Starting lineup. Although Reed was a little taller, I believe (I am not worried about replacing Reibe's height as he played far smaller in the few moments he was on the floor picking up fouls).
Karban was longer and bigger than Nik too!
Karaban is bigger than Khamenia and we had a mountain in the middle for those championships. Plus long high flyers that would lock up at the 3. We have Mullins at the 3 who ideally should play shooting guard. And we lost Stew so no one off the bench with any size at the 4.
Then we are doomed.
Hines is a tick smaller, but I think we are going to find him to be a more vertical athlete than Reed. Watching some tape of him, he finishes well with both hands like Reed. The kid has tremendous upside.
My wish is for a 2026 version of Stanley Robinson.
Landrew will have to be really solid to beat out two seniors (Ball and Ross), in the starting lineup. Mullins at the 2 sounds amazing but only if our 3 is a significant upgrade over Ball and Ross. Mullins pulled it off as a freshman this year beating out Ross for a starting spot. Do you really think Landrew is on Mullins' level?
Also, PF we would be a little small. Khamenia while the same height is not as built or long as Karban. It would be made up for if we have Landrew starting at SF. he is a beast.
They are going to be giving away a little. Khamenia isn't going to be the rebounder that AK was (nor the shot blocker).
When Landrew is in there at the 3, they may be somewhat positionless and interchangeable.
Yeah I hope to see that lineup a lot this year. I think those will be the 5 best players on the floor with Demary PG, Mullins SG and Hines C.
They're not incompatible but I'd rather get more athletic tbh. Dunks are high percentage shots.
And with Ross as well with his athleticism -- especially against average sized teams.
That was some of the allure with Freeman. But I am not going to be disappointed in picking up Khamenia (who is more athletic than I think we are giving him credit for, but I get your point).
This is exactly what I was thinking too.
Khamenia needs to hit the weights - it doesn't look like he's every touched one. He has a lot of room for size and strength.
Another guy coming off his freshman season.
There doesn’t need to be loads of them. This is UConn. Just one guy that fits the bill and is willing to be part of a team looking for title #7 is all that is needed.
In regards to Landrew- think Caron Butler- same exact body type- about an inch smaller than Caron- likes to play on the baseline- tough & gritty- also wears the same #3.
Probably the number one reason St. John’s didn’t go to the Final Four- point guard play- we can all love the tenacity & effort Darling brings- but the reality is that he is not a championship level P5 point guard- too be honest he’s not even close. That’s why he went back down to the mids.
Could it already be a done deal and they are just fanning out the announcements?
I doubt Hines averages more than 23 or so minutes a game. There will be another five on the roster who will get minutes along with an emergency five.
