My way too early, possibly problematic look at potential GT Hoops roster management

1979jacket

Ramblin' Wreck
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619
For once in many, many years I feel we have a team that has enough talent to win. I know we had the Alvarado and Wright team that turned out to be fairly talented with those two and Usher and Devoe. But that team grew during the year unlike this team which appears strong from the beginning. I expect

George, McCollum, Reeves, Sutton and Ndongo to be first five

Terry and OBrein to spell the two guards
Mustaf to spell Reeves
Onwuchekwa or Motombo to spell Sutton and Ndongo - meaning Ndongo will split time between 4 and 5

They may even at times go with McCollum, Terry, Reeves, OBrein and Ndongo - the small experienced team

Development of the freshmen is the biggest unknown.
 

YlJacket

Helluva Engineer
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3,249
I wouldn't be surprised to see OBrian start at the 4 instead of Sutton. Older and stronger (I hope).

The freshmen are indeed the biggest unknown. Will be fun to watch as they do have talent which is nice.
 

ESPNjacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,527
For once in many, many years I feel we have a team that has enough talent to win. I know we had the Alvarado and Wright team that turned out to be fairly talented with those two and Usher and Devoe. But that team grew during the year unlike this team which appears strong from the beginning. I expect

George, McCollum, Reeves, Sutton and Ndongo to be first five

Terry and OBrein to spell the two guards
Mustaf to spell Reeves
Onwuchekwa or Motombo to spell Sutton and Ndongo - meaning Ndongo will split time between 4 and 5

They may even at times go with McCollum, Terry, Reeves, OBrein and Ndongo - the small experienced team

Development of the freshmen is the biggest unknown.
I feel more confident with the current coach preparing his team to start a season than the previous coach whose teams were consistently unprepared to start the season.
 

AUFC

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I feel more confident with the current coach preparing his team to start a season than the previous coach whose teams were consistently unprepared to start the season.
Agree on this, and I like CDS, but I'm still looking to see if the current coach can build a team who shows up nightly. I'm no CJP fanboy but his teams were interested in winning every single night (whether the talent was there to pull it off was a different issue). Last year's team sleptwalk into multiple games if the opponent was not deemed worthy enough. We need that Duke, UNC effort every night whether we're playing Mississippi Valley St or Purdue.
 

ESPNjacket

Helluva Engineer
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1,527
Agree on this, and I like CDS, but I'm still looking to see if the current coach can build a team who shows up nightly. I'm no CJP fanboy but his teams were interested in winning every single night (whether the talent was there to pull it off was a different issue). Last year's team sleptwalk into multiple games if the opponent was not deemed worthy enough. We need that Duke, UNC effort every night whether we're playing Mississippi Valley St or Purdue.
CJP teams were didn't show up to play until January.
 

1979jacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
619
I wouldn't be surprised to see OBrian start at the 4 instead of Sutton. Older and stronger (I hope).

The freshmen are indeed the biggest unknown. Will be fun to watch as they do have talent which is nice.
After watching film I agree. OBrein is a really good player. I was surprised how good he appears to be - strong, plays good defense, passes, can shoot the three when needed. I think he will start in place of Sutton and kind of surprised we were able to get him. He was not a really high recruit but he played pretty well on a good Colorado team. May not be a huge scorer but great role player.
 

slugboy

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Staff member
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11,431
I at least know that Stoudamire is taking his shot and trying to win. He makes big changes; hopefully, they work.
We were weak at the 5, he brought in three centers. He’s pulled the highest rated class I’ve seen in a long while. He’s adding shooting. Now, he’s got to get them playing together. It’s probably harder to coach now than it was 20 years ago
 

LargeFO

Helluva Engineer
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3,397
After watching film I agree. OBrein is a really good player. I was surprised how good he appears to be - strong, plays good defense, passes, can shoot the three when needed. I think he will start in place of Sutton and kind of surprised we were able to get him. He was not a really high recruit but he played pretty well on a good Colorado team. May not be a huge scorer but great role player.

He should definitely fill up the stat sheet nightly with solid lines. A few assists, steals, some boards, 10ish PPG.
 

Techster

Helluva Engineer
Messages
18,189
For once in many, many years I feel we have a team that has enough talent to win. I know we had the Alvarado and Wright team that turned out to be fairly talented with those two and Usher and Devoe. But that team grew during the year unlike this team which appears strong from the beginning. I expect

I think we certainly had enough talent to win more games last season. You can't convince me a team that beat Duke AND UNC could not win more games than we did.

What Stoudamire needs to do is create more consistency and raise the floor of this team. We had a high ceiling last season (our Quad 1 wins were ridiculous), but we also had a low floor (our Quad 3 and 4 losses were equally as ridiculous). I really like to see us consistently beat teams we should, and continue with our quality wins.
 

ESPNjacket

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I think we certainly had enough talent to win more games last season. You can't convince me a team that beat Duke AND UNC could not win more games than we did.

What Stoudamire needs to do is create more consistency and raise the floor of this team. We had a high ceiling last season (our Quad 1 wins were ridiculous), but we also had a low floor (our Quad 3 and 4 losses were equally as ridiculous). I really like to see us consistently beat teams we should, and continue with our quality wins.
When a coach is trying to change the culture this is something that often happens. Saban's first year at Alabama they lost to Lousiana-Monroe, beat 2 ranked teams, and went 7-6.
 

AUFC

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CJP teams were didn't show up to play until January.
Agree to disagree. His teams played hard-nosed defense even during the non-conference schedule. The problem is they were poorly coached into a square-peg-round-hole offensive strategy that had little nuance and that's why they lost countless games in November and December.

Regardless, I think we overall agree. CDS has brought in a stud top 15 class in his first real recruitment cycle and the 2025 class is ranked #2. There are almost certainly better days ahead for GTMBB. Elite OTE talent is going to continue to funnel to the Flats if Mustaf and Sutton elevate this year's team.
 

Techster

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When a coach is trying to change the culture this is something that often happens. Saban's first year at Alabama they lost to Lousiana-Monroe, beat 2 ranked teams, and went 7-6.

Yup, which is why I'm going long for Stoudamire. The Quad 1 wins plus the recruiting and portal transfers gives me confidence we can be an annual NCAAT team, but low level losses could be just a first year thing or something Stoudamire will struggle with every year. We'll get a better picture of Stoudamire as the years go by.
 

iopjacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
804
I think we certainly had enough talent to win more games last season. You can't convince me a team that beat Duke AND UNC could not win more games than we did.

What Stoudamire needs to do is create more consistency and raise the floor of this team. We had a high ceiling last season (our Quad 1 wins were ridiculous), but we also had a low floor (our Quad 3 and 4 losses were equally as ridiculous). I really like to see us consistently beat teams we should, and continue with our quality wins.

Last year we seemed to get manhandled at the wing particularly by in conference teams we probably should have beaten. O'Brien could help provide some strength in the middle. Though it's not very likely to happen, IMO a returning heathy Miles Kelly for our last roster spot would be ideal. Otherwise a taller, stocky, Brandon Stores type, player would be nice portal addition.
 

AUFC

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Last year we seemed to get manhandled at the wing particularly by in conference teams we probably should have beaten. O'Brien could help provide some strength in the middle. Though it's not very likely to happen, IMO a returning heathy Miles Kelly for our last roster spot would be ideal. Otherwise a taller, stocky, Brandon Stores type, player would be nice portal addition.
Count me as part of the "wish we had Miles" crew but we won't be hurting for his position. Lance Terry doesn't quite have Miles' length but should slot in to his role fine as a spot up deep 3 threat. I recall some comments saying Terry looked incredible in the summer 2023 circuit (not a huge surprise as he was a huge contributor towards the end of the 2022-23 season).
 

Connell62

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George and McCollum will be the back court most of the time with Terry coming off the bench for offense. Reeves and Mustaf will be at the wings. O'Brien and Ndongo will handle PF. A developing Onwuchekwa, and Mutombo will handle the middle with Ndongo playing there some. Sutton will get time as the season progresses.
Any starting line-up that doesn’t include a healthy Lance Terry is the wrong answer IMO.
 

lv20gt

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Considering they were starters last year I think it's safe to slot George, Reeves, and Ndongo starters. Based on last year, I'd be surprised if we started Ndongo at the 5 so I would guess one of the centers starts even if it's for smaller amounts of time. IMO Onwuchekwa is the most likely. If you go by what was said last year, than Terry would probably be the last starter. He was referred to as being a missing starter last year when he was out, although I'm not sure who he'd have been starting over. I could also very easily see him getting the "vet off the bench" role that Kyle got last year.

So I would guess something like George, Terry, Reeves, Ndongo, Onwucheckwa as the starters with McCollum and Mustaf being the primary guards off the bench. I would guess Obrien and Sutton will mostly be competing for the minutes at the 4 that Ndongo doesn't take (whether to sit or slide to the 5), and maybe spot duty for the other centers depending on match up.

Team has talent at most positions and good back court depth, and potential decent front court depth depending on the freshmen, including Souare, adjust.

Some other thoughts.

If we go to a line up of George + Mustaf/McCollum along with Baye and a center, are we going to be able to make enough 3s to get teams honest. George and McCollum were both good enough from three to keep defenders honest as a primary ball handler, but not good enough to really warrant being in the game alongside each other. With Baye only taking 12 3 pointers all last year and our centers likely not being big threats from three, that line up could see teams just pack the paint making things hard. That's one of the reasons I think Terry is likely going to play a lot.

Can we get away with a smaller line up with Baye at the 5 and either Sutton or Obrien at the 4. Offensively that would make a lot of sense, especially with Obrien, but in terms of rebounding and defense I'm not sold. One of the things that hurts is our back court doesn't seem particularly well suited to help that much rebounding. George was our worst rebounder last year by % and Reeves was probably the worst for the position. Losing Kelly in that spot hurts because last year he was a good rebounder for his position. Neither Terry nor McCollum are strong rebounders either. Possibly Mustaf can help in that regard, or maybe something like a like up of both Obrien and Sutton instead of Reeves.

Is someone going to step up and be what Kelly was expected to be last year? One of the reasons pointed to for our struggles at times last year was Kelly's individual struggles, but if we don't change how we approach things I'm not sure if we won't run into similar issues this year. We have a good bit of talent but I'm not seeing a first team all acc type of player that can just go out and beat his man consistently. If Reeves can maintain his improved efficiency with the volume he had at UF then he's probably our best bet. Depending on how Ndongo or George develop then maybe them. I think more realistically we're going to have to do a better job of generating better looks from the offense as a whole and be less reliant on individuals just making plays.
 

Richland County

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
295
Considering they were starters last year I think it's safe to slot George, Reeves, and Ndongo starters. Based on last year, I'd be surprised if we started Ndongo at the 5 so I would guess one of the centers starts even if it's for smaller amounts of time. IMO Onwuchekwa is the most likely. If you go by what was said last year, than Terry would probably be the last starter. He was referred to as being a missing starter last year when he was out, although I'm not sure who he'd have been starting over. I could also very easily see him getting the "vet off the bench" role that Kyle got last year.

So I would guess something like George, Terry, Reeves, Ndongo, Onwucheckwa as the starters with McCollum and Mustaf being the primary guards off the bench. I would guess Obrien and Sutton will mostly be competing for the minutes at the 4 that Ndongo doesn't take (whether to sit or slide to the 5), and maybe spot duty for the other centers depending on match up.

Team has talent at most positions and good back court depth, and potential decent front court depth depending on the freshmen, including Souare, adjust.

Some other thoughts.

If we go to a line up of George + Mustaf/McCollum along with Baye and a center, are we going to be able to make enough 3s to get teams honest. George and McCollum were both good enough from three to keep defenders honest as a primary ball handler, but not good enough to really warrant being in the game alongside each other. With Baye only taking 12 3 pointers all last year and our centers likely not being big threats from three, that line up could see teams just pack the paint making things hard. That's one of the reasons I think Terry is likely going to play a lot.

Can we get away with a smaller line up with Baye at the 5 and either Sutton or Obrien at the 4. Offensively that would make a lot of sense, especially with Obrien, but in terms of rebounding and defense I'm not sold. One of the things that hurts is our back court doesn't seem particularly well suited to help that much rebounding. George was our worst rebounder last year by % and Reeves was probably the worst for the position. Losing Kelly in that spot hurts because last year he was a good rebounder for his position. Neither Terry nor McCollum are strong rebounders either. Possibly Mustaf can help in that regard, or maybe something like a like up of both Obrien and Sutton instead of Reeves.

Is someone going to step up and be what Kelly was expected to be last year? One of the reasons pointed to for our struggles at times last year was Kelly's individual struggles, but if we don't change how we approach things I'm not sure if we won't run into similar issues this year. We have a good bit of talent but I'm not seeing a first team all acc type of player that can just go out and beat his man consistently. If Reeves can maintain his improved efficiency with the volume he had at UF then he's probably our best bet. Depending on how Ndongo or George develop then maybe them. I think more realistically we're going to have to do a better job of generating better looks from the offense as a whole and be less reliant on individuals just making plays.
The young man that transformed from ou isn't coming to be the 6th man. He will be the starting sg. I'd guess he came for Miles spot. He is the player that can go get a bucket when the o breaks down.
 
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