Isn’t that the case when a team is built around a super senior too? Wouldn’t want to see MSU without Winston or UM without Simpson.
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Thankfully Gonzaga got a good win last night.
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Gut feeling that that Iowa win, even though at home for U-M, will hold up nicely.
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Yes, but I was directly referencing UNC.
Well some people would like that…
I just don’t think best player being hurt is a great way to judge roster construction.
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I think if it makes you look that bad vs a mediocre mid major it sure does. Role players exist and should be able to beat that level of team at home.
I do think there’s probably a case to be made that grad transfers can only paper over so many holes. It is hard to project which turn out and which don’t. Some have obviously been very good, but Keeling and Pierce have been below average to just bad.
I love (and respect) Simpson as much as you, Dylan. But, after watching nearly every game this season, we might Remain pretty competitive without him. That said, no one feeds Teske like Simpson, and I love watching him run our offense.
If DDJ was our full time PG we wouldn’t make the tournament. There’s my hot take
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I wasn’t sold on UNC all along, but didn’t expect anything like this either with or without Anthony. They did beat Oregon after the Michigan loss. I do think its fair to call them overrated at this point, but saying they are “bad” is a bit much.
They go out to Gonzaga Wednesday and UCLA in the CBS sports thing on Saturday so things don’t get easier.
Wins: Oregon, Notre Dame, Alabama
Losses: Michigan, OSU, Wofford, Virginia
Soon to be a loss?: Gonzaga
Soon to be a win?: UCLA
I don’t think we will know for awhile whether UNC is a solid team that just lost to all good teams (besides Wofford without Anthony) or a team that legitimately may struggle to make the tourney. Other than against Oregon, every time I have watched them they did not look good. 3 out of 4 losses they were thoroughly dominated. They are way too reliant on Cole Anthony. Bacot is alright, but the rest of the team is pretty mediocre.
I’m just really glad Justin Pierce and his 33/23/57 shooting splits as a grad transfer senior isn’t eating into Franz, Livers, Johns, and DDJ at the 3’s minutes on the wing right now.
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I was definitely worried about his shooting when we were looking at him. Think he’s a bad fit for their offense though.
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Scorching. I think you’re selling the team short here. Ceiling wouldn’t be as high but I think we’re a tourney team with Dave at the helm.
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What exactly has DDJ done in his career to inspire confidence in his ability to be a lead PG for a team? Is it his minuscule usage? Mediocre AST rate? Or does the ability to hit a pull up jump shot at 36% make up for all that?
I’m not going to rule the kid out because of his showing through is freshman and the early portion of his true sophomore year in limited time. I think if thrust in that role he’d be capable of getting this team tourney eligible. There are many calling for him to start over Z (mostly not this board but still). I don’t think Dave is the savior but he wouldn’t be the end of us either.
I mean those can both be mostly attributed to the fact that he’s mostly playing the 2 alongside Simpson. Not saying they’d definitely improve if he was at PG mainly, but I think there’s a decent chance.
Those people are hilarious and misguided. I’m not counting DDJ out, I’ve just never been high on his PG ability. Brooks would be better in that role for this team if X were to get injured
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I mostly agree on that. Brooks would probably be better in most cases and DeJulius often resorts to dribbling the air out of the ball, but if it’s against anyone who plays a high pressure defense I’d want Eli to have the ball as little as possible in a ball handling role. He simply doesn’t have great handles and tends to panic.
I’m just not sure who is creating offense in a lineup with Eli, Franz, Livers, Johns, and Teske (we’re assuming no DDJ or Simpson so I guess this lineup would be the one that happens). DDJ probably isn’t creating for anyone else or doing it more than Eli, but at least he can create for himself.
Either way, things would be awful with no Simpson and it’s hilarious that people think it would be helpful to bench him.
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