(04-04-2010 11:51 AM)Chipdip Wrote: [ -> ] (04-04-2010 09:09 AM)okgc Wrote: [ -> ]Better pencil in Whitfield also at 5 and I'd bet Whittington will now get his redshirt year.
I would also swap the order of Ward and Brown in the 2 & 3 spots.
This is where Hawk really frustrates me. You redshirt because a kid is not ready and needs a year to mature. So now that he's close to ready, and we need a center, we redshirt him? Why he didn't redshirt him this year is mind boggling. We had enough depth at center without him.
Two things.
Most importantly a reoccurance of
DL's ticker issue could not be ruled out. It absolutely killed the previous years squad. Lamarcus was fine at times but as you correctly said, too often he would get on the back of some one much smaller, could not get free and was not effective (as could be) on the glass.
Secondly,
Mo was/is not ready to do more than what he showed.
Yes, in an ideal situation SW redshirts. But this in a way was a continuation of the consequences of not going with Hershberger backing up Joe and not redshirting DLaw his first year.
I'm not necessarily sold that Shayne will redshirt now that they have the kid out of Ohio.
60% is on Mo. If he is ready to step up and split time with Dean garnering at least 12-18 minutes of effective play then that decision can be made.
The remaining
40% is on Shayne. If he gets the work in necessary to be effective on defense and rebounding to go along with his more advanced O then he plays and Mo either sits or goes.
Not an easy decision unless Hawk has already decided under no conditions will he show Mo the door. If he is open to that, the time is now so the kid can go elsewhere.
The other possibility is going with a
dual post. A
high-low. Shayne has shown the glimmer of some high post ability which necessitates passing. The
key is defense. He will or maybe the more athletic Dean or Mo will need to go out on the floor and defend a Bowdry, McKnight, etc. If that works then all three see time rotating in and playing based on performance which would use the
metrics of defending, rebounding and the ability to facilitate others on O. That could be Griffen like passing or Kann like screening. All said, even with a dual post they would both be "garbage men".
That said, it would put a premium on MD and DW improving their outside stroke. You can still get away with 2 kids scoring, but if both are perimeter types you fall into the trap of being a jump shooting team.
In my mind
this could be the trip wire to do as I have advocated. Have Flen develop and use his athleticism and skills more on the perimeter. Is it his forte? No, neither is it anyone on this board to routinely use their weak hand for primary purposes. Can it? Absolutely! But if you are allowed to just do what you are accustomed to then there is no way to develop what is developable but not exploited.
IF WMU were to play the current Duke squad who would guard Singler? Brown? Ward?
Then who guards Thomas?
Zoubek?
And frankly, Duke is nothing terribly special. But as I have advocated for a couple years now that as long as we have the mind set that says we must
respond to the MAC as opposed to
dictating to the MAC when we step out to play the big boys we get exposed in the worst way.
To play the big boys you have to play like one.
How has Butler survived with Wee Willie Veasley at their power forward at times? Unrelenting and in your grill pressure on the ball. That is the key as it has always been. A good pass rarely can be made if it is pressured consistently and well. Their first thought is to get the pass "off", not have it be received. If the other defender is playing D before his man gets the ball you have deflections, tips, misguided passes all resulting in turnovers. Which Butler scored 20 pts to 2 or so against MSU.
But most just talk the talk, so at the very least you need to be able to match up. Flen and or Hutch at the 3 brings length, athleticism and some skill. I concede that these two are not as offensively skilled as Brown or maybe others. But that challenge is far less demanding than trying to play a 6'6 power forward in the post and expect to not be used as the rag to wipe the glass with.