next year's starting Frontcourt

[JLine]

I haven't a clue, but so many options. I'll leave this one to the staff. We have four guys that could play the 4. OB, MM, TT. Then .5 from Marek, and .5 from Sidibe.

Though I don't see MD, or Sidibe playing the 4 at all, but I didn't think AW would see any minutes at the 2.

Sidibe is a 5, in my mind. TT may start at the 4 if PC starts at the 5. Then we get the quick sub, and TT moves to the 5. Unless PC has improved a lot, then who knows what happens. Our frontcourt is loaded with potential. Also more flexibility than some think, in my opinion. I know it looks like a logjam at the 4/5 with no true 3, but I believe Marek, Matt, and OB will handle that just fine. Well, Marek is a 3 but many have questions.

Anyway, Marek probably has a better chance playing at the 2 on D, than offensively be a 4. He will be either starting at the 3, or off the bench for OB/MM.

We are good to go down low. Crazy to think how deep we may be with only 10 scholarship players. Well, hopefully Thorpe makes it 10. This team is gonna be good, if we get him.

 

[OrangeZeus]

My guess is the starting front court is Moyer-Thompson-Chukwu.

Chukwu gets the start for the first handful of games in the non-conference as a test run. During the test run he needs to show Boeheim three things. 1) He can be a shot blocker/alterer. 2) He can bang down low for rebounds on both sides of the court. 3) He knows his defensive positioning within the zone.

Chukwu showed he could do #1 already in his brief stint with us last year. #2 and especially #3 are what he needs to work on if he wants to keep his starting job after the first ~5 conference games or so. If he takes major strides in these areas, he'll continue to start. If he falters, especially once the competition picks up, he'll be relegated to third string center behind Thompson and Sidibe.

If Chukwu is legit he gets 28mpg. If he's serviceable he gets 10-15mpg. If he's not ready after his test run he at most 5mpg. So there's a good chance our backups (Brissett, Dolezaj, Sidibe) end up playing more than him even though he's the starter. Wouldn't be the first time that happened for us (just like when Lydon came off the bench in the 2015-16 season). And if any of those three backups really establish themselves, they would have the opportunity to replace someone in the starting lineup.

EDIT:
Also, I'd rather just see Thompson start at the 5 and learn how to play one position rather than split his time this offseason learning to play two positions. But Chukwu and Sidibe have great defensive potential that could go wasted if we don't at least give them a crack at getting some minutes early on in the season so it will be interesting to see how Boeheim deploys Thompson early in the season and if his defensive role will evolve or not as we get to December/January.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I see Thompson playing like 36 mpg, with the overwhelming majority of those coming at 5. I see spot minutes for Sidibe and Chukwu. Thompson started the last X number of games for us at center. As truly awful as he was on D at that spot- and it was bad- I think that is where he is destined to play, with Moyer/Brissett/Marek rotating on the wings. Foul trouble issues though, and Thompson sees way less time and someone has to step in, no clue at this point who between Sidibe and PC.

I expect Washington and Marek to be the 6th and 7th men. If we get Thorpe, Washington's minutes take a big hit.

 

[NineOneSeven]

One of the main issues with Thompson last year on defense, outside of pretty much everything else, was lateral quickness. He could not handle guys who got the ball at the free throw line and drove at him. I am sure he got better, but the wings require that much more lateral speed to constantly recover. I just don't see him out there stepping up to contest elbow three pointers.

 

[Sherman20]

How deep do we think this team will go by the time we get to ACC play, in terms of guys who will play at least 10 minutes a game? I'm thinking we could possibly go 8 deep: Howard, Battle, Thorpe/Ayala, Thompson, Brissett, Moyer, Dolezaj, and Sidibe. Since everyone thinks Chukwu is a question mark and Washington is a developmental player, I'm hopeful that those 8 could contribute regularly.

 

[realorange]

I see Thompson playing like 36 mpg, with the overwhelming majority of those coming at 5. I see spot minutes for Sidibe and Chukwu. Thompson started the last X number of games for us at center. As truly awful as he was on D at that spot- and it was bad- I think that is where he is destined to play, with Moyer/Brissett/Marek rotating on the wings. Foul trouble issues though, and Thompson sees way less time and someone has to step in, no clue at this point who between Sidibe and PC.

I expect Washington and Marek to be the 6th and 7th men. If we get Thorpe, Washington's minutes take a big hit.

Even assuming progress from last year, I will be thrilled if Thompson plays more than 25 minutes because he'll foul out before then.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Even assuming progress from last year, I will be thrilled if Thompson plays more than 25 minutes because he'll foul out before then.

I said this a million times but he was the worst defender I've ever seen

Not even an exaggeration

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Frank
Battle
Euro
TT
Chewy

That would likely be the worst first five in the JB era.

 

[two3zone]

I see Thompson playing like 36 mpg, with the overwhelming majority of those coming at 5. I see spot minutes for Sidibe and Chukwu. Thompson started the last X number of games for us at center. As truly awful as he was on D at that spot- and it was bad- I think that is where he is destined to play, with Moyer/Brissett/Marek rotating on the wings. Foul trouble issues though, and Thompson sees way less time and someone has to step in, no clue at this point who between Sidibe and PC.

I expect Washington and Marek to be the 6th and 7th men. If we get Thorpe, Washington's minutes take a big hit.

It would be unprecedented but if we get Thorpe I wouldn't be shocked if Washington red shirts. I know it's crazy because of the lack of guards and we have another guy with a shirt, but it just wouldn't surprise me JB going in with 3 guys.

I could be wrong but can't you burn a redshirt during the season?

 

[tbonezone]

Tsquare disqualified twice and had 4 fouls in another 9 games playing limited minutes and very limited defense. thinking he can play 30 every night... we ain't seen it. granted he may improve but that's a ?.

 

[Funk Doc]

It would be unprecedented but if we get Thorpe I wouldn't be shocked if Washington red shirts. I know it's crazy because of the lack of guards and we have another guy with a shirt, but it just wouldn't surprise me JB going in with 3 guys.

I could be wrong but can't you burn a redshirt during the season?

You're right. The red shirt does not mean you can't play. It just means you don't intend to play. They can up and decide they need him and still play him, but then he loses the year of eligibility that he was intending to keep by sitting out.

 

[maxxyz]

You're right. The red shirt does not mean you can't play. It just means you don't intend to play. They can up and decide they need him and still play him, but then he loses the year of eligibility that he was intending to keep by sitting out.

Can a redshirt still travel with the team?

 

[Funk Doc]

Can a redshirt still travel with the team?

Yes

 

[IthacaMatt]

This is why I keep coming around to him starting at the 5. He's going to play 30+ minutes.

I understand why we want to play Thompson 30+ minutes per game. He is our second best offensive threat after Battle. But playing at Center is going to get him in foul trouble, unless our guards are much better defensively at cutting off drives into the lane.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The 2 forward spots will be interesting. I see MM and Brissett as the starters. With Dolezaj as the energy guy off the bench for either player.

The nice thing about this group is that they have size. I hope Moyer is at the level we saw from him in high school. Then he could start. But if he doesn't, then having Dolezaj and Brissett with Thompson at center might be our best frontcourt, in terms of scoring.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Anyway, Marek probably has a better chance playing at the 2 on D, than offensively be a 4. He will be either starting at the 3, or off the bench for OB/MM.

I don't think any of our forwards are going to see even as much (or little) time at the 2 than Andrew White did.

 

[jordoo]

The nice thing about this group is that they have size. I hope Moyer is at the level we saw from him in high school. Then he could start. But if he doesn't, then having Dolezaj and Brissett with Thompson at center might be our best frontcourt, in terms of scoring.

Moyer looks to be in the best shape of his life. He has obviously worked on his handle and shot mechanics. This is just what I've seen from workout/drills videos. How much of the skills translate to the court is hard to tell from this type of video but conditioning and strength wise he will be completely different then what we saw in the exhibitions last year when he was just able to get back to practicing and working out. I'm very high on this group of forwards. It seems like its been too long since we had 3 forwards who were all 6-8 or taller. It will be interesting to see what their skill sets look like out there.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My guess is the starting front court is Moyer-Thompson-Chukwu.

Chukwu gets the start for the first handful of games in the non-conference as a test run. During the test run he needs to show Boeheim three things. 1) He can be a shot blocker/alterer. 2) He can bang down low for rebounds on both sides of the court. 3) He knows his defensive positioning within the zone.

If Chukwu is legit he gets 28mpg. If he's serviceable he gets 10-15mpg. If he's not ready after his test run he at most 5mpg. So there's a good chance our backups (Brissett, Dolezaj, Sidibe) end up playing more than him even though he's the starter. .

I think Sidibe is better than people think. I think the center position is going to be shared. I hope that Thompson gets most of his run in this spot rather than on the wing, so he can focus on that one position and get better at not fouling down low.

I have a feeling that Sidibe is going to be more productive than Chukwu. He's bouncy and he can shoot it. He looks like he grew up playing basketball. Chukwu doesn't have that natural feel for the game, IMO.

I could see this as our rotation:

Center: Thompson 25 min, Sidibe 10 min, Chukwu 5 min

Forwards: Brissett 25 min, Dolezaj 25 min, Moyer 20 min, Thompson 5 min, Sidibe 5 min

Guards: Battle 35 min, Mystery Guest 20 min, Howard 20, Washington 5 min

 

[Cusefan0307]

I think Sidibe is better than people think. I think the center position is going to be shared. I hope that Thompson gets most of his run in this spot rather than on the wing, so he can focus on that one position and get better at not fouling down low.

I have a feeling that Sidibe is going to be more productive than Chukwu. He's bouncy and he can shoot it. He looks like he grew up playing basketball. Chukwu doesn't have that natural feel for the game, IMO.

I could see this as our rotation:


C: Thompson 25 min, Sidibe 10 min, Chukwu 5 min

: Brissett 25 min, Dolezaj 25 min, Moyer 20 min, Thompson 5 min, Sidibe 5 min

G: Howard 36 min, Mystery Guest 32 min, Washington 12 min

I agree with most of your post so I gave you a like, but I hope you mean Battle is getting 36 and not Howard. Yikes.

 

[jordoo]

I think Sidibe is better than people think. I think the center position is going to be shared. I hope that Thompson gets most of his run in this spot rather than on the wing, so he can focus on that one position and get better at not fouling down low.

I have a feeling that Sidibe is going to be more productive than Chukwu. He's bouncy and he can shoot it. He looks like he grew up playing basketball. Chukwu doesn't have that natural feel for the game, IMO.

I could see this as our rotation:

Center: Thompson 25 min, Sidibe 10 min, Chukwu 5 min

Forwards: Brissett 25 min, Dolezaj 25 min, Moyer 20 min, Thompson 5 min, Sidibe 5 min

Guards: Howard 36 min, Mystery Guest 32 min, Washington 12 min

What happened to BATTLE?

 

[IthacaMatt]

I agree with most of your post so I gave you a like, but I hope you mean Battle is getting 36 and not Howard. Yikes.

Oops, typo. Let me fix that.

 

[IthacaMatt]

What happened to BATTLE?

He gone. LOL

 

[Shark58]

on 2nd thought...