Starting lineup for 2009-2010

 With the glut of 2-3s this years, some players will be unhappy,no way around it.  I'll  go with this:

PG-  Boothe-  not much of a choice here
SG- Hardy- if the kid can shoot like they say, he needs major minutes. He does us no good coming off bench when were already down 10-15 points
SF-Mase- He's gonna start. Can't see Norm bringing off bench.
PF- Justin-  debated starting DJ here, need the size though
C- Evans- need the motor and rebounding

 6th man- DJ-  bring him off bench because he can play multiple positions. when all said in done will probably get starters minutes.
6th man b.   Horne- energy, energy. can suba little at pg as well.

Omari- Prob. odd man out in the numbers crunch. Hope he gets enough minutes to keep him happy and focused. Will be tough. Maybe he can play some point?

  Just my thoughts.

It's really a tough call because it seems like there is so much parity regarding talent. Boothe, Hardy, Mase, Burrell and Evans makes sense,
But is Hardy really going to do that much better than Horne?

Maybe we see Hardy and Horne with Hardy bringing it up. Horne isn't handling the point. If he could have, we wouldn't have used

PG - Boothe
SG - Horne
SF- Mason
PF - Kennedy  (Better rebounder than Burrell and only 2 inches shorter)
C - Evans

6th Man - Hardy
First big off bench - Burrell at the 4 and 5

Marillac, do you really think that Kennedy could be a four?
Burrell didn't have the season we hoped he would, but benching him for a guy that won't be able to defend half the bigs in the conference seems like a bad idea.

Someone who doesn't normally play down low might have to because we are so guard heavy, maybe Kennedy will get some burn inside, but I don't think he'll start there.

The message it would send would be too damaging.

Marillac, do you really think that Kennedy could be a four?
Burrell didn't have the season we hoped he would, but benching him for a guy that won't be able to defend half the bigs in the conference seems like a bad idea.

Someone who doesn't normally play down low might have to because we are so guard heavy, maybe Kennedy will get some burn inside, but I don't think he'll start there.

The message it would send would be too damaging.

No doubt in my mind Kennedy can play the four.  He rebounds the ball better than Burrell and he's strong enough to hold his own down there.  Look at the success Lazar had at Marquette last year and he was a 6'6 SF.

Randy Foye played PF at 6'4 for Nova and they almost won the NC.

You put your best five out there.  What good is a 6'8 PF if he gets five boards a game?  DJ would average no less than 8-9 if he got 30 mins at the four and those extra 3-4 rebounds could be 10 points on the scoreboard.

As for the message?  Rebound the f*cking basketball, Justin.  It's all about desire and who wants it more.  Rodman was 6'6 and dominated the glass in the NBA. 

I really don't think DJ sees the bench to start off the year. I think Mason will have to earn his spot back in the lineup. I also think Norm goes with defense first in the starting lineup and instant offense off the bench which is why Hardy will most definitely be coming off the bench.

I think the starting lineup will change on a game to game basis due to matchups. I wouldn't be surprised to see us go real small at times. There are endless possibilities which excites me and should excite Coach Roberts as well.

I think its safe to assume this

PG- Boothe
SG-
SF-
PF- Burrell
C- Evans

I think the rest is up for grabs but as of right now I'd put Horne and DJ in there.

Also I should note that I also wouldn't be surprised to see this lineup either...

PG- Boothe
SG- DJ
SF- Mason
PF- Burrell
C- Evans

Norm did plan on using Horne off the bench as a spark last season and that was his intended role. I'm not sure if this has changed due to Paris' breakout year last season. It will be fun to hear as the season comes near in August/September.

Lets not forget about Brownlee, PF

If it was me, Boothe would be the guy who had to earn his spot. I count one game where he played well, it was Seton Hall at Alumni Hall.

Horne and Kennedy were the two best players on the team, but Roberts added zero size so Burrell and Evans will be handed jobs regardless of whether or not they earned them. There simply isn't anyone else.

Mason Jr will start. Norm Roberts had a 5th year senior who in fairness is every bit as good as Kennedy and Horne, and he can hit the 3.

After playing two seasons with no veterans, Roberts is going to plays his experienced guys-at least at first.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see a lineup without a true PG:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy/Brownlee
Evans

or

Hardy
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee
Evans/Burrell

or the track meet version:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee

I wouldn't be surprised to see a lineup without a true PG:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy/Brownlee
Evans

or

Hardy
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee
Evans/Burrell

or the track meet version:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee

I think Evans needs to start no matter what

  We all also forgot about Rob Thomas! He and Brownlee are our  subs for the bigs (JB and Evans). Like Marillac said,  Nova  ran that 4 guard offense w/ Ray, Foye, Lowry, Nardi pretty well.  Difference is 3 of those guys were NBA 1st rounders.   Plus if you do that, you have to stay out of 1/2 court game which means press, press, press.
  Personally, i'd love to see Norm try it.

Nova had a 4 guard but they had 4 great guards.
Hopefully we'll have one in Hardy, and one promising freshman in Lawrence.

Brownlee is still a mystery. What position is he? I've seen listed as a pg.

Guys....

I think we have a squad this year where there may be a starting lineup that is consistent. However, that will not mean they will all get consistent minutes every game.

I think Norm will play who is playing well (or matching up well to the other players) that particular night.

For instance, if Horne is not hitting his shots... in comes Hardy. If Hardy is not hitting his, maybe its Omari.

If Boothe is not playing well... in comes Stith for mins. If he doesn't do well... we go big with Horne, Hardy, Kennedy, Omari and/or Brownlee brining up the rock.

Therefore, most of the guys are going to have to produce in the game if they want minutes that night.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a lineup without a true PG:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy/Brownlee
Evans

or

Hardy
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee
Evans/Burrell

or the track meet version:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee

You're clearly confusing Norm with someone who possesses the ability to think outside the box.

Quote from: Marillac on July 12, 2009, 01:42:37 PM

I wouldn't be surprised to see a lineup without a true PG:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy/Brownlee
Evans

or

Hardy
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee
Evans/Burrell

or the track meet version:

Hardy
Horne
Mason
Kennedy
Brownlee

You're clearly confusing Norm with someone who possesses the ability to think outside the box.

This will be Norms best and deepest team thus far, lets give him a chance with this roster before you count him out

this might be Norm's deepest team, but he struck out in landing a top flight point guard so we're left hoping that someone other than Boothe can take his job away.

That is this year's x-factor. We may be inproved in many areas but we need a big east point guard. It can be a scoring point guard, but that position has to be given to someone other than Boothe, or the rest is meaningless.

Nova had a 4 guard but they had 4 great guards.
Hopefully we'll have one in Hardy, and one promising freshman in Lawrence.

Brownlee is still a mystery. What position is he? I've seen listed as a pg.

Yes, but they also should have won the national championship that year if it wasn't for a HORRIBLE call in that UNC game.  We are not talking about that caliber of a team.  We are talking about slipping into the NCAA tournament AT BEST. 

Allan Ray is not even an NBA player.  Kyle Lowrey is a backup.  Let's not make it seem like they were three lottery picks.  Nardi didn't even get a sniff. 

That team also went:  6'0- 6'1-6'2-6'4.    we would be going 6'0-6'3-6'7-6'6  1-4.  It's not really four guards...it's three SF's.

Quote from: Poison on July 12, 2009, 02:02:13 PM

Nova had a 4 guard but they had 4 great guards.
Hopefully we'll have one in Hardy, and one promising freshman in Lawrence.

Brownlee is still a mystery. What position is he? I've seen listed as a pg.

Yes, but they also should have won the national championship that year if it wasn't for a HORRIBLE call in that UNC game.  We are not talking about that caliber of a team.  We are talking about slipping into the NCAA tournament AT BEST. 

Allan Ray is not even an NBA player.  Kyle Lowrey is a backup.  Let's not make it seem like they were three lottery picks.  Nardi didn't even get a sniff. 

That team also went:  6'0- 6'1-6'2-6'4.    we would be going 6'0-6'3-6'7-6'6  1-4.  It's not really four guards...it's three SF's.

  Lets not diminish how good those guys were at the college level either.  Foye-  BE player of the year.  Ray-  1st team all BE, and Lowry 2nd team.  Nardi was a poor mans devendorf.

  Just because a player doesn't excel at the next level doesn't mean they were not a great college player.  The greatest college basketball player i ever saw was Christian Laettner followed by Larry Johnson...case in point.

 

Quote from: Marillac on July 12, 2009, 04:10:52 PM

Quote from: Poison on July 12, 2009, 02:02:13 PM

Nova had a 4 guard but they had 4 great guards.
Hopefully we'll have one in Hardy, and one promising freshman in Lawrence.

Brownlee is still a mystery. What position is he? I've seen listed as a pg.

Yes, but they also should have won the national championship that year if it wasn't for a HORRIBLE call in that UNC game.  We are not talking about that caliber of a team.  We are talking about slipping into the NCAA tournament AT BEST. 

Allan Ray is not even an NBA player.  Kyle Lowrey is a backup.  Let's not make it seem like they were three lottery picks.  Nardi didn't even get a sniff. 

That team also went:  6'0- 6'1-6'2-6'4.    we would be going 6'0-6'3-6'7-6'6  1-4.  It's not really four guards...it's three SF's.

  Lets not diminish how good those guys were at the college level either.  Foye-  BE player of the year.  Ray-  1st team all BE, and Lowry 2nd team.  Nardi was a poor mans devendorf.

  Just because a player doesn't excel at the next level doesn't mean they were not a great college player.  The greatest college basketball player i ever saw was Christian Laettner followed by Larry Johnson...case in point.

Preaching to the choir on this one.  I think they were the best team in the country that year.  If not for a ridiculous ref-job on the final play, they would have beat UNC.

Lowrey was a great college player, but it just goes to show the gap that exists between the two levels.  We don't have to be anywhere near that level for all of the fans to be happy with our season.  The gap between a 1 seed that makes the Final Four and a 12 seed that just slips in can be enormous.