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Tyler Burton - Guard not Forward

?? Guy was barely over 6 feet (measured under 6'1 at combine) and Clark is not even 5'9, so I would define that as small. But, very very productive. Those two played a lot, and when you add in Jerome at 6'4 or 6'5 playing a lot, yes, that is small, but, yes, very very productive. So, they were small for about 90% of the time on the court. Not sure how this is even debatable when you look at the lineup I listed above, but no big deal. It is all opinion, so you can say they were not small.

If our guys were measured at the combine we'd be even smaller in comparison to UVA
 
didn't mean you annoyed me. just that the guard/forward/center labels have changed to the point where it annoys me!

a team can do different things with a lineup, but I still think whether you call them 1 thru 5 or not ... they still fall into those roles.

I love a 2 PG backcourt. it's harder to define a PG these days as so many are just short scoring guards, but having 2 that can handle is an asset.

there's really no difference between a true 2 and a 3 other than height. neither is a primary ball handler, and both should be able to shoot these days. if one guys stays outside more ... he's the 2. if the other slashes ... he's the 3.

a 4 is just like a 3 but has to be able to defend a bigger player. he's expected to rebound more, though obviously you'd love to get rebounding from every position.

a 5 is your big guy who has to be able to defend a post player. what he does on offense doesn't matter. a guy with no perimeter game is easily defined as a 5, but a guy like Golden is still a 5. you want one of these on the floor. you don't really want 2.
Exactly. Being 6-3 plus everywhere is the formula. Villanova has proven it beyond question. Having 6-5 guards/wings there is no difference between a two and three. We all know who the 4's and 5's are. 3's are never going to be effective 4's. Don't have the size to bang.
 
Exactly. Being 6-3 plus everywhere is the formula. Villanova has proven it beyond question. Having 6-5 guards/wings there is no difference between a two and three. We all know who the 4's and 5's are. 3's are never going to be effective 4's. Don't have the size to bang.

Being 6'3 plus everywhere is the proven formula? UVA says Hi.
 
The good news is Burton is an athletic player. I think his minutes will be tied to how quickly he adjusts to the speed of the college game and from the video snippets it looks like he has a good chance of doing so. One other factor he has in his favor is that apparently he won't have to learn the matchup zone. In the OOC games last year, it was painful to watch the freshman trying to play it. I daresay that all basketball players understand how to play man-to-man regardless of whatever "wrinkles" a coach wants to add. In addition, if he is truly a rebounder then that also gives him a larger share of playing time (larger meaning more than a typical freshman).

As far as who will share minutes, it does seem like the most likely scenario is Burton, Goose, Nick. I have no idea how game ready Nick is going to be and how many minutes he will be able to play. Anyone who thinks he just returns to his previous role (ie the start of last year) I think is dreaming.

Another big question is team chemistry. What group of players is going to play the best together and how long will it take for the coaches to figure that out? In the end, I think we will see a team that looks totally different than last year and I also think there will be players who will be unhappy with their playing time.

In conclusion, the only thing I am certain about is uncertainty.
 
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What group of players is going to play the best together and how long will it take for the coaches to figure that out?

This is Mooney's greatest weakness. As in the past, the coach will struggle mightily with player rotations and management.

As said previously, this squad has enough experienced talent to make the NCAA. Mooney will muck up the NCAA bid by not being able to "figure it out."
 
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This is Mooney's greatest weakness. As in the past, the coach will struggle mightily with player rotations and management.

As said previously, this squad has enough experienced talent to make the NCAA. Mooney will muck up the NCAA bid by not being able to "figure it out."
Not A, it does seem like the OOC will be an impossible task for Mooney. We have notoriously started slow in the past 3-4 years and it just seems that Mooney does not have the guys ready to play when the ball tips in Novembers. Add in that we have some new guys to mix in (Burton, Francis) and Sherod working back in and it seems well above Moon's capabilities. I do feel like we will have some experienced firepower in Nick, Francis, Golden, Gilly, Cayo - so maybe they can overcome?
 
I don’t see Grace playing much at all unless he has improved dramatically. I thought Sal was better last year when given the opportunity and assuming Sal has improved over the summer - I expect him to back up Grant more then Grace. Grace might get minutes but I think similar to last year and likely not every game.
 
Not A, it does seem like the OOC will be an impossible task for Mooney. We have notoriously started slow in the past 3-4 years and it just seems that Mooney does not have the guys ready to play when the ball tips in Novembers. Add in that we have some new guys to mix in (Burton, Francis) and Sherod working back in and it seems well above Moon's capabilities. I do feel like we will have some experienced firepower in Nick, Francis, Golden, Gilly, Cayo - so maybe they can overcome?

In theory this upcoming season we should be less likely to start terrible as we have done in recent years. We are returning all our major pieces from last year, adding a player with serious D1 experience that has already been in the program a year, and not counting on any big contributions from freshmen.

Emphasis on should.
 
Not A, it does seem like the OOC will be an impossible task for Mooney. We have notoriously started slow in the past 3-4 years and it just seems that Mooney does not have the guys ready to play when the ball tips in Novembers. Add in that we have some new guys to mix in (Burton, Francis) and Sherod working back in and it seems well above Moon's capabilities. I do feel like we will have some experienced firepower in Nick, Francis, Golden, Gilly, Cayo - so maybe they can overcome?


This will be the first time in 3 years that at least 2 players won't be new to starting line-up

2016-17 returned TJ and SDJ (3 new starters-2 new to college game)
2017-2018 returned NS and Buck (kwan was injured) (2 new to college game)
2018-2019 NS, GG and JG (1 new JW/1 first time starter)

This year we get back GG, JG, NC, and either AG/NS and BF. All have experience.. I think that will make a big difference in the Nov/Dec play.
 
I don’t see Grace playing much at all unless he has improved dramatically. I thought Sal was better last year when given the opportunity and assuming Sal has improved over the summer - I expect him to back up Grant more then Grace. Grace might get minutes but I think similar to last year and likely not every game.

I thought Grace played very well last year, and definitely expect him to be Grant's back up. He does a lot of things well, and should be a real good one for us his senior year after Grant is gone.
 
I thought Grace played very well last year, and definitely expect him to be Grant's back up. He does a lot of things well, and should be a real good one for us his senior year after Grant is gone.

I agree Grace is the backup to Grant. He was serviceable as freshman. Have to see more b4 I project as real good down road, lot of improvement to be made but has some time. Also because Mooney didn’t play Sal in Grant’s position. Grace isn’t real strong but still bigger than Sal who is more of a wing. I’d be ok if Mooney wanted to play Sal some spot minutes backing up Grant but I don’t expect him to do that. Grace will probably get about same minutes as last year.
 
I thought Grace played very well last year, and definitely expect him to be Grant's back up. He does a lot of things well, and should be a real good one for us his senior year after Grant is gone.
Generally agree with this. I think grace showed enough to be GGs primary backup again this year. I didn’t see Sal running the passing-center role last year and wouldn’t expect that this year unless something drastically changed.
 
The good news is Burton is an athletic player. I think his minutes will be tied to how quickly he adjusts to the speed of the college game and from the video snippets it looks like he has a good chance of doing so. One other factor he has in his favor is that apparently he won't have to learn the matchup zone. In the OOC games last year, it was painful to watch the freshman trying to play it. I daresay that all basketball players understand how to play man-to-man regardless of whatever "wrinkles" a coach wants to add. In addition, if he is truly a rebounder then that also gives him a larger share of playing time (larger meaning more than a typical freshman).

As far as who will share minutes, it does seem like the most likely scenario is Burton, Goose, Nick. I have no idea how game ready Nick is going to be and how many minutes he will be able to play. Anyone who thinks he just returns to his previous role (ie the start of last year) I think is dreaming.

Another big question is team chemistry. What group of players is going to play the best together and how long will it take for the coaches to figure that out? In the end, I think we will see a team that looks totally different than last year and I also think there will be players who will be unhappy with their playing time.

In conclusion, the only thing I am certain about is uncertainty.
One thing is most certain. Mooney will not figure out which the best to play together will be so unless it happens as an accident we're not going to see it.
 
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Emphasis on should.

Agreed, BUT the "projected starter list" is almost the same as the start of last year when the struggling was occurring. We lost to LONGWOOD with the same starting lineup with the exception of Wojcik. I have never seen Francis play a game, but I will concede he is an upgrade solely based on experience (true freshman vs a D1 transfer). An even bigger improvement may be the change in D.

There is reason for hope, but let's not get carried away.
 
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Agreed, BUT the "projected starter list" is almost the same as the start of last year when the struggling was occurring. We lost to LONGWOOD with the same starting lineup with the exception of Wojcik. I have never seen Francis play a game, but I will concede he is an upgrade solely based on experience (true freshman vs a D1 transfer). An even bigger improvement may be the change in D.

There is reason for hope, but let's not get carried away.

We might have four of the same starters this year who started the first game last year, but Jacob, Grant, and Nate now have two full years of experience rather than one. That all by itself is a big difference from last year, especially for Nate. I agree with your other points on Blake being an upgrade (I think a big one) and defense. Also, guys like Andre and Grace had no experience at the beginning of last year and were a little behind (Sal too), but this year should be a key part of the rotation from game 1. Add it all up, and I can see why people would get a little carried away. We should have a real good year.
 
Burton would need to be an absolute superstar to see the floor more than a couple of minutes this year. Maybe he is, I haven't seen him play, BUT, reality is that he likely is not.

The "without blinders" questions are:

A. Whose minutes does Burton take?
B. And what would be the justification for his "time" on the floor?

1) He is a true freshman
2) By his own statement, is trying to adjust to the speed of the college game
3) By his own statement, he must improve his shooting
4) He and Mooney are already not speaking the same language (he says he is a guard, Mooney and program say he is a forward)
5) If he is a guard, he is NOT realistically taking minutes from Francis, Gilyard, Wojcik, or Gustafson
6) If he is a forward, it is highly unlikely that he is taking many minutes from Sherod
7) If Gustafson is playing forward, then Burton most likely won't be taking significant forward minutes from him
8) If Wojcik is playing forward, then Burton won't be taking many forward minutes from him
8) If Sal is as good (and improved) as many on this site say, then Burton won't be taking forward minutes from him
9) Burton won't be taking minutes from Golden/Grace unless the team is in massive crisis
10) His coach struggles notoriously with player management and rotations

So, if Burton isn't a major stud who is ready to immediately impact college basketball, when does he see the floor this season?

Mooney doesn't even do well at sharing minutes in mop up time (assuming there will be any).

This isn't to say that Burton won't be a terrific player some day. Time will tell. Real world analysis says that those who intimate that there is room for him this season are (as usual) deluding themselves.

I have been wondering this since we signed him and many have praised him as an immediate rotation help (up there with Francis). I don’t think he plays unless he is markedly more awesome than everyone else. And that of course leads to doubt every year moving forward whether he will stay or not, and certainly what can he do when next year’s Burton comes around?

We are great at creating log jams it seems.
 
We might have four of the same starters this year who started the first game last year, but Jacob, Grant, and Nate now have two full years of experience rather than one.
They have two full years of experience losing 20 games. Give me talent over experience every day of the week. I think these guys have enough talent to win. Their experience is much less relevant in whether they ultimately will or not. It's mostly talent and coaching that will determine that.
 
They have two full years of experience losing 20 games. Give me talent over experience every day of the week. I think these guys have enough talent to win. Their experience is much less relevant in whether they ultimately will or not. It's mostly talent and coaching that will determine that.

I hear you and agree, and should not have used the word experience there. My point was they should all improve and be better in game 1 this year than they were in game 1 last year.
 
I hear you and agree, and should not have used the word experience there. My point was they should all improve and be better in game 1 this year than they were in game 1 last year.

How about being better in game 1 this year than game 1 the last 4 years? We've lost 3 out of 4 of them and barely beat VMI in the one we won. They've cried being better each and every year out of the gate (even scheduling Longwood last year for an easy win) and it hasn't happened.
 
Burton would need to be an absolute superstar to see the floor more than a couple of minutes this year. Maybe he is, I haven't seen him play, BUT, reality is that he likely is not.

The "without blinders" questions are:

A. Whose minutes does Burton take?
B. And what would be the justification for his "time" on the floor?

1) He is a true freshman
2) By his own statement, is trying to adjust to the speed of the college game
3) By his own statement, he must improve his shooting
4) He and Mooney are already not speaking the same language (he says he is a guard, Mooney and program say he is a forward)
5) If he is a guard, he is NOT realistically taking minutes from Francis, Gilyard, Wojcik, or Gustafson
6) If he is a forward, it is highly unlikely that he is taking many minutes from Sherod
7) If Gustafson is playing forward, then Burton most likely won't be taking significant forward minutes from him
8) If Wojcik is playing forward, then Burton won't be taking many forward minutes from him
8) If Sal is as good (and improved) as many on this site say, then Burton won't be taking forward minutes from him
9) Burton won't be taking minutes from Golden/Grace unless the team is in massive crisis
10) His coach struggles notoriously with player management and rotations

So, if Burton isn't a major stud who is ready to immediately impact college basketball, when does he see the floor this season?

Mooney doesn't even do well at sharing minutes in mop up time (assuming there will be any).

This isn't to say that Burton won't be a terrific player some day. Time will tell. Real world analysis says that those who intimate that there is room for him this season are (as usual) deluding themselves.



I agree Homer. Just based off what is returning in terms of Gilyard, Francis, Sherod, Cayo, Grant, Wojcik, and then Gustav and Sal - the minutes will be slim and he would need to be a stud to see significant time this year and steal minutes from someone. That is not to say he will not be a good player - but not sure if this year or even next year with what we expect to return (we don't lose anyone off this years team assuming no one transfers - correct?). Maybe he works his way into a 5 minutes a night here and there from day 1 and as the season goes - his minutes maybe increase. I could see him playing on the wing and taking Gustav minutes - but too early to tell.
 
I agree Homer. Just based off what is returning in terms of Gilyard, Francis, Sherod, Cayo, Grant, Wojcik, and then Gustav and Sal - the minutes will be slim and he would need to be a stud to see significant time this year and steal minutes from someone. That is not to say he will not be a good player - but not sure if this year or even next year with what we expect to return (we don't lose anyone off this years team assuming no one transfers - correct?). Maybe he works his way into a 5 minutes a night here and there from day 1 and as the season goes - his minutes maybe increase. I could see him playing on the wing and taking Gustav minutes - but too early to tell.
No idea if this is right, or how it will affect the future, but piecing together info from the scrimmage it appears this is what happened:

Player Minutes
Gilyard 27
Francis 27
Cayo 27
Golden 24
Wojcik 22
Gustaveson 22
Sherod 20
Koureissi 18
Burton 13
Grace 0
Verbinskis 0

I suppose it could change to Sherod 23, Grace 5, Burton 5.
But at this point I have no idea what will be typical this season...
 
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No idea if this is right, or how it will affect the future, but piecing together info from the scrimmage it appears this is what happened:

Player Minutes
Gilyard 27
Francis 27
Cayo 27
Golden 24
Wojcik 22
Gustaveson 22
Sherod 20
Koureissi 18
Burton 13
Grace 0
Verbinskis 0

I suppose it could change to Sherod 23, Grace 5, Burton 5.
But at this point I have no idea what will be typical this season...

in what universe will gillyard only be playing 27 minutes?
 
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Mooney doesn't typically hype a freshman unless said freshman is going to play a meaningful role. Therefore, I think Tyler will play a meaningful role. 10+ a game.
 
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Been saying all along, Burton has a college ready body. He is more like a Junior and hasn't even hit our strength and conditioning program yet. We are not used to freshman, particularly freshman big men, being physically ready to play from Day 1.
 
Burton continued to impress tonight: in 16 minutes - 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocked shots.

Coach, let him play more!!!
Agree KE, Burton is a raw talent, but one of the very few athletes we have. I was glad to see Cayo show up the last 10 minutes.
 
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Burton was the first player off the bench. He shows hustle and is always looking to go to the basket. As his body develops, he will be a banger inside. Glad to see he is being used right away. Some of our subs are adequate in defense, but do not even think about shooting or getting in proper position for rebounds. Great addition to the team. Fun player to watch!
 
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