Annual 200 thread
- Thread starter xxxbobxxx
- Start date
Couple of notes:
- Watching Tre's film, he's much more used to guarding bigger players (likely the 4) so I really doubt he plays guard. Staff seems really high on him though I'd guess he a Day 1 starter.
- Unless Jello has a breakout no one has reported yet, I'd expect Reid or Green to be the 5th starter (I personally think it will be Reid)
- Cade has a higher long-term ceiling physically but Kropp is more ready to play backup 5 from Day 1 so he'll get more time this year. There's definitely a chance Cade redshirts.
- You're missing Clayton. Unless you think the end of last year was a mirage, that would mean KJ or Reid needs to be on the court at all times to be the primary ballhandler. He probably eats into Mullins' time here
- Watching Tre's film, he's much more used to guarding bigger players (likely the 4) so I really doubt he plays guard. Staff seems really high on him though I'd guess he a Day 1 starter.
- Unless Jello has a breakout no one has reported yet, I'd expect Reid or Green to be the 5th starter (I personally think it will be Reid)
- Cade has a higher long-term ceiling physically but Kropp is more ready to play backup 5 from Day 1 so he'll get more time this year. There's definitely a chance Cade redshirts.
- You're missing Clayton. Unless you think the end of last year was a mirage, that would mean KJ or Reid needs to be on the court at all times to be the primary ballhandler. He probably eats into Mullins' time here
Plenty of smoke around KJ and Green, who are also second-year guys.
Brooks and Nick had breakout years as Juniors. Both averaged ~8 ppg in their sophomore years.
I agree with the Reid/Green comment. Martinelli is our best 3pt returning shooter at just 33% on a mere 96 attempts in 33 games. Unless guys like KJ, Mullins and Jello make a quantum leap in their 30% 3 pt. conversion rates, we're gonna need Reid (36%) and/or Green (38%) on the floor. I don't see Nick making it more than a complimentary feature to his game.
Is anybody else seriously scared at the prospect of Paige getting in foul trouble or otherwise finding himself on the bench? It's not that I expect a lot from him this year. But what I see behind him looks like a serious problem to me. Especially in BIG 10 play.
GOUNUII
I guess it depends on how you define "break out" - agreed that neither Brooks or Nick were All B1G in their soph years, but during those second year campaigns, they established a floor of legit role player and made contributions on the statsheet while playing significant minutes.
With regards to Brooks, I'd argue he did break out his soph year (2023) - he played in 20 B1G games, played 62.4% of minutes in B1G and per kenpom, he qualified for top 20 among B1G players in ORtg, eFG%, TrueShooting, DReb%, and FTRate (and he was 21st in TORate). He also was kenpom in 3 MVP games (UIC, @Wisconsin, @OSU).
Martinelli's soph year (2024) was not as decorated in terms of individual achievements, but Nick played 70.5% of minutes during B1G play, and he was a solid 109.9 ORtg and put up 20.5%Shots. He also protected the ball well - only turned it over 8.7% of the time, despite being involved in 18.4% of possessions. He also pulled down 16.2% of the teams DRebs in B1G play (23rd individually).
Last year KJ logged 35.2% of B1G minutes, while Jello did 28.3%. If both are at 65-70% this year, that's a great sign.
Looking at B1G games, Nick went from 28.6% (10/35) from deep in '24, and improved to 29.9% (20/67). While it's promising that he ticked up a bit after doubling his attempts, I agree with the notion that this won't be a key pillar of his approach. If anything, he'll take 'em to keep the defense honest and open up space in the mid where he thrives.
I sure hope Max Green packed that shooting stroke in his luggage - Dude went 38.6% (68/176) last year, and went 45.5% (5/11) vs. Tier A+B oppo. Hoping that since he won't be the primary option, he'll have more space to hit from distance.
After Leach went down for the season and KJ started (and broke out), he shot 39.5% from 3 for the remainder of the season. He definitely can be at that level. I agree with you about Martinelli, although he is probably working on his 3 ball for NBA prospects, but the way he could help this team out the most is in passing. Run the offense through him in the post and kick out to shooters if the defense collapses.
Very excited for the season. Really feel like there’s no dead weight on this roster. Very bullish on KJ. He’s gonna be very good.