Rothstein ranks us 17 for Next Year

[Cusefan0307]

Granted that includes Quincy, but Benny replacing him wouldn’t make a huge difference IMO. This would put us in the mix as one of the best teams in the ACC. Interesting to me that the media seems to have a higher opinion of our team than the fans do.

 

[Nicknack]

Yeah, I think that's great, but just don't see us as a top 17 team. I think they might be underestimating how much Kadary leaving hurt us. With him starting, yeah, I could see top 17. No offense intended towards Joe, but just a different team.

 

[Sherman20]

Granted that includes Quincy, but Benny replacing him wouldn’t make a huge difference IMO. This would put us in the mix as one of the best teams in the ACC. Interesting to me that the media seems to have a higher opinion of our team than the fans do.

He completely fails to mention Edwards, who could easily end up starting ahead of Bourama depending on his recovery, but includes Frank as the first center off the bench. Huh?

 

[djcon57]

Granted that includes Quincy, but Benny replacing him wouldn’t make a huge difference IMO. This would put us in the mix as one of the best teams in the ACC. Interesting to me that the media seems to have a higher opinion of our team than the fans do.

Disagree in that many folks, myself included, have said if Q comes back we’re top 25.

Rothstein’s list included Q. Benny “replacing“ him wouldn’t make a huge different, you may or may not be right, but the loss of depth is massive

 

[RealMcNeil]

Yeah, I think that's great, but just don't see us as a top 17 team. I think they might be underestimating how much Kadary leaving hurt us. With him starting, yeah, I could see top 17. No offense intended towards Joe, but just a different team.

I think top 20 is realistic at the mid-year mark. KR’s departure hurts but the overall team shooting is up to space the floor. Honestly, Symir is kind of a poor man’s KR from what I’ve seen (that is probably harsh) - he’s got good length and has undervalued slashing/passing capabilities. JG needs to play within himself a bit more, which is what we started to see to end this year. I think the off-season is kind to him and JE (not to mention BS, who I am very bullish on as a 20 min/game contributor) in particular, both of which seemed to have been affected most by the pandemic for different reasons. Swider’s rebounding to replace QG, who I hope is back, is my main question mark but JE/BS/BW combo should help bolster that area. Honestly, if things hold as they are, the team feels more competent across the board. Jimmy is a question mark to me but we should be okay as he finds his way on the team. Strikes me as someone who will be asked to do a bit of everything to help replace MD’s role.

 

[Ajflood12]

Is this before or after jimmy committed?

 

[CardiacCuse]

Yeah, I think that's great, but just don't see us as a top 17 team. I think they might be underestimating how much Kadary leaving hurt us. With him starting, yeah, I could see top 17. No offense intended towards Joe, but just a different team.

I see the team as being markedly better overall next year...which would mean they are likely ranked...I could even see them being top 10... Center and forward are going to be clearly better...even if its just Jesse there...next year he will be a much better player at center than marek was. To me, forward will be better too...AG was too small/erratic (despite immense talent)...Quincy was good but faded down the stretch (and has some areas of his game to improve upon - still would be great if he returned)...big question mark how well Benny adapts...but if he lives up to the billing, forwards will be much better than last year as a group, imo. 3 complete players with size to play their spots and well rounded enough to do everything out there they need to.

the weak spot for me will be the guard spot defensively...and the lack of a real PG (which is a big weak spot). this team has been a seive up top in the zone the last few years and not sure that changes (although it could)...Joes got a lot of heart but his physical limitations are severe at the p5 level. ...which, imo, will be the deciding factor in this team's ceiling. Its not like it will cost the team all the time...but against the good teams it will...a la houston or baylor. so I see this team beating all the teams it should and struggling against the very top teams...a better version of last year's squad.

 

[newmexicuse]

I see top 20 if Q returns and if Buddy proves his year end hot streak was a legitimate jump in his overall level of play. WO Q, rebounds will be few and far between as will inside buckets. He is a glue type of player as was Marek and Kadary. If we end up losing all three that will be very tough to replace.

Another big question is the center spot. I expect Edwards to only get better, but he will need help and if Sid cant get on the court there will be no Marek to fill in. Frank, assuming he actually comes back, is a wild card. Maybe he follows Jesses's trajectory and gets into the rotation as the season progresses.

Benny is another big wildcard. Expectations are very high, but he still needs to fulfill them on the court.

All in all, I see a team with multiple questions and multiple possible answers. If ALL the stars align i could see possible Top Ten, but if they dont...well we all know about life on the bubble.

 

[CardiacCuse]

I see top 20 if Q returns and if Buddy proves his year end hot streak was a legitimate jump in his overall level of play. WO Q, rebounds will be few and far between as will inside buckets. He is a glue type of player as was Marek and Kadary. If we end up losing all three that will be very tough to replace.

Another big question is the center spot. I expect Edwards to only get better, but he will need help and if Sid cant get on the court there will be no Marek to fill in. Frank, assuming he actually comes back, is a wild card. Maybe he follows Jesses's trajectory and gets into the rotation as the season progresses.

Benny is another big wildcard. Expectations are very high, but he still needs to fulfill them on the court.

All in all, I see a team with multiple questions and multiple possible answers. If ALL the stars align i could see possible Top Ten, but if they dont...well we all know about life on the bubble.

the forwards right now are all 6'8 and 6-9...bigger than last year...I dont see rebounding as a problem...plus, jesse is a much better rebounder than marek. The rebounding will be good...if sidibe plays it will be A LOT better. Plus Frank. The center spot and forward spots will be at least as good as last year...but probably much better. add in another year of experience for joe and buddy...I think bare minimum, last year's level would be worst case scenario...if EVERYTHING goes wrong. otherwise, the team will be better. Guard spot is the weakness, imo. 1 injury there and it is dicey.

 

[ORANGE OATH]

I feel like a bit of a voice in the wilderness, but Cole Swider & Buddy shooting 3’s and Benny inside that feels like a fun team to watch !
I am especially high on Cole, and no we are not related ! I just see a very difficult situation for the opposite team if Cole and Buddy hit their averages this year.
I am high on this team.
Plus Edwards emerging, maybe a healthy SB !
Oh, I guess SB being completely healthy is a stretch, but we can hope !
In any event I like the fact that SB has hung in their especially with all the knee issues !
For years we have talked about making baskets, now I at least feel we have multiple offensive threats, a thing of wonder especially after having watching the past few years enough bricks being thrown up to rebuild the Coliseum.
If Buddy & Cole can hit the 3’s that will open up some great situations for Benny & dare I say Q if he returned ( I know he’s gone, but I can hope) instead of going pro.

 

[dasher]

I feel like a bit of voice in the wilderness, but Cole Swider & Buddy shooting 3’s and Benny inside that feels like a fun team to watch !
I am especially high on Cole, and no we are not related ! I just see a very difficult situation for the opposite team if Cole and Buddy hit their averages this year.
I am high on this team.
Plus Edwards emerging, maybe a health SB !
Oh, I guess SB being completely healthy is a stretch, but we can hope !
In any event I like the fact that SB has hung in their especially with all the knee issues !
For years we have talked about making baskets, now I at least feel we have multiple offensive threats, a thing of wonder especially after having watching the past few years enough bricks being thrown up to rebuild the Coliseum.
If Buddy & Cole can hit the 3’s that will open up some great situations for Benny & dare I say Q if he returned ( I know he’s gone, but I can hope) instead of going pro.

I am with you. I think we are much better than many on this board think we are. I am concerned about our schedule. I think it will be very tough. I am concerned about our ability to beat the press. I think our defense will be better than most suspect and I think our offense will be very good. Overall, that translates to a lot of wins. I like our team.

 

[newmexicuse]

the forwards right now are all 6'8 and 6-9...bigger than last year...I dont see rebounding as a problem...plus, jesse is a much better rebounder than marek. The rebounding will be good...if sidibe plays it will be A LOT better. Plus Frank. The center spot and forward spots will be at least as good as last year...but probably much better. add in another year of experience for joe and buddy...I think bare minimum, last year's level would be worst case scenario...if EVERYTHING goes wrong. otherwise, the team will be better. Guard spot is the weakness, imo. 1 injury there and it is dicey.

I hope you are right, but Alan for all his inconsistency was a very good rebounder for his size. We have nobody coming in or coming back who has proven they will actually battle for a board the way Q does. I am all in on your better rebounding statement with Q, without him, ??????? I do agree a full-time Jesse- Sid combo will upgrade rebounding from the five spot over Marek.

i have to disagree with your assumption that forward spot rebounding will be improved if Q does not come back, at best it will be the same, probably worse. There is more to rebounding than just height.

 

[Day2]

Granted that includes Quincy, but Benny replacing him wouldn’t make a huge difference IMO. This would put us in the mix as one of the best teams in the ACC. Interesting to me that the media seems to have a higher opinion of our team than the fans do.

Interesting, but not surprising.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Quincy back would be absolutely huge. Don’t expect. But would be great.

 

[SUskibum]

I hope you are right, but Alan for all his inconsistency was a very good rebounder for his size. We have nobody coming in or coming back who has proven they will actually battle for a board the way Q does. I am all in on your better rebounding statement with Q, without him, ??????? I do agree a full-time Jesse- Sid combo will upgrade rebounding from the five spot over Marek.

i have to disagree with your assumption that forward spot rebounding will be improved if Q does not come back, at best it will be the same, probably worse. There is more to rebounding than just height.

In fairness Alan put up most of his rebounding stats in the first half of the season. Later in the year he either became dinged up, disinterested or going against too many bigger/stronger players. In any event his rebounding suffered significantly (as did Q’s but Q was genuinely hurt with a visible limp)

EDIT: 4 rebounds or less in 9 of the last 13 games and only 3 rebounds in his past 4 games (51 minutes)

 

[jgeorge322]

Interesting, but not surprising.

i think were higher because where we finished. That always impacts the next years rankings.

 

[CU44SE]

My one issue, the pg. we don’t have anyone to initiate the offense. Also, the defense up top of the zone. It got better in the postseason but joe and buddy do not form a great defensive duo at the top of the zone. Those are my 2 question marks for this upcoming season. I like our forwards and center. Both offensively and defensively. Only other issue may be athleticism. Watching the Houston game, we had no one that could create their own shot.

 

[Cuse1055]

My one issue, the pg. we don’t have anyone to initiate the offense. Also, the defense up top of the zone. It got better in the postseason but joe and buddy do not form a great defensive duo at the top of the zone. Those are my 2 question marks for this upcoming season. I like our forwards and center. Both offensively and defensively. Only other issue may be athleticism. Watching the Houston game, we had no one that could create their own shot.

In regards to creating their own shot, hopefully that’s where Benny comes in.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I think we’ve probably seen more of our games than Rothstein, who is likely going off the tournament result rather than the season. He may also be looking at individual personnel and not the composition of the roster. Either way, we are going to have such a unique situation next year that who we are prolly won’t be sussed out until way into the ACC schedule. It’s going to be interesting. Hopefully more fun than frustration. And I hope the rankings help us toward getting the next batch of players.

[Holy crap. St Bonaventure only one spot below us kinda takes the peppermint out of the pattie.]

 

[Orangezoo]

I hope you are right, but Alan for all his inconsistency was a very good rebounder for his size. We have nobody coming in or coming back who has proven they will actually battle for a board the way Q does. I am all in on your better rebounding statement with Q, without him, ??????? I do agree a full-time Jesse- Sid combo will upgrade rebounding from the five spot over Marek.

i have to disagree with your assumption that forward spot rebounding will be improved if Q does not come back, at best it will be the same, probably worse. There is more to rebounding than just height.

Alan gave up a lot of offensive rebounds being undersized. Not his fault just that only so much you can do giving up all that size. He was also a hero defender more than a consistent defender. He no doubt was huge in a few games with some big-time blocks but overall his lack of size was a major weakness.

 

[All4SU]

He completely fails to mention Edwards, who could easily end up starting ahead of Bourama depending on his recovery, but includes Frank as the first center off the bench. Huh?

Also no mention of Symir Torrence.

 

[OrangeDW]

Granted that includes Quincy, but Benny replacing him wouldn’t make a huge difference IMO. This would put us in the mix as one of the best teams in the ACC. Interesting to me that the media seems to have a higher opinion of our team than the fans do.

Yeah, usually its the fans talking about how clueless the media is because they’re underrating us.

Only way I see us being 17 is if Symir is really good and a 20+ mpg guy who plays defense and goes by his man at will.

I think we have the size and shooting to be competitive, but we’ll need to make teams pay for playing us like Houston did. Not every team has the athletes(or will have the same refs) to blanket us like that, but I think that will be everybody’s blueprint.

 

[CardiacCuse]

Alan gave up a lot of offensive rebounds being undersized. Not his fault just that only so much you can do giving up all that size. He was also a hero defender more than a consistent defender. He no doubt was huge in a few games with some big-time blocks but overall his lack of size was a major weakness.

I saw the same.. for his size he was great...but as the zone asks the forward to come rotate and help down low...he was very ineffective against beef. he did a lot of nice blocks...but otherwise it was easy buckets and offensive boards galore for opponents...he shouldve been playing guard, imo.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Pretty sure Rothstein is banking on Torrence growing six inches

 

[Day2]

Alan gave up a lot of offensive rebounds being undersized. Not his fault just that only so much you can do giving up all that size. He was also a hero defender more than a consistent defender. He no doubt was huge in a few games with some big-time blocks but overall his lack of size was a major weakness.

Yeah, guys like Griffin, Paul Harris, and Josh Pace aren’t ideal wings for the zone. You would much rather see them up top.