OK roster is set. Similar to last season, the staff did an outstanding job of scrambling, and compared to last season saved us a summer of agita in terms of wondering who would actually be balling for the Cuse in the fall. I guess practice makes perfect in terms of picking up the pieces, but i hope this will not be the modus operandi in the future.
Anyways, the team that is assembled looks to be mid-pack ACC. The talent just doesn't seem to be there to finish top three in the conference. maybe, we could get to the 4 or 5 slot if some questions are answered positively, so here are my biggest concerns:
1. Lack of a superstar who can take over games. Probably Battle is the guy we have who might come closest to filling this role. I love Ty as a player - he can drive, he can shoot, and he has good size. he always puts forth solid effort. I think he is a next level player, but I just don't see him as a superstar - he has good, but not truly elite athleticism, and I also have concerns that his three point shooting may have peaked as his form looks a bit awkward and not smooth ala Andrew White. Though I have somewhat high expectations for Tyus, I am hoping he can exceed them and become truly elite.
2. D - two issues with the D - the first is just that we will have a lot of new guys on the roster - as a group they are long enough and athletic enough to play good D, but how long will it take them to jell ? The second issue goes specifically to the center position. TT will need to get minutes there & he will have to play better D than he did last season. i doubt he has the instincts to become a defensive stalwart, but that doesn't mean he can't improve enough to at least make proper rotations and become adequate. Sidibe is a first year player & will definitely need to go through a learning curve - maybe in the second half of the season he can be a little bit of a d force. That leaves Chukwu. Injuries undercut him last season, but pre-injury he just didn't show a lot to keep himself on the court. Of course, as they say, you can't teach size, which he has in abundance. Can he harness that length enough to become a factor & earn some minutes ?
3 Outside shooting - this is simply a giant question mark. Newly committed Thorpe is the closest thing we will have to a proven three point shooter followed fairly closely by Battle. Marek supposedly has potential. I see Frank Howard's three point shooting upside as minimally adequate. Howard Washington should help when he is ready to get on the court. Bottom line, in the modern game we will need to have at least three reasonably reliable three point threats on the court most of the time, will this happen with who we have ?
Bottom line for me - here are my goals for the team:
1. Play over .500 in conference
2. Beat Duke at least once.
3. Win at least one ACC playoff game
4. Get off the freakin bubble & get into the tournament with at least some breathing room to spare.
5. Make at least a little bit of post-season noise.
