I'm mind blown that there hasn't been a bigger deal made of the signing of Julius Johnson. My prediction is that he will be a star by the time he leaves here... Oh, and despite the early season injury and medical redshirt, Khwan Fore is a stud too. Bright days ahead.
Prediction
- Thread starter Spidertag
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Thanks Spidertag, With what we have gone through in the few years and the number of players who have transferred from school, this has caused a lot of us to be more guarded. I am not going to fall into that trap, We do have some promising new players who will put us back in the limelight!!
Johnson committed a while ago. That may be why people aren't talking as much now.
Using the timeline, it looks like...
Johnson replaces Anthony, at least on the roster if not function.
Pistokache replace Smithen
Dominaus replaces Diekvoss
No replacement for Ododa yet. As to whether the other three are better or worse only time will tell.
Using the timeline, it looks like...
Johnson replaces Anthony, at least on the roster if not function.
Pistokache replace Smithen
Dominaus replaces Diekvoss
No replacement for Ododa yet. As to whether the other three are better or worse only time will tell.
Perhaps but I meant recruited once we knew the player was leaving. I assume that wasn't the case.
Like urmite stated Julius was big news awhile back. Just my view but presently thinking impact of JJ >>> Pisto, only time will tell. Also agree don't see Wood as ideal ANO replacement. Haven't seen him play a minute but VTech stats are almost identical to DT's which isn't encouraging.
Issue for me with Wood is he wanted to quit playing basketball and just concentrate on degree. Well if he did than the final 2 years of education cost is on him. So in his head where is the most valuable degree I can get for free? He picks UR. Smart guy! I hope he's motivated to go 110% with bball and show people why he was so highly recruited out of HS.
Issue for me with Wood is he wanted to quit playing basketball and just concentrate on degree. Well if he did than the final 2 years of education cost is on him. So in his head where is the most valuable degree I can get for free? He picks UR. Smart guy! I hope he's motivated to go 110% with bball and show people why he was so highly recruited out of HS.
As to Julius not being hyped here because he committed long ago, that fact also impresses me. This is a guy who would have had a lot more looks from a lot bigger schools had he not acted decisively and early and then honored his commitment. I am very confident that he is a gem.
Julius also committed before he had a lot of high major interest if I recall. So he never drew 3/4 stars although he might have eventually. Regardless, I'm glad to see we are drawing more size at guard. It's not the ultimate barometer by any stretch but it's been a gap for a while.
What makes me guardedly optimistic is that it seems a large portion of our transfers through multiple coaches have performed better than at their original school.
Before Christmas, we were all saying something like, "Kendall graduates, then Julius comes in. Others will move up, and we will be good." Now, instead of one freshman, we have three new ones and two redshirts. This team will have its own "personality." That's what I find so interesting as we look to the 2015-2016 season. We're going to be good, deep, and experienced. Oh yeah - and talented. Let's buy up those season tickets, fellas...
My optimism about Julius comes from him playing with and against some very good players.
I see Kovien as still having the ability to grow both physically and as a player.
One thing about Jesse, did I read that right? Was he considered one of the top 10 players in the nation as an eighth grader?
I see Kovien as still having the ability to grow both physically and as a player.
One thing about Jesse, did I read that right? Was he considered one of the top 10 players in the nation as an eighth grader?
Hadn't seen that before, but it appears you are correct. Interesting.
http://www.themonitor.com/sports/sh...cle_7d62d891-f79a-5b52-8a4b-529a816325e4.html
I am guardedly optimistic (pun intended). To me the keys to success will include how well the guys get along, who emerges as our on-court and off-court leaders, and just overall team "chemistry." I believe we have a lot of guys on this team who want to be UR Spiders, and who want to excel, and who are unselfish and willing to put the team's interests ahead of their personal stats.
Another big factor is likely to be how much practice time the guys get, and how comfortable they get playing together. We also have some individual players who can work on specific skills. We do not need to name names, but these skills inlcude foul shooting and 3-point shooting, obviously, and feeding the open guy for back-door cuts. I beleive the team can and should be improved, and hope everyone is motivated to work hard and develop great team chemistry. .
Another big factor is likely to be how much practice time the guys get, and how comfortable they get playing together. We also have some individual players who can work on specific skills. We do not need to name names, but these skills inlcude foul shooting and 3-point shooting, obviously, and feeding the open guy for back-door cuts. I beleive the team can and should be improved, and hope everyone is motivated to work hard and develop great team chemistry. .
Jesse was the #21 ranked player in the Class of 2015 as a freshman in high school. He is the real deal and will be a great Spider.
http://www.baselinehoopsports.com/s...s_top_100_national_rankings_class_of_2015.pdf
http://www.baselinehoopsports.com/s...s_top_100_national_rankings_class_of_2015.pdf
The question is - will any of them be able to help us next season. We have historically not had impact frosh players in Mooney's tenure unless the cupboard was bare (KA, Geriot, Gonzo, etc) or the rebuilding after the NCAA appearances (Anthony). I believe Lindsay is really the only frosh we had during the KA, Harper, Geriot and NCAA appearances that played a major role in those NCAA teams as a frosh.
So why I am glad and optimistic some of these recruits may be special players by the time they graduate (think we say that about 2 recruits every year) - the biggest question is - CAN and WILL any of them help this team next season, when they are frosh to help push us into the NCAA tourney. Not saying they have to be stars, or all-rookie A10 selections. They could just be key role players - maybe 15 minutes off the bench or so. I think Lindsay was a good example - his frosh year we make the sweet 16. He played in all 37 games - about 16 minutes a night, which helped give Anderson a quick rest here and there sometimes or played together with Anderson at times - 4 points a night...30% from 3...almost 2-1 assist to turnover....So not superstar frosh numbers, but a key piece as a role player that year for an NCAA team.
With what we have returning - that might be just what we need off the bench, the question is - will we get it?
So why I am glad and optimistic some of these recruits may be special players by the time they graduate (think we say that about 2 recruits every year) - the biggest question is - CAN and WILL any of them help this team next season, when they are frosh to help push us into the NCAA tourney. Not saying they have to be stars, or all-rookie A10 selections. They could just be key role players - maybe 15 minutes off the bench or so. I think Lindsay was a good example - his frosh year we make the sweet 16. He played in all 37 games - about 16 minutes a night, which helped give Anderson a quick rest here and there sometimes or played together with Anderson at times - 4 points a night...30% from 3...almost 2-1 assist to turnover....So not superstar frosh numbers, but a key piece as a role player that year for an NCAA team.
With what we have returning - that might be just what we need off the bench, the question is - will we get it?
As I have said many times before, every year under Mooney's tenure except for 2 we have seen at least 1 freshman play 10+ minutes a game. The norm is having at least one freshman play significant minutes. If Khwan wasn't hurt last year I expect he would have seen close to 10 minutes by the end of the season. We need to replace ~60 minutes a game this season, so I think we are going to see a lot of playing time for our freshmen.
But Fan2011 - not all those teams were very good. Its one thing to play a frosh in Mooney's first 2-3 years when the cupboard was bare, or the 2-3 years after the back to back NCAA seasons when everyone falls back and says we were rebuilding. But how about when we have a good team, with good returning players, poised to make an NCAA run - how do frosh fare then under Mooney?
Mooney has been at UR since 2005. So lets say those first 3 years, maybe even 4 years (since his first year he really had none of his own recruits) - fall under the "bare cupboard" years. In that span - we were 57-70 and made two CBI appearances, once reaching the semi-finals. Then in 2010 and 2011 - we have lots of experience returning (basically all the players who endured the bare cupboard years and were now upperclassmen) - and look like a potential NCAA team to begin the season. In 2010 NCAA team - Brothers was a frosh - played in 29 of the 35 games, only 5 minutes a game. Not my idea of making an impact on that team. Without Brothers and his 5 minutes - we are the same team. 2011 NCAA team - Lindsay and D Williams were frosh. Williams played in 27 of 37 games, only 5 minutes, but Lindsay played in all games about 15-16 minutes. So you can see - he was a significant piece of that team.
Its one thing to say Mooney plays frosh on average 10 minutes a game as frosh. But that is really misleading because that is helped by the recent "rebuilding" teams or early "bare cupboard" years. And like I said - they don't need to be superstars - but I do think, most good teams, even in UR's history has a frosh or two that make an impact during those NCAA years.
Mooney has been at UR since 2005. So lets say those first 3 years, maybe even 4 years (since his first year he really had none of his own recruits) - fall under the "bare cupboard" years. In that span - we were 57-70 and made two CBI appearances, once reaching the semi-finals. Then in 2010 and 2011 - we have lots of experience returning (basically all the players who endured the bare cupboard years and were now upperclassmen) - and look like a potential NCAA team to begin the season. In 2010 NCAA team - Brothers was a frosh - played in 29 of the 35 games, only 5 minutes a game. Not my idea of making an impact on that team. Without Brothers and his 5 minutes - we are the same team. 2011 NCAA team - Lindsay and D Williams were frosh. Williams played in 27 of 37 games, only 5 minutes, but Lindsay played in all games about 15-16 minutes. So you can see - he was a significant piece of that team.
Its one thing to say Mooney plays frosh on average 10 minutes a game as frosh. But that is really misleading because that is helped by the recent "rebuilding" teams or early "bare cupboard" years. And like I said - they don't need to be superstars - but I do think, most good teams, even in UR's history has a frosh or two that make an impact during those NCAA years.
I am not saying frosh get 10 minutes on average (they have had ~40 minutes on average under Mooney), I am saying we have had at least one freshmen get 10+ minutes a game every year except for 2010 and last year. We actually average closer to 2 freshmen getting 10+ minutes a game.
Has Mooney had a bare cupboard every year except 2010 and 2015? If you think that is the case then yes, freshman only play when we have a bare cupboard.
Freshmen who got 10+ minutes:
2006: lots of frosh minutes
2007: ~70% of our minutes were played by freshmen
2008: KA, KS
2009: FCM
2010: -
2011: Ced
2012: K0
2013: TA, DT, TD, ANO
2014: SDJ
2015: -
Even if you say half the years Mooney has been here we have had a bare cupboard, freshmen play significant minutes more often then not. Next year we have a ton of minutes at a position that doesn't have any depth and multiple freshmen to take time there. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of our freshmen getting 20+ minutes a game and being a big contributor.
And yes, freshmen play a lot on teams that were not great. This is because freshmen are usually not as good as upperclassmen, so when they are the best available option they are either really special (which may be the case for some of our freshmen next year) or we don't have good upperclassmen depth at the position (which is definitely the case at the 2 next year).
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Fan2011 - I think everyone agrees at least the first three years under Mooney, if not 4 years were the "bare cupboard" years. So lots of frosh minutes those years because frankly, we had no one else to play while Mooney got his players, put in his system, and played his guys. Then when all those guys became upperclassmen - we made the back to back NCAA run. Then those guys graduate and in 2012 we begin what many call the "rebuilding years". I am not personally a fan of that since I would have liked to see us "reload" rather than "rebuild", but it is what it is. And honestly - we lost too much to not have at least 1 rebuild year in there - I will concede that. So point being - in years where we have good teams, no bare cupboard or rebuilding - only guy who played was Cedrick Lindsay. And in 2014 - SDJ, he only plays because Ced got hurt. Before Ced's injury - he only played about 8 minutes a game, and did not play in 3 games (Belmont, UNC, and Florida - coincidence our 3 biggest OOC games that season).
Maybe we just agree to disagree - but in my mind, Mooney tends to favor the upperclassmen and will really only play the frosh if he has no other option. And with next season's team returning Josh Jones and Fore - I just think he is going to give them ample opportunity to earn playing time before he gives it to some frosh. Not saying a frosh won't win playing time - but early in the season, I expect Jones and Fore to get the minutes.
Maybe we just agree to disagree - but in my mind, Mooney tends to favor the upperclassmen and will really only play the frosh if he has no other option. And with next season's team returning Josh Jones and Fore - I just think he is going to give them ample opportunity to earn playing time before he gives it to some frosh. Not saying a frosh won't win playing time - but early in the season, I expect Jones and Fore to get the minutes.
Appears to be so much promise for 2015-16 but can't wait to see the coaches poll for prediction of A10 standings for next year. I think had UR 5th and ended one spot better this past season. I have no clue where they will be but lower than 3rd doesn't give me much hope for a NCAA bid without winning the conference tourny.
I knew this was coming, should have included for the most part their knowledge is greater than ours ...... maybe the A10 coaches weren't up on David as much as the other schools.
Talking of playing time of late here Davidson had a frosh start every game averaging 30 minutes! Three other frosh got over 10 minutes per game. All of these averaged more PPG than DT.
UR can have a great season but new blood and promising players that have had little time on the court must produce.
Hopefully it will be the Spiders. And look at GW in 2014. Creek came in as a transfer and became the go-to guy for points. Four frosh (Larson, Garino, McDonald, and Savage) who played significant minutes their 1st year progressed well.
Going against CM's past history but hopefully newbies will be given a greater chance to perform. If close to the same level as TD and DT, give them that needed time on the court to advance their game to see if the upside shines through. With the fluid movement the NCAA game has become with transfers and the sort, playing time handed out with the priority given to time spent in the program might not work as well.
Trap, not sure what your argument is, the data is there that says what it says. I guess one could qualify it year to year, but the data speaks for itself.
We all know Mooney prefers to play upper classmen. So does just about every coach out there except for Calipari.
I think your point is that we may not see a lot of frosh minutes this year. I would historically agree, but I think we have a gap at SG and if either JJ or JP are competitive, I would expect one of the two to hit Fan2011's 10+ mpg mark, particularly if Trey plays more in the 3 spot.
Davidson showed you how important being a good "basketball player" and a good shooter is. "Athletic" is third in importance. Very few schools get both. Give me 5 smart shooters over 5 track stars any day.
I don't think the coaches will be projecting the Spiders any worse than about 4th or 5th.
St Bonny is my sleeper next year. They return a lot and have a favorable conference schedule.
St Bonny is my sleeper next year. They return a lot and have a favorable conference schedule.
Don't know if all of you saw this clip by CM after Alonzo left team but before graduation.
http://www.richmondspiders.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=4032692
CM said Jesse and Julius were very good players and could have an immediate impact on team. Surprisingly, he then stated that they would be joining Fore and SDJ in the backcourt. Don't know if that was a slip. It would seem to indicate that Trey won't be in backcourt, and I assume he just forgot about Josh Jones.
He again reiterated that they would continue to recruit best players, so not ruling out shorter guards, but said everything being equal, they'd go with bigger guards. Last season, he stated that it was a defensive problem, having two small guards on the court at the same time, so he began to start Trey as a guard, and eventually increased Josh Jones' minutes. The result was that Kendall and ShawnDre only played together about half the game. So, will Trey play only in the frontcourt, which is rather crowded?
http://www.richmondspiders.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=4032692
CM said Jesse and Julius were very good players and could have an immediate impact on team. Surprisingly, he then stated that they would be joining Fore and SDJ in the backcourt. Don't know if that was a slip. It would seem to indicate that Trey won't be in backcourt, and I assume he just forgot about Josh Jones.
He again reiterated that they would continue to recruit best players, so not ruling out shorter guards, but said everything being equal, they'd go with bigger guards. Last season, he stated that it was a defensive problem, having two small guards on the court at the same time, so he began to start Trey as a guard, and eventually increased Josh Jones' minutes. The result was that Kendall and ShawnDre only played together about half the game. So, will Trey play only in the frontcourt, which is rather crowded?
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This is not surprising to me and lines up with what I saw all last year. Trey is not a natural 2 but played there for size/defensive reasons. If we have a natural 2 who can compete on both ends, he will play a fair bit. I don't expect we will see a lot of SDJ and Khwan together, in spite of several posters here feeling that will occur. They are both traditional point guards.
And I don't think our front court is crowded by any means. We have five guys to cover the three through five spots... TA, TJC, DT, PF, and MW. Trey adds depth at three and can play down to 2, up to 4 in a real pinch. But he's a three in my mind and that spot is as unsettled as SG is. I think he starts there.
TBone,
You leave out Trey in your count for the frontcourt, as well as our latest recruit, Kovien. Thus, we have seven players covering the 3 frontcourt positions.
I intentionally left Kovien out, I expect he will redshirt. 6 guys for three positions isn't crowded in my view. Everyone needs a sub, or more than one sub.
