Guess who the starting 5 will be when we start BiG play next season (2024-25):
My guess:
5-Cliff
4-Ace
3-Gavin
2-Harper
1-portal transfer
My guess:
5-Cliff
4-Ace
3-Gavin
2-Harper
1-portal transfer
The Official Guess the 2024 Starting Lineup Thread
- Thread starter Morrischiano
- Start date
All about competition and I'm more interested in how the depth gets developed vs the starters.
Which is been my point since the spring and summer about building depth to supplement the 2024-25 starters. You can't build depth without playing kids now, who will be on this roster for 2024-25 and 2025-26 beyond.
We have an unusual amount of fans stuck in neutral about this season, as if it was the only season of relevance this decade. There are steps to create a 9 to 10 man rotation, that is versatile and can get easy baskets while being a good defensive team. This roster is being built in that manner.
My guess is we hit the portal for 1 or 2 pieces after this season, so might as well see who develops in the next 3 months or not.
Which is been my point since the spring and summer about building depth to supplement the 2024-25 starters. You can't build depth without playing kids now, who will be on this roster for 2024-25 and 2025-26 beyond.
We have an unusual amount of fans stuck in neutral about this season, as if it was the only season of relevance this decade. There are steps to create a 9 to 10 man rotation, that is versatile and can get easy baskets while being a good defensive team. This roster is being built in that manner.
My guess is we hit the portal for 1 or 2 pieces after this season, so might as well see who develops in the next 3 months or not.
Simpson/Davis/J Williams (one will play 25+ minutes and the other 2 will play 18+, whoever earns it will start)
Harper
Mag
Griffiths
Bailey
Problem is they’d get beat on the boards a lot and wouldn’t guard a big center well. So, one of those 5 (Simpson/Davis/Williams maybe) may not actually start some/most games and you’ll see Woolf/Somerville/Ogbole/Portal 5 start.
People slotting in J Williams to start, and not including Mag as if he’s leaving, are asking Pike to start 5 players (Williams, Harper, Griffiths, Bailey, Somerville/portal 5) that have not played 1 second together among them, and as many as 3 true freshman. Insane and absolutely not happening lol. Williams will be rusty and will play a lot but I don’t think will be getting starter minutes at least at the beginning. Everyone around the program should be already persuading Mag to stay, he’ll be totally key to the team’s potential.
Harper
Mag
Griffiths
Bailey
Problem is they’d get beat on the boards a lot and wouldn’t guard a big center well. So, one of those 5 (Simpson/Davis/Williams maybe) may not actually start some/most games and you’ll see Woolf/Somerville/Ogbole/Portal 5 start.
People slotting in J Williams to start, and not including Mag as if he’s leaving, are asking Pike to start 5 players (Williams, Harper, Griffiths, Bailey, Somerville/portal 5) that have not played 1 second together among them, and as many as 3 true freshman. Insane and absolutely not happening lol. Williams will be rusty and will play a lot but I don’t think will be getting starter minutes at least at the beginning. Everyone around the program should be already persuading Mag to stay, he’ll be totally key to the team’s potential.
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Harper will be the PG. Williams at 2 guard.
Gavin, Ace and Mag are probably the best front court players but not sure that line up works. Maybe Somerville at the 5 (assuming Cliff decides to go pro).
Gavin, Ace and Mag are probably the best front court players but not sure that line up works. Maybe Somerville at the 5 (assuming Cliff decides to go pro).
How about we wait until we know who is committing? Let's not jinx anything!
Exactly this!
Really really hope Mag and GG come back next year!
During the preseason practice, I thought J. Williams was the best overall player on the court.
Most coaches are stubborn but Ace and Dylan (🙏🤞) are just different and at a whole new level.
My lineup assumes that Cliff is gone and that Mag will return.
G - Harper
G - J. Williams
W - Gavin
F - Ace
F - Mag
G - Harper
G - J. Williams
W - Gavin
F - Ace
F - Mag
Don’t think we have to worry about Gavin:
Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell weighs the loyalty factor heavily when identifying prospects; he’s proud of that none of his players entered the transfer portal last offseason.
When that fact is pointed out to Griffiths in this interview, he responded with a message for Rutgers fans.
“I’m completely fine speaking about this because I’m never going to transfer,” he said. “I am never going to enter the portal. Even if things go wrong, knock on wood, I’m here. I’m staying. I’m not a guy that will enter the portal – ever.”
Man I don't know how you got to this point....J Williams is practicing and has been since he got here, there's no chance of rust by next year.
Why would RU have to persuade Mag to stay?? The staff could or should have recruited his replacement when Ndongo decommitted and went to GTech and left minutes on the table for him to start this season.....AND to date he has been medically cleared for well over a month....we have players in years past who have played at less than 100%.
Maybe Mag should actually get onto the court and score a few baskets and grab some rebounds and show he's all in, before we continue crowning him as irreplaceable now or next year. When does actual game performance matter??
1 Dylan
2 Gavin
3 Ace
4 Mag
5 Wolf
2 Gavin
3 Ace
4 Mag
5 Wolf
You are crazy if you dont think Gavin is not only back but a star
Not in love with Mag, generally, nice energy and rebounding, shot was just coming around when he got hurt. I'm with you...should be all in by now if cleared to play. Very telling. Keeping his transfer options open perhaps, I think...Will see
Not that they’re the same player, but Fernandes was practicing a while and has looked pretty rusty especially out of the gate. I also don’t know that Williams fits as well alongside Harper as Davis or Simpson. Regardless, like I said, they’ll all play. I made another point about all 5 of those projected starters being total strangers in real game action, not a recipe for a strong start. I agree Mag has to get going at some point, and will have no great reason to want to leave other than NIL. But, if people want next year’s roster to get major things done, a January 2022 version of Mag would be a major lift toward that goal. They’ll lack experience, toughness, rebounding, and familiarity with Pike’s system, without him.
Need center and don't expect Cliff and Mag will return.Griffiths better be starting ASAP or he might be in the transfer portable.The 2024 roster will have many changes
You’re insufferable when it comes to Mag hate. “When does actual game performance matter?” That’s a hypocritical question coming from someone that has, to date, significantly misread Mag’s overall impact on last year’s on court performance.
I don't think I can't watch another year of us giving him the ball on the post.
I forgot about Ogbole. If he can fill the role of rebounder, defensive shot blocker, and scorer of put backs/dunks, that would be a GREAT starter to go along with Dylan, J Williams, GG, Mag, and Ace. That’s 🔥!!
Assuming Cliff leaves,
Dylan
I Williams
Gavin
Ace
Wolf at first, replaced by Summerville at some point
Dylan
I Williams
Gavin
Ace
Wolf at first, replaced by Summerville at some point
Did Mag give your gf a kiss at recess?
All this young man has done is give up his body for this team and play for his teammates and coach with a ferocious intensity. Your BS shade toward Mawot Mag is horrible.
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Hawk could be a little over the top but he’s not altogether wrong on Mag. RU has done right by Mag through various medical and dental issues, and clearly helped improve his game. And yet Mag almost walked out the door this past offseason. He stayed, and I’m glad because he makes us better, but what does it matter if he won’t play. He was medically cleared a long time ago and if you listen to Pike’s post game pressers, his excited tone in discussing Mag’s return has disappeared.
So, while I’m not looking to disparage Mag, I can’t co-sign that all he has done is give up his body to play. If he’s fully practicing, which are the reports, he easily could play 5-10 minutes in these games to start to get back in the flow and build confidence in the knee.
We will see. These things are always more complex than what posters on a message board speculate with very limited information. I am not pretending to know exactly how Mag’s knee is doing 9.5 months after ACL surgery against D1 competition. And are you considering the intensity with which Mag plays? The way he plays the game requires a lot of his knee and the rest of his body.
We will see.
We know three facts: he’s cleared to play, he’s practicing, he’s not playing in games. Thats all we can go off of. Again, I love the guy and want him back tonight. I really hope he plays. But until he does the comments about him doing everything he can to get back playing is actually the speculation.
So I agree — we will see.
And we know one more thing, that we don’t know how his knee is feeling. Had to say it, I trust that Mag really wants to play.
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