LSU basketball rotation

Too soon, but I'll comment anyway.

Wade is really high on Penn (and really just having that big guy in the middle), so I think you see him start and push Manning or Thomas to the first off of the bench. We'll still play small a good bit without Penn, though.

I think both O'Neal and Leblanc will get the waiver.

I gotta believe Cam is starting. Wade said he's the best scorer he's ever seen on the eybl circuit.

Wade for a fact wants to have Watford more in his natural 3/4 spot. He didn't get to showcase his full potential last year because there were times he had to play the 5, because he was the tallest guy on the team at 6'9. And because Days would get into foul trouble in the weirdest ways. So we'd have to strain at the 4/5 spot.

I think since we have been in desperate need of the height, Penn-Johnson will start and in fact shine. Just feels like Wade will instill new confidence in him and get him back to playing at the level he did in the AAU circuits, he was a beast and compliments the entire roster well. And honestly, if he can just give us a little bit more than what Bigby-Williams gave us, for this season to obviously exceed that next season, would be amazing. However, I'm imagining the putback dunks and slams this kid will be able to do and the emphatic blocks and like Days & Emmitt this kid gets hyped he'll surely be a fan favorite if he plays well.

I think we go 9-10 deep and redshirt maybe Cook, Wilkinson, and potentially Gray. However, the talent is deep at each position. Gaines is likened to Ja Morant. Cameron Thomas has the smoothest silkiest shot and is an elite scorer, Wilkinson is a pure athlete and a two-way player. LeBlanc is the best defender on the team. Penn-Johnson and Gray give us two towers at the center position.

My predictions for rotations now:

Starters
1) Smart
2) Thomas
3) Watford
4) Days
5) Penn-Johnson

Rotation
1) Gaines / Manning
2) Manning / Gaines / Hyatt
3) Manning / Hyatt / Wilkinson / LeBlanc
4) O'Neal / Wilkinson / Hyatt / LeBlanc
5) O'Neal / Gray / LeBlanc

I'll have to rework the rotations, but I think throughout games it will play out with certain players overlapping/and sliding to different positions as more depth comes in. But the new core for the next 1-3 seasons is in this class. I don't think we will go deep guard wise. Smart played like 30 mpg last season. Gaines will develop as a combo guard, so Manning can spend time at the 2 and 3. Once LeBlanc gets his waiver, I do expect him to become the 6th man with Manning taking a step back. Until then I'll put him at the end of the rotational changes.

However, Wade loves manipulating and playing around with the rotations and squads. And obviously my predictions don't take into account situational lineups.

Great post, and I agree with 99.9% of it. My only exception is discounting the value of Manning. He's a bad man on both ends of the floor.

Trust me, I meant no disrespect to Manning, I remember he single-handedly won us a game or two with his defensive play alone (thinking to that block he had which was similar to the one Waters had against Houston to seal the deal). And he's actually quite skilled offensively too, he's got a nice combo of layups and some big-time dunks and a good mid-range jumper. He is assuredly our 2nd best defender behind LeBlanc. Just think with the way our Forwards rotate LeBlanc will be key in that mix and could break the starting lineup or even play some small-ball 5. Seems like LeBlanc has a higher ceiling just given what the coaches were saying about him last season when he transferred in and what they could potentially mold him into.

And I have Manning seriously being the first guy off the bench for most of the season in my head. It will be interesting to see what Wade will have him work on, will he be more of like a small wing or will he be like a combo guard this season and play some point. It's all going to depend on how Wade divides up the minutes. But I think Manning will have a little less playing time than last season, only because Marlon Taylor was hurt for much of last season which obviously helped Manning step-in and become the star we know he is. Either way, Manning is my 2nd favorite player on the team behind Days.

I understand what you mean, but now Smart has a full season of playing the point under his belt and he had one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the SEC. Naturally, he is used to the ball in his hands and has gotten much better at dissecting the court and running the plays / finding the open man. He's shown that he can be a dynamic facilitator. He seems to model his game a bit after Harden, so he needs to be able to bring the ball upcourt and draw in attention, by being versatile. Is he going to pop the 3, is he going to drive, kick it out, pick and then pop, etc? Either way, he projects to be a Combo Guard in the NBA, so he's got to be just as comfortable at the point as he would be at shooting guard. I think that's what he worked on all offseason. And just needs to be more consistent, he had stretches last season of just poor shooting and bone-headed plays. I think he cleans up those mistakes and plays like an All-SEC guard. Just feels like it's brewing. Something about this team just feels different.