Fullbacksympathy

Spirited effort. Good defense. Still can’t shoot.

He did. But the 5 out is also meant for isolation and that can still happen in the post with a back to the basket player. It just helps to have all 5 guys be a 3pt threat. I think Wilhelm gets big minutes next year.

Agree we don’t. And Hoiberg doesn’t care. He’s gonna run his offense. The child fan in me has no patience for it, but the adult fan can see the big picture. Outside of a sniper or two, we have all the pieces we need. I really really liked our defense last night.

If he goes to the second I guarantee Lebron drafts him to the Lakers. Too smart and skilled for the Lake show to pass him up. He'd be the second coming of Marc Gasol whom they already have.

I’m liking Banton off the ball and Kobe at point. That was a good set last night in the high post.

Lakes looked like he should start at the 4 ahead of Lat to me. He’s the truth from 3 and has zero hesitation and a quick release. Eduardo will be a better player than Yvan after a few more games. He’s better offensively right now but Yvan is a much better rebounder and perimeter defender. I cannot believe how bad of a finisher Yvan is. I’ve never seen anything like it. I was impressed with Wood. He looks like a true PG to me and might be really benefitting from being Banton’s understudy.

I don’t think Andre needs help in the defensive post, but he has a ton of work to do on the perimeter defensively. He’s definitely better than Yvan on the offensive end. His upside looks great though.

Start Lakes.

Think we'll see Lat and Lakes at the same time at all?

It's also systemic--like an H back versus a fullback or a TE. A Jefferson esque player is basketball's H Back. Stretch 4 might be a good term, but I think of those guys as tall and three point specialists--not slashers like PFs can often be. A stretch 4 is more of a wing in terms of shooting skill, I suppose, and that might mean what we're seeing more of now is 4 guards and a center. If you think about Lebron vs. Bird, there's no way both guys play the same position. Or Dirk and Duncan. You are probably onto something that a new glossary needs to be developed for basketball positions.

True. I’d call Shamiel a forward primarily. The plays I remember Jefferson making were down low (he’s explosive) but I agree that a 3-4 swing player being a guard or forward is semantics with many teams.

This is rad.

All good points. I edited my Marquette comment before you had a chance to respond, so touche there as well. The CU guards put up gaudy numbers in that one. I’m pretty patient with the development this season at NU. Really I’m waiting until Walker is in the lineup to make any further judgments on scheme, but I don’t know how a 5 out can function without a couple serviceable three point threats or one big who can score with his back to the basket In isolation. These guards are built for slashing and transition. If we can’t spread in the half court and we have to help in the post on defense, it’s going to continue to look stunted and unnatural on both ends. I would still wager that by this time next season (Fred’s first complete roster) what I said is true, but I obviously respect your viewpoint as it’s certainly a more popular one.

Which question should I answer? I guess I’ll start with Banton. He is not a true PG because he doesn’t defend PG, so I’d call him a wing. We don’t really have a true PG, which is a Hoiberg trait on occasion. I would take Banton, Teddy, and McGowans over Creighton’s wings, yes. They’ve played 6 games together without a full team. And I know we play more 5 out than CU. That’s my entire point—we can’t utilize slashers if our bigs can’t shoot in a 5 out. I think our wings can get to the rim in iso better than CU’s. CU definitely has better shooters. I don’t think you’re a homer at all. You have good commentary. I just don’t think Creighton is all world outside of their elite PG. They rely on a proven offensive system and kudos to the system and good players. Sorry? Also, Jefferson is a forward, if we’re getting technical.

Public - 90 Liberal Arts - 66

If you give us shooters at the 4 and 5 who can stretch the court, I’ll take our wings all day. We may be a very different team soon and our wings’ ability to get to the rim might start mattering a lot more. Mahoney didn’t impress me. Ballock can shoot but can’t do anything else. I liked Jefferson. The PG was a great player. He was easily the difference in the game, talent wise.

He plays and guards PGs right now, so he's definitely serviceable. He can definitely play 1-3 though. On defense he'll guard 1s and 2s and likely allow Banton to guard the 3. The fact that he's 6'6" and has elite guard skills/shooting is a big part of what makes him a 5*.

We’re not a good matchup for high quality opposing point guards. All three of our losses came from getting killed by PGs. Our wings are better than CU’s, but they were way better at PG and C. That’s why we have a 5* PG and 4* C en route.

Roll out the tall guy who might not need help in the defensive post I say.

I’d have Thor off the bench at the 4 and Andre or Yvan off the bench at the 5 with this lineup with a smattering of Kobe/Shamiel wherever they could be a problem.

Huge news if this happens. You don’t need to be quick to play the 4 in the B1G. You need weight. My second favorite thing about Lakes after his shooting is he’s a legitimate 230lbs. So he’s really about Yvan’s size. He could make a much more interesting stretch 5, and should be a fairly prototypical Hoiberg 4. Banton Allen McGowans Lat Lakes could be a very interesting lineup. No one can guard Banton, Allen, or TMac one on one without help. You can’t sag off of Lat or Lakes. Very interesting.

Can we get away with not doubling in the post when he's in? We'll score 10 more points a game in transition if we don't have to. Ugh. I can't wait to see our actual team.

I want Lat shooting 7-8 threes a game, contested or not. That gives us way more chances than him dribbling or passing. Just shoot it dude. You're 6'9". Some of them will go in.

Yeah man.. it takes Fred Hoiberg to do that, and he already has.

Pumped to see this kid work one on one with guys like Tominaga, Lakes, Lat, Breidenbach standing outside the arc. I think he’ll take a lot of pressure off of Banton too.