In today’s NCAA basketball the wheel never stops spinning. Forbes has seemed to indicate in interviews that he’s not looking to add players for this year. But in past years August has seen the arrival of Lucas N’Guessan (as Kanayo Obi-Rapu transferred after summer practice), Jalan McCloud, Deuce Bello and others. Summer and fall workouts and the European trip will tell us about who has progressed, and who is healthy.
Also, you’ve got to think in terms of rotation, not starters. Key guys will be playing 20 plus minutes.
But realizing all that, here goes:
POINT:
Both Pun and Daivien will see 25 minutes or so. These guys work so well together. Competitive, but team oriented, making each other better. Each of them will be entering their second D1 years, Pun as a second year JUCO and Daivien as a true sophomore. Each could take big steps forward. Pun shot better from long range in D1 (.363 from 3 with 0.9 makes) than he did as a JUCO (.316 from 3).
Pun improved his shooting as the year went on; Daivien improved his defense and assists. Pun is more physical, and a better defender. He’s got to watch his temper that can lead to foul trouble. He did a better job of that as the year went on. Daivien is super quick and a terrific shooter, the best we’ve got from the free throw line (.824). He's indicated in interviews that he knows we need better defense.
6-1 185 Sr Pun Tisdale 24.8 minutes, 8.8 ppg, .363 from 3 (0.9 makes), .646 FT%, 2.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 t.o.’s, 1.1 steals
6-2 150 So Daivien Williamson 22.1 minutes, 9.5 ppg, .386 from 3 (0.8 makes), .824 FT%, 2.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 t.o.’s
SHOOTING GUARD:
6-0 165 Jr Patrick Good 27.4 minutes, 10.4 ppg, .390 from 3 (2.7 makes), .808 FT%, 2.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 t.o.’s
6-4 185 Sr Tray Boyd III 22.7 minutes, 12.2 ppg, .368 from 3 (2.4 makes), .667 FT%, 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.8 t.o’s,
The extra distance from the international 3 point line should be no problem for these guys. If he’s healthy, Patrick has an edge in consistency. Nobody on the team works harder. 90% of Patrick’s shot attempts are from 3 (223 of 248), only 61% (223 of 366) of Tray’s who has a much more varied offensive game with explosive quickness and great hops going to the hoop. A healthy Patrick might be able to go inside more effectively. Both could have huge years. Tray could improve his FT% of .667 (as could Pun with .646, Bo with .553, and Jeromy with .677). No way Jeromy should be a better free throw shooter than Tray.
6-6 185 freshman Damari Monsanto is an undoubted high level shooter, averaging 28 points and making first team Florida 9A All-State and Class 9A-7A Broward County Player of the Year. The probability is that the backlog of good shooting guards will give him time to develop his all around game. But Forbes has shown that he does not hesitate to play freshmen who prove that they can contribute. Witness Daivien Williamson, Bo Hodges and Mladen Armus.
SWING MAN:
6-4 200 Jr Bo Hodges [can play everything from 2 to 4] 25.7 minutes, 10.3 ppg, .349 from 3 (0.5 makes), .553 FT%, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.8 t.o.’s, 1.1 steals
6-4 195 JUCO Jr Clivonte Patterson JUCO 15.2 ppg on .404 from 3 (1.0 makes), .723 FT%, 7.3 rebounds
Bo has never been fully healthy for the Bucs. He’s the go to defender against the opponent’s best player from the 1 to the 4. He didn’t grow up playing guard, and has been adjusting from a high school game where he mostly dominated inside, and a freshman year at ETSU where he also played mostly inside. So he’s developing the shooting and ball handling for D1 guard play. Forbes saw him as the Bucs best player coming out of last summer, and a candidate for SoCon POY. If he’s healthy, and improves his outside play a bit more, he could be exactly that this year.
JUCO numbers are not always a great predictor of D1 success. Jeromy Rodriguez was even BETTER in D1, as was T.J. Cromer, with Pun Tisdale very much as expected. But JUCO All-Americans Julian Walters and Kevon Tucker (or Chris Mitchell)… not so much. So what to make of Clivonte Patterson and his stellar JUCO stats? Physically he reminds you of Bo at 6-4 195, but with much better shooting and left handed. But at 6-3 195, Kevon Tucker was fairly similar physically, though not as rangy. Despite gaudy JUCO numbers, Tucker could never establish a consistent outside threat in D1, nor could he show the inside game (5.3 rebounds) that he had on the JUCO level. Myself, I'm betting on Clivonte to have a more Bo Hodges type of impact. He's said to have been assigned the opponent's best player to defend every night. Forbes says he has "the ability to be a shut down defender." With Forbes looking for defensive improvement, he could be an important part of this team.
POWER FORWARD
The Bucs are blessed with their best rebounder in about 50 years, going back to the days of Tommy Woods and Ernie Sims, in Jeromy Rodriguez. Would either of those guys have ranked 8th in the nation in rebounding as Jeromy did with 10.9? To say nothing of his double-double average. He and Mladen had some nifty passing exchanges going on – hopefully he can do the same with Hugley. He can put the ball on the floor and get out on the break, although he could improve a bit on ball control (2.3 turnovers). He’ll have a bigger challenge in defending the post this year without 6-10 240 Armus around.
Enjoy this year with Jeromy. It might be another 50 years before we see one like him.
6-7 225 Sr Jeromy Rodriguez 31.0 minutes, 11.2 ppg, no 3’s, .677 FT%, 10.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.3 t.o.’s,
POST
Well here’s a little test for those who say that the Bucs are better off looking for athletic 6-7 inside players than trying to find powerful 6-10 to 7 footers. 6-10 240 Mladen is replaced by 6-7 215 Joe Hugley. Mladen had the muscle and length. Hugley has quickness and shooting (from 3 at .330 and from the line with .856 - we could go from center being our worst free throw shooter to our best). Check out the ballhandling, the array of moves going right or left, the array of shots with touch:
http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/joe-hugley Forbes has said he expects him to start, at least pending the results of summer and fall workouts. Are we better with the 6-7 215 guy, or the 6-10 240 guy?
Lucas N’Guessan has got the length and shooting touch to be terrific. He’s handicapped by a light frame. But if he could approach the rough spots in the road more like Pun, who maintained fire and confidence even when things were difficult, he could be a real difference maker, giving the Bucs a dimension that they otherwise lack
6-7 215 Gr-Tr Joe Hugley last year at Central Connecticut: 21.8 minutes, 12.3 ppg on .330 from 3 (1.3 makes), .856 FT%, 5.2 rebounds, 0.7 blocks
7-0 215 Sr Lucas N’Guessan 14.5 minutes, 6.2 ppg, no 3’s, .722 FT%, 3.2 rebounds, 1.5 t.o.’s, 1.0 blocks, 1.3 steals
7-0 195 Octavion Corley, if healthy, or even 6-9 212 freshman Charlie Weber (12th ranked player in Virginia, according to Prep Hoops) could play a role inside. Joe Avento has commented on the improvement that Corley showed in practice last year. Regarding Weber, Forbes says "We haven’t had a player with his size and offensive skill set since I’ve been at ETSU." It's more common for high school bigs to take some time to muscle up and adjust, and Weber looks thin and young compared to the big, mature bodies he'll go up against.
So, pending further developments, there it is. Quite a collection of pieces. Amazing potential. There’s an overall need for better defense. And now that they’ve had a year together, for making it all gel as the memorable team that it could be.
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Who's our starting five this year?
