A few storylines/items to watch for as I try to get myself excited about something to do with Cuse football (operating under the assumption we don't get Noel, just since that is still very much up in the air).
Who is Brandon Triche?
I stole this question from The Jerk (Who is Navin R. Johnson?), but I think it's a valid question with Triche. Is he the guy that scored 20 vs. Florida and reached double-figures in 7 of our first 10 BE games, or is he the guy that went the entire month of February without reaching double-figures? Is he a guy that can handle and create or a guy that can that is best used as a shooter who plays solid defense? I honestly don't know the answer to these questions. We know he has good size, decent quickness, a decent handle and a lot of experience. I can't imagine he loses too many minutes to a redshirt frosh but how many minutes he gets and what kind of play he delivers seem like a complete unknown to me at this point.
What difference does MCW make?
I like Scoop and spent much of the year being his defense attorney for some reason. I tend to believe that replacing really good players is more difficult than people think (shiny new toy syndrome with most recruits). But, I'm with everyone else at this point where I feel like we've seen enough of MCW to get excited. He should be lethal in the open floor, a solid scoring option and a great teammate. He shouldn't be thrown by the extended minutes, especially since we can slide Triche over for a spell if needed. But I think the big question with him is this -- Will he be able to make plays off the dribble in the half-court for this team. Waiters provided that and it was a huge weapon for the team this year -- MCW looks like the only one capable of potentially picking up that slack next season.
Can Coleman/Keita/Christmas provide post presence on offense?
Keita appears to be mostly a catch-and-finish guy for all intents and purposes and that's fine. But Xmas showed some glimpses this year and Coleman (reportedly) is pretty good with his back to the basket. I doubt we'll be getting huge numbers from any of the three, but four or five buckets a game from in close in the half-court would be a nice bonus.
How are CJ and Southerland deployed?
How creative can JB get with these two? Both should be pretty dangerous offensively and both should see an increase in minutes -- but how and where do they play? I would think CJ would get a ton of minutes at the 3 and should be pretty productive and comfortable there. But it's hard to imagine Southerland getting fewer than 20 mpg next season. Does he play the 4? Could he play elsewhere? Should be interesting.
Will this our best half-court offensive group since the 09-10 team?
To me, the biggest flaw in this year's team was that they did a decent job of creating shots but didn't knock many down. Combine that with little to no post presence and it made for some ugly moments in the half-court. Can this group improve on that with the potential for a bit more O from the post, the addition of a true shooter (supposedly) in Cooney, and more consistent performance out of Triche/Fair/Southerland (all of whom seem very capable of taking a step forward as opposed to KJ and Scoop, who were what they were for all intents and purposes)? This might be the key.
Who is Brandon Triche?
I stole this question from The Jerk (Who is Navin R. Johnson?), but I think it's a valid question with Triche. Is he the guy that scored 20 vs. Florida and reached double-figures in 7 of our first 10 BE games, or is he the guy that went the entire month of February without reaching double-figures? Is he a guy that can handle and create or a guy that can that is best used as a shooter who plays solid defense? I honestly don't know the answer to these questions. We know he has good size, decent quickness, a decent handle and a lot of experience. I can't imagine he loses too many minutes to a redshirt frosh but how many minutes he gets and what kind of play he delivers seem like a complete unknown to me at this point.
What difference does MCW make?
I like Scoop and spent much of the year being his defense attorney for some reason. I tend to believe that replacing really good players is more difficult than people think (shiny new toy syndrome with most recruits). But, I'm with everyone else at this point where I feel like we've seen enough of MCW to get excited. He should be lethal in the open floor, a solid scoring option and a great teammate. He shouldn't be thrown by the extended minutes, especially since we can slide Triche over for a spell if needed. But I think the big question with him is this -- Will he be able to make plays off the dribble in the half-court for this team. Waiters provided that and it was a huge weapon for the team this year -- MCW looks like the only one capable of potentially picking up that slack next season.
Can Coleman/Keita/Christmas provide post presence on offense?
Keita appears to be mostly a catch-and-finish guy for all intents and purposes and that's fine. But Xmas showed some glimpses this year and Coleman (reportedly) is pretty good with his back to the basket. I doubt we'll be getting huge numbers from any of the three, but four or five buckets a game from in close in the half-court would be a nice bonus.
How are CJ and Southerland deployed?
How creative can JB get with these two? Both should be pretty dangerous offensively and both should see an increase in minutes -- but how and where do they play? I would think CJ would get a ton of minutes at the 3 and should be pretty productive and comfortable there. But it's hard to imagine Southerland getting fewer than 20 mpg next season. Does he play the 4? Could he play elsewhere? Should be interesting.
Will this our best half-court offensive group since the 09-10 team?
To me, the biggest flaw in this year's team was that they did a decent job of creating shots but didn't knock many down. Combine that with little to no post presence and it made for some ugly moments in the half-court. Can this group improve on that with the potential for a bit more O from the post, the addition of a true shooter (supposedly) in Cooney, and more consistent performance out of Triche/Fair/Southerland (all of whom seem very capable of taking a step forward as opposed to KJ and Scoop, who were what they were for all intents and purposes)? This might be the key.
