2025-26 Preseason Practice

[Niastri]

Betsey is interesting as a prospect and as a player.

He came out of high school in the 2024 class ranked 45th overall. Sometimes rankings are wrong (nobody remembers Benny Williams, do they?), but sometimes players just take a while to live up to their rankings.

His high school rankings were for a 6'8" 185 lb wing player with guard skills and a very nice looking 3 point form. As recently as September 2023, ESPN had Betsey listed as a 6'6" 185 small forward. Several others had him at 6'8, but agreed he was 185.

I have mentioned this before, but Betsey was listed at 225 as a true freshman at Cincinnati before last season. The accuracy of heights and weights taken anywhere but the NBA combine are extremely suspect, but let's just say Betsey gained 40 lbs in a little more than a year. Looking at his highlights from high school and Cincinnati, he definitely gained a ton of weight. Maybe 40 lbs, it's hard to guess on a 6'8" guy.

That kind of weight gain will definitely affect your game. He looked slower and less explosive.

Fast forward a year, he's still listed at 225 lbs, and had a summer working with Rob Harris, who looks like he can scare a herd of cows into fine condition.

I think Betsey is going to look like the full grown version of that skinny kid from 2023 this year. Athletic, long limbed, agile and skilled, but now strong enough to defend power forwards in the post. He's going to sub in at both the 3 and 4, giving us a shooting and dribble penetration threat from the bench.

I think Betsey will be at least a regular on the floor, having averaged 12 minutes with Cincinnati, he's primed for a sophomore leap.

 

[OmahaCuse]

The problem for him is being stuck behind Donnie. Hate to be that guy, but maybe he forces Autry to go small to get them both on the court. I’ve heard Kingz is the real deal too. He’s going to command a lot of minutes.

Go small? He is 6’8” Donnie is 6’10”

 

[hoopsupstate]

You might see Freeman, White and Betsy playing together.

 

[Niastri]

You might see Freeman, White and Betsy playing together.

I could see that lineup working with Kingz and George if both Freeman and Betsey prove themselves to be consistent 3 point shooters and White is at least a threat.

Realistically, I can't see them going that way regularly.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Todoubled23]

Go small? He is 6’8” Donnie is 6’10”

Can't remember which thread but I think either Bulldog04 or CuseMan4 mentioned when they saw Donnie and Sadiq in person (at a football game maybe?) that Sadiq was actually taller than Donnie.

Donnie and Sadiq are listed on the roster at 6'9, and Donnie looks to be a legit 6'9. So if Sadiq is an inch or two taller that's crazy.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

I’m actually starting to get a little bit excited about this squad. I think we will see a significant increase in athleticism. Just hoping those athletes can shoot accurately and play locked down defense.

 

[Niastri]

Go small? He is 6’8” Donnie is 6’10”

Most top teams have guys that are both taller and heavier. It's hard to guard a guy who is a couple inches taller and twenty pounds heavier.

I think this team is going to be great, but I also fear a really good season is going to be cut short in March because we only have 6'9 230-240 lb centers.

Diawara might be a solution for this problem, but I wouldn't count on it

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Blanko97]

“Win more games”

 

[hoopsupstate]

The one thing I always look for in these photos or videos are players in a defensive stance? Most of the time they appear to be too high. They need to get their butts down. The offensive players always appear to have an advantage. It’s picky, but important.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[AZOrange]

I’m going to need a Facebook for this team. Outside of Donnie, JJ and Kiyan I can’t keep them all straight

 

[Widget24]

I’m going to need a Facebook for this team. Outside of Donnie, JJ and Kiyan I can’t keep them all straight

Same here. I had to look up who "Akir" was. Lol

 

[Niastri]

I’m going to need a Facebook for this team. Outside of Donnie, JJ and Kiyan I can’t keep them all straight

A definite work in progress for me. I have them all down when they are standing still, I think.

But if it's practice clips, I sometimes need to watch three times to be sure.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Most top teams have guys that are both taller and heavier. It's hard to guard a guy who is a couple inches taller and twenty pounds heavier.

I think this team is going to be great, but I also fear a really good season is going to be cut short in March because we only have 6'9 230-240 lb centers.

Diawara might be a solution for this problem, but I wouldn't count on it

Well, after a couple years of playing guys like Maliq at center, that's at least 20+ pounds thicker in the post.

 

[Niastri]

Well, after a couple years of playing guys like Maliq at center, that's at least 20+ pounds thicker in the post.

Sure, we couldn't guard anybody with a decent post player, not could we rebound when we had Brown and Justin Taylor as our big men... Our roster is worlds better than the last two years.

But we still are going to see a handful of 7' 265lb guys this season, and having no answer for them isn't exactly a comfortable place to be.

Almost every single P4 team we are playing against this year has at least one player bigger than our biggest guy. If you exclude Diawara when you consider he is unlikely to play much, it gets even a little worse.

We are putting a lot of faith in our three guys listed 6'8-6'9 and 225-235lbs when the other teams throwing out guys both taller and heavier. White is listed at 195 and Freeman 205...

We might be able to play them against mid majors at center, but we're looking at a race to see who fouls out first if they try to guard 7' 265 lb centers.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Is it just me, or does Kiyan Anthony suddenly look about 25 years old ???

 

[IthacaMatt]

Sure, we couldn't guard anybody with a decent party player, not could we rebound when we had Brown and Justin Taylor as our big men... But we still are going to see a handful of 7' 265lb guys this season, and having no answer for them isn't exactly a comfortable place to be.

Almost every single P4 team we are playing against this year has at least one player bigger than our biggest guy. If you exclude Diawara when you consider he is unlikely to play much, it gets even a little worse.

We are putting a lot of faith in our five guys listed 6'8-6'9 and 225-235lbs when the other teams throwing out guys both taller and heavier.

That's why we added that last guy, Diawara. He's a legit 7 footer, and has arms and shoulders that look like he could lift a truck.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We are putting a lot of faith in our five guys listed 6'8-6'9 and 225-235lbs when the other teams throwing out guys both taller and heavier.

I like having at least 1 big man, too, for defense.
But Houston did pretty well without one of those last year.
Mobile bigs can work, but you have to be aggressive on defense.

And to argue with myself and back up your point, something like 7 out of the Elite 8 had two legit big guys who could play, not just one. We can make the tournament with a bunch of jumping jack guys like we have (and we do have a lot of them).

But elite teams have not just rim protectors, but guys who can get you a bucket or get to the line when your outside shot isn't falling. I'm not sure that we have any real low post offense this year, but we'll find out soon enough.

 

[Orangezoo]

Sure, we couldn't guard anybody with a decent post player, not could we rebound when we had Brown and Justin Taylor as our big men... Our roster is worlds better than the last two years.

But we still are going to see a handful of 7' 265lb guys this season, and having no answer for them isn't exactly a comfortable place to be.

Almost every single P4 team we are playing against this year has at least one player bigger than our biggest guy. If you exclude Diawara when you consider he is unlikely to play much, it gets even a little worse.

We are putting a lot of faith in our three guys listed 6'8-6'9 and 225-235lbs when the other teams throwing out guys both taller and heavier. White is listed at 195 and Freeman 205...

We might be able to play them against mid majors at center, but we're looking at a race to see who fouls out first if they try to guard 7' 265 lb centers.

And how do they utilize their bigs? On the roster vs being productive and a matchup problem makes a big difference. Eddie gave up as much as he produced whether it was playing against a similar sized big or a more mobile big that he couldn’t guard off screen and roll action.

 

[Cuse On 3]

I realize this might not be a popular opinion, but I can’t help feeling that a return to our jerseys from the 2010s might actually suit this team better.

Our current roster, both athletically and talent-wise, bears a strong resemblance to those earlier squads (on paper). While I personally love the script jerseys and think they’re far more stylish, it’s hard to ignore how poorly we’ve performed since bringing them back.

Admittedly, I’m a bit superstitious—but part of me wonders if the old look might rekindle some of that past success.