It is nice to speculate about starters but Coach talked in the podcast about playing fast and wanting to be able to play 10 deep to be able to do that right.
If he has the talent to do that we are going to see all the names mentioned and more a lot on the floor whether they start or not.
Correctā¦would have been nice to see some Boxscores from the PR tripā¦I assume theyāll slow down a bit when Mirambeaux is inā¦heās a unique talentā¦but he canāt play fast for 20-25 minā¦
What seems apparent is that the frosh that were signed appear ready to playā¦and hard to tell with competition, but the 7-footer looked poised and agile for a frosh from the couple twitter clips posted.
Interesting and encouraging podcast.
I really like Steeleās adjustments to the offense, but the biggest area in need of improvement is the defense. KenPom rated our defensive efficiency at a lowly #316 last year, yet it sounds like Steele is not changing much of anything there. I am not a fan of the pack line in todayās game. If he is sincere about moving towards āpositionlessā basketball, why not play more straight man and switch everything?
Looking forward to seeing all of our new personnel in action this season. Opener only about 75 days away!
Not sure if the number support it, but the D seemed to improve at end of the year, based on understanding and intensity?
I think the only start thatās easy to pencil in is Safford. Heās 100% effort all the time. Also agree with Lax and will assume weāll see a lot of guys get time. I also think a lot of folks will play in more positions than I listed here:
G: Dean/Ipsaro/Cooper
G: Safford/Mabrey/Cooper (Cooper gets plenty of playing time because he can play both guard spots)
W: Hunter/Bultman/Safford/Lewis
W: Elmer/Bultman/Kotecki
C: Mirambeaux/Morris/Potter
Because I donāt want Mirambeaux or Morris covering a PG. Or Lairy guarding a center. Switches are how offenses create mismatches. Agree with @Skins that the biggest issue with the defense last year was understanding, but also personnel. There are a lot of limitations having a PG thatās 5ā8" (really 5ā6") on top of a short bench. My understanding is they wanted to press and do some other things, but couldnāt when thereās not really anyone you can trust on the bench.
I do disagree with @Skins that theyāll slow down with Mirambeaux on the floor. I wouldnāt be surprised if he gets less minutes if heās gassed. I think they did it when the only backup was Morris, who was young (even for a freshman), has only been playing competitive basketball for a couple years, and was drinking from a firehose. I think itās different when you have a sophomore Morris along with Potter. You can afford to have Mirambeaux on the bench.