If the comparison is between 2021 and 2022 then I think quite obviously there are more talented players. Franz Wagner was one of the 2-3 best rookies in the NBA this year. Franz and Isaiah also had Big Ten experience and were pros.
I don’t think that is really the gap in projecting last year’s team though.
The reality is that way more pieces of the 2021 team worked better than they did individually too, and I don’t think that really clicked with most of the people on the 2022 roster. Everyone was in a situation 1 step ahead of what they should be and no one was in a situation that really made them look better.
I think in terms of full season impact, Mobley, Wagner and Barnes were your top 3.
You may say Cade has a brighter future, but Wagner’s season line is definitely better. 50% true shooting isn’t very good.
Side note - I think it’s interesting that there is a perception that Cade showed he was a future star while Jalen Green disappointed…and they had very similar seasons!
The first one is a bit tougher guarding Keegan, but Dickinson’s job as the screener defender below the level of the screen is to stop penetration and wait for the ball handler defender (Jones) to recover to his man. Once that happens, Dickinson can release back to his assignment. HD doesn’t execute this in either clip so he is primarily responsible, despite the coverage not being perfect in both (i.e. Diabate is late to help, but with M in drop he may not expect the rotation).
I agree with this, although I do think “play Terrence Williams” was an option, but the staff decided it was a much worse one than Moussa. Which is a little bit scary for the prospects this year IMO. People seem to write off anyone taking Moussa’s spot as if it’s a better fit when the guy who will play it the most was on the team last year and was a decisively worse option than Moussa.
Big year for him in that sense. I am not surprised if somebody passes him in the rotation. I’d say it’s all about the three, because making some really opens up his offense, but he’s also got to be much better on defense.
I get this point, and it is a tricky thing to think through. On the other hand, a lot of the times they did “play Terrance Williams” … good things happened (UT, OSU, at IU, NEB, MSU). So, you can see the idea of it working.
Given the bodies though, there’s variability in how it works out. I think the one thing that’ll work out for him is that he can slide into a lot of different spots offensively.
Huh…I can’t remember five MSU guys. Winston, Christie, Tillman…were JJJ and Bridges within the last five years I guess? Feels like forever ago that they were at MSU.
Based on what? Beating PSU for a recruit in his backyard? Turgeon’s recruiting fell off late, but for most of his tenure he was bringing in much better classes than what Willard has right now
Well getting players from his backyard is good. That’s something Turgeon was maligned for, no? If Willard recruits similarly to Turgeon but is a better coach, which I think he is, he’ll have some success
I think getting players at Maryland is the easy part. I’m just not crazy about Willard maximizing talent but I think they’ll be a high floor team consistently.