fine. Surround him with Newton, Spencer, Karaban, and Clingan and he'll be a lot more effective

That lineup doesn't sound drastically different than last year when he was surrounded by Newton, Hawkins, Karaban, and Clingan at times. Diarra definitely has a role on this team, but he's pretty limited offensively. Career 35ish% from the floor, just a slightly positive A/TO ratio, below average FT shooter for a guard; but can definitely push the pace and apply pressure when he's on.

I think Diarra will be a good tool to have defensively especially against teams who have smaller, quicker PGs who our bigger guards don't match up well against. Even Newton struggled at times last year to stay in front of shiftier guards, and current evidence suggests Castle will also have some adjusting to do in that regard.

 

[CL82]

Not sure there's room for both in the rotation. Castle, Newton, Spencer, Karaban, Clingan starting. Diarra and Johnson locked in as the only backups at the 1 and 5 already puts the rotation at 7. We're not going more than 8 or 9 deep so that leaves 1 of Ball, Ross, Stewart squeezed out

Or bumping Diarra or Johnson, I guess.

 

[CL82]

That was what I imagined. Castle playing the 1 on offense whenever Newton sits and Spencer guarding the other teams PG. I don't think offense is the issue as much as defense without Newton. Castle can't guard college 1s.

I see Newton as being the de facto 2 guard. That is his natural position, particularly at the next level. That said, I think it's going to be a Bazz and Boat kind of situation where you have two guys who are both good facilitators and scores as needed. I am looking forward to it. We are going to be a very difficult team to defend next year.

FWIW Diarra coming in for Newton helps to mitigate the loss of Tristan's defense.

 

[superjohn]

I see Newton as being the de facto 2 guard. That is his natural position, particularly at the next level. That said, I think it's going to be a Bazz and Boat kind of situation where you have two guys who are both good facilitators and scores as needed. I am looking forward to it. We are going to be a very difficult team to defend next year.

We may not have the prototypical small scoring point guard we're used to but we have three guys who can handle, create, and pass and they have size. They're going to be difficult for teams to stop. Lob play to Donovan is going to be huge this upcoming season.

 

[MDHuskFan]

Stewart has a PF mentality in a SF body.. Has no problem getting physical in the paint with the Big guys and /or taking ball outside to muscle wings/SFs.. Will provide valuable minutes early .. Transformation in his body from his senior year in HS until now is impressive.. Can see his explosion and lift to be that much more dynamic.. D and boards should get him minutes..

I think we have forgot how little players physically developed under the prior regime.

Mainly because over the last few years we saw a drastic change w/ coach not gonna name him & Coach Mike.
Coach Gavin doesn’t get enough noted credit for some of the transformations he’s overseen. Last year DC came in & slimmed down fast. Went from a larger guy to a much more mobile & athletic big than we were expecting.

Looking at Stewart now, appears he’s just repeated history. (Much credit to the players as well for their work & dedication. )

 

[Deleted at users request]

We may not have the prototypical small scoring point guard we're used to but we have three guys who can handle, create, and pass and they have size. They're going to be difficult for teams to stop. Lob play to Donovan is going to be huge this upcoming season.

That mid range ability Castle, Spence, and Stewart has should come in handy there too. Bigs won’t be able to drop and stick with DC without giving that shot up.

Just so much size, athleticism, and skill to work with this roster. Talent wise, it seriously may be better than last year.

 

[MDHuskFan]

That mid range ability Castle, Spence, and Stewart has should come in handy there too. Bigs won’t be able to drop and stick with DC without giving that shot up.

Just so much size, athleticism, and skill to work with this roster. Talent wise, it seriously may be better than last year.

I want to crush this take. how will we replace Hawk, Dre, Adama, Joey C.

Then I remember last year people saying that last years was better than the year before. I remember ppl calling it crazy asking How will we replace RJ, Reese & Wrench.

We saw how that worked out.

 

[ucp990411]

That was what I imagined. Castle playing the 1 on offense whenever Newton sits and Spencer guarding the other teams PG. I don't think offense is the issue as much as defense without Newton. Castle can't guard college 1s.

Don’t forget Hurley demands defense. Castle will be a much better defender in March than he and we ever imagined.

 

[navery12]

I want to crush this take. how will we replace Hawk, Dre, Adama, Joey C.

Then I remember last year people saying that last years was better than the year before. I remember ppl calling it crazy asking How will we replace RJ, Reese & Wrench.

We saw how that worked out.

Right now I'm where Norlander or Parrish (forget which one said it the podcast that was posted) is. I think next year's team will be better than last year. It'll also likely end with a worse result

 

[superjohn]

That mid range ability Castle, Spence, and Stewart has should come in handy there too. Bigs won’t be able to drop and stick with DC without giving that shot up.

Just so much size, athleticism, and skill to work with this roster. Talent wise, it seriously may be better than last year.

Oh I think it's clearly a more talented roster than last year but they'll be younger and won't have the same veteran leadership. I think the biggest thing they'll miss is the two headed monster of Sanogo and Clingan. Defenses never had a chance to rest and the two bigs played so differently that teams had so much trouble reacting to it. Jackson's leadership will be missed.

If this team gets the leadership they need they can repeat because the talent is certainly there and it looks like a nice mix of veterans and youth. It's incredibly difficult to repeat though.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We may not have the prototypical small scoring point guard we're used to but we have three guys who can handle, create, and pass and they have size. They're going to be difficult for teams to stop. Lob play to Donovan is going to be huge this upcoming season.

We are, again, built like an NBA Team, both with size and what comes off the bench. The three non Castle freshman have some question marks, but aside from that, there just aren't normally college teams with NBA size across the lineup. Yes, the little quick PGs will be tough to guard, as they are in the NBA. Fine, press them outside where they can't shoot over our perimeter guys and funnel them to DC and SJ. There's a reason those little guys take pull-ups, it's really the only shot they can reliably get. Even those may get swatted from behind.

On offense, we will be an almost impossible matchup.

 

[ucp990411]

Right now I'm where Norlander or Parrish (forget which one said it the podcast that was posted) is. I think next year's team will be better than last year. It'll also likely end with a worse result

Holy hype.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Oh I think it's clearly a more talented roster than last year but they'll be younger and won't have the same veteran leadership. I think the biggest thing they'll miss is the two headed monster of Sanogo and Clingan. Defenses never had a chance to rest and the two bigs played so differently that teams had so much trouble reacting to it. Jackson's leadership will be missed.

If this team gets the leadership they need they can repeat because the talent is certainly there and it looks like a nice mix of veterans and youth. It's incredibly difficult to repeat though.

Agreed. That center rotation and Andre Jackson’s energy, especially on defense, will be missed. I wonder who can take on the assignment of guarding the best perimeter guy.

That should be Hurley’s challenge to Castle. If he can find a way to be our best perimeter defender that just makes him an even better prospect for the NBA and us a better team of course. Even though DC should make playing defense A LOT easier for everyone on the court. Maybe the backup bigs can be great shot blockers there too.

Leadership wise I’m looking forward to seeing how Karaban and Donovan take the mantle. It’s hard to repeat but it should be a fun season regardless!

 

[Waquoit]

Mentions Stewart as someone the staff is really happy with, says he could have an Alex type impact right away.

I like hearing this as the staff usually doesn't blow smoke. You don't know how the horse is going to run until he gets on the track.

 

[Kembacity]

Do you think there's any chance Diarra gets pushed out of the rotation as the season progresses? I'd assume it's unlikely since we're probably going to see so much of Castle and Newton playing together.

I don’t personally think this will happen too much. The fact that Newton and Castle are both huge is great for us but I could see us having issues stopping small guards from penetrating. I think Diarra will be leaned on for defense unless the threat of Clingans blocking ability shuts some of that down

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don’t personally think this will happen too much. The fact that Newton and Castle are both huge is great for us but I could see us having issues stopping small guards from penetrating. I think Diarra will be leaned on for defense unless the threat of Clingans blocking ability shuts some of that down

Let them penetrate. What are they going to do? Clingan is going to be in drop all the time.

 

[444JR]

ahhh that is satisfying. i have watched far too much film on this kid and believe he will be a star

 

[jibsey]

I don’t personally think this will happen too much. The fact that Newton and Castle are both huge is great for us but I could see us having issues stopping small guards from penetrating. I think Diarra will be leaned on for defense unless the threat of Clingans blocking ability shuts some of that down

Yes, I remember Diarra being brought in when things weren’t going so good. He is a disrupter on defense, helped get turnovers by getting in their faces. I bet Hurley continues to use him that way but he won’t get big minutes is a guess.

 

[pj]

Not sure there's room for both in the rotation. Castle, Newton, Spencer, Karaban, Clingan starting. Diarra and Johnson locked in as the only backups at the 1 and 5 already puts the rotation at 7. We're not going more than 8 or 9 deep so that leaves 1 of Ball, Ross, Stewart squeezed out

Roumoglou also competing for time and could squeeze out Ball or Diarra for third guard. Stewart is bulkier and more versatile than Ross and better able to back up Karaban and defend inside. Stewart will make the rotation, Samson/Singare are not going to be the right interior backups for every matchup.

And don't sleep on Andrew Hurley for closing out championship games.

 

[Kembacity]

Let them penetrate. What are they going to do? Clingan is going to be in drop all the time.

I don’t know, probably get blocked half the time, and draw a foul on Clingan or make a nice pass to Clingans man for a dunk the other half

 

[jibsey]

Clingan is going to be great but I hope that he has taken to some of Sanogo’s footwork that allowed him to be unstoppable. Clingan who we are lucky to have still has some room for improvement down low on dribble moves to the rim and some weak finishes. Not complaining mind you just noting that and I don’t expect him to be as good as Adama on those things but I’m looking forward to seeing if that is better. His overall effect on games with blocks and alterations was often better and I can’t wait to see where he’s at now especially with outside shooting.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Hurley quotes from after practice today.

“Too much weight, in a way," Hurley noted. "Unbelievable effort by him before he got here, that tells you about the kid. Now, we've got to kind of build his body back up with the muscle, get him stronger. He's that 3/4, 4/3 type of guy that's got to play in, play out, get on the backboard. So, we've got to build his body back up."

 

[bigknight3]

You're thinking of highschool Stewart who was still caring baby weight. He's slimmed down. I've said before that I think you see an increase in his athleticism once he gets into the strength and conditioning program just like we saw from Clingan last season. He's def a 3/4. Don't see him getting any minutes at the 5.

Hurley's comments on Stewart:

"Too much weight, in a way," Hurley noted. "Unbelievable effort by him before he got here, that tells you about the kid. Now, we've got to kind of build his body back up with the muscle, get him stronger. He's that 3/4, 4/3 type of guy that's got to play in, play out, get on the backboard. So, we've got to build his body back up."

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Jul. 29—But without question, the two most impressive players on the floor at the University of Saint Joseph's James A. Calhoun Gymnasium were Cam Spencer and Samson Johnson. Both new players, in a way. Spencer is a grad transfer who played his first three seasons at Loyola (Md.) before playing...

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