I'm excited to see how Pastner uses our guys. I think our depth, with the addition of Deivon Smith and the talented and long freshmen, gives Pastner the ability to run everyone into the ground equally each game lol. From reading various interviews, it looks we're going to try and dictate pace on both ends of the floor...the pace the players have talked about is keeping it fast.
It's a shame Maxwell is out. His body looked totally different (in a good way) in preseason scrimmage videos. He hasn't played much the past two years, but it looks like he's put in the work.
The freshmen, especially Deebo and Kelly, should be fun to watch. Our guys are REALLY talking up Deebo and Kelly. Kelly apparently can not only shoot well, but has a good array of shots at his disposal...some of which we saw in his recruiting film.
I'm also interested in our post production. I'm hearing good things about Saba's offensive skillset, but he's still lacking on the defensive side a bit due to his strength. Meka sounds like a someone that's nonstop effort with high athleticism.
Michael Devoe put in a lot of work improving his speed and explosiveness. Early feedback is that it's paying off. Will be interested to see it translate to his game.
I expect our usual early season hickups (it's not GT basketball without them), and Miami is a decent early season test for a non P5 school. Always different playing another team when you've been practicing against your teammates for months. Seems like we'll be able to utilize our NASCAR lineup against Miami as they don't have the length (and dare I say the athletes) that ACC schools have.
Let's get this win and start the season on a good note. Not gonna lie, football season hasn't been fun for us, so this is a welcome time for our basketball team. This should be a VERY fun team to watch given the depth of athletes we have on our roster. Whether it translates to another NCAA tournament appearance we'll find out in the coming months. Until then, I'm going to enjoy this team figuring out the best fit, and watching the young guys develop and mesh with the old heads on the team.
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Would only be better if baseball were starting too.
