If the roster as it is today holds, what are your thoughts on what the rotation might look like? I’m thinking we’d probably go 9 deep with same starting lineup (Mo replacing Donnal) and then off the bench Xavier, Donnal, Kam Chatman and Ibi Watson. Gives us some good balance off the bench in terms of bigs/guards.
Walton/X
MAAR/ Walton
Duncan/Irvin
Irvin/Wagner/Kam in a pinch
Wagner/Donnal
As it stands now. The other guys just aren’t good enough if we are trying to win something significant.
That is not a bad core though. With the right additions this off season, we could have a very competitive team.
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Walton/Simpson/MAAR as a three guard rotation.
Irvin/Robinson/Chatman at the 3/4,
Donnal/Wagner manning the 5.
That’s the smart money on the 8 man rotation right now. Biggest questions will be can any of the other freshmen get minutes and can Wilson or Wagner get minutes at the 4.
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I think we all are basically agreeing: (Bold are starters)
Guards: Walton MAAR Xavier
Forwards: Irvin Robinson Kam
Center: Donnal Wagner
JB will stay with his typical 8 man rotation. I believe Donnal starts the season as the center and Wagner eventually takes it. Kam backs up Zak and Duncan and but he will win that spot over DJ wilson as they are the only 2 viable options there (enters crying emoji). I believe we don’t know anything for sure as the roster is still changing. My best guess is no more transfers and Spike will return due to the open spot and us not being able to get a transfer.
Anyone believe that Wagner could potentially be ready for significant minutes at the 4 ahead of Chatman/Wilson?
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I thought JB’s comments today were telling in regards to X’s potential role. Praised him as a high level passer, and said that playing time will be there for someone with his skills. We have capable shooters everywhere, what will truly make this offense click is a natural facilitator.
Optimistically, my hope is:
G: Simpson 25 min/game
G: Walton 30 min/game
F: Duncan 30 min/game
F: Irvin 30 min/game
C: Donall 20 min/game
MAAR 25 min/game off the bench as a pure scoring 6th man at the 2 guard spot
Wagner the other 20 min/game at the center spot
Kam DJ and Ibi splitting 20 minutes a game at the wing spot…hopefully Kam makes the jump but these minutes will be up for grabs
Yes. I expect it.
Grad transfers could obviously change things.
Why would beilein start our only 2 point guards on the roster?
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I highly doubt that MAAR will be relegated to the bench. I think X will force his way into significant playing time by season’s end, but it won’t come at expense of MAAR getting 30+ minutes each game.
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The way this year ended, there’s no way wagner isn’t starting at the beginning of the year. He is far more talented than donnal.
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Who starts and who comes off the bench is not a huge deal, in my opinion because he can stagger minutes to make sure one of them is always on the floor. We have a team full of guys (Walton, Irvin, Duncan) who are quality players but they also struggle significantly facilitating for each other. My hope is X steps in day one and can be one of the best creators on this team, but we will see.
As far as Wagner goes, I agree I would love to see him fully take over the 5 spot but I am skeptical JB will ever commit to that especially at the start of the year.
Well we know for sure Duncan, zak and Derrick are playing 30+ minutes. MAAR will most likely be close to that. I agree jb probably won’t start him right away but there’s no question Wagner as way more talent than donnal and should be starting unless something out of the blue happens.
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No, I don’t think so. Who would play the five?
Sounds like we will see Wilson at the four, which I think is great (if he can manage it). Even if he is just backing up Irvin, it frees up Zak for more time at the three or two.
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We definitely need to pursue a shooting guard. We have MAAR but that’s it at the position and in our offense, that’s not really going to cut it. Watson may be able to play but he won’t be a positive contributor for a year most likely.
I don’t expect Duncan to average 30+ min a game next year. If he is, JB botched this off season.
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A few guesses here:
- I think X probably plays about 15 mpg on average and most of those minutes will come from Walton, not MAAR.
- Wagner should start if the goal is to win.
- A quality grad transfer would totally mess up all these rotations - my hope would be that they’d bring someone of starter quality who can make a major impact. If they can’t land Peters are there any Shonn Miller types on the market this year?
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I think Ibi Watson can replace Aubrey Dawkins off the bench as a spark.
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Which, if any of these potential rotation scenarios is going to offer a defender who can actually guard someone?
Xavier Simpson seems capable. If Ibi Watson is semi-athletic he should be able to guard other wings given his size and length.
Plus Wagner looks like he’s got shot blocking capabilities and enough speed to stay with 5’s. Hope he bulks up a bit but doesn’t loose that. DJ might look real good in the middle of a zone.
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