What Now?

[cernjSHU]

With Delgado gone and barring. A miracle grad transfer or freahman recruit, what does the Hall do?

My initial gut is to play fast and faster. Gill becomes very important in that he can run the floor and block shots. That is what we need. Therefore, starting lineup of Walker, Carrington, Desi, Ish and Gill. Play a pressing 40 minutes of hell kind o f Defense you have the eraser in the back with Gill. With Gill in the back, we can possibly play real small with Walker, Carrington, Cale and Desi.

We will need fresh legs so Powell, Cale, Sando, Nzei and maybe even Brodie will all get significant minutes. This team has the horses to run. I think it's their best option. At least we will be exciting to watch.

 

[shupat08]

Gill has been playing BBall for 2 years and you want him starting against Louisville in the OOC?

Okay.

 

[cernjSHU]

Yes, I want a shot blocker so we can press. He is 7'1" with a huge wingspan. He needs to do two things, run the floor and block shots. Nzei is not big enough nor is a shot blocker to play the 5. Brodie is not athletic enough to run the floor as a starter, Mamu is a possibility but not sure if he is really a shot blocker that I want there in a pressing type of defense.

Who is so much better that having Gill at the 5 is a preposterous suggestion?

 

[Rimas]

I think we will have at least have options now I think he frontcourt. You could also mov Desi to the 4 for stretches and put ish at the 5. We are gonna have to be like Nova until next year.

 

[mjs429]

This sucks. That starting 5 doesn't really do anything for me. I think in the end Sandro starts at the 4 or we go small and start Powell

Nzei
Ish
Desi
Kc
Walker

 

[cernjSHU]

I think we will have at least have options now I think he frontcourt. You could also mov Desi to the 4 for stretches and put ish at the 5. We are gonna have to be like Nova until next year.

While I like the small lineup with Desi at the 4, you need a real 5 who is a shot blocker in that lineup. Ish is too small to play it. As our lineup is very small. Villanova was substantially bigger than the lineups we are suggesting. Brunson is 6'3", Hart is 6'6", Bridges is 6'7", Jenkings is 6'7", Reynolds is 6'9" and 240 lbs.

We need a legit shot blocker because we will be playing very small.

 

[SOBO1]

I don't think we could go with that lineup. It would be too offensively challenged. I think without Delgado Willard is forced to go with

Ish
Nzei
Desi
Powell
Carrington

Unfortunately we all saw/remember what this team played like with Delgado on the bench.

 

[HallBall10]

Ish, Nzei, Desi, Powell, Carrington... Not good. No offense from the 4 or 5 and no pg.
Gill in the starting lineup.. you are kidding me. Yesterday, we were going to redshirt him (we thought he'd be less valuable to have than Brodie in the lineup) and now your using the idea of a 7 foot shot blocking olley-oop dunking person that just isn't Gill. He barely played for his Juco team. Closer to Ajou than what you envision.
Nzei, Ish, Desi, KC, Walker... at least KC is playing a position where he could carry us but the defense (who don't have to guard our 4 and 5) can now gear up to stop a freshman pg ( a lot of pressure on walker).

Our strength now is our guards. And by having Powell and Cale sitting on the bench while we have 2 offensive liabilities just can't happen. Desi needs to play the 4. He'll be more of a matchup nightmare for 4s guarding him than it will be for him guarding 4s.

We need Thorpe. Thorpe, KC, Cale, Desi, Nzei. 40 minutes of havoc. Line shift to Walker, Powell, Desi, Ish, and Sandro.

Even if we don't get Thorpe. I still think we need to go 3 guard lineup with Desi and Nzei/Ish.

 

[dcPirate]

The guards are really going to have to rebound the basketball next year. It's going to have to be a group effort on the defensive glass for sure...

 

[sportsfantatic44]

Need to play a very uptempo style (Creighton like offense) and put up 85+ per game. Our front court is very below average and small so probably going to have to play a lot of zone on D (which Willard doesn't do a lot of). What exactly are the expectations now?

 

[SPK145]

Gill is nowhere near as good as Rashed Anthony at this point, even with his shot blocking ability. Fouls maybe even more than Anthony.

 

[HallLine69]

Seems like a no-brainer that we use a three guard lineup now. Unless we bag a late JC big who's good enough to start. Don't know if that's even possible.

 

[dcPirate]

How confident are folks that the staff can completely shift gears and design an efficient up-tempo offense? There is a difference between an up tempo offense and just trying to fast break.

The Hall really hasn't shown much press defense whatsoever in recent years. All of a sudden they are going to be able run an efficient press defense? Sure, next year will be the most quality guards The Hall has had on a roster in quite some time. Just not sure (again) this staff can just shift course and get "40 minutes of hell" or the VCU havoc type defense up and running in such a short time with it being a complete 180 from what has been done in recent years.

The staff has made strides in the last couple years, but COLOR ME SKEPTICAL...

 

[Seton75]

Now we can play a point guard,and khadeen at the same time and have plenty of minutes for the Myleses...

I hope this is the biggest issue most have to think of today.

I love this team. I want us to be terrific. But it is basketball for God' sake.

 

[SOBO1]

Gill is nowhere near as good as Rashed Anthony at this point, even with his shot blocking ability. Fouls maybe even more than Anthony.

I believe you're mistaken. Didn't you hear? Gill is a legitimate shot blocker. First legit shot blocker on the team since Griffin and Dalembert

 

[Piratz]

What now? You get back to work. Adjust to your roster. No rest for the weary, no time to cry. Good teams find a way.

1). We're not replacing Delgado's rebounding, but Nzei and Sandro need to work on physicality and rebounding all summer.

2). We're going to be different. With our roster, can we get back to a defense that gets deflections and turnovers? We lost that a bit last year from the year before with Whitehead/Gordon. I think we can with the guard/wings we have this year compared to last. We need that to offset Delgado's rebounding a bit.

3). Can we improve the offensive efficiency? We really need players like Powell and Carrington to step up and be efficient guards. Both had their issues last year. Our offense was brutal, defense was good, not great. Can we improve that equation?

4). KC, Desi, and Ish need to be true leaders. Keep this team together.

 

[thehall07]

What now? You get back to work. Adjust to your roster. No rest for the weary, no time to cry. Good teams find a way.

1). We're not replacing Delgado's rebounding, but Nzei and Sandro need to work on physicality and rebounding all summer.

2). We're going to be different. With our roster, can we get back to a defense that gets deflections and turnovers? We lost that a bit last year from the year before with Whitehead/Gordon. I think we can with the guard/wings we have this year compared to last. We need that to offset Delgado's rebounding a bit.

3). Can we improve the offensive efficiency? We really need players like Powell and Carrington to step up and be efficient guards. Both had their issues last year. Our offense was brutal, defense was good, not great. Can we improve that equation?

4). KC, Desi, and Ish need to be true leaders. Keep this team together.

Nailed it.

 

[cernjSHU]

Gill is nowhere near as good as Rashed Anthony at this point, even with his shot blocking ability. Fouls maybe even more than Anthony.

If Gill is worse than Anthony, then I don't know what to say. I just want him for defense and shot blocking. But oh well.

There are no great choices here. Every lineup will have its points to criticize. I do not like Ish or Nzei at the 5 or playing together. What are the options? Walker, Carrington, Desi, Ish and Mamu? We could switch and have Carrington, Powell, Desi, ISh and Mamu. (But up tempo you need a real pg and Carrington is not). Walker Carrington, Cale, Desi and Mamu? (I think this is too small at every position) No good options folks. It is choosing from the best of the bad.

 

[hallgrad80]

Yes, I want a shot blocker so we can press. He is 7'1" with a huge wingspan. He needs to do two things, run the floor and block shots. Nzei is not big enough nor is a shot blocker to play the 5. Brodie is not athletic enough to run the floor as a starter, Mamu is a possibility but not sure if he is really a shot blocker that I want there in a pressing type of defense.

Who is so much better that having Gill at the 5 is a preposterous suggestion?

The question is not who is a better option at the center position but why we don't have a better option then Gill. The reason I say that is at last count there were 580 announced transfers and just over 200 Division 1 junior colleges playing BB and we couldn't add a legitimate BE ready Center to the program from either pool of talent.

 

[BabyBlue]

Seems like a no-brainer that we use a three guard lineup now. Unless we bag a late JC big who's good enough to start. Don't know if that's even possible.

Bayonne Taty is not walking through that door.

 

[bpm1978]

I know what needs to happen. Have Trevon Duval call Mohammed Bamba, and convince him to go along with him to Seton Hall. Then wake me up.

 

[Piratz]

Just going to have to wait and see what the coach comes up with. I really like the combination of guards and wing players, so that's something.

The challenge for Willard with these situations with Whitehead and Delgado has been the unknown. It's hard to get a top player to compensate for them if it's open-ended that they could return. Whitehead literally went down to the final day where he had to make a decision (he wanted to say, me thinks). I am sure Willard was trying to have a contingency there; fortunately it was Madison Jones.

This Delgado situation is different. A shocker.

 

[NYC Pirate]

We can't deny that this changes the dynamic of next year's team. So as others have pointed out we have to become something else.

The signing of Walker now becomes crucial as it allows for a
quicker paced offense. Willard may have to be flexible in not
trying to force the half court offensive model. We definitely have guys that can make you pay from the perimeter and a couple that can make their way to the basket. The other teams are going to have some issues dealing with our quickness.

Obviously, there is no one we can have confidence in pounding the ball inside. Walker helps Ish as far as getting him the ball for easy hoops the way IW did 2 years ago. Nzei has to be coached up starting like next Monday. Add Sandro in the mix to replace some of Angel's points. The free throw shooting numbers should improve without Angel. Tough to gage the defensive side at this point. Angel did struggle with talented big men on defense and sometimes was a bit tardy in reacting to players taking the ball to the rim.

Rebounding is the key loss with Delgado's depareture and his on court enthusiasm. It just can't be replaced.

We can still compete for a third straight NCAA bid in my opinion.

 

[dcPirate]

The question is not who is a better option at the center position but why we don't have a better option then Gill. The reason I say that is at last count there were 580 announced transfers and just over 200 Division 1 junior colleges playing BB and we couldn't add a legitimate BE ready Center to the program from either pool of talent.

To be fair, all signs pointed to Delgado coming back until something changed in the last 48-72 hours. What transfer, without knowing that, would have come to The Hall knowing Delgado was going to get 30-34 minutes/game?

I'm all for criticizing the staff, believe me, but all signs were they they were told he was coming back. Obviously the same thing happened somewhat with IW last year, but he was at least invited to the combine, in mock draft (2nd rounds), etc. The talent was there for him, we all just hoped he would wait. With Delgado its a different story (imo).

 

[knowknow456]

I would have loved for Delgado to return but I understand his thought process and I hope he has a long and successful career.

As for what now, I think this is the deepest and most athletic we have had in many years. Even without Delgado, I think we have a chance to be very good. We will look different for sure, but I am still optimistic.

 

[hallgrad80]

To be fair, all signs pointed to Delgado coming back until something changed in the last 48-72 hours. What transfer, without knowing that, would have come to The Hall knowing Delgado was going to get 30-34 minutes/game?

I'm all for criticizing the staff, believe me, but all signs were they they were told he was coming back. Obviously the same thing happened somewhat with IW last year, but he was at least invited to the combine, in mock draft (2nd rounds), etc. The talent was there for him, we all just hoped he would wait. With Delgado its a different story (imo).

What you say is not unfair and many will follow the same line of reasoning as you have. The issue I see is why take a player with only two years of eligibility left who clearly is not ready for BE play. While the expectation by the staff was that Angel was coming back there was always the possibility that some agent would get in his ear and he would leave as we've seen. . Why not protect yourself by finding a JUCO or a graduate senior who could step in and could give you quality minutes at the center position instead of a player who would need significant time to develop as the indication was the staff was going to red shirt him . While adding size with both Brodie and Gill the consensus has been that both players would not be factors this year and would see little time as their first year here would centered on improving their skill set .

 

[shurings]

We almost definitely need one more contributor if we want any chance at the NCAAs next year...I think it would be preferred to have a big man, but if we really can't find any capable players on that front, we have to land a PG

 

[Halldan1]

Gill is nowhere near as good as Rashed Anthony at this point, even with his shot blocking ability. Fouls maybe even more than Anthony.

That's a stretch to say that as you have never seen him live.

I will not disparage Anthony here but sight unseen, and I'm not talking about watching a video, Gill brings something to the court that we haven't had in a long time. A shot blocker.

Regarding fouls, here's his stats playing at a lesser level. Unfortunately minutes were not listed but I don't see anything here that says fouling machine.

35 games
77-137 FG
25-59 FT
5.2 RPG
88 PF
86 Blocks
5.1 PPG

Clearly he really needs the redshirt year.