To me, the loss of Mali is huge. Sorry, but it makes us a suspect offensive team again.
While the zone is kryptonite to teams in the tournament who haven't seen it before, next year's team will be better on the inside of the defense than last year's team.
Chukwu wasn't that great as a freshman at Providence, but he's had a year of practice to learn the zone. I think he is going to play more minutes at center than Coleman, and I think he will outperform him both statistically and "emotionally" on the floor. I see Chukwu as having an impact like Brimah at UConn. I think he is going to be a good rim protector, and I think if Frankie and Gillon can throw the alley oop, PC knows how to finish at the rim.
I like Coleman as a backup center, who gets the start out of respect, and I like his experience in the middle of the zone, just calling out where people should be on defense. I don't expect any more from him than we saw this year, to be honest. He just doesn't have any lift, so he's not a shot blocker. You can't press with him at the back and he's not going to score a lot in the low post, except against mid-majors.
I think Lydon makes a jump out of necessity. He will HAVE to shoot with less reluctance next year and will do well. I still think he will be one more year away from where he ultimately will get to as a player.
I think Roberson will play more consistently, but still not as consistently as we all hope. I think he will have a marginally better year than this year, and he is a big, big key to the team. I don't see him developing a mid-range shot next year. I'd be happy for him just to catch the pass better when he rolls to the hoop on the pick and roll. It would be nice if he could learn a simple drop-step, too. Just to have one inside move other than simply trying to get past a guy. He drives a bit too much into traffic, just like Jerami Grant in his last year. If Roberson is as good as Grant, that's fine.
Don't sleep on Matt Moyer. He has a GREAT motor and a fierce attitude on the floor. He reminds me of a cross between Ryan Blackwell and Terrence Roberts, before he hurt his knees.
In the backcourt, Gillon will probably be good running the break. We might run more out of the zone than we have since Jonny Flynn. I think he is more likely to shoot 35% from three than close to 40%, especially with the step up in opposition. Colorado State is a pretty good program - certainly better than Columbia - but it's not the ACC. His quickness is undeniable, though and he is a guard who has balance to his offensive game. I'm excited about seeing him on the floor. We haven't really run that well since MCW, and really since the 2010 team with Kris Jo getting out on the break.
As much as we liked Frankie this year, the best thing about his game was his poise and his vision. His shooting was horrific, to be honest. If he can just finish around the rim and shoot close to 40% from the floor and 30% or a little better from three (maybe just make one a game), that will be enough for me. I expect him to be the third guard, and as long as he can handle the press and get the ball to people in the right spots on the floor, that's enough. One thing he might surprise us with is his ability to throw the 'oop. I saw a few signs of it last year, and trust me, Chukwu can throw 'em down. I hope this becomes a surprise part of our offense. This is where unexpected upside can be found.
That leaves us with Battle. I don't think he will be an all ACC player this year, to be honest. He's going to score probably about 13-15 points a game, just based on how much the ball will be in his hands and how much we will need him to be a lead scorer. I think he will likely lead the team in shots, although probably not shooting percentage, and certainly not from three. He, to me, is kind of like a freshman Dion - cocky, take it to the hole, not a great shooter, but can get streaky. I just wish we had one more guy like that, and he wasn't the only one. That's the problem. He will be the only guy who can reliably break down an opponent at the end of the shot clock. That's going to make us a bit predictable offensively, although if everything breaks right for us, we may get enough out of the offense.
On the defensive end, I think having two new guards is going to mean that the top of the zone isn't as tight, we will probably allow more dribble penetration into the lane, and we will probably allow more open threes on ball reversals. It will probably be January before the guards begin to play good defense. We could use Thompson for one more big body. That would be good. Ideally, we would have still had Mali, and this would be a top 10 type of team that could be capable of a deep run.
Next year, I think our interior defense is potentially better, but only if the guards are good enough to cut off penetration into the lane. I believe Chukwu will be better than Baye Keita in terms of shot blocking, but I don't think anybody compares to Keita by the time he was a junior or senior in terms of calling out the cutters, shooters, where people needed to be, etc. He was a great teammate, and a hell of a quarterback in the middle of the zone.
was I just entered into a three way bromance
