Just some random thoughts to throw out here since we have plenty of time and very little b-ball to talk about.
I assume Brice stays and Maye is the only commit for next year unless Roy decides to invest in another big man project.
Rotation I think we'll see early
Meeks James Johnson
Johnson Hicks JJ/JP
Jackson Tokoto
Tokoto Paige Pinson
Paige Berry Britt
I left Maye off as I'll be surprised if he get more than Simmons minutes next year but you can stick him behind Hicks with JJ/JP if you like.
I know some players have their own threads but here's my quick take/observations on each.
Meeks - 5pts/4.6 rbs over last 8 games
His illness at the end of the season looks like a big factor. I wonder if fatigue was also a problem. He certainly played a lot more minutes this year. I wonder if the conditioning just hasn't caught up? His main improvement was being able to stay on the court longer. Didn't really improve in a basketball sense - his FG% was up slightly but his rebounding %'s were down.
Be interesting to see how he would do playing around the 250lb mark.
James - avg 13 min over the last 10 games due to Meeks' issues
I expect another 10-12 min a game from James next year and for his production to be about the same. Any more from Joel should be considered a bonus.
Johnson 78% (32-41) from the line over his last 15 games
Not as much as an improvement from Brice as I'd hoped this year but his FT performance at the end of the year is nice. Problem is he doesn't get to the line much so it may not matter. Not sure what we will see from Brice next year but I don't think it'll get that much better. If he doesn't regres I'd figure him for at least 14/8.
Hicks
Still don't know what to make of Hicks. Looked good at times and just sort of disappeared at times. I think last year may have slowed his development more than I thought. Only got 15 min a game this year. Hopefully Roy can go smaller at times and get Brice and Hicks on the floor at the same time so that Isaiah can get some more minutes, assuming he earns them.
Jackson 13.6 pts, 54% fg, and 41% (14-34) from 3 over his last 10 games
Except for the 3pt shooting I don't know how he does it. That floater scares the heck outta me yet it is fairly consistent. I'm excited to see how he develops next year.
Tokoto - 1-4 on 3pt shots over his last 16 games
I think most of the thoughts have been hashed out on a dedicated thread. The one thing I would like to see is for JP to
take the wide open three. He passed up a lot of them this year. He was able hit 35% for the season. I'd tell him each game - "take the open three, if it goes in, take the next open shot, repeat until you miss". With Paige/Jackson/Berry/and maybe Britt as outside threats he doesn't need to take a lot but I'd like to see a 0-1 or 1-2 under the 3pt column each game.
Pinson - lost the most important part of the season due to injury
Hard to tell how he will pan out. If his shooting improves I think he could be Danny Green-ish. If not he's Tokoto-ish with less highlights.
Paige
Numbers were down but he was only slightly less efficient this year. If his injury did bother him most of the season then that's a pretty good year. His 1st/2nd half splits (from the eye test) seemed to be real pronounced at the end of the season. Is the foot problem something that feels better once he gets going? Was he in a 2 guard lineup later in games allowing him more opportunities to score? I think if he's healthy and gets more time at the 2g spot he'll have a fine senior year.
Berry 44% (12-27) from 3 since coming back from his injury
Too bad that he got hurt mid-season. I really liked some of his play late in the year when he took over Britt's spot as the #2pg. If continues to improve then Roy will have to make the call on having JP as the sixth man and have Paige and Berry start.
Britt Avg just 11 min per over the last 10 games
Britt is a nice backup pg especially if he continues to improve. The only way I see him getting more than 10 min a game next year is if he can hit from outside at a consistent clip. He did make 36% of his 3's this year. If he can get it around 40% he should be able to grab a few extra minutes here and there.
CC
This post was edited on 4/2 3:29 PM by CanuckChuck
I assume Brice stays and Maye is the only commit for next year unless Roy decides to invest in another big man project.
Rotation I think we'll see early
Meeks James Johnson
Johnson Hicks JJ/JP
Jackson Tokoto
Tokoto Paige Pinson
Paige Berry Britt
I left Maye off as I'll be surprised if he get more than Simmons minutes next year but you can stick him behind Hicks with JJ/JP if you like.
I know some players have their own threads but here's my quick take/observations on each.
Meeks - 5pts/4.6 rbs over last 8 games
His illness at the end of the season looks like a big factor. I wonder if fatigue was also a problem. He certainly played a lot more minutes this year. I wonder if the conditioning just hasn't caught up? His main improvement was being able to stay on the court longer. Didn't really improve in a basketball sense - his FG% was up slightly but his rebounding %'s were down.
Be interesting to see how he would do playing around the 250lb mark.
James - avg 13 min over the last 10 games due to Meeks' issues
I expect another 10-12 min a game from James next year and for his production to be about the same. Any more from Joel should be considered a bonus.
Johnson 78% (32-41) from the line over his last 15 games
Not as much as an improvement from Brice as I'd hoped this year but his FT performance at the end of the year is nice. Problem is he doesn't get to the line much so it may not matter. Not sure what we will see from Brice next year but I don't think it'll get that much better. If he doesn't regres I'd figure him for at least 14/8.
Hicks
Still don't know what to make of Hicks. Looked good at times and just sort of disappeared at times. I think last year may have slowed his development more than I thought. Only got 15 min a game this year. Hopefully Roy can go smaller at times and get Brice and Hicks on the floor at the same time so that Isaiah can get some more minutes, assuming he earns them.
Jackson 13.6 pts, 54% fg, and 41% (14-34) from 3 over his last 10 games
Except for the 3pt shooting I don't know how he does it. That floater scares the heck outta me yet it is fairly consistent. I'm excited to see how he develops next year.
Tokoto - 1-4 on 3pt shots over his last 16 games
I think most of the thoughts have been hashed out on a dedicated thread. The one thing I would like to see is for JP to
take the wide open three. He passed up a lot of them this year. He was able hit 35% for the season. I'd tell him each game - "take the open three, if it goes in, take the next open shot, repeat until you miss". With Paige/Jackson/Berry/and maybe Britt as outside threats he doesn't need to take a lot but I'd like to see a 0-1 or 1-2 under the 3pt column each game.
Pinson - lost the most important part of the season due to injury
Hard to tell how he will pan out. If his shooting improves I think he could be Danny Green-ish. If not he's Tokoto-ish with less highlights.
Paige
Numbers were down but he was only slightly less efficient this year. If his injury did bother him most of the season then that's a pretty good year. His 1st/2nd half splits (from the eye test) seemed to be real pronounced at the end of the season. Is the foot problem something that feels better once he gets going? Was he in a 2 guard lineup later in games allowing him more opportunities to score? I think if he's healthy and gets more time at the 2g spot he'll have a fine senior year.
Berry 44% (12-27) from 3 since coming back from his injury
Too bad that he got hurt mid-season. I really liked some of his play late in the year when he took over Britt's spot as the #2pg. If continues to improve then Roy will have to make the call on having JP as the sixth man and have Paige and Berry start.
Britt Avg just 11 min per over the last 10 games
Britt is a nice backup pg especially if he continues to improve. The only way I see him getting more than 10 min a game next year is if he can hit from outside at a consistent clip. He did make 36% of his 3's this year. If he can get it around 40% he should be able to grab a few extra minutes here and there.
CC
This post was edited on 4/2 3:29 PM by CanuckChuck
