2019-2020 Depth at 4/5

[zebnatto]

Well, we have known quantities in Gene, Myles, and Shaq. No reason to think Luke will see the floor except for emergencies. That leaves the Mamadou question.

I’m guessing he’ll be here. His natural position seems like old-school PF, but to what extent does that any longer exist: has he been practicing, has he improved, will there be game matchups in which he can give us up to 20 minutes?

And then, maybe we add an unknown 4/5.

 

[Goku]

I’m expecting Duc will be here and he will get some minutes after Myles and carter. I hope he learns how to stay on the floor and play defense without drawing fouls. He had a roll for next year and has great coaching to help him grow. Hope he realizes that there is no better place for him to “get it” than here

 

[ChasRC69]

I’m expecting Duc will be here and he will get some minutes after Myles and carter. I hope he learns how to stay on the floor and play defense without drawing fouls. He had a roll for next year and has great coaching to help him grow. Hope he realizes that there is no better place for him to “get it” than here

I think Doucoure's problem last year was that he was so young and should have been redshirted IF POSSIBLE. I think it wasn't possible because we wanted to redshirt Johnson, which I believe, has turned out to be a wise decision. One of my favorite parts when watching the highlights or replay of the last game was seeing Doucoure's reaction after Tez's slam dunk.

 

[BillyC80]

Having a 4-star big, once a starter for us, coming in off of a redshirt year would have to be seen as a positive for us, assuming he’s physically and mentally ready to go.

Seeing him cheer on the guys from the bench with so much enthusiasm tells me he wants to be a part of it. I hope he gets healthy and works hard on his game because we need another good big to contribute next season.

 

[whofrewdatmataRU13]

I think Douc will be okay, reclassed when he came in and was extremely young and kinda just thrown into the fire because of our lack of depth.

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

For the first time in this century I feel positive about everything. And it feels damned nice.

 

[4theknights]

After watching Minny game, Shaq Doorson will be missed. A big body who wears down opponents and the job he did on Murphy. Nice! So proud for Shaq and the way he preserved through the injuries. I'll be on my feet cheering Shaq when he is recognized on senior night vs Penn St. We can only hope that Duke works on his game and becomes a viable contributor next year and that open scholarship we have becomes a force for this team.

 

[RickB113]

After watching Minny game, Shaq Doorson will be missed. A big body who wears down opponents and the job he did on Murphy. Nice! So proud for Shaq and the way he preserved through the injuries. I'll be on my feet cheering Shaq when he is recognized on senior night vs Penn St. We can only hope that Duke works on his game and becomes a viable contributor next year and that open scholarship we have becomes a force for this team.

There is no doubt he will be missed. However, he wasn't the same player two years ago. Even last year. Most bigs get better as they get older. Morso than guards. Duke seems healthy enough to participate on some level in practice. Hopefully he continues to hit the weight room. I think Duke will be fine as your third big.

 

[ChrisNalwasky]

Remember, Mamadou is/was hurt

 

[zebnatto]

Any details on injury? Was he injured and the decision to redshirt came subsequently, or had that decision already been made?

 

[RUChoppin]

This is how I see next year:

Starters:
Omoruyi: Expecting a big senior year from EO. He's been playing really well, but he still has some things to clean up, which I think he will as he heads into his senior season. He could conceivably average 15/9 next year.

Johnson: He's been growing/improving throughout the year, and this full season of live reps against high level competition gives him a lot of first hand experience (and game tape) to help guide his development in the off season. Biggest thing is to reduce his number of fouls. We need him on the floor next year with Doorson graduating, and he can't pick up cheap fouls that send him to the bench. He commits 6.2 fouls per 40 min in conference games.... the next closest on the team is Doorson with 4.3 and Harper with 4.1

Reserves:
Carter: He definitely has some offensive moves and touch around the basket, but he really needs to work on his understanding of Pike's defense. He gets caught out of position at times, caught on switches, caught screening his own players on penetration, etc. I think a lot of that is just the step up in level of competition and speed of the game, and I'd think that a season of practice and film review should help him going into next year. He's also definitely more of a PF than a C, and hasn't had a ton of minutes at the 5 this year. Will be interesting to see how quality his minutes will be when called on to guard guys bigger than him.

Doucoure: Hopefully whatever injury he had hasn't lingered. An extra year of practice with the team and staff should go a long way for him, as he struggled at times last year (especially as conference play hit and the season wore on). He's another one, though, who needs to cut down on his fouling. Last year he fouled even more than Johnson has this year, with 7.3 fouls per 40 min. Next year will be the year to prove himself, and to solidify minutes for 2020-21, when there may be well-regarded freshmen coming in to vie for time on the floor in the post.

Harper: While just 6-6, he's got the mass and length to defend 6-8 players at the 4. With a glut of guards next year, I'd imagine we'll see him playing fourth guard at times and defending the opposing 4. I'd also imagine we'll go "small ball" at times with Omoruyi at center and Harper at the 4.

Nathan: In case of emergency, break glass? I don't know anything about his overall ability, but you can't teach 6-10. In times of foul trouble against a big team, he might see some minutes being asked to wall up for a bit before a tv timeout.

 

[RUChoppin]

Any details on injury? Was he injured and the decision to redshirt came subsequently, or had that decision already been made?

He had been passed over on the depth chart and wasn't seeing much time in the early going, then after he played in the maximum allowable 6 games for an injury redshirt, he was listed as injured.

Really hope that it was a less significant injury that warranted sitting him for a period, but wasn't debilitating - and that there was just no reason to try to bring him back this year if we could get a redshirt year out of it.

 

[dkostus]

He had been passed over on the depth chart and wasn't seeing much time in the early going, then after he played in the maximum allowable 6 games for an injury redshirt, he was listed as injured.

Really hope that it was a less significant injury that warranted sitting him for a period, but wasn't debilitating - and that there was just no reason to try to bring him back this year if we could get a redshirt year out of it.

The way it was handled, and the amorphous "back injury," leads me to believe that the redshirt was the plan. It works out... he played the minutes giving Myles a year to develop, now he gets a year to develop after having reclassified.

It was out of necessity, but the guy did start a ton of games for us last year. At the very least he got a lot of reps

 

[dkostus]

Nathan: In case of emergency, break glass? I don't know anything about his overall ability, but you can't teach 6-10. In times of foul trouble against a big team, he might see some minutes being asked to wall up for a bit before a tv timeout.

I expect dismissive responses saying this kid should never play meaningful minutes, but I think the reason he didn't even get garbage minutes early in the year is that the staff thinks he could develop and purposely redshirted him to get another year in the program.

There have been walk-ons at other programs that by their senior years were getting meaningful minutes.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I am hopeful next year, unlike this year, Pike will have the ability to go small if he wants. This year we lack bodies and minutes to play 4 perimeters.

Issa or Harper at the "fake 4"? McConnell will help out on the D glass. Lately Baker has too. A lot depends on who we play.

Will Pike trust Shaq C or Duke? We know Eugene shouldnt play more than 31 minutes and Myles 24.

 

[RuSnp]

This is how I see next year:

Starters:
Omoruyi: Expecting a big senior year from EO. He's been playing really well, but he still has some things to clean up, which I think he will as he heads into his senior season. He could conceivably average 15/9 next year.

Johnson: He's been growing/improving throughout the year, and this full season of live reps against high level competition gives him a lot of first hand experience (and game tape) to help guide his development in the off season. Biggest thing is to reduce his number of fouls. We need him on the floor next year with Doorson graduating, and he can't pick up cheap fouls that send him to the bench. He commits 6.2 fouls per 40 min in conference games.... the next closest on the team is Doorson with 4.3 and Harper with 4.1

Reserves:
Carter: He definitely has some offensive moves and touch around the basket, but he really needs to work on his understanding of Pike's defense. He gets caught out of position at times, caught on switches, caught screening his own players on penetration, etc. I think a lot of that is just the step up in level of competition and speed of the game, and I'd think that a season of practice and film review should help him going into next year. He's also definitely more of a PF than a C, and hasn't had a ton of minutes at the 5 this year. Will be interesting to see how quality his minutes will be when called on to guard guys bigger than him.

Doucoure: Hopefully whatever injury he had hasn't lingered. An extra year of practice with the team and staff should go a long way for him, as he struggled at times last year (especially as conference play hit and the season wore on). He's another one, though, who needs to cut down on his fouling. Last year he fouled even more than Johnson has this year, with 7.3 fouls per 40 min. Next year will be the year to prove himself, and to solidify minutes for 2020-21, when there may be well-regarded freshmen coming in to vie for time on the floor in the post.

Harper: While just 6-6, he's got the mass and length to defend 6-8 players at the 4. With a glut of guards next year, I'd imagine we'll see him playing fourth guard at times and defending the opposing 4. I'd also imagine we'll go "small ball" at times with Omoruyi at center and Harper at the 4.

Nathan: In case of emergency, break glass? I don't know anything about his overall ability, but you can't teach 6-10. In times of foul trouble against a big team, he might see some minutes being asked to wall up for a bit before a tv timeout.

What I like best about Shaq C is he is by far our best big with FTs (excluding Eugene). We need to improve there.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

I think we see A LOT of "small ball" next year. Keep in mind, small ball for us isn't really small because our 1-3 players are much bigger and longer than other teams.
If you know my posting history, you know how I feel about Doucoure. Not seeing it.
If Mulcahy and/or Young show they deserve to be on the court, I have no problem with only having one of Carter, Gene, or Myles on the floor with 4 "smalls".
Ideally, I'd like to see Myles cement himself as our 5, Eugene play as much as possible, and Carter be able to come in and do the dirty work as a sub. But, if situations arise via foul trouble or injury (and they definitely will), I think we're good with a "smaller" lineup.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Johnson has the potential to be a real beast in a couple of years. The only big man tool he’s missing in my opinion is explosiveness off the ground but his wingspan makes up for a lot of it. You can’t teach length and brains and he has both.

 

[Degaz-RU]

Doucoure already has the body to play the traditional 4, or the 5. I just hope his struggles are simply because of youth/inexperience and the injury, and that he will be a serviceable or even "plus" "big" for us next year.

Carter needs to get stronger. Although he's a pretty good rebounder, he doesn't seem as strong in the post when playing defense as are EO, Doorson, and Myles.

I guess we'll be okay with these four "bigs" next year, assuming no major injuries. But when EO and Carter graduate after next year, we need some bigs to replace them in 2020.