Bold Player Predictions

[TheRealMick]

Whose to say Davenport is lock to start?

Micky/ddj/mcginnis
Ddj/mason/newman
Newman/Davenport/hensley
Ado/ody/henlsey
Koval/banks/ado

 

[skyblade]

It's hard to predict the lineup right now, so many players and a lot of players who can play multiple positions. My best guess.

PG: Mikey/MAW/Mason
SG: DDJ/MAW/Newman
SF: Newman/Mason/McGinnis/Banks
PF: Davenport/Hensley/Ody/Banks
C: Ado/Koval/Ody

 

[waterhead]

It's hard to predict the lineup right now, so many players and a lot of players who can play multiple positions. My best guess.

PG: Mikey/MAW/Mason
SG: DDJ/MAW/Newman
SF: Newman/Mason/McGinnis/Banks
PF: Davenport/Hensley/Ody/Banks
C: Ado/Koval/Ody

Really think Ody is going to be a significant part. I would carve him out 15 minutes somehow unless Hensley has made a big leap which is possible and reports are looking good.

I don't know how we keep all these guys happy. I would think it would be easiest to keep Hensley, McGinnis, Lakhin and Banks with the least minutes but if any of them start producing (especially on the offensive end)...Wes has some decisions to make.

I don't see any returning veteran of our team being happy with spot minutes and it would be a shame for Ado, Ody, or Koval to ride pine after transferring and also being veterans used to playing. Obviously Ado and Koval are gone after this year so it might be possible for Wes to sell next year to guys like Ody and Lakhin.

 

[juckerrules]

Davenport will be one of the top 3 players on this team - write it down!

 

[Red_N_Black_Attack]

Bold Prediction - Davenport! Jeremiah is already a leader and the heart and sol of this team. Yet, I expect his performance carrying this team will translate to broader recognition. Definite 1st team all-conference with All-American chatter resulting in 3rd team all-American. When the best player gets better, the team wins more games. JD will score over 20 ppg, grab more than 10 rebounds per game, and distribute the ball efficiently. The offense will run through JD and coach Wes should be upset if he doesn't touch the ball on every possession, unless there is a clear dunk without passing out to JD.

Most improved and most surprising Viktor Lahkin will be a starter and second leading scorer on the 21/22 Bearcats. We didn't see him due to injury and he was last man on campus for this year, but some were saying he was the best shooter in practice at the end of the year. He is agile for a big man. I just hope Wes' schemes help him on defense. He is a true 4 and shouldn't be expected to guard the opposing team's center, but will likely get the task.

Most surprising newcomer Another big man, Abdul Ado. By game7, he will be the starter over Koval, providing a defensing force and shot-blocking ability not seen in Clifton in a long time. Ado will alter lay-ups, shots down low, and even mid range shots (wouldn't you hate to see him stepping out at you with arms fully extended?). On offense, the outside shooting will open things up enough for him to get some easy monster jams, and score 13-15 ppg

 

[Red_N_Black_Attack]

Davenport will be one of the top 3 players on this team - write it down!

JD is already the top player on this team

I don't see two other players making it close enough to say top 3.

 

[TheRealMick]

JD is already the top player on this team

I don't see two other players making it close enough to say top 3.

I got funny feeling lakhin our best NBA prospect

 

[Red_N_Black_Attack]

I got funny feeling lakhin our best NBA prospect

Viktor may end up being drafted higher than JD, JD is best player on the 21/22 team. I hope Viktor proves me wrong and JD continues to play at high level because it will make Wes' job much easier.

 

[TheRealMick]

Davenport is 3rd or 4th best player on top 15 team. No way he's any of top 25 best player. We got stop setting bar so low and raise it higher. No diss to JD at all but if he's out best player were not making tournament. I've heard NOBODY over this summer mention how JD is looking like legit NBA prospect. DDJ, Newman, MAW and Ody/Ado been players whose name you've heard mentioned this summer.

 

[skyblade]

Chad discussed basketball a bit on his most recent 247 podcast. Not a whole lot of content, but some interesting notes.

Projected starting lineup: PG: Mikey, SG: DDJ, SF: Newman, PF: Davenport, C: Ado. Chad says he feels pretty confident about this.

Lakhin has apparently been pretty impressive in practice. Chad says he's expecting him to be an approximately 15 minute per night guy. Seems to be fully recovered from his knee injury. Where those minutes come from, Chad isn't sure. But Lakhin should get on the court.

Doesn't expect DDJ to play much PG. Will be Mikey, with (probably) MAW as back-up. So depth chart looks something like. Expect to see us try some huge lineups with two 7-footers (Chad's not sure it will work, but thinks we will try it).

 

[cincrulz11]

Projected starting lineup: PG: Mikey, SG: DDJ, SF: Newman, PF: Davenport, C: Ado. Chad says he feels pretty confident about this.

Man, trying to space the floor with that lineup is going to be something.

Not sure about DDJ as a 2, he has a 1's game. So does Mikey.

 

[skyblade]

Man, trying to space the floor with that lineup is going to be something.

Not sure about DDJ as a 2, he has a 1's game. So does Mikey.

Another thing Chad mentioned is we may see some ugly basketball games. We should always bring toughness, physicality and defense, but we may not always score.

It sounds like DDJ has significantly improved in the off-season and has been the main scorer in practice (and scrimmage against former UC players). Also has been shooting threes a lot better.

But even with that, Mikey, Newman and Ado aren't going to do a ton to spread the floor, though word is Saunders 3-point shot has improved. Most of the backups (Koval, Lakhin, Mason/AJ, even MAW/Hensley) can spread the floor though. My guess is that we will see a lot of players rotating through, and Miller will generally try to keep at least three capable 3-point shooters on the floor.

 

[waterhead]

It's very interesting to see DD as a SG or off ball considering we have MAW and Madsen there as well (McGinnis too). It piques my interest a BUNCH!! DD and Mikey must be killing it because MAW and Madsen are very nice backups at worst.

At the moment I am not sure who to predict without minutes other than Banks.

 

[skyblade]

It's very interesting to see DD as a SG or off ball considering we have MAW and Madsen there as well (McGinnis too). It piques my interest a BUNCH!! DD and Mikey must be killing it because MAW and Madsen are very nice backups at worst.

At the moment I am not sure who to predict without minutes other than Banks.

Agreed, I believe near the beginning of this thread I predicted DDJ and Lakhin would be lower than expected minutes. Looks like I was pretty wrong and the season hasn't even started yet.

I'm wondering if perhaps Koval is one who doesn't get many minutes. If Lakhin is really as good as Chad was saying, then he seems to bring better offensive ability than Koval and more strength on defense/rebounding (though probably less shot blocking ability). Koval may get pushed out of the lane a fair amount, if Lakhin can do (almost) everything Koval can do and then some, Koval may be the one left out.

The other guy I still say may not get many minutes is Ody. I think he will play as a small 5 situationally. But I feel like (based on nothing) he is being groomed to play the 5 next year and not expected to play many minutes this year.

I'm guessing Madsen/McGinnis will get plenty of time backing up Newman at the 3 and DDJ at SG. Early on it sounded like Davenport was putting in some work at the 3, but now it sounds like they've settled on him at PF.

 

[waterhead]

Agreed, I believe near the beginning of this thread I predicted DDJ and Lakhin would be lower than expected minutes. Looks like I was pretty wrong and the season hasn't even started yet.

I'm wondering if perhaps Koval is one who doesn't get many minutes. If Lakhin is really as good as Chad was saying, then he seems to bring better offensive ability than Koval and more strength on defense/rebounding (though probably less shot blocking ability). Koval may get pushed out of the lane a fair amount, if Lakhin can do (almost) everything Koval can do and then some, Koval may be the one left out.

The other guy I still say may not get many minutes is Ody. I think he will play as a small 5 situationally. But I feel like (based on nothing) he is being groomed to play the 5 next year and not expected to play many minutes this year.

I'm guessing Madsen/McGinnis will get plenty of time backing up Newman at the 3 and DDJ at SG. Early on it sounded like Davenport was putting in some work at the 3, but now it sounds like they've settled on him at PF.

Up until practice started I would have said Banks, Hensley, Lakhin, and McGinnis would be the easiest selections to get low minutes. Hard to transfer in Oguama and Koval and then shut them out. I can't imagine Hensely and McGinnis were expecting too much (and Banks). But Hensley at 6'8" and apparently added some muscle and hops would be hard not to see what he can do. Strangely I thought McGinnis would be the sleeper since he has more of a play makers game (which it seems we will need). If Lakhin is impressing it's hard to keep him out as well at 6'11" with a decent shot and some scoring skills.

The competition level should help CWM get the most out of these guys. If you want to play you better go in and give 100!! We have no APPARENT major stars/studs so talent level should be fairly even across the board. It won't be getting any easier next year with the new additions so CWM is basically letting the team know...we are adding as much talent as we can and everyone needs to step up their game if you want to be a key player on a tourney team. And I believe most of these guys are going to respond and those who don't will likely go portal...but I don't expect a mass exodus.

 

[cincrulz11]

We will have to see these guys in action and working together, but offseason plans don't always go as coaches think. Remember our twin towers last year lmao. Sometimes a coaches plan just needs to be a bit exposed by opponents. It just seems so rough trying to play defense with tiny DDJ and Mikey, plus we know Davenport at the 4 is a liability defensively.

We have enough players to have strong offensive or defensive lineups. It will probably take some time and some mixing and matching to find the right fit.

 

[skyblade]

It reminds me of what AJ McGinnis said in a recent interview when asked what Wes told him to get him to UNCG. Wes said something along the lines of "I guarantee you nothing". Basically that Wes promised him (and no one) any playing time. He knew he wouldn't be handed anything, that Wes would make him come in, work every day, improve and earn the playing time.

There seem to be a few guys who are clearly going to get major minutes and start all season (DDJ and Davenport). But no one else is clearly above the rest at the moment. It really depends on who performs on the court, who works best with teammates and whether we need (or Miller values) offense or defense more.

 

[waterhead]

We will have to see these guys in action and working together, but offseason plans don't always go as coaches think. Remember our twin towers last year lmao. Sometimes a coaches plan just needs to be a bit exposed by opponents. It just seems so rough trying to play defense with tiny DDJ and Mikey, plus we know Davenport at the 4 is a liability defensively.

We have enough players to have strong offensive or defensive lineups. It will probably take some time and some mixing and matching to find the right fit.

There are some serious numbers totals in the potential combination of players this year.

Defensive lineup
Offensive
Mix of both
Chest bump squad

I kid about the last one but I like the idea of the most emotional guys out there at the same time. Davenport has changed momentum in quite a few games in just a couple years just getting everyone fired up. My all Chest Bump Squad? Admittedly don't know a lot about the first two

Ado
Oguama
Davenport
Madsen
Saunders

 

[waterhead]

It reminds me of what AJ McGinnis said in a recent interview when asked what Wes told him to get him to UNCG. Wes said something along the lines of "I guarantee you nothing". Basically that Wes promised him (and no one) any playing time. He knew he wouldn't be handed anything, that Wes would make him come in, work every day, improve and earn the playing time.

There seem to be a few guys who are clearly going to get major minutes and start all season (DDJ and Davenport). But no one else is clearly above the rest at the moment. It really depends on who performs on the court, who works best with teammates and whether we need (or Miller values) offense or defense more.

I'm gonna add in Newman here because he is the only player that truly fits the 3 spot on the wing and he can play both sides of the ball and will likely be our best perimeter defender. I expect major minutes from him