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Post by Judge Smails on Mar 19, 2024 17:24:46 GMT -8
I’d like to see that too, but what I’d really like to see is adding a consistent center somehow. Ibekwe shows a ton of potential. But he is still raw and still too big. Hopefully, it is not difficult to replace/improve upon Chol. A broomstick could be more effective. |
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beaver94
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Post by beaver94 on Mar 19, 2024 19:02:24 GMT -8
I’d like to see that too, but what I’d really like to see is adding a consistent center somehow. From the limited minutes Ndong played, I think he could be OK. Ibekwe has got to drop another 20 lbs to have an chance at being a serviceable defender. True, I kind of forgot about Ndong since he missed so many games at the end of the season. |
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Post by osubeaver2018 on Mar 19, 2024 19:41:59 GMT -8
I'd be fine with searching the JUCO ranks for a center as well. WT had success with that with Kylor Kelley and Roman Silva. It took Roman a little more time than KK, but he was effective in the post, just not as good of a defender.
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Post by drunkandstoopidbeav on Mar 19, 2024 21:16:17 GMT -8
We need an additional center, preferably someone with experience or a pretty good center stuck behind a great center that wants PT. A Silva level or better player would help a great deal, especially a senior season Silva level player.
I think I'd like to see Ndong at the 4 spot in the long run, with being able to fill in when needed at the 5.
KC has a lot of potential. I'd like to see him continue lifting (it was mentioned he was doing that at some point). He actually gets up and down the court fairly well for a big guy. I wonder if he should be working on sprint HIIT, I think his steady state running isn't that bad... get the VO2 max up a bit. If he continues to make physical strides like he has, he could be fairly interesting. He needs to develop a 15' shot game. There was 1 game they let him stand around unguarded by the foul line with the ball for several possessions while he was looking to pass. I'll note that Drew E. couldn't hit a 15 footer all that well his sophomore season, and was a turnover waiting to happen trying to get inside from the outside with the ball He obviously worked on it between seasons.
Can't say much about Tyler. I said last season he reminded me of a young Sitton in some ways. He is a tough kid and is really coming on with his meduim to 3 point shot. Not sure if he'll ever be a driver that picks up a lot of opponent fouls, despite being tough as nails.
I expect Michael to bloom at some point. He drives fairly fluidly and can pick up fouls at the rim while having a good chance of getting the 2 plus the foul shot. He's pretty good with the ball and helps out when the full court press is on. I'd like to see him with a little more muscle as well, it would help with his inside game.
I'd really like to see us pick up a guard that could come in and average 5-6 assists plus and almost 2 steals a game. Been a while since we've had that. Slide Jordan over to the 2 spot if we can nail down the point guard. I wonder if Lake could be the guy, his stats per 40 min of PT are pretty good, and if the ball runs through him the assists would probably go up. He actually drives fairly well as well at times.
Oh well, interesting off season ahead.
I'd like to see the rest of the freshman stay and develop as well.
I don't have any issues with the rest of the kids, but if there was a genuine opportunity for an upgrade, ya never know.
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Post by beaverinohio on Mar 20, 2024 4:38:45 GMT -8
KC does have a lot of potential, but he also has limitations that I’m not sure are remedied just by getting into shape. Curious as to how good a strength and conditioning coach Morrison is. Ibekwe certainly looks/seems in better shape, though I thought there would be more progress. Illinois’ S&C coach is one of the best in the business and he is a large part of their recruiting pitches. Love to see Ibekwe progress physically as well as Dain Dainja from Illini has. Not sure if he was ever as big as KC, but Dain was over 300 pounds when he transferred in. His transformation has been amazing. Dain was a much more highly rated recruit than KC, but if KC could get to point Dainja is now, Beavs would be in good shape.
Rataj mainly needs to work on consistency. When he’s playing well like at Stanford and against Oregon, he’s a very good player. But seems to hibernate too often. If he can get his 3-pt percentage up to what it was in his freshman year and gains consistency, Beavers will have something.
Lake was a very nice surprise, but I’m just not sure his ceiling is real high. Shooting percentages look good, but in a small number of attempts. Has a knack for being in right place at right time on D. Never really felt he was running the team at any point, which isn’t surprising with both Pope and Akanno initiating offense so much. Definitely seems to have the ability to be a solid contributor, but not sure if he’s really “starter quality.”
Pope, Bilodeau, Rataj are a nice trio with some upside. Problem is that’s about it unless Akanno comes back. If I hope and squint, I can see KC and Lake eventually becoming solid contributors — just not sure about next year. Way too early to tell with Mars, but not holding my breath on him being much of a contributor next year. Ndong was OK, but I didn’t see anything from him that screams a big sophomore jump.
Fact is that the trio and Akanno all saw improvement in counting stats with Tyler taking a big jump, and it didn’t translate into anything more than an additional 2 noncon wins. People can talk about being more competitive overall this year and moving to an easier conference next year, but unless the supporting cast improves by a large margin and Akanno comes back I just don’t see any huge uptick in wins. Be more than happy to be wrong though.
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Post by drunkandstoopidbeav on Mar 20, 2024 6:50:31 GMT -8
The thing about Lake is that based on 40 minutes of PT he has a higher assist average and lower turnover average than either Pope or Akanno. How that translates into actually being the point guard and running the offense through him, I don’t know, but I expect both numbers would go up. I’d be curious about him getting more minutes at the point if the coaches think he’s capable.
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Post by beaverinohio on Mar 20, 2024 8:12:42 GMT -8
The thing about Lake is that based on 40 minutes of PT he has a higher assist average and lower turnover average than either Pope or Akanno. How that translates into actually being the point guard and running the offense through him, I don’t know, but I expect both numbers would go up. I’d be curious about him getting more minutes at the point if the coaches think he’s capable. Yes, familiar with the numbers, but those can be greatly skewed by playing time (short bursts vs prolonged action). when you’re playing and the role you’re being asked to fill. I just don’t think he’s close to being a P5 starting PG. maybe he ca develop into it by year 3 or 4. Of course, Beavers are now a mid major so that might help. I think he’s a nice rotation piece and like his game overall, just not seeing starting PG. But we shall see. |
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Post by drunkandstoopidbeav on Mar 20, 2024 8:43:20 GMT -8
The thing about Lake is that based on 40 minutes of PT he has a higher assist average and lower turnover average than either Pope or Akanno. How that translates into actually being the point guard and running the offense through him, I don’t know, but I expect both numbers would go up. I’d be curious about him getting more minutes at the point if the coaches think he’s capable. Yes, familiar with the numbers, but those can be greatly skewed by playing time (short bursts vs prolonged action). when you’re playing and the role you’re being asked to fill. I just don’t think he’s close to being a P5 starting PG. maybe he ca develop into it by year 3 or 4. Of course, Beavers are now a mid major so that might help. I think he’s a nice rotation piece and like his game overall, just not seeing starting PG. But we shall see. I'm pretty much in agreement. Hence my saying I wonder if he could be the guy. Would he be better than Wright? I don't know. I don't know that anyone on the roster that could become the "quarterback" I'd like to see here right away. I just think of the kids on the current roster, maybe he's got a shot. I'd love to find a new Payton Sr to come in, I'd consider that to be unlikely for just about any school. Even a Carson Cunningham at his freshman level could do a lot to stabilize the offense in my thinking. If we can't get one, he may be worth working into the position rotation. |
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Post by beaverinohio on Mar 20, 2024 9:10:00 GMT -8
Yes, familiar with the numbers, but those can be greatly skewed by playing time (short bursts vs prolonged action). when you’re playing and the role you’re being asked to fill. I just don’t think he’s close to being a P5 starting PG. maybe he ca develop into it by year 3 or 4. Of course, Beavers are now a mid major so that might help. I think he’s a nice rotation piece and like his game overall, just not seeing starting PG. But we shall see. I'm pretty much in agreement. Hence my saying I wonder if he could be the guy. Would he be better than Wright? I don't know. I don't know that anyone on the roster that could become the "quarterback" I'd like to see here right away. I just think of the kids on the current roster, maybe he's got a shot. I'd love to find a new Payton Sr to come in, I'd consider that to be unlikely for just about any school. Even a Carson Cunningham at his freshman level could do a lot to stabilize the offense in my thinking. If we can't get one, he may be worth working into the position rotation. Lake definitely looked better than Wright. The latter started out OK this year, but really tailed off. He had a few good moments here and there, but like many on the team he has problems with consistency. |
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Post by obf on Mar 20, 2024 11:20:11 GMT -8
Portal has been open for a couple days now and so far no Beavs in it! Thats good news!
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Post by beaverinohio on Mar 20, 2024 11:31:19 GMT -8
Portal has been open for a couple days now and so far no Beavs in it! Thats good news! Well good in the sense that no one has entered, but not surprising. Those that might be thinking about probably will discuss with their families over break with the timing. Then they might have things they want or things they want to hear during end of season meetings. Will say things are starting to pick up in regards to portal. Seeing some solid to very good players from P6 schools starting to announce. |
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Post by rgeorge on Mar 20, 2024 11:35:06 GMT -8
Portal has been open for a couple days now and so far no Beavs in it! Thats good news! Mainly no real "serious" recruiting of the portal will begin until the 68+ better teams are done for the year, assess what losses they will have, then proceed to make official inquiries. There are also coaching openings to be filled, maybe still some to be lost. I'm guessing the majority of the current portal entries are those from schools with coaches that were fired. It will be more of an open market the last 10-20 days of the portal open dates. |
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