I agree his defense is way ahead of his offense. He will need to be on the court with Cadeau and 3 other scorers though.
He MAY have a role next season, but I tend to think not.
Quick stuff (Lehigh game)...
- Thread starter gary-7
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He MAY have a role next season, but I tend to think not.
I think they will have Mando playing around 33 minutes and there are two 5's in Washington and High ahead of him when Mando gets a blow. He has no 4 skills, so I don't think he sees much of the court.
Withers and Ingram just keep standing out to me, 2 just really solid body guys that play extremely hard on both ends. These 2 are home run transfers from what I see, love the thought that they both have another season after this one!
Withers has a great body and should be great at basketball, but I feel like he is a bit lazy and not in position a lot. I could be wrong. See how it goes. He has all the tools physically to be great though.
What concerned with Cadeau's shot is the frankly some of those wide open shots weren't even close.
If he doesn't buy in he'll ride pine- easy as that.
Pretty good motivator- or at least it used to be before you could call it quits when you aren't 100% happy where you were and ride the escape clause via transfer to greener pastures- rinse, repeat.
The other side of this is we don't have to worry too much about a player leaving because we can restock using the same portal! I can't decide if this portal + NIL will be the end or simply a new phase of college ball! Luckily for us, our coach has proven to be a master of the portal and HS recruiting so we don't have to sweat any one recruit (or even 7 peeps) leaving!
J, the kid actually has a strong motor, I think he is maybe struggling a bit to figure out how he fits in, he got a bit behind with a ankle issue. I see him as a bigger version of Styles and I think Styles should have got more run with us last season. I love to watch the off the ball action in a game replay, funny how the game looks much different many times when I focus on the off ball action, hard for me to do when I watch the game the first time.
My preferred starting line up has not changed, I still want Ingram at the 3, Withers at the 4, with Bacot, RJ, and Cadeau. In that I absolutely do want Ryan getting less than starting minutes (around 25 is good for me), Pax has earned minutes and I think you have to keep getting Jalen minutes because at some point I really believe the light will come on for Jalen, all the tools are there, he just has to believe in them and play with confidence.
Everyone is so focused in on shooting treys as the mark of how good a player a kid may be. But me, I strongly believe that your focus should be on defense, forcing the other team to take bad shots and controlling the boards. Both Dean and Roy made it to the hall of fame by focusing on that. Then you take good shots on your end, those good shots may be treys from guys like RJ/Ryan/Pax/Ingram but the point is scoring from the easiest shot you can get. I think we should always play inside back out unless we are in a secondary break action. I want us to post up with a guy like Ingram against a wing defender while sliding Bacot out to mid range create space, for example. The best offensive play we have had so far this season (including scrimmages) is the 1 Ryan finished Sunday, ball goes length of the court, 3 UNC players touch it, Ryan finished it with a slam, the ball never touched the floor! That was execution at it's finest! Now if we can just get some lobs to the short corner cutter (enter Mr Withers) for the jam, PLEASE! LOL
Whithers, Ingram, Okonkwo have no where to go without sitting out a year at their next stop. ZERO chance the first two would even think about that.
I want to see more of Whithers. What I saw of him with his back to the basket on Sunday was very foreign in my opinion. He is a face up slasher/ shooter that should also be a good offensive rebounder. I do really like his defensive versatility.
I definitely want to see Ingram and whithers a little more together. These two, especially Ingram, have already made more plays on offense than Leaky did all last year. Not a knock on Leaky he’s not built that way and that’s ok. These two have picked up some slack at times which is gonna be needed.
Stronger yes. But High looks significantly more mobile, has a higher motor, and is a better rebounder and probably defender. Washington is taller/longer and a much more skilled offensive player. Not just hands, but also finishing, footwork, and shooting.
I still wish we had one more big guard/wing. Even if Cadeau thrives as a starter, it'd be nice to have someone bigger who can spell him and Ryan on the wings.
Pax and Ingram are plenty for depth on the wing to me! I love the mix we have and I don't see any obvious holes. The team still hasn't gelled and is not shooting as well as it will yet we are still taking care of business with no stress at all! Our best lineup has been my favorite so far (EC, RJ, Ingram, Withers, Bacot). I think they will be the eventual default starters with Ryan approaching starter level minutes too. Pax, Washington and High seem to be poised to dominate minutes on the next tier. Okonkwo is currently the odd man out but his aggressiveness, strength, motor, and size will get him time if he is patient. His time might be next year though.
While I do want to see more, I do have to say that I do like the way we are playing now much more than I have since Hubert has been head coach. It is night and day different from last season, still a ways to go for sure but there is so much more hard work going on on both ends of the court, starting to actually look like a UNC team with some updated tweeks. For the last 2 seasons it has looked to me like anything but a UNC team, it was hard to tell the difference between us and Ky streetball. So, so far, Kudos to Hubert and his staff but there is more to do to get us back but the key has been getting the players in the right head space and that seems to have happened, at least it does for now.
This team is going to drop some games and as always folks will panic, this team is far away from what they will be in Feb, have to have patience, maybe enjoy the progression of these guys as a complete team as opposed to a couple of stars doing what ever they want.
This team is going to drop some games and as always folks will panic, this team is far away from what they will be in Feb, have to have patience, maybe enjoy the progression of these guys as a complete team as opposed to a couple of stars doing what ever they want.
Withers does not get enough playing time. He is shooting 57% from the field along with 1.5spg in only 14mpg..
The one guy I have not liked at all so far and his minutes have been getting cut each of the last 2 games (RIGHTFULLY SO) is Paxson Wojcik. He hasnt done anything to justify him starting. When we first signed him, I didnt think he would see many minutes at all, let alone start. Cadeau needs to start and Withers needs to get more time.
We are definitely going to have to shorten our rotation. As much as I like Seths defense, he hasnt did anything on offense. Withers should be taking majority of his minutes along with High's.. in the first 2 games the only players I have seen that SHOULD be getting guaranteed minutes are RJ, Cadeau, Ingram, Ryan, Bacot, Washington, and Withers. Seth will have to come in to give RJ or Cadeau a break, but that's the only time he should be on the court. 8 man rotation is plenty, with others getting minutes in blowout games.. High is decent but I dont think hes quite ready yet. My main issue is Wojcik. DO NOT START HIM!!!
The one guy I have not liked at all so far and his minutes have been getting cut each of the last 2 games (RIGHTFULLY SO) is Paxson Wojcik. He hasnt done anything to justify him starting. When we first signed him, I didnt think he would see many minutes at all, let alone start. Cadeau needs to start and Withers needs to get more time.
We are definitely going to have to shorten our rotation. As much as I like Seths defense, he hasnt did anything on offense. Withers should be taking majority of his minutes along with High's.. in the first 2 games the only players I have seen that SHOULD be getting guaranteed minutes are RJ, Cadeau, Ingram, Ryan, Bacot, Washington, and Withers. Seth will have to come in to give RJ or Cadeau a break, but that's the only time he should be on the court. 8 man rotation is plenty, with others getting minutes in blowout games.. High is decent but I dont think hes quite ready yet. My main issue is Wojcik. DO NOT START HIM!!!
I agree, and I think the wildcard is Seth Trimble. This team needs his athleticism on defense, as he can guard 1-3, but Hubert has to get something out of Seth at the offensive end.
Watching Dug McDaniel go off for 26 points vs St John's for Michigan the other night, adds credibility to Howard choosing him over Seth as their pg.
I knew I forgot someone! Seth is indeed a wildcard because he can put the clamps on a hot hand for positions 1-3. He didn't even look outmanned when he switched onto a 4 the other day. If he had offensive chops we would have a real logjam at guard! I expect him to spell 1-3 and to eventually find his scoring niche, but right now his value is in shutting down an opponent's best perimeter scorer!
High is definitely not a better post defender than Okonkwo. He's weaker and he bites too easily on pump fakes.
My two cents are that High is playing because he is a " More versatile " defender that can guard in space and his high motor gets him loose balls and garbage rebounds.
High is also miles ahead of Okonkwo on offense, but neither would be more than the 5th option on the floor.
I would be in agreement that Okonkwo is the better " Post defender" if that was the only criteria that is important. But of course it is not, so I don't think he plays beside mop min.
High has been getting most of his minutes at the 4. Though he did play a stretch in the last game at the 5. He's been here all summer and apparently really impressed people with his hustle and activity. Not really bc of his offense.
Okonkwo arrived late bc he was playing in an overseas tournament. He probably has the most to learn of anyone bc he missed those summer practices. He may just be a situational player this year. If Bacot needs a rest and we need a big physical defensive player, Okonkwo gets the call.
Mando playing 33 would be counter-productive. Big fella works hard, including setting solid screens on the perimeter. His strong start has a lot to do with knowing he can bust ass this season because he has legit backup.
Anyone playing 33 would be hand writing on the wall that HD and staff won't be here much longer. I would hate to see that.
Maybe, but Mando sat out the last 4 and 5 minutes with comfortable cushions against the "cupcakes" and still is at 28 so far. I think he plays in the last 5 minutes in close games.
I still think Hubert has Mando playing 33 or so as the norm barring foul issues in tough non conference and conference matchups. I'm not calling for that, or not, just what I think will be.
I also think RJ will clock near that. Maybe not, but I saw the usage in the game flow against Radford and Lehigh a bit different then most here from Hubert. I am glad he is using multiple combinations with those type teams, but am not sold on that relating to Mando for sure, and probably RJ come real competition.
It helps for sure, I agree. I do think the over matched front lines of the opposition, and Mando clearly being in better condition at the start of this season compared to last are the bigger parts to his stronger start in games 1 and 2.
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It might be, but that is what I gathered by Hubert's usage in the first two games, albeit a very small sample against out manned opponents, and barring injuries/foul issue reasons to either of course. I don't see Mando sitting more then 3 or 4 minutes each half.
I'd like to see hubert experiment with
Seth
Ryan
Ingram
Withers
Bacot
This is our only lineup thats gonna stop dribble penetration and defend the 3 well in my opinion.
Seth
Ryan
Ingram
Withers
Bacot
This is our only lineup thats gonna stop dribble penetration and defend the 3 well in my opinion.
I wouldnt say we are taking care of business with no stress at all.. The only reason we won our first two games was by wearing out the other teams later in the second half of the game.. The first half of both games were TIGHT. What happens when we meet a team thats got a lot of depth and not going to wear out?? We definitely shouldnt be struggling with bottom feeder teams at any point of the game. VCU beat Radford 73-50 last night.. is VCU on UNC's level???
Seth is not going to help us. He is a guard version of Leaky Black but worse. He gives you basically ZERO offense with good defense. Isn't that what Leaky gave us? Yet Leaky was a liability on offense and hurt us when we needed scoring the most. Until Seth can start providing some good offense, he needs to get mop-up minutes, or only to give our guards a little break.
Leaky scored more last season than he ever did, and I am still happy to see him gone. I hate not having scoring threats on the court as it clogs up the paint.
I'm not suggesting that lineup play 30 minutes but we need a defensive lineup and thats not happening with RJ or Elliot on the court anytime soon. We need to work on the lineup that can defend in my opinion and improve their offensive sets together. Seth doesn't need to run the offense for 100 posessions but if we could get 30 out of him we'd improve defensively.
We definitely need defensive help as we have battled with 2 very poor teams for longer than expected so far.. but im afraid that what we make up on defense will only hurt us on offense with that lineup in there too long. RJ and Armando has to score 18+ a night every game to give us a shot.
Withers, Ingram and Okonkwo have all used their one free transfer to come here. Or did they change that rule?
Withers and especially Ingram already look really good to me. Okonkwo is more of a project, and doesn't look like starter material yet. But he should be good for us off the bench if he's well-coached and willing to work at it. At WVa he played a "limited role" in Pomeroy's parlance, but was a solid rebounder and shot well in close.
Ingram has looked good enough to me that he might not be here after this season. Time will tell.
We have Drake Powell coming in next year, but if we lose Ingram along with Ryan and Wojcik, we may need to snag a good SF from the portal.
Yeah but here is the problem, we have just seen the last game of the last 2 season have Bacot leaving the game on crutches, seen him in each of those seasons have to try to play on badly sprained ankles. It is a long season for the players and it catches up to them physically, 2 realities for fatigued players, foul trouble happens and injuries happen. Granted, last 2 seasons we didn't have anyone that could fill in for Bacot, thou at times late season Nance did a pretty decent job at the 5 and should have been the position he played. We have Jalen, High, Konkwo, and even Withers that can all step in to the 5 spot when Bacot sits.
WE need to preserve Bacot's legs, kid needs to sit and no burn himself out BOTH early and late season. I want a fresh as possible Bacot on the floor, this team needs that, we fans should all want Bacot to stay as rested as we can. We may need him for longer stretches in some games but that should not be the norm. If Bacot were to get hurt and not able to play I sure as heck want guys coming in that are used to playing. I said pre-season, with this team I would not have a single player averaging over 25 a game including Bacot and RJ.
From what I have seen so far this season, I see one problem that is going to cost us some wins if we don't get a solution in place. WE all are wanting that Cadeau/RJ back court but that is both a smallish back court as well as maybe not the most defensive of back courts. We are doing a LOT of switching in part due to our back court guys not being able to stay with their primary. Last 2 games, basically we have been caught in some switched miss matches where we end up with a guard checking a big or visa versa and it has kept things a bit closer than they should have been. Seth is IMO the guy that can help there, I think he is a guy that can shut down the hot guard, a version of Leaky. He struggled shooting the ball last season, to soon to tell how that may have improved but word was that his shooting over the summer was vastly improved.
My second string would be Seth at the point, Ryan at the 2, Pax at the 3, with Jalen and High. That is a pretty darn talented second team that can shoot but also has some nice length in the front court and Ryan & Pax as shooters as Seth drives. I then come back and pound you with my starters, doubt many would call a trio of Bacot/Ingram/Withers soft! I own the boards with those guys and I have RJ & Cadeau out front creating. That may infer a hockey line sub pattern and I DO NOT want that as a regular thing.
I think this will be a team that will have to score to win a lot of games. This isn't a team built to beat teams 62-60 in a 70+ possession game.
It's another reason that if it turns out that Cadeau is our first, second, or third most natural scorer, I want him hunting for his offense while distributing.
But defense will be inconsistent all season. We'll have a smaller backcourt once Cadeau starts. We don't really have a great rim protector.
As long as the Kentucky game isnt a repeat of 2021 I will be ok... That was a terrible game and we got ran out of the gym and played terrible defense. I am NOT confident that WONT be the case again after seeing the first 2 games thus far...
Here's the thing: Wearing teams down is our M.O..
Now... I would like onslaughts to happen earlier but that depends on transition at the highest level, and that depends on starting EC. I would also like to be more proactive on defense and hopefully that will come.
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Not going to wear good teams with depth out though.. then what are we relying on at that point?
I actually expect UK may crush us again, but really hope to be wrong. I think they’re a bad matchup and they are really talented this year and will have at least one 7’ big back by then. They have 3 guys projected top 20 in the draft and their guards will give Cadeau and RJ some major issues.
Got 2 more "tune up" games, then a 5 game stretch of Tennessee, Florida St., UCONN, Kentucky, and Oklahoma. I suspect we will get a much better feel for the this team and the rotations by the end of that stretch.
