2019-2020 Competition at Point Guard

[Eagleton96]

So what do people think will happen next year at point/lead guard?

In the first half of the season: Will Geo continue to get the bulk of the minutes at point with smaller periods at shooting guard as Pike works in a rotation of McConnell, Young and Mulcahy? Or will he throw them Young and Mulcahy into the fire in the OOC to sort it out?

Are there enough minutes to go around at PG and SG with Mathis, Baker, Young, McConnel, Kiss and Mulcahy?

Will McConnell just be a shooting guard now or still play some point?

Any predictions on share of minutes and the PG and SG for the first half of the season and second half?

 

[jordkap]

My guess is Mulcahy will come off the bench initially with Geo starting there, then sliding over to the 2 when Paul is in. McConnell and Young will mix in as needed at point/2 guard. They could even put McConnell in at the 3 since he is 6’6

 

[SJScarlet]

I think you have to look at it as, if Mulcahy is good enough, and ready enough, he will start as part of this starting lineup:

Mulcahy
Geo
Mathis
Eugene
Johnson

If on the other hand, RHJ is too good to keep out of the starting lineup and/or Mulcahy has some work to do, then this is your starting lineup:

Geo
Mathis
RHJ
Eugene
Johnson

Young is an X factor where if he really impresses the coaches he could shake things up.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Mulcahy will be the PG by Christmas.

 

[Scarlet83]

So what do people think will happen next year at point/lead guard?

In the first half of the season: Will Geo continue to get the bulk of the minutes at point with smaller periods at shooting guard as Pike works in a rotation of McConnell, Young and Mulcahy? Or will he throw them Young and Mulcahy into the fire in the OOC to sort it out?

Are there enough minutes to go around at PG and SG with Mathis, Baker, Young, McConnel, Kiss and Mulcahy?

Will McConnell just be a shooting guard now or still play some point?

Any predictions on share of minutes and the PG and SG for the first half of the season and second half?

I was really excited this season about how the newbies would play. how Pike would fit them in and how the newbies would change our style of play. This season has been both fascinating and exciting.

So thinking about next year, my head is going to explode, Eagleton! Both Young and Mulcahy are talented and both bring a different skill set that does not exist on this team. I think we are going to play more guards next year.

We will probably run more. Maybe press more. There are a number of B1G teams this year that have very little depth, so against those teams next year, we may try to run them off the court. And then if we get a stretch 4 or a 5 that can play physical and defend the rim maybe we go big.

I have no answers for you, but after we win more than our share of the remaining games this season, I will be counting the days until the fall.

Go Knights!

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Mulcahy isn't starting anytime soon, but will contribute and play well. There are better players who have gone through these B1G wars moreso and are better shooters than Mulcahy.

If Mulcahy wants to become a starter at this level, he will need to dramatically improve his shooting, catch and shoot and in-between game. He could also be a symbolic starter like Shaq Doorson has become where he plays 16 to 18 minutes a game, but isn't playing the bulk of the minutes.

The progress of this year's team has lessened the need for him to play immediately, where 3 months ago, the roster and team looked drastically different than it does today. He will have to earn his minutes where it looked like he would default into minutes 3 months ago.

If he improves his shooting this summer and mixes that with his passing abilities, RU will go to the NIT or NCAAS. His improvement this summer with Jacob Young's firepower, will push RU over the top.

 

[Scangg]

I think you have to look at it as, if Mulcahy is good enough, and ready enough, he will start as part of this starting lineup:

Mulcahy
Geo
Mathis
Eugene
Johnson

If on the other hand, RHJ is too good to keep out of the starting lineup and/or Mulcahy has some work to do, then this is your starting lineup:

Geo
Mathis
RHJ
Eugene
Johnson

Young is an X factor where if he really impresses the coaches he could shake things up.

This is how I see it too. Young is a wild card but I like the thought of him being the spark plug and instant offense off the bench. If he's also pushing to start then that is one of those good problems.

Caleb can get minutes at the 3. I also think you can look at PM as a PG on offense but guarding the 3 on defense when thinking about lineup combinations

 

[Degaz-RU]

I think McConnell is mostly a 2/3 next year, splitting time with Harper, with the occasional stint at the 1.

PM gets eased into the lineup early on, and his minutes going forward will depend on his progress. With our depth at 1-3, there is ZERO need to rush him.

Baker will get lots of minutes as a PG. Pike trusts him more than anybody, and will not lose a game early just to get guys experience. Young will also play a lot of PG.

This is a good problem to have, but it will require a masterful coaching job by Pike to manage the situation.

 

[needmorecowbell]

From everything I have seen, I fully expect Mulcahy to win the PG job early and let Gio play off the ball the majority of the game. Young will get a chance to be the guy but I believe Mulcahy is the only true point on the roster. Young and McConnel should be able to play that position well too and I think they battle it out for the backup. They have plenty of height to play 3 guards all game so I expect 6 different guards to play 1-3 positions often. RU doesn’t have depth at wing while there is plenty of guard depth. It’s going to be fun to see who steps up.

 

[Scangg]

One lineup I want to see is Young Mathis Caleb EO Myles. I think that lineup would be an absolute terror defensively

 

[G- RUnit]

As some above have noted, we could easily play three guards. Nice problem to have.

 

[RUAEPI]

Depth....what a problem to have!