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Any guesses

Postby Terry Webster » Mon Oct 10, 2022 11:26 am

Anyone want to hazard a guess about this years team? New coach, a completly revamped team with lots of height. Looking forward to seeing them in Dayton.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby ponyboy » Mon Oct 10, 2022 12:26 pm

I just don’t think there’s any way to tell how good this team will be. Something like 60% of the team is new.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Charleston Pony » Mon Oct 10, 2022 1:41 pm

New coach new team is a recipe for a slow start. Question might be how they progress during the season. That was Lanier's trademark, i.e., getting his teams to peak late in the season as they get ready for tournament time. Hope that's the case with basketball and still hope it will be the case with the football program.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby ponyboy » Mon Oct 10, 2022 4:34 pm

Right. As a fan, the pressure’s kind of off. I’m just going to enjoy the ride, watching this coach build his program. I’m really looking forward to the start of the season. And - who knows - we may actually have a few good players.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Charleston Pony » Mon Oct 10, 2022 6:48 pm

ponyboy wrote:Right. As a fan, the pressure’s kind of off. I’m just going to enjoy the ride, watching this coach build his program. I’m really looking forward to the start of the season. And - who knows - we may actually have a few good players.


I am really looking forward to watching Zhuric vs Kendric remembering how Davis struggled against taller PGs who were athletic enough to keep up with him. Hoping Zhuric has a break out season now that he will no longer be playing in K.D.'s shadow
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Re: Any guesses

Postby ponyboy » Mon Oct 10, 2022 9:27 pm

We know it’s insufficient, but Phelps does look the part for sure.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Terry Webster » Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:06 am

I am looking fowared to seeing Todorovich. I have a feeling he may blow up this year.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby ponyboy » Tue Oct 11, 2022 8:42 am

That’s two solid players right there. If Nutall’s back in form, we’ll have at least three.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Terry Webster » Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:32 pm

Interesting. Coach Lanier said that there will be times that Williamson will be running point at times. Both he and Phelps have been impressive so far.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Charleston Pony » Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:45 pm

Terry Webster wrote:Interesting. Coach Lanier said that there will be times that Williamson will be running point at times. Both he and Phelps have been impressive so far.


Most of us remember the Point Forward Ben Moore. Helps to have a big with handles who can also distribute as it really comes in handy breaking a full court press
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Re: Any guesses

Postby DanFreibergerForHeisman » Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:52 pm

ponyboy wrote:That’s two solid players right there. If Nutall’s back in form, we’ll have at least three.

Yeah we definitely have some potential. If we hit on another one of the new players then we'll have at least four.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Charleston Pony » Tue Oct 11, 2022 4:57 pm

Don't sleep on Jalen Smith, either. He showed potential as a FR and as they say, most guys will show their greatest improvement between their 1st and 2nd years so I'm hopeful Phelps, Todorovic and Smith will be a lot better players and if Lanier hits on the transfers, this team could really surprise.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby Terry Webster » Tue Oct 11, 2022 7:33 pm

Charleston Pony wrote:
Terry Webster wrote:Interesting. Coach Lanier said that there will be times that Williamson will be running point at times. Both he and Phelps have been impressive so far.


Most of us remember the Point Forward Ben Moore. Helps to have a big with handles who can also distribute as it really comes in handy breaking a full court press


It is interesting that we could run out a line up that the shortest player is taller than our tallest last year.
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Re: Any guesses

Postby mustangxc » Thu Oct 13, 2022 12:01 pm

16-15 (7-11)
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Re: Any guesses

Postby JasonB » Thu Oct 13, 2022 10:15 pm

At guard, we have three solid players in Smith, Phelps, and Nutall, a good defender in Koulibaly, a depth guy with Wright, and then McBride and Lanier off the bench providing depth. It is a solid group, but we need someone to step up and be "a guy".

At forward, by all accounts Todorovic looks the part. His shot is still great, and he has started playing better defense. Williamson has a ton of talent. Ambrose-Hylton will give us some size off the bench. Down low, Foster will start and by all accounts looks amazing. Njie, Odigie, and Agunanne will provide depth.

Defensively, the athleticism and length on this team should make us an elite defensive team. Nobody is going to want to play us when we get to the tournament. The depth of the team means the size and the pressure is going to be relentless for 90 minutes. Smith, Phelps, and Koulibaly are outstanding defenders at guard. Nutall played really well defensively at times last season. Williamson is supposed to be a very good defender. As mentioned before, Todorovic has stepped up. And there is a ton of size inside. This should be a defense that finishes top 25 in defensive efficiency with the size and speed to pressure the perimeter and the ability to protect the rim inside.

The question is whether or not we can score in the half court. In transition we have athletic finishers, so I have the feeling we will turn lesser teams over and score a ton of points in transition. We don't have a pure point guard, but we have a presence down low in Foster who can actually score, and some other post players who are pretty good as well. I suspect it will be old school, Larry Brown feed the post basketball, spread the court, and then kick it out. Todorovic can shoot. Smith can shoot. Has Phelps fixed his shot? Can Nutall or Wright or Williamson become a consistent shooter? Nutall, Wright, Williamson, and Phelps will be able to create some mid-range off the dribble. But that won't be consistent against good teams like Houston.

Compared to last year's team, obviously you trade Kendric for Wright, which is a major downgrade. Michael Weathers is significantly better than Koulibaly. But Phelps, Smith, Todorovic, and Nutall will all be significantly better than last year. Williamson is an upgrade over Bandomel. Foster is better than Marcus Weathers out of position. Clark was more talented than Odigie, but had playing issues. Njie is better than Jasey. Ambrose-Hylton will be an upgrade over Young. And Agunanne will be better than last year. We miss the top-line players for sure, but the depth on this team is way better.

Are we going to be bad? No. Are we going to finish 7th in conference as predicted? No. The defense is going to be way too good for that. And the intensity of the team, length, and defensive effort is going to bring a buzz back into Moody - that is what always sparked us during the LB years. It will be a fun team to go and watch from that perspective, and we are going to "look the part". I wish I was able to have season tickets this year, because the games are going to be really enjoyable. I think Moody is going to be really hard to play in, and get us a couple of wins that we might not deserve. Do we have a good enough offense to be able to play with the better teams on the schedule? I don't think we are quite there yet, but there is potential. I would probably place odds on us having over 20 wins and finishing 3rd or 4th in the league. There are too many bad teams on the schedule to end up with only 16 wins, and I really do think this team will be good enough defensively that we won't lose to bad teams.
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