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Basketball Expectations?
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:29 pm
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:29 pm
So now that the basketball roster is essentially set.
What are your ceiling and floor for the overall team?
What do you expect for each of the players?
Are you excited for the new recruits?
Predict a starting 5.
Are you worried about not getting waivers for some of the transfers? Seems like LeBlanc is only worry on the waiver according to wade on podcast.
What are your ceiling and floor for the overall team?
What do you expect for each of the players?
Are you excited for the new recruits?
Predict a starting 5.
Are you worried about not getting waivers for some of the transfers? Seems like LeBlanc is only worry on the waiver according to wade on podcast.
This post was edited on 8/6/20 at 2:36 pm
15
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:31 pm to TigerCrude
I just want to finally see Will Wade coach us in the big dance
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:35 pm to TigerCrude
LeBlanc is mid season worst case scenario
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:42 pm to TigerCrude
Cam Thomas is supposed to be a stud. A starting 5 of him, Javonte, Manning, Days, and Watford is great offensively. Defense will hinge on how improved Days and Watford are on that end.
Depth should be the best it’s been in years.
My goal each year is always just to make the dance. After that anything can happen.
Depth should be the best it’s been in years.
My goal each year is always just to make the dance. After that anything can happen.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:44 pm to TigerCrude
Floor is top 4 SEC and NCAAT berth
Ceiling has to be an SEC Title and a legit Final Four/Title contender
Can't wait to see Thomas play, and having an O'Neal on the team again is just so cool to me
Ceiling has to be an SEC Title and a legit Final Four/Title contender
Can't wait to see Thomas play, and having an O'Neal on the team again is just so cool to me
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:47 pm to TigerCrude
Top 4 of the SEC is my expectations. Anything less will be disappointing. Who knows if we have an NCAA tournament in the spring, so not really going to use that in my expectations. However, top 4 of the conference would be a lock for the tourney and a decent seed this year. I would expect SEC to get 6-7 teams in the tourney this year with all the talent returning.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:47 pm to TigerCrude
Sweet sixteen
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:52 pm to TigerCrude
I think they have a real shot to compete for the SEC title in what should be a much improved league. Anything less than, at worst, a 5th place finish in the league would be disappointing. They should be a NCAAT team. How good or how far they go depends on if they can fix the one GLARING deficiency from last year (and really the two prior years)....DEFENSE.
I don't worry about Wade's teams being able to score. I think Smart, Watford and Days will all have big years. Manning can be a guy like Mays in that he does a lot of things really well and makes those hidden plays that cumulatively add up to wins. Cam Thomas was one of the purest scorers in HS basketball last year. How much and quickly does that translate to college?
I'm not expecting either of the 7 footers to be big time contributors. They'll play in certain match up situations, but I don't think the success of the team rides on them putting up big numbers. Leblanc could be a real difference maker defensively. It will be big to have him available for at least some of the season (hopefully all)
Thomas should be the headliner of the freshman class, but the most flashy freshman could be Eric Gaines. The question there is whether or not the physicality is a bit too much for him in year one? He's long, but rail thin.
This may be Wade's deepest team (though the 18-19 team was probably slightly more talented individually). If they can play better defense they should be really good. If not, they are still going to win. But you are going to get a team that seems to play in a ton of close games (regardless of the quality of opponent) because they won't be able to pull away despite being great offensively.
I don't worry about Wade's teams being able to score. I think Smart, Watford and Days will all have big years. Manning can be a guy like Mays in that he does a lot of things really well and makes those hidden plays that cumulatively add up to wins. Cam Thomas was one of the purest scorers in HS basketball last year. How much and quickly does that translate to college?
I'm not expecting either of the 7 footers to be big time contributors. They'll play in certain match up situations, but I don't think the success of the team rides on them putting up big numbers. Leblanc could be a real difference maker defensively. It will be big to have him available for at least some of the season (hopefully all)
Thomas should be the headliner of the freshman class, but the most flashy freshman could be Eric Gaines. The question there is whether or not the physicality is a bit too much for him in year one? He's long, but rail thin.
This may be Wade's deepest team (though the 18-19 team was probably slightly more talented individually). If they can play better defense they should be really good. If not, they are still going to win. But you are going to get a team that seems to play in a ton of close games (regardless of the quality of opponent) because they won't be able to pull away despite being great offensively.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 2:52 pm to TigerCrude
Sweet 16 and ill be happy
Posted on 8/6/20 at 3:08 pm to TigerCrude
Need someone to develop a penchant for setting up teammates rather than taking the shot
Ideally that is Smart. It’s his team but he can’t try & be the hero.
Can very much be a final 4 team if the back court understands how to play off of one another
Ideally that is Smart. It’s his team but he can’t try & be the hero.
Can very much be a final 4 team if the back court understands how to play off of one another
Posted on 8/6/20 at 3:15 pm to TigerCrude
I’m praying for improved 3pt defense and 3 pt shooting.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 3:22 pm to TigerCrude
quote:
What do you expect for each of the players?
I'll give this a shot...
SR. G Charles Manning - Last season got derailed a bit by injury, but he certainly looked like a slightly less athletic, more basketball savvy/well rounded Marlon Taylor to me when he did play last year. I think he's a starter to open the season being the lone senior on the team. He shot 41% from 3 and want to see him take more of those. He also was a very good defender with length to cover anyone 1-4 IMO. I think he's a stabilizing force for the team this season and sees 20-25 minutes a game.
JR. G Ja'vonte Smart - Improved a good deal from freshman to sophomore year and I think this year he could easily break out and become more a national household name. I think we see this year why he was a 5-star as he becomes a little more efficient offensively and still increases volume some overall. Get to the line more where he's a better than 80% guy. 30+ minute a game starter easily.
JR. F Darius Days - Think he will still be a monster on the glass but the biggest improvement is 3 point shooting, dude LOVES to take them but his % dipped below 30% last year and he's better than that, and I think he trends upward this year from 29.5% last year. Not to mention, can he finally figure out how to defend without fouling? If he figures that out, 25-30 minute a game player, if not, probably more like 20-25 minutes a game. Either way he's a starter more times than not.
JR. F Josh LeBlanc - I dont think many realize how good he was as a young guy at Georgetown, made All big East freshman team, grabbed a ton of offensive boards, shot over 60% from the floor, blocked some shots...he's really good, it's only a bummer we get to not see him till conference play basically. I think he could take over a starting role once he comes in, he brings a nice wingspan even at just 6'7 and if he improved his 3 point shot at all, is a very complete forward IMO. I see him around 20-25 minutes a game.
SO. C Bryan Penn-Johnson - I think people are a lot higher on him than I am. I see a lot of hype, but basically zero production in 2 years at UW. 1 year a sa freshman? I get it, give him a pass, but he's played in like 13 total games in 2 seasons there and just never showed much of anything to earn more time. We basically ended up with him because we whiffed on Cisse and he was one of the best we could get on the transfer market. We'll see how he ends up but for now I see his ceiling as a 10-15 minute a game guy who maybe provides some defense and that's about it and a floor being plays in 10-15 games as scrap minutes.
SO. F Shareef O'Neal - He should get eligible, but this guy is the biggest question mark to me on what to expect from him. I honestly dont know, he was held back by his health issue at UCLA, new coach came in and didn't play him much after that, but you can see the talent there. I just dont know what to expect from him this season, a slight rotational guy who plays 5-10 minutes a game or a guy who plays 20+ minutes, neither would shock me either way.
SO. G Aundre Hyatt - I want to be nice here to Wade talking up his 3 point shooting so much but my goodness I cringed when he took 3's last year because he was so far off on so many of them. I dont know if it was just him returning from missing so much time due to injury or what, but at least he's a pretty big body and doesnt mind mixing it up with even power forwards from other teams if he needs to so he can be versatile defensively. Offensively, just was a black hole. I'd like to think he could improve a lot there, but not going to hold my breath. I see him more end of bench 5-10 minute a game guy.
SO. F Trendon Watford - Bonafide star of the team next year IMO, glad he came back. Had such a good freshman year but can show scouts a little bit more. Let's be honest, if a freshman forward can come in and give you 14/7 a game, he's a damn good player and will only get even better. I actually buy Wade giving him better 3 point looks this year to improve there and was glad to see him work hard on his FT shooting and getting better there last season as it went along. 30+ minute a game starter easy.
FR. C Josh Gray - I'll keep it short and sweet here, he was supposed to backup Cisse and maybe give 5 minutes a game at best this year. I still dont see him giving more than about 5 minutes a contest giving you some quick defensive minutes, developmental player.
FR. G Eric Gaines - Getting more and more rave reviews as the season nears. Really blossomed bigly in the last year or so. At first I though Cook would provide most relief minutes for Smart at the 1, but Gaines may put a serious dent into that, or they use him at the 2 a good bit as well. Just needs to pack on some healthy weight on his frame and he could be a star down the road. Could see him as a 5-10 minute a game guy or even 10-15 as well.
FR. G Jalen Cook - I think he's ready to play as a freshman and will put in maybe 10-15 minutes a game. I really liked his game and thought he may be ranked too low in the state compared to Reece Beekman who was much higher, but Cook's short stature surely held him back there.
FR. F Mwani Wilkinson - While his ranking isn't that low, I consider him a bit of a sleeper in the class because no one talks about him that much. He's going to play some serious minutes early on IMO, especially with LeBlanc out. Very athletic, and handle his own against a variety of players and can seriously improve a defense. I see him being a 15-20 minute a game player early on with LeBlanc out.
FR. G Cam Thomas - Will be a big time scorer for 1 year here and head straight to pros IMO. Seriously see him putting in about 15 points a game even with all the other scorers we gave. Can hit the 3, can drive and score, he can do it offensively. Starter and 25-30 minute a game player out the gate.
quote:
Predict a starting 5.
Pre-leblanc getting eligible:
F Watford
F Days
G Manning
G Thomas
G Smart
Post leblanc I could see them shuffling it around some.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 3:41 pm to 225Tyga
Hard to say depending on if it's a normal season or not.
This team will desperately need the non conf schedule to fit the pieces the best they can.
Watford, Days and Smart coming back definitely helps with continuity.
Ideally you use those non conf games to fit the new pieces in before you have to play a conf schedule.
I'll go Elite Eight based on the talent assembled, top 3 in SEC.
This team will desperately need the non conf schedule to fit the pieces the best they can.
Watford, Days and Smart coming back definitely helps with continuity.
Ideally you use those non conf games to fit the new pieces in before you have to play a conf schedule.
I'll go Elite Eight based on the talent assembled, top 3 in SEC.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 3:51 pm to thunderbird1100
If indeed the non conference games begin after Thanksgiving in a bubble type setting, even mid year eligible players may miss very few games. Wade mentioned that there has been some discussion of the prospect of doing a Thanksgiving to Christmas break bubble for non conference games because of Covid.
There is also an ESPN article today even talking about conference games being held in a bubble type setting by several of the bigger conferences. They talked about the need for getting paid tutors into the bubble for the players and all classes being done online during the period.
There is also an ESPN article today even talking about conference games being held in a bubble type setting by several of the bigger conferences. They talked about the need for getting paid tutors into the bubble for the players and all classes being done online during the period.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 4:32 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:
I'll give this a shot...
Great analysis as usual, Thunder. Hard to argue with any of that. Just a few additional thoughts on some of the players:
Smart - To me his 2 biggest areas of needed improvement are continuing to reduce turnovers (he did better with this towards end of season) and increase his ability to setup teammates for shots/increase assists. Plus between him and Watford, this team will need a new leader now that Mays is gone.
Watford - I agree that he takes a big step forward, which is saying something with how good he was last year. One of his biggest areas he can improve, which experience should help with, is his turnovers. Wade and Rothstein talked about it some on the podcast. But Watford had 82 TO's last season at an avg. of 2.6/gm, which was by far the most on the team. The next closest were Mays and Smart, both at 70, which is a little more understandable since they have the ball in their hands more. Hopefully the defense can take a step forward too. I think he is a 17/8 player this year and has 2-3 assists per game (he avg 1.7/gm last year).
O'Neal - Definitely the big question mark. Hoping that all the offseason work that some were talking about a while back and some of the social media stuff he has put out pays off. You'd have to think his dad has him with the best trainers and he looks to be in great physical shape. But undoubtedly it will take him a bit to get into the flow of things.
Manning - Pulling hard for him, especially with how disappointing it was losing him to injury last year. I can see him grabbing hold of the starting position, while LeBlanc has to sit the first half, and not letting go of it.
Penn-Johnson - Agree that some are hyping him up more than what he should be. Think that mostly comes from the ones that are starved for the team to have a big man. If he comes in and commits to the role Wade has for him, then I see him around 15 min. per game.
I thought about starting a thread the other day to talk about the talent level and depth on this team; but this is a good thread for it. I read an article from 247 ( LINK) that talked about the recruiting rankings of all our players. This is what it totaled up to be:
2 - Five stars
6 - Four stars
5 - Three stars (counting Manning as a JUCO recruit)
9 - Top 150 players (Cook was at 152; so really 10 players)
7 - Top 100 players (Josh Gray just outside at 104)
4 - Top 50 players
That is an insane collection of talent that Wade will have at his disposal. Additionally, there are a lot of mix and match pieces too, which makes for a well rounded roster.
Ultimately, I think this is like 2018-19 with LSU, TN, & UK in a 3-way race for conference champions. UK will be uber talented as usual; but also young and inexperienced as usual (with last year a rare exception). TN will probably be Barnes' most talented team there; but most of the best talent will be young.
It'll be interesting to see how this team performs in the SEC tournament as I think their depth should really shine having to possibly play 3 days in a row.
We make the Tournament and I believe the floor should be round of 32 (I hesitate to say Sweet 16 as tourney is such a crapshoot at times). Ceiling is definitely Final 4/title contender. Just all depends on player buy in to the system and more a commitment to defense.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 4:41 pm to thunderbird1100
quote:
JR. G Ja'vonte Smart - Improved a good deal from freshman to sophomore year and I think this year he could easily break out and become more a national household name. I think we see this year why he was a 5-star as he becomes a little more efficient offensively and still increases volume some overall. Get to the line more where he's a better than 80% guy. 30+ minute a game starter easily.
His efficiency stats are not great (compared to the other 4 starters from last season) mainly due to a poor start in non-conf play. However, he became a much better player in SEC play. Part of it was Wade probably put him in better spots to succeed and part of it was he became more comfortable as the PG. I think he'll continue his improvement and much better and more comfortable this season. Not worried about Smart or LSU's ability to be a good offense.
quote:
JR. F Darius Days - Think he will still be a monster on the glass but the biggest improvement is 3 point shooting, dude LOVES to take them but his % dipped below 30% last year and he's better than that, and I think he trends upward this year from 29.5% last year. Not to mention, can he finally figure out how to defend without fouling? If he figures that out, 25-30 minute a game player, if not, probably more like 20-25 minutes a game. Either way he's a starter more times than not.
To me, Days is a similar player to Admiral Schofield at Tenn. An "undersized" 4 but "oversized" 3 with a lot of good all around offensive traits. Schofield was just kind of an average player his first two seasons. But in year 3 he blossomed and became an All-SEC guy as a junior and senior. Days has been better than Schofield in his first two seasons and I think he is ready to take the next step to being a great college player. His scoring and rebounding efficiency is off the chart good....if he can stay out of foul trouble!!!!
quote:
SO. C Bryan Penn-Johnson - I think people are a lot higher on him than I am. I see a lot of hype, but basically zero production in 2 years at UW. 1 year a sa freshman? I get it, give him a pass, but he's played in like 13 total games in 2 seasons there and just never showed much of anything to earn more time. We basically ended up with him because we whiffed on Cisse and he was one of the best we could get on the transfer market. We'll see how he ends up but for now I see his ceiling as a 10-15 minute a game guy who maybe provides some defense and that's about it and a floor being plays in 10-15 games as scrap minutes
Couldn't agree more. His addition is better than nothing after losing out on the Cisse sweepstakes. But anyone EXPECTING him to be a big time contributor is probably going to be disappointed
quote:
SO. F Shareef O'Neal - He should get eligible, but this guy is the biggest question mark to me on what to expect from him. I honestly dont know, he was held back by his health issue at UCLA, new coach came in and didn't play him much after that, but you can see the talent there. I just dont know what to expect from him this season, a slight rotational guy who plays 5-10 minutes a game or a guy who plays 20+ minutes, neither would shock me either way.
Agreed 100%. As a recruit he was in high demand for some big time programs (Arizona, UCLA, Baylor, etc) so one would think there is real talent there (not just presumed because of his father). I just don't know what that looks like on the court.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 4:49 pm to SCP
quote:
There is also an ESPN article today even talking about conference games being held in a bubble type setting by several of the bigger conferences. They talked about the need for getting paid tutors into the bubble for the players and all classes being done online during the period.
That is an interesting idea. Haven't seen that one yet. I wonder if they would try and play more than 2 games per week in that scenario?
No matter how they accomplish it though, I just don't see how the NCAA or a lot of schools could financially manage to not have the tournament 2 years in a row. You're talking over a BILLION DOLLARS in revenue lost. While football is important to a lot of schools, especially in the P5; basketball is just as important to a lot more across the country. Not to mention how much the NCAA needs that revenue (not that we care about the NCAA as an org. that much).
But I'll be pissed if LSU has to waste the opportunity of this team by canceling the season or another tournament.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 5:50 pm to TigerLaw40
I want the SEC to do whatever it can to have a MBB season in 20-21. As I see it now, travel will be a big problem in terms of protecting the kids from the virus.
I don't think the SEC could arrange a 30-day bubble to play OOC games as too many teams would be involved to play each SEC's team's OOC schedule.
I don't think the SEC could arrange a 30-day bubble to play OOC games as too many teams would be involved to play each SEC's team's OOC schedule.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 6:25 pm to TigerCrude
Where are the handles? Hinges a lot on Jalen Cook. Sky will be missed for his handling and leadership of course. I'm not a fan of Javonte by himself up there. score first without the PG quickness that is needed sometimes. Cook will be needed to be a legit SEC contributor, and I hear he is capable and can do it. Of course, WW likes Watford out there bringing it up as well.. seems he brings it up and initiates the offense a good bit. His handles are nice to have and WW obviously confident with him.
having smart, Thomas, manning, days, and cook will be Yuge. Gaines developing or shows up and surprises will be bonus material.
having smart, Thomas, manning, days, and cook will be Yuge. Gaines developing or shows up and surprises will be bonus material.
Posted on 8/6/20 at 7:12 pm to John cocktoasten
Gaines has handles. Really nice handle, actually. Some polished street ball moves, really good pacing as far as acceleration/deceleration. Good feel
For the game.
Cook
Smart obviously
Manning
O’Neal can put it on floor
For the game.
Cook
Smart obviously
Manning
O’Neal can put it on floor
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