Starting 5

[guitarchitect7]

Listening to McD in his interview with Jon Miller he mentioned how Wesley got moved to the position that he is at now. Hey made the comment of staying at his natural postion and trying to compete with Clark for playing time and probably being a backup player, or moving to where he is now and probably get immediate playing time and make a bigger impact on the team

But with the new recruits coming in, some of you feel that Wesley has the ability to move back to his natural position and overtake Clark for the starting spot. Interesting.

Would this be smart?

[Drew21]

First time I have ever seen a team captain not start.

[Kyle]

The biggest wrench in the equation is clearly that the two players that just about have to start play the same possition, Rahshon and Wes. As was pointed out earlier, Wes only played the 4 this year out of necessity. The infusion of Thompson and Brackins should shore up our big men (Jiri played very well late, Marsden wont be recovering from mono all year, and Cory should continue to develop). I have little doubt Wes will move back outside for the most part, potentially playing a little 4 on occasion in a small lineup.

I also don't like the idea of starting either Rahshon or Wes at the 2 because we will need another ballhandler on the court, and neither qualifies. I hate to think it, but its possible we could see them battle for that starting spot all year. No matter what though they will both see the court. I think we will try to run more next year given our incredible depth, which should help Rahshon's offense.

It is next to impossible to predict the lineup exactly because we will be so deep (assuming Taylor is still on the team). Here are some guesses.

1: Garrett
2: Taylor (its a total crapshoot in his absence between Dunson, Brister, Staiger, or maybe even WJ. I could also see Brister playing point and Garrett moving here.)
3: Clark or WJ
4&5: Choose two of Jiri, Thompson, and Brackins

[Johnny8]

Here's my current depth chart for next year's team:

1: Garrett or Brister
2: Mike Taylor-----Lucca Staiger-----Dodie Dunson-----Charles Boozer
3: Rahshon Clark or Wesley Johnson-----Lucca Staiger
4: Craig Brackins-----Cory Johnson-----Ross Marsden
5: Jiri Hubalek-----Alex Thompson

I think Brister has the size to be a starting Big XII PG, so he will challenge Garrett for the starting spot. If Staiger can shoot like we've heard, we may be seeing a LOT of him on the floor, but if he can't handle the ball well he may be bumped to the 3 position. However, if he can shoot the ball, McDermott will find a way to get him on the floor.

Right now Clark and W. Johnson are a toss-up for me. I think Wesley will see a few select minutes at the 4 when we need him, but I believe he'll play mostly the 3 and rotate w/ Clark. However, when Clark and Wesley are both on the floor, they can make a good 3/4 combo with either one of them playing the post (whichever gets there first or in better position).

Brackins just seems too good to not start, that is, if he pans out. I mean, we're talkin about the 4th best PF in the nation, so he'll play.

Jiri is Jiri, enough said. Thompson should add a good 20-25 minutes per game, or more if he starts playing well, but that's where he sits right now (In my opinion of course).

[bferin]

Originally Posted by ripvdub

The nice thing is that well have depth on out team next year, so it doesnt really matter who starts. Our best players wont have to play 38 minutes a game in order for us to win.

A few things.... (remember before the negative rep, this is simply my opinion)

First, what DEPTH are you talking about? Assuming that GMac is a stickler (which I believe he may be) MTaylor could be gone. Corey Mc is out. We do not have depth at the guard position.... I am hugely looking forward to Garrett, I think he could be very good with his drive and intensity. I don't consider Dunson to be depth, because he can be fun to watch, but I don't know if he can be considered a good Big XII guard (granted he was a frosh). So at the guard position (if Taylor is gone) we do not have any depth. If Taylor is allowed to play, he'll probably run the point a lot, with Garrett's assistance. Boozer most likely (unless something has changed) will redshirt. Staiger is obviously unproved. I'd say instead of people complaining about Mike Taylor, next year people will want him back.

The 3-4 spots are our deepest position. Wes and Rahshon are proven. Wes is amazing and Rahshon is solid. Not too much to complain about at those spots.

I think the center position is going to be another hassle. I believe that Jiri will have another good year. Everyone is hyping up Thompson: yes he's a big body in the middle but remember he's a career 1.8 ppg and 2.2 rpg player, while playing in the lowly Big 10. I'm most excited to see Brackins (most likely will back up Jiri at the center spot), and I hope that he stays healthy with his knees.

And that brings us to Cory Johnson. I hope he works hard this off season. As shown in most games last year, he doesn't really have a Big XII position. He's undersized to play the 4 spot (not bulky enough to muscle to the hoop or to guard bigger guys) and he doesn't have the developed ball handling skills and footwork to play the 3 position.

So here's it in a nutshell. I like watching Mike T playing and we'd be blessed to have him back. If he isn't, we don't have any proven threat at either guard spot. The 3 and 4 spots will be solid with the Rahshon/Wesley tandem. However, there won't be too many solid minutes coming from the bench. At center, Jiri will be solid along with high hopes from Brackins. To me, that doesn't seem very deep. And with no floor general running the point, it'll make our offense pretty hard to come by in conference games.

So before the negative rep, I believe McD is the right man for the job and I think he needs one more year under his belt and I expect another good learning year before a 2008-2009 filled with solid 3-4-5 star recruits. So here's how I see the starting lineup.

PG: Diante Garrett (Dunson)
SG: Lucca Staiger (Dunson)
SF: Wesley Johnson
PF: Rahshon Clark
C: Jiri Hubalek (Brackins)

We will see scatters of Cory Johnson and Alex Thompson, but I don't believe that either will be huge impact players.

Could be another year of our guards having never played with the rest of the team before.....

PS: Please no negative rep.....just expressing my humble opinions.....

[guitarchitect7]

Good comment Ferin, no neg rep for you this day. You bring up a good point about the depth at guard. We debate about Wes and Clark, but maybe forget about our lonely guard position. After a few days ago we didnt have much to worry about. Taylor was our PG or G, Garrett is coming in with McIntosh, and Dunson on the bench. There is depth. Now you take two of those guys away, and there isnt much. Unfortunately your are left with forcing another player to play an unatural postion for them.

As for Clark and Wes, would you all prefer them to go 3 and 4, or share time as to have quality depth and fresh bodies on the floor. I myself would tend to lean 3 and 4, but who is to say what these new guys can do. I just cant see Brackins starting at this point, but that all could change.

[Cloned4Life]

Good points from everyone.

But I'm sticking with Garrett, Taylor, W. Johnson, Brackins, and Hubalek.

-Garrett might get edged out by Brister (at least at first)
-Rahshon may be a team captain, but his role next year won't include the starting lineup. No worries though, he'll get his minutes and help the team a lot
-Brackins really is THAT good. I'm confident at this point saying he'll start from day one
-Hubalek might get pushed out of the starting lineup by Thompson

Whatever happens, I'm pumped!

[trevn]

I know it's really early, but with Mike Taylor's legal troubles and Corey transferring, who do you think is going to be in our starting 5 next year assuming Mike does not return to the team?

My 5 looks like this:

1. Diante Garrett
2. Dodie
3. Wesley
4. Craig Brackins
5. Jiri

I have Rahshon and Alex Thompson as first coming off the bench and then Lucca Staiger, Cory Johnson, and Ross Marsden. If anything, we can throw a lot of big guys out there.

[trevn]

oops, already a thread, nm

[hfthomp]

Yes, it is early, with McIntosh gone and assuming that Taylor and Rahshon won't be back, I'm going with:

PG - Diante
SG - Lucca
SF - Wesley
PF - Thompson
C - Jiri

With Brackins, Dodie, Brister playing big minutes off the bench.

[cycloneworld]

Rahshon will be back.

[bferin]

Originally Posted by hfthomp

Yes, it is early, with McIntosh gone and assuming that Taylor and Rahshon won't be back, I'm going with:

I may be out of the loop but is there rumors of Rahshon transferring? I don't know why he wouldn't be here next year. He isn't going to the draft (hm...Stinson) and he's a senior so there's no reason for him to transfer if he has to sit out a year. The only place he'd leave to would be a DII school, but he's a leader and the captain of a DI school in the Big XII....no way he's leaving. I'd put money on it that he has quite a senior campaign however. He'll be fun to watch.

[bferin]

Originally Posted by Cloned4Life

Good points from everyone.


-Hubalek might get pushed out of the starting lineup by Thompson

Good joke....

I understand that with a lack of size, any big body is a benefit, but c'mon. I think Thompson is getting an excessive amount of love...is it because he's an Ames native??? In that case....GO MARSDEN!

[travman23]

Too early to tell I think. We'll have to see what happens to Taylor and I think depending on how Thompson and Brackins look either of them could be starting next to Jiri. I know some people don't like the idea of benching Clark but it's not who starts but who finishes the game. Clark was a leader on this team and made a lot of sacrafices offensively in order to help this team and as much depth as we should have Clark will still be the defensive stopper and play good minutes one way or another. Wesley really needs to move to the SF spot so he can take people off the dribble and play more on the wing.

[PolkCityClone]

Originally Posted by bferin

Good joke....

I understand that with a lack of size, any big body is a benefit, but c'mon. I think Thompson is getting an excessive amount of love...is it because he's an Ames native??? In that case....GO MARSDEN!

It is the classic back up quarterback syndrome. When the starter struggles, the fans want the best QB put in - the backup that hasn't taken a snap. So, Thompson will be the favorite son until he steps on the court. If he doesn't pan out, the next recruit that hasn't played will be the savior.