Chad filled in for mo today. He talked a lot about uc. Worth a listen. The link is on his twitter timeline. Sounds like brannen has some good recruits visiting. A lot to get excited about.
Chad filled in for mo today. He talked a lot about uc. Worth a listen. The link is on his twitter timeline. Sounds like brannen has some good recruits visiting. A lot to get excited about.
I think Brannen deserves a one hour nap! He has earned it.
The buzz from this past week has been a lot of fun! He has filled every significant hole on the roster and managed to lock down the #1 SG grad transfer left on the market.
I went from talking about a full rebuild to having legit expectations for another NCAA appearance in about 1 week.
Yup, I'm not willing to say NCAA appearance is a sure thing, but it sure looks better.
Last years team had 1 star (Jarron), 3 very good players (Jenifer, Scott, Brooks), two other solid players (Keith, Broome) and some others who could usually play well enough to let the main 6 rest (Moore, Fredericks, Diarra, Nsoseme).
This year we have 1 star (Jarron) and 3 very good players (Jaevin, Williams, Scott - who may even become a star). But we don't have another obvious two other solid players. Diarra and Moore are who I hope will fill those roles, but they have some question marks. The other veterans (McNeal, Sorolla) look worse and the freshmen (Hardnett/Prince) are unproven.
If we don't make the NCAA tournament this year it is because we can't develop a 5th and 6th man fast enough to go with our solid main 4. Center is the biggest concern, I don't think we have big/strong/athletic enough guards to play small with Scott at the 5 for long periods. That means Diarra, Sorolla and/or Hardnett (who could play as a slightly undersized 5) have to give a combined at least 30 quality minutes per game.
If we are a great team this year it's because Moore finally finds his shot and Diarra (or maybe Hardnett) quickly becomes a solid starter.
If we don't make the NCAA tournament this year it is because we can't develop a 5th and 6th man fast enough to go with our solid main 4. Center is the biggest concern, I don't think we have big/strong/athletic enough guards to play small with Scott at the 5 for long periods. That means Diarra, Sorolla and/or Hardnett (who could play as a slightly undersized 5) have to give a combined at least 30 quality minutes per game.
If we are a great team this year it's because Moore finally finds his shot and Diarra (or maybe Hardnett) quickly becomes a solid starter.
I think the one thing with McNeal is we are all envisioning him in a Cronin system, or at least I am.
If he can be a guy that pushes the pace, gets us a good look early in the shot clock and runs out in transition at every chance, he could really be productive for us.
Really is a shame Broome didn't have 1 year left, this seems like a perfect spot for somebody with a game like his.
I don't think Hardnett is going to pick up any minutes at the 5. He was more of a point forward, Shaq Thomas type player, and my understanding is that he is closer to playing like a 3 from the 4 spot than a 5 from the 4 spot. He is 6'7 and a redshirt freshman. I'm not sure we want to throw him out there at center.
I don't think replacing those players (in bold) will be much of an issue. But I agree we need at least 1 if not 2 players to step into a significant role. Probably Moore, McNeal, or Diara...but one of the less experienced guys would be a nice bonus. Gillam, Hardnett, Davenport, MAW.
I think Sorolla is what he is and we will need him for backup but he's not likely going to wow anyone.
Yeah, I think our top 4 players are at least as good (and maybe better) as our top 4 last year. And our 7-10 players are at least as good as last year. But 5 and 6 is the big question mark. If Moore, Diarra and/or McNeal can answer that question we are in very good shape.
I think Cumberland and McNeal can do a good job of replacing Jenifer and Broome. But Brooks is a loss that will be tough to replace unless Diara is just a much better fit for Brannen's system because of outside shooting. And we will never know the answer to that even if Diara has a good year because we would play different if Brooks were in.
Put Brooks back on our team for Sorolla? That's a major improvement!
Yeah, trade Sorolla for Brooks and I think this is a top 10 team. I'd even trade Jaevin for Brooks. Our center position is a huge question mark and not deep either. I'm optimistic that Diarra will manage to do well, but if we don't make the NCAA tournament this year it's almost certainly going to be because of issues at center.
I'm not convinced by McNeal, he's not the slasher Broome was so I'm not sure Brannen's offense will really help him. Almost 2/3rds of his attempts at New Mexico were from 3 and he shot poorly from 3. His assist/TO ratio was only 1.45. I'll gladly be wrong, but I don't see him being more than a solid backup.
Hardnett is listed as 6'8" and looks to be 6'8" (unlike Prince who is listed as 6'7" and looks to be only 6'5"). Assuming put on weight his redshirt year (he was listed as 210# last year), he should be very close to the same size as Scott (who is 6'8" 225#).
I think style wise on offense he is more of a 3 than a 4 or a 5. But size wise, he is big enough to play as a 4 or undersized 5 on defense. Pair him with Scott and that's enough size to get by defensively. We really only have 4 guys on the roster who are big enough to play the 4/5 and not have us be undersized (Scott, Diarra, Sorolla, Hardnett), so I imagine Hardnett will get an opportunity to play some minutes.
I'm not opposed to going small. But it seems to require having guards who are willing/able to go inside and bang. Keith seems too skinny to really bang inside, Jarron has the body for it, but he's not athletic enough to rebound well. Jaevin also doesn't seem like a guy who can do much down low. McNeal definitely isn't. We don't have a JaQuan Parker or Rashad Bishop type on this team (Moore or Prince could be, but they aren't starters).
I think Jarron can guard a PF on the block so you don't really have to put in Hardnett before going small unless he gives you an advantage. But otherwise I would agree...he gives some nice size and mobility and options on D. But can he shoot? He's not a back to the basket guy. What does he give you on offense? That is the unknown...he can dribble for his size but he has to be a good slasher or a low post option or a shooter.
Yeah, Jarron defended the 4 at times last year. He did a good job bodying guys away from the basket, but if they were close they could turn and shoot over him without him really effecting the shot. Rebounding would the biggest concern with Jarron at the 4, the opposing 4 would have 3 inches on him and probably be able to out jump him.
From highlight videos, it seems like Hardnett was a slasher in HS, though he can shoot it from outside. He's definitely not a back to the basket guy. His handle was good enough that he played PG at times in HS (similar to how Cumberland played PG last year). I'm excited to see how his play translate to UC, but I guess we still have several months to wait.
I think Hardnett is the most unknown of a guy as I can remember. He's a guy who played PG in high school but can't shoot whatsovever. Now people are talking about him playing the 5? Does he have the handle to play like Ben Simmons?
Will be interesting to see how he is used in Brannen's system, and i guess we'll never know how Mick intended to use him.