One other scenario is if Major is planning on red-shirting Clark… or as has been mentioned if Clark will even play PF in college.
C - Thorne, Illija, Braz
PF - Braz, KJ, Clayton, Clark
You can expect Braswell to see significant minutes at either position. lets assume 34 total minutes/game split 17m at PF, 17m at C. Some speculate Thorne seeing 10m/game is too much but for the purposes of this estimate that is good enough. That leaves 13m to either have 2 PFs playing simultaneously or Ivankovic getting some action. That is pretty good in my opinion for center position.
With Bras playing 17m at PF, that leaves 23m. Lets assume KJ stays but gets only 10m/game. That leaves 13 minutes to split between 2 freshmen… Sounds solid to me.
Barring injuries or defections we do not need another post player. Would it be nice to have another one? sure, but not a NEED.
I’m with wupass. We have a glaring need for a shooter from the wing/guard position. Anyone who cannot see that is blind. If we sign another post player, we better hope Lester is a freak of a scorer, because if not it’s back to 13 to 15 wins and battling for the 12 seed in the a10 tourney…
[quote=“s9er, post:19, topic:26427”]I didn’t see him on any top 50 JUCO list or top 100 for that matter and his numbers wouldn’t lead me to think that I should see him listed.
This looks alot like the type of potential offer that we all hated under Lutz[/quote]Lutz’s class had more than 1 JUCO and we were too many times reliant on those to carry the load. JUCO’s are fine to serve a role, they do not need to be the focal point of the team. I think everyone agrees with that. When Major starts having to sign mainly JUCO’s and kids late in the process that no one has heard of, the we can compare it to Lutz.
[quote=“punkrockcowboy, post:11, topic:26427”]We have 1 known contributor out of all of those players, and that’s Braz. In terms of court performance, you can count KJ and Ilija out. Thorn is still a ? Clayton and Clark will be freshmen. Additionally, Clark is 6’6, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him playing SF.[/quote]I think this is all true, including not relying on freshmen to be instant contributors, but I also think it leaves out the fact that Bennett is unlikely to contribute right away either. Most jucos we’ve brought in, especially those that aren’t high profile, take time to develop and contribute too. Maybe Bennett can buck that pattern, but I wouldn’t count on a juco big man contributing much more than a freshman does in the first year. Maybe by the end of the year he’ll give us something.
I’d almost prefer to wait and hold that scholarship for a good freshman decommitting from somewhere else (or take a chance on someone like Ingram), or for next year, than to go the juco route. When you’re reloading a team, a juco or two is probably fine if necessary, but when you’re rebuilding slowly (the safest way to do so), jucos take the spots of freshmen that have more potential to develop by year 3 or 4. Provided fans and administration have the patience for someone rebuilding the right way.
Ivankovic comes to mind, if he’s really not going to play minutes next year. I don’t know why he doesn’t get at least a few minutes a game this year, he hasn’t looked great, but he hasn’t looked zero-minutes bad either. But if he’s not going to play much next year either (which I’d think you assume if Bennett comes), that’s not a very good use of the scholarship.
I guess I’m not on board with our stacked front court like some people. I think that’s still our weakest position.
Shoot, right now we’re running Mayfield at the point with Henry in the game. So, you have Mayfield, Henry, Deuce, Lester, and TWill in the backcourt. EVic and Mayfield as swingmen.
We have Braswell, Ivankovic and KJ in the front court. Those are our known commodities.
Based on what I’ve seen/read about Clark, he can probably be a combo forward for us. I don’t anticipate him to play significant minutes next year. I can see Clayton logging the most, Lester and Thorne right behind him.
If we truly are looking at Bennett hard and Ingram commits here, where is the scholarship coming from for Bennett?
[quote=“Powerbait, post:27, topic:26427”]Or maybe we’re only looking at Bennett in case Ingram signs somewhere else.[/quote]My logic would tell me if we are looking for a backup to a Guard, that backup would be a Guard.
Wow, I never expected this thread to blow up when I started it.
To be clear, we haven’t offered yet. We’re just showing interest. Read into that what you will. he could be anything from a significant need to a plan B, or anywhere in between.
that is a good question. it could be that brisoce or kj do not return. lets say that is the case. would both of these guys be worth scholarship? would it be smarter to save the scholarship or do you think we have such a pressing need at both guard and in the front court(especially if kj leaves) that we would have to go after a post guy?
I don’t care what the coaches do, but there better not be 4 guys standing around the 3 point line with Braswell solo down low. Braswell better have some help down low or we may have wasted a very talented player for the last 2 years.
[quote=“Powerbait, post:25, topic:26427”]I guess I’m not on board with our stacked front court like some people. I think that’s still our weakest position.
Shoot, right now we’re running Mayfield at the point with Henry in the game. So, you have Mayfield, Henry, Deuce, Lester, and TWill in the backcourt. EVic and Mayfield as swingmen.
We have Braswell, Ivankovic and KJ in the front court. Those are our known commodities.[/quote]
We also know that at this time none of those backcourt guys are reliable shooters neither are the swingmen. When we look at sheer numbers were are set - when you look at skills then it calls in to question what we need.
Lester is no more a known commodity than Thorne, Clark or Clayton at this time.
I don’t mind getting another post player - I like it actually, just think it is more important right now to get someone that can knock down an open jumper to give our post players some breathing room. A season of watching a shitty shooting team has me very frustrated.
Now obviously if the staff has a feeling that KJ or Deuce is leaving that changes the dynamic a bit or it could be that in practice T-Will is a better shooter than we are seeing or they really think Lester can blow the doors off of things when he gets here.
[quote=“s9er, post:19, topic:26427”]I didn’t see him on any top 50 JUCO list or top 100 for that matter and his numbers wouldn’t lead me to think that I should see him listed.
This looks alot like the type of potential offer that we all hated under Lutz[/quote]
Wasn’t Carlos Williams the #1 rated JUCO when we got him? Or #1 rated PG JUCO at least?
[quote=“NinerWupAss, post:33, topic:26427”][quote=“Powerbait, post:25, topic:26427”]I guess I’m not on board with our stacked front court like some people. I think that’s still our weakest position.
Shoot, right now we’re running Mayfield at the point with Henry in the game. So, you have Mayfield, Henry, Deuce, Lester, and TWill in the backcourt. EVic and Mayfield as swingmen.
We have Braswell, Ivankovic and KJ in the front court. Those are our known commodities.[/quote]
I don’t mind getting another post player - I like it actually, just think it is more important right now to get someone that can knock down an open jumper to give our post players some breathing room. A season of watching a shitty shooting team has me very frustrated[/quote]
I was gonna respond to Pb’s post, but I totally agree with NWA here. We desperately need someone who can hit shots consistently. With Thorne, I think our front court can at least perform the same as this year. What this team has lacked most is consistent ranged threats.
[quote=“s9er, post:19, topic:26427”]I didn’t see him on any top 50 JUCO list or top 100 for that matter and his numbers wouldn’t lead me to think that I should see him listed.
This looks alot like the type of potential offer that we all hated under Lutz[/quote]
Couldn’t find him on any recruiting list from the class of 2009, 2010, or 2011. Hope he’s blossomed a lot since then. 7 and 4 in the juco ranks for a 6’8" guy isn’t impressive.
DJ Bennett (6-8/PF), who is also a Chicago native, is averaging 7 points and 4 rebounds per game this season. Arkansas stopped in to see him last week and he has heavy interest from Western Kentucky, San Jose State and UNC Charlotte. Indian Hills is 27-3 on the season entering Region XI tournament play.
[b]D.J. Bennett[/b] of junior college powerhouse Indian Hills Community College is a prospect who is sure to become quite popular this season.
Bennett, a 6’8 sophomore power forward, is an athletic post who causes big problems defensively with 7’5 wing span. Bennett played his high school basketball at Sandburg High School in the suburbs of Chicago, and is a player who still brings a good deal of upside potential to his game.
If we bring this kid in we’re not doing it for scoring. I think we’re doing it to have what many of us have said we want Thorn to give us. Defensive presence down low and a guy that can fill up the lane.
This kid sounds like he may fit that bill. Though just being 6’8 I’m not a fan of.
What were Ilya’s stats last year at his Juco? Just curious. The wingspan helps, but what will really help is if this guy has hops and can block some shots. Braswell nor Ilya have hops. Don’t know about Thorne or Clayton.