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BB Rotation?

Scarlet Knut

Heisman Winner
Gold Member
Dec 28, 2003
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Okay, with the new signings can one of our knowledgeable BB fans post what are lineup might look like to start 2016 season?
 
Shack is best at that. But I would imagine the starting five will be PG Sanders, SG Johnson, SF Laurent, PF Freeman, C Shaq/Diallo. Williams will be the first guard off the bench, Thiam the first forward, and Sa will be the next big man up. The other two have versatility and will fill in minutes here and there when we need it.
 
My early guess at mpg

Sanders 32
Johnson 30
Williams 26
Laurent 26
Freeman 26
Sa 24
Thiam 13
Bullock or Omoruyi 13
Doorson or Diallo 10
 
Shack's numbers look good but I think Doorson/Diallo will get more playing time and Bullock/Omoruyi less. Starting lineup will probably be Sanders, Johnson, Laurent, Freeman, and Sa with Williams the first guy off the bench. Everything else is still a big question mark in my mind.
 
Sa will start over Diallo and Doorson. I don't think it's even close. (But then again, this is pure speculation from me.) Sanders is a given. I would hope that Johnson starts over Williams, but not sure. I see Laurent/Freeman taking the last two spots, with Thiam possibly breaking into the lineup by the end of the season if he's as advertised.
 
For the last few years Pikiell has had 6 main guys playing in the 20's and low 30's mins per game and then two guys getting about 12 minutes. Compare that to RU, which had 8 guys avg over 20mpg and 2 other guys around 15. It's going to be a much smaller rotation, barring injuries. It's going to be more like what successful teams do: 7 guys who play meaningful minutes at meaningful times.
1 Sanders
2 Johnson
3 Laurent
4 Freeman
5 Sa
Thiam, Diallo, and Williams would also get some good court time.
 
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I've heard "Thiam is our best player" more times than I can count this summer...Can't see him languishing on the bench.

Bullock has a way to go conditioning wise, and Diallo is greatly improved but probably our 3rd center. EO is a wildcard right now, for obvious reasons.

Sa is more of a 3 in a 4's body, but with Freeman there he'll need to find more of an inside game to get big minutes. Doorson is not a 30 minute per game player, so there's room for everyone down low.

Sanders, Johnson/Williams (truly a toss up), Thiam, Freeman, Doorson are my bets to start out of the gate.

Conditioning and improvement over the short August break will go a long long way to who plays at the start of the season.
 
I've heard "Thiam is our best player" more times than I can count this summer...Can't see him languishing on the bench.

Bullock has a way to go conditioning wise, and Diallo is greatly improved but probably our 3rd center. EO is a wildcard right now, for obvious reasons.

Sa is more of a 3 in a 4's body, but with Freeman there he'll need to find more of an inside game to get big minutes. Doorson is not a 30 minute per game player, so there's room for everyone down low.

Sanders, Johnson/Williams (truly a toss up), Thiam, Freeman, Doorson are my bets to start out of the gate.

Conditioning and improvement over the short August break will go a long long way to who plays at the start of the season.
Incredibly interesting. Thanks.
 
I've heard "Thiam is our best player" more times than I can count this summer...Can't see him languishing on the bench.

Bullock has a way to go conditioning wise, and Diallo is greatly improved but probably our 3rd center. EO is a wildcard right now, for obvious reasons.

Sa is more of a 3 in a 4's body, but with Freeman there he'll need to find more of an inside game to get big minutes. Doorson is not a 30 minute per game player, so there's room for everyone down low.

Sanders, Johnson/Williams (truly a toss up), Thiam, Freeman, Doorson are my bets to start out of the gate.

Conditioning and improvement over the short August break will go a long long way to who plays at the start of the season.
What kind of a season you looking for, BK?
 
Sa will start over Diallo and Doorson. I don't think it's even close. (But then again, this is pure speculation from me.) Sanders is a given. I would hope that Johnson starts over Williams, but not sure. I see Laurent/Freeman taking the last two spots, with Thiam possibly breaking into the lineup by the end of the season if he's as advertised.

Not close when one player had to go JUCO and the other was recruited out of HS?

Not sure I would be so sure.
 
I've heard "Thiam is our best player" more times than I can count this summer...Can't see him languishing on the bench.

Bullock has a way to go conditioning wise, and Diallo is greatly improved but probably our 3rd center. EO is a wildcard right now, for obvious reasons.

Sa is more of a 3 in a 4's body, but with Freeman there he'll need to find more of an inside game to get big minutes. Doorson is not a 30 minute per game player, so there's room for everyone down low.

Sanders, Johnson/Williams (truly a toss up), Thiam, Freeman, Doorson are my bets to start out of the gate.

Conditioning and improvement over the short August break will go a long long way to who plays at the start of the season.

From what I have seen, Issa just seems to want to be good so bad. I think its awesome.
 
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Shack's numbers look good but I think Doorson/Diallo will get more playing time and Bullock/Omoruyi less. Starting lineup will probably be Sanders, Johnson, Laurent, Freeman, and Sa with Williams the first guy off the bench. Everything else is still a big question mark in my mind.

Williams coming off the bench. A decent + player coming off our bench. Man, that sounds great!
 
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Sa will give us the ability to play "small" against teams That have the prototypical stretch 4. Overall the roster depth will allow us to mix and match line ups, something we couldn't do in years past.

Hope Thiam has added some weight and muscle...he may be our best or most talented, but that stick figure body won't last all season thru 30 games
 
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Sa will give us the ability to play "small" against teams That have the prototypical stretch 4. Overall the roster depth will allow us to mix and match line ups, something we couldn't do in years past.

Hope Thiam has added some weight and muscle...he may be our best or most talented, but that stick figure body won't last all season thru 30 games

I think they will be cautious about putting weight on with Issa. Similar to the Knicks porzingis. I did a write up about him when we were offering, and he does seem to have a good knack for the game.

Something tells me Pikiell might use him as a shooting guard this year, and eventually transition him to a small forward down the line when the weight comes on at the right pace.

Similar to Omoyuri, he can pass well, knows spots for rebounding, and stays focused with his on ball/off ball defense.

Should be fun to watch!
 
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I've heard "Thiam is our best player" more times than I can count this summer...Can't see him languishing on the bench.

Bullock has a way to go conditioning wise, and Diallo is greatly improved but probably our 3rd center. EO is a wildcard right now, for obvious reasons.

Sa is more of a 3 in a 4's body, but with Freeman there he'll need to find more of an inside game to get big minutes. Doorson is not a 30 minute per game player, so there's room for everyone down low.

Sanders, Johnson/Williams (truly a toss up), Thiam, Freeman, Doorson are my bets to start out of the gate.

Conditioning and improvement over the short August break will go a long long way to who plays at the start of the season.

Lots of people trying to put their best out there. Johnson and Williams. Thiam and Laurent. Seems like the build is happening the right way with players not backing down from the competition.

Thanks for the post,bk.
 
Sa will give us the ability to play "small" against teams That have the prototypical stretch 4. Overall the roster depth will allow us to mix and match line ups, something we couldn't do in years past.

Hope Thiam has added some weight and muscle...he may be our best or most talented, but that stick figure body won't last all season thru 30 games

I remember when James Bailey was a freshman and sophomore. He was a "stick". He was finaminal. His junior and senior year they bulked him up and he was slow and even with the added experience he wasn't as good as his first two years of College. You need the bulk for the Pro's, not so much for College. JMHO.
 
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James was amazing. I remember one season he had like 145 dunks or so. He did so many 2 hand dunks. He was really special as was Roy Hinson. We have not had a center anywhere near as good as these guys since they left which I think was 1979 and 1983.
 
The fact that we are debating several different combinations of starters is a great sign!

It finally seems we'll have some depth.
 
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I've heard "Thiam is our best player" more times than I can count this summer...Can't see him languishing on the bench.

Bullock has a way to go conditioning wise, and Diallo is greatly improved but probably our 3rd center. EO is a wildcard right now, for obvious reasons.

Sa is more of a 3 in a 4's body, but with Freeman there he'll need to find more of an inside game to get big minutes. Doorson is not a 30 minute per game player, so there's room for everyone down low.

Sanders, Johnson/Williams (truly a toss up), Thiam, Freeman, Doorson are my bets to start out of the gate.

Conditioning and improvement over the short August break will go a long long way to who plays at the start of the season.
BK-You yourself have said last year that in practice the best player on the team is Johnson...now its a toss up? Has Williams improved that much?
 
You do realize that JUCO isn't just an indicator of talent level, right? It's more an indicator of academic ability. I've never seen you holding the same reservations for Freeman.

I understand what you are saying. I did not mention freeman. I just know a lot of folks were high on Doorson when he came in, and the year he played For a 6 9 kid, he was pretty coordinated.

You could very well be right, but I would give the start to Shaq over Sa. I think it will be Sanders, Johnson, Laurent, Freeman, Doorson.

We will see.
 
Williams is standing out in practice because of his will to succeed at this game. He has taken a leadership role on the floor, and his effort on EVERY play/drill is setting the tone in workouts. He is a junior now, and is tired of losing. He sees the changes in the program as an opportunity to turn this around, and is taking full advantage.

Nigel is still very talented, nothing has changed. Simply put, we are more talented on the floor at all spots than we were for most of the season last year...because of the injury bug alone.

And for the record, Doorson hasn't been 6'9 for some time...he's scraping the 7 foot mark.
 
Williams is standing out in practice because of his will to succeed at this game. He has taken a leadership role on the floor, and his effort on EVERY play/drill is setting the tone in workouts. He is a junior now, and is tired of losing. He sees the changes in the program as an opportunity to turn this around, and is taking full advantage.

Nigel is still very talented, nothing has changed. Simply put, we are more talented on the floor at all spots than we were for most of the season last year...because of the injury bug alone.

And for the record, Doorson hasn't been 6'9 for some time...he's scraping the 7 foot mark.

3 inches off!I apologize.
 
I just did a thread comparing the football weights from last year, so I thought I'd do a comparison here for basketball.

Comparing the current sk.com roster vs. one from the Wayback Machine on 11/9/15, showing the current weight and the change from last November. 2015 weights were all rounded to the 5.

Doorson (287, +17... also went from 6-11 to 7-0)
Freeman (233, +13)
Johnson (190, +10)
Sanders (182, +7)
Diallo (247, +7)
Laurent (216, +6)
Williams (196, +6)
Batie (168, +3)
Dadika (166, +1)
 
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I just did a thread comparing the football weights from last year, so I thought I'd do a comparison here for basketball.

Comparing the current sk.com roster vs. one from the Wayback Machine on 11/9/15, showing the current weight and the change from last November. 2015 weights were all rounded to the 5.

Doorson (287, +17... also went from 6-11 to 7-0)
Freeman (233, +13)
Johnson (190, +10)
Sanders (182, +7)
Diallo (247, +7)
Laurent (216, +6)
Williams (196, +6)
Batie (168, +3)
Dadika (166, +1)

I do not know how accurate the numbers are always, but Shack at 287. Sheesh. His foot is supporting too much weight. I know athletes are in shape, but excess weight on his foot is not good for him.

I know the staff has this all in check. Just saying what I see from the numbers. I used to use BMI all the time when I worked at RWJ. It should be around the 24-25 mark for healthy people given their height and weight. Shaq is at 28.6.

Everyone else though looks fairly within healthy range.
 
I do not know how accurate the numbers are always, but Shack at 287. Sheesh. His foot is supporting too much weight. I know athletes are in shape, but excess weight on his foot is not good for him.

I know the staff has this all in check. Just saying what I see from the numbers. I used to use BMI all the time when I worked at RWJ. It should be around the 24-25 mark for healthy people given their height and weight. Shaq is at 28.6.

Everyone else though looks fairly within healthy range.

BMI doesn't account for muscle mass, though, so it's not really a great measure to use for athletes.

For comparison, Kemoko Turay has the same BMI as Doorson at 28.6, and TE Matt Flanagan is at 29.2. Chris Laviano is at 28.2. Julian Pinnix-Odrick is at 32.5.
 
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The question around weight on a center piqued my curiosity, and I went and looked up some NBA heights and weights.

Just taking players who were 6-11 or 7-0, and looking at the Top 25 in total rebounds from last year (entirely unscientific, to be sure)...
- Players who were 7-0 ranged between 240-275 lbs (avg 255)
- Players who were 6-11 ranged between 222-279 lbs (avg 252).
- Only two players in this range were over 270, and only two were below 240.

So you're right that Doorson seems to be carrying a lot of weight, even for an athletic 7 footer.
 
The question around weight on a center piqued my curiosity, and I went and looked up some NBA heights and weights.

Just taking players who were 6-11 or 7-0, and looking at the Top 25 in total rebounds from last year (entirely unscientific, to be sure)...
- Players who were 7-0 ranged between 240-275 lbs (avg 255)
- Players who were 6-11 ranged between 222-279 lbs (avg 252).
- Only two players in this range were over 270, and only two were below 240.

So you're right that Doorson seems to be carrying a lot of weight, even for an athletic 7 footer.

You are right, the bmi has limitations. The thing is, the muscle is supposed to be factored into the weight. So if you are 7 0 and 287, you should really be 265 and that is with the muscle.

I trust the staff is handling it. Numbers just pop off the screen.
 
You are right, the bmi has limitations. The thing is, the muscle is supposed to be factored into the weight. So if you are 7 0 and 287, you should really be 265 and that is with the muscle.

I trust the staff is handling it. Numbers just pop off the screen.

Muscle is supposed to be factored into the weight for an average person - but high level athletes have a much higher proportion of muscle to fat on their bodies. Nathan Adrian is winning medals in the Olympics pool with a BMI of 26.2... and I don't think anyone could reasonably call him overweight. Rob Gronkowski's BMI is 30.6, and there's no way anyone would call him obese.

Still, Doorson's weight does seem higher than top level athletes at his height in his sport... which is particularly noteworthy coming off last year's foot injury.
 
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