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I would think that a redshirt for an upperclassman is a "warning shot across his bow" that he has to improve himself physically (weight?) or in his skill set, and he has one additional year to get "right". I would think that he will remain an accessory on the bench unless some new injury or some failure of a new guy makes him appear more essential on the court. Coaches just don't redshirt such upperclassmen lightly.

(11-12-2016 08:46 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  Lavender will be the point guard if Watts' redshirt isn't removed.

Nate Darling is a 2. Period.

Javien is good enough that he can play the 1-3 but not this quickly.

Don't freak out just yet. Nick has the best court vision of any guard on the team but he has his limitations. He's a good passer who is often reluctant to shoot and rarely wants to drive to the basket.

A combination of Lavender and Watts if properly coached could very well yield a just as good or better outcome than having Nick.

While we may be ok by the time conference season starts to a degree the chemistry will be tough to be duplicated. I suspect it will hurt us for the next three or four weeks.

(11-12-2016 08:57 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  

(11-12-2016 08:46 PM)BlazerGold09 Wrote:  Lavender will be the point guard if Watts' redshirt isn't removed.

Nate Darling is a 2. Period.

Javien is good enough that he can play the 1-3 but not this quickly.

Don't freak out just yet. Nick has the best court vision of any guard on the team but he has his limitations. He's a good passer who is often reluctant to shoot and rarely wants to drive to the basket.

A combination of Lavender and Watts if properly coached could very well yield a just as good or better outcome than having Nick.

While we may be ok by the time conference season starts to a degree the chemistry will be tough to be duplicated. I suspect it will hurt us for the next three or four weeks.

Agreed. And we all know what the next two to three entail.

Champlin
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/...n_out.html

It's a process.

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‏@franfraschilla
Really sad about this. Was looking forward to seeing @NickyNort22 vs. KU. He's on my "Heart over Height" team.

Fran Fraschilla ‏@franfraschilla
Tough blow for @RobEhsan & UAB losing PG @NickyNort22. Blazers have depth but bright 1st year coach gets 1st lesson in "crisis management."

Nick Norton ‏@NickyNort22
Nick Norton Retweeted Drew Champlin
Love this school, fans, and team! God has me on the 5 year plan. Ever Faithful, Ever Loyal! #TogetherWeAre

I think ultimately we should be okay, as we have a lot of talented players, but this really tempers my expectations for the OOC schedule. Don't be surprised to see us really struggle. This season May now be like two years ago when the team Gelled late and played Really well.

(11-13-2016 10:13 AM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  I think ultimately we should be okay, as we have a lot of talented players, but this really tempers my expectations for the OOC schedule. Don't be surprised to see us really struggle. This season May now be like two years ago when the team Gelled late and played Really well.

Lavender was obviously being groomed for a backup pg role, he's the next man up now. Nobody on the roster is going to shoot like Nick can, but this is an experienced bunch. Losing one player this year should not be anything like what we experienced a couple of years ago. It's not like lavender showed up at the door yesterday.

Just meant it could be similar to that year, not that we would be as bad as we were to start that year. New point guard, new coach, and very tough schedule. Don't be surprised to see us go 0-2 in the upcoming tournament, and lose to St. Mary's, Memphis, and Texas. We could and should win every other OOC game, and if we could steal 1-2 of those aforementioned games and do really well in conference, we may be in the at large discussion. I'm just not counting on that. I hope I'm wrong. I still think we can and should have a really good season, but losing Norton is huge - especially in the immediate future.

I would be flabbergasted if they didn't take off Watts's redshirt at this point.

You forgot about Stephen f Austin. I'm sill expecting we can win the second game in the tournament. We have plenty of good players and time to recover from this.

(11-13-2016 12:13 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  You forgot about Stephen f Austin. I'm sill expecting we can win the second game in the tournament. We have plenty of good players and time to recover from this.

I was counting it as a game we should win.

I watched Texas the other night and we can beat them. Not saying we will but we can even without Nick.

There are plenty of games on the schedule that we were expected to lose even with Norton. We can still pull the upset without Him, but Lee is going to have to wake up, players are going to have to hit threes and play defense. Someone is also going to have to step up and be a leader on the court.

(11-13-2016 12:34 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  

(11-13-2016 12:13 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  You forgot about Stephen f Austin. I'm sill expecting we can win the second game in the tournament. We have plenty of good players and time to recover from this.

I was counting it as a game we should win.

That might be the third third toughest game on the schedule. By no means is it a gimme or game we should win

I honestly dont know what a reasonable expectation for the OOC schedule is at this point. Hopefully we can beat Auburn and Memphis.

UAB OOC road/neutral record hasn't been great, not even subpar in recent memory. We are capable of beating anyone on the schedule (except Kansas) but recent history has said otherwise. Until, they show me they can win these type of marquee games my expectations will remain where they are for now.

We will get blown out by 25+ at Kansas

(11-13-2016 03:05 PM)BlazerHam Wrote:  We will get blown out by 25+ at Kansas

That was a possibility even with Norton.

(11-13-2016 02:02 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  

(11-13-2016 12:34 PM)The Answer UAB Wrote:  

(11-13-2016 12:13 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  You forgot about Stephen f Austin. I'm sill expecting we can win the second game in the tournament. We have plenty of good players and time to recover from this.

I was counting it as a game we should win.

That might be the third third toughest game on the schedule. By no means is it a gimme or game we should win

They lost their best player and their coach. Kansas, @ St. Mary's, and @ Texas will be tougher. Home against Auburn and @ Memphis will probably be tougher, as well.

Right now Furman is our toughest game because it is next and we have had two days to get ready to play without our point guard. Furman went 18-15 last year and went to the second round of the CIT Tournament. They return four starters from that team. Should be a win, but I suspect we will struggle.