Starting line up predictions:

Quote from: crgreen on October 04, 2012, 10:16:27 AM

Quote from: Poison on October 03, 2012, 09:43:23 PM

Quote from: crgreen on October 03, 2012, 08:56:26 PM

Quote from: Poison on October 03, 2012, 08:19:01 PM

Quote from: Marillac on October 03, 2012, 07:58:14 PM

Quote from: kob24 on October 03, 2012, 10:31:56 AM

Greene Harrison Sanchez Sampson Chris. Anyone wants to put some money up

Garrett will be in there...I seriously doubt Obekpa starts, but I'd never bet on a Lavin starting lineup. 

Garrett really improved as the season wore on, but this is also a guy who played baseball this summer. As cool as that is, I don't see how he could get much better without practicing, but to his credit he's already good, so he's got to be considered. Like Dom, he's got to work on a mid range game, 3 point shooting and free throw shooting.

He's a year older, a year stronger, a year more mature - and he did spend the summer surrounded by professional athletes and an entire professional coaching and training organization, outside the ridiculous limits imposed by the NCAA on training and coaching.   While not basketball specific thats certainly a plus,  I think our staff can convert the positives of all that into significant improvement over last year in the coming weeks and months before BE play begins...

That's all well and good, but you get better with practice. That's how it works, yes?

Serious answer - the most improvement I've EVER seen in a player, 1st year to 2nd had amost NOTHING to to with practice or improvement of skills.  It was virtually ALL mental, emotional, and physical maturity over the course of that one year.   From a 7 pt 5 reb reserve, to two time NCAA player of the Year and STILL the best collegiate PF I've ever seen (and it's 42 years later)...

w/o looking it up, Maravich (1st choice) or Alcindor?

Sidney Wicks.  (Maravich was 43.8 pt, 7.5 rebs, 7 assists (unofficial)  his first year of college varsity, Alcindor 29pts 15.5 rebs his first year).

Greene
Harrison
Sampson
sanchez
obekpa

I like this lineup best.  I don't think Gift gets any more senior perks than Evans got under Lavin and he's not versatile enough to play forward.  Might as well start the new front court early and adjust as needed.  When Branch is activated the back court will change.  Amir and Pointer should come off the bench in the flow of the games and Felix and Marco will be specialists used as the score dictates.

Marco as the startin SG is not as far a stretch.
Somebody killin it at Taff.

Amir Garrett is the most balanced player we have on the roster.  He may not be the best in any single category, but he's right near the top in everything.  What really impressed me about Garrett (and Harrison as well) was his mental toughness and basketball IQ.  He was a remarkably controlled freshman with a very deliberate, aggressive style that just screams winner to me. 

I expect him to be right around 33% from deep, and that improved shot will open up more of his drives to the basket--an area he looked suprisingly strong in after he got his sea legs. 

People talk about Sanchez being a Brownlee type for us, what about this kid?  Same size, flashed good vision and passing skills, showed that he has the promise to be a 33% shooter next season from deep, hits the glass, guards well, blocks shots off the ball, and he can handle a bit in the open floor.

Agree. I was impressed with his BB IQ and the form of his jumper (shows potential for improvement)

Marco as the startin SG is not as far a stretch.
Somebody killin it at Taff.

The shooting guard has to be able to shoot. If DLo runs the offense that leaves Marco.

Quote from: Choz4Life on October 04, 2012, 12:37:30 PM

Marco as the startin SG is not as far a stretch.
Somebody killin it at Taff.

The shooting guard has to be able to shoot. If DLo runs the offense that leaves Marco.

IMO, no way Harrison should run the point, If Marco is busting arse, run him,Harrison and Greene out there.

1 Harrison
2 Phil
3 Amir
4 Sanchez
5 Chris


I think the starting lineup changes a lot during the course of the year

Marco will play a lot because he can handle, pass and more importantly shoot.  We will need his shooting stroke out there and that guarantees him decent minutes.  There will be lots of times when we need to out score opponents not just out-athlete them and keep their scoring low with pressu defense.  I've heard good things about Bourgault.  Might be a lot more valuable than any of us expected initially.

Quote from: Poison on October 04, 2012, 09:09:06 PM

Quote from: Choz4Life on October 04, 2012, 12:37:30 PM

Marco as the startin SG is not as far a stretch.
Somebody killin it at Taff.

The shooting guard has to be able to shoot. If DLo runs the offense that leaves Marco.

IMO, no way Harrison should run the point, If Marco is busting arse, run him,Harrison and Greene out there.

The problem is Greene isn't a very good point guard, and he isn't a very good shooter.

I bet Phil improves this year as a PG fill-in and off the ball scoring guard.  The beauty of our depth is that I think Lavs goes 10 deep at first, pressing and playing up-tempo, and letting guys EARN their PT.  Agree that starting lineup will probably change throughout the season until guys earn their place, a la 2010-2011.

Obekpa is getting a lot of love.  I really like the kid, and I think he can be a monster defensively in this zone in time, but the kid is a boy compared to some of the men on the roster.  Obekpa turned 17 this year, right?  Sanchez is 24 with two years of experience at JUCO and a few summers of playing with professionals in FIBA.  GG is 22 or so with three years of college experience. 

Obekpa is young and raw...I don't see more than a 10-15 mpg for him this year with all of the older and more polished kids ahead of him. 

Obekpa is getting a lot of love.  I really like the kid, and I think he can be a monster defensively in this zone in time, but the kid is a boy compared to some of the men on the roster.  Obekpa turned 17 this year, right?  Sanchez is 24 with two years of experience at JUCO and a few summers of playing with professionals in FIBA.  GG is 22 or so with three years of college experience. 

Obekpa is young and raw...I don't see more than a 10-15 mpg for him this year with all of the older and more polished kids ahead of him.

You really think a consensus top 70 recruit - a 6'9 GREAT shotbocker - is only going to get 10 minutes a game on a team that won only 14 games last year?  Wow.

Quote from: Marillac on October 05, 2012, 01:39:04 AM

Obekpa is getting a lot of love.  I really like the kid, and I think he can be a monster defensively in this zone in time, but the kid is a boy compared to some of the men on the roster.  Obekpa turned 17 this year, right?  Sanchez is 24 with two years of experience at JUCO and a few summers of playing with professionals in FIBA.  GG is 22 or so with three years of college experience. 

Obekpa is young and raw...I don't see more than a 10-15 mpg for him this year with all of the older and more polished kids ahead of him.

You really think a consensus top 70 recruit - a 6'9 GREAT shotbocker - is only going to get 10 minutes a game on a team that won only 14 games last year?  Wow.

In addition, he's our only real center.  He'll get lots of time as we will be facing plenty of teams with big guys in the post that need defending.  What Obekpa really needs is some muscle and coaching, both of which he's finally getting.  Playing him against guys like Cooley, Coleman, Gardner, Dieng and others is almost a requirement. 

There will be lots of times when we need to out score opponents

That's seems a sound strategy. I've noticed over the years that many successful teams take a similar approach.

Quote from: MCNPA on October 04, 2012, 10:51:09 PM

There will be lots of times when we need to out score opponents

That's seems a sound strategy. I've noticed over the years that many successful teams take a similar approach.

Lol, yes just meant not relying on our athleticism and defense to squeak by.  Meant to it to come across with emphasis on the outscore part.  Inflection doesn't come across well on the net or maybe I didn't convey properly.

Quote from: Marillac on October 05, 2012, 01:39:04 AM

Obekpa is getting a lot of love.  I really like the kid, and I think he can be a monster defensively in this zone in time, but the kid is a boy compared to some of the men on the roster.  Obekpa turned 17 this year, right?  Sanchez is 24 with two years of experience at JUCO and a few summers of playing with professionals in FIBA.  GG is 22 or so with three years of college experience. 

Obekpa is young and raw...I don't see more than a 10-15 mpg for him this year with all of the older and more polished kids ahead of him.

You really think a consensus top 70 recruit - a 6'9 GREAT shotbocker - is only going to get 10 minutes a game on a team that won only 14 games last year?  Wow.

I agree with Marillac.  I think the age and lack of experience will definitely be a big disadvantage for CO.  Gift will also seem like a different player with a full year of D1 ball under his belt.

Gift should start against the NJITs. He played great against the smaller opponents.

1 Harrison
2 Phil
3 Amir
4 Sanchez
5 Chris


I think the starting lineup changes a lot during the course of the year

I just can't see any circumstance where Sampson doesn't start.  It would be nice to have him more than one year but subbing for him rather than insulting him makes more sense to me. Sanchez and Obekpa might rate the same treatment depending on how they practice.  Amir and Dom are more known quantities with multi-position flexibility which will be more suited to off bench play.

Quote from: crgreen on October 05, 2012, 02:00:01 AM

Quote from: Marillac on October 05, 2012, 01:39:04 AM

Obekpa is getting a lot of love.  I really like the kid, and I think he can be a monster defensively in this zone in time, but the kid is a boy compared to some of the men on the roster.  Obekpa turned 17 this year, right?  Sanchez is 24 with two years of experience at JUCO and a few summers of playing with professionals in FIBA.  GG is 22 or so with three years of college experience. 

Obekpa is young and raw...I don't see more than a 10-15 mpg for him this year with all of the older and more polished kids ahead of him.

You really think a consensus top 70 recruit - a 6'9 GREAT shotbocker - is only going to get 10 minutes a game on a team that won only 14 games last year?  Wow.

I agree with Marillac.  I think the age and lack of experience will definitely be a big disadvantage for CO.  Gift will also seem like a different player with a full year of D1 ball under his belt.

Gift may also be a better player with some other size around him and playing much less minutes. If he played 18-20 minutes, I think his numbers per minute may be better than last year. One thing though that I noticed from last year, I think the game we play and superior athletes move a little quick for him. I think he fits better in a half court set despite the fact that he can run.  I would also like to see if he rebounds better.   

Greene and GG are backups, even if they improved from last year. If they're starting for most of the year or playing starter minutes then the team isnt going anywhere.

Theyll put up decent to good numbers against sub par opponents, but you dont want them both starting and playing starter minutes against the big east.

At most they should be getting 15 minutes a game.