Parham gets waiver!

[YlJacket]

Dear God, we get great news and you two are harping about front court depth?? Cmon maaaaaan!!

In all seriousness, this is the type of breaks that we needed for a good season. It will really help bridge the gap until Usher is eligible.

Congrats Bubba, I know he must be stoked!!

You know unless we have Bill Russell backed up by Shaq in today's game we are mucked.

 

[OlaJacket]

Go Broncos!!! Same high school that brought us Mansfield Wrotto!

And Richard Kimsey

 

[Peacone36]

Creates an interesting problem (but one of them good problems) with our roster. We have too many players.

Shembari played fantastic in Spain and this is his last season. You’d like to see him receive minutes if he is indeed the player he showed last month, or the player we expected last season.

With Bubba we now have 4 ball handling guards in Jose, Devoe, Bubba and Shem.

We also have 4 wings (or will in December) who we want to give minutes to Usher, Moore, Sjo-Nuff and Price. Didenko is also here somewhere. BTW I thought Price outplayed, at the very least, a couple guys I’ve already mentioned in Spain.

Now you have Banks (30 mpg hopefully) Wright and Cole (Who also played well in Spain) at the five spot. Wright is also going to presumably play some 4 as well. I don’t understand the concerns over the backup five spot. Wright and Cole are both better than anyone we had a shot at in Free Agency or some random Euro big.

Couple things:

1-I don’t think we see a whole lot of Didenko

2-I’d like to see Price redshirt, but I understand if he doesn’t. The kid is a pure shooter and has no confidence issues by the looks of how he played in Spain.


That said....who sits? Jose and Mike are gonna each get 30, Banks will get 25-30 depending on foul trouble, and Usher is gonna play a ton when he gets eligible. It’s widely speculated that CJP loves him Khalid (I do too, I hope he develops a greedy, killer mentality). They are going to find 20 a game for Bubba and probably Wright. That leaves scraps for 4 guys. This is why I kind of hope we do redshirt Price. Then again, we only lose SP after this year so....there isn’t a ton of relief if we do, why not let em work it out in practice.

One of them good problems...

 

[lv20gt]

So our current roster is

PG - Alvarado, Phillips
SG - Devoe , Parham, Price
SF - Moore, Usher, Sjolund
PF - Wright, Cole, Didenko
C - Banks

Positions are just somewhat fluid

I think Didenko likely sees little time as well. Otherwise there are 11 guys. I think Price and maybe Sjolund will likely be struggling to see minutes in ACC play this year. So mpg would look something like

Jose - 27
Mike -27
Bubba - 15
Phillips - 11
Sjolund 10
Usher - 20
Moore - 15
Wright - 25
Cole-20
Banks- 30

Now obviously I don't expect Price to get absolutely no minutes, unless we try to redshirt him, but I don't really see where he will get any. One of the potential issues is that depending on how Parham's game translates, we could still be looking at needing 2 of the 3 of Jose, Mike, and Banks to be in at a time. For instance, could we get away with a lineup of Phillips, Parham, Usher, Wright, and Banks? If the answer is yes, then I could see us trying to play a good bit faster this year and spread the minutes around more. If not, then I think it will be very hard for some guys, like Phillips or Sjolund to get time (Sjolund because I think if we can get away with having Banks out more with Usher at the 4 that would open up minutes for Sjolund).

 

[bos]

Usher won't play for the first few months so Price and Sjolund will get plenty of minutes as they are the only wing players other than Moore. Sjolund started to get some PT at the end of the season and if he can improve defensively, could be strong candidate to start regularly.

 

[Ramblingon]

What a nice dilemma to finally have. I've mentally batted around the minutes and who plays, also. Not easy, good luck to CJP. With Usher out until mid December, gives several players time to prove their cases. And glad that the powers that be didn't wait until the season began to give the okay to Bubba.

 

[joehamiltonfan14]

This is great news! This could boost our win total. Really looking forward to the season. I just hope we haven’t overscheduled in the nonconference. Schedule is going to be a bear

 

[Techster]

Don't want to jinx anything, but this is shaping up to be the deepest roster Pastner has had here in terms of talent + experience. We don't have the top end talent of an Okogie, but the talent is higher from 1-5 spots PLUS bench players. Our potential starting 5 is also the best starting 5 Pastner has been able to put on the floor.

I really don't see a glaring weak spot on this team in terms of our starters. Even when we made the finals of the NIT, our guards were not in the same class as Alvarado and Devoe even if Big Ben and Okogie were high level players.

*Knocks on wood*

 

[YlJacket]

The strategy that leads to minutes will be fascinating to watch. Do we go big at the 4 with Moses or small with Usher? Do we want to play fast and perimeter based or more defensive/rebounding with Moses. Or do we go matchup based on who we are playing? How CJP wants to set this team up will really be interesting.

 

[bos]

The glaring weak spot is definitely a lack of a go to guy. That's what really hindered this team last year. When you need a bucket, who steps up?

 

[YlJacket]

The glaring weak spot is definitely a lack of a go to guy. That's what really hindered this team last year. When you need a bucket, who steps up?

I would extend that just a little - who is the "go to" guy who can create his own shot when things break down. That is often the difference in a close game. It is why I keep thinking DeVoe is still the key guy for us this year but that requires him to step up from his performance last year where he was a great % shooter but wasn't great at getting his own. Needed a half step to get by guys to make them respect the drive. With Parham now eligible he has the potential to be the guy who can get his shot when needed. Surely quick enough to do that. Can he stay on the floor on the defensive end is my question just based on his size. Zone helps though.

 

[gameface]

How do you define "go to guy"? We have a few who are good at taking it to the hoop, depending on how close to the hoop you want them to get.

 

[GTRX7]

I think Alvarado is set for a great year. I think most of his inconsistencies last year were due to Devoe still learning and Jose feeling like he basically had to carry the scoring and playmaking for the entire team for most of the year. He thus ended up pressing at times. This year, he should be able to play more within the system and take his chances more organically.

 

[Connell62]

The strategy that leads to minutes will be fascinating to watch. Do we go big at the 4 with Moses or small with Usher? Do we want to play fast and perimeter based or more defensive/rebounding with Moses. Or do we go matchup based on who we are playing? How CJP wants to set this team up will really be interesting.

Moses will be the starting 4, I think that is clear (at least in my mind), but he will see some minutes at the 5 as well. How much so will depend on how consistent Big James is this year, and whether we decide to play small.

I suspect Cole will be a lot like Moses and split his time between the 4 /5 spots. Back court and wings will be loaded with options. Jose and Mike will log heavy minutes, but that rotation will be interesting.

To me, the biggest log jam will be on the wing. This is especially true if Shembarri plays anywhere close to the level he did in Spain. Shembari, Khalid, and Sjolund will be fighting for minutes there all year.

Once Ush is eligible, I think that he becomes the starter there, but if we want to go small, he can slide to the 4 allowing us to get another shooter on the floor.

There's a lot to be excited about if you are a GT hoops fan. Should be a fun season.

 

[RamblinRed]

I fully expect Jose, Mike and James to avg between 90-100 mpg combined. How is the other 100 min divied out. That could change alot during the season.
When Usher becomes available he is going to play alot of min imo. He was the leading assist man in Spain due to his ability to attack the basket off the dribble. I see him playing at both the 3 and 4.

Price's playing time may depend alot upon Phillips. If Phillips plays like he did in Spain then you can make a stronger argument to RS Price. But after game 1 Price looked pretty comfortable shooting the ball. Usher not being eligible at the beginning of the season sort of complicates things as it means we might play some guys early that if Usher was eligible would be potential redshirts.

Almost everyone on that trip had their moments but who can play at a high level consistently and against ACC level competition. That will be the key. I do think we will try to play faster. We have depth at guard and just more players to throw on the court overall.

 

[kg01]

Dear God, we get great news and you two are harping about front court depth?? Cmon maaaaaan!!

In all seriousness, this is the type of breaks that we needed for a good season. It will really help bridge the gap until Usher is eligible.

Congrats Bubba, I know he must be stoked!!

Smells like c62 and kg feel the exact same way about the upcoming GT season.

I know, it scares me too.

 

[bos]

I think Alvarado is set for a great year. I think most of his inconsistencies last year were due to Devoe still learning and Jose feeling like he basically had to carry the scoring and playmaking for the entire team for most of the year. He thus ended up pressing at times. This year, he should be able to play more within the system and take his chances more organically.

Also to note is that he is more than a year removed from his injury and used the offseason to get better and not rehab.

 

[YlJacket]

Same with DeVoe. Some discussion he never really recovered from his foot injury. We'll see how much that helps.

 

[glandon1960]

Creates an interesting problem (but one of them good problems) with our roster. We have too many players.

Shembari played fantastic in Spain and this is his last season. You’d like to see him receive minutes if he is indeed the player he showed last month, or the player we expected last season.

With Bubba we now have 4 ball handling guards in Jose, Devoe, Bubba and Shem.

We also have 4 wings (or will in December) who we want to give minutes to Usher, Moore, Sjo-Nuff and Price. Didenko is also here somewhere. BTW I thought Price outplayed, at the very least, a couple guys I’ve already mentioned in Spain.

Now you have Banks (30 mpg hopefully) Wright and Cole (Who also played well in Spain) at the five spot. Wright is also going to presumably play some 4 as well. I don’t understand the concerns over the backup five spot. Wright and Cole are both better than anyone we had a shot at in Free Agency or some random Euro big.

Couple things:

1-I don’t think we see a whole lot of Didenko

2-I’d like to see Price redshirt, but I understand if he doesn’t. The kid is a pure shooter and has no confidence issues by the looks of how he played in Spain.


That said....who sits? Jose and Mike are gonna each get 30, Banks will get 25-30 depending on foul trouble, and Usher is gonna play a ton when he gets eligible. It’s widely speculated that CJP loves him Khalid (I do too, I hope he develops a greedy, killer mentality). They are going to find 20 a game for Bubba and probably Wright. That leaves scraps for 4 guys. This is why I kind of hope we do redshirt Price. Then again, we only lose SP after this year so....there isn’t a ton of relief if we do, why not let em work it out in practice.

One of them good problems...

Dead on! Problem (good problem) we havenot had in a long time. Only concern would be if Banks went down for significant time (injury).

 

[gtgaas]

I fully expect Jose, Mike and James to avg between 90-100 mpg combined. How is the other 100 min divied out. That could change alot during the season.
When Usher becomes available he is going to play alot of min imo. He was the leading assist man in Spain due to his ability to attack the basket off the dribble. I see him playing at both the 3 and 4.

Price's playing time may depend alot upon Phillips. If Phillips plays like he did in Spain then you can make a stronger argument to RS Price. But after game 1 Price looked pretty comfortable shooting the ball. Usher not being eligible at the beginning of the season sort of complicates things as it means we might play some guys early that if Usher was eligible would be potential redshirts.

Almost everyone on that trip had their moments but who can play at a high level consistently and against ACC level competition. That will be the key. I do think we will try to play faster. We have depth at guard and just more players to throw on the court overall.

Any word on whether Sjolund might be a redshirt candidate?