Inbounds/Out of bounds - Starting lineup

[Halldan1]

Kevin Willard can go many ways with his starting lineup and may very well change it to match up with the opponent.

That said, this 5 man group will begin most games health permitting.


C Mamu
PF Samuel
SF Rhoden
2G Cale
PG Aiken


Inbounds or out of bounds

 

[HallBall02]

Inbounds. If Cale improved his handles/fluidity with the ball, I think this lineup is very dynamic on offensive side of ball with everyone able to hit 3 pointers. I think we will be a defensive nightmare for other teams ala 2018 Nova. On the other hand, if our 3 ball is off, I'm worried we may fall in love with the 3 too much and shoot us out of games.

We won't have a Ro or Ike in the back to clean up messes either, so on ball defense needs to improve.

Ike and Molson can easily start too, for more of a defensive unit. Good problems to have.

 

[TrueBlue1989]

Inbounds. Well done.

 

[Seton75]

Inbounds, that is the lineup I hope earns the nod, though subbing Ike for Samuel would be OK for me too.

The lineup Dan notes features five guys who can shoot the three.

 

[Halldan1]

Dick, it's also a stronger defensive starting lineup than last season, even with Gill not on the roster.

You also have two excellent defensive players coming off the bench in Reynolds and Molson.

Plus, if Ikey can stay out of foul trouble he can match up against opponents with size.

If we stay healthy the Hall will be very strong this season.

 

[hallgrad80]

Inbounds but I could see Molson and Cale both seeing equal time with Molson a better scorer then Cale .

 

[HALL85]

Inbounds. Experience matters and you also need to balance the ball handling responsibilities as Aiken is going to need to be protected with minute distribution. If Molson starts, you would have to have a freshman (Long) or Reynolds handling the ball for long stretches when he and Aiken sit.

 

[dehere23]

Dick, it's also a stronger defensive starting lineup than last season, even with Gill not on the roster.

You also have two excellent defensive players coming off the bench in Reynolds and Molson.

Plus, if Ikey can stay out of foul trouble he can match up against opponents with size.

If we stay healthy the Hall will be very strong this season.

Not sure I agree yet that lineup is stronger than last year with Gill and Q. TBD in my view. Gill’s presence alone aside from the actual blocks was a deterrent we have not had for about 20 years. And Q is a better wing defender than anyone we have returning until proven otherwise

 

[jdavispirates]

Inbounds. This looks like the ideal starting lineup. Cale gets the nod over Molson due to being a senior + his defense.

 

[Mbrantfan88]

Out of bounds.

I spent 2 seasons listening to excuses that Mamu is playing out of position. Now I have to listen to a third?

If Ike doesn't start, I'm going to start wondering about our ability to develop. Ike has to show progress.

 

[donnie_baseball]

Out of bounds.

I spent 2 seasons listening to excuses that Mamu is playing out of position. Now I have to listen to a third?

If Ike doesn't start, I'm going to start wondering about our ability to develop. Ike has to show progress.

So if Ike doesn't start, the development of everyone from Whitehead to Gill is out the window?

 

[Halldan1]

Not sure I agree yet that lineup is stronger than last year with Gill and Q. TBD in my view. Gill’s presence alone aside from the actual blocks was a deterrent we have not had for about 20 years. And Q is a better wing defender than anyone we have returning until proven otherwise

The difference, and we all loved him, was with the burden that Powell had offensively. He just could not keep up defensively and Willard did a excellent job hiding him to the best of his ability on that side of the court.

Clearly with no Powell the offense will struggle at times but the D will be considerably better.

 

[dehere23]

The difference, and we all loved him, was with the burden that Powell had offensively. He just could not keep up defensively and Willard did a excellent job hiding him to the best of his ability on that side of the court.

Clearly with no Powell the offense will struggle at times but the D will be considerably better.

I hear that, but you think Aiken is that superior to Powell, if at all. Without ever having guarded BE players consistently or dealt with that grind/physicality? Candidly I don't know much as to how Aiken projects as a defender, as I've really only focused or followed his offensive game.

 

[Mbrantfan88]

So if Ike doesn't start, the development of everyone from Whitehead to Gill is out the window?

I'll give you Gill, without a doubt. Even though he was 25, he came out of NOWHERE. Good job. That's a development job!

What about Myles Cater, Darnell Brodie, TT, Veer Singh, Eron Gordon, etc? With the exception of TT (who was more productive before he got here), these are guy who are more in line with Ike. These guys needed to be contributors and we got barely anything out of them. ANYTHING.

IW was a 5 star recruit. Powell was 4 star. Delgado was a 4 star. I am not falling all over myself for high level recruits getting better. You make your money in development with lower level guys.

 

[Halldan1]

I hear that, but you think Aiken is that superior to Powell, if at all. Without ever having guarded BE players consistently or dealt with that grind/physicality? Candidly I don't know much as to how Aiken projects as a defender, as I've really only focused or followed his offensive game.

I don't want to respond in such a way as to disparage a great player like Powell, who has done so much for the school. So instead I'll just say listen to our coach as we near the season. He will tell you that this current team might be his best defensive one in his time here.

 

[donnie_baseball]

I'll give you Gill, without a doubt. Even though he was 25, he came out of NOWHERE. Good job. That's a development job!

What about Myles Cater, Darnell Brodie, TT, Veer Singh, Eron Gordon, etc? With the exception of TT (who was more productive before he got here), these are guy who are more in line with Ike. These guys needed to be contributors and we got barely anything out of them. ANYTHING.

IW was a 5 star recruit. Powell was 4 star. Delgado was a 4 star. I am not falling all over myself for high level recruits getting better. You make your money in development with lower level guys.

For every Singh and Brodie, there is a Gill, Teague, Shavar, and Sandro. I hear what you're saying, but if a 4 star comes in and improves every year, like Delgado, doesn't the staff get credit as much as the blame they get when a 4 star comes in and doesn't live up to expectations?

 

[Mbrantfan88]

For every Singh and Brodie, there is a Gill, Teague, Shavar, and Sandro. I hear what you're saying, but if a 4 star comes in and improves every year, like Delgado, doesn't the staff get credit as much as the blame they get when a 4 star comes in and doesn't live up to expectations?

I have no idea what the "%" is across all of college basketball so I may be a little tough on the staff. But the staff gets HUGE props for this. Gill develops and Grant gets credit. But, we got misses with the guys previously mentioned so I have hard time listening.

I find the dialogue funny in general. Player works out, great development job by the staff. Player doesn't work out, player's fault.

I am a little disappointed when we "settle" after we miss out on big name and then that player doesn't develop (ex. Jordan Walker). Those are the dev stories I really want to hear. We need to see Jahari Long develop. We took the bird in the hand route. We need to see something from him.

 

[Seton75]

Dick, it's also a stronger defensive starting lineup than last season, even with Gill not on the roster.

You also have two excellent defensive players coming off the bench in Reynolds and Molson.

Plus, if Ikey can stay out of foul trouble he can match up against opponents with size.

If we stay healthy the Hall will be very strong this season.

I hope it is a stronger defensive lineup. But I am not certain any of the guys in the starting lineup are defensive stalwarts. I have a solid show me attitude about that group's defense. I know KW said without Myles, who worked too hard on O to be expected to expend so much energy on D, it will help the D. Maybe, makes sense, but show me. We are replacing Q with a slight 5'10 kid with injury issues. We lose the shot blocking of Ro; Mamu and Rhoden have never shown me to be plus defenders. Cale is the closest to a top nothh defender.

I will be expecting a great shooting team, and if the defense is great, try to wipe that smile off my face. But I dont see any reason to think D will be our calling card with that five.

 

[Seton75]

For every Singh and Brodie, there is a Gill, Teague, Shavar, and Sandro. I hear what you're saying, but if a 4 star comes in and improves every year, like Delgado, doesn't the staff get credit as much as the blame they get when a 4 star comes in and doesn't live up to expectations?

Do not mean any disresect to the players, but did you really expect huge contributions from Myles Cater, Darnell Brodie, or Eron Gordon? I did think Veer and TT would be a players.

 

[Mbrantfan88]

Do not mean any disresect to the players, but did you really expect huge contributions from Myles Cater, Darnell Brodie, or Eron Gordon? I did think Veer and TT would be a players.

Again, maybe I'm expecting a higher "%" of players to contribute than is realistic, but everything I hear is how we develop players.

Eron Gordon is an interesting subject. He was basically the backup point. So, yes I'm expecting more than the 1.8/.8/.8 line we got out of him. I'm not expecting any of these guys to burn down the house. But, outside one game for Brody, we got nothing from him or Carter. We coudn't even get 5 fouls like Rashed Anthony?

Veer was obviously a reach. Kid just wasn't a D1 talent.

TT and Ike are the more disappointing cases.Both had promising freshmen years and neither were able to even replicate that. And let me throw in one more name, Myles Cale. Took huge step forward in his soph year. And a huge step back last.

 

[shu09]

I hope it is a stronger defensive lineup. But I am not certain any of the guys in the starting lineup are defensive stalwarts. I have a solid show me attitude about that group's defense. I know KW said without Myles, who worked too hard on O to be expected to expend so much energy on D, it will help the D. Maybe, makes sense, but show me. We are replacing Q with a slight 5'10 kid with injury issues. We lose the shot blocking of Ro; Mamu and Rhoden have never shown me to be plus defenders. Cale is the closest to a top nothh defender.

I will be expecting a great shooting team, and if the defense is great, try to wipe that smile off my face. But I dont see any reason to think D will be our calling card with that five.

I have my doubts as well. We lose two GREAT defenders in McKnight and Gill. I'm confident Rhoden, Cale and Molson will be quality defenders. Reynolds is a great defender off the bench. Sandro has never been a great defender, but he's adequate and can improve. If Ike can manage to play decent minutes, that helps significantly on the defensive end too.

While I do have my doubts, I think Willard and the team have earned the benefit of the doubt because the culture of gritty, defensive players is so ingrained now. They will figure it out and excel.

 

[MBF72]

No complaints about the starters listed above. I'd start Ike, with a short leash, to try to get him going, and I like Mamu more on the wing. If Molson is at all Quincy-like, we can't go too wrong with the first seven, and I always think the freshmen will give us something as well.

 

[BucBloc]

out of bounds- but not in a bad way, just a tweek.

my view is that Molson starts and MC is the jack of all trades coming in and spelling TM and JR and also playing beside them with TS out of the game.

I can MC taking ownership of the "swiss army knife" role providing scoring, rebounding, defense and senior leadership.

it is an excellent problem to have and I hope the players make it hard on KW to decide.

 

[donnie_baseball]

I have no idea what the "%" is across all of college basketball so I may be a little tough on the staff. But the staff gets HUGE props for this. Gill develops and Grant gets credit. But, we got misses with the guys previously mentioned so I have hard time listening.

Well, I can tell you that all programs have players that don't work out, so don't bother looking up the percentage. A little tough on the staff? We are loaded with three star talent and should have a tourney-quality team for the 6th straight year. Neck and neck with Villanova most years, and they get all 4 and 5 stars.

 

[HallBall02]

7 players can start which is a high major problem. Not including Reynolds who can come off the bench and help. Certainly we adjust lineup for the teams we play.

Two biggest offseason hopes for our current players was for Cale and Ike to really work hard to improve there deficiencies. Seems that Cale did the offseason work since he now projects to be starting from an insider.

If we play against a traditional 5, I think Ike should start and Samuel off the bench with Mamu going to the 4. That way it can balance out a small PG and allow mistakes on D.

Molson didn't come here to not get lots of PT, he will play a lot whether he comes off the bench or starts.

 

[Mbrantfan88]

Well, I can tell you that all programs have players that don't work out, so don't bother looking up the percentage. A little tough on the staff? We are loaded with three star talent and should have a tourney-quality team for the 6th straight year. Neck and neck with Villanova most years, and they get all 4 and 5 stars.

Ok, neck and neck seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. We were tri-conf champs this year and the best finish previously is third. No one in the conference is neck and neck with Nova. And making the tourney at this point is not enough. There needs to be a run.

Again, like I said, I concede that I may be a little tough on the staff as far as label of "developing" talent goes. I think this year may be the year they prove me wrong.

 

[donnie_baseball]

Ok, neck and neck seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. We were tri-conf champs this year and the best finish previously is third. No one in the conference is neck and neck with Nova. And making the tourney at this point is not enough. There needs to be a run.

Again, like I said, I concede that I may be a little tough on the staff as far as label of "developing" talent goes. I think this year may be the year they prove me wrong.

On the court, head to head, we have won versus Nova as much as (or more than) anyone in the conference. Your other point is a whole other discussion. How was Gonzalez at developing talent? Blaney? Amaker? Orr is the last decent one I can remember, and that's almost 15 years ago, now.

 

[shu09]

Ok, neck and neck seems to be a bit of an exaggeration. We were tri-conf champs this year and the best finish previously is third. No one in the conference is neck and neck with Nova. And making the tourney at this point is not enough. There needs to be a run.

Again, like I said, I concede that I may be a little tough on the staff as far as label of "developing" talent goes. I think this year may be the year they prove me wrong.

Yeah, I love what our program has done but we are not neck and neck with Nova. Are we the second best program in the league? Maybe, you could possibly make a case for that. But nobody in this league is near Nova right now.

 

[hallgrad80]

I hate to say this but the program I see challenging Nova within a year or two is UConn as I see Hurley and UConn recruiting as well as Nova.

 

[HALL85]

Who is the Primary ball handler when Aiken sits?

 

[HallBall02]

Who is the Primary ball handler when Aiken sits?

Reynolds, Long, maybe Molson?

 

[Mbrantfan88]

Reynolds, Long, maybe Molson?

Ugh. Better hope for Long to develop.

 

[Mbrantfan88]

On the court, head to head, we have won versus Nova as much as (or more than) anyone in the conference. Your other point is a whole other discussion. How was Gonzalez at developing talent? Blaney? Amaker? Orr is the last decent one I can remember, and that's almost 15 years ago, now.

Results are what matters and we've got 1 BE Title (shared) and 1 BET. Since the realignment , Nova has won 5 outright and 1 shared. Nova has also won 4 BET (3 since the last time we won). That's not neck and neck.

Other people's failure has nothing to do with current progress. Blaney was a bad hire (last option). Amaker got to the Sweet 16 in his 3 year. I would hazard to guess he developed a player or 2 during that time. His handling of the team once the prize class showed up the following year is a total different type of failure. You're probably right on the money with Orr.

 

[HALL85]

Reynolds, Long, maybe Molson?

I don’t think Reynolds will work as a primary ball handler unless you have Molson out there with him. Tough also to put a freshman like Long in there as well for extended minutes as the primary. Cale doesn’t have the handle either. My sense is that Aiken or Molson need to be on the court at all times. Better reason for Molson to come off the bench IMO.

 

[Halldan1]

Who is the Primary ball handler when Aiken sits?

Long.

 

[HALL85]

Long.

Do you think Willard is going to trust a freshman ball handler for extended minutes? Especially if he turns the ball over too much?

 

[Halldan1]

Given a choice maybe not. But from what I am hearing and knowing the options available the answer until proven otherwise is Long.

Playing great at this point. Heady and makes his teammates better. If he can continue that once the lights go on he's the answer until we see differently.

 

[garyshu71]

Ok great, but who will finish in a tight game?

 

[Halldan1]

The team that starts

Match-ups

Whomever is playing best

Game situation

Of course foul trouble will also play a part.

 

[mbraue]

I don't want to respond in such a way as to disparage a great player like Powell, who has done so much for the school. So instead I'll just say listen to our coach as we near the season. He will tell you that this current team might be his best defensive one in his time here.

And Willard is a glass half empty guy. This is encouraging.