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Old 08-01-2017, 08:49 AM   #581
cincyguy13
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I think we got a steal in Mamadou Diarra- 6'9(7'2 wingspan) up to 220, went under the radar because of injuries MCL and broke a bone in both hands which is why there is very little video of him. He has only been in the U.S. like 3 years.
He looks a lot thicker than I thought he would be. if he can play, might turn out to be a great get
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Old 08-01-2017, 08:52 AM   #582
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I really think we have a solid core to work with at the 4 and 5 spots next year. I would still like to see one more addition of a guy who can score (if there are any out there) but we have a good start. If we don't get an offensive guy I would think we might see more small ball than we have recently.

I also hope our current bunch can make strides with their skills.

I expect Brooks to man the post and Nsoseme is looking like he could be a beast with his work ethic and motor. I don't mind that he can't score a lot but if he can provide everything else we should be good to go.

It will be interesting to see who steps up at the 4 between Scott and Diarra. I don't think Diarra will be ready this year but by next year I hope we can see him develop into a starter. I think Diarra is going to have a better outside shot than Scott will unless Scott can add some loft.
Obviously skill level will play a big part in who plays but outside of that Cronin is always interested in who can pick up the scheme, has a great attitude, and work ethic. You can get minutes if you just show you are dedicated.

Nsoseme just strikes me as a very hard worker and motivated. Obviously he lacks some skill but can probably be brought along fairly quickly if he's willing to put in the work. Some of Diarras tweets lead me to believe he has a similar outlook on work ethic. I think he said something to the effect "how hard do you work when nobody else is watching?"

I assume both are pretty smart guys but I don't know for sure. I could see both being big contributors by the time they are juniors...but not sure about this year or next.

We could use a guy with a skill set already developed IMO.
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Old 08-01-2017, 09:50 AM   #583
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Originally Posted by waterhead View Post
I really think we have a solid core to work with at the 4 and 5 spots next year. I would still like to see one more addition of a guy who can score (if there are any out there) but we have a good start. If we don't get an offensive guy I would think we might see more small ball than we have recently.

I also hope our current bunch can make strides with their skills.

I expect Brooks to man the post and Nsoseme is looking like he could be a beast with his work ethic and motor. I don't mind that he can't score a lot but if he can provide everything else we should be good to go.

It will be interesting to see who steps up at the 4 between Scott and Diarra. I don't think Diarra will be ready this year but by next year I hope we can see him develop into a starter. I think Diarra is going to have a better outside shot than Scott will unless Scott can add some loft.
i don't get why you have so many doubts about Diarra. All reports concerning him are positive. Plus, he had some VERY good options for school. I feel like he may be more ready than you think.

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Old 08-01-2017, 01:23 PM   #584
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i don't get why you have so many doubts about Diarra. All reports concerning him are positive. Plus, he had some VERY good options for school. I feel like he may be more ready than you think.
I don't have that many doubts about him but we will have some big shoes to fill next year when Washington and Clark leave. My doubts are only in terms of how good the replacements will be compared to what we are losing really.

I think he will be our best 4 next year. But I think we are going to need offensive production out of the 4 or the 5 to remain an elite team unless we option for small ball.

It will be hard to put Brooks and Diarra out there as starters all year if neither is a decent threat offensively. We have seen those lineups before. Our perimeter will see all the defensive focus.
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:43 PM   #585
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I think Diarra and definitely K.Williams will be every bit as good as freshmen as Clark or Cumberland.
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:44 PM   #586
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I don't have that many doubts about him but we will have some big shoes to fill next year when Washington and Clark leave. My doubts are only in terms of how good the replacements will be compared to what we are losing really.

I think he will be our best 4 next year. But I think we are going to need offensive production out of the 4 or the 5 to remain an elite team unless we option for small ball.

It will be hard to put Brooks and Diarra out there as starters all year if neither is a decent threat offensively. We have seen those lineups before. Our perimeter will see all the defensive focus.
It's hard for me to see Brooks not being able to go for a minimum of 7-8 ppg in 18-19. The 4 spot is a much bigger question mark at the moment.

The AAC will see a big drop off in the quality of it's big men next season between UC and Wichita State graduating all that they do. If Tacko Fall enters the draft, that would be very significant too.

We could still very much be the team-to-beat in this league with big men who offensively average at best.
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:46 PM   #587
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Hot Take - the new Kevin Johnson is going to be Quadri, he will start every game and play the first 4 minutes of each half
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:58 PM   #588
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It's hard for me to see Brooks not being able to go for a minimum of 7-8 ppg in 18-19. The 4 spot is a much bigger question mark at the moment.

The AAC will see a big drop off in the quality of it's big men next season between UC and Wichita State graduating all that they do. If Tacko Fall enters the draft, that would be very significant too.

We could still very much be the team-to-beat in this league with big men who offensively average at best.
It would be hard for me to imagine anyone manning the post for starter minutes to go for any less than that. Just based on rebound put backs and lobs etc and the occasional actual offensive move.

Titus Rubles couldn't hit the ocean from the beach but he averaged 7.8 ppg and he didn't have a post move...basically because he played starter minutes he got some points.

I realize we have seen less production from certain players in the past in the post but I hope we are past that now. I think 7-8 ppg should be a minimum for just about any player getting close to 25 minutes...especially with the shot clock down 5 seconds from previous years.
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Old 08-02-2017, 07:53 AM   #589
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It would be hard for me to imagine anyone manning the post for starter minutes to go for any less than that. Just based on rebound put backs and lobs etc and the occasional actual offensive move.

Titus Rubles couldn't hit the ocean from the beach but he averaged 7.8 ppg and he didn't have a post move...basically because he played starter minutes he got some points.

I realize we have seen less production from certain players in the past in the post but I hope we are past that now. I think 7-8 ppg should be a minimum for just about any player getting close to 25 minutes...especially with the shot clock down 5 seconds from previous years.
With the exception of Tacko Fall, there wasn't a true center in the league last season that averaged above 8 ppg- and there were some pretty serviceable ones (Amida Brimah, Andre Washington, Ryan Smith- all seniors). I think 8 ppg is a reasonable benchmark for Brooks to hit in his first season of extended action.

The point I'm trying to make is that, we can get only 15 ppg from our starting 4 and 5 in 18-19 and still be able to average 75 ppg. South Carolina only got 16 ppg from their starting big men last season and they made the Final 4. Our 12-13 team had abysmal post players and still made the tournament out of the Big East.
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Old 08-02-2017, 09:07 AM   #590
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With the exception of Tacko Fall, there wasn't a true center in the league last season that averaged above 8 ppg- and there were some pretty serviceable ones (Amida Brimah, Andre Washington, Ryan Smith- all seniors). I think 8 ppg is a reasonable benchmark for Brooks to hit in his first season of extended action.

The point I'm trying to make is that, we can get only 15 ppg from our starting 4 and 5 in 18-19 and still be able to average 75 ppg. South Carolina only got 16 ppg from their starting big men last season and they made the Final 4. Our 12-13 team had abysmal post players and still made the tournament out of the Big East.
I am probably being a little too lofty in my expectations. You are probably right. I think Brooks was playing better and better as time went on and will be a serviceable starter by next year...perhaps even more than serviceable. If he can just work on 1 or 2 reliable offensive moves he could be very good.

We can run with 4 guards if we need to. As long as we have a great rebounder and defender down low we should be just fine...even at 8 ppg. It will put a little more pressure on our perimeter players but I think they can handle it.
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