Hey D or 75,
How many minutes do you think Shaver will get? I hope you guys aren't thinking I'm down on him or Tyler. I just think they both need to adjust to the speed, size, strength, and skill of this level since both grew up playing where size could win out! I also believe they both will be major contributors eventually, I just am not sure both will realize that potential next season! The situation seems to indicate Shaver will get an opportunity to show what he can do before Tyler since we are still thin in the frontcourt + packed on the wing! They both have some things that cannot be taught too-both have high motors, toughness, coachability, and will to win!
Hard call TP, I think the plan is to see if he can be Bacot's primary back up olr if Washington has to rotate between starting at the 4 and backing Bacot up at the 5. His prior to UNC vids don't show me a a clear picture. What I suspect is that he is maybe a bit taller version of Deon, I do suspect his conditioning prior to joining us and suspect that is being worked on by our S/C staff. I get the sense that he was not used to a lot of contact in high school, I wanted to see more of an aggressive streak in him, a bit of a mean streak. Now that Ant is out it would be a great idea for this kid to move in with Bacot, just mirror Bacot in everything he does.
I would suggest how I think of this kid next season is a far different answer now than it would have been had he not come in early and join the team in Jan. I think he will be far more advanced and ready for next season than he would have been had he not come early. How much PT does he get, I would think a solid 8-10mins a game would be great, with Washington getting some limited minutes at the 5 but if Shaver can not handle those minutes, then Washington rotates to the 5 when Bacot sits.
Nichel, I see him more as a 4 than a 3 and frankly, we have a lot of smallish 4s and they all have game experience that Tyler lacks. Yet they all give a unique different look. My take on our under sized 4s so Washington is not included in this:
McKoy - good on and off ball defender but not elite, better jump shooter than what he showed us last season. Has the strength to be able to rebound and blocks out. He is not a shot blocking threat. Good effort guy, he works when he is out there, better off ball defender than on ball. Sets decent screens. Does not seem to want to take the big shot.
Puff the Magic Johnson - Better than expected defender, not elite YET, showed some shooting chops but can shoot MUCH better than what he has shown so far, on the shelf so long seems to need this off season to re-hone in his shooting stroke. Very LONG 6'8" frame, still needs to bulk up, another 15lbs of muscle this off season would do a world of good for him but Cam struggled to keep weight on, Puff have a similar frame. LOVE watching Puff block out, kid puts everything he has in blocking out, he blocked Banchero all the way to the free throw line on a critical duke free throw miss, that was funny for me! With that long reach, Puff can block and alter some shots. Look up the word effort in the dictionary, I am pretty sure it has a picture of Puff there! Rushes himself to often, game still seems a touch fast for him, sets decent screens but rolls off looking for the ball, not skeered to take a big shot!
Styles - The most athletic of this group but at 6'6" he is the shortest as well. There is leadership traits there that we have not seen yet, was a big time leader in high school, Lynch level leadership traits. Good quickness to the spot and really good leaper but seems to struggle a bit in a tightly packed lane. Stronger than he may look but could use some bulk to allow him to body out some room to operate. May need some work anticipating where rebounds will come off but can rebound out of position. Decent jump shooter, not afraid to take the big shot but jump shooting is not his strength, not a bad stroke just seems to need more confidence in it. Sets smart screens. My gut tells me he is not going to be a stretch guy but lets wait and see how his spending a ton of days putting up a ton of shots helps his shooting.
Leaky - you already know, the only chink in his armor is jump shooting if not for that he would be the best wing in the country. May be the best defender in the country, especially for his position.
Nichel - Right there with Puff as a jump shooter, feet are a little slow, average athletics and maybe average ball handles, not bad for a 4 but I don't see it as a wing. Like Puff, he leaves it all out on the court, does not take plays off has that refuse to back down trait that I really love. I personally see a lot of Brady Manek and Luke Maye in his game where will and motor tends to defeat athletism. You would have preferred to have seen him play against stronger competition but he did all you can ask a kid to do when facing weaker level competition, he dominated, set the state of Virginia scoring record and that state has had a long history of great scorers. Has his work cut out for him to get much PT with all the bodies we have at the 4 but we will see how much he earns from practice. Once he adjusts to this level of play, folks we will have a guy fans will love. His key is working on getting his shot release a little bit quicker and not lose accuracy, does a pretty good job of getting in to his shooting motion during the catch, can shoot off the catch or off the dribble, nice array of fade aways that can translate to the college game.
