2023-2024 Starting Lineup

[xukeith]

I agree

[IM4X]

We do seem to have have “more” capable BE level players on this new roster, but I am not convinced the team is better at the top 7 spots than they were this past season (when Free was healthy).

Last season X had

- better three point shooting (we had 4 players shooting 37% or above from 3)
- a center who was a scoring threat from inside, midrange and from the 3.
- a bunch of guys who had played together the previous
- players who had additional confidence since they won an NIT championship together the previous year.

If this coming season’s team expects to go further, it will mean their 8-11 players will have to be strong enough to make up for some of the first seven players who may not be quite as productive as last season’s first 7. Plus, some of the new guys will have to prove they can play very good defense.

First Seven Comparison (not in any particular order)

22-23 SEASON 23-24 SEASON
Boum* Olivari /McKnight/Green
Kunkel McKnight / Olivari/Green
Jones* Swain/ Craft/ Ducharme
Nunge* Ousmane /Nezh / Duncomb
Free. Free
Hunter Hunter
Claude Claude

* would clearly start over this year’s option

[D-West & PO-Z]

We do seem to have have “more” capable BE level players on this new roster, but I am not convinced the team is better at the top 7 spots than they were this past season (when Free was healthy).

Last season X had

- better three point shooting (we had 4 players shooting 37% or above from 3)
- a center who was a scoring threat from inside, midrange and from the 3.
- a bunch of guys who had played together the previous
- players who had additional confidence since they won an NIT championship together the previous year.

If this coming season’s team expects to go further, it will mean their 8-11 players will have to be strong enough to make up for some of the first seven players who may not be quite as productive as last season’s first 7. Plus, some of the new guys will have to prove they can play very good defense.

First Seven Comparison (not in any particular order)

22-23 SEASON 23-24 SEASON
Boum* Olivari /McKnight/Green
Kunkel McKnight / Olivari/Green
Jones* Swain/ Craft/ Ducharme
Nunge* Ousmane /Nezh / Duncomb
Free. Free
Hunter Hunter
Claude Claude

* would clearly start over this year’s option

The problem is we don't know yet about the transfers. No one thought in getting Boum we were getting a 1st team All Big East caliber PG. We had no idea. Olivari or McKnight could be that, we just don't know.

One thing I do *think* I know, which you didn't address because it is hard to account for when looking at stats, is that I think we are going to be lightyears better defensively. If that comes to fruition it is going to be big, because as awesome as it was to watch us on offense last year, it was equally as bad to watch us on defense. You never know with the step up in competition but I think we got transfers who are better regarded defensively.

[IM4X]

I think it's the word "post player" that I'm struggling with.

Positions can be described any number of ways. Centers, Forwards, Guards. Small Forwards, Power Forwards. Shooting Guards, Point Guards. Swing Players. Bigs.

But you can't use these descriptions all together to describe a team because some categories overlap with others.

Post Players, to me, mean guys that are willing and able to post up. It's a description of their offensive game. Get position down low with their back to the basket and receive an entry pass. Then try to score or pass out of the post in the event of tough defense or a double team. I would say MOST centers and Many Power Forwards fall into this category, but not all. And some SF would as well. Very rarely do you get a big guard that is so effective that they back down into the post to go to work (Scruggs, actually was good at this).

Anyway I'm counting Free as a post player (a VERY good one). Hunter definitely showed that he could do it as well, especially in Free's absence. I assume the new North Texas guys is a post player, given that he took zero 3's, shot 48% and scored 11 a game. The IU guy seems huge and would be a natural fit in the post.


Swain seems more like a 3 that could play a little 4 but as a slasher. NZeh is an unknown to me, but I'll just assume he can play the post. I think I'd say we have 4 post players.

If you said we had 6 "Bigs", then I'd probably go with 5 (Swain is a tweener....hey ANOTHER label).

Although this is a REALLY difficult exercise because we are going to put a team out there next year and I've really only actually seen 3 of the guys play....

Yeah, I think the important thing is knowing we have enough players who can defend well against Big East leaves 4 and 5s and who can score in the paint against those same BE 4 and 5s. We were very thin with those type of players last year… and like you mentioned, we haven’t seen enough of the guys play (at least not at the BE level) to know just yet how much that’ll change for this year coming season.

[MHettel]

I think the upgrade defensively will more than account for the likely downtick in offensive efficiency.

Kunkel and Boum and Free were below average defensively. Hunter and Jones were good. I think Nunge was pretty average for a guy his size.

You can hide one poor defender. Maybe even 2. But not 3.

The North Texas guy is a defense first player (so I've heard) and he can REALLY help Free. The guards, even if they are average, will be an upgrade defensively. They both seem "stout" compared to Boum and Kunkel.

There is no obvious answer to replace Jones in my opinion. I dont think Hunter can start alongside Free and the North texas guy unless we give Free the full green light to shoot as much as Nunge did. Swain seems like a stud, but he's really young and ...well its the Big East.

Maybe one more portal guy? A versatile 3? Or possibly a Euro guy that can step right in?

[IM4X]

The problem is we don't know yet about the transfers. No one thought in getting Boum we were getting a 1st team All Big East caliber PG. We had no idea. Olivari or McKnight could be that, we just don't know.

One thing I do *think* I know, which you didn't address because it is hard to account for when looking at stats, is that I think we are going to be lightyears better defensively. If that comes to fruition it is going to be big, because as awesome as it was to watch us on offense last year, it was equally as bad to watch us on defense. You never know with the step up in competition but I think we got transfers who are better regarded defensively.

I hope you are right about being lightyears ahead defensively. I did mention that part of making up for what could be a potentially less productive “first 7 players” is that “some of the new guys will have to prove they can play very good defense.” You are right, though, that we can’t account for whether that will be the case or not.

True- We don’t know yet about the transfers. I would say it is not likely that we will see any of them do what Souley did at X, but you never know. Olivari may be able to become a 40% shooter in Miller’s offense system and McKnight may prove to be a guard who plays at an elite level in the paint. One (or even both) may even be a slightly better defender than Boum. I would be surprised if either of them matches all of the skills that Souley offers. I could be wrong though.

[Muskie91]

The problem is we don't know yet about the transfers. No one thought in getting Boum we were getting a 1st team All Big East caliber PG. We had no idea. Olivari or McKnight could be that, we just don't know.

One thing I do *think* I know, which you didn't address because it is hard to account for when looking at stats, is that I think we are going to be lightyears better defensively. If that comes to fruition it is going to be big, because as awesome as it was to watch us on offense last year, it was equally as bad to watch us on defense. You never know with the step up in competition but I think we got transfers who are better regarded defensively.

How about a top 25 offense and defense. Now you’re talking final 4!

[noteggs]

The problem is we don't know yet about the transfers. No one thought in getting Boum we were getting a 1st team All Big East caliber PG. We had no idea. Olivari or McKnight could be that, we just don't know.

One thing I do *think* I know, which you didn't address because it is hard to account for when looking at stats, is that I think we are going to be lightyears better defensively. If that comes to fruition it is going to be big, because as awesome as it was to watch us on offense last year, it was equally as bad to watch us on defense. You never know with the step up in competition but I think we got transfers who are better regarded defensively.

Agree with this.

Also going into last season who would have thought

- we would lead the country in assists per game
- are 3% efficiency would be so good. Think Torvick had us number 4 in the country.

I certainly didn’t.

Man, thank God for Sean Miller!

[D-West & PO-Z]

How about a top 25 offense and defense. Now you’re talking final 4!

That is certainly the formula!

[D-West & PO-Z]

Maybe one more portal guy? A versatile 3? Or possibly a Euro guy that can step right in?

I think it would be awesome if we could get a college proven wing here in our last spot. Would be a dream portal season for Miller if he was able to secure that.

Are we in on any wings that would fit the description?