I’m still hoping for one of these recruiting threads to begin with 2018...
- Thread starter Mr Magoo
- Start date
My own opinion is similar to the football program and going with the younger QBs and youth. 2018 -19 season is about learning how to mesh so many new faces together.
When you are adding so many new pieces, a grad transfer that takes away minutes from another freshman that needs to play through mistakes, is the better long term option for growth.
There have been numerous times posted here that based on the juniors and seniors on the roster at that time, that Year 3 of this rebuild was really Year 1....and in a lot of ways the roster reflects that.
Pike was hired that Year with Doorson, Diallo, Laurent, Freeman, Sanders, Mike Williams all as upperclassmen and added Candido Sa and Mensah as depth from JUCO and CJ Gettys as a 1 year rental in late August 2016.
2 years later all of those names have to be replaced on the roster and we have added 2 transfers into the program in Peter Kiss and Jacob Young to not have all freshman and sophomores rolling out on the court in 2019-2020.
About 20 games into 2019-2020 or around February 2020, is when fans can hopefully see some of the benefits of playing so many freshman in 2018-19. Adding a piece that isn't part of 2019-2020 & beyond would help if it's an immediate starter.....but if not, go with what's there.
The most important thing isn't this coming season, it's what the staff does to develop the players here, find another 2019 player that can contribute and continue to recruit the 2020 and 2021 class to support the 2017 & 2018 kids that are going to play now.
When you are adding so many new pieces, a grad transfer that takes away minutes from another freshman that needs to play through mistakes, is the better long term option for growth.
There have been numerous times posted here that based on the juniors and seniors on the roster at that time, that Year 3 of this rebuild was really Year 1....and in a lot of ways the roster reflects that.
Pike was hired that Year with Doorson, Diallo, Laurent, Freeman, Sanders, Mike Williams all as upperclassmen and added Candido Sa and Mensah as depth from JUCO and CJ Gettys as a 1 year rental in late August 2016.
2 years later all of those names have to be replaced on the roster and we have added 2 transfers into the program in Peter Kiss and Jacob Young to not have all freshman and sophomores rolling out on the court in 2019-2020.
About 20 games into 2019-2020 or around February 2020, is when fans can hopefully see some of the benefits of playing so many freshman in 2018-19. Adding a piece that isn't part of 2019-2020 & beyond would help if it's an immediate starter.....but if not, go with what's there.
The most important thing isn't this coming season, it's what the staff does to develop the players here, find another 2019 player that can contribute and continue to recruit the 2020 and 2021 class to support the 2017 & 2018 kids that are going to play now.
Thanks. Agree with you for the most part. I'm just hopeful the record this year doesn't take too much of a dip.
I think Pikes teams always paly defense and that keeps us in games so I hopefully think the record wont take much of a dip
If everyone is healthy for the most part, I think the W/L record will depend on how good Caleb McConnell is, both overall and as a distributor and ball handler. He is the X-factor and the difference between maybe 13-14 wins or perhaps a winning season.
Frankly, I agree with Hawk that no grad transfer is needed. The hard part is the meshing of 8 newcomers with the 5 young guys that have played before( Geo ,Issa, Shaq, Eugene , and Mamadou). This is likely going to result in more turnovers and rookie type mistakes.
However, the caliber of the newcomers are 3 stars or better, more talent, better shooting, rebounding , better ball handlers, better shot blockers, and better scorers around the rim and well as rim protectors. This will be an exciting team to watch and because of the upgraded talent 1-13 on the roster will pull a few upsets . Unfortunately, the Big 10 gauntlet is rough early and I think the league as a whole will be deeper than last year where only 4 teams made the NCAA ‘s. The payoff will be next year where I think we will have a real chance to make it back to the tourney. ( 28 year drought is long enough).
However, the caliber of the newcomers are 3 stars or better, more talent, better shooting, rebounding , better ball handlers, better shot blockers, and better scorers around the rim and well as rim protectors. This will be an exciting team to watch and because of the upgraded talent 1-13 on the roster will pull a few upsets . Unfortunately, the Big 10 gauntlet is rough early and I think the league as a whole will be deeper than last year where only 4 teams made the NCAA ‘s. The payoff will be next year where I think we will have a real chance to make it back to the tourney. ( 28 year drought is long enough).
Other than McConnell I do not see the better ball handlers for high pressure defenses. Kiss and Mathis are decent but not point guards. For me Geo, Mathis, Kiss, Issa, etc. are all better off the ball. Can they handle normal course of play, probably, can they handle high pressure defense, tbd.
My concern as well. Baker is not a true point guard and I think he was over-played (by necessity last year) and wore down. We were horrible when Dadika, Mensah and Bullock had to play significant minutes. Just hope Baker stays healthy. One of Sanders' biggest assests was that you couldn't really pressue him. We will miss that.
Baker,McConell and Mathis can all handle the ball. Yes they are not Corey, very few guards in th e country had his handle . But they will likely be more than serviceable.
Baker can handle the ball. I would not be so sure to say Mathis and MConnell can handle keeping away defenders at the D1 level yet. Mathis was behind a Kentucky point guard and rarely saw major ball handling responsibilities.
I thought Corey Sanders was lightning quick. I never thought his handle was that strong. I wonder what others think.
If anyone is to back up Geo Baker, I would think it would mostly be McConnell. I think he will play 17mpg or so.
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I think the difference between what RU became accustomed to (Sanders handling the ball a lot), was for a variety of reasons.
There wasn't a lot of creative players at guard that could generate offense beyond Baker. Williams was reliant on ball movement and while that was OK, passing, cutting and finding others was limited in the frontcourt as well.
Freeman could generate offense on his own but required a lot of 1 on 1 moves and he was a willing rebounder but passing was not a strength of the team.
I think just good guards in general that can share the ball and take shots will be OK....it may be players taking shots that appear out of the box but Kiss Mathis McConnell, Baker should be able to outscore Sanders Baker and Williams from last year.
The key to me is finding a willing defender to generate the tough rebounds that Williams provided. My guess is Peter Kiss and others combine to provide the best leadership defensively.
I don't think you wanted to press Sanders because he was better in transition than half court and RU only had Baker to help off the dribble. I think a team that presses RU will force the team to work on passing the ball and scoring in those chances...that's where Mathis should be able to score.
If you somehow landed Massoud, to go with Jacob Young and Paul Mulcahy, the team then evolves to a roster that can play multiple ways in 2019-2020.....Massoud can play guard and both forward positions and also shares the ball, while being a capable shooter from 3 and the FT line.
There wasn't a lot of creative players at guard that could generate offense beyond Baker. Williams was reliant on ball movement and while that was OK, passing, cutting and finding others was limited in the frontcourt as well.
Freeman could generate offense on his own but required a lot of 1 on 1 moves and he was a willing rebounder but passing was not a strength of the team.
I think just good guards in general that can share the ball and take shots will be OK....it may be players taking shots that appear out of the box but Kiss Mathis McConnell, Baker should be able to outscore Sanders Baker and Williams from last year.
The key to me is finding a willing defender to generate the tough rebounds that Williams provided. My guess is Peter Kiss and others combine to provide the best leadership defensively.
I don't think you wanted to press Sanders because he was better in transition than half court and RU only had Baker to help off the dribble. I think a team that presses RU will force the team to work on passing the ball and scoring in those chances...that's where Mathis should be able to score.
If you somehow landed Massoud, to go with Jacob Young and Paul Mulcahy, the team then evolves to a roster that can play multiple ways in 2019-2020.....Massoud can play guard and both forward positions and also shares the ball, while being a capable shooter from 3 and the FT line.
The lack of another ball handling guard could be an issue. McConnell is talked about as the 2nd ball handler and he already had minor surgery this summer. If Baker or McConnell miss games....this could be a real issue. Is their another walkon that could be that emergency 3rd ball handler?
Not having a point guard on the roster will, at times, be an issue. However our guards will end up being the better for it and will be better all around players for '19-'20 when we have 2 in the fold.
I strongly don't/didn't want a grad transfer on this team.
Year 3 is really Year 1. The real years 1 and 2 were about building the foundation. I am looking for progress looking at Year 3 vs. Year 4.
I strongly don't/didn't want a grad transfer on this team.
Year 3 is really Year 1. The real years 1 and 2 were about building the foundation. I am looking for progress looking at Year 3 vs. Year 4.
Mathis actually was the lead guard to start most of the season because Immanuel Quickley was injured to start the year. Carroll still rolled...
I think people worried about the press are forgetting presses are broken by passing, not usually one guard with quickness and handle. Having a bunch of guards and wings who are long, 6'4" and up, and can actually pass is better against the press than forcing one lead guard to exhaust himself splitting traps
Joey Downes was a point guard in HS. I will say, the kid seems to work super hard. It is still D1.
I believe that was 4-5 games or so. It is still a HS to D1 transition.
Definitely. I like to see a ball handler in the middle of the court to break a press. Just use that player as a fulcrum.
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Off the bat, Baker missing games sounds bad. He will handle a good chunk of the scoring production. But then you think about the abundance of guards and it is not terrible. The team will be young and we should expect a lot of young play.
Thiam has looked to improve his ball handling. I could still see his minutes becoming less with the guards. Especially guards like Mathis and Kiss who can rebound.
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I think it's part of the couple of reasons not many were willing to pick him up at the g league level.
He can play a fast game, but when its slowed down and its time to process, it's tough.
Dealing with a press and dealing with high pressure defenses are different things. High pressure takes a lot out of the guards, especially the one with the most on ball responsibility. I worry that Geo will get worn out against these types of defenses and will cause issues down the stretch. At the start of the season Geo will be looked at as our main scoring option.
Now if we are implementing a fast pace offense/defense then it might not matter as much.
I am really interested in seeing what style coach will implement this year and going forward.
Now if we are implementing a fast pace offense/defense then it might not matter as much.
I am really interested in seeing what style coach will implement this year and going forward.
His not being picked up has nothing to do with his handle, but his lack of consistent shooting and 3 point shooting and his lack of going to his left hand when going to the hole. His lack of size also hurts him defensively. However, there are not many players with a better handle than Corey. He just had a tryout for the Rockets G league team. Hope he gets picked up.
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