The more quality guys we get, the more it’s going to elevate Gabe’s game. Think about our guards off the bench this year. Outside of select moments, it was only Grill who was really in the rotation. Jackson and Walker played situationally, especially down the stretch.
And I’m not just talking about scoring. Ball handling especially. Walker and Jackson struggled with pressure, Brockerington didn’t have a right hand (maybe his only criticism) but that made Gabe have to have the ball in his hands a lot and he struggled with that.
Gabe tended to stop the ball last year.
You're right though, and Hunter will really benefit. Gabe, Grill, IB and Conditt all made the court smaller for each other. It was easy for defenses to play downhill against us. Hunter is going to be really tough to stop if he's not the only competent ball-handler. Imagine him frequently getting to go against a defense rotating.
That's why I like Williams offense. He's another ball-handler that can drive a bit, but yet, doesn't need volume to make an impact. He's a connector type. Add in his defense, and he's a big contributor to wins while leaving shots for others.
I thought we could have used Kunc-Enaruna more to counter that cascading offensive failure, but Enaruna must have really been unplayable.
Maybe it was the best option last year, the offense will improve a lot without having a 5 that can't shoot or dribble, trying to get the ball with his back to the basket beyond the 3P line. Nothing against Conditt, but he should not have nearly double the assist rate of any guard not Hunter.