on 6/26/2023, 2:10 pm, in reply to "Re: MBB 2024 prospects - players - Messiah Thompson"
yes, of course Jones and Tsohonis coming in healthy is a big key. Still, likely a couple guys will get dinged and the plus is that there's a lot of depth everywhere EXCEPT for backing up Messiah at this point
I think we'll actually be a really good 3 point shooting team, definitely not 30% like last year where Murray was hobbled, Hunter was horrific, JOnes injured, and poor shot selection by Tsohonis
just 35% alone woudl be huge, in fact that's basically 3-4 more points a game from 3s! that go to your point differential. 38%? that would be tough, but is plausible with Jones back on track and Thompson coming in.
I think a big question is when Thompson goes out, will Tsohonis handle the ball vs. Issa, it's a trade. Until I see Isa play defense and able to board, not so sure it wouldn't be Tsohonis.
it's a different team than in the past with ability to run thru AJ, AT, and Tsohonis running the ball thru them vs. having a guy dribble and touch the ball like Booker/Bibbs/Ware/Caffey/Slater-Murray would do for about 50%-60% of the time.
it's gonna be interesting to see how the staff coaches the offense, with so many threats from inside, mid-range, post-up, 3 pt. a big question is how well can this group pass and share and move the ball with so many threats and not get stuck with guys going iso into double teams and trouble. that's gonna be the big challenge
still I keep in mind is this really that much talent, we were ranked 175 in Massey, a far cry from the top 50-75 teams of 2016, 2011-2013
it's a big leap to go from 175 to 75, albeit I think that could occur as I believe the potential to be even more suffocating defensively is there wiht a healthy point like Thompson and the wingy athletic defenders of Jones/AT/AJ where we can do a lot of switching without getting burned by picks
Previous Message
Certainly we had guard issues last season. Murray was hurt in practice in October, and tried to play but couldn't shoot. Jones was hurt badly enough to be ineffective the first 2/3s of the season. He improved down the stretch (overall he shot .316 from three after being .444 his first year and .371 his second). Tsohonis was supposed to pick up the slack from Slater graduating, he did score but could not shoot from outside (whether from injury or poor selection and technique). Rotegaard can shoot, but couldn't create a shot, so he is limited (he shot a really good .383 last season up from .333 his first with us). Tone Hunter was asked to play a larger role than expected, he was not up to it. Tone shot a horrid .218 from three. So with Murray out and Jones often out, and not at his best when it, we often had a guard rotation of:
PG: Tshonis (.264), Hunter(.216)
This meant that opposing teams could sag off of our PGs and pack the paint, limiting drives and inside passes.
If we are going to be better this year, it starts with being healthy. If Jones and Tsohonis can return to their historical averages, and Thompson and Silva can provide solid PG play. And George can increase his usage, and Rotegaard can continue to improve, we will be really good outside. If Aboubacar can continue to develop an outside game, we could be unstoppable. Add in all the inside depth in both Traores, Stroud, Polynice and Ngoyi we have the personnel to be the best LB team since the Fab 4. For me, it all starts with healthy, and regaining the outside game.
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