Blog: How will the JuCo's affect next season?

[BallSoHard4Cy]

We know Okoro can hit the three! Plus I've heard he's a defensive stopper as well!

 

[RustShack]

We know Okoro can hit the three! Plus I've heard he's a defensive stopper as well!

I've said be before, Okoro is the guy besides Niang I was most excited about in that class. Hopefully the young guys are ready to play next year. Its a pretty crowded team next year, hopefully we get a good rotation going. A lot of talent, but a lot of inexperience/unknowns on how the translate to this level.

 

[mjhavlo76]

I really hope the JUCO bigs exceed expectations. I am really leery of the lot of players we are getting from the JUCO ranks. But, you never know we could get that diamond in the rough with this bunch. Then again maybe not--Demarcus Phillips was a prime example.

I know I will get some static for my opinion/feeling of these guys, so fire away...

 

[madcityCY]

Fred Hoiberg has taken this program back to the glory days we had in early 2000's in just 3 years he puts a great product on the court. Fans are packing Hilton and the place rocks... He knows talent and look what he has put on the court in just 3 short years. Naz and Okoro are very talented there are just no minutes at guard with Mcgee, Lucious, Clyburn all palying the guard spot. Its great to have that option to not be forced to play them. Team will be young next year but wow Naing and Ejim are back what a base to build off. Morris and Thomas are top 75 recruits and the Juco's had great offers. Man dude you are a hater, bitter pill about everything and always spew your negitive comments on here about the cyclones. Is it that your a jealous fan of another team just that way in general or just want to stir the pot on here. Enjoy what we have going and if you don't like it get off the ride. In Fred we trust!

I think you are thinking of someone else.

 

[clonedude]

It's fairly obvious that Fred himself was a bit worried about our scoring next year too. When the kid from USC failed to qualify, Fred immediately went out and got a pure shooter in Bluford. He didn't go out and get another PG to replace the PG from USC, he went and got a shooter.

So I think it's safe to assume that Fred and the staff are a bit concerned about scoring next year too.

As for Long and Okoro, I'm not sure what to expect out of these 2 going forward? I can see that it would be hard to find minutes for Okoro on this squad this year because his position is loaded.

But before Bubu was reinstated, there were plenty of minutes available for Long, but he still never played. I'm sure Lucious would have loved to get some breathers once in a while, but it didn't happen. And I think Lucious has become a better player since Bubu's returned too, since he's had a chance to get some rest. But yet, Long still never played at all before Bubu came back. And if it was because Lucious was just that good, then Bubu wouldn't be seeing any minutes either right now, but he does.

It just tells me that the coaches are MUCH more comfortable with Bubu than they are with Long. Is that solely based on defense? I know Fred loves Bubu's defense, and I think Long struggles in that area. Is Long so bad at defense that he couldn't even spell Lucious earlier in the year for a few minutes? If so, that's a concern for me next year. It's not good if you have a PG out there that lets his opponent get into the paint whenever he wants to. That's trouble.

 

[VeloClone]

The Big 12 is going to HATE Ejim next year. Nothing to do with the OP, but...

I think they already hate him this year.

 

[VeloClone]

My point is that Bubu does almost absolutely no scoring, and doesn't really create either. He isn't a crafty passer. He isn't really under control all the time. He is a hustle player, plays great defense, and doesn't turn it over.

Bluford will likely be a catch and shoot player.
Thomas will likely be a catch and shoot player his freshman year, although I eventually expect him to develop a mid range game similar to what Babb has this year.
SDW may be able to create his own shot? I don't know.
Ejim gets his points, but I wouldn't call him a scorer. Like many have said he is a garbage man who gets boards and put backs, and is sometimes crafty in the post.
Niang is a stud scorer, obviously.

I think our PG needs to at least be a creator, someone who can draw defenses and kick out to shooters, like we had with Royce and KL.

It's probably a moot point since even if he starts it doesn't mean he will get 25 minutes or anything.

I'm not suggesting that Bubu will be the best point in the Big 12 nor that he will be an all year starter, but much of this simply is not true. Bubu makes enough shots from the perimeter to keep the D honest and he drives both to score and to hit the open guy on the perimeter. Many times people say he is out of control or puts up an ugly shot, but those ugly shots are beautiful to me when they go in and many of them do.

 

[VeloClone]

They aren't happy with what they see on twitter, or what the hear in person even if its not directly to them. They don't always like what the read in the papers. Its part of the job, deal with it or don't do it. And we didn't lose anyone because of it. Sure it hurt his feelings, but he got over it and still committed here.

Yes he did come here, but they had to re-recruit him wasting valuable recruiting resources that could have been used elsewhere. It is putting your head in the sand to think that it does not have a negative impact.

 

[bawbie]

My worry is can he get open and do we have someone who can draw defenders and get him and the other shooters open.

And can you think of anyone on the team that can do that? Hint: it rhymes with forges biang.

 

[Cincyclone]

Fred Hoiberg has taken this program back to the glory days we had in early 2000's in just 3 years he puts a great product on the court. Fans are packing Hilton and the place rocks... He knows talent and look what he has put on the court in just 3 short years. Naz and Okoro are very talented there are just no minutes at guard with Mcgee, Lucious, Clyburn all palying the guard spot. Its great to have that option to not be forced to play them. Team will be young next year but wow Naing and Ejim are back what a base to build off. Morris and Thomas are top 75 recruits and the Juco's had great offers. Man dude you are a hater, bitter pill about everything and always spew your negitive comments on here about the cyclones. Is it that your a jealous fan of another team just that way in general or just want to stir the pot on here. Enjoy what we have going and if you don't like it get off the ride. In Fred we trust!

What? MadcityCy is one of the best posters on this site. And he's right. A lot of people have very high expectations for Morris and especially Thomas next year (I've seen people say 15 ppg).

 

[enisthemenace]

I think they already hate him this year.

Yeah, they do. Next year will have the added "My God, he's been around forever" feel for the rest of the league, though.

 

[mitten1975]

His mom is an intelligent adult and I would guess she knows that her son's #1 weakness is his body/athleticism. It's easy to pick out because all the other parts of his game are so good. Everyone knows it needs to improve going forward because if it does, he will be borderline unstoppable. Hell, he is pretty unstoppable right now. I don't think George's mom is too worried about it, especially since he probably gets more love than anyone on here.

You know my mom?

 

[Cincyclone]

I have a feeling this will be the lineup they go with by the time conference play starts:

G- Morris
G- Thomas
G- Dorsey-Walker
F- Ejim
F- Niang

This will be the best offensive lineup we can put together once Morris, Thomas, and SDW get acclimated. I think people get too caught up in the actual labeled positions. The 2 and the 3 are interchangable in Fred's ideal lineup (being 3 guards).

 

[Wesley]

Here is the deal with Amardi:

He graduated high school in May of 2009.
He red-shirted at Weatherford C.C. for the 2009-2010 season
He played 12 out of 28 games at Weatherford due to injuries for the 2010-11 season
He wasn't allowed to play in 2011-12 due to visa issues. He moved backed to Canada and didn't play on any team.
This season(12-13) he is playing at Indian Hills
Next season(13-14) he is playing at Iowa State

You have 5 years until the time you start college to complete college. So he started college August of 2009 and has until May of 2014 to complete college.

If he is trying to get an extra year of eligibility due to being injured that year it is highly unlikely considering he played in 43% of the games during the 2010-11 season. I thought you could only play in like 33% of games and be eligible for an extra year of eligibility. I could be wrong. Anyways I think the only way he will get an extra year is if he tries to use the Visa issue as an excuse to get an extra year. I don't understand why it takes the NCAA a year or two to determine if he is going to get an extra year. The NCAA is a joke.

Next case goes to bottom of the pile. Get in line.

 

[Wesley]

I have a feeling this will be the lineup they go with by the time conference play starts:

G- Morris
G- Thomas
G- Dorsey-Walker
F- Ejim
F- Niang

This will be the best offensive lineup we can put together once Morris, Thomas, and SDW get acclimated. I think people get too caught up in the actual labeled positions. The 2 and the 3 are interchangable in Fred's ideal lineup (being 3 guards).

This lineup will not work well against all teams we play. UNLV and Cincinnati type teams may require more inside presence.

 

[clonedude]

I have a feeling this will be the lineup they go with by the time conference play starts:

G- Morris
G- Thomas
G- Dorsey-Walker
F- Ejim
F- Niang

This will be the best offensive lineup we can put together once Morris, Thomas, and SDW get acclimated. I think people get too caught up in the actual labeled positions. The 2 and the 3 are interchangable in Fred's ideal lineup (being 3 guards).

You could be right on that lineup, but I think Hogue might replace SDW in there. They might actually split minutes there. I guess I always pictured SDW as a 2, but I think the 2 and 3 positions are almost the same in Fred's system?

 

[Cincyclone]

You could be right on that lineup, but I think Hogue might replace SDW in there. They might actually split minutes there. I guess I always pictured SDW as a 2, but I think the 2 and 3 positions are almost the same in Fred's system?

Fred seems to prefer a three guard lineup, for which the 2 and 3 are essentially the same.

 

[Cincyclone]

This lineup will not work well against all teams we play. UNLV and Cincinnati type teams may require more inside presence.

Agreed. And those are games where Fred would tweak his lineup or more likely his rotation to play matchups. How many Big 12 teams are big enough that a post combo of Ejim and Niang won't get the job done? They're doing fine this year.

 

[nickcyv]

We will have plenty of scoring threats even if Bubu is starting at PG.

Niang and Ejim will both score for us down low, and Matt Thomas, SDW, and KJ Bluford can light it up as well.

Even if Monte Morris ends up starting at PG, I don't think Fred will need him to score much? Yes, we will be young, but I think we will still have scorers. Probably not the likes of Tyrus McGee unfortunately, but hopefully as a group we will be ok.

The problem with Bubu on the floor for extended minutes, whether it be starting or not, is that it messes up the offense. CFH's offense is all about spacing and shooting. Bubu isn't a 3pt threat, at all, so it allows one person to sag down, mucking up the spacing. If Bubu develops a mid range game it would help, but as of now his offense is drive it into the lane and bounce it off his knee, flick it at the hoop, or jump in the air when he gets under the basket and pass it out to the 3pt line.

Not saying Bubu shouldn't play but it would be a great relief, to me, if Morris came in and was the obvious starter from day 1. That or one of Bubu or Naz improve which isn't unreasonable at all.

 

[madcityCY]

The problem with Bubu on the floor for extended minutes, whether it be starting or not, is that it messes up the offense. CFH's offense is all about spacing and shooting. Bubu isn't a 3pt threat, at all, so it allows one person to sag down, mucking up the spacing. If Bubu develops a mid range game it would help, but as of now his offense is drive it into the lane and bounce it off his knee, flick it at the hoop, or jump in the air when he gets under the basket and pass it out to the 3pt line.

Not saying Bubu shouldn't play but it would be a great relief, to me, if Morris came in and was the obvious starter from day 1. That or one of Bubu or Naz improve which isn't unreasonable at all.

Bubu was 5 - 11 for .45 from 3P last year. He's 0-1 this year.
Total, he was 20 of 44, for .45 from the floor last year. He's 4 of 8 this year.

last year, 32 Assts to 23 TOs. Not great, but definitely not as bad as people seem to think. This year, he has 11 Assts to 5 TOs.

He shot 59 FTs last year. This year, and he's 14 of 16 right now. Playing WAY more minutes this year (than Palo did last year), Lucious has only attempted 46 FTs.

As usual, the perception of Palo is distorted. He's not all-conference, but he's not bad either.