Pitino says McNeil and Squirrel to compete for SF spot

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dpodoll68 said:
It seems pretty clear that, pending any further incoming recruits, Morris will be the only player on roster with the requisite physical profile to play the 3 full time in the Big Ten. Pitino is pretending like McNeil has a shot in order to make it seem like he's not handing Morris a starting spot with no competition. McNeil will continue to be a combo guard like he was this year.
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So we're just going to play Morris at the 3 40 minutes per game and never sub anyone in for him even if there are fouls or injuries? As the roster stands right now, someone is going to have to play slightly out of position so they can back him up. McNeil is the most logical person to do that, so no, he will not continue to play purely as a combo guard like this year unless we sign another wing.
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
So we're just going to play Morris at the 3 40 minutes per game and never sub anyone in for him even if there are fouls or injuries? As the roster stands right now, someone is going to have to play slightly out of position so they can back him up. McNeil is the most logical person to do that, so no, he will not continue to play purely as a combo guard like this year unless we sign another wing.
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I never said that Morris would play 40 minutes per game nor that McNeil would purely be a combo guard.
 

In a lot of systems there's not much difference between the 2 and the 3 on offense as they're both wings. McNeil can play there. The question is on D where you'd like at least one guy to have some size. But there are plenty of teams that play 3 guard lineups and play well
 

Austin Hollins was only 6'4, so it's not like McNeil is that much smaller

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mcal24 said:
Austin Hollins was only 6'4, so it's not like McNeil is that much smaller

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Exactly. I think Austin is more athletic, but McNeil appears to be pretty strong and should be fine at SF. I still think the Squirrel ends up starting though.
 


dpodoll68 said:
I never said that Morris would play 40 minutes per game nor that McNeil would purely be a combo guard.
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Well these two quotes were confusing then: "Pitino is pretending like McNeil has a shot." and "McNeil will continue to be a combo guard like he was this year."

Sounded like you don't think McNeil will be splitting time at small forward with Morris when it seems clear to me that he will (unless we make more additions at the wing).
 

mcal24 said:
Austin Hollins was only 6'4, so it's not like McNeil is that much smaller

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Maybe it's build but Austin definitely seemed to be bigger than McNeil. Maybe he's just longer. Who knows. Maybe it doesn't matter since UCONN just won the title with starting guards that were both about 6'
 

Did any of u watch this years team?? This isn't the NBA... We played with 3 guards all season. The 2 and 3 positions are the same in this system. Mcneil played the 3 this year along with m.smith. Morris is a 3 maybe even taller than Austin.
 

Morris reminds me of Vander Blue. Here's to hoping he does as well as Vander did.

Morris.jpg
Vander_Blue-100613-e1381069182295.jpeg
 



gopherhoopsguy said:
Did any of u watch this years team?? This isn't the NBA... We played with 3 guards all season. The 2 and 3 positions are the same in this system. Mcneil played the 3 this year along with m.smith. Morris is a 3 maybe even taller than Austin.
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I did. We struggled mightily on the defensive end due to a lack of length. It's more about what position you can guard than the offensive scheme.
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
Well these two quotes were confusing then: "Pitino is pretending like McNeil has a shot." and "McNeil will continue to be a combo guard like he was this year."

Sounded like you don't think McNeil will be splitting time at small forward with Morris when it seems clear to me that he will (unless we make more additions at the wing).
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That's dpo's defense to act like he can never say anything incorrect or misleading. The others are...
- not responding (even though he'll comment on something else on the same thread)
- asking someone to research his past posts or look online with the illusion that not doing so proves he's correct or they're incorrect
- the straw man fallacy that he accuses so many others of

I'm not sure why dpo thinks that Morris will be handed the starting spot just because of his physical profile. Yeah, in all likelihood he will be the starter, but if McNeil improves drastically and Morris is out of shape, playing like crap, or whatever the reason may be, Pitino has shown he's willing to play 3 guards.

GophersOnTheRise said:
Well these two quotes were confusing then: "Pitino is pretending like McNeil has a shot." and "McNeil will continue to be a combo guard like he was this year."

Sounded like you don't think McNeil will be splitting time at small forward with Morris when it seems clear to me that he will (unless we make more additions at the wing).
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Fact, We were very short on defense in the 1-3 spots this year. Austin is at least an inch if not more taller than McNeil and Austin has crazy reach and very good athletism. McNeil looks strong and can probably rebound as well as Austin. Can he become a streaky 3pt shooter? Can he guard the best wing? Lots of questions. Lets look at the sizes of some of this years teams 1-3 spots.
Wisc 1-3: Jackson 6'2" 210, Brust 6-1 195, Gasser 6-3 190.
Mich ST: Appling 6-1 185, Harris 6-4 210, Valentine 6-5 225.
Mich: Walton 6-1 185, LeVert 6-6 185, Stuaskus 6-6 205.
Iowa: Gessel 6-1 190, Marble 6-6 200, White 6-8 220.

We are massively shorter and undersized with a Dre, Dre, and McNeil lineup. We did it this year but it is not ideal. Case closed. The VCU, Florida, and Louisville's of the world like very quick and long athletes to disrupt on the defensive end. We definitely arent anywhere near them yet.
 

march madness said:
McNeil looks strong and can probably rebound as well as Austin.
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Austin was a very good rebounder, in part because his length and athletic ability, I don't see how you think McNeil will be as good.

McNeil, like King and Lil Dre were all played better than I would have expected this season. McNeil is a solid player, he'll see consistent minutes at the 2 & 3 next year.
 



Austin really wasn't a good rebounder until his senior year. 5 reb a game is an ok number for the 3 spot. But part of that is just how weak we were at getting rebounds at the 4 spot, more rebounds to be had. McNeil is thicker as a freshmen is my only reasoning as to how he might be equal the rebounder. Some stats guru's would have to compare reb per minute from their freshmen seasons.
 

I was hoping to see McNeil more at the two behind Dre. And mason at point behind Mathieu. Would have been nice to have piper behind squirrel.
 

XMan said:
I was hoping to see McNeil more at the two behind Dre. And mason at point behind Mathieu. Would have been nice to have piper behind squirrel.
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Maybe it's the Pollyanna in me, but I'll hold out hope for Piper until the signing period passes
 




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