Predict position strengths for 23.

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The SF Rock

The SF Rock

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1A. Shooting guard.
1B. Point guard.
3. The Shooting forward/wing/3rd guard. All of the them rebounders and shooters. Quick and long.
4. PF. Our best player on the team.
5. Center. And we are strong there.

My ratings and positions match by accident.
 

Rockraven said:
1A. Shooting guard.
1B. Point guard.
3. The Shooting forward/wing/3rd guard. All of the them rebounders and shooters. Quick and long.
4. PF. Our best player on the team.
5. Center. And we are strong there.

My ratings and positions match by accident.
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If our best player is a PF, then how are we strongest at guard? We are overloaded at Forward with Garcia, JOJ, Ihnen, Fox, Betts, and Keinys. IDK that any of these guys are actually more effective at the 3 than the 4. Ben thought JOJ was best playing the 5 at times last year lol
 
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Position strengths, not player strengths. The guards drive the offense and they are ALL mid 40% 3 point shooters with plenty of depth. Same for the wings. Dawson shot 36% from 3. If he is hurt, dinged, or worn down we have plenty quality, but unproven 3s until the first tip off. What this shows is the dramatic improvement of the team. Our 2 obvious strengths from last year, who both played with injuries, are now our weakest positions. Dawson and Payne are 2 players that I expect to be on one of the all conference teams. Right now we are all surmising what will be. Some of us with good information and some of you without.
 

the guard play is theoretical until we actually see it in action.

beyond that, there are a lot of questions about how certain players will be used:
is JOJ a 3 or a 4? is Christie a 2 or a 3. Likewise for Carrington - 2 or 3. Is Betts a 3 or a 4?
assuming Hawkins is the starting PG, how much does Mitchell play at the 2 and how much as the backup PG? and of course Ihnen and Fox - how much do they play and at what positions?

as of right now, I think it's safe to say Garcia starts at PF, Payne at C and Wilson is the backup C. after that, as noted about, it's still to be determined.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
the guard play is theoretical until we actually see it in action.

beyond that, there are a lot of questions about how certain players will be used:
is JOJ a 3 or a 4? is Christie a 2 or a 3. Likewise for Carrington - 2 or 3. Is Betts a 3 or a 4?
assuming Hawkins is the starting PG, how much does Mitchell play at the 2 and how much as the backup PG? and of course Ihnen and Fox - how much do they play and at what positions?

as of right now, I think it's safe to say Garcia starts at PF, Payne at C and Wilson is the backup C. after that, as noted about, it's still to be determined.
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An improved team starts with better guard play. We will have that this season.

For starters, the biggest improvement will be ball movement. Getting the offense jump started is important especially with the shot clock. We were horrible in that category last season.

Defense will also improve as we will see better ball pressure and able to fight through screens. Another improvement will be FT's. Cooper and Samuels were really bad in both areas.

Hawkins will have to tighten up in ball security based on his history.

Plus we will have more depth especially at PG as with Cooper it was pretty much one and done. And the depth will be better quality. Ben will have options and that will make game planning more of a challenge for opposing coaches.

I'm bullish with my outlook for this season mainly because of our guards.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
An improved team starts with better guard play. We will have that this season.

For starters, the biggest improvement will be ball movement. Getting the offense jump started is important especially with the shot clock. We were horrible in that category last season.

Defense will also improve as we will see better ball pressure and able to fight through screens. Another improvement will be FT's. Cooper and Samuels were really bad in both areas.

Hawkins will have to tighten up in ball security based on his history.

Plus we will have more depth especially at PG as with Cooper it was pretty much one and done. And the depth will be better quality. Ben will have options and that will make game planning more of a challenge for opposing coaches.

I'm bullish with my outlook for this season mainly because of our guards.
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everything you say may be true. I hope it is true. I just want to see it first.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
everything you say may be true. I hope it is true. I just want to see it first.
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Bayfield just made one of the best posts on the board any time recently. A notable point he left out is the large improvement we have replacing Battle. Last years Battle, not two years ago Battle. Just relax a few months and enjoy it. You deserve a good Gopher season. Football and Basketball.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
everything you say may be true. I hope it is true. I just want to see it first.
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What we saw from Cooper prior to coming here we saw last year. There were no surprises. Same kind of player as before.

We will see the same with Hawkins and Mitchell and a better version of Carrington. Both Hawkins and Mitchell have shown a much better upside than Cooper. Samuel was of little value and was probably the 3rd best player on a bad Dartmouth squad. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Christie is the unknown. We will have three solid guard options compared to what we saw last season. And maybe four.

Things are definitely looking up.
 



Intersting topic. I'm going with wing/3 as a strength.

Ola Joseph, Christie, Carrington, Ihnen (if healthy), maybe even Betts. Potentially, a lot of ways you can go there. If the Gophers are going to surprise this season, probably 3 of these guys need to be above average.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Intersting topic. I'm going with wing/3 as a strength.

Ola Joseph, Christie, Carrington, Ihnen (if healthy), maybe even Betts. Potentially, a lot of ways you can go there. If the Gophers are going to surprise this season, probably 3 of these guys need to be above average.
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This really opens Garcia’s game. I am predicting a huge year for him on a really good balanced team. Makes our 4 really strong with the huge jump with our new guard play. Big time 3 point shooters. We will draw blood at every position. We have to win first to proclaim it but we are a dance team. My only actual concern is defense.
 
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Payne and Garcia - Post #1 for sure.

After that it is all unknowns. They could be good and they could suck, never know.
 

Every once in a while, I turn off the ignore button and see idiotic takes like this one.

Listing unknown guard play as our top 2 strengths is Pollyanna dreaming with no actual proof.

The real position strength list is more likely:

1. PF - Garcia and a pretty damn long list of capable backups is far and away the biggest known strength. I’ll take Dawson’s BIG TEN numbers over anything the transfers can offer from their former leagues! For instance, shooting 36% from deep in the B1G when you’re THE MAN, is a much bigger accomplishment than shooting 40 whatever % in a lesser league. Add in natural PF players like JoJ and Payne with a list of hopeful contributors like Betts, Ihnen and Fox and it’s clear the most talent lies at PF.

2. Center - Just off the Starter Payne’s capabilities this comes in number 2. Throw in Garcia as a most effective backup center and it’s fairly obvious this is a strong position without factoring in the possible defensive roadblock a slimmed down Wilson May be. A monster center with 5 fouls and hopefully better hands than Gaston should be able to play 10 min and get 2 pts, 3 boards and hack the other teams bigs.

3. PG - this is where we enter pure conjecture and speculation. Having 2 PG’s we don’t know how they play in the B1G is better than 1 that was greatly challenged in the B1G.
So if that gets your blood pumping than I’m happy for you, but it’s NOT the strength of this team, yet.

4 SG - we have three really intriguing guys who have proven very little at this spot in the B1G or have shown nothing. Mitchell, Christie and Carrington all carry promise but it has yet to be shown that any of them can shoot high % and play wing defense at a high level for a full B1G season.

5. SF - when your only natural SF has the last name Ramburg, you know your positional group is not up to speed. Christie, Carrington, Ihnen, JoJ and Betts could all surprise and fill this spot nicely but outside of Christie with added bulk and strength or a slimmed down JoJ, this feels like a sticking a square into a round hole position. They all have question marks as to meeting the demands of the spot. Christie May be the best possible choice if he can play at the B1G level.

So the OP’s assessment is complete crap IMO and justifies the ignore button world I choose to live in.

Somebody post a thread worth discussing stuff in!
 



Otis said:
Every once in a while, I turn off the ignore button and see idiotic takes like this one.

Listing unknown guard play as our top 2 strengths is Pollyanna dreaming with no actual proof.

The real position strength list is more likely:

1. PF - Garcia and a pretty damn long list of capable backups is far and away the biggest known strength. I’ll take Dawson’s BIG TEN numbers over anything the transfers can offer from their former leagues! For instance, shooting 36% from deep in the B1G when you’re THE MAN, is a much bigger accomplishment than shooting 40 whatever % in a lesser league. Add in natural PF players like JoJ and Payne with a list of hopeful contributors like Betts, Ihnen and Fox and it’s clear the most talent lies at PF.

2. Center - Just off the Starter Payne’s capabilities this comes in number 2. Throw in Garcia as a most effective backup center and it’s fairly obvious this is a strong position without factoring in the possible defensive roadblock a slimmed down Wilson May be. A monster center with 5 fouls and hopefully better hands than Gaston should be able to play 10 min and get 2 pts, 3 boards and hack the other teams bigs.

3. PG - this is where we enter pure conjecture and speculation. Having 2 PG’s we don’t know how they play in the B1G is better than 1 that was greatly challenged in the B1G.
So if that gets your blood pumping than I’m happy for you, but it’s NOT the strength of this team, yet.

4 SG - we have three really intriguing guys who have proven very little at this spot in the B1G or have shown nothing. Mitchell, Christie and Carrington all carry promise but it has yet to be shown that any of them can shoot high % and play wing defense at a high level for a full B1G season.

5. SF - when your only natural SF has the last name Ramburg, you know your positional group is not up to speed. Christie, Carrington, Ihnen, JoJ and Betts could all surprise and fill this spot nicely but outside of Christie with added bulk and strength or a slimmed down JoJ, this feels like a sticking a square into a round hole position. They all have question marks as to meeting the demands of the spot. Christie May be the best possible choice if he can play at the B1G level.

So the OP’s assessment is complete crap IMO and justifies the ignore button world I choose to live in.

Somebody post a thread worth discussing stuff in!
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Otis- Cmon man- the odds that Christie, Carrington, Ihnen, JOJ and Betts- all of who could see time at the 3, are all washouts are very, very small. The 3 spot looks like a nice position of strength for us at this point, excellent depth and very good potential by all 5 of those. Teams don't show up year after year with proven commodities at every position any more. There are always going to be new faces and in this case it is more reasonable to think that this position will be strong than weak.
 

Otis said:
Every once in a while, I turn off the ignore button and see idiotic takes like this one.

Listing unknown guard play as our top 2 strengths is Pollyanna dreaming with no actual proof.

The real position strength list is more likely:

1. PF - Garcia and a pretty damn long list of capable backups is far and away the biggest known strength. I’ll take Dawson’s BIG TEN numbers over anything the transfers can offer from their former leagues! For instance, shooting 36% from deep in the B1G when you’re THE MAN, is a much bigger accomplishment than shooting 40 whatever % in a lesser league. Add in natural PF players like JoJ and Payne with a list of hopeful contributors like Betts, Ihnen and Fox and it’s clear the most talent lies at PF.

2. Center - Just off the Starter Payne’s capabilities this comes in number 2. Throw in Garcia as a most effective backup center and it’s fairly obvious this is a strong position without factoring in the possible defensive roadblock a slimmed down Wilson May be. A monster center with 5 fouls and hopefully better hands than Gaston should be able to play 10 min and get 2 pts, 3 boards and hack the other teams bigs.

3. PG - this is where we enter pure conjecture and speculation. Having 2 PG’s we don’t know how they play in the B1G is better than 1 that was greatly challenged in the B1G.
So if that gets your blood pumping than I’m happy for you, but it’s NOT the strength of this team, yet.

4 SG - we have three really intriguing guys who have proven very little at this spot in the B1G or have shown nothing. Mitchell, Christie and Carrington all carry promise but it has yet to be shown that any of them can shoot high % and play wing defense at a high level for a full B1G season.

5. SF - when your only natural SF has the last name Ramburg, you know your positional group is not up to speed. Christie, Carrington, Ihnen, JoJ and Betts could all surprise and fill this spot nicely but outside of Christie with added bulk and strength or a slimmed down JoJ, this feels like a sticking a square into a round hole position. They all have question marks as to meeting the demands of the spot. Christie May be the best possible choice if he can play at the B1G level.

So the OP’s assessment is complete crap IMO and justifies the ignore button world I choose to live in.

Somebody post a thread worth discussing stuff in!
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IMO, you all exaggerate the strength of BIG TEN basketball which is typically highlighted by Purdue losing to another #16-seed single March.
 

bga1 said:
Otis- Cmon man- the odds that Christie, Carrington, Ihnen, JOJ and Betts- all of who could see time at the 3, are all washouts are very, very small. The 3 spot looks like a nice position of strength for us at this point, excellent depth and very good potential by all 5 of those. Teams don't show up year after year with proven commodities at every position any more. There are always going to be new faces and in this case it is more reasonable to think that this position will be strong than weak.
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I see your point, it has potential.

Truth be told, i view the PG, SG, and SF soots pretty equally. You could talk me into making the 3 the number 3 on this list. I think Christie could make it a number 2, someday.

At least we have some choices for the brain trust this year. We may finally find out if BJ can coach this year.

I wish him and the team well! May he have a Ted Lasso result in his third season!
 

bga1 said:
Otis- Cmon man- the odds that Christie, Carrington, Ihnen, JOJ and Betts- all of who could see time at the 3, are all washouts are very, very small. The 3 spot looks like a nice position of strength for us at this point, excellent depth and very good potential by all 5 of those. Teams don't show up year after year with proven commodities at every position any more. There are always going to be new faces and in this case it is more reasonable to think that this position will be strong than weak.
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None of those guys are 3's though, that's the problem.

Betts is going to play very little this season. If he has to play significant minutes, then this team will be struggle to get 1 win in B1G play, again.
 

This is enjoyable with both good takes (SS comes mind) and not so good takes.
 


GopherWeatherGuy said:
None of those guys are 3's though, that's the problem.

Betts is going to play very little this season. If he has to play significant minutes, then this team will be struggle to get 1 win in B1G play, again.
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LOL. GWG- you are a great poster but that's a really dumb post.
 


bga1 said:
LOL. GWG- you are a great poster but that's a really dumb post.
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It's not. People need to be realistic. Betts is essentially a true freshman this season.

There are plenty of examples similar to Betts. None of them make significant contributions as a RS FR. It takes these guys several years to become regular contributors. Betts will be one of the last players off the bench this season.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
It's not. People need to be realistic. Betts is essentially a true freshman this season.

There are plenty of examples similar to Betts. None of them make significant contributions as a RS FR. It takes these guys several years to become regular contributors. Betts will be one of the last players off the bench this season.
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Can you name two?
 


Gophers7633 said:
Of players ranked 200+ that didn't contribute as a FR? Yes, there are hundreds.
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He has a year in the system. I'm not sure how many guys skip their senior year of hs and don't play for two years. Could be hundreds, idk... just asking for two.
 

MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
He has a year in the system. I'm not sure how many guys skip their senior year of hs and don't play for two years. Could be hundreds, idk... just asking for two.
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Let me know if you've heard of Zocko Littleton and Willie Lightfoot.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Intersting topic. I'm going with wing/3 as a strength.

Ola Joseph, Christie, Carrington, Ihnen (if healthy), maybe even Betts. Potentially, a lot of ways you can go there. If the Gophers are going to surprise this season, probably 3 of these guys need to be above average.
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As most of the time, SS see it is what it is.
 

Rockraven said:
As most of the time, SS see it is what it is.
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I’ve been wrong many, many times, and will be in the future, too.

Differing opinions make the world go ‘round. There’s no right or wrong here until we actually see all these guys as a unit, or units. I’ll try to remain optimistic until proven otherwise!
 



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