The lineup

[selles]

It needs to change. Maybe it made some sense to play 3 guards and Larrier a lot when we had depth with Alterique (though I wasn't a fan of it even then), but it makes zero sense now. Can you use that lineup sometimes? Sure. Possibly even in crunch time at the end of the games. But can you use that lineup all the time and expect consistent success against non mid-majors? Absolutely not.

People say our bigs are lousy, but really how would we know? They are put in position to fail. It's always 1 guy - who's usually undersized to start with - trying to hold down the fort in the paint with very little help. Under that setup, is anyone shocked that they quickly accumulate fouls and look overwhelmed on defense? Honestly I'm pleasantly surprised that Diarra and Cobb looked as decent as they did last night.

At its best the Larrier/3 guards lineup can be potent offensively and can cause defensive havoc with its quickness. But it can't do that for the entire game. And when you try to play it for 40 minutes against a half decent team, you end up with a stiff who averages 2 points a game going off for 18 and 8.

Unglue Whaley from the bench. Yeah, he had some freshman 'deer in the headlights' moments the last time he saw real PT (Oregon), but in limited minutes he also had 2 offensive rebounds, drew a foul on a third, and had an excellent defensive hedge on a shooter. Give him and Diarra some run at the 4. Make sure that Carlton - who is our best hope for the future at the 5 - gets meaningful playing time.

It's not going to be a magical fix for everything, but there's at least a chance that mixing in some more size will give us a chance to compete. Running the small lineup out there for 40 minutes does not.

 

[JimHurley]

Gotta start Adams, Vital, Larrier, Diarra, and Cobb. Bring Anderson and Carlton in as the main bench guys. Polley and Whaley should see some time as well.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

So both Cobb and Diarra will be sitting 5 minutes in with 2 fouls each?

 

[selles]

So both Cobb and Diarra will be sitting 5 minutes in with 2 fouls each?

That's a risk, but I suspect the interior defensive and rebounding help provided by a second big may actually lower the foul rate.

 

[mauconnfan]

Gotta start Adams, Vital, Larrier, Diarra, and Cobb. Bring Anderson and Carlton in as the main bench guys. Polley and Whaley should see some time as well.

Cobb and Diarra can't play too much the same time. Neither play help D well and not are foul magnets. One moves around too much on D like a rabid fox the other doesn't like leaving the den all that much on D.

 

[3rdbass]

I think KO is going to match up lineups based on the game. With JA, AA , Cobb or Diarra and TL the main stays. If we go small it will be with CV in it. If we go versatile it will be with Polley in it. If we go big it will be with both Cobb and Diarra in it. The problem I had with the Syaracuse game was we were going against a zone were dribble penetration is limited and rebounds are needed. Not sure why he didn't try to go with two bigs in there or at least Polley for extended periods. I guess KO just doesn't have much confidence in the lineup past the 3 guards.

 

[JMick]

I'm not sure any lineup change is going to lead to immediate positive results. We're just not going to be as good as most teams on the rest of our schedule

 

[uchusky32]

Problem with 3 guard lineup is we only have 3 guards. Problem taking one out is we have no one else ready to contribute positively.

Don't expect a lineup change to change any results. lack of talent snd depth.

 

[Son of Robert]

It needs to change. Maybe it made some sense to play 3 guards and Larrier a lot when we had depth with Alterique (though I wasn't a fan of it even then), but it makes zero sense now. Can you use that lineup sometimes? Sure. Possibly even in crunch time at the end of the games. But can you use that lineup all the time and expect consistent success against non mid-majors? Absolutely not.

People say our bigs are lousy, but really how would we know? They are put in position to fail. It's always 1 guy - who's usually undersized to start with - trying to hold down the fort in the paint with very little help. Under that setup, is anyone shocked that they quickly accumulate fouls and look overwhelmed on defense? Honestly I'm pleasantly surprised that Diarra and Cobb looked as decent as they did last night.

At its best the Larrier/3 guards lineup can be potent offensively and can cause defensive havoc with its quickness. But it can't do that for the entire game. And when you try to play it for 40 minutes against a half decent team, you end up with a stiff who averages 2 points a game going off for 18 and 8.

Unglue Whaley from the bench. Yeah, he had some freshman 'deer in the headlights' moments the last time he saw real PT (Oregon), but in limited minutes he also had 2 offensive rebounds, drew a foul on a third, and had an excellent defensive hedge on a shooter. Give him and Diarra some run at the 4. Make sure that Carlton - who is our best hope for the future at the 5 - gets meaningful playing time.

It's not going to be a magical fix for everything, but there's at least a chance that mixing in some more size will give us a chance to compete. Running the small lineup out there for 40 minutes does not.

Agree 100%. We are playing small ball with the big boys. KO needs to have a rotating front court of Cobb, Diarra, Carlton, Whaley, and Onuorah playing in tandem at both the 5 and the 4 with Larrier and Polley on the wing. This makes us bigger, stronger , more forceful. There is power in this lineup. It gives us another look on offense and defense with better rebounding, inside/out passing, post/lane scoring and opens up the perimeter game.

 

[uchusky32]

When you're getting out rebounded 2 to 1 you have to make a change.

When you play small ball and can't make jumpers or finish at the rim you have to make changes.

Opposing coaches can game plan for us and know thst we won't make adjustments. it going to boil down to a one on one situation with a small man or Larrier at the top of the key. Play of the ball everyone else calapse in the paint.

 

[jdb50]

The play of Diarra and Cobb is something to build around. They at least showed some fight and aggressiveness while on the court. Our young guys (Carlton, Polley) could not get their footing. They should get better. Ollie has an opportunity to get this group on the same page and have a decent season but it is going to be real difficult to see us getting into the top 4 in the AAC and get into the NCAA's. Seemed like the entire second half Anderson was a non factor on offense. Larrier has to shoot when he is open and not try and be Jalen off the bounce. Jalen needs to run the team. He can't defer or float as much. Ollie needs to get these guys to buy into a plan as right now we just muddle through each possession. There is something wrong when your coach has to run around on the sidelines to get his team to play with intensity. It is a bad look for the program.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Cobb showed some promise in the low post. Diarra should be playing - off the bench - a a mid major. Carlton is just too weak right now. And, Polley was a dear in the headlight besides being too weak right now. In fact the only fight Polley showed was arguing with KO on the sideline. Can you imagine him doing that with JC?

 

[Danzz]

It needs to change. Maybe it made some sense to play 3 guards and Larrier a lot when we had depth with Alterique (though I wasn't a fan of it even then), but it makes zero sense now. Can you use that lineup sometimes? Sure. Possibly even in crunch time at the end of the games. But can you use that lineup all the time and expect consistent success against non mid-majors? Absolutely not.

People say our bigs are lousy, but really how would we know? They are put in position to fail. It's always 1 guy - who's usually undersized to start with - trying to hold down the fort in the paint with very little help. Under that setup, is anyone shocked that they quickly accumulate fouls and look overwhelmed on defense? Honestly I'm pleasantly surprised that Diarra and Cobb looked as decent as they did last night.

At its best the Larrier/3 guards lineup can be potent offensively and can cause defensive havoc with its quickness. But it can't do that for the entire game. And when you try to play it for 40 minutes against a half decent team, you end up with a stiff who averages 2 points a game going off for 18 and 8.

Unglue Whaley from the bench. Yeah, he had some freshman 'deer in the headlights' moments the last time he saw real PT (Oregon), but in limited minutes he also had 2 offensive rebounds, drew a foul on a third, and had an excellent defensive hedge on a shooter. Give him and Diarra some run at the 4. Make sure that Carlton - who is our best hope for the future at the 5 - gets meaningful playing time.

It's not going to be a magical fix for everything, but there's at least a chance that mixing in some more size will give us a chance to compete. Running the small lineup out there for 40 minutes does not.

Nothing wrong with a three guard lineup. Well nothing wrong if the guards can knock down shots to make up for the rebound disparity. The problem is that Larrier is one of the 2 starting bigs and at 185 lbs. he is not a strong rebounder. I like this lineup better:
Adams
Anderson
Larrier
Carlton/Polly
Cobb
We have to find a way to get some points from the frontcourt, rebound better and get more PT for some of our young bigs.