Why isn't it basketball season yet???
by Fightfightfight on May 11, 2010 8:30 PM PDT
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As a warning, I must tell everyone who is reading this that the following fanpost is full of hardcore, uncensored rosterbation. You have been warned.
Now, here are some of the lineups that I see the basketball team running next year in different situations.
Starting 5/closing 5: Reggie Moore, Marcus Capers, Klay Thompson, Brock Motum and DeAngelo Casto. This is the best combination of talent and experience that the team has. It can score, it can defend, it can run and execute the sets from Bone.
Offensive Group: Reggie Moore, Faisal Aiden, Klay Thompson, Patrick Simon, DeAngelo Casto. Great ability to penetrate and dish/score with Aiden and Reggie, and Klay can do that too. Klay and Simon are dangerous from range and Casto scoring off Moore drives and getting one on ones with our shooters demanding attention when he has the ball. This will be a quick, running squad, which will benefit our offensive gameplan. However, DeAngelo is the only guy on the floor who has been proven a good defender, with Klay only being OK and Reggie being Reggie.
Defensive Group: Reggie Moore, Marcus Capers, Klay Thompson, DeAngelo Casto and Steven Bjornstadt. This hinges mightily on the development of Bjornstadt, but he showed good defensive skills in his limited time last year and seemed at home anchoring the zone. This lets Casto move around a bit on defense, and keeps him from banging with bigger guys all game. If Aiden or Winston appear to be better defenders than Reggie, than either of them could run the point for this group.
Big Group: Faisal Aiden, Marcus Capers, Klay Thompson, Deangelo Casto, Steven Bjornstadt. Faisal and Marcus are both 6’4+, which is large for their positions. DeAngelo and Steven can bang with the bigs, and Klay at 6’6 brings more height to the group.
Small Group: Reggie Moore, Andre Winston Jr., Klay Thompson, James Watson, DeAngelo Casto. Run run run run run run run! This is the fastest lineup we can put on the floor. Every one of these guys could get up and down the court in a flash on a fast break.
Now, depending on who improves the most, Simon/Motum/Watson/Enquist could all be in the mix at 4 for any of these groups that doesn’t put Casto there. Too much remains to be seen on those guys to make a definite call. The same can be said for Winston and Aiden. We will know much more about these guys as the season nears, but until then there is only gross speculation.
So, whatdya think? Any changes you would make? Anybody else glad that Hersch’s “The one that got away” isn’t the top fanpost anymore?
This FanPost does not necessarily reflect the views of the site's writers or editors, who may not have verified its accuracy. It does, however, reflect the views of this particular fan, which is just as important as the views of our writers or editors.
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"Anybody else glad that Hersch’s "The one that got away" isn’t the top fanpost anymore?"
I’ll certainly grant you that.
I was just thinking how sick I was of thinking about "the one that got away"
Thanks
I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. Ugh
You're more brave than me
Taking a stab at rotations right now is like throwing darts at a dartboard. Heck even last season, outside of the starters, it was tough to guess who would get PT.
I feel like he's the obvious choice
I also have an irrational hope that one of the bigs (Enquist, Bjorn) takes a leap forward.
by Brian Floyd on May 12, 2010 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions
I just have problem with your title
I should have been “The ones that didn’t get away”
I am so glad that Brain Herch fanpost is not longer at the top. Thank you.
member of CougCenter since 9/2/08
I started to write a reply about how we didn't lose much this offseason
because of how much people complained about Thames and such. Then my brain started working and i got your joke. That would have been much better title, what was I thinking?
And you are welcome hahaha.
by Fightfightfight on May 12, 2010 11:33 AM PDT up reply actions
Nice
Ya, I totally understand with all the Thames complaining that could have thrown someone off. I was hoping the sarcasm was noticeable. I know sarcasm is hard to pick up sometimes in print. I learned that from readers that read cougfan articles and then loose it. If you didn’t read cougfan’s satire he wrote on Addicted to Quack, you got to read it. The best part is all the comments about the article. I really enjoyed the Duck fans responses…comical—make sure to read the comments.
http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2010/3/13/1372079/the-oregon-sutuation-from-an
member of CougCenter since 9/2/08
Answer:
College basketball season generally starts around the month of November and ends in the first week of April.
CougCenter WSU's second main blog
by Craig Powers on May 12, 2010 8:49 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Good thoughts
I’m looking for DeAngelo to put on another fifteen pounds and really dominate the next two years. I think a frontcourt of Waston and Casto could be very intimidating once they both have enough experience working together, and if we have enough depth on the bench to allow that.
As to the headline though, I’m actually a little (a LITTLE) excited for football.
I'm a lot excited about football
I’m a sick puppy. I love it every year no matter what. At least at the beginning.
Me too
I had no motivation to write about it before Spring practices, but I saw a glimmer of hope. Ask me again in October.
by Brian Floyd on May 13, 2010 6:32 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I'm the same,
though, honestly… this year I’m more leery than in others.
by TiltingRight on May 16, 2010 3:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Football will be much improved
and the reason it isn’t basketball season yet is because Watson neeeeeds some time to hit the books and maintain eligibility…while Klay and Casto hit the books and Aden learns the offense. Go Cougs- Go Watson- to the library dude!
If you can't Go Cougs... don't go.
This is the first I've heard of any academic issues with Watson
Did that appear someplace that I missed?
by Jeff Nusser on May 15, 2010 11:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Actually, it is of great concern
Right now he is ineligible for the Fall, and needs to step it up significantly to gain eligibility. Although he only fell 1 credit shy, he has been struggling. They’re hoping to get one of his grades changed to an incomplete, which would provide a little more leeway.
I think he’s finally getting the message, and I know he doesn’t want to be heading back to Oklahoma in August.
I would think he’d gain his eligibility back, but definitely no guarantees.
"Top 5"
Nice write-up, and agree that right now Moore, Capers, Klay, Motum & Casto is clearly our best overall 5, but disagree with a couple of your conclusions. You completely omitted Abe who, IMO, would make the “most experienced” and “best defensive” squad over Brock. So to say that a combination that includes Brock is our most experienced, despite his high BB IQ, is inaccurate, and Brock (as is Moore) is a MAJOR defensive liability right now. Abe is significantly better, despite his lack of size. I’d put Watson over Motum on that as well.
The biggest impact of losing Thames, despite your sarcasm, is the loss of a guard who can actually impede the opposing teams PG, rather than be a constant matador. Hopefully Moore can step it up big time; early reports are that he has taken huge strides, and is actually working in practice and taking a leadership role. Hopefully that is true.
If Motum gains some significant weight & strength, and follows the lead of Abe, Capers & Thompson’s work ethic, then can definitely see him being the most improved and a solid contributor. If Bjornstad can truly develop into our #2 Center, then we’ll be a threat in the PX. The PX will be bigger & stronger this year, and we’re going to need some inside size to protect against that. With Nik gone, who is rarely out of position, Casto is a little more at risk of getting into foul trouble, so not seeing a drop off when he is on the bench will be crucial.
I gave Abe a lot of thought when I made these sets.
The starting group is not the most experienced group, I said that it was the best combination of talent and experience on the team. Abe is a solid player, who does plenty of things well. However, he played the four out of sheer necessity because of our lack of developed talent at the position. This shouldn’t be a problem this year with an older Motum and possibly Simon, pending his college-readiness.His natural build and abilities put him at the three, but he will not play over Klay. He is ill fit for the two, and is certainly not a PG. The defensive group faces similar issues for Abe, as he is kind of without a position that there is not a clearly more talented player.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Abe. He’s a blue collar hustle player who does a lot of little things well. I think he will play a significant role this year, and will be one of the top 7 in minutes. However, I think his role will diminish slightly as there is simply more talent that warrants getting on the floor this year, and those minutes have to come from somewhere. When I look at this roster, I definitely see at least ten players getting significant minutes, and I think that Abe (and everyone) is going to have to improve significantly to get minutes, as there is simply too much talent to bench it.
by Fightfightfight on May 18, 2010 8:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Agree Abe won't start
I think we’re on the same page about Abe, but not to mention him in any of the combinations above, if you believe he’s a top 7 player, seems inaccurate. Especially leaving him out completely from the options at the #4. And having Reggie on ANY defensive squad is definitely wrong, unless it’s the all matador team. Hopefully that changes, but until then I’d take ANYONE guarding the opposing PG over him. Give me Capers on their PG and insert ANYONE guarding the #2/#3 over any defensive combo with Moore.
I think Abe could be a big surprise. Emphasis on could. I’ve been high on Motum for 2 years now, and think Simon will be solid on this team, but Abe is continuing to get stronger and should see a big jump in the confidence in his stroke. He may not have been a natural #4, but he is now. Especially in Bones system, which encourages the #4 taking outside shots. Nik proved tha. I see him getting minutes at the 3 (if we go zone or against slower #3’s), and 4 in the MTM, especially knowing that neither Motum or Simon are good defenders at this time.
I love the talent and potential of the 4 guys we have available the #4, but most of our options include some pretty big “what ifs”. Watson has to get eligible, #1, and his o-game is questionable. Motum has to get significantly stronger or he’ll get destroyed defensively, but love is BB IQ. Simon has to make a giant leap in levels and gain lower body strength, and how his o-game adapts to the next level is still to be seen (& we have no idea about D’, given he played back center in a zone in HS). I don’t see Enquist as a viable #4 at all – we disagree there. So the one player at the #4 with the fewest questions, IMO, is Abe. But to “go safe”, and not go solely with players with the most upside, Abe has to a) continue to get stronger, and he made HUGE strides between his RS FR & SO years, and b) get the confidence in his stroke that we know he has in him. The PSU game is a prime example of what he’s capable of offensively, and his energy on D’ is extremely important on this team.
It’s definitely going to be an interesting year.
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by Craig Powers on May 19, 2010 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I should've included the first backups for the sets,
and if I had then you would see Abe all over this list. The only substitutes I mentioned would be Faisal and Winston taking the pg spot in the defense if one of them is a better defender. The reason I put Reggie at the point there is that we need a ball handler to protect the possession and not give up fast break points on to’s. That would kind of defeat the purpose of the set, no? I also expect Reggie to play much better defense next year, for the sole reason that it is the worst part of his game and if I were him, that’s what I would focus on this off season. We have no idea what the incoming guys defense is like, but we know Reggie’s. So if they are better defensively and can protect the ball, then definitely put them up over Reggie.
I would absolutely love it if Abe took off. I’d grow a beard and wear a top hat to every game and recite the damn Gettysburg address. I don’t think that he will, but it would be awesome.
by Fightfightfight on May 19, 2010 1:17 PM PDT reply actions
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