http://www.calihighsports.com/articles/140
These guys are at every WC event and have a very good relationship with Dinos.
A very good and thorough write-up on Pelle, Sleaveless One.
Every since Pelle came to the Johnnies Skills Camp back in June.... He's the "big man" I've wanted manning the middle for the Johnnies in 2011-2012. Hopefully, it'll come to fruition.
Me too, but ideally for the four- with a widebody or a 7'er manning the middle.
Glad you liked it.
#9 Kevin Johnson:
http://www.calihighsports.com/articles/137
#24 Cezar Guerrero:
http://www.calihighsports.com/articles/80
I'm not sure a wide body will fit what we are trying to do here. It's not like we are going to slow it down and grind it out. Norm's mistake was that he had a roster split between the two. He had guys like Paris or Ced that excel in a fast paced game and he had guys like Lawrence and Hamilton that were meant to play slow.
Frankly, I'm not sure what system or even style Lavin is planning on running here. Perhaps, he's mentioned it, but I've been away a lot. I assume he will bring what was generally successful at UCLA (although even there he adapted year-to-year to the personnel) with, perhaps, some concessions to the physical play of the Big East. Even in that Katz interview, they didn't really address it. Based upon the personnel that he's recruited, it certainly looks, long-term, like an uptempo system that takes advantage of wings that can slash and crash the boards, a low-turnover point guard that is looking to push it, yet can competently run a half-court offense and generate his own offense, and bigs that can run.
At his core, I think the strength of Pelle's game is his nearly freakish athleticism for his size. When motivated, he's a match-up problem on both sides. Since both Pelle and Sampson are, at best, lithe, I was hoping, based on his historical success in recruiting, that Coach Lavin might be able to land a mobile 6'10" + (say, Malcolm Gilbert-Pitt or Michael Chandler) or a mobile 6'8+" wide body (say, Kevin Johnson or Tyler Adams-type) in the middle to complement Pelle/Sampson on the low box. Pelle, long-term, is a potential pro 4 and Sampson, who is 6'7," fortunately recognizes that, if he ever becomes a pro, it'll be as a 3. With Harkless on board, either Sampson is out or Lavin can convince JS that he can coexist as a hybrid forward, which he played for the King James program, and get enough touches with Harkless on the opposite wing.