We have same formula as last year

[scrappy2.0]

We have a senior PG with a chip on his shoulder who has NBA 1st round ability and wants to play himself in. We have multiple wing players who can shoot the three but go inside as well and can play 3 PGs at anytime in the game. We'll just be a year older upfront and now if we need a monster we have one but he also looks like one heckuva player as well. We have all the ingredients to go back to back. Is there any other team in college who has a senior PG with NBA abilities to go round 1?

 

[elduderino]

We have a senior PG with a chip on his shoulder who has NBA 1st round ability and wants to play himself in. We have multiple wing players who can shoot the three but go inside as well and can play 3 PGs at anytime in the game. We'll just be a year older upfront and now if we need a monster we have one but he also looks like one heckuva player as well. We have all the ingredients to go back to back. Is there any other team in college who has a senior PG with NBA abilities to go round 1?

Our backcourt looks awesome, but we're thinner down low and our fouls/min inside were a borderline disaster at times last year. I think there's a lot riding on whether Facey and Lubin realize and embrace the opportunity/challenge ahead of them. I do have high hopes though.

 

[CL82]

Our backcourt looks awesome, but we're thinner down low and our fouls/min inside were a borderline disaster at times last year. I think there's a lot riding on whether Facey and Lubin realize and embrace the opportunity/challenge ahead of them. I do have high hopes though.

I'd feel better if Brimah was playing this summer. Continuing his development is a key for us. Brimah and Nolan will be much improved. That means they will stay are the floor longer and be more effective while they are out there. I'm concerned but now worried about out post play and only concerned because of Brimah's surgery.

 

[elduderino]

I'd feel better if Brimah was playing this summer. Continuing his development is a key for us. Brimah and Nolan will be much improved. That means they will stay are the floor longer and be more effective while they are out there. I'm concerned but now worried about out post play and only concerned because of Brimah's surgery.

Agreed, Brimah's shoulder was luck. If he keeps developing at the rate he has, he may be gone after his junior year. I still have high hopes for Phil, but he seems to have a Phil-first mentality a lot of the time that I'd like to see him let go of. We're going to need them both to be healthy and productive.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Phil showed off some nice post moves at times last year when he got the ball down there. Hopefully he can keep progressing and start finishing those moves at the rim next year. I'm honestly not worried about Facey. I think he is going to be very good for us. Our front lines improvement should easily be able to replace Deandre's 13 and 6 average from last year. We will be a better rebounding and defensive team inside. Don't think we will lose much on offense.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I don't see how anyone can look at our bigs next season and think we're going to be better there. Daniels was, by far, the best frontcourt player we had. Brimah, Nolan, and Facey all fouled too much to play full games last year. In Facey's case, he fouled too often to even play half a game. I hope that those guys get a lot better, and that Lubin is as good as the most optimistic on this site think he'll be, but the frontcourt is a huge concern for me.

 

[Gurleyman]

I don't see how anyone can look at our bigs next season and think we're going to be better there. Daniels was, by far, the best frontcourt player we had. Brimah, Nolan, and Facey all fouled too much to play full games last year. In Facey's case, he fouled too often to even play half a game. I hope that those guys get a lot better, and that Lubin is as good as the most optimistic on this site think he'll be, but the frontcourt is a huge concern for me.

The team will just be a little different - we'll have a little more scoring/playmaking out of the 3 spot with Hamilton (and hopefully a retro Omar) than we had this year, and a little less offense from the 4 spot without Daniels and Facey/Lubin in their place.

It means we'll have to adjust the playbook a bit - less pick and pops with the 4s and more off ball screening for the 2s and 3s.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

I don't see how anyone can look at our bigs next season and think we're going to be better there. Daniels was, by far, the best frontcourt player we had. Brimah, Nolan, and Facey all fouled too much to play full games last year. In Facey's case, he fouled too often to even play half a game. I hope that those guys get a lot better, and that Lubin is as good as the most optimistic on this site think he'll be, but the frontcourt is a huge concern for me.

Daniels wasn't exactly the most consistent player for us last year. It was either he was in the game or he wasn't. He sure did turn it up tournament time but that was the first time he really played like that consistently all season. Foul trouble is a problem for guys usually seeing there first time in the floor. I don't expect Phil to have this problem next year and same with Brimah with the experience. They had flashes on the offensive side which I expect them to improve on over the offseason to develop consistency. I think Facey was just a victim of not enough pt to go around. We see he can shoot and from the limited time he was in go the game seemed like a much better rebounder than DD.

Next years bigs shouldn't have to worry about scoring as much as they did this year with all the weapons we have at guard and on the wing. They just have to be able to finish, rebound, and defend the paint which I think they will have no problem with. If they can really create their own baskets in the paint consistently then that's a major plus for next years team.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Daniels wasn't exactly the most consistent player for us last year. It was either he was in the game or he wasn't. He sure did turn it up tournament time but that was the first time he really played like that consistently all season.

Daniels wasn't that consistent, but he was certainly a lot more consistent than Nolan, Brimah, or Facey.

Foul trouble is a problem for guys usually seeing there first time in the floor. I don't expect Phil to have this problem next year and same with Brimah with the experience.

I'd assume that they're going to improve, but I don't see either one improving enough to be able to consistently play 30 minutes/game. Brimah and Nolan both averaged around 7 fouls/40 minutes last year. Even if they improved that as much as, say, Thabeet did from his freshman to sophomore year (22% decrease in fouling rate), they're still over 5 fouls/40 minutes.

They had flashes on the offensive side which I expect them to improve on over the offseason to develop consistency. I think Facey was just a victim of not enough pt to go around. We see he can shoot and from the limited time he was in go the game seemed like a much better rebounder than DD.

The reason Facey couldn't get minutes wasn't because of too much talent in the frontcourt. A lack of frontcourt depth was a constant problem for most of the regular season. If Facey had been capable of playing those minutes, Ollie would have used him more. Facey didn't see the floor more because he averaged a foul ever four minutes. That's an outrageous fouling rate. Yes, he's clearly skilled, and I think he's an incredibly talented rebounder, but he's going to be a significant liability until he gets that under control.

Next years bigs shouldn't have to worry about scoring as much as they did this year with all the weapons we have at guard and on the wing. They just have to be able to finish, rebound, and defend the paint which I think they will have no problem with. If they can really create their own baskets in the paint consistently then that's a major plus for next years team.

Last year's team had plenty of offensive options beyond Brimah, Nolan, and Facey. We had the best guard tandem in the country, lots of shooters, and Daniels, who did the majority of the post scoring. While next year's team has lot of scorers around the perimeter, those three (plus Lubin) are going to be handling most/all of the inside scoring, so they're going to need to get a lot better than they were last year.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

He was definitely more consistent than those guys last year. But to me the fact of the matter was he was really a 3 playing the 4. That's why if he wasn't playing hard he basically disappeared because that really wasn't his position. He had no room to coast.

Not one guy has to play 30 mins a game. There is 40 mins a game and 80 mins to go between the two spots. Brimah and Phil can play about 20-25 mins most nights with Facey playing another 15-20 like Phil did this season. I put the 20 because at the end of the day Facey will be better as a sophomore than Phil was as a sophomore and warrant more playing time. Then the rest can be filled wih Lubin or Hamilton at the 4 or 5 if needed. Brimah just really has to work to keep his arms straight up and that will go a long way in keeping him out of foul trouble.

This years team will have more offensive weapons than last year without question in my mind. We get back Ryan, Purvis was considered the most talented player in practice last year to replace Shabazz, Daniel Hamilton and Omar (barring he comes back like the old Omar after a summer of hard work) will be much better scorers than Giffey and Kromah. Not to mention a more experienced Samuel and front court. The collective improvement of the offensive games from Brimah and Nolan along with the scoring Facey can bring from being on the court should offset the lose of Daniels. Like I said before we will be a better rebounding and defensive team inside with these guys also.

 

[elduderino]

Then the rest can be filled wih Lubin or Hamilton at the 4 or 5 if needed.

Beg to differ. Aside from the occasional 4 and 1 perimeter offensive set, in which case Hamilton could be just as easily considered the 2 or 3, I doubt he will see any intentional time as a 4. If we do run the 4 and 1, which I think is going to be a far more limited engagement than often speculated, I'd have to guess we'd be running it with Calhoun on the floor, as the 4, for defensive purposes. Hamilton is a long, thin teenager at this point, and I don't think anybody wants to see him trying to body-up against a D1 PF with a 40lb - 6olb advantage. Besides the fact that I just don't see it working at all, it could hurt his player development, and perhaps even our recruiting of other premier wings down the line. As for covering the 5, unless a brawl breaks out, leaving everyone on the court dead or dying besides Boat and a bunch of walk-ons, I'd say Kevin Freeman or Alex Oriakhi have about the same chance as Hamilton.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Beg to differ. Aside from the occasional 4 and 1 perimeter offensive set, in which case Hamilton could be just as easily considered the 2 or 3, I doubt he will see any intentional time as a 4. If we do run the 4 and 1, which I think is going to be a far more limited engagement than often speculated, I'd have to guess we'd be running it with Calhoun on the floor, as the 4, for defensive purposes. Hamilton is a long, thin teenager at this point, and I don't think anybody wants to see him trying to body-up against a D1 PF with a 40lb - 6olb advantage. Besides the fact that I just don't see it working at all, it could hurt his player development, and perhaps even our recruiting of other premier wings down the line. As for covering the 5, unless a brawl breaks out, leaving everyone on the court dead or dying besides Boat and a bunch of walk-ons, I'd say Kevin Freeman or Alex Oriakhi have about the same chance as Hamilton.

I absolutely agree. I don't want to see Hamilton at the 4 myself at all. I think our bigs would have to be in huge foul trouble for this to happen. I also didn't mean to say he would ever play the 5 either. That was more for Lubin.