I get the math, but I do think if we’re merely looking for a C to come off the bench, it will limit the quality of big man we’re likely to get. Still might be able to find a solid one but we won’t be in the conversation with the perceived top notch centers if we’re just offering minutes off the bench.
I also think the Donnie at 3 lineups will be very rough offensively unless our big guys make some major leaps shooting wise (which is of course possible).
Of the 4 or 5 people who rotate in the front court, one of the "big 4" is not going to start.
Now, we know 2 of the people pretty much for certain - Donnie Freeman and Maliq Brown.
If we were to get a
big time center, we could sell Donnie, the freshman, with coming off the bench, so long as he got his 25 minutes a game. I mean a guy who was good enough at another school, that Freeman would respect this guy starting, because he gave us legitimate interior defense. Because remember, neither Donnie or Maliq wants to spend most of their time defending the low post against burly guys who outweigh them by 30-60 pounds.
Donnie is probably going to expect to get some time out on the perimeter without getting yanked for trying a 3 pointer. That's why he's a Mickey Dee's. Just think back to Dontae Greene. Donnie's not able to start and play the majority of his minutes there (at least not yet), but for his career development, he is a better person to allow to shoot some threes than Quincy Guerrier or Paul Harris. So, expect him to get some time at the 3; it's part of his player development. It's part of the reason why we got him.
That leaves us with Chris. If he stays, he'll expect to start as a junior who just shot 42% from three. And despite his shortcomings, he has earned that much. But if he fails to run back on defense, or doesn't play with effort, then we have to have other options. And in that case, we probably will need another outside shooter at SF. It's not Westry, he's not a pure shooter, he's more of an athlete.
Now, if Bell leaves, that changes the likely rotation. Unless we bring in a really good established player at SF, this would leave room to start Maliq at the 4, Donnie at the 3, the Portal C, and bring the SF off the bench. This is where Donnie's teammate from IMG who just decommitted from Michigan would be a great addition. He would be guaranteed to get minutes, but he doesn't necessarily have to be a starter.
We would still have the ability to bring in 3 point shooting with JJ and Choppa.
Until we know who the people are, we can't say anything for sure. But we need to have a vision of how pieces fit together, and I'm not so sure they had a clear vision of that last summer. It was too many similar guys, and too many skills lacking.
The approach I've put into these posts is how I would try to sell it to the guys we are trying to recruit.
You tell them, there will be room for around 25 minutes a game for 5 guys in the front court. We need all of them. We need them to have complimentary skills. We need a big guy to defend the post. We need 3 point shooting. We could use a slasher from the wing. Guys may offer more than one of those skills.
That's why I keep harping on a stretch 4/5 who weighs 240 and shoots 35% from three. He doesn't have to be 7 feet tall, because those guys are already at the best schools. But if he's at least 6-8 or 6-9 and has good lower body strength, that's good enough to make this team better, and not be forced to play so many talented guys out of position.
