Next year

[spiderman]

I'm starting to buy into the VCU hype for this year. they bring back a lot.
also, didn't know Dayton added a late "top 30" pickup in Hamad Mousa who some say will be drafted next year.
SLU makes the jump to the top 4 as well.
not sure who the 4th is.

 

[Spiders4ever]

I'm starting to buy into the VCU hype for this year. they bring back a lot.
also, didn't know Dayton added a late "top 30" pickup in Hamad Mousa who some say will be drafted next year.
SLU makes the jump to the top 4 as well.
not sure who the 4th is.

St. Joe's?

 

[97spiderfan]

St. Joe's?

Until Lange shows he win at St. Joes, I am suspect at putting them in the Top 4.

 

[SFspidur]

 

[8legs1dream]

now all we need is some games scheduled for them to play

 

[GKiller]

This media guy must have graduated from vcu too.

 

[GKiller]

These guys claim to be a Big5 site but I think they're really VCU guys in disguise. But hey we're apparently the darkhorse.

 

[spiderstudent17]

 

[spiderman]

Walz looking TOUGH!

 

[spiderman]

couple other notes ...
that was some extended tape on Jack Graham, and doing good things.
Glou defending Walz on the block?
Tanner just looks so smooth to me.
didn't see him playing but at least no boot on Soulis.

 

[urmite]

Walz looking TOUGH!

You mean Reacher?

 

[spiderstudent17]

I know we typically like to keep an 8 man rotation by the time conference play starts but I can potentially see us playing consistently at least 10 guys depending on the game and match up.

1 - Hunt & Artis
2 - Tyne & GW3
3 - Roche & Tanner
4 - Nescovic & Glou
5 - Walz & Beagle

 

[spider23]

couple other notes ...
that was some extended tape on Jack Graham, and doing good things.
Glou defending Walz on the block?
Tanner just looks so smooth to me.
didn't see him playing but at least no boot on Soulis.

Agree about Tanner. Interested to see if he plays more like a guard or wing. And to me, even in "position less" basketball, you have to be able to guard a position. Looked like he was guarding Dlo in one clip. Curious to see if he can be strong and physical enough to be on the wing. So maybe not quite as strong and athletic as Dji, but if close, I do have hope he can be shooter and scorer.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

I wouldn't take too much into account the individual defenders in any clip, since we generally switch a ton these days on defense. Thus, you'd expect the offense to pass to a switched player that benefits them, i.e. Walz on a smaller guy, DLo isolated against a wing, which is my guess what we see in a lot of these clips.

Walz looks in great shape, could be the most physical big we have had in a long while.

 

[KE Spider]

Agree. Felt like I was looking in the mirror.

 

[spider23]

I know we typically like to keep an 8 man rotation by the time conference play starts but I can potentially see us playing consistently at least 10 guys depending on the game and match up.

1 - Hunt & Artis
2 - Tyne & GW3
3 - Roche & Tanner
4 - Nescovic & Glou
5 - Walz & Beagle

There are so many unknowns at this time, based on lack of D1 game tape and experience. Here is how I might break this down:
Knowns:
Hunt - We know at a minimum he is going to bring defense, leadership and toughness. He showed more offensive game last season than expected, so am hopeful he can be a scorer for us too.
Walz - See player eval. Big, tough, hoping he takes next step on offense as well.
Roche - If healthy, I see a role, and has ability to put some streaks together from deep. I think a bit limited on D. Looks like he is back on the court? That is a good sign.
Tyne - Like his game and disrupter on D even at his size. Can make plays. Can he take next step hitting the 3 at this level?
Beagle and Nescovic - Proven players and skill sets. I think Beagle's skill set translates easily into A10. Nescovic, I think does too, but even though IVY is a good league - I think A10 is more athletic and physical - but he has good production in IVY.
B.Artis - I see B. Artis being able to fit right in. Not expecting Jordan King output or consistency, but do see him a big minutes guy that can score in bunches and do a lot of creation from guard spot.
Unknowns:
GW3 - Lot of upside and talent based on his HS accolades and highlights. Very hopeful he can be a big contributor but story still to be told.
McGlothin / Robinson - Both super talented on tape in their own ways, but no idea what to expect as true freshman.
Roumoglou - To me he could be the biggest X factor - much discussed - is he a star in the making that was behind NBA draftees, or a guy that was on the bench for other reasons? If he has "star" ability defending and making 3's makes us a very good team.
Soulis - Just want him to get healthy and get time - still love his potential , just need progression. It would be ideal IMO if he can be so good by end of year he is starting 4 man, but I feel like that Nescovic job to lose.
Tanner - Looks great on tape. Time to show his stuff. If Glou is not that guy, can Tanner be?
Graham / D'Entremont - Feel like these guys will be high level walk ons, that we hopefully don't have to break out but could be capable in stretches if needed.

While I am hoping for improvement and some of the knowns to take the next step, I think our ceiling is much dependent on a couple of the unknowns popping.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

who will emerge as the scorers? and in particular, who becomes that regular 15+ ppg guy, each game? To me, those are the questions.

Hunt and B. Artis each got about 9-10 ppg last year, which is nice but as upperclassmen, I don't expect a big offensive bounce in their final years, respectively - I think they would have shown that previously (like King did at 16 ppg at a lower level.) Walz - been a low scorer as a backup so far, getting north of 8 ppg would be a normal progression, but asking for 10-12 a game is a leap. Roche - could be, but will he get the time, especially with injury and all the competition?

So for me it comes down to Tyne, who I am very high on and who got shots and wasn't afraid to take them as a freshman, just didn't make enough. If he comes out making them this year from the jump, he's got 26-30mpg locked up IMO. And Beagle, he's already shown he can score more than Walz, so I'd say he has the upside for it. Nescovic has gotten the points, maybe he is a guy with a knack for points - but can our offensive system fit his style (which I don't even know what his game is yet) and he become an inside/outside dual threat? Our system doesn't often feature a big forward as the top scorer, may have to go back to Harper to find one.

 

[spiderman]

I think we clearly don't have an alpha scorer like Kings was. our high scorer this year might be barely north of 12 ppg. but I think we'll have a bunch of guys scoring. more balance than usual, which works with our offense.

 

[spiderstudent17]

There are so many unknowns at this time, based on lack of D1 game tape and experience. Here is how I might break this down:
Knowns:
Hunt - We know at a minimum he is going to bring defense, leadership and toughness. He showed more offensive game last season than expected, so am hopeful he can be a scorer for us too.
Walz - See player eval. Big, tough, hoping he takes next step on offense as well.
Roche - If healthy, I see a role, and has ability to put some streaks together from deep. I think a bit limited on D. Looks like he is back on the court? That is a good sign.
Tyne - Like his game and disrupter on D even at his size. Can make plays. Can he take next step hitting the 3 at this level?
Beagle and Nescovic - Proven players and skill sets. I think Beagle's skill set translates easily into A10. Nescovic, I think does too, but even though IVY is a good league - I think A10 is more athletic and physical - but he has good production in IVY.
B.Artis - I see B. Artis being able to fit right in. Not expecting Jordan King output or consistency, but do see him a big minutes guy that can score in bunches and do a lot of creation from guard spot.
Unknowns:
GW3 - Lot of upside and talent based on his HS accolades and highlights. Very hopeful he can be a big contributor but story still to be told.
McGlothin / Robinson - Both super talented on tape in their own ways, but no idea what to expect as true freshman.
Roumoglou - To me he could be the biggest X factor - much discussed - is he a star in the making that was behind NBA draftees, or a guy that was on the bench for other reasons? If he has "star" ability defending and making 3's makes us a very good team.
Soulis - Just want him to get healthy and get time - still love his potential , just need progression. It would be ideal IMO if he can be so good by end of year he is starting 4 man, but I feel like that Nescovic job to lose.
Tanner - Looks great on tape. Time to show his stuff. If Glou is not that guy, can Tanner be?
Graham / D'Entremont - Feel like these guys will be high level walk ons, that we hopefully don't have to break out but could be capable in stretches if needed.

While I am hoping for improvement and some of the knowns to take the next step, I think our ceiling is much dependent on a couple of the unknowns popping.

Great recap 23,

We certainly know Roche's potential as a great 3 point shooter but he has had some injury difficulties recently. Also the past couple of years here, I would say his shooting has been a little more on the inconsistent side: some games going 4/6 others going 0/5 or something. Again, injuries may have played a big role. Given this, I am not sure how much of a known he will be in the sense of producing that high level of 3's he has shown an ability to do on a consistent basis. Like brooklyn said above and what I have quoted below is a major question I also have moving forward.

who will emerge as the scorers? and in particular, who becomes that regular 15+ ppg guy, each game? To me, those are the questions.

All our most successful teams that I can remember had a player who could score a lot per game and even have a 30 point game if needed and also had an ability to create his own shot. King, Gilly, SDJ, and Kevin Anderson all come to mind recently. Are there any "knowns" that we have who can produce that level of scoring? I am not too sure right now. I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing if we don't have that and could even see the upside of having more balanced scoring among different players at different positions. Will make it harder for teams to scout us.

Personally, I just don't know who/if there will be an individual person (or maybe the whole team steps up) that can be the Jordan King level of scorer we need like last year. I think there is a lot of potential for several players on our team to step up in that role if need be, or even have multiple consistent 8-12 point scorers in a game and have a balanced scoring attack.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

There was an excellent Xavier team in the A10 that had very balanced scoring - and subsequently didn't get anyone on the 1st team all conference team, which they took as a huge slight - but other than that, I'd agree that most teams have a guy who is there game after game putting up points. Otherwise, it's contingent upon the coach to find that guy each and every game, which could backfire and throw regular rotations out of whack each game as the search for a hot scorer means running lots of guys in there.

 

[spiderman]

I don't think we have to try to find the hot scorer. put good scorers on the floor, run the offense, open guy takes the shot. high efficiency.

 

[97spiderfan]

I'm of the opinion that every good team needs an alpha. King was that for us last year. Blake Francis was an alpha. Gilly was an alpha during our A-10 tourney/NCAA run, he was not most of that year which is why we didn't live up to the hype most of the year. The alpha is the guy who wants the ball in their hands when we need a bucket or play needs to be made or at the end of the game.

Hunt to me is the most likely to be our alpha this year. He has the leadership ability to do so, but not sure if he will be the guy we entrust to make that critical bucket and or play.

 

[spider23]

While I am a proponent of balance and having scoring threats at all positions, it does seem per the above references we work best with an alpha taking over. 97's example with Gilly is a great one. Gilly did not want to take over that alpha role in the regular season and we muddled. Once he decided to break the glass and go balls to the wall in the A10, we turned it up several notches.

I like the double alpha too, we have seen these great back courts with two alpha's thrive in the NCAA coming out of low and mid major conferences. Think Delonte West and Jameer Nelson. Think Kenny Atkinson and Curtis Blair. And recently think Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. As great as KA was, Gonzo was every bit the competitor and big shot maker who could take over a game. If you tried to slack off Gonzo, he would absolutely put it on you. The Alpha spot does seem to lean to guards typically.
Top Alpha candidates this season:
1. Hunt - Definitely displays the mental fortitude. Improving offensive game last year compared to previous stop. Does
he have enough offense and ability to create?
2. B.Artis. Has not put up huge numbers previously. But - from tape - appears to have that skill set. Can shoot the three. Can create his own shot. Would seem the biggest limiter has been injury history. A fully healthy B. Artis - he might be Dat Dude.
3. Tyne to shine. Love what I have seen from Mikkel. Would be a big step up from his production and three point shooting. But I do think he has that dawg mentality and fearlessness. Sophomore season is the time to make that big jump. Let's do it.
4. Glou, GW3, Neskovic - These guys all have shown the ability in a previous life (whether Greece, HS, or IVY)
5. Tanner / McGlothin - Both look to have high skill level. Put them below the above group due to less/no experience at college level. Would not be surprise if either jumps the group at number 4.
6. Even though our bigs have the ball in their hands a lot, not expecting a true alpha type scorer play maker to come out of the 4/5 position - unless Neskovic can be that guy.

 

[urfan1]

I believe Gou will be a pleasant surprise.

 

[spiderman]

DLo may be an alpha mentality, but that's not the same as an alpha scorer.
until I see otherwise, I expect balance. we don't need anyone playing hero-ball.

 

[97spiderfan]

DLo may be an alpha mentality, but that's not the same as an alpha scorer.
until I see otherwise, I expect balance. we don't need anyone playing hero-ball.

Very true, s-man. An alpha scorer is not playing hero ball because you want the ball in their hands because good things are going to happen when it is.

I don't want D-lo to be an alpha scorer if that is not a good match for his skill set because than it is hero ball. But I am saying that balance is nice for 38 minutes but the last 2 minutes of the game and other critical times during the game, you need and want an alpha player on your team. Every really good team has that player. Teams with true balance who lack an alpha are usually never better than average teams.

 

[Eight Legger]

I think GW3 will be that guy sooner rather than later.

 

[VT4700]

I think we will be more balanced, but agree you want to have that go to guy. You want him to be versatile, someone like Blake Francis, who could make the 3, drive to the basket, handle the ball, be quick with the ball, draw some contact to get fouled at times, finish at the basket, and create his own shot, including making a pull up mid range jumper if everything else is taken away. This has Hunt written all over it. He might not average 17 a game like Blake did, but I could see him as our leading scorer at 12-14 and the go to guy.

 

[VT4700]

I think GW3 will be that guy sooner rather than later.

Works for me if he is the real deal. I am biased toward Hunt because I really like his game, and have seen him enough to know what he can do. And, a lot of his game reminds me of Blake, and Blake was one of my favorites here. If GW3 or anyone else shows they can be that guy, all good.

 

[urmite]

DLo may be an alpha mentality, but that's not the same as an alpha scorer.
until I see otherwise, I expect balance. we don't need anyone playing hero-ball.

I want balance and I want hero ball.
6 guys averaging 17 a game, all want the ball, and all can perform.
Hero ball is ok, if you are the Avengers…

Ok, Superhero ball…

 

[VT4700]

I want balance and I want hero ball.
6 guys averaging 17 a game, all want the ball, and all can perform.
Hero ball is ok, if you are the Avengers…

Ok, Superhero ball…

102 ppg. I will take it. 😀😃

 

[97spiderfan]

Works for me if he is the real deal. I am biased toward Hunt because I really like his game, and have seen him enough to know what he can do. And, a lot of his game reminds me of Blake, and Blake was one of my favorites here. If GW3 or anyone else shows they can be that guy, all good.

Hunt would have to be the odds on leader right now to be the alpha, given the fact that he is the heart and soul leader of the team and due to the fact that he is our returning leading scorer.

In an ideal world, Hunt is not the alpha, because that means we actually have a better scorer on the roster than him. If Hunt is our Robin as he was last year to King's Batman, we are going to be in for a really fun year.

But if I were to try and pick someone other than Hunt right now, it would be throwing a dart at a dartboard because we have so many new guys and we don't know their roles yet on the team. If we have anyone at practice, they might be able to provide some insights as to who is really shining now.

 

[mr.spider]

Eight Legger,
Check your email for a fantasy football trade offer.

 

[KE Spider]

I think we will be more balanced, but agree you want to have that go to guy. You want him to be versatile, someone like Blake Francis, who could make the 3, drive to the basket, handle the ball, be quick with the ball, draw some contact to get fouled at times, finish at the basket, and create his own shot, including making a pull up mid range jumper if everything else is taken away. This has Hunt written all over it. He might not average 17 a game like Blake did, but I could see him as our leading scorer at 12-14 and the go to guy.

Is this the same guy who had the lowest shooting percentage among starters, but took the most shots by far? Is this the guy that frequently took ill advised shots relative to game situation and shot clock? Is this the guy that took it upon himself to jack up ridiculously difficult shots at critical times rather than looking for an open teammate? Is this the guy who took a future NBA player to play second fiddle to his game?

Francis will forever be an esteemed Spider, but the adulation relative to the stats is suspect. Thin line between fearless and foolish, ask Custer.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

I'm of the opinion that every good team needs an alpha. King was that for us last year. Blake Francis was an alpha. Gilly was an alpha during our A-10 tourney/NCAA run, he was not most of that year which is why we didn't live up to the hype most of the year. The alpha is the guy who wants the ball in their hands when we need a bucket or play needs to be made or at the end of the game.

Hunt to me is the most likely to be our alpha this year. He has the leadership ability to do so, but not sure if he will be the guy we entrust to make that critical bucket and or play.

97 great point! I think Hunt had Alpha moments when it was needed but not many while King was on the floor. Spiders seemed to be a better team when we had effective Alpha. it took pressure off others and they played more relaxed and opened up scoring opportunities for entire team.

 

[VT4700]

Is this the same guy who had the lowest shooting percentage among starters, but took the most shots by far? Is this the guy that frequently took ill advised shots relative to game situation and shot clock? Is this the guy that took it upon himself to jack up ridiculously difficult shots at critical times rather than looking for an open teammate? Is this the guy who took a future NBA player to play second fiddle to his game?

Francis will forever be an esteemed Spider, but the adulation relative to the stats is suspect. Thin line between fearless and foolish, ask Custer.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes. In, 2020, but not 2021. When you shoot about the same number of 3s than 2s, chances are really good you won't be near the FG% leaders on your team. And, in 2021, Jacob had the worst FG% among starters, not Blake. In 2020, did you really have an issue with Blake after he was the leading scorer on a 24-7 team? A team that won 12 and 13 games the 2 seasons before Blake got there, with many of the same starters who started with Blake?

2. No.
3. No.
4. No.

 

[KE Spider]

Stand by origin post.

Shooting % in 2020 season worse than any player, let alone starters, other than Grace and Wojcik who were not starters.

2021, he only exceeded Gilyard (barely) as you pointed out and Isiah Wilson.

Jacked it up far more than anyone else both years. Teammates were frequently open with better shots.

Love Francis. Great Spider. Do not believe his game contributed as much to our results as many do. Baffles me. Just look at the stats.

 

[97spiderfan]

If Gilly is your best player on the court (which I would say he was in 2020 and 2021) than he has to be the guy with the ball in his hands at crunch time. Gilly let Blake be the alpha on those teams and in my mind that is as much Gilly's issue as it was Blake's. It wasn't until the A-10 tournament his senior year that Gilly allowed himself to be the "man" out there.

Gilly is one of our all time greatest players, but the difference between him and Kevin Anderson, is that Kevin Anderson wanted the ball in his hands with the clock winding down ALWAYS, Gilly was more content with allowing another player to be that guy. This also frustrated me about Gilly. You are our alpha dog out there, act like it.

 

[spiderman]

I don't disagree, 97. I wanted Gilly more aggressive at tiems too. but he was a true PG. and a pretty perfect PG.

 

[spiderman]

hadn't looked at Torvik in a while. top 10 projected contributors seems pretty reasonable now, though light to me on B Artis, Glou ... and I think Tanner will be in the top 10.

but the total is over 71 ppg, so that's very reasonable. if you had to take some points away to give to others, who would it be?
I think 14.1 ppg is agressive for Hunt. and 9.8 ppg would be a heck of a year for Roche.

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