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Old 01-09-2018, 10:48 AM   #1
jacobkdoyle
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Future Team

This has been a topic of conversation that has popped up in various threads, so I figured we may want a thread specifically for it.

I'm not nearly as concerned as many. But I also like Scott and Brooks. I think people have been too hard on them. They are both underclassmen bench big men. It isn't necessary for them to go out and have monster lines. Last year was the very base level of just getting them in the game to see if they can hold their own. This year both have been in the flow of the team more on the offensive end. I don't know if there's a stat, or a variation of it, where you can see how many passes guys receive over 40 minutes but I'd bet both of them have increased. Scott just isn't a high usage guy aka play finisher. I don't have any issue with that. And that's even talking with Clark and Washington gone. Brooks has a decent hook and should continue to progress. When he can position deeper in the paint and keep the ball high, that's a pretty high % play for us. He is shooting 62% at the rim...which actually should continue to improve as he gets older, stronger, and has more of a role as a post presence. If we go to athletic lineups 1-4 (which all of them are) Brooks could be a play finisher as our main post option. But other guys will have a chance to be high usage players as well bc our bigs will have so much mobility. All of them can get up and down the floor and all of them can get out to screen without much of a problem. That will help Broome and Williams a lot. Scott won't be a lane clogger. He'll be in the high post working handoffs and popping back behind the 3 pt line to hopefully give the open look a try or keep the ball moving with his length and vision to see over the defense. Or he can even slip a screen and dunk right on someone. Evans, Moore, and anyone else who is going to be shooting 3s will also benefit from having a more open lane with drivers. Our offense may look a little different. Might be more of a screen heavy drive and kick sort of look, but you can have a lot of success against college defenses by putting them in quick decision situations. We'll obviously dearly miss Clark and Washington at times, and probably more early in the season next year, but the beat will move on. Other guys will fill in to new roles. Brooks and Scott will have a chance to put up better stat lines with more regular time. Right now they're just kind of wildcards...like most college bench players. If you can get something extra out of them, it's a bonus. I just look at Kansas, since I live out here, and they have Mitch Lightfoot as their only backup big. 3* SO PF who is very inconsistent. They have Malik Newman, 5* transfer from Mississippi State...he's falling out of the rotation almost bc he's just not producing. But that means Marcus Garrett starts for them. Sometimes he just puts up nothing. BC he's a FR. Even at Kansas. Point is, these "problems" aren't unique to us. Most schools don't just have 6'8" and taller grown ass men they can bring in off the bench. As far as that goes, Scott and Brooks and Nsoseme aren't that bad. I mean, those guys are never just getting totally abused in the paint. So it's just kind of how our program works. Guys in their 3rd and 4th years know the ropes and there's a pretty high floor there. If anyone is so concerned that they want to bet me on whether we make the tournament or not regardless of whether we add any more bigs or not, you know where to find me. We'll be just fine. We are a well-oiled machine of a program at this point. The pride of the C Paw runs strong in our locker room.

Also, Diarra has the highest usage on the team. He can put the ball in the hoop. If he plays 15 minutes a game next year, he could average 7 ppg.
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Old 01-09-2018, 11:11 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jacobkdoyle View Post
This has been a topic of conversation that has popped up in various threads, so I figured we may want a thread specifically for it.

I'm not nearly as concerned as many. But I also like Scott and Brooks. I think people have been too hard on them. They are both underclassmen bench big men. It isn't necessary for them to go out and have monster lines. Last year was the very base level of just getting them in the game to see if they can hold their own. This year both have been in the flow of the team more on the offensive end. I don't know if there's a stat, or a variation of it, where you can see how many passes guys receive over 40 minutes but I'd bet both of them have increased. Scott just isn't a high usage guy aka play finisher. I don't have any issue with that. And that's even talking with Clark and Washington gone. Brooks has a decent hook and should continue to progress. When he can position deeper in the paint and keep the ball high, that's a pretty high % play for us. He is shooting 62% at the rim...which actually should continue to improve as he gets older, stronger, and has more of a role as a post presence. If we go to athletic lineups 1-4 (which all of them are) Brooks could be a play finisher as our main post option. But other guys will have a chance to be high usage players as well bc our bigs will have so much mobility. All of them can get up and down the floor and all of them can get out to screen without much of a problem. That will help Broome and Williams a lot. Scott won't be a lane clogger. He'll be in the high post working handoffs and popping back behind the 3 pt line to hopefully give the open look a try or keep the ball moving with his length and vision to see over the defense. Or he can even slip a screen and dunk right on someone. Evans, Moore, and anyone else who is going to be shooting 3s will also benefit from having a more open lane with drivers. Our offense may look a little different. Might be more of a screen heavy drive and kick sort of look, but you can have a lot of success against college defenses by putting them in quick decision situations. We'll obviously dearly miss Clark and Washington at times, and probably more early in the season next year, but the beat will move on. Other guys will fill in to new roles. Brooks and Scott will have a chance to put up better stat lines with more regular time. Right now they're just kind of wildcards...like most college bench players. If you can get something extra out of them, it's a bonus. I just look at Kansas, since I live out here, and they have Mitch Lightfoot as their only backup big. 3* SO PF who is very inconsistent. They have Malik Newman, 5* transfer from Mississippi State...he's falling out of the rotation almost bc he's just not producing. But that means Marcus Garrett starts for them. Sometimes he just puts up nothing. BC he's a FR. Even at Kansas. Point is, these "problems" aren't unique to us. Most schools don't just have 6'8" and taller grown ass men they can bring in off the bench. As far as that goes, Scott and Brooks and Nsoseme aren't that bad. I mean, those guys are never just getting totally abused in the paint. So it's just kind of how our program works. Guys in their 3rd and 4th years know the ropes and there's a pretty high floor there. If anyone is so concerned that they want to bet me on whether we make the tournament or not regardless of whether we add any more bigs or not, you know where to find me. We'll be just fine. We are a well-oiled machine of a program at this point. The pride of the C Paw runs strong in our locker room.

Also, Diarra has the highest usage on the team. He can put the ball in the hoop. If he plays 15 minutes a game next year, he could average 7 ppg.
I am not sleeping on Ellie or Diara. Ellie is a grown ass man and Diara is a legit stretch 4 with shooting and blocking ability. Ellie can guard better than any big we have now IMO if he knew the system well enough. Diara can shoot and block better than Scott. I don't expect the reigns to be just handed over. Diara is going to have to learn what a good shot is.

Brooks and Scott have been in the system but I could see a legit split with either of them with Ellie and Diara with one more year of work. Brooks has a nice jump hook...Scott knows what is being asked of him. The only thing holding the other two back is experience and coaching.

Still think we need to get a big in this recruiting class....maybe two.
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Old 01-09-2018, 11:34 AM   #3
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None of the bigs have any offensive game to them. really hard to score with just 3 competent offensive players. I think you could get by with 1 of them at a time, but having to fill both positions is gonna be rough. If JJ, Brooks and Scott are in, how on earth do we score any points? If we dont bring in a transfer it will be the worst front court since the Adam H days.

Diarra is farther off than just 1 offseason.
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Old 01-09-2018, 11:52 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cincrulz11 View Post
None of the bigs have any offensive game to them. really hard to score with just 3 competent offensive players. I think you could get by with 1 of them at a time, but having to fill both positions is gonna be rough. If JJ, Brooks and Scott are in, how on earth do we score any points? If we dont bring in a transfer it will be the worst front court since the Adam H days.

Diarra is farther off than just 1 offseason.
You might be right but Diara can stroke a 3 and there is little doubt his reach is going to result in a lot more blocks. If he can play D like Scott I don't think there is much of a question really. So we have to figure that part out. Scott isn't a stretch 4 nor is he a low block player. That is a HUGE problem on offense. Scott is Justin Jackson for 3 years minus his transition to low block. WE don't need Diara to score low block...but we can use his outside shot. Scott doesn't really have an outside shot.
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Old 01-09-2018, 12:05 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by waterhead View Post
You might be right but Diara can stroke a 3 and there is little doubt his reach is going to result in a lot more blocks. If he can play D like Scott I don't think there is much of a question really. So we have to figure that part out. Scott isn't a stretch 4 nor is he a low block player. That is a HUGE problem on offense. Scott is Justin Jackson for 3 years minus his transition to low block. WE don't need Diara to score low block...but we can use his outside shot. Scott doesn't really have an outside shot.
Bottom line. I think Ellie will defend and rebound better than Brooks. The overall offense I think will be marginal for Brooks. I think Diara will be a better blocker and 3 point shooter than Scott...the overall defense will be marginal for Scott.

As of right now...I like the combination of Ellie and Diara. But I want to see another big in this recruiting class.
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Old 01-09-2018, 12:10 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cincrulz11 View Post
None of the bigs have any offensive game to them. really hard to score with just 3 competent offensive players. I think you could get by with 1 of them at a time, but having to fill both positions is gonna be rough. If JJ, Brooks and Scott are in, how on earth do we score any points? If we dont bring in a transfer it will be the worst front court since the Adam H days.

Diarra is farther off than just 1 offseason.
Brooks will be fine in 1 on 1 post situations if he can get to a quick move. And I think Scott will take and make more jumpshots, including 3s. But most importantly, we'll have Evans, Cumberland, and Broome to score. And hopefully Williams and Moore become more consistent. We could have a 3 amigos type situation like with Cash, SK, and Parker. I see Scott thriving in advanced stats if he's a glue guy around a core of legit offensive guards.
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Old 01-09-2018, 12:12 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waterhead View Post
You might be right but Diara can stroke a 3 and there is little doubt his reach is going to result in a lot more blocks. If he can play D like Scott I don't think there is much of a question really. So we have to figure that part out. Scott isn't a stretch 4 nor is he a low block player. That is a HUGE problem on offense. Scott is Justin Jackson for 3 years minus his transition to low block. WE don't need Diara to score low block...but we can use his outside shot. Scott doesn't really have an outside shot.
Did you not see that jumped he stroked just inside the 3pt line at the top of the key?
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Old 01-09-2018, 12:13 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waterhead View Post
Bottom line. I think Ellie will defend and rebound better than Brooks. The overall offense I think will be marginal for Brooks. I think Diara will be a better blocker and 3 point shooter than Scott...the overall defense will be marginal for Scott.

As of right now...I like the combination of Ellie and Diara. But I want to see another big in this recruiting class.
I think the idea of the difference in defense from Scott to Diarra being marginal is extremely generous to Diarra.

I'll bet you anything next year Scott plays way more than Diarra and Brooks plays more than Nososeme, but by not as much.
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Old 01-09-2018, 12:13 PM   #9
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You might be right but Diara can stroke a 3 and there is little doubt his reach is going to result in a lot more blocks. If he can play D like Scott I don't think there is much of a question really. So we have to figure that part out. Scott isn't a stretch 4 nor is he a low block player. That is a HUGE problem on offense. Scott is Justin Jackson for 3 years minus his transition to low block. WE don't need Diara to score low block...but we can use his outside shot. Scott doesn't really have an outside shot.
would like to see Diarra 5- 8 min a game this year and maybe fire up a few threes.
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Old 01-09-2018, 12:17 PM   #10
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I think the idea of the difference in defense from Scott to Diarra being marginal is extremely generous to Diarra.

I'll bet you anything next year Scott plays way more than Diarra and Brooks plays more than Nososeme, but by not as much.
Scott will be in year 4 and has gone against Clark and Washington in practice this whole time. He's a pretty reliable defender. He gets his hands on the ball a lot. I'd bet he leads the team or his damn close in deflections/40 minutes. He's also filled out over his time here. I'm not sure Diarra could hold up as well banging in the paint. I think Diarra will be brought along slowly and the trend of counting on older guys will continue.
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