AW looked rather unathletic today

[Zelda Zonk]

pull up any youtube video of jj redick at duke and you will see a player that is clearly head and shoulders better than aw3. whether the root cause is skill, athleticism, acumen...it doesn't matter. some combination makes him a lot better and the other guy worse.

Dude. I was asking what those factors/characteristics are, and you're telling me "it doesn't matter?" It just doesn't matter? It- just- doesn't- matter?!

Orange questions matter.

 

[OttoMets]

You may be proven right, but to give up on him now would leave this team with 15-20 minutes of Coleman at center, with the rest of the minutes in the middle going to Lydon and Thompson, two guys essentially playing out of position. This team needs to get something from Chukwu if the high hopes many of us have are to be realized.

Yep, gotta play him for exactly that reason.

And credit to Boeheim for doing so on Saturday. I think someone else mentioned this in passing, but it's unusual for Boeheim to play the long game -- giving a guy ineffective but extended developmental minutes -- partially at the expense of a win. If we're going to have a decent center this year, it's Chukwu. Gotta play him now to make that happen (even though playing him now doesn't guarantee that it'll happen).

 

[billsin01]

Dude. I was asking what those factors/characteristics are, and you're telling me "it doesn't matter?" It just doesn't matter? It- just- doesn't- matter?!

Orange questions matter.

I'm not sure what the differences are between the two players. I always thought Reddick was a guy who you had to make move his feet. If he was squared up you were dead, yet he was not terribly effective at finishing around the basket or creating for others and seemed at least a little less effective if he had to move his feet before launching his jumper.

So, all of that said, to me the biggest difference is that, love him or hate him, Coach K is brilliant at devising ways to get his shooters open looks. I honestly think if you look at the talent on that team from the end of the Brand/Carrawell/Battier era teams in the late 90's early 00's up until maybe 13 or 14 when they started pulling in absurd amounts of talent again, that Duke had good but not great talent. Yet they still won a ton of games. To me that's because K does a phenomenal job of getting players who are willing to move without the ball open looks.

 

[mayselc]

You may be proven right, but to give up on him now would leave this team with 15-20 minutes of Coleman at center, with the rest of the minutes in the middle going to Lydon and Thompson, two guys essentially playing out of position. This team needs to get something from Chukwu if the high hopes many of us have are to be realized.

Lydon at center is out of position, but TT has the size and strength (6'10"/225) to handle that spot against 90% of the teams we will face. I think that by the final third of the regular season, out best lineup will be TT/Lydon/AWIII/Battle/Howard. Three good shooters, three good passers, two low post threats, and two guys who can drive. Maybe Gillon instead of Howard. Not sure how much Howard will improve his finishing as the season progresses.