The one thing now with this team--do we have too many 4-5's?

[scrappy2.0]

What we did not have last year--we may have an overabundance.

To me putting Daniels in the mobile 4 position is HIS best position. Of course he can play 3 and we can go big

Daniels playing the 4 averaged 21.3 9 rebounds 3.3 blocks in his last 4 games--that is serious output and I think he is set to take his game up to that level on a consistent basis. Playing an open floor game--we can go Daniels at 4 Wolf at 5( I still think Wolf has the touch and size to start)

But now we have a jam load with

Bridah
Nolan
Facey
Olander

for the 2nd unit--to many of the same position players.

 

[nomar]

No.

DeAndre can move back and forth between PF and SF. He can excel at the SF position. Just because he's playing on the wing doesn't mean he can't go down into the post and put up those kinds of numbers. (Maybe he'll lose some rebounds off his average, but the team will get more.)

We got absolutely destroyed on the boards last year and against certain teams we will need to play 2 of those 5 other guys together. Holding our own on the glass is necessary for us to be a title contender. That takes priority.

You can shoot too much, you can dribble too much, you can pass too much -- but you can never rebound too much.

 

[bmo22]

There's no such thing as having too many big guys on the roster. Facey and Brimah will be freshmen and won't be immediate impact players. Nolan is a sophmore and still needs to develop. Plus, after next season Wolf, Olander, Giffey and Daniels (most likely) will be gone. The younger guys in the frontcourt will need to sacrifice minutes this coming season, learn from the upperclassmen, and be impact players in 2014-2015. If you consider it a problem, it's a great problem to have.

 

[Palatine]

We should just move DD to where ever he is the mismatch. Against big 3's he should play the 3, against small 4's he should play the 4.

 

[Inyatkin]

The thing is most of those big guys you list haven't proven much, if anything. They all have potential, but it's good to have other guys who can step in just in case someone doesn't pan out.

 

[UChusky916]

No. I like how our roster is deep and flexible. Especially at the 4/5 spot where people can get in foul trouble easily. And don't forget about possible injuries (lets hope not).

DD is good at the 4, but can also slide to the 3. So we could have minutes open at the 4 and 5 certain times.

I also like how the bigs will have to compete to earn their minutes at the 4/5 spot.

Everything is figured out 1-4. We need someone to emerge at the center position and the competition and depth is a good thing.

Very excited for next year.
We have all of the factors needed to make a deep NCAA tourney run:
1)strong backcourt
2)depth
3)experience
4)talent
5)clutch shooting (shabazz/calhoun)

 

[aceboon]

No. I like how our roster is deep and flexible. Especially at the 4/5 spot where people can get in foul trouble easily. And don't forget about possible injuries (lets hope not).

DD is good at the 4, but can also slide to the 3. So we could have minutes open at the 4 and 5 certain times.

I also like how the bigs will have to compete to earn their minutes at the 4/5 spot.

Everything is figured out 1-4. We need someone to emerge at the center position and the competition and depth is a good thing.

Very excited for next year.
We have all of the factors needed to make a deep NCAA tourney run:
1)strong backcourt
2)depth
3)experience
4)talent
5)clutch shooting (shabazz/calhoun)

THIS, no more being gifted minutes just because you're the only option like it was the case last year

 

[HuskyHawk]

We've got two freshman who may or may not really be strong contributors. I suspect Bridah sits most of the year. I sure hope Facey can do something, we need it. Wolf showed some real improvement last year, and I hope he can do so again. Olander is always question mark. He's a tease who vanishes for games at a time. If anything, I hope the competition pushes him to play the way I think he can. He has some skills. Nolan showed athleticism and better than expected timing and shot blocking on defense. His offensive game needs massive work. DD is an undersized 4 who would play the 3 at the NBA and will want to showcase those skills this year. He is not a good post defender or rebounder. Deandre has lots of talent, but he's not a 4 in any normal sense.

So there you have it. Several guys and not one of them can be truly relied upon for defense in the paint, rebounding and post offense. So no, I don't think we're overloaded in any sense. I am praying that a couple of them come through and complement the guards and wings.

 

[Kitaman]

We have an overabundance of height, not necessarily good/ready bigs. We have however 3 Championship seniors which makes up for many talent issues.

If Wolf and Tyler come back looking to redeem themselves and play accordingly, then we have no big player issues. All the newbies and Nolan need to do is just make some noise on the court and we will be much much better down low.

 

[Oxford Bob]

Best case scenario is that one of the 3 young'ins take a majority of the minutes from Olander. The less TO plays the better the team will be (and I don't mean that in a TO sucks kind of way. It will mean one has stepped up to take minutes away from a senior starter.

 

[champs99and04]

No.

DeAndre can move back and forth between PF and SF. He can excel at the SF position. Just because he's playing on the wing doesn't mean he can't go down into the post and put up those kinds of numbers. (Maybe he'll lose some rebounds off his average, but the team will get more.)

We got absolutely destroyed on the boards last year and against certain teams we will need to play 2 of those 5 other guys together. Holding our own on the glass is necessary for us to be a title contender. That takes priority.

You can shoot too much, you can dribble too much, you can pass too much -- but you can never rebound too much.

I generally agree with you, but I think playing two of Facey, Brimah, Olander, and Nolan is a floor spacing nightmare waiting to happen. If the Drummond/Oriakhi experiment taught us anything, it's that whatever you gain from a physicality/size advantage inside is easily negated and then some by the inevetible difficulties young big men are going to encounter guarding on the perimieter, familiarizing themselves with the complexities of defending at the D-1 level, and adjusting to the accelerated speed of the college game. Not to mention, Facey, Nolan, and Brimah are considered raw at best offensively, and Olander, while slightly more refined, isn't exactly the guy you're going to play if you're looking to solve any rebounding problems. Napier and Boatright will be smothered on pick and rolls with multiple big men on the floor at the same time unable to create their own shot.

So while we may experience occasional difficulties rebounding, I'm more than willing to sacrifice a few boards for improved versitility defensively and increased floor spacing offensively. If you can provide an example of a team who would overpower our 'small ball' lineup in the post or on the boards, I'd be willing to listen, but in modern day college basketball it's rare for teams to have one legitimate big man, much less two. Daniels and Calhoun should be improved rebounders, Facey adds a motor down low we didn't have last season, and assuming Wolf re-enters the fold, you have a seven footer who can hold his own banging bodies with anybody. Rebounding certainly will not be a strength of this team, but it's difficult for me to envision a scenario where we're completely abused on the boards like we were at times this season with our revamped frontline and (hopefully) bulked up wings.

 

[superjohn]

I generally agree with you, but I think playing two of Facey, Brimah, Olander, and Nolan is a floor spacing nightmare waiting to happen. If the Drummond/Oriakhi experiment taught us anything, it's that whatever you gain from a physicality/size advantage inside is easily negated and then some by the inevetible difficulties young big men are going to encounter guarding on the perimieter, familiarizing themselves with the complexities of defending at the D-1 level, and adjusting to the accelerated speed of the college game. Not to mention, Facey, Nolan, and Brimah are considered raw at best offensively, and Olander, while slightly more refined, isn't exactly the guy you're going to play if you're looking to solve any rebounding problems. Napier and Boatright will be smothered on pick and rolls with multiple big men on the floor at the same time unable to create their own shot.

So while we may experience occasional difficulties rebounding, I'm more than willing to sacrifice a few boards for improved versitility defensively and increased floor spacing offensively. If you can provide an example of a team who would overpower our 'small ball' lineup in the post or on the boards, I'd be willing to listen, but in modern day college basketball it's rare for teams to have one legitimate big man, much less two. Daniels and Calhoun should be improved rebounders, Facey adds a motor down low we didn't have last season, and assuming Wolf re-enters the fold, you have a seven footer who can hold his own banging bodies with anybody. Rebounding certainly will not be a strength of this team, but it's difficult for me to envision a scenario where we're completely abused on the boards like we were at times this season with our revamped frontline and (hopefully) bulked up wings.

Exactly

 

[Chief00]

The last thing I am worried about is too many talented 4/5's, the first thing I am worried about is not enough talented/developed 4/5's. Tyler was exposed last year and it will be interesting to see how his former minutes are allocated. Something tells me having both Tyler and Wolf is not a good thing when we have two new guys who will need minutes. My own view is I would keep Wolf, but I think Tyler or both will be back.

Why does the strength and conditioning program work so well for football but basketball it seems more elective who decides to get stronger?

 

[Clockshop]

quick look at Facey in the JBC regional game...Terrence Samuel w/ the headband I think

 

[FfldCntyFan]

What we did not have last year--we may have an overabundance.

To me putting Daniels in the mobile 4 position is HIS best position. Of course he can play 3 and we can go big

Daniels playing the 4 averaged 21.3 9 rebounds 3.3 blocks in his last 4 games--that is serious output and I think he is set to take his game up to that level on a consistent basis. Playing an open floor game--we can go Daniels at 4 Wolf at 5( I still think Wolf has the touch and size to start)

But now we have a jam load with

Bridah
Nolan
Facey
Olander

for the 2nd unit--to many of the same position players.

You're concerned about having four guy's that size on the same roster?

I vividly remember having Emeka, Hilton, Boonie & Charlie V on the same roster and that worked out pretty well.

 

[UC990411]

I'm going to put this as simply as I possibly can, we don't have enough

 

[RS9999X]

Never. There's always a spot for the 7-minute-a-game Big Guy who fills a specific role.

The better question: Which one will be the hard foul guy? The honorary Ed Nelson? The football player in drag?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Joe Gibbs once said "you can never have too many cover cornerbacks or pass rushing defensive ends".

I don't know what we will be getting from the above mentioned players but to alter his statement to fit college hoops: "you can never have too many bigs who can defend the post and rebound".