2018-2019 Starting Lineup

[MrTbone]

So between my debate on another thread about question marks I have about our roster and another thread about the likelihood of a non-ballhandler starting as our 2 guard, I figured I’d get opinions on what our projected starting lineup will be.

I see the big 3 at PG, SF and C. I think Nathan will start at the other F mostly because I think CM likes experience over inexperience although a newcomer could easily grab this spot.

At SG, I think CM favors a good secondary ballhandler. Not sure who that is of the group out there but guessing the top options are Andre or Jake. Nathan played SG in high school but I don’t know that his handle looked that great last year.

Guessing Andre because his D looked ok in the euro fiba tournament and his handle looked decent. No other data to go off of.

 

[spider23]

As noted CM is a creature of habit, to START the season I see:
Gilyard
Julius
Nick
Cayo
Grant

 

[VT4700]

A lot will depend on practice and who looks the best, but I am hoping it is Jacob, Wojcik, Nick, Cayo, and Grant with Yates, Sal, and JJ coming off the bench. If anyone else steps up and earns playing time, even better. I like the size and shooting with this team.

 

[gospidersgo]

23 I think that's the most likely group to start the year too. Sherod, Golden, Gilyard are no brainers. That's gives us offense from all over the floor.

Cayo makes sense because of his height and I think he's probably our best defensive option right now.

After that i think it's JJ's spot to lose. I know he doesn't give us the ball handling ability we would like out of that spot, but there is definitely the opportunity for him to play a big role in his senior season. I'm really hoping (not necessarily expecting) he plays a role similar to what Greg Robbins did for us years ago in his final year (20 something minutes, average 6 or 8 points, contribute in ways that don't necessarily show up in the box score).

Assuming Gilyard gets 37 mpg, Grant and Nick at 32, Cayo and JJ each at +/-24 mpg - this gives the rest of the team about 50 minutes to battle over. That's a decent amount of bench minutes and I'm hoping a few guys will prove themselves worthy of earning them.

There's a lot of unknowns out of that remaining group. I think this starting 5 is top 4 or 5 in the A10. The problem is you need .ore than 5 players. I think what will make the difference between another subpar season or a sneaky good season is who steps up from the newcomers.

 

[spiderman]

I actually think Nathan will be really good this year. granted I'm basing that on a little bit of Spider hoops off season propaganda videos, but he looks improved in his offensive skills and he's the kind of defense/rebounding first big guy that this team needs while our main 3 get the bulk of the shots up. I like him in that role.

I think JJ came to UR with designs to be our usual SG combo guard type. he just didn't develop that way so we've played him as a short SF. I'm guessing we take a good long look at the other SG options (Andre, Jake, and even Noah and Bryce). best guy plays. but best often means the guy least likely to screw up on either end of the floor, and that might be Julius early on.

 

[97spiderfan]

Jake or Andre need to beat out Julius for the SG starting position. We know what we are getting from Julius and it is not A-10 starter material. So My money would be on Jake, just because I think he fits the traditional SG that we want (where as Andre seems to be more of a PG/SG combo). Julius, I hope is not even our 6th man off the bench, nothing against him but he has significant holes in his game that we have seen repeatedly through his first 3 years with us.

I hear what 23 says though that Mooney being a creature of habit and going with the seniority and the guys he knows.

 

[ur2K]

Lots of questions going into this season.

• Who plays for Grant when he is on the bench? Is that Cayo sliding to the 5?
  
• Who is going to rebound the ball?
  
• Will the RS Freshmen play? No one is mentioning them at all.

 

[spiderman]

my guesses ... yes, Nathan, and not a lot.

8 will play most of the minutes and I figure the top 6 will be Gilyard, Golden, Sherod, Cayo, Johnson, and Koureissi. I assume Yates will be in the rotation though not basing that on anything. 8th will be a freshman. Jacob can't play all 40 so it's most likely Andre. unless Oddo earns those few minutes. others will see some early season time but not much once in-conference play starts.

 

[spider23]

I'm a little worried on here about Woj. He seemed to be the guy many were pointing to to contribute early - before these early season workouts. Now, nary a word. Gustavson doesn't seem to be a shooter from what we have seen and read, and Woj does - but Gus getting the nod on the board so far. This concerns me. We need guys to stretch the floor and be ready to spot up when Golden and Gilyard attack the basket.

 

[spiderman]

Woj could be the guy to unseat JJ, with Andre concentrating on backing up at the point.

as for stretching the floor ... maybe not Nathan but everyone else should be solid from outside.

 

[spiderstudent17]

My predicted line up:

Gilyard
Wojcik
Sherod
Cayo
Golden

Bench: In order of most to least minutes
JJ
Andre
Verbinski
Noah
Sal

I think of all our bench players, Sal has the biggest upside in terms of talent and producing for us on the court. I think his playing time will increase more as he gets more physically ready to handle college basketball.

 

[Ulla1]

My predicted line up:

Gilyard
Wojcik
Sherod
Cayo
Golden

Bench: In order of most to least minutes
JJ
Andre
Verbinski
Noah
Sal

I think of all our bench players, Sal has the biggest upside in terms of talent and producing for us on the court. I think his playing time will increase more as he gets more physically ready to handle college basketball.

You don’t have a clue.

 

[spiderstudent17]

You don’t have a clue.

Would you please elaborate? What do you disagree about my lineup? I know that you have stated several times that Andre has been our best freshman so far. Would you have him in the starting line up? I had Wojcik starting over JJ because Mooney typically likes to have two strong ball handlers on the court at a time. In terms of Wojcik beating out Andre, I based that more on Wojcik being more physically ready for college basketball and Wojcik is a good spot-up shooter for three. If you have a different perspective, I would love to hear your insight.

 

[fan2011]

Would you please elaborate? What do you disagree about my lineup? I know that you have stated several times that Andre has been our best freshman so far. Would you have him in the starting line up? I had Wojcik starting over JJ because Mooney typically likes to have two strong ball handlers on the court at a time. In terms of Wojcik beating out Andre, I based that more on Wojcik being more physically ready for college basketball and Wojcik is a good spot-up shooter for three. If you have a different perspective, I would love to hear your insight.

My guess (or hope) is that you have Sal way too low on your list.

 

[MrTbone]

You don’t have a clue.

He must have at least 60% of the clues, as we all know the big three are starting.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Would you please elaborate? What do you disagree about my lineup? I know that you have stated several times that Andre has been our best freshman so far. Would you have him in the starting line up? I had Wojcik starting over JJ because Mooney typically likes to have two strong ball handlers on the court at a time. In terms of Wojcik beating out Andre, I based that more on Wojcik being more physically ready for college basketball and Wojcik is a good spot-up shooter for three. If you have a different perspective, I would love to hear your insight.

Well established that Ulla is the undisputed # 1 Spider cheerleader. Different story when it comes to his assessment of basketball talent.

 

[LongTimeSpiderFan]

My predicted line up:

Gilyard
Wojcik
Sherod
Cayo
Golden

Bench: In order of most to least minutes
JJ
Andre
Verbinski
Noah
Sal

I think of all our bench players, Sal has the biggest upside in terms of talent and producing for us on the court. I think his playing time will increase more as he gets more physically ready to handle college basketball.

I think Sal is on the floor early and often. Cayo on bench but will. Play when Golden need a rest.
Gilyard
Sherod
Golden
Sal
... And i can remember who i saw clips of that was relentless in attacking the rim. Was that the kid from Finalnd?

 

[9Legs]

Let's see - It looks like opposing defenses can focus on locking down our "big 3" and let the rest beat them. I think we are going to see a lot of zones. Are taller athletic guards going be a problem for JG? You can also bet that offenses are going after our "big 3" early to get them in foul trouble. I wish I could be more optimistic!

 

[PhillySpider]

This discussion points out why I would expect another year of struggles.

We weren't that good last year (in fact we were bad) with experienced (and seemingly good - - - A-10 Rookie of the Year etc.) players like Buck and Khwan along side the "big three" (and I wont get into questioning that moniker just yet). Yes, those three should be better as they are a year older etc. but the other spots are hard to picture being anything but a big step back. Hard to see how that calculus adds up to us being much improved.

 

[ur2K]

This discussion points out why I would expect another year of struggles.

We weren't that good last year (in fact we were bad) with experienced (and seemingly good - - - A-10 Rookie of the Year etc.) players like Buck and Khwan along side the "big three" (and I wont get into questioning that moniker just yet). Yes, those three should be better as they are a year older etc. but the other spots are hard to picture being anything but a big step back. Hard to see how that calculus adds up to us being much improved.

Agree - I think this team will be able to score but not sure I see an improvement coming on defense.

 

[spider23]

Agree - I think this team will be able to score but not sure I see an improvement coming on defense.

Agree, that is a chief concern of mine, and seems to be overlooked in these discussions, and by Mooney in recent years. That was the thing that was so unbelievable to me last year to begin the year - just how bad we were at playing D and putting up any kind of resistance. Gilyard can scoot and is disruptive - but we will need to be able to adjust so that he is not getting switched onto much bigger players easily. Nick is not what I would consider a super athletic wing - but he can play smart, but I do not see him as a + defender. Grant is restricted by the "TJ Factor", that is he is too valuable to get into foul trouble. And if he plays aggressive D he will pick up calls. That really leaves us with the other two guys on the court really needing to be lock down types of guys in my opinion.

 

[spiderman]

Let's see - It looks like opposing defenses can focus on locking down our "big 3" and let the rest beat them. I think we are going to see a lot of zones. Are taller athletic guards going be a problem for JG? You can also bet that offenses are going after our "big 3" early to get them in foul trouble. I wish I could be more optimistic!

I've been around basketball a long time. yet to see a defense that locks down 3. what do you call that junk defense? a "line segment and 3"?

I don't remember our greatest teams having balanced scoring attacks. it's always 2 or 3 that do most of the scoring on offense.

 

[9Legs]

I've been around basketball a long time. yet to see a defense that locks down 3. what do you call that junk defense? a "line segment and 3"?

I don't remember our greatest teams having balanced scoring attacks. it's always 2 or 3 that do most of the scoring on offense.

For the record, last year we averaged 72 pts per game and gave up 75 in round figures. The big 3 returning average 41 of those(57% of the total),Buck and Kwan 23(32%of the total) and the bench 8. Where is the 31 point difference coming from? Golden avg 30.7 minutes, Sherod 31.5 minutes and Gilyard 36.5 minutes. How many more minutes can each one of those give us considering their defensive responsibilities? Even if we average 72 how do we hold the opponents below that ?

 

[Spider2020]

Let's see - It looks like opposing defenses can focus on locking down our "big 3" and let the rest beat them. I think we are going to see a lot of zones. Are taller athletic guards going be a problem for JG? You can also bet that offenses are going after our "big 3" early to get them in foul trouble. I wish I could be more optimistic!

I seem to remember the team struggling to score against zone last year. I too am pessimistic about this coming year, although with the schedule being so much easier, the overall record will probably look much better.

 

[MrTbone]

So we can probably debate a bunch of stuff peripheral to the thread title but in the interest of trying to create a slightly less controversial topic, maybe we can stick to lineup projections.

Just a suggestion.

 

[spiderstudent17]

 

[spider23]

Interesting, that seemed to be the consensus among many posters also- Woj would need to be the guy opposite Gilyard. Though one first hand observer seems to indicate Gustavson. Hopefully both are up to playing defense in the A10 this year, that would improve our chances greatly.

 

[spiderstudent17]

Take a look at this video if you haven't seen it before. He only missed 2 shots.



I like Wojcik's offensive ability. He can help stretch the opposing defense out to the perimeter with his three point shooting. He has good size too and can drive to the basket (per his highlight videos). His defensive ability will be an important factor in whether he gets significant playing time or not.

 

[kneepadmckinney]

View embedded media

This is heartening. Mooney has usually been careful not to heap praise on freshman once practice has started as far as saying they were going to be significant contributors (as opposed to saying something like "he's a good shooter" or "he has good vision"). He's generally reserved the "he's going to play" kind of quotes for the KA, K0, Gillys of the world. I like it when he is comfortable saying a guy is going to contribute early, because they have turned out to be good players.

 

[wr70beh]

A lot will depend on practice and who looks the best, but I am hoping it is Jacob, Wojcik, Nick, Cayo, and Grant with Yates, Sal, and JJ coming off the bench. If anyone else steps up and earns playing time, even better. I like the size and shooting with this team.

Similar, but swap Wojcik with JJ. Now keep in mind this is the first week or two. He'll probably play Wojcik more if he shows him something, and if so will start once conference play starts. As far as Yates goes, he'll either be better than Abakah or worse than Madrid-Andrews (our 2 prior GS). Either way, I'd be surprised if he starts a game.

 

[spider23]

Idle threat, 57th time we have had this promise or threat.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

This messageboard is worthless. Cancel your subscriptions. You guys and gal (Philly Spider) have no clue. I’m out of here.

The negative nature of these posts ... just ribbing you Ulla, street does goes both ways though

 

[Ulla1]

The negative nature of these posts ... just ribbing you Ulla, street does goes both ways though

Homer, respect your comments. Love our team and it is just not fun anymore to see the repetitive attacks on our players and coaches. It is a sad state when a few dimwits are allowed to continue their simpleton agenda. Yes, 97, that includes you and your few buddies.

 

[32counter]

Nice team picture:

 

[97spiderfan]

Homer, respect your comments. Love our team and it is just not fun anymore to see the repetitive attacks on our players and coaches. It is a sad state when a few dimwits are allowed to continue their simpleton agenda. Yes, 97, that includes you and your few buddies.

On my posts, they are almost factual rebuttals to another poster's comment on here. Unlike some posters (since we are naming names, (Pike, Lurker) who just come on here to call other posters names. I guess that would include you calling me a "dimwit" would qualify to that as well.

It is an interesting tactic, that these posters choose not to rebutt my posts with actually solid takes or facts to bolster up their case but rather they choose to simply attack another poster via name calling. It says something about their case when they can no longer argue it on its merits.

As for the common refrain that the "anti-Mooney" faction is just a few people stirring up trouble. Our A.D. would not be publicly stating to the media that we need to "win more" if Mooney was doing a good job and how he understands the dissatisfaction he has heard from fans, alumni, season ticket holders about our program. As much as I'd like to think me and my few buddies have that power, we don't, Hardt issued those statements to the press because A LOT of people have been saying these things.

 

[I-M-UR]

Homer, respect your comments. Love our team and it is just not fun anymore to see the repetitive attacks on our players and coaches. It is a sad state when a few dimwits are allowed to continue their simpleton agenda. Yes, 97, that includes you and your few buddies.

Ulla, there is a board to express opinions, Adults often don't share the same opinions. I don't know what you're expecting but you're going to get negative opinions anytime you ask for them from a group of people. And yes I think Mooney is underachieving, baseball is struggling but maybe turned the corner, the beat down by JMU and the direction football seems to be headed, the Gill/Rocco fiasco, etc all combine to make it difficult to be positive.

Want to see real diverse opinions.... lets discuss President Trump.

 

[spiderman]

I think my point and part of Ulla's point is that a small number of posters have felt it's their role to repeat their feelings of dissatisfaction on this board over and over for the last 10 months thinking their selfless efforts will enact the change they believe is necessary to make UR great again. of course you can express your unhappiness. but the repetitiveness has made the board much less enjoyable for many posters, some who have stuck around and others who have left.

deciding to fire a guy after a 12 win season is easy. writing a 7 figure check not starting with a "1" isn't, whether posters here want to acknowledge that or not. in time as that number comes down, Hardt's hands won't be tied and he can do whatever he thinks is in UR's best interest. you want change now, start a gofundme and see how it goes. I'd be interested to see how many feel strongly enough to donate substantially to the cause.

Hardt's a big boy and a smart and successful AD. he knows people want more from UR sports. you don't have to worry that he thinks everyone's happy. you don't have to worry that he'll be "tricked" by winning with a weaker schedule. but saying basketball has been bad the last 5 years hurts your credibility. we haven't hit the highs we all want for sure. and last year was tough to sit through. but a new season brings new potential. I'm excited for it. it's been a long offseason.

back to the team photo ... it shouldn't bother me and maybe I'm getting OCD, but what photographer puts JJ in the back row between Golden and Grace?

 

[spider23]

I think my point and part of Ulla's point is that a small number of posters have felt it's their role to repeat their feelings of dissatisfaction on this board over and over for the last 10 months thinking their selfless efforts will enact the change they believe is necessary to make UR great again. of course you can express your unhappiness. but the repetitiveness has made the board much less enjoyable for many posters, some who have stuck around and others who have left.

deciding to fire a guy after a 12 win season is easy. writing a 7 figure check not starting with a "1" isn't, whether posters here want to acknowledge that or not. in time as that number comes down, Hardt's hands won't be tied and he can do whatever he thinks is in UR's best interest. you want change now, start a gofundme and see how it goes. I'd be interested to see how many feel strongly enough to donate substantially to the cause.

Hardt's a big boy and a smart and successful AD. he knows people want more from UR sports. you don't have to worry that he thinks everyone's happy. you don't have to worry that he'll be "tricked" by winning with a weaker schedule. but saying basketball has been bad the last 5 years hurts your credibility. we haven't hit the highs we all want for sure. and last year was tough to sit through. but a new season brings new potential. I'm excited for it. it's been a long offseason.

back to the team photo ... it shouldn't bother me and maybe I'm getting OCD, but what photographer puts JJ in the back row between Golden and Grace?

Spiderman, I know you are not talking about me being negative, go back the last week and I am being positive, with only a few negative posts, until are usual one sided posters attacked. Hardt is a successful AD? What about football at Bucknell, I believe 3 straight losing seasons. The more posters like you try to encourage Hardt that we are turning the corner, the more emboldened PQ and Hardt are for the status quo. Keep up your rants, you are just making this board and our program worse. Kudos!

 

[MrTbone]

back to the team photo ... it shouldn't bother me and maybe I'm getting OCD, but what photographer puts JJ in the back row between Golden and Grace?

1. This was the first thing I noticed too in the picture. Weird. Kind of funny.
2. People are going to complain, I understand why. Doesn't make it enjoyable, but I think the pick up your ball and go home mentality doesn't help.
3. The flipside is that the continued intimation that we don't have problems and things should get better is wearisome too. I get why that irritates the crap out of people.
4. Am I the only person that sees the 5-Star Recruit Derek Stingley in the side panel and wonders what the kid in the red #8 jersey is doing when he does a spin move on the ground like a breakdancer from 1983?

 

[spider23]

Tbone, good observations. Particularly number 3 strikes a chord. Believe me, I have more positive posts on this board than ulla and s-man combined, even posted on a board before this one was up and running. But, now that myself (and I am seeing more and more disgruntled posters) and others are calling out the warts on this regime, they cannot take it. Boo Hoo. If Moon gets us back to NCAA and can add a couple more top 200 type legit recruits for next year, I will beat the Ulla drum, but I am becoming more convinced that Mooney just does not know how to succeed any more.