I wonder if as a fanbase we’re underrating the odds of Castleton playing big minutes at the 4. He has some skill and certainly showed more as a frosh than Johns, DeJulius or Nunez. Teske will presumably play 30 minutes or so at the 5, so maybe we’ll see Castleton play not only 10 minutes there, but another 10-15 or so backing up Johns at the 4, meaning Livers can play his 32-34 minutes exclusively at the 3, which would cut down the amount of wing minutes needed to be filled.
Castelton is a Center. Unless Coach Howard plays zone defense, I don’t see how Teske & Castelton can play together on the defensive end? And I don’t see them providing enough offense to be worth the struggles on the defensive end? If Michigan plays a bunch of Zone Defense next year, that changes the equation a little, maybe?
Even then, it’s more likely versus teams that play big like Purdue of a few seasons ago. But those matchups are few and far between in today’s game.
More likely to see Simpson/Brooks/DeJulius split the backcourt minutes with either Bajema or Nunez working into the front court rotation at the SF/3 spot.
I agree, but I’m not sure how many good perimeter 4s there are in the Big 10 that really have the handle and shot to hurt a guy like Castleton in isolation.
And right now, I’d say we have about 90-95 minutes to fill (let’s say we’re good at the center spot and Livers and Simpson’ minutes) and while we should probably be cautiously optimistic about Johns at the 4 picking up 25-30 minutes, everyone else is a massive question mark.
I think it does, Dylan, a guy like Isaiah Livers or Iggy Brazdekis or Charles Mathews. I’m a big Colin Castleton fan, but I don’t think he could guard those guys. I do think he could guard any five in the league, though!
If Castleton is good enough to earn 15-20+ minutes a game, I think there are ways to get him and Teske on the court together. For example, if Teske is getting 30 minutes, and you want Castleton to get 20, they would have to be on the floor together for about 10 minutes.
It works on offense if Castleton or Teske can space the floor, or if at least one of them can space the floor.
It’s tougher on defense, however, if the other team’s 4 is too quick for Castleton to guard, you could throw a zone look out there to hide Castleton. Or if there’s a weak ball-handler at the 3 and you just have a catch-and-shoot player to guard, you can get Livers on the PF and hide Castleton out on the SF. Maybe the whole thing only works situationally and against certain teams. Castleton has to take a leap for it to be something you even think about.
10 minutes of Teske and Castelon is a lot IMO - that’s 25% of the game. Maybe a few minutes a game in a pinch, sure, but to have them play 25% of the game together on defense…don’t see that working/happening.
I’m not even sure it could work on offense. I’m a fan of Colin, but he hardly dribbled last year and didn’t take a jump shot from what I remember. There’s a lot of projection there to make it even a possibility. If Wilson or Franz comes I see no reason for Colin to ever have to play the 4. If neither of them come, a little foul trouble or an injury could make it necessary.
Interesting discussion guys. I fully expect Brandon to make the jump some are predicting. He is very talented and I’m looking forward to Coach Howard and staff getting that talent out of him. So, since I think he’ll get the majority of the minutes at the four, I’m not sure there will be an urgent need for CC to play the there.
I do think, though, that it’s almost imperative that we get Wilson or Wagner. One of them with Isaiah and Brandon would give us a great rotation at the three/four. Of course if we get both, then I think my Eli/Bajema projection at the two would include competition from one of them.
As for CC, I think he plans to challenge JT at the five, and I think there could be some spirited competition betweenthem. JT, if you’re reading this be ready for a fight. But, when it all shakes out, I think we’ll see a 28/12 split in minutes between JT and CC at the five. Again, just my thoughts.
I’ll be surprised if Castleton playing any 4 just bc the learning curve for everything is gonna be a lot and keeping it simple while everyone adjusts to new terminology and how Juwan wants to play is probably a good idea.
That said, I think the rough outline of his skill set is not that different from NBA 4’s that are mostly screeners/spacers on offense and who switch a decent amount on defense. He can slide his feet, has a good IQ and might be able to shoot it.
But, when it all shakes out, I think we’ll see a 28/12 split in minutes between JT and CC at the five. Again, just my thoughts.