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2018-19 MBB - Tribeheart - 03-06-2018 01:33 AM
Tribe basketball has come a long, long way. A great luxury to play competitive ball and be in the mix every year, thanks to the efforts and stability of Tony and this staff.
My wish for next year:
1)Get Nathan a couple of invites to the top Big Man camps this summer to help his progression. He's gotten on the radar outside the CAA, and needs to be promoted for those opportunities.
2)An expected big jump for Justin, but especially from Matt. Often a mixed bag for a soph transfer after sitting out a year. Matt has the skills and DNA to aggressively be more than a 3pt threat and to be All CAA.
3)Get Luke some high end summer league exposure to build his confidence for running this team next year. Playing David 40 minutes in the season stretch did not help Luke's needed experience, and the team going forward. The same with Jihar getting some Kenner League time.
4)Find a big man ready to contribute immediately next year, with the possibility of playing simultaneously with Nate when matchups dictate. You listening Wyatt Walker??
5)An easier second year law school schedule for Paul to allow him to develop his confidence in driving to the basket, and to be able to focus on having a great, final senior season.
6)At least one of our freshmen emerging immediately as a potential starter, and all of them making for the most competitive practice sessions the program has ever had to push our starters. If LJ Owens becomes our Grant Riller and Chase Audige our defensive stopper, look out.
7)An OOC schedule, including home games, that gives the team an opportunity to potentially be in the mix for at large consideration, if they can pick off a few. The CAA will be good enough next year to support a strong RPI and some attention without winning the tournament, especially if Charleston and Northeastern can make some noise in the NCAA and NIT to end this year,
and, last, but not least,
8)A team chemistry as good or better than this year because even if none of the first seven wishes occur, if they have this, it will be another joy to watch season for Tribe faithful.
By default, the mix of players returning, and coming in, will have the potential to be a very solid defensive team, if the will is there.
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RE: 2018-19 MBB - WMtribe17 - 03-06-2018 01:37 AM
Curious who becomes the team captain next year. Don't think their is a vocal leader like Cohn on the roster.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - Tribeheart - 03-06-2018 01:42 AM
(03-06-2018 01:37 AM)WMtribe17 Wrote: Curious who becomes the team captain next year. Don't think their is a vocal leader like Cohn on the roster.I would imagine Paul, and think he'd be up to it, even if he comes off the bench as 6th man. That may, also, raise his off-season work and level of play, assuming he can balance his academic priorities. If not, it might be the soph trio, by default, for the next two years.
I have a hunch that Luke is going to emerge as a pretty solid leader, given his life changing experience his senior year.
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2018-19 MBB - Tribal - 03-06-2018 02:49 AM
Milon and Walker follow each other. Both Florida boys. Both devoutly religious. Both transfers.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - mrjoolius - 03-06-2018 03:46 AM
(03-06-2018 02:49 AM)Tribal Wrote: Milon and Walker follow each other. Both Florida boys. Both devoutly religious. Both transfers.I think in Walker's heart of hearts he hopes an offer comes from his hometown UofF a la Canyon Berry. I believe we are positioned nicely if he doesn't get the high major offers that he wants.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - Tribal - 03-06-2018 04:43 AM
(03-06-2018 03:46 AM)mrjoolius Wrote:(03-06-2018 02:49 AM)Tribal Wrote: Milon and Walker follow each other. Both Florida boys. Both devoutly religious. Both transfers.I think in Walker's heart of hearts he hopes an offer comes from his hometown UofF a la Canyon Berry. I believe we are positioned nicely if he doesn't get the high major offers that he wants.
Florida has 6 bigs returning next season unless someone declares. They lose a 6'11 senior. As probably the best team in the SEC this year, I have to believe they feel pretty good about returning talent.
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RE: 2018-19 MBB - Tribe32 - 03-06-2018 06:53 AM
I'm hoping we don't lose any kids to transfers like we did last year. Once the dust clears there will be four or more new faces coming to Williamsburg all wanting to compete for playing time.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - bubbadog57 - 03-06-2018 07:16 AM
With Paul, the three super sophs, and our two current freshman back next season we have a strong nucleus
returning upon which to build.
But, at least from this observer's view, it's too early to really firm up what our team will be. It all hinges on (a) the quality and ability to play some next season of our four talented freshman, especially at point guard,
and (b) finally signing one or two big men as incoming freshmen with the current four signees or signing a combo of a freshman and a graduate transfer.
Once this clears up a viable assessment becomes much more possible.
I will say this: talks with Tony and members of his staff reveal they are very high on the four we have signed already and that possibly two are potential stars.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - wmmii - 03-06-2018 09:02 AM
(03-06-2018 01:37 AM)WMtribe17 Wrote: Curious who becomes the team captain next year. Don't think their is a vocal leader like Cohn on the roster.
Agree this will be a key. Rowley clearly is the first choice but needs a co-captain that compliments his personality.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - Naptown Tribe - 03-06-2018 09:26 AM
(03-06-2018 01:33 AM)Tribeheart Wrote: Tribe basketball has come a long, long way. A great luxury to play competitive ball and be in the mix every year, thanks to the efforts and stability of Tony and this staff.
My wish for next year:
1)Get Nathan a couple of invites to the top Big Man camps this summer to help his progression. He's gotten on the radar outside the CAA, and needs to be promoted for those opportunities.
2)An expected big jump for Justin, but especially from Matt. Often a mixed bag for a soph transfer after sitting out a year. Matt has the skills and DNA to aggressively be more than a 3pt threat and to be All CAA.
3)Get Luke some high end summer league exposure to build his confidence for running this team next year. Playing David 40 minutes in the season stretch did not help Luke's needed experience, and the team going forward. The same with Jihar getting some Kenner League time.
4)Find a big man ready to contribute immediately next year, with the possibility of playing simultaneously with Nate when matchups dictate. You listening Wyatt Walker??
5)An easier second year law school schedule for Paul to allow him to develop his confidence in driving to the basket, and to be able to focus on having a great, final senior season.
6)At least one of our freshmen emerging immediately as a potential starter, and all of them making for the most competitive practice sessions the program has ever had to push our starters. If LJ Owens becomes our Grant Riller and Chase Audige our defensive stopper, look out.
7)An OOC schedule, including home games, that gives the team an opportunity to potentially be in the mix for at large consideration, if they can pick off a few. The CAA will be good enough next year to support a strong RPI and some attention without winning the tournament, especially if Charleston and Northeastern can make some noise in the NCAA and NIT to end this year,
and, last, but not least,
8)A team chemistry as good or better than this year because even if none of the first seven wishes occur, if they have this, it will be another joy to watch season for Tribe faithful.
By default, the mix of players returning, and coming in, will have the potential to be a very solid defensive team, if the will is there.
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Agree with all this ... we have guys in our program who are committed to improving their game every year. I think we will be really good next year and great in 2 years and could win the league either/both years.
Reality is we can’t and won’t replace David. Just like we didn’t replace Marcus or Daniel or Omar, but the new guys given the opportunity will step up and play their game.
Some worried about replacing Omar, but Justin just needed more time and maturing. He isn’t Omar but he scored and rebounded like him while playing a different style.
Tony doesn’t play his freshman a ton normally though Nate played a good but last year and some of our new guys will play next year. We will be deeper and practices way more competitive because of the depth which makes everyone better.
I think Luke will be good. He will be different thank David and his style is different, and please don’t expect true Soph Luke to play like 5th year Senior David right off the bat. He will learn on the job. He won’t be a whirling dirvish like David on offense but we really didn’t see the scoring David til this year. Luke will be stronger defensively on day 1. He will run the offense but have to learn to run it like David did and that will take time. He will be more a facilitator on offense but will run the team. He won’t be David but he won’t be Ollie Tot who rarely looked for his shot unless it’s a half court game winner. He will grow to be a really good leader and he is a gym rat and hard worker who is Wisconsin tough. I really feel we will come to love him and his game.
Jihar will be a help too as the game slows down for him and he lets the game come to him. He can straight up shoot, but the Fresh will push him for PT.
I love the thought of LJ as our Riller which he could be; that’s his game. He needs more muscle but he is a stone cold scorer and slasher. Audige as our D stopper is a very real possibility. He will bring a needed energy and intensity to our squad and will be ready physically sooner because of his prep year. He and Justin out on the wings on the break will lead to some thunder dunks to go with Nate dominating down low.
Some had some questions about Justin last year and he is just fine and will explode the next two years. Our rising Soph’s are deadly, and man, of Wyatt Walker comes, look out.
I’m so thankful for this year’s senior class. They stuck it out and transitioned us into a great next era of Tribe hoops that I truly believe will lead to the Big Dance sooner than later. They taught the young guys this year how to be a team and that is invaluable and that’s all our Seniors. They taught our guys how to have fun and grow and that anything is possible.
So thankful for this year and so excited for the future. It is bright. I have faith we will land the needed big or two and we will be incredibly fun to watch and root for in the years to come.
Go Tribe! Great job coaches and players. So proud!
RE: 2018-19 MBB - wpdaisley17 - 03-06-2018 11:08 AM
This team will be very good in two years if either Loewe or one of the freshmen can develop into a quality PG.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - ColonelEbirt - 03-06-2018 11:22 AM
I have a dramatically different feeling this morning vs. the morning after last year's CAA Tournament loss. What was clear last year was that we had a strong team, but one that never completely gelled. I won't speculate on why we failed to gel, but I was actually not that surprised by the transfer announcements. Something just wasn't right ... you could see it on Coach Shaver (and some of the players) nearly the entire season. I remember checking this board nearly every day from April - August, with some level of trepidation each time, concerned about what news might be announced.
Today, I'm optimistic, hopeful, and excited for next year. Yes, Luke and Jihar did not get a lot of playing time, but think about the encouraging arms-around-the-shoulder conversations that must have occurred all year between the rest of the team and those two. This is admittedly speculation on my part (I have no idea about the true relationship between those guys), but going into this offseason, I will be checking this board daily with expectations for positive news ... new recruits, standout summer performances, long gym rat practice sessions (probably led by Luke), etc.
Our team next season will look and play differently than this year, but I think they will "feel" the same ... together, driven, and expecting to win every game. This team believes in itself, and will believe even more next year. I'll be believing with them!
The entire coaching staff deserves our praises. They want to win more than anyone, and I trust that after spending countless hours every day with this team, they know what rotation(s) are most likely to lead us to victory. The puzzle pieces next year will be more complex to put together, but I want no one other than this staff tackling that challenge.
As for the team next year, too many unknowns to project a starting line-up or define the standard rotation, but here's how I see a few things playing out:
- Pierce & Milon: Their tourney performances will not sit well with them and will make these hard-working guys push even harder during the offseason. Each will add a dimension to their offensive game (Matt will drive more ... he is actually adept at creating his own shot inside the 3-point line if the defense gives him any space at all once he catches the ball; Justin will be a more dominant finisher around the basket). Justin will lead the team in rebounding. The defensive side is where we'll see the most improvement from Justin. Minutes/game could slip slightly for Matt, but I think that would be a good thing. I want him full throttle every moment he's on the floor.
- Knight: Nate will become an even more central part of our offensive game-plan. No possession should go by without him touching the ball. He will be first-team All-CAA, with an outside shot at POY. 20+ pts/game, to go along with solid Assist and Rebound totals should be considered his floor.
- Rowley: IMO, the biggest wildcard. By the time the season starts, he could be a shoe-in starter, and clearly our most improved player - leading our team in 3-point shooting and adding at least a moderate level of penetration to his offensive game. Or his on-court contributions could be similar to this year -- which are certainly solid, but nothing season-changing. I hope Paul prioritizes his leadership next year - this team will need it - and his on-court skill improvement should follow.
- Loewe: Our presumed starting PG will have a tremendous Spring / Summer but will enter camp knowing that he must earn the job. And I think he will. Smart guys, even without a lot of game time experience, grow a lot in their first year in Coach Shaver's system. Keep in mind, we only see game-time, which is <5% of the total time these guys spend in practices, meetings, etc. Coach Shaver doesn't heap empty praise on people, and he's been publicly complimentary of Luke (and Jihar) for most of the season. I think Loewe's defensive intensity and leadership potential could make him become one of those players despised by the other team (and their fan bases). Is it just me or could Luke have more Wojo, Collins, Paulus, etc. (Duke references) in him than anyone we've had in our system in quite a while?
- Williams: A bold prediction, but I think Jihar will average 8+ points / game next season. He didn't even play basketball his sophomore year of high school, so he is extremely raw, but seemingly very talented. When he hits the court next year, he'll start thinking less and just playing more. We'll see drives to the basket, dishes to his teammates, in addition to sharp-shooting from the outside. He will be pushed by Audige and Owens, who want that starting spot left open by Burchfield, and that will make Jihar even better. I may be a year premature in this assessment, but I believe the future is bright for Williams and there will be one offseason where he transforms into a very strong starter for our team.
- Mostafa: Omar has an important role to play with all the new guys, especially if Paul is thrust into more of a "full-time" on-court role. I could see Omar becoming the upperclassman spirit and encouragement for the "back half" of our bench, which will include some young guys who need to stay engaged and make strong improvements throughout the year.
- Audige, Blair, Owens, Scott: You can't ask for a better situation for these guys. They are coming onto a team that will be led by a trio of very talented Juniors, and a program that is defined by team basketball. So they won't be forced to build the foundation ... they will see what's there and figure out how they fit in. But, the lack of current team depth means they all have a chance to play from Day 1 - with two starting spots even available for the taking. So they should come in this Summer hungry and ready to prove themselves. I don't want to make any individual predictions for this group at this point, but I expect at least 2 will get regular playing time, 1 will be a starter for at least a handful of games, and there's even a chance that we'll see the rarity of a CAA Rookie of the Year on a team that also has strong upperclassmen. The last one is definitely a pipe-dream, but if they have opportunities and play loose (because they know the offense will run through Nate, Justin, Matt), they could put up some impressive stats.
??, ??: These two additional recruits, one HS senior and one Grad Transfer, will push Nate in practice and will allow Coach Shaver to experiment with some different sets where Nate plays the stretch 4 and we have two big guys on the floor at once. The HS senior will likely be a project, but the younger Coach Shaver seems to know how to develop big guys. Also, I'm hopeful that Cole sticks around (maybe in a Grad Assistant position?...he has an extra year of Business School) to bang bodies with Nate some during practice.
2018-19 MBB - Tribeheart - 03-06-2018 11:31 AM
For all of our focus on the need for another big man with immediate impact, I hate the thought of next year being a development year to align this team for a great senior campaign with our sophomore trio. If we find ourselves with the opportunity to bring in an experienced, talented, immediately eligible, combo/point guard, I hope we jump on it. Luke cannot fill that PG role alone as a soph, and no freshman will be ready to fill that role for a whole season. Why not get that added piece for next year to be a great season, with Luke and the freshmen ready to sustain and advance that the following year.
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RE: 2018-19 MBB - Rocco - 03-06-2018 11:36 AM
My wish for next year is that Shaver attend a Tony Bennett basketball clinic over the summer. We've got six seasons of evidence that suggests you can't win the conference without a little defense, no matter how well you run the offense.
Tribe needs a guy who can come off the bench and make energy plays- hustle for loose balls, set screens, deliver hard fouls (seriously, put Riller on his butt a couple times and see if he keeps shooting arrows). They didn't have guy on the bench this year and it cost them.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - mrjoolius - 03-06-2018 11:41 AM
(03-06-2018 11:31 AM)Tribeheart Wrote: For all of our focus on the need for another big man with immediate impact, I hate the thought of next year being a development year to align this team for a great senior campaign with our sophomore trio. If we find ourselves with the opportunity to bring in an experienced, talented, immediately eligible, combo/point guard, I hope we jump on it. Luke cannot fill that PG role alone as a soph, and no freshman will be ready to fill that role for a whole season. Why not get that added piece for next year to be a great season, with Luke and the freshmen ready to sustain and advance that the following year.Thoughts on anyone? As difficult as it would be to get a big to come in and contribute, it would be even more difficult to expect a transfer, even a talented one, to come in and skillfully run Shaver's 4-out offense from the point guard position. I'm all for talented grad transfers, but I'm not sure how much a PG would bring with only a summer in the system. I guess we can see what happens.
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RE: 2018-19 MBB - Tribe2011 - 03-06-2018 11:45 AM
I would expect next year to be about the same as this season, possibly with a higher floor, but a lower ceiling. Should be middle half of the conference again, hopefully upper part of that segment, but a step below the top teams. Cohn leaving I expect to really set us back, but I'm hoping that can be evened out with growth from Knight, Pierce, and Milon and a much deeper bench. If we can get CAA-average level point guard play from Loewe that will be huge, and he is the biggest wild card for us.
Agree that if we can hang on to everyone and players grow as expected, we should be right at the top of the conference in 19-20 and potentially could have Shaver's best team at WM (which would be the best WM team overall of the modern era), although that's a long way off and as we saw last offseason a lot can change.
Will always be painful looking back on this year though - if we didn't lose Whitman there's a good chance we were right up there with CofC and NE with a great shot to win the tourney and regular season title.
Overall, given the transfers, I'd say this was a B+ year and a great job by the coaching staff to get as much out of this group as they did.
Most important thing of all - Shaver has gotten us to the point where our floor years are middle of the conference at worst and our ceiling is the right up there with the top teams. That is remarkable and has never happened before in modern WM basketball history. No longer do we have a couple good years then crater to 4 conference wins. We have at least an outside chance of winning the conference tourney in our down years, and should have a good chance of doing so in our ceiling years. Looking forward to the next several seasons. Now time to build on this momentum by investing in the program!
RE: 2018-19 MBB - Tribeheart - 03-06-2018 11:56 AM
(03-06-2018 11:36 AM)Rocco Wrote: My wish for next year is that Shaver attend a Tony Bennett basketball clinic over the summer. We've got six seasons of evidence that suggests you can't win the conference without a little defense, no matter how well you run the offense.I think, unfortunately, that David and Connor were simply not built for that need, and Matt lacked the experience. I'd like to believe we have some guys in the pipeline, Luke, Chase, Quinn, who will allow the staff to move the defensive dial, with Nate and Justin. If they don't, then Tony will never reach the goal. Northeastern put on a clinic last night with respect to defensive rotation. Best player on the floor, deepest bench, best shooting teams have all been tried by Tony, but didn't work. It's long been time for defense.
Tribe needs a guy who can come off the bench and make energy plays- hustle for loose balls, set screens, deliver hard fouls (seriously, put Riller on his butt a couple times and see if he keeps shooting arrows). They didn't have guy on the bench this year and it cost them.
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RE: 2018-19 MBB - Rocco - 03-06-2018 12:38 PM
(03-06-2018 11:56 AM)Tribeheart Wrote:(03-06-2018 11:36 AM)Rocco Wrote: My wish for next year is that Shaver attend a Tony Bennett basketball clinic over the summer. We've got six seasons of evidence that suggests you can't win the conference without a little defense, no matter how well you run the offense.I think, unfortunately, that David and Connor were simply not built for that need, and Matt lacked the experience. I'd like to believe we have some guys in the pipeline, Luke, Chase, Quinn, who will allow the staff to move the defensive dial, with Nate and Justin. If they don't, then Tony will never reach the goal. Northeastern put on a clinic last night with respect to defensive rotation. Best player on the floor, deepest bench, best shooting teams have all been tried by Tony, but didn't work. It's long been time for defense.
Tribe needs a guy who can come off the bench and make energy plays- hustle for loose balls, set screens, deliver hard fouls (seriously, put Riller on his butt a couple times and see if he keeps shooting arrows). They didn't have guy on the bench this year and it cost them.
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You can't really ask starters who have to play 36-37 minutes to do something like that because you can't risk them getting hurt, picking up a tech or wearing out. Plus as you said none of them really have that mentality. They need someone who has grown up with a Patrick Beverley poster in his room. Shaver only trusted 7 guys this year. I can't really fault him but defense suffers when guys have to conserve energy due to lack of depth.
At this point we can take it as an article of faith the offense will be good. From the 2012-13 season to present they've had the most efficient offense in the conference every year save last season (when UNCW was a dang car shredder on offense). If they can find a way to be average defensively that will be enough. Defense comes down to energy and desire. They made free throws a priority and it worked.
RE: 2018-19 MBB - Tribeheart - 03-06-2018 12:44 PM
(03-06-2018 11:41 AM)mrjoolius Wrote: Thoughts on anyone? As difficult as it would be to get a big to come in and contribute, it would be even more difficult to expect a transfer, even a talented one, to come in and skillfully run Shaver's 4-out offense from the point guard position. I'm all for talented grad transfers, but I'm not sure how much a PG would bring with only a summer in the system. I guess we can see what happens.
No clue....just hope we don't settle for next year being a step back and development year to get to the following year. An experienced PG transfer would still have a better chance to effectively execute Tony's offense and push Luke in practice than one of our freshmen. If the right opportunity arose, I hope we'd seize it. Would expect that Luke learned alot from David this year. Staff knows whether he's ready/poised to emerge.
David eliminated opponent ability to press us for the past three years. That was a huge, unsung asset.
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RE: 2018-19 MBB - mrjoolius - 03-06-2018 12:58 PM
My thoughts are that the coaches know what they have in Luke and are hopeful and excited about the freshmen. I think they will roll with what they have. Big men are a whole other matter.