Who will be second in scoring?
- Thread starter SmellyCat
- Start date
Windham is the smart bet. I like Gelo as the sleeper. He has an explosiveness to him that I don’t recall since Drew Crawford. If the game slows down for him after a year in the system, could be big things coming very soon.
I hope he blows up (he had my vote), but there definitely needs to be a third scorer like Berry, who would be inconsistent but sometimes explode for like 20 points. I wonder if Green is that guy but I don’t know how much he’ll play.
and of course if it’s singleton then maybe we have a freshman star on our hands. Lots of good choices.
and of course if it’s singleton then maybe we have a freshman star on our hands. Lots of good choices.
It is sort of mixed. There is who is likely to be the #2 scorer and then who would you like to be the #2 scorer. Windham might be a logical pick and he is gonna get his, but what if it was Page? What would that mean for the team? Or one of the others?
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I gotta admit I'd much rather have two big scorers and six or seven guys who can put up 8 points a game consistently as support. Everybody is a threat is what I'm saying, double team Nick at your peril.
It was good to see Barnhizer getting playing minutes for the world champs.
I am. Thank you No Chores. Good to hear from you. I can't go to the games like I used to since I moved to West Palm. Hope you are still enjoying the D.R.
I think you're onto something here. Looks to me like we'll be at our best with Martinelli flanked by 6-7 different guys that can make shots and average anywhere from 8-12 points a game. That's something we've never seen in the nearly 50 years I've been following NU hoops. Too many times we've had at least one offensive liability on the floor. And how many players have we had off the bench who were a threat to fill it up. Berry comes to mind. Anybody else?
Opponents having to defend 5+ Wildcats could really open things up for some fun games this year. Especially if we make teams defend some fast break opportunities and everything in the half court from the lane to the outer reaches of the entire 3 point line. I think the player skill sets are there to make that happen. Sharp, confident ball movement will be the key.
GOUNUII
If there are 5+ players on the floor, the refs ain’t doing their job…
Definitely creates match-up problems for the opposition, but I our spacing could be an issue.
I went with Reid because he seems like he's being charged with running the point and the offense a lot, so hes the surest bet to a major piece pf the offense running major minutes. Other guys could easily get crowded out in rotations, split time, etc., but Reid has a special role and it will be difficult to dislodge him from starter minutes, thus more wide open opportunity to score.
After the exhibition games, which of course shouldn't be taken too seriously, (with Mart being a given) I was impressed with:
- Gelo in particular. It seems he has taken the next step, put on some serious muscle, and is playing with confidence within the system. I don't know if he will be the second-leading scorer, but he will have a big impact this year. At 6-6 and with his athleticism, he will be a PROBLEM for other teams.
- Another guy - Singleton. He's got all the tools, and is already very confident and composed.
- Reid and KJ will have some tremendous games for us.
- Page - we need to him to stay foul-free, and he can go off for 20 on any given night. I didn't realize he had such offensive tools. If he hits some threes, gets some Nicholbombs, and drops in that jump hook, the points can come in bunches.
- Green - he does a little of everything well, and I can see him being another Langborg, with some clutch plays in crucial games.
Agree on all the above. Just want to drop one more time I think we are collectively underestimating the contribution from Clayton for ‘25-‘26. I think he will win us some games. Also if Mullins added the “3” to his “3 and D,” I think two veterans are going to give us a ton of upside in addition to all the new blood.
Granted no stats have been counted, but I like this team to score a lot more than we are accustomed to in a lot of different ways. I am interested to see how fast the defense comes along for the transfers and first years since that has largely been our identity as a winning program the last few seasons. Offensive ceiling seems higher than the defensive one this year.
Granted no stats have been counted, but I like this team to score a lot more than we are accustomed to in a lot of different ways. I am interested to see how fast the defense comes along for the transfers and first years since that has largely been our identity as a winning program the last few seasons. Offensive ceiling seems higher than the defensive one this year.
That last part is going to be my challenge - I'm very attached to the mental model of defense-first, assuming B1G games are "prison rules" rock fights rather than F1 races. If this team leans into its strengths, I anticipate that they'll be playing faster - it may appear that they're sacrificing defense, but I intuit that the reality is that they just need more reps together to really get the defensive scheme into muscle memory.
It’s unclear to me if they have the defensive bigs to play a grinder style. Out on the floor running and gunning a bunch of 6-6 guys can get in passing lanes and maybe be effective but given Page may be being a foul magnet in the half court it feels like they’re going to have games where they need to try to just run. Maybe not, but that seems like a possibility.
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If Reid gets the rebound, they will play real fast. He’s going to be a lot of fun on the break.
I’m very concerned about his size, but his speed is there. And again, he’s gonna get the chance to play a lot unless things REALLY don’t work. Page when he doesn’t foul looked like the second best player tonight though
