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Position Battles

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Colin G

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More Preseason Speculation Time
We obviously know our 3 starters but beyond that there are 3 rotation battles I think will be interesting:
Samson v Karaban
Hassan v Newton
Alleyne v Calcaterra
Who do we think has more of an impact? I say Alleyne, Karajan, Newton
 
Newton will start. Samson-Karaban may come down to shooting vs. shot blocking/rebounding/defensive smarts (being in the right place, making the right rotations). I'd love having a four who stretches the D, so I'm in the Karaban camp, but if Johnson is hitting 3's, or even elbow/foul line jumpers, at a not terrible clip I'm persuadable. I'd be thrilled if they were interchangeable. I think Alleyne will start, but If Calcaterra is "the best shooter on the team" he'll see regular minutes.

By the way, I think that comes to six starters?
 
blake shelton television GIF by The Voice
 
Doctor Hoop said:
Newton will start. Samson-Karaban may come down to shooting vs. shot blocking/rebounding/defensive smarts (being in the right place, making the right rotations). I'd love having a four who stretches the D, so I'm in the Karaban camp, but if Johnson is hitting 3's, or even elbow/foul line jumpers, at a not terrible clip I'm persuadable. I'd be thrilled if they were interchangeable. I think Alleyne will start, but If Calcaterra is "the best shooter on the team" he'll see regular minutes.

By the way, I think that comes to six starters?
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It would, the Alleyne Cal comparison is more for a more minutes thing
 
Newton will start but Hassan is going to get plenty of minutes early until Andre gets back. Even then I'd expect him to be getting 15-20 minutes a game

Karaban will start over Samson, but again expect both to be pretty big factors. Karaban I expect big things from every game. Samson I expect to have an Akok Akok impact where he makes a few exciting plays and then disappears for a week.

Alleyne is pushing for a starting spot and Calcaterra is trying to break into the rotation so even if they both play Alleyne show should have a much bigger impact
 
I won’t be surprised if Newton and Diarra start while Andre is out. Just rotate one out depending on play and fouling issues.
 
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This again? Hawk and Sanogo are locks. Andre was a lock. I expect Johnson to start at the 4 over Karaban and Springs. We will need his rim protection and rebounding even more with AJax out. Karaban may see some time at the 3 with Andre out. Newton should start, but while AJax is out it’s possible they choose Newton Diarra instead of Newton Alleyne. Still think it will be Alleyne.
 
superjohn said:
You've said this a million times, it still remains highly unlikely.
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I don’t think there is any basis for saying it is unlikely. Nothing from Hurley suggests that. It’s certainly a contested spot in the lineup, I admit that.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
I don’t think there is any basis for saying it is unlikely. Nothing from Hurley suggests that. It’s certainly a contested spot in the lineup, I admit that.
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fatlucy said:
I agree. There’s nothing indicating K over J.
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"He's put himself in a position where he's got a real chance to start at the 4."

I don't read "real chance" as 50/50 or worse, especially in the context of how Samson has been discussed to the media va. Karaban. Definitely read that as more than 50/50.

The other bit of context is that Hurley has said we're going to get a lot more scoring from our 4th and 5th starters this year ("night and day" more). Samson doesn't project as a scorer, but Karaban does.
 
HuskyHawk said:
I don’t think there is any basis for saying it is unlikely. Nothing from Hurley suggests that. It’s certainly a contested spot in the lineup, I admit that.
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Hurley has alluded to Karaban being the leader to start at the 4 multiple times over the past few weeks
 
navery12 said:
Hurley has alluded to Karaban being the leader to start at the 4 multiple times over the past few weeks
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Never take very seriously what a coach has to say about a specific player . He could be touting Karaban to motivate Johnson
Last year Johnson was a shoe in for a plaque.
Jedi’s aren’t the only ones with mind tricks
 
I love Karaban on tape. Samson J can get up and down the floor and shoot the 3. Hurley has a lot of talent. We are in for a great season. !
 
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AZHuskiePop said:
Never take very seriously what a coach has to say about a specific player . He could be touting Karaban to motivate Johnson
Last year Johnson was a shoe in for a plaque.
Jedi’s aren’t the only ones with mind tricks
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So Jackson isn’t really going to be running the point?
 
Johnson is exactly the sort of player who wows you in workouts but struggles to find a role in 5-on-5.

He can do a little bit of everything, but isn't your best option if you're looking for offense from the position or if you're looking for defense from the position.

Without having seen either of them play this year, but knowing their profiles, I strongly lean towards Karaban.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
Johnson is exactly the sort of player who wows you in workouts but struggles to find a role in 5-on-5.

He can do a little bit of everything, but isn't your best option if you're looking for offense from the position or if you're looking for defense from the position.

Without having seen either of them play this year, but knowing their profiles, I strongly lean towards Karaban.
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I’m hopeful he can be our defensive ace at big, essentially replacing Whaley. He’s got so much length and athleticism, it’s just a matter of IQ and feel. But we need AKs spacing and offensive skill in the lineup it seems.
 
Huskyforlife said:
I’m hopeful he can be our defensive ace at big, essentially replacing Whaley. He’s got so much length and athleticism, it’s just a matter of IQ and feel. But we need AKs spacing and offensive skill in the lineup it seems.
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Our defense requires an athletic, shot blocking 4. Even more so with Jackson out. Huriey is a defense first guy. Karaban is an interesting player. But he’s not an impact guy. Johnson is. I’m sure some folks will say I’m wrong. If so, it’s because Hurley is wrong. Won’t be the first time.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Our defense requires an athletic, shot blocking 4. Even more so with Jackson out. Huriey is a defense first guy. Karaban is an interesting player. But he’s not an impact guy. Johnson is. I’m sure some folks will say I’m wrong. If so, it’s because Hurley is wrong. Won’t be the first time.
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The issue is SJ was completely lost on D all last year. He will have to have made a leap to offer +defense to offset AK on the offensive end. I’m optimistically skeptical he has made that leap.
 
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OkaForPrez said:
The issue is SJ was completely lost on D all last year. He will have to have made a leap to offer +defense to offset AK on the offensive end. I’m optimistically skeptical he has made that leap.
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He has. And he’s the better defender. By a lot. Just my guess.
 
8893 said:
So Jackson isn’t really going to be running the point?
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Pssh, a forward? I can’t believe you bought that. Hurley is just screwing with us.
 
HuskyHawk said:
He has. And he’s the better defender. By a lot. Just my guess.
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alex can guard guards, if forced to. samson can't, tho i wasn't expecting him to. one thing i do know, for sure, is that on inbound d pressure, alex is more able to take tyrese's side pocket role in breaking that. ya know, runnin and gunnin, swoopin and hoopin, all that.

waaay too many 'we'll sees' right now.
did x improve his shot? we'll see.
did y improve his handle? we'll see.
will there be some zone used this season? we'll see.
will donno play early and often? we'll see.
did wall player #87 improve at all? we'll see.
can transfer #1 run the show? we'll see.
can transfer #2 run the show? we'll see.
can transfer #3 hit pressure 3's? we'll see.
can transfer #4 shoot? we'll see.
will we win one tourney game? we'll see.
and what aboot richy? we'll see............

how does all this come together? does it come together?
i can see how it does, and i can see how it doesn't.
i don't know.
 
Colin G said:
More Preseason Speculation Time
We obviously know our 3 starters but beyond that there are 3 rotation battles I think will be interesting:
Samson v Karaban
Hassan v Newton
Alleyne v Calcaterra
Who do we think has more of an impact? I say Alleyne, Karajan, Newton
Expand ...
I think it’s possible that Hassan and Newton start alongside each other.

Newton has the biggest impact positive and negative because the ball will be in his hands so much. Karaban is going to be in the rotation because he gives us size and shooting to space the floor for Sanogo. I’ve heard Alleyne hasn’t been shooting well. He’s the biggest question mark.
 
Hopefully Coach gets a couple of surprisingly good stretches where he can sit back and enjoy the game. Naah ain't gonna happen.
 
@HuskyHawk , Where did you get the idea that Karaban isn't a good defender or impact player? In my earliest posts watching him, I commented that playing Brewster he defended on the perimeter matched up against 6'6 deadly shooter Matt Cross who was playing out of position at center that year, and, against Kadary Richmond trying to take the ball to the hoop. Then against Putnam Science I posted he battled strong vs 3 rotating 7 footers in the post with 2 at a time on the court. Recently there was a post I wasn't aware of, that he was the 5th ranked defensive player in EYBL. He is a rugged rebounder and versatile defender who shoots, passes, and dribbles to boot. Out of his own lips he talked about how hard it was to be on the bench last winter because he is used to being the focal point of teams he is on, not watching. Are you just assuming defensive weakness because of his offense? He is just more fundamental and less spectacular on defense.
 
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