Not adding a center?

[Eagleton96]

It may be unusual for RU to have a big that can shoot from range and dribble but it's not uncommon elsewhere.

You mean in the NBA?

 

[Knight Owl]

There are enough guys that can play the spot that Pike isn't moving his starting center there. You guys love to do this stuff every off season.

I think a great rebounding 3,4,5 would be Ace, Lathan, Ogbole, but without another center on the roster (Martini can in a pinch) you really can play that lineup for many minutes.

 

[seansherm]

Hayes at the 4… Could be for short stints with a small ball lineup but the dude averaged 3 rebounds a game last year. I’ll go out on a limb and say Lathan plays more 4 than Purple “Rain-in’ Treys” Hayes does.

Martini is going to be the starter and he only averaged 3 a game also

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Other than concerns at D, and the fact that he's beefy enough to bang at the 5, his game and skillset on O seem more like a 4.

We will see how Lathan and Martini do. Martini seems to make the most out of what he has, but Lathan is bigger and quicker. He could be great.

I suppose he could come in and be “great” immediately off the bat as a frosh but it’s really not that statistically likely to be the case. Neither MJ nor Cliff was that. The default really shouldn’t be to expect it.

Martini is going to be the starter and he only averaged 3 a game also

Rebounds are very helpful and important, but it’s not the only metric. Princeton didn’t get shelled on the glass against their relative competition and Martini was out there for 30 of the 40 minutes. He knows where to be on D and contests every shot to the best of his physical ability. This shouldn’t be taken for granted.

 

[Knight Owl]

Martini is going to be the starter and he only averaged 3 a game also

He’s strong enough to box out but I think he’s vertical jump challenged a little bit. This is why Lathan needs to play some 4 beside Ogbole and Pike needs another 5…preferably a shot blocker you can put for extended minutes if you have a nice lead.

 

[Eagleton96]

I think a great rebounding 3,4,5 would be Ace, Lathan, Ogbole, but without another center on the roster (Martini can in a pinch) you really can play that lineup for many minutes.

Adding another center enables us to play that lineup.

 

[Eagleton96]

I suppose he could come in and be “great” immediately off the bat as a frosh but it’s really not that statistically likely to be the case. Neither MJ nor Cliff was that. The default really shouldn’t be to expect it.



Rebounds are very helpful and important, but it’s not the only metric. Princeton didn’t get shelled on the glass against their relative competition and Martini was out there for 30 of the 40 minutes. He knows where to be on D and contests every shot to the best of his physical ability. This shouldn’t be taken for granted.

So the point is about if Lathan could play the 4. His D might not be great as a 4 right off the bat. But as you say, that’s true for any frosh. It’s probably adequate with room to grow. Meanwhile his O skillset would make for an awesome 4 if he’s as good from range as advertised.

 

[Knight Owl]

Adding another center enables us to play that lineup.

Yes. Rebounding and rim protection might be a problem. I typo’d can for can’t.

 

[seansherm]

I suppose he could come in and be “great” immediately off the bat as a frosh but it’s really not that statistically likely to be the case. Neither MJ nor Cliff was that. The default really shouldn’t be to expect it.



Rebounds are very helpful and important, but it’s not the only metric. Princeton didn’t get shelled on the glass against their relative competition and Martini was out there for 30 of the 40 minutes. He knows where to be on D and contests every shot to the best of his physical ability. This shouldn’t be taken for granted.

I agree, I think Martini will rebound better than those #'s, saying Hayes 3 per in a different place doesn't mean much. Not that I think he'll be an above average rebounder, I don't think he will be.

Princeton was a weird team, they didn't have high rebounding #'s, but didn't give up high rebounding to their opponents either. Lots of long possessions and made shots. I don't think it was about the legendary they boxed out well story, as much as fewer rebounding opportunities.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

So the point is about if Lathan could play the 4. His D might not be great as a 4 right off the bat. But as you say, that’s true for any frosh. It’s probably adequate with room to grow. Meanwhile his O skillset would make for an awesome 4 if he’s as good from range as advertised.

Yeah on an offensively challenged team, I could definitely see it. The point Im making is let’s hope we don’t need Somerville to make a difference on offensive. We have Dylan, Ace, veteran scorer J Will, two mid major seniors who led their conferences in scoring to mix around. Now a sharp shooter in Hayes has shot over 42% in 3 years - also a senior. My thinking is that he’s not going to add enough anywhere to “play because his offense makes up for his D”. We have other stars on the roster - are not going to look to play through Somerville. I mean - maybe he shoots the heck out of the ball and becomes the role we think Hayes will get. But even though Hayes hasn’t played the best competition, rest assured his 42% comes against better defenders that Somerville saw on average in HS. So again, not that likely.

His D is probably going to need to match or surpass his competition at whatever position he plays - or at center - foul trouble could come in play and we need him. At least that’s what I’m thinking. Maybe his D will come in just fine on day 1- anything is possible - my skepticism comes from the reports that say he’s not known for his D.

 

[RUfan1977]

I thought Lathan shot 40+% from 3pt in HS

I think that is what Richie O said, Also shot around 80% from the line. Definitely a skilled player, but watching him play at the RAC, was not impressed with his mobility. Seemed slow and seemed to let rebounds come to him rather than aggressively go after them the way Ace did. Had a smaller quicker player guard him. Hope I am wrong, but he may have trouble guarding the bigger quicker players he will face in the BIG 10.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I think that is what Richie O said, Also shot around 80% from the line. Definitely a skilled player, but watching him play at the RAC, was not impressed with his mobility. Seemed slow and seemed to let rebounds come to him rather than aggressively go after them the way Ace did. Had a smaller quicker player guard him. Hope I am wrong, but he may have trouble guarding the bigger quicker players he will face in the BIG 10.

Yeah - also, so many players shot well from 3 in high school. Isn’t the line not as far back? RU Chop has posted about this with Caleb (the college line was closer in his frosh year and Caleb shot the ball much better that year).

Look - he seems to project as an above average shooting 5. If we get a veteran defender as option one at the 5, then sure, maybe he could see a few minutes at the 4 playing alongside. But if the options there are Ogbole and the Serbian kid or another frosh project not known for D - it seems really unlikely Pike runs with a defense that contains any combination of those 2 at 4-5 with Ace at the 3 for even one second.

 

[Eagleton96]

Yeah - also, so many players shot well from 3 in high school. Isn’t the line not as far back? RU Chop has posted about this with Caleb (the college line was closer in his frosh year and Caleb shot the ball much better that year).

Look - he seems to project as an above average shooting 5. If we get a veteran defender as option one at the 5, then sure, maybe he could see a few minutes at the 4 playing alongside. But if the options there are Ogbole and the Serbian kid or another frosh project not known for D - it seems really unlikely Pike runs with a defense that contains any combination of those 2 at 4-5 with Ace at the 3 for even one second.

The scenario we were discussing was if the Kentucky kid were to come Summerville could make up some minutes at the four. The Kentucky kids strength was his defense.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

The scenario we were discussing was if the Kentucky kid were to come Summerville could make up some minutes at the four. The Kentucky kids strength was his defense.

Oh then my bad. That’s a completely different story. If that happens, it changes everything. Including the ceiling potential for the team in my opinion.

 

[Scarlet Blind]

This isn't very hard to understand.

Next year's team, we don't need to pay big money for a 1st/2nd option on offense portal big when we know who our 1/1a options are, our two top 5/Lottery picks in next year's NBA Draft. This year is also about the future recruiting of other 5⭐s landing here because we did such a good job showcasing Ace and Dylan to NBA Scouts. I think Cliff saw the writing on the wall and left knowing his ultimate goal is to get there himself, he might be the 3rd, 4th, or 5th option in his last year.

You saw what Cliff got, Great Osobor $2M, Amari Williams $1.4M, that is the going rate for top bigs in the portal. We aren't paying that for a 3rd or lower option on offense. We have loaded up on scoring/shooting at the 1 through 4 positions so we don't need much scoring from the 5 except for offensive rebounds and put backs. Sommerville will be that guy a year or two down the road but will be a goto scorer off the bench when Ace and Dylan aren't on the floor.

 

[Knight Owl]

I think that is what Richie O said, Also shot around 80% from the line. Definitely a skilled player, but watching him play at the RAC, was not impressed with his mobility. Seemed slow and seemed to let rebounds come to him rather than aggressively go after them the way Ace did. Had a smaller quicker player guard him. Hope I am wrong, but he may have trouble guarding the bigger quicker players he will face in the BIG 10.

Staff may have Lathan do some “partying” this offseason like they did with Wolf.
Party off the pounds that is…