Who do you start?

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howieramone

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PG
Dre
Mathieu

SG
Malik Smith
McNeil/Mav

SF
Austin
Buggs/Wally

PF
Buckles
Oto/King

C
EE
Huge Mo
 


Unless Oto transforms himself this summer (anything is possible), starting Oto exposes us as soft up front and we will be mercilessly exposed in the B1G. You can only cause so many turnovers with the press and we will get torched on the blocks and suffer badly in rebounding differential. Not to sound negative, but I fear this will be our biggest weakness next year irrespective of the Oto issue.
 

golfing18now said:
Dre
Smith
Austin
Buckles if he's available, Buggs if he is not
EE
Click to expand...


This is my lineup as well. Though it could easily be very different as I, like pretty much everyone else here, have no idea what kind of player Smith, Mathieu, or McNeil will be for the Gophers. I am excited for the season to get closer so we can start hearing about what's going on at practice.
 

Get real Oto will not play. The rotation will be starting the two Hollins and Smith, Buggs and Elliot. Major minutes for Mathieu as sixth man. Walker,Mcneil,King,Maverik,and most likely Buckles all getting time. Wally could be the one guy who earns some minutes as well. I think King will surprise people as will Mcneil.
 


golfing18now said:
Dre
Smith
Austin
Buckles if he's available, Buggs if he is not
EE
Click to expand...

This seems right. Looking at this thread really shows the importance of adding Buckles or another big man. If we can, we might be pretty competitive next year, but I really wouldn't feel good about our chances with just Buggs & Oto playing the 4 all year.
 

Coach Pitino called me for some input. I just told him that I can't speak over a public forum such as a phone or email, but when we can get together in person, I will let him know what I think. He told me that I am the only one other than GopherLady that he will listen to, so I can't violate the privacy agreement we have. Sorry, folks.
 

Dre Hollins
Malik Smith
Austin Hollins
Rakeem Buckles
Elliot Eliason
 

I like the Dre-Dre-Austin backcourt. Partly because of how confusing that will be, but I really think Mathieu is going to be a spark plug of speed and athleticism.
 



G Kendell Shell
G Mav Ahanmisi
G/F Nick Pellar
F Oto "matic"
C Big Mo- after he goes on a summer long binge at Five Guys Burgers

In all seriousness, I would think that the following five are the favorites to start, but it's early and things could easily change

G Andre Hollins-Lock to start
G Austin Hollins-Lock to start
G Malik Smith- Has the edge over Mathieu since he knows the system and has a year of D1 under his belt
F Charles Buggs- If we don't get Buckles one would think Buggs is the sure fire starter.
C Elliot Elliason- He showed some promise in games against Indiana and UCLA. If Mo loses the extra 40lbs he needs to, then I think we will have a position battle on our hands. Both should see plenty of minutes if they get into shape.
 

For me. . .

Dre
Dre
Hollins
Buckles (if not Buggs)
EE

-I like the idea of Mathieu getting to play with Dre and Hollins. He sounds like he's an energetic guy who will either be really on or off. I prefer my bench to be a little more stable. Smith could come in for Mathier (move Dre to 1), Hollins or Dre.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
For me. . .

Dre
Dre
Hollins
Buckles (if not Buggs)
EE


-I like the idea of Mathieu getting to play with Dre and Hollins. He sounds like he's an energetic guy who will either be really on or off. I prefer my bench to be a little more stable. Smith could come in for Mathier (move Dre to 1), Hollins or Dre.
Click to expand...

I like this. Of course it depends on just how good Mathieu is but a guy like him is pretty key to getting them into what Pitino wants to do and in making both Hollins better. If Buckles is here and healthy- then you have nice options coming off the bench at several positions- hopefully not in 5 man groups. :)
 

I hope Dre is doing wind sprints oversees, kid is going to have to play huge minutes....

On subject,

I haven't seen half these kids play yet, nor do I pretend to know anything about how this team will operate so I have no clue. Big year from team Hollins is a must though...
 



Winasota Gopher said:
I hope Dre is doing wind sprints oversees, kid is going to have to play huge minutes....

On subject,

I haven't seen half these kids play yet, nor do I pretend to know anything about how this team will operate so I have no clue. Big year from team Hollins is a must though...
Click to expand...

I never like to see Dre go off the floor. That said- I actually think that the pickups Pitino has coming in actually take a little pressure off of Dre. Dre Mat can play the point, either as a starter or in relief and Malik Smith should be a good option backing up Dre at the 2. Not sure what to expect on McNeil.
 

I agree that it will be Hollins, Hollins, smith, EE and hopefully Buckles.


like the bench too and hope Wally gets plenty of floor time. Less Mav.
 

PG Andre Hollins
SG Malik Smith
SF Austin Hollins
PF Charles Buggs/Rakeem Buckles (if available)
C Elliott Eliason
with Dre Mathieu, Mav Ahanmisi, Joey King, and Derrick Randall (if available) getting significant time.

Writing this makes me realize how few minutes there will be available for Ellenson. Maybe we redshirt Ellenson this year?
 

Ellenson will be competing with Dre Hollins, Dre Mathieu, Malik Smith, and Daquein Mcneil at shooting guard. At small forward, he would be competing with Austin Hollins and maybe even Charles Buggs or Joey King if we use a bigger lineup. I can't see Ellenson receiving a whole lot of minnutes this year.
 

Can you see us in a situation where we run a 4 out style offense where we've got 4 guards and one big while running a 2-3 zone and a man press on defense? As I said before, none of us knows how this is going to work or who can do what, but if I was a.betting man, Wally is too damn athletic to not at minimum get a chance yo have minutes over some of the newcomers.
 

bga1 said:
I like this. Of course it depends on just how good Mathieu is but a guy like him is pretty key to getting them into what Pitino wants to do and in making both Hollins better. If Buckles is here and healthy- then you have nice options coming off the bench at several positions- hopefully not in 5 man groups. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd be cool with less hockey substitutions. I don't really mind it in the first halves of the early preseason, just to get our starters the max number of minutes together, but I hated that rotation style.

But you're right, my hypothesized starting lineup is banking on two players I've never seen play basketball (Buggs and Mathieu).
 

Winasota Gopher said:
Can you see us in a situation where we run a 4 out style offense where we've got 4 guards and one big while running a 2-3 zone and a man press on defense? As I said before, none of us knows how this is going to work or who can do what, but if I was a.betting man, Wally is too damn athletic to not at minimum get a chance yo have minutes over some of the newcomers.
Click to expand...

Obviously, it depends upon matchups. I hate the idea of Wally or Austin guarding a real 4. A stretch 4 or undersized 4? Maybe.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Obviously, it depends upon matchups. I hate the idea of Wally or Austin guarding a real 4. A stretch 4 or undersized 4? Maybe.
Click to expand...

Which they wouldn't have to do in a 2-3 zone situation. Max athleticism on the court and especially on the wings of the zone. Villinova used to play almost exclusively with a 4 guard lineup
 

DeathClutch said:
G Kendell Shell
G Mav Ahanmisi
G/F Nick Pellar
F Oto "matic"
C Big Mo- after he goes on a summer long binge at Five Guys Burgers

In all seriousness, I would think that the following five are the favorites to start, but it's early and things could easily change

G Andre Hollins-Lock to start
G Austin Hollins-Lock to start
G Malik Smith- Has the edge over Mathieu since he knows the system and has a year of D1 under his belt
F Charles Buggs- If we don't get Buckles one would think Buggs is the sure fire starter.
C Elliot Elliason- He showed some promise in games against Indiana and UCLA. If Mo loses the extra 40lbs he needs to, then I think we will have a position battle on our hands. Both should see plenty of minutes if they get into shape.
Click to expand...

who is nick pellar?
 

i would take coleman over smith, i dont know why everybody on GH doesnt think more of him leaving, coleman was a 4 star, ranked has high as 59th on maxpreps, homegrown recruit, very athletic, has had 20 point performances as a freshman which is very good, has a higher ceiling then smith and we would have him for 2 years instead of one and done malik, also i'm sure coleman could have averaged 14PPG last year if he played in the sun belt(or whatever conference FIU is in)
 


die hard gopher said:
i would take coleman over smith, i dont know why everybody on GH doesnt think more of him leaving, coleman was a 4 star, ranked has high as 59th on maxpreps, homegrown recruit, very athletic, has had 20 point performances as a freshman which is very good, has a higher ceiling then smith and we would have him for 2 years instead of one and done malik, also i'm sure coleman could have averaged 14PPG last year if he played in the sun belt(or whatever conference FIU is in)
Click to expand...

6' 5 - can't dribble - can't shoot - poor free throw shooter - gets lost on defense.

I'll take Smith over Coleman any day, and I haven't even seen Smith play.
 

die hard gopher said:
i would take coleman over smith, i dont know why everybody on GH doesnt think more of him leaving, coleman was a 4 star, ranked has high as 59th on maxpreps, homegrown recruit, very athletic, has had 20 point performances as a freshman which is very good, has a higher ceiling then smith and we would have him for 2 years instead of one and done malik, also i'm sure coleman could have averaged 14PPG last year if he played in the sun belt(or whatever conference FIU is in)
Click to expand...

Never seen smith play but I agree with you. Would love to have Coleman here.
 

die hard gopher said:
i would take coleman over smith, i dont know why everybody on GH doesnt think more of him leaving, coleman was a 4 star, ranked has high as 59th on maxpreps, homegrown recruit, very athletic, has had 20 point performances as a freshman which is very good, has a higher ceiling then smith and we would have him for 2 years instead of one and done malik, also i'm sure coleman could have averaged 14PPG last year if he played in the sun belt(or whatever conference FIU is in)
Click to expand...
4 Star? Give me a break. We beat out Santa Clara for him. He is a tweener who can't shoot. He belongs in the Sun Belt or whatever, where he could play against smaller players and not lead the nation in getting his shot blocked to go along with leading the nation in guys blowing by him on D.
 



I think it's too early to make predictions on who starts due to the fact that so many of these kids are unknowns to some degree.

One idea that I don't believe has been covered yet is to have Malik Smith come off the bench. I have read that he's not the greatest defender, but is a good 3 point shooter and might even be a bit of a gunner. Now, beyond the fact that assuming an FIU transfer would start in the B1G is a stretch, I think this thread has focused more on the offensive end of the court than the defensive end. If Pitino does try to push the pace in his first year, that will start on the defensive end by harassing guards and forcing turnovers. I think that would make McNeil or Mathieu (or possibly an improving Charles Buggs/Wally Ellenson) better options as the 3rd guard/forward/wing in the starting lineup next to the Hollins boys. In that scenario, Smith could be more of an instant offense off the bench type and a guy who becomes more of a focus of the offense when 'Dre Hollins is on the bench.
 

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