We will win the Overall SEC Title in basketball.

[Hanmudog]

After witnessing firsthand how our guys looked at the scrimmage, I am convinced we are hands down the best in the SEC. Screw UK and Ole Miss. Our guard rotation of Bost, Stewart, and Turner is as good as anyone's. The three of them have the whole package. They are all good sized, can defend, and shoot it. Warren and White are no doubt very good but I am very confident that our guys can handle them. Inside, Jarvis is Jarvis but Osby and Augustus looked like new players. Both seemed much faster and aggressive than last year. Sidney would be a nice addition but if he does not bust his *** harder than he did Saturday then Stans won't be playing him anyway.
I just don't see UK beating us with a bunch of freshmen in key positions. They will probably drop several road games. This ain't C-USA for Calipari.

 

[Hanmudog]

After witnessing firsthand how our guys looked at the scrimmage, I am convinced we are hands down the best in the SEC. Screw UK and Ole Miss. Our guard rotation of Bost, Stewart, and Turner is as good as anyone's. The three of them have the whole package. They are all good sized, can defend, and shoot it. Warren and White are no doubt very good but I am very confident that our guys can handle them. Inside, Jarvis is Jarvis but Osby and Augustus looked like new players. Both seemed much faster and aggressive than last year. Sidney would be a nice addition but if he does not bust his *** harder than he did Saturday then Stans won't be playing him anyway.
I just don't see UK beating us with a bunch of freshmen in key positions. They will probably drop several road games. This ain't C-USA for Calipari.

 

[NutherT]

Here are my thoughts from the scrimmage:

1. Dee Bost is the most improved player on the team. His perimeter defense is sick. He will have a ton of breakaway layups off steals at the top of the key this year.
2. The three best players on the floor were Jarvis, Dee, and Phil Turner. Turner is just a damn good basketball player.
3. Osby has a level of confidence that he just didn't have last year. I think he's going to get a lot of minutes.
4. Ravern has been working on his handle a litte.
5. Not impressed at all with Sidney. We need his body and his 3-point stroke, but I don't think he could start for us if he weren't a blue-chip, must-start type player.
6. Watching Riek run is more fun than watching the game. He is more of a project than Big Feces. He looked really stupid moving the way he does, but he was somewhat effective, surprisingly enough.
7. Jarvis has improved his already-soft free throw stroke. He also hit a couple of 18 footers.
8. I still don't think Augustus is going to be a difference maker. Right now, Osby is more consistent and smarter. But without, Elgin, we need them both.
9. Shaun Smith was far worse than I expected him to be. He's just a true freshman, but I'm not sure what it is that he is going to bring to the table.
10. Wendell Lewis is going to be really good. He's built like a brick house, runs the floor well, and has a good motor. Like I said a couple of weeks ago, he has the potential to be a Lawrence Roberts/Erwin Dudley.
11. Barry Stewart is still Barry Stewart.

 

[mstatefan88]

But I do think that we are the best team in the SEC. Besides Brian Johnson and the injuries to Twanny and Riley, we are returing like 97 percent of points scored and minutes played, which is unheard of today in college basketball.
1. I still think Kodi can be effective, and if he really did punch Sidney in the face, then I think that means Kodi is really working to get better. Or he punched him because he doesnt want Renardo to out lazy him, but I hope not.
2. I saw potential in Osby last year, but how can you improve that much during the year if you rarely play. I think another offseason has done him good and he should be effective at the 4 this year.
3.I think it would have really been beneficial to let Shaugnessy Smith redshirt this year, but with injuries to Riley and Twanny, he will pretty much be forced into action, because we cant keep Dee on the floor as much as we did last year.
4. We may have one of the deepest teams in the country this year, especially at the 2, 4, and 5. We should be a very good team this year.

 

[Coach34]

simply- loaded

 

[Hanmudog]

Personally, I don't care if we reach 30 wins as long as that last win puts us in the Elite Eight or so. Lewis was a big surprise at the scrimmage as well. I forgot to mention him.

 

[Coach34]

our only difference is that you think our coach can deliver it- there are no Mora excuses with the group he has this season

 

[Hanmudog]

I will actually enjoy it along the way instead of bitching nonstop and waiting for us to fail.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I think we can challenge for the West if some players progress as I hope, but as it stands now you have the most talent overall. I'll take Terrico over almost any player in the SEC, there's a reason he's a top 10 projected pick, and if Warren is healthy, that's as good as it gets for a backcourt this year. Add in EP and others and our backcourt is tough. But obviously JV and the rest of your frontcourt brings a dimension we simply don't have.

 

[fishwater99]

Hanmudog[/b]]I just don't see UK beating us with a bunch of freshmen in key positions. They will probably drop several road games. This ain't C-USA for Calipari.

Well they will be starting two freshman, but they still have Paterson, Miller, & Stevenson. Wall's eligibility is still in question like Sidney.

Stans has to produce this year and I see no reason why we can't win the SEC and make the Sweet 16.

 

[Hanmudog]

White is going to be a good one. It remains to be seen how well Warren will come back from injury. A guy his size cannot afford to lose even half a step in quickness. The thing about Bost, Stewart, and Turner is that they can all play defense and will stay up in White and Warren's grill enough to neutralize them to a degree. Our front court will kill Ole Miss defensively and on the boards.
The biggest question I would have as an Ole Miss fan would be if Warren and WHite can play together in the back court. Both are shoot first point guards. As we saw with Jamont Gordon, that can be a bad thing at times.

 

[Lion O]

The thing about Bost, Stewart, and Turner is that they can all play defense and will stay up in White and Warren's grill enough to neutralize them to a degree.

Huh? Terrico had 18 and 21 points in a win and a loss, respectively, against MSU last year.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

and he played shooting guard for the national team, and supposedly is doing great at the two guard. So you certainly can't call him a shoot first point guard. He never planned on playing point, and says he is happy not doing it. But your guards couldn't shut White down even without Warren last year, so I don't see how they will with him on the court. I do agree about Warren's quickness, and that is a concern, though Kennedy says he's 100% now. I want to see it first as well. And we got EP back to be that hardcore perimeter defender.

I think defensive rebounding will be our biggest weakness. We should be ok on the offensive glass, but the defensive side worries me. Bucker should help a good bit, and Terrance Henry is SUPPOSEDLY showing why he was a high rated recruit. But these reasons are why I have y'all ahead of us now.

 

[Hanmudog]

On 13 for 30 shooting. It is not like he lit us up. That is 43% for you math majors. I do agree about White playing out of position last season however. He should be more comfortable at the two spot.

 

[Xenomorph]

When you despise a coach, you should berate him in the pre-seasons when he doesn't have the talent to win. But, in a pre-season such as now when he has the talent to compete you should post that you predict us to win the SEC and that our talent level is unmatched. Make no mention of his coaching skills whatsoever, positive or negative. Ignore coaching completely for the time being. It lets people forget you are biased.

Then, with the first loss of the season, get out a club and go to work.

From there, simply hope the conference losses mount to where we're out of the championship race by the final 4 games. That's when you make hay. Two weeks of high living.

You'll be able to say things like "When I predicted we'd win the SEC I just thought there was no way even Stansbury could screw this up."

By ridiculing Stansbury's coaching ability now, you're reducing your effectiveness and in all likelihood, your happiness, later on.

 

[RebelBruiser]

On 13 for 30 shooting. It is not like he lit us up. That is 43% for you math majors. I do agree about White playing out of position last season however. He should be more comfortable at the two spot.

The kicker with White is that he's one of those players that is open even when you are in his face. That's why he's going to be a high draft pick. Supposedly he's grown an inch and is now 6-6. He's got such a quick release, and he actually uses his 40 inch vertical on his jump shot.

He didn't start to figure out until late in the season what he could really do on the perimeter, but I saw him at least twice in our SEC tourney game go down with a man in his face, dribble to the 3 point line and hit a 3 over UK's best perimeter defender. Shooting well is one thing. Being able to get your shot whenever you want it is another.

My biggest question with us after the development of the front court is how our backcourt will mesh. Graham is really the only player that's played with both Gaskins/Warren/Polynice and White/Bogan. The dynamic of who fits what roles and how they play together is a big question. You're almost bringing two separate back courts together and trying to find the right combinations out of the two.

 

[38843dawg]

we have Barry Stewart at the 2 spot and they have Terrico White. I wouldn't trade Turner for Polyniece due to Turner being a better scorer, both are good defenders, and Turner rebounds the ball like he is 6'8". I am probably in the minority here but I wouldn't trade Bost for Warren either mainly being that Bost fits our team perfectly and is just pretty damn good. Both however a excellent players. But like other have posted, OM's downfall is going to be their post play. Losing Malcolm White is going to really hurt OM, because he really came into his own at the end of last year. OM will probably put some pressure on us for the West Title this year, but their guards are not going to be able to win them every game.

 

[Hanmudog]

For our team I agree there is no way I take Warren over Bost. Bost is bigger and a much better defender. Bost can also score when needed but we don't need a 20ppg guy at the point. I think anyone with a brain would take White over Barry but Phil Turner is damn near indispensable for us now.

 

[lawdawg02]

The kicker with White is that he's one of those players that is open even when you are in his face. That's why he's going to be a high draft pick. Supposedly he's grown an inch and is now 6-6. He's got such a quick release, and he actually uses his 40 inch vertical on his jump shot.

white really elevates on his jumper. i remember watching him down the stretch last year and noticing that exact thing during the uk game. a player who can do that off the dribble is basically unguardable, especially if he has some outside range, which white has (and has probably improved).

on paper, you'd be foolish to say that um has a better overall team than msu, simply because we have a legitimate front court. when we play each other this year, i expect a very tough game. i also expect y'all to lose some that you should win if your front court doesn't show up, because guard play alone can be streaky. hopefully our team is well-rounded enough to avoid that.

 

[RebelBruiser]

The kicker with White is that he's one of those players that is open even when you are in his face. That's why he's going to be a high draft pick. Supposedly he's grown an inch and is now 6-6. He's got such a quick release, and he actually uses his 40 inch vertical on his jump shot.

white really elevates on his jumper. i remember watching him down the stretch last year and noticing that exact thing during the uk game. a player who can do that off the dribble is basically unguardable, especially if he has some outside range, which white has (and has probably improved).

on paper, you'd be foolish to say that um has a better overall team than msu, simply because we have a legitimate front court. when we play each other this year, i expect a very tough game. i also expect y'all to lose some that you should win if your front court doesn't show up, because guard play alone can be streaky. hopefully our team is well-rounded enough to avoid that.

Definitely agree. Our inexperience in the front court is the reason you'll be preseason No. 1 in the West and we'll be No. 2.

And you would be right. We do have enough perimeter players that we should be able to find a hot hand somewhere most games, and we should be able to negate some of the dry spells simply with our ability to get to the rim with guys like Graham, Polynice, Warren, Holloway, and White, but the lack of rebounding will likely hurt us along the way unless we have some young guys step up a lot in the front court.

 

[alabamadog]

Turner started out badly too.</p>

 

[rem101]

Not trying to flame, just asking because I have no idea, and obviously warren, white, and polynice can't play the entire games.

 

[38843dawg]

Will Bogan being one from the PG position and Gaskins (unless they go to a four gurad lineup in which he will probably start then). And if I am not mistaken Terrance Henry can actually come in and play the 3 spot.</p>