I would like to see your lineup.
I'm also interested in seeing Jelavic or MoD play center.
I think a lineup with Aberdeen, Oweh, Chandler, Kam, and Dioubate could pressure teams to death, run in transition, attach the paint, and hit shots. They'd have to emphasize rebounding due to size but they're an athletic bunch.
In general I hope Pope will shorten the rotation. We're playing 10 guys right now, and we have two starters out hurt. Surely we're not planning to play 12 guys if/when everyone is active... so just cut the rotation now and let's go. It's not like we're playing so fast and aggressively that we really need the deep bench to sustain our intensity.
- Noah gave nothing tonight, he shouldn't be getting the ball off of zoom handoffs, he gets swallowed up. He should be running around the perimeter getting open for kick-outs, and looking for backdoor cuts. Fewer minutes please.
- Garrison can't put together three (two?) good possessions in a row. He doesn't rebound or protect the rim well for his size or position. He doesn't seem comfortable with the ball up top in the zoom action, he just can't read those situations well. Occasionally he makes a good pass, but mostly it's just a clunky series of handoffs with three defenders crowding the action. I'm not really impressed by his defense this year like I thought I would be. We should run some lob plays for him so that our guards get practice throwing lobs for when JQ is back. Fewer minutes please.
- Jelavic is intriguing and could be a good piece, but right now he's just not (tonight: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists). Fewer minutes please.
- Jasper Johnson is coming around. Fewer dumb shots, more passing. And he's probably the quickest guy on the team while Lowe is out. Somebody needs to be able to beat their man and draw a second defender on the drive, and right now JJ seems like the best bet. More minutes please.
- Aberdeen has arguably been our best player so far. I don't think a team with Aberdeen as its best player is a real threat. Also, why are his threes either nothing-but-net or airballs? Minutes seem about right, he should probably play the most at least while Lowe is out, and I think he does.
- Oweh played okay tonight, not great, not terrible. This should basically be his baseline. He's not getting as many transition opportunities as last year, and settling for jump shots way too often. Fewer minutes, but I still want him out there, because we need him to get his mojo back.
- Kam: I continue to believe the best version of this team involves Kam Williams playing a lot. Long and athletic, smart, good shooter, good defender. He was +11 vs Louisville, by far the best on the team, and a 0+/- tonight, which again was the best on the team. Way more minutes please.
- Chandler has been great, he's not going to lead the team in points but he shows up every game. He probably would get more minutes but it seems like he's in foul trouble most games, lol.
- Moreno is a pleasant surprise. Limited, basically a below-the-rim player despite being 7ft tall. I'd still give him more of Garrison's minutes.
- Dioubate is playing fine, I guess? I don't feel strongly about anything he's done really, I thought his impact would be more prominent. That's probably why he's the last guy I'm commenting on... I thought he would be like Adou, or Liggins, where the tenor of the game changes when he comes in. About the right number of minutes, but try him out at the 5.
I'm not giving up on this team or coach like some on the board seem to be doing tonight. Not criticizing anyone for how they feel right now, I'm just not there personally. Pope has an opportunity to show he can pull the right strings, right the ship, and turn a talented group of players into a team that plays together and knows how to win. This isn't his typical roster and I'm willing to accept he needs more time to figure it out than usual. With that said it's an expensive roster, maybe the most expensive in CBB, and that makes figuring it out an imperative.
We have four more big-time games before conference play, and anything less than 3-1 in those four games and there will be a lot of pessimism in the fanbase. And, please, no more 17 point first half deficits...
