I agree with pretty much everything you said, except I think Edozie might get in the game before the Greek kid.
If we're going that deep into the bench I think it's going to be for defense and some toughness, and I think I like Edozie better for that. Edozie is one tough SOB. People just bounce off of him. He does a great job on the glass too.
The Greek kid just gets tossed around with ease right now and is not physical at all. The only way I see him getting meaningful minutes right now is maybe if Fred wants to try to create a mismatch on offense with him standing out at the 3 pt line (because he can knock those down), so it forces the opposing team's big man to step out an guard him out there, which opens up the driving lanes to the hoop for our other guys.
Didn't he have 13? I know you probably mean during the regular season.
One more thing...
11.) Hate to say it, but while the "top flight" starters looked scary, there's a BIG drop-off in talent and experience from what are, right now, the top five starters with sterling pedigrees and experience against the highest level of competition in college basketball (and professional prospects) and the rest of the bench.
Remember, too, we only have five of "those" guys, with McKay, Nader, and Thomas laid-up for various reasons.
The starters could have tortured the competition tonight, but while our second line guys were effective and still better, of course, there was a very big difference in the pace, efficiency, and obviousness of the difference once we had Custer/SDW/Edozie/the Greek out there with one of the walk-ons.
Granted, eight "proven" guys is plenty of depth. We were a top 10-15 team nationally last year with really only seven guys in the main rotation and little depth in the front court. Until then, however, remember that we are going to have to play this setup against Georgia State in two weeks:
Starting: Morris, Long, BDJ, Hogue, Niang --> awesome
Bench guards: Custer, SDW --> definitely a drop, but we will need Custer to spell Morris
Bench posts: Edozie, The Greek --> little shakier here, too...
I suspect those top five guys are going to have to play 30+, if not 35+ minutes that night, particularly if GSU keeps it close. Not saying we are going to lose--there is plenty in the barrel, and Hilton is a sixth man in its own right--but I did want to say there looks to be something of a drop-off after our first eight guys.
Edozie had a great game with 14 pts and 11 rebounds. It did seem like he could make improvements on finishing at the rim though. Tonight it didn't matter if he missed initially, because he would get his own rebound (or two or three) and then finish. In the future against tougher opponents he needs to score on the first attempt after he makes his move in the post.
He looked pretty confident on that bank shot. Maybe that could be his go-to shot? Dude is solidly built.
One more thing...
11.) Hate to say it, but while the "top flight" starters looked scary, there's a BIG drop-off in talent and experience from what are, right now, the top five starters with sterling pedigrees and experience against the highest level of competition in college basketball (and professional prospects) and the rest of the bench.
Remember, too, we only have five of "those" guys, with McKay, Nader, and Thomas laid-up for various reasons.
The starters could have tortured the competition tonight, but while our second line guys were effective and still better, of course, there was a very big difference in the pace, efficiency, and obviousness of the difference once we had Custer/SDW/Edozie/the Greek out there with one of the walk-ons.
Granted, eight "proven" guys is plenty of depth. We were a top 10-15 team nationally last year with really only seven guys in the main rotation and little depth in the front court. Until then, however, remember that we are going to have to play this setup against Georgia State in two weeks:
Starting: Morris, Long, BDJ, Hogue, Niang --> awesome
Bench guards: Custer, SDW --> definitely a drop, but we will need Custer to spell Morris
Bench posts: Edozie, The Greek --> little shakier here, too...
I suspect those top five guys are going to have to play 30+, if not 35+ minutes that night, particularly if GSU keeps it close. Not saying we are going to lose--there is plenty in the barrel, and Hilton is a sixth man in its own right--but I did want to say there looks to be something of a drop-off after our first eight guys.
Edozie had 14 and 11 on 50% shooting (6-12 in 17 minutes of action).
As mentioned above...dude plays hard. Really hard.
Saying there is a big drop off is kind of silly. There's a drop off, but not huge. Plus Custer missed 2 weeks of practice for god's sake. Plus, the second string will hardly all play at the same time like they did for the majority of the night. It'll be someone like Edozie coming in and giving Dustin or Georges a break. Or SDW giving Naz or Bryce one.
What was interesting is that the second team was out there all at the same time. That's never going to happen in real games so I'm wondering if maybe Fred could have mixed it up more like he will during the season?