Lathan Sommerville practicing

[PSAL_Hoops]

One of the biggest challenges for freshman bigs is staying out of foul trouble, which is a significant limiting factor on minutes. Body control is one part of it, but also the experience/insight to know when you should/shouldn't contest, the practiced skill of exactly how to set a good screen, etc.

Looking at personal fouls per 40 min for our freshman centers over the years:

TBD - Lathan Sommerville (National #105)
5.2 - Cliff Omoruyi (National #42)
6.1 - Myles Johnson
7.3 - Mamadou Doucoure (National top 100 before reclassifying)
7.5 - Ibrahima Diallo
5.5 - Shaq Doorson
7.2 - Kadeem Jack (National top 100 before going prep)
9.0 - Greg Lewis
5.8 - Gil Biruta
6.1 - Austin Johnson
3.2 - Greg Echnique
5.9 - Hamady N'Diaye

If Sommerville can limit his fouls, that will go a long way toward accelerating his development.

Oddly - it might actually be encouraging if he’s committing fouls on the defensive end. I hope he plays aggressive D and at least tries to establish position. I’m more concerned about him giving up easy baskets at the rim because he’s just entirely out of position on the help D in penetration.

We definitely don’t want to see him committing offensive fouls trying to “get his” points either.

 

[RUChoppin]

Oddly - it might actually be encouraging if he’s committing fouls on the defensive end. I hope he plays aggressive D and at least tries to establish position. I’m more concerned about him giving up easy baskets at the rim because he’s just entirely out of position on the help D in penetration.

We definitely don’t want to see him committing offensive fouls trying to “get his” points either.

Defensively, you often see fouls when a player is out of position or gets beat and is trying to recover to make a play. Bigs also pick up illegal screen fouls a bit more often and pick up fouls trying too aggressively to get blocks instead of just walling up.

 

[Scangg]

Sounding like a broken record……….

I have to think Ace is a better offensive player than Somerville. Would Somerville do a much better job defending an opposing 5 and help our tram defense more than ace?

If the answer is yes, but not by much. I can see us going small, real small

Ace doesn't even want to play the 4, he isn't playing the 5

 

[Scangg]

I'm not sure we should be expecting Lathan to be taking too many 3's as a freshman

 

[Eagleton96]

I'm not sure we should be expecting Lathan to be taking too many 3's as a freshman

Unless he makes them. Then he should shoot a lot of them.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Ace doesn't even want to play the 4, he isn't playing the 5

I would hope he wants to win. No idea about any of our players, but we have a quantity of guys that are guards or small forwards. If we have a high hit rate on guards and a bust of our bigger guys it would come down to like playing Oskar (if he was here) over JWill just because Ace doesnt want to pkay the 4

If dercack hayes acuff all are hits Ace has to play a lot of 4

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I would hope he wants to win. No idea about any of our players, but we have a quantity of guys that are guards or small forwards. If we have a high hit rate on guards and a bust of our bigger guys it would come down to like playing Oskar (if he was here) over JWill just because Ace doesnt want to pkay the 4

If dercack hayes acuff all are hits Ace has to play a lot of 4

Ace at the 3 or 4 is just a paper question. What does playing the 3 vs the 4 really mean in our schemes? The answer is - not a whole lot. Those positions are interchangeable on offense and our man to man D is always match up based. Caleb guarded guys from 1-4 throughout his time at RU.

In terms of PT, let’s hope the D culture is so deeply embedded in the other guys’ mentality that it’s not an issue because PT is mostly dictated by managing the foul situation and keeping guys fresh. 40 minutes of suffocating defense with a variety of press schemes mixed in. Roll the dice with some chances wisely later in halfs if not yet in the bonus. Make them earn every point at the FT line. Remember all those missed transition buckets on the steals last year by Simpson, Davis and company. Let’s hope Dylan and Ace have an opportunity to feast on opportunities like that because that’s the most likely path to an elite team with the group we’ve put together. Some of our fans don’t like it - the ones pining how we can be the Loyola Marymount of yesteryear… we could probably pull up threads from the same folks for last year about how many more points we would score. I know Ace and Dylan are a different level, but still. my money is on us being good if we’re good at D, mediocre at best if not even if we can score a lot. So I’m hoping D is a big focus. We’ll see.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

No difference 3 vs 4. Saying Ace at 4 is just saying he is on the court with 3 guys who are less long than him and less equipped to initially (with swtiching who knows who guards who by end of possession) a guard an opposing 4

 

[Eagleton96]

Ace at the 3 or 4 is just a paper question. What does playing the 3 vs the 4 really mean in our schemes? The answer is - not a whole lot. Those positions are interchangeable on offense and our man to man D is always match up based. Caleb guarded guys from 1-4 throughout his time at RU.

In terms of PT, let’s hope the D culture is so deeply embedded in the other guys’ mentality that it’s not an issue because PT is mostly dictated by managing the foul situation and keeping guys fresh. 40 minutes of suffocating defense with a variety of press schemes mixed in. Roll the dice with some chances wisely later in halfs if not yet in the bonus. Make them earn every point at the FT line. Remember all those missed transition buckets on the steals last year by Simpson, Davis and company. Let’s hope Dylan and Ace have an opportunity to feast on opportunities like that because that’s the most likely path to an elite team with the group we’ve put together. Some of our fans don’t like it - the ones pining how we can be the Loyola Marymount of yesteryear… we could probably pull up threads from the same folks for last year about how many more points we would score. I know Ace and Dylan are a different level, but still. my money is on us being good if we’re good at D, mediocre at best if not even if we can score a lot. So I’m hoping D is a big focus. We’ll see.

Means Ace has to bang more with larger players on D, focus more on rebounding instead of fast break. Likely gets covered by a larger player. Has to work more.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I think our fanbase is still mentally locked in to the last 2 years or so on how we played basketball and it's confusing for us to understand habits. RU was forced to play a certain way....because it lacked "playmakers, or scramble players who convert defense into offense or make plays, when something breaks down (play call is well defended or an offensive play isn't executed perfectly)

Right now, we have Acuff, Derkack, Williams, Harper, Ace, JMike (must improve his FT shooting) Sommerville and hopefully others that are capable "playmakers" (I am more confident that Dylan Grant, JMike and Bryce Dortch fit this category).

The absence of playmakers is far more critical to the breakdowns as the last 2 seasons played out or "post defenseor what offense we will get from Lathan etc.

Most of the departures were players who fit into 2 categories.

A) Need to have plays run for them, created for them OR didn't make plays on their own on offense off the dribble....(Mag,Hyatt, Gavin, Oskar, Wolf, Cliff, Ogbole) all fit into needing others to make them viable on offense OR you have to run something for them, to allow them to be successful).

B) The same players that need something run for them on offense ALSO, didn't typically "make plays" on defense....Mag, Oskar, Hyatt, Wolf, Ogbole).....Cliffs value was shot blocking or erasing some breakdowns by a LOT of the players around him that simply didn't make defensive plays.

The stationary players like Hyatt, Gavin, Mag, Oskar, Wolf, simply made it appear much more reliant on "post defense"....those players didn't defend, rebound, get deflections, steals, weakside rebound/help defense.

The reason why I think Lathan Sommerville and his defense is being hyperfocused on, is because it's assuming the other players are unwilling or not capable of playing "solid" defense on the perimeter or wings.

If Derkack, Acuff, JWill, JMike, Ace, Harper, Grant, Dortch and Sommerville are willing defenders, those 9 players to me, are most likely to find themselves earning the most minutes on a consistent basis.

The 3 players that (to me) can take RU from pretty good to very dangerous, come down to how willing are they able to buy in defensively.

That 3 are Ogbole (has to move his feet better and play without fouling).

Martini (has to be capable to sliding his feet and playing defense without fouling).....I think it is MORE likely referees will allow Martini to play more physical base and post defense against a bigger 5, than asking him to defend wings 15 and 20 feet from the basket, off the dribble.....so I think Martini and Sommerville mixed with Ogbole and Mikic are the "5's".....Martini much less at the 5 than the other 3.

PJ Hayes.....the reality is, if he has Gavin like defense (below average) and shoots 37 to 38% from 3, he will play a lot.

If Hayes is willing to rebound and play "OK" defense, RU has the potential to make a lot of noise.

Martini, Hayes, Ogbole and Mikic are the 4 most likely to struggle to find minutes as the season moves on IF.....IF they can't capture the defensive assignments and coaching.

I don't think it's a Sommerville, Ogbole issue, it is a wing defender/Rebounding question, not post defense. Whomever defends the wings the best, is going to wind up on the court into February and March.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

NJH....
so you see a ton of players in the 1-4 bucket
5-Sommerville Ogobole Martini

That's pretty much how i see it. I call Ace the "4" because he could be defending the tallest and biggest non 5.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I think our fanbase is still mentally locked in to the last 2 years or so on how we played basketball and it's confusing for us to understand habits. RU was forced to play a certain way....because it lacked "playmakers, or scramble players who convert defense into offense or make plays, when something breaks down (play call is well defended or an offensive play isn't executed perfectly)

Right now, we have Acuff, Derkack, Williams, Harper, Ace, JMike (must improve his FT shooting) Sommerville and hopefully others that are capable "playmakers" (I am more confident that Dylan Grant, JMike and Bryce Dortch fit this category).

The absence of playmakers is far more critical to the breakdowns as the last 2 seasons played out or "post defenseor what offense we will get from Lathan etc.

Most of the departures were players who fit into 2 categories.

A) Need to have plays run for them, created for them OR didn't make plays on their own on offense off the dribble....(Mag,Hyatt, Gavin, Oskar, Wolf, Cliff, Ogbole) all fit into needing others to make them viable on offense OR you have to run something for them, to allow them to be successful).

B) The same players that need something run for them on offense ALSO, didn't typically "make plays" on defense....Mag, Oskar, Hyatt, Wolf, Ogbole).....Cliffs value was shot blocking or erasing some breakdowns by a LOT of the players around him that simply didn't make defensive plays.

The stationary players like Hyatt, Gavin, Mag, Oskar, Wolf, simply made it appear much more reliant on "post defense"....those players didn't defend, rebound, get deflections, steals, weakside rebound/help defense.

The reason why I think Lathan Sommerville and his defense is being hyperfocused on, is because it's assuming the other players are unwilling or not capable of playing "solid" defense on the perimeter or wings.

If Derkack, Acuff, JWill, JMike, Ace, Harper, Grant, Dortch and Sommerville are willing defenders, those 9 players to me, are most likely to find themselves earning the most minutes on a consistent basis.

The 3 players that (to me) can take RU from pretty good to very dangerous, come down to how willing are they able to buy in defensively.

That 3 are Ogbole (has to move his feet better and play without fouling).

Martini (has to be capable to sliding his feet and playing defense without fouling).....I think it is MORE likely referees will allow Martini to play more physical base and post defense against a bigger 5, than asking him to defend wings 15 and 20 feet from the basket, off the dribble.....so I think Martini and Sommerville mixed with Ogbole and Mikic are the "5's".....Martini much less at the 5 than the other 3.

PJ Hayes.....the reality is, if he has Gavin like defense (below average) and shoots 37 to 38% from 3, he will play a lot.

If Hayes is willing to rebound and play "OK" defense, RU has the potential to make a lot of noise.

Martini, Hayes, Ogbole and Mikic are the 4 most likely to struggle to find minutes as the season moves on IF.....IF they can't capture the defensive assignments and coaching.

I don't think it's a Sommerville, Ogbole issue, it is a wing defender/Rebounding question, not post defense. Whomever defends the wings the best, is going to wind up on the court into February and March.

Um, no…. The reason why Somerville’s D is a focus is because the scouting report on him says this an area where he struggles - and he’s a frosh. It has nothing to do with perimeter defenders, other than that weak post D might make it more difficult to play PJ Hayes meaningful minutes which would be a shame with his shooting ability. Outside of Hayes, we don’t have anyone at guard who projects to be a liability on the defensive end. Perimeter D should actually be a strength.

As far as Sommerville only needing to be a willing defender - I wish it was that simple. Gavin was a willing defender. The problem was he came in clueless. Perimeter D issues barely skim the surface of the problem with him early on. I have watched enough film now of PJ to pretty much guarantee he won’t have anything like the kind of issues Gavin had. Sure, PJ will get beat (easily) off the dribble in iso. What he won’t do though, for example, is play man D 8U style following his guy aimlessly often times with his back to the ball. I still find Gavin’s starting point on D shocking - in fairness, it’d be hard for anyone to come in as clueless. That said - experience matters with D - a lot.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Ace at the 3 or 4 is just a paper question. What does playing the 3 vs the 4 really mean in our schemes? The answer is - not a whole lot. Those positions are interchangeable on offense and our man to man D is always match up based. Caleb guarded guys from 1-4 throughout his time at RU.

On offense it is paper...not as much on D.

Against UCONN 23-24 he guards Caraban (not an issue)
Against 23-24 Purdue he guards a Gillis or a guy his size (not an issue)
Against 23-24 Illinois that could mean Coleman Hawkins
Against 23-24 Wisconsin that could mean Tyler Wahl

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I still don't understand/fathom how Gavin came here not knowing how to play defense. He definitely was a willing defender.

Paul and Cam where able to be part of a very good to great defensive team because primarily we had Myles/Cliff and secondarily Caleb was here.

I don't expect our new guys are going to have that luxury and it does worry me a lot.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

On offense it is paper...not as much on D.

Against UCONN 23-24 he guards Caraban (not an issue)
Against 23-24 Purdue he guards a Gillis or a guy his size (not an issue)
Against 23-24 Illinois that could mean Coleman Hawkins
Against 23-24 Wisconsin that could mean Tyler Wahl

Yes - point taken. I think that’s what folks are missing. Ogbole, Lathan and Martini are not filling 80 minutes collectively at the 4 and 5. Someone else is going to defend one of the two biggest players for stretches. If not Ace, who would it be?

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I still don't understand/fathom how Gavin came here not knowing how to play defense. He definitely was a willing defender.

Paul and Cam where able to be part of a very good to great defensive team because primarily we had Myles/Cliff and secondarily Caleb was here.

I don't expect our new guys are going to have that luxury and it does worry me a lot.

The good news is our new guys in the backcourt project to be better perimeter defenders than Paul. I know it’s a weak conference but Derkack won DPOY and Acuff was pretty solid in the MAC. I was concerned about Dylan based on the Ramapo game, but not after seeing him in the All Star games with the outcome on the line. He can definitely defend. We already know what J Will and J Davis can do. Our perimeter D should at least be comparable to last year’s which was well above average.

The concern is post presence. But we don’t need someone like super senior Cliff. If Ogbole can quietly be a bruiser for 25 or so minutes a game at the rim, we’ll be fine. If he’s a foul machine and ends up only able to deliver Shaq Doorson level production (I see that as his floor) we might have a problem. My money isn’t on an inexperienced frosh who scouts say needs work on D to be able to come in right away and give us enough of a post presence on that end. At least not early on. I’d love to be wrong.

Also - don’t sleep on 6-8 Bryce Dortch by the way… That quote from Pike when he signed him stuck with me. I just pulled it up “He’s versatile and reminds me of Caleb McConnell in some ways defensively.” Defense will likely earn court time for Pike over everyone other than Dylan and Ace.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Defense will likely earn court time for Pike over everyone other than Dylan and Ace.

Especially if we lose 2 games in a row because of defense and defensive rebounding.

 

[seansherm]

Um, no…. The reason why Somerville’s D is a focus is because the scouting report on him says this an area where he struggles - and he’s a frosh. It has nothing to do with perimeter defenders, other than that weak post D might make it more difficult to play PJ Hayes meaningful minutes which would be a shame with his shooting ability. Outside of Hayes, we don’t have anyone at guard who projects to be a liability on the defensive end. Perimeter D should actually be a strength.

As far as Sommerville only needing to be a willing defender - I wish it was that simple. Gavin was a willing defender. The problem was he came in clueless. Perimeter D issues barely skim the surface of the problem with him early on. I have watched enough film now of PJ to pretty much guarantee he won’t have anything like the kind of issues Gavin had. Sure, PJ will get beat (easily) off the dribble in iso. What he won’t do though, for example, is play man D 8U style following his guy aimlessly often times with his back to the ball. I still find Gavin’s starting point on D shocking - in fairness, it’d be hard for anyone to come in as clueless. That said - experience matters with D - a lot.

Hayes is pretty bad defensively. I would expect end of year Gavin level D from him, not much more. Acuff really hasn't been a good defender thus far in his career. JWill, JMike, Derkack we can trust. The rest will depend on how Pike can mold them early on.

 

[NickRU714]

Especially if we lose 2 games in a row because of defense and defensive rebounding.

That’s fine.
But what happens if we lose 2 games in a row because of bad offense?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

That’s fine.
But what happens if we lose 2 games in a row because of bad offense?

We always do

 

[GRU23]

I feel it’s pretty simple. Hayes/Martini guards the more physical wing, Ace guards the less physical wing. Thats it

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Hayes is pretty bad defensively. I would expect end of year Gavin level D from him, not much more. Acuff really hasn't been a good defender thus far in his career. JWill, JMike, Derkack we can trust. The rest will depend on how Pike can mold them early on.

Hays is a very poor perimeter defender but he’s still a veteran and at least understands where he needs to be. We only brought in senior veterans. This is hugely important.
I think Acuff’s D will be similar to Cam Spencer’s.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I feel it’s pretty simple. Hayes/Martini guards the more physical wing, Ace guards the less physical wing. Thats it

Why would you put Hayes on a physical player?

 

[Degaz-RU]

Responding to some of the comments further above:

Pike didn't bring in two outstanding shooters -- Martini and Hayes -- to sit on the bench. They're going to get 35-40 minutes combined each game. They will be needed to space the floor for all of the iso players who are good "scorers" but not necessarily proven "shooters" (at least yet) like Ace, Dylan, JWill, Acuff, and Derkack.

Pike will want ONE of Martini OR Hayes on the floor at just about all times, so that there is always a "shooter" on the floor. He will "make do" with whatever defense they can give us, and the fact that the rest of the 1s through 4s appear to be good defenders can probably mask any defensive weaknesses from Martini and Hayes.

It's the post defense that gives me the most agita. We have to hope that Ogbole becomes a "plus" defender with his massive size and wingspan, and we have to hope that Sommerville can be at least passable in post defense. We will probably see Martini for short stretches against smaller 5s.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Responding to some of the comments further above:

Pike didn't bring in two outstanding shooters -- Martini and Hayes -- to sit on the bench. They're going to get 35-40 minutes combined each game. They will be needed to space the floor for all of the iso players who are good "scorers" but not necessarily proven "shooters" (at least yet) like Ace, Dylan, JWill, Acuff, and Derkack.

Pike will want ONE of Martini OR Hayes on the floor at just about all times, so that there is always a "shooter" on the floor. He will "make do" with whatever defense they can give us, and the fact that the rest of the 1s through 4s appear to be good defenders can probably mask any defensive weaknesses from Martini and Hayes.

It's the post defense that gives me the most agita. We have to hope that Ogbole becomes a "plus" defender with his massive size and wingspan, and we have to hope that Sommerville can be at least passable in post defense. We will probably see Martini for short stretches against smaller 5s.

Martini could easily end up playing 32 mpg in my opinion. I’m not sure about PJ. I don’t think Pike knows either. He’d love to play him but if our post D is weak, PJ probably isnt going to be playable. We can’t mask his issues without a suitable help defender when a guard blows by him.

 

[NickRU714]

Martini could easily end up playing 32 mpg in my opinion. I’m not sure about PJ. I don’t think Pike knows either. He’d love to play him but if our post D is weak, PJ probably isnt going to be playable. We can’t mask his issues without a suitable help defender when a guard blows by him.

If Hayes is unplayable then we better have an undefeated season and scoring 80ppg.

Hard to justify benching your best shooter (presumably) while also losing games.
No matter how bad his defense supposedly is.

 

[GRU23]

Why would you put Hayes on a physical player?

Cause he’s not super quick but has some size to him? What do you mean?

 

[seansherm]

Hays is a very poor perimeter defender but he’s still a veteran and at least understands where he needs to be. We only brought in senior veterans. This is hugely important.
I think Acuff’s D will be similar to Cam Spencer’s.

I agree on the veterans, but:
1. Acuff's D hasn't been remotely similar to Cam's at the same points in their careers. If Acuff plays D like Cam and gives the O I think he will, he may be our best player this year. Cam was a ridiculously smart team defender.
2. Hayes was a poor defender on a poor defensive team, and no idea what the level of D at his D2 school was, so not sure how much learning he'll need to do.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I agree on the veterans, but:
1. Acuff's D hasn't been remotely similar to Cam's at the same points in their careers. If Acuff plays D like Cam and gives the O I think he will, he may be our best player this year. Cam was a ridiculously smart team defender.
2. Hayes was a poor defender on a poor defensive team, and no idea what the level of D at his D2 school was, so not sure how much learning he'll need to do.

Actually - I think the fact that SD was so bad at D in general bodes well for us with PJ. There’s no question in my mind that with better front court defenders he wouldn’t have been exposed as much as he was on D. The question is - how good can our interior post D be without a veteran 5?

In terms of Acuff - the biggest thing that concerns me with his D is that his team was much better on D without him the last two games of the season. When I watch him, he seems like he should be better at defense than he is - fundamentals wise. Hes not slow and he’s shifty.

 

[Scangg]

Yes - point taken. I think that’s what folks are missing. Ogbole, Lathan and Martini are not filling 80 minutes collectively at the 4 and 5. Someone else is going to defend one of the two biggest players for stretches. If not Ace, who would it be?

Grant, if he is in the rotation, will play the 4

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Grant, if he is in the rotation, will play the 4

Dortch is supposed to be the stronger defender of the two, right?

 

[Scangg]

I would hope he wants to win. No idea about any of our players, but we have a quantity of guys that are guards or small forwards. If we have a high hit rate on guards and a bust of our bigger guys it would come down to like playing Oskar (if he was here) over JWill just because Ace doesnt want to pkay the 4

If dercack hayes acuff all are hits Ace has to play a lot of 4

I mean I agree. I just don't think Ace wants to play the 4, especially if a team has a bigger stronger 4. He doesn't want to bang under the basket

Will he be more open to it if it's what is best for the team? Hopefully

 

[Scangg]

Dortch is supposed to be the stronger defender of the two, right?

Grant is stronger so I see him as more of a 4.

Dortch, especially as a freshman, may be too thin at 6'8 190. I see him as more of a long perimeter defender Caleb style

 

[seansherm]

Actually - I think the fact that SD was so bad at D in general bodes well for us with PJ. There’s no question in my mind that with better front court defenders he wouldn’t have been exposed as much as he was on D. The question is - how good can our interior post D be without a veteran 5?

In terms of Acuff - the biggest thing that concerns me with his D is that his team was much better on D without him the last two games of the season. When I watch him, he seems like he should be better at defense than he is - fundamentals wise. Hes not slow and he’s shifty.

Agree, Acuff should be better than he is at the defensive end. Hopefully Pike brings it out.
Our interior D is a giant question mark. An Ogbole/Martini duo could be solid. A Lathan/Ace combo could be a free pass to the basket. Other combos? Who knows.

 

[lion1983]

So ... I know no more than any on this Board, and less than some I am sure. But, having watched the team for a long time, and the highlight vids of the incoming players (I know, generally useless), here is how I see it (depth chart and minutes:

Guard - 2 Spots and 80 minutes:

Starter: Harper - 28 min
Starter: J Williams - 23-25 min (he has shown a propensity with his intensity to pick up fouls - and you want him full intensity, so resting him is good)

Acuff - 18 - 20 min (volume and spark scorer off the bench - kind of like Hyatt, but at Guard - not a great defender)
J. Davis - 10-12 min (defensive specialist and pure PG ... the best defender on the team, IMO, rivalling McConnell in defensive potential, albeit 6'2" not 6'7" ... with that defense HAS to have a role)

Forward - 2 Spots and 80 minutes:

Starter: Bailey - 28 min (some time at the "4" when RU plays smaller and faster and wants 3 guards or 2 guards and 2 wings)
Starter: Martini - 20 min (he is in the shoot the open 3 from the kick out or doubles on the perimeter ... may play a few spot minutes at Center in certain match ups, and if foul trouble requires)

Hayes - 10-12 min (pure shooter, like Martini - will come in FOR Martini at times)
Derkack - 15-18 min (not a great shooter, but a scorer, athletic and defensive player of the year in a weak conference as a Soph ... actually has some upside development because he is only a Junior ... way too turnover prone to be 1 of only 2 guards on the floor IMO)
Grant - Spot minutes (for toughness, rebounding, if foul trouble and need a stronger forward in besides Derkack or Hayes)

Center - 1 Spot and 40 Minutes:

Starter - Ogbole - 15 min (but only if shows improvement, in particular in hands- so he does not get so easily stripped or drop the ball - and in footwork so his fouls are reduced ... showed very good rebounding per minute, and best offensive rebounding per minute on the team last season, albeit in very limited minutes) ... at 15 mpg he might be able to average 3-4 ppg (mostly put backs or running the floor) and 5+ rpg, and decent post defense.

Sommerville - 22 min (maybe more if can stay out of foul trouble ... more minutes than Ogbole, but off the bench ... some advantages coming off the bench to play fresh against other teams' starter, or against other team's back-up)
UNKNOWN LAST PLAYER (Mikic?) - spot minutes
Martini - spot minutes

I do not see a role for Dortch this season, even though he is supposedly a better prospect than Grant - he really is a WF, and described as Mag-like on Defense with more and better offensive skills coming into college than Mag ... potential starter or major contributor 2 years from now after Bailey is gone ... my speculation is he would be better off red-shirting, but I have zero inside information or knowledge that RU has any intent to do so.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[PaKnight]

Martini could easily end up playing 32 mpg in my opinion. I’m not sure about PJ. I don’t think Pike knows either. He’d love to play him but if our post D is weak, PJ probably isnt going to be playable. We can’t mask his issues without a suitable help defender when a guard blows by him.

Maybe a little high for Martini, I agree about PJ. It should be interesting.

 

[Knight Owl]

The good news is our new guys in the backcourt project to be better perimeter defenders than Paul. I know it’s a weak conference but Derkack won DPOY and Acuff was pretty solid in the MAC. I was concerned about Dylan based on the Ramapo game, but not after seeing him in the All Star games with the outcome on the line. He can definitely defend. We already know what J Will and J Davis can do. Our perimeter D should at least be comparable to last year’s which was well above average.

The concern is post presence. But we don’t need someone like super senior Cliff. If Ogbole can quietly be a bruiser for 25 or so minutes a game at the rim, we’ll be fine. If he’s a foul machine and ends up only able to deliver Shaq Doorson level production (I see that as his floor) we might have a problem. My money isn’t on an inexperienced frosh who scouts say needs work on D to be able to come in right away and give us enough of a post presence on that end. At least not early on. I’d love to be wrong.

Also - don’t sleep on 6-8 Bryce Dortch by the way… That quote from Pike when he signed him stuck with me. I just pulled it up “He’s versatile and reminds me of Caleb McConnell in some ways defensively.” Defense will likely earn court time for Pike over everyone other than Dylan and Ace.

So the best in your face pressure defensive 5 might be:
JaMike
Harper
Dortch
Ace
Ogbole

Also: JWill, Derkack, Acuff

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

So the best in your face pressure defensive 5 might be:
JaMike
Harper
Dortch
Ace
Ogbole

Also: JWill, Derkack, Acuff

it’s easier to learn press D than regular schemes. Lathan will probably be able to do it. Wolf was fine with the press, for example. The question is who will play Mag’s role. Ace is a great candidate but can he do it without getting in foul trouble.

 

[zebnatto]

I think that Lathan will get a lot of help if the opposition has an offensively talented center. But I don’t think this is the central concern (using the word concern forward-looking not to indicate it’s a known weakness). Rather, I think what remains to be seen is what happens when he has to switch out, how well he can decide went to help out and when to stay on this man if a guard penetrates, how well he can anticipate and disrupt interior passes, etc., so I don’t think that he’s going to get badly hurt one on one very much by more than a few centers we face in the season. It’s the rest of the defensive game that will have to develop quickly a freshman. Whether or not, he is a quick study, will matter.

 

[NickRU714]

So the best in your face pressure defensive 5 might be:
JaMike
Harper
Dortch
Ace
Ogbole

Also: JWill, Derkack, Acuff

Isn't that also our worst offensive 5?
Assuming Dylan and Ace are required, is there a worse offensive 5?

You double both Ace/Dylan and make JMike, Dortch and Ogbole beat you 3 on 1.
I might still take the defense.