22-23 Team Discussion

[TheRealMick]

Seemed he was trying keep JD happy and confident for moment. If he allows he play major minutes again next year with same liabilities, Wes is a horrible coach and should be fired. Now I believe it was all coach talk. If JD makes major strides next year and deserves major minutes that's music to all our ears. Without doubt JD is biggest X factor on team. It's hard for me see how we're good if JD doesn't play.

[TheRealMick]

Originally Posted by sirthought

Reed's shooting form seems in pretty good order compared to many high schoolers. He's got a nice high and quick release. And he'll need weight training, like everyone, but physically he's more ready to step in than many freshmen.

We need all the potential distance shooters on the floor as possible.

I'm pretty hopeful for this incoming class.

If Reed or Skillings have play over 10min game we're not winning many games.

[skyblade]

It definitely brings up the question of who isn't getting minutes, it sounds like Wes is going to have an open competition and may the best player win. Hopefully the locker room stays healthy when some guys who expect minutes end up as bench warmers.

Wes also talked a fair amount about improving shot selection. As I've he's got a lot of work to do (DDJ, Davenport, Ezikpe, Nolley) but if he can get it done that will go a long way.

Great to see Vik is having a great off-season. I think he is one of our most important players to improve.

I'm already on board with Davenport at 25+ minutes. He's our only proven reliable three point shooter. Hard to take the only three point shooter off the floor when you don't have any other guys who shoot it well from three.

Reed and Skillings could earn minutes if they can hit threes. Plus they bring a lot of length and athleticism. Remember Cumberland averaged almost 20 minutes as a freshman on a much better team. I think Reed will have an easier time of getting on the court early if he can knock down threes and he should have an easier time on the defensive end.

[sedziobs]

Originally Posted by waterhead

We all know JD can shoot a ball but apparently the liabilities aren't all that concerning to Wes which is also nice to know.

Did Wes actually say the liabilities aren't all that concerning? I'm with Skyblade that I don't expect much of a dropoff in minutes since Davenport is our best shooter, but I'm still very concerned about his defense as a 3/4 and rebounding as a 4.

He played 26 minutes last year, and I'd want him to be a little under that this year but definitely above 20. I'm ok with him playing 30 if none of our bigs show they can play the 4, but my hope is someone like Ody can expand their game which will make us a much better team than if JD is getting 30 minutes.

[sedziobs]

Originally Posted by skyblade

Remember Cumberland averaged almost 20 minutes as a freshman on a much better team.

It's crazy how little depth some of those teams had. Cumberland came off the bench as a freshman mostly to spell Kevin Johnson, but a sophomore Justin Jenifer was the only other guard he had to compete with for minutes.

This team is loaded with depth by comparison. I think a lot will depend on what the PG situation looks like. If Phinisee and MAW are getting 40 minutes combined, there will be a lot of guys fighting for 80 on the wings. Assuming Nolley and DDJ take at least 50 of those, there's only 30 left for Newman and the frosh. Things open up a lot if DDJ plays some PG.

[sirthought]

I'm not suggesting the frosh will start or play major minutes. But I won't be surprised if they get a shot to show what they can do, which doesn't happen for a lot of frosh.

If it is as many as 10 minutes a game, that's great experience for development. If it's five minutes a game, that's great. Faith in development.

We haven't seen them play D1 players, so it's premature to say anything.

But as was mentioned before, Reed has a good athletic body with length. He can play defense for a few series. And if he and Skillings and Davenport are all on the floor, we might have an opportunity to realistically stretch a defense and get movement to work for us.

[skyblade]

We have a lot of depth, but little (if any) high end talent. There are minutes available anywhere for a top level guy.

If Vik, Hensley, Skillings or Reed can play at a high level, there's no one to keep them off the court.

DDJ, Newman, Davenport and Nolley are quality players at the AAC level but they all have major flaws in their game that would make them at best quality bench guys (and quite possibly not even that) if you move them to a high-level blue blood (say UCLA, because they are the high-level team I've watched the most).

[sedziobs]

Originally Posted by skyblade

We have a lot of depth, but little (if any) high end talent. There are minutes available anywhere for a top level guy.

If Vik, Hensley, Skillings or Reed can play at a high level, there's no one to keep them off the court.

DDJ, Newman, Davenport and Nolley are quality players at the AAC level but they all have major flaws in their game that would make them at best quality bench guys (and quite possibly not even that) if you move them to a high-level blue blood (say UCLA, because they are the high-level team I've watched the most).

Well yeah, if Skillings is playing like a lottery pick he needs to be on the court as much as possible. But it's likely he won't be as productive or efficient as DDJ, Nolley, and Newman in hist first year. All four of those guys look to be fighting over the same 80 minutes. I don't see why the blue-blood comparison is relevant. We should have our best players on the court for 25+ minutes a game no matter how good we are relative to other teams.

The 4/5 are up for grabs, so there are minutes available for anyone who shows improvement.

[skyblade]

Originally Posted by sedziobs

Well yeah, if Skillings is playing like a lottery pick he needs to be on the court as much as possible. But it's likely he won't be as productive or efficient as DDJ, Nolley, and Newman in hist first year. All four of those guys look to be fighting over the same 80 minutes. I don't see why the blue-blood comparison is relevant. We should have our best players on the court for 25+ minutes a game no matter how good we are relative to other teams.

The 4/5 are up for grabs, so there are minutes available for anyone who shows improvement.

We should play our best players, but it's not unthinkable Reed/Skillings or even Hensley/Ody could be one of our 5 best players.

The comparison point is that our projected top players (DDJ, Newman, Nolley, Davenport) really aren't that good. We don't have a Gary Clark/Jacob Evans type who is good to great in all facets of the game. None of our starters have the potential to be even borderline NBA guys (unless Vik starts at the 5).

If Skillings/Reed/Hensley can come in, shoot 35+% from three, play quality defense and rebound well that's likely enough to start taking minutes from almost anyone on the team.

[waterhead]

Originally Posted by sedziobs

Did Wes actually say the liabilities aren't all that concerning? I'm with Skyblade that I don't expect much of a dropoff in minutes since Davenport is our best shooter, but I'm still very concerned about his defense as a 3/4 and rebounding as a 4.

He played 26 minutes last year, and I'd want him to be a little under that this year but definitely above 20. I'm ok with him playing 30 if none of our bigs show they can play the 4, but my hope is someone like Ody can expand their game which will make us a much better team than if JD is getting 30 minutes.

I think the actual quote was something to the effect of Wes is expecting for or hoping for a big jump coming from JD.

Getting better looks from 3 could be one way but it could also mean working on D or working on post ups, driving, etc. Who knows.