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Early first thoughts

Butler was injured in the preseason but tried to play through it because we needed bodies. Couldn't do it though and had to shut it down for the season after just spot minutes in a couple of games. Broken foot.

And that's how we ended up with walk-on Duncan McLean playing significant minutes (in addition to Peter Thomas in the starting lineup and leading the team in minutes in his first year on scholarship).
 
Peter Thomas began starting the year prior in the game vs Seton Hall at Meadowlands Arena, in Ole Jer’s last year. But if you mean starting at PG, then year. Sylla was also in mix at PG. None of that was pretty.
 
Peter Thomas began starting the year prior in the game vs Seton Hall at Meadowlands Arena, in Ole Jer’s last year. But if you mean starting at PG, then year. Sylla was also in mix at PG. None of that was pretty.
The reference to Oumar Sylla brings me back to my trip to Poughkeepsie, NY where our beloved Spiders fell to the Marist Red Foxes, after blowing a 17 point lead. 16 years later, this one still hurts.

 
Peter Thomas began starting the year prior in the game vs Seton Hall at Meadowlands Arena, in Ole Jer’s last year. But if you mean starting at PG, then year. Sylla was also in mix at PG. None of that was pretty.
I meant full-time starter. In '04–'05 he only started 10 of 29 games when other guys were out.
 
Gotta also give some props to SpiderDad's man, Dji. He played with intensity off the bench - and was a force all over the Court. I think he'll fit that 6th man role really well.

[And yes, I know VMI is BAD, but its nice to have at least a day or two of positive vibes on this board....nice change of pace, if you will :--) ]
Appreciate that 🙌🏼 I thought he was really good. I think we will see him possibly get more minutes if he stays aggressive.
 
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King and Hunt were pleasant surprises at the guard positions. The rest of the team played EXACTLY as expected. We would have lost this game without King. Tyne and Smith are no where close to being ready. Nice to see us out rebounding someone. Turnovers were super low until the scrubs lost control of the game. 1-0 is always a nice start.
I think Quinn would have done a lot more on offense if we didn’t have king, we still would have won pretty easily.
 
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Also a little disappointed w attendance. Just over 5k. How does that compare w past openers? I feel like the 1st game we normally draw well tho it takes $5 tix. We r coming off a poor season & picked 11th in A10. Doesn’t help but again historically I think we draw better. And then see big drop off next few games. Maybe the 5k was legit number & not distributed tix.
More than I thought it would be at the game. Should improve now that we have a couple nice guards.
 
My thoughts.

Our guard play is a SIGNIFICANT upgrade from last year. Do not miss Jaynel at all.

King is a baller and while he clearly won't shoot as well every game as he did last night, he plays with confidence, high IQ player, and is going to be one of top PG in the A-10.

Hunt: As we suspected, he is not a great shooter, but that is the only thing I don't like about his game. He is quick, aggressive on both sides of the all, and as Mooney noted, you can see his leadership skills on the court.

Tyne: Did not play like a freshman in his first game. He has a college ready body (same cannot be said for the other freshman) and seemed to play unafraid.

Granted we were playing a crappy VMI team, but to me the takeaway last night is that our guard play is way way better than it was last year.
Nelson scored 2 with 1 assist in 19 minutes in the silencing of the Rams. We don’t miss that at all.
 
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When have developmental redshirts worked out well for us? Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's rare. And yeah, in the days of the portal and immediate eligibility, there's less reason to do it.

2021: Noyes (jury still out, but looking decent), Dread (transferred)
2017: Schneider (transferred), Ford (transferred)
2014: Diekvoss (transferred), Friendshuh (non-factor, eventually left team)
2011: Davis (decent role player), Nelson-Ododa (decent role player), Piotrowski (transferred)
2010: Sparrow (role player who eventually transferred)

I'm probably missing a few, and it's possible a couple of the guys above redshirted at least partially for injury rather than strictly developmental, but that didn't immediately come to mind for any of them.
This.

Also, every guy who voluntarily redshirts is one fewer guy pushing every other guy to be better. That’s not what we want. We want guys to be available and ready when opportunity calls.
 
This.

Also, every guy who voluntarily redshirts is one fewer guy pushing every other guy to be better. That’s not what we want. We want guys to be available and ready when opportunity calls.
I think the developmental redshirt was absolutely the right call for Noyes. definitely for him ... maybe for us.
now he's a starter as a sophomore. he got the year to get stronger and better. he'll have an extra year of eligibility. if he uses it here, we benefit. either way, he does. and you want to do right by the kids.

I don't agree with anyone who says Marcus Randolph was a better player last year because he got 28 minutes and scored 5 points the year before. that was a wasted year of eligibility for him.
 
I think the developmental redshirt was absolutely the right call for Noyes. definitely for him ... maybe for us.
now he's a starter as a sophomore. he got the year to get stronger and better. he'll have an extra year of eligibility. if he uses it here, we benefit. either way, he does. and you want to do right by the kids.

I don't agree with anyone who says Marcus Randolph was a better player last year because he got 28 minutes and scored 5 points the year before. that was a wasted year of eligibility for him.
Yeah, don't misinterpret my statement to be declarative, there are always going to be cases where a developmental redshirt makes sense. But as a general rule, I think there's more to be gained across the entire program by having guys, whether they're starters, early bench or deep bench, be pushed by having more active guys on the roster.

In the case of someone like Randolph, I'd agree it doesn't make him better. But having him play even small amounts probably makes the program/team better. In this case, it sort of forced the coaches and him to figure out faster that he was a borderline guy and we've gone to the well and brought in transfers and recruits who probably have more upside.
 
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I wonder if having two 6'7" wing players coming in the next class had something to do with a decision not to redshirt.
 
I would have liked to have seen a more balanced offense and ball movement. Guards jacking up shots from all over and not looking to pass, reminds me too much of some recent past teams. When the shots don't fall we could and will be in trouble.
 
I would have liked to have seen a more balanced offense and ball movement. Guards jacking up shots from all over and not looking to pass, reminds me too much of some recent past teams. When the shots don't fall we could and will be in trouble.
I hear you but we did have 16 assists on 28 made shots - so it's not as if it was the wild wild west on Monday.
 
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I want to see some more inside play and scoring, especially from Quinn. With balanced scoring, opponents can't stack up against our guards and lock them dowwn.
Rick, its basketball 101. The VMI guards were trying aggressively trying to push K and H out....They were sadly mistaken... They went right by them.
 
Okay I hear ya. But the title of the thread is Early First Thoughts, so my first thought was we've seen this before.
 
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King and Hunt were pleasant surprises at the guard positions. The rest of the team played EXACTLY as expected. We would have lost this game without King. Tyne and Smith are no where close to being ready. Nice to see us out rebounding someone. Turnovers were super low until the scrubs lost control of the game. 1-0 is always a nice start.
Very small sample size!!
 
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They’ve had a few brief runs of success (primarily under Hewitt and McCaffery), but they’ve really been a revolving door of coaches. During their upswings, their fan base starts talking up how great a fit they’d be for the A-10. Certainly not right now though.
 
First, first, third and fourth in their league from 19-20 through last season, so not too bad. I know they have some new guys this year but hopefully they put together a decent season. I think they'd beat VMI by 20, so last night makes me feel pretty decent about our team.
 
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First, first, third and fourth in their league from 19-20 through last season, so not too bad. I know they have some new guys this year but hopefully they put together a decent season. I think they'd beat VMI by 20, so last night makes me feel pretty decent about our team.

how much a team would beat VMI by is the ultimate barometer, that should be one of points of data that makes up the NET
 
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