Today's question

[Halldan1]

Who do you think is going to be the team's most important player?

Not necessarily it's best unless you feel that way. But one who's contribution might be the most important.

I have my view and will post later. My thinking is that certain players are near givens so I will not choose them instead looking at one whose impact might be unexpected and can take us nearer to our ultimate goal.

 

[SPK145]

Whitehead. It's his team, he has the talent, needs to play much better overall.

 

[halltheway]

Many will say one of the other three but I believe Desi is the link that can make us a decent team..He gives the team energy and excitement. We need his rebounding, defense and also believe he will be a scoring option. He gives 110% and hopefully the team follows.

 

[Halldan1]

To me I would think most would say Whitehead and I fully understand why. But in my mind he is more a given than our readers believe so I am looking in another direction. One where we need positives from an unknown.

For that reason I choose Braeden Anderson. His play as the probable starting 4 along side of Delgado is crucial as we will need rebounding and defense from that position. And of course being a secondary offensive option will help as well.

I believe our four frosh will handle themselves admirably. But we need someone beside those players to step up and since Anderson will get major minutes at a position of need I think his contributions will be both needed and critical.

 

[pmulcahy96]

I think it has to be Whitehead or Carrington. They are the only 2 ball handlers on the team. If one of them gets into foul trouble or suffers an injury this team is in big trouble.

 

[dcPirate]

I think it has to be Anderson/Nzei. If Delgado gets zero help inside I don't think it matters what anybody else does. The lack of rebounding last year outside of Delgado was glaring.

 

[Halldan1]

I think it has to be Anderson/Nzei. If Delgado gets zero help inside I don't think it matters what anybody else does. The lack of rebounding last year outside of Delgado was glaring.

Not just rebounding but interior defense as well.

Delgado needed to be on the court so his defense was understandably questionable at times. And as the season progressed it actually got worse as no doubt he wore down.

 

[SHUMike]

Since we don't have a true Point Guard, I say who ever brings the ball up the court will be the most important.

 

[HALL85]

Whitehead. It's his team, he has the talent, needs to play much better overall.

The ball will be in Whiteheads hands. SHU will go as far as Isaiah leads them. IW ultimately will also dictate who gets the ball. While Anderson will hopefully play an important role, he pales to IW's.

 

[Halldan1]

The ball will be in Whiteheads hands. SHU will go as far as Isaiah leads them. IW ultimately will also dictate who gets the ball. While Anderson will hopefully play an important role, he pales to IW's.

Pete that wasn't my point.

I agree with everything you and SPK say above. But I think Whitehead's impact is a given so I looked in a different direction. One that is considered an area of concern.

I am more confident than most that our 3 headed guard tandem of Whitehead, Carrington and Gordon will get the job done. But I can't say that upfront with only Delgado being a given.

So with that line of thinking I believe a player like Anderson is going to be crucial. If he plays like a Kansas type recruit (which he was) then we are going to shock the Big East. But if he's just a body out there because he have no one better then we'll be looking up in the standings all year.

 

[Hall91]

IW is the wildcard player for us. How he plays will be key. If he plays balanced; unselfish/create for others first then look for his shot second, we have potential to be a solid team. If he plays like he did at times last year after he came back from injury with forcing his game, we could end up in shambles.

Willard needs to get IW to buy in.

 

[Shuathelete]

Its IW. Hes the only one with the ability to make us a next level (still bottom half) team.

 

[cernjSHU]

Whitehead is the captain of this ship. He must play like his McDonald's All American status. He must play like an All-American which would demand dramatic improvement on physical performance and mental performance on the court. Without an excellent year from Whitehead, it won't matter who is underneath rebounding.

 

[Section112]

Whitehead is the captain of this ship. He must play like his McDonald's All American status. He must play like an All-American which would demand dramatic improvement on physical performance and mental performance on the court. Without an excellent year from Whitehead, it won't matter who is underneath rebounding.

I agree with this 100%. With the ball in his hands at the start of every possession the decisions he makes will be critical to this team's success. In addition with IW playing the point we should see improvement from our defense at the guard position (along with Gordon and Khadeen). Those 3 guards will play much better D than the matador D we have seen from our guards the past few years.

With that said Dan's point about Anderson resonates strongly with me. If he can come in and be strong defensively and allow Angel to play better defense too without worrying about getting into foul trouble, we could see a more rounded Delgado on the court this year and a better front line. Could be key to strengthening the D all around for this team.

 

[hallgrad80]

The most important player will be the one who gives us what we need up front in terms of rebounding and interior defense. If we don't find that player on our current roster then the chances for a successful season are greatly diminished.

 

[thepirate2008]

I am going to go for gold and say we need Carter/Braeden as a combo might the most important player(s)/comibnation for us. I just have this gut feeling that Carter could be a surprise player and to be fair he was heavily scouted by major players before his injured year. I am just under this impression that law school, the terrible terrible injury, the rust of being an original 2011 recruit will just produce similar stats to what Braeden produced at a much lower level, 2-6 pts and 3-5 rbs a game.

 

[HALL85]

Dan, that's where we disagree. I don't think IW is a given. He's the only player that can carry the team AND has the ability to make his teammates better. With a disjointed roster and a coach that struggles with instilling a team ball system this is paramount. He's got to play to his talent but has yet to do so.

While Anderson is important, if he goes down, Carter or Nzei can step in, maybe not as effective, but without IW the offense will stall and sputter.

 

[SHUBigT]

The given is IW; we're going to go as far as he can take us. The secondary would be Carrington. If he can hit the 3 this year that opens a lot of things up.

I know this is a little off the exact question but I'd say Willard is going to be most important aspect of the team. Can he adjust to the rule changes? Can he manage the different personalities on the team? Can he gameplan and adjust during a game? He's out of excuses and out of time....put up or shut up.

 

[HALL85]

The given is IW; we're going to go as far as he can take us. The secondary would be Carrington. If he can hit the 3 this year that opens a lot of things up.

I know this is a little off the exact question but I'd say Willard is going to be most important aspect of the team. Can he adjust to the rule changes? Can he manage the different personalities on the team? Can he gameplan and adjust during a game? He's out of excuses and out of time....put up or shut up.

IW may be a given, but I've "given-up" on Willard. You can't be clueless for five years and wake up one day and get it...This team will go as far as IW and Sha takes it.

 

[Bud Boomer]

Low usage players like Anderson are not going to have much of an impact -- good or bad. Last year Whitehead had the ball in his hands more than any other player in the Big East not named Kris Dunn. He is the most important player.

 

[simone84]

Whitehead. I started a thread last year stating that I thought Whitehead and Rysheed Jordan would have similar freshmen campaigns. Almost everyone disagreed, but they did.

I think we will see Whitehead become a much more efficient player this year.

 

[Halldan1]

Dan, that's where we disagree. I don't think IW is a given. He's the only player that can carry the team AND has the ability to make his teammates better. With a disjointed roster and a coach that struggles with instilling a team ball system this is paramount. He's got to play to his talent but has yet to do so.

While Anderson is important, if he goes down, Carter or Nzei can step in, maybe not as effective, but without IW the offense will stall and sputter.

I understand your concern and if you note on my very first post I said something to that effect.

Whitehead is a question mark to many and rightly so. To me I have confidence in the young man so I am willing to bypass him as important since I believe he's a given.

But yes that's a leap of faith on my part. So I have no issue with those that disagree with me.

 

[Halldan1]

Low usage players like Anderson are not going to have much of an impact -- good or bad. .

Bud, he's penciled in as Mobley's replacement at the 4. Short of him being a disaster in the preseason he'll be starting. Why do you say he's a low usage player?

I think just the opposite. His interior defense and rebounding is critical. If he (or Carter) doesn't step up we're in big trouble.

Angel needs help. He can't do it alone inside.

 

[Shuathelete]

Bud, he's penciled in as Mobley's replacement at the 4. Short of him being a disaster in the preseason he'll be starting. Why do you say he's a low usage player?

I think just the opposite. His interior defense and rebounding is critical. If he (or Carter) doesn't step up we're in big trouble.

Angel needs help. He can't do it alone inside.

What makes you think that Anderson or Carter are going to step up and be a factor? I agree with you 100% that they are critical, but i think there is a better chance they are a non factor than a factor. I dont think there is any evidence to think of it the other way around. What makes you think Anderson is a high usage player? Nothing supports this. Like what is the best case scenario here, we can field a team?

 

[Bud Boomer]

Bud, he's penciled in as Mobley's replacement at the 4. Short of him being a disaster in the preseason he'll be starting. Why do you say he's a low usage player?

I think just the opposite. His interior defense and rebounding is critical. If he (or Carter) doesn't step up we're in big trouble.

Angel needs help. He can't do it alone inside.

He's a low usage player because he won't be doing much if/when he's out there. He's a mop-up guy. And I'm not saying that disparagingly. All teams need role players. But it's far more important that players who consistently generate offense perform well. Think of it this way. Which was more difficult to overcome last year - a bad game from Gibbs or a bad game from Sina?

 

[Seton75]

Less is more. The offense will be far less structured and more fast paced.

I think Nzei us a high usage player. I think Anderson has a small load to carry, provide some defense and some rebounding an make a put back. I have never seen him play but I am hoping he can do those things ad that he or someone else can play tough D and not rack up fouls to take some load off of Angel.

But my answer is Isaiah, without question. If he comes out and plays like a soph who was a MCD AA, his skills will lift the other guys. The more and more so many talk like we are in Blaney's year three, the more I think flnj is closer to the reality. Wow, I said a mouthful...lol But sincerely, I am excited about the team if the coach gets more out of the way. Yes, I know coaching has been an issue, but if he lets go some and teaches defense, who knows. He has only installed 22 % of the offense, and I hope we forget half of that and that the other 78% never shows.

 

[Halldan1]

He's a low usage player because he won't be doing much if/when he's out there. He's a mop-up guy. And I'm not saying that disparagingly. All teams need role players. But it's far more important that players who consistently generate offense perform well. Think of it this way. Which was more difficult to overcome last year - a bad game from Gibbs or a bad game from Sina?

That's exactly why I have him as my critical performer. He is an unknown who absolutely must perform. And perform doesn't mean just score at a high level. For SHU to have a decent season we need interior defense, toughness and rebounding from our bigs. If we don't have someone to help out Delgado down low it doesn't matter how good our guards are. And for the record I think they are going to be very good.

For SHU to have any semblance of a good season we need something from an unknown (to date) player. Particularly a big man. That player IMO is Anderson.