Fullbacksympathy

When he shed the weight from day 1 I knew we had a killer, especially after his freak show high school tape. He’s baby Draymond.

This. Kid is better than Roby was as a freshman. He’s going to be a terror here.

You might be right about Banton. What a luxury. Also, I actually think Fred likes traditional bruisers at the 5 while grooming his point forward types, but I could be wrong about that. I think that's why he likes Yvan so much. I'd like a Yvan compliment and a move to the 4 from Cross.

I’ll be fascinated to see who the last one goes to... we could use a 7 footer or a PG understudy. But man... what a good looking roster next year.

We’re about to have a real program.

McClung is a beast. Great guard. I wonder if Adam and Armon are sniffing around those non-criminal GTown transfers.

Ooo. I like the comparisons. He’s probably right in between those two but I think you’re onto something. He’s a finesse bruiser.

Yup. Play Easley.

It’s not Green’s talent, but his skill set that makes me question whether or not he works as a guard in Fred’s system. He’s an iso player with an unreliable outside shot. He’s a good on ball defender and not a good help defender. There is no way he’s more valuable than Thor in this system now that Thor can shoot. I think Green would’ve been tremendous under Miles. That said, I think Green could still be a very valuable bench scorer similar to what we have in Cross. I just don’t like him with Cam AND Burke. Haanif and Thor are too valuable on both ends and in the passing game to mess with Green going back in the starting lineup now. Correlation is, indeed, not causation, but hopefully I’ve provided enough variables for a decent multiple regression to take hold :)

Noted. I’d believe it. He and Stephenson do have similar frames.

I don’t think he is but that’s one of the things that makes him such a strange matchup—he has a forward’s mentality but runs around like a guard. I don’t really have a player to compare him to—he’s that unorthodox offensively.

I think they’d compliment each other. Teddy is a bruiser if he needs to be—he can play the 3 or 4 and has a great post and face up game while being extremely crafty around the rim. He can also stretch the defense so he’s nearly impossible to guard 1on1. He’s also going to be a junior if/when he comes in, so Donovan would be in a great spot as an understudy. Donovan’s minutes next year would likely go to Burke, but I could see him starting at the 2 or 3 as a sophomore alongside Teddy. I think Teddy could fill the Cheatham void next season. 8 man next year might be: Mack (jr), Burke (sr) Thor (sr), Allen (jr), Banton (so), Stephenson (jr), Cross (so), Walker (jr), with spot/development minutes from Easley (so), Williams (fr), and Akol (so). That’s a tournament team in my mind if we keep playing at this level. Green is worth mentioning too but I’m not holding my breath considering how much better we’ve been without him.

Most agreed that an outside shot was the only thing keeping Thor off the court this entire time. He’s clearly put in the work in the offseason, and his body is stronger and more lean than last season. He’s hands down one of our best 5 players. Major props to him.

Two for two in B1G staffs I wouldn’t trade for Hoiberg and co. And I like Painter a lot.

I was speaking more in terms of energy and rotation. They took a lot of contested threes and we were closing with a hand up with WAY better effort than any other game this season. We played like one of Doc’s teams—pesky and fast.

He has shown he can guard the 5 somewhat when he isn’t being soft, but he was terrible boxing out last night. At the very least, Akol is a better and more willing rebounder. The main difference between Kavas and everyone else last night is literally everyone else who came in played with their hair on fire. If Akol is playing as hard in practice as Fred says he is, give him a few spot minutes.

We have a great coaching staff. Thor has earned his starting spot. The only thing I want to see change in the rotation is, just once for kicks, Akol for Kavas. Again, I really don’t think there has been much separating Easley from our other guards. I trust him out there on both ends. I think he’s a better player than Curtis and don’t forget he can shoot the rock—not streaky, pure. He’s also in the weight room—that kid is no punk. I like Jervay off the bench if he comes back. Hell of a game. We just saw Fred’s (and Doc’s) system tonight, and it’s as good as any system in the country. So fun to watch.

Play Easley.

We here at HHC are shocked you were paying attention to “the football team’s season.” See you next fall.

This is what I was saying after game 1–that the only position Kavas is quick enough to guard is the 5 and that he might be able to make them pay on the other end by stretching the court. Maybe we could put Kavas there permanentlyand move Cross to the 4 where he belongs.

I can promise if there’s a coaching staff that won’t back down on its own principles, it’s this one. As a player, you’ll either man up during your time with Fred and Doc, or you’ll wimp out. Time will tell who the real ones are. I’m hoping Cam is able to mature into a leader under this staff despite what appears to be an Oedipal upbringing.

This article has a hilarious premise considering Sip gutlessly kicked Miles on his way out the door. Give it a year. We’re young and inexperienced. We have good recruiters and a great coaching staff. It doesn’t take long to improve a basketball program, but it takes longer than a summer. Nice to know Sip can’t handle 9 games with an entirely new roster, coaching staff, and scheme. Lol. I’m still seeing things in the offensive scheme being installed that are going to pay enormous dividends down the road.

Creighton is a good team—middle of the pack B1G caliber. I think this is what we’re in for on the road in conference all year. Gotta learn to defend home court this season because we are going to get boat raced on the road a lot. Also, we’re very, very young and our best players are arguably sitting out absorbing this asswhooping. Lastly, I highly doubt this staff will have difficulty recruiting from this season on.

Play Easley.

This is yet another sign that Fred’s offensive system is for real. We’ll get players who can convert those over time. I’ve been extremely impressed with the shots we take and the open looks we get at the rim and on the perimeter. It’s fun to watch even when we’re struggling. Keisei Tominaga, for example, is going to score a ton of points in Fred’s system. I think there will be more players of his mold (pure gunners) moving forward.