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miner1liner

miner1liner

MI Hall of Famer
Feb 10, 2014
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I know this has been touched on before, but I'm befuddled about our potential starting five. I think it depends on what kind of offense CRT wants to run. Lots of options. Inside game seems solid to me with Efe, Williams, Eze, Tarke, Tydus, Archie, Vila. It's the guard situation that concerns me. There's definitely talent in newcomers Stroud, Boum, Zarzuela plus the returnees, but to really succeed I feel there must be a legit point guard and legit 3 point shooters. Didn't have these this season and our best 3 pt guy (Gilyard) is gone. Even with him we shot a miserable 32%. So.... anyone got it figured out?
 
It will be interesting to see what direction Terry goes with that last scholarship made available by Wenzel. At the point, I think it is pretty clear that he will turn over the reigns to Lathon. That may work if we had a couple of really good shooters at the 2 and 3 spots. I think Boum and Hawkins will garner most of the minutes at the two. Hawkins will need to improve on his shooting efficiency a ton; his high volume scoring won't cut it on a good team. At the three, I think we will see Tarke and Archie (when he becomes eligible). Stroud can fill in at the 1, 2, and 3. But I don't see any of those guys as pure knock down shooters. Terry has avoided going the graduate transfer route, but unless he can pick up another freshman shooter late, that may be the best route in my opinion.
 
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Yes....I meant to say earlier that in all of the videos I've seen of our "new" 1, 2 and 3's they appear to be dribble/drive; not perimeter shooters.
 
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Our inside game will vastly improve our outside shot opportunities. We won't have to jack up bad shots from beyond 3 as often next year I hope. Lathon, Hawkins and Boum can shoot well enough if the opposing team isn't slacking near the 3.
 
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jdubb66 said:
Our inside game will vastly improve our outside shot opportunities. We won't have to jack up bad shots from beyond 3 as often next year I hope. Lathon, Hawkins and Boum can shoot well enough if the opposing team isn't slacking near the 3.
Click to expand...
I do agree that an improved inside attack will help. However, this past season, I thought the guys missed a bunch of good, open looks as well. Also, next year, teams will be able to pack it in defensively (or zone) without an effective outside game. Being able to make outside shots (threes) will be critical to make that big jump. I am hoping for a huge turnaround, but outside shooting, along with better guard play in general, are question marks. I do think the interior play will be greatly improved.
 
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I think Lathon can work his way near the 40% range from deep, but I don’t think Hawkins will ever shoot much above 30-32%. Hoping Boum can be that rare 45%er. There is no doubt, however, that we need another shooter or two.
 
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Just for comparison sake:

Boum averaged 10.9 pts, 2.6 reb and 1 assist per game shooting 36/36/83% in 20 min per game as a freshman at U san fran.

Hawkins averaged 12.6 pts, 4.5 reb and 1.8 assists per game shooting 34/27/80% in 34 min per game as a freshmen.

Lathon averaged 10.9 points, 5.1 reb and 2.7 assists per game shooting 44/35/60% in 33 min per game as a freshman

Tarke averaged 15.9 pts, 6.2 reb and 2 assists per game shooting 40/29/64% in 32 min per game as a sophmore at NJIT

Gilyard averaged 13.6 pts, 3.1 reb, 1.7 assists per game shooting 38/35/72% in 32.6 min per game as a sophmore.

**Also just a side note, Verhoeven averaged 4.4 blocks per 40 minutes as a freshman. Holy Cow!!
 
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I think as of right now boum is our sharpshooter. I did see Stroud post on his ig story that he's a shooter now, when asked if he still had bounce. Jokingly it seemed but I think CRT is trying to make our guys have an outside shot
 
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Thanks for the perspective axing. What I gleaned from that is Boum isn’t quite as deadly as I thought from deep. Hawkins is exactly where I thought he was and probably needs to go to the hole and put that free throw percentage to good use. Lathon is about where I thought was from both inside and outside the arc. Tarke should be going to the rim instead of chunking it up from the cheap seats.

And hopefully Verhoeven picks up where he left off with that whopping 4+ blocks per game!
 
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FanatiCoog said:
I think Lathon can work his way near the 40% range from deep, but I don’t think Hawkins will ever shoot much above 30-32%. Hoping Boum can be that rare 45%er. There is no doubt, however, that we need another shooter or two.
Click to expand...
Our most prolific 3-point shooters over the past 20 years were:
1) Cristian Polk 41.5% with a fantastic 45% his senior year in 2010-2011.
2) Omega Harris 39% with a high of 44% his sophmore year in 2015-2016 when we went small ball
3) Omar Thomas, St. Amant and Jeremy Williams both averaged right under or at 40%
 
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axingfools1 said:
Our most prolific 3-point shooters over the past 20 years were:
1) Cristian Polk 41.5% with a fantastic 45% his senior year in 2010-2011.
2) Omega Harris 39% with a high of 44% his sophmore year in 2015-2016 when we went small ball
3) Omar Thomas, St. Amant and Jeremy Williams both averaged right under or at 40%
Click to expand...

Someone along the line of Polk is the kind of sharpshooter we need. When he heated up...

I thought Morris shot over 40%, too, no?
 
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axingfools1 said:
Our most prolific 3-point shooters over the past 20 years were:
1) Cristian Polk 41.5% with a fantastic 45% his senior year in 2010-2011.
2) Omega Harris 39% with a high of 44% his sophmore year in 2015-2016 when we went small ball
3) Omar Thomas, St. Amant and Jeremy Williams both averaged right under or at 40%
Click to expand...
Thanks axingfools1. To me, an important stat, along with the make percentage, is the number of shots taken. For instance, Thomas is one of my favorite Miners, but his game was from the midrange down. He didn't take many threes during his time here. Same for Gio and Williams. Polk, on the other hand, was a flat out shooter in my book.
 
axingfools1 said:
Our most prolific 3-point shooters over the past 20 years were:
1) Cristian Polk 41.5% with a fantastic 45% his senior year in 2010-2011.
2) Omega Harris 39% with a high of 44% his sophmore year in 2015-2016 when we went small ball
3) Omar Thomas, St. Amant and Jeremy Williams both averaged right under or at 40%
Click to expand...
Bring Pony back. Wonder what his percentage would be?
 
I'm sure Terry brings in a sharp shooter before next season gets undewr way. If so this team will be dangerous
 
So....as I was saying. We look to have a nice inside game, but it remains to be seen how our back court will fare. I hope either someone really surprises us and steps up or CRT finds a miracle man with his remaining scholarship.
 
miner1liner said:
So....as I was saying. We look to have a nice inside game, but it remains to be seen how our back court will fare. I hope either someone really surprises us and steps up or CRT finds a miracle man with his remaining scholarship.
Click to expand...
I think he tries to bring in a top level guard grad transfer, and then works on a top freshman or another high level transfer for 2020 when our core guys are upper classman.
 
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OK. Unless some new options are added to the mix; here's my starting five:
Efe
Williams
Tarke
Stroud
Lathon
 
Just looked at Ranger JC roster and stats. Gillespie has a guard playing with Au named Jaren English , 6'-4" averaged 12 ppg, 49%, 43%,76%. Those are good numbers. Wondering about his availability
 
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miner1liner said:
OK. Unless some new options are added to the mix; here's my starting five:
Efe
Williams
Tarke
Stroud
Lathon
Click to expand...
I guess I need to watch Stroud more. I'm not expecting much from him next year, so maybe he's better than I think.
 
axingfools1 said:
Our most prolific 3-point shooters over the past 20 years were:
1) Cristian Polk 41.5% with a fantastic 45% his senior year in 2010-2011.
2) Omega Harris 39% with a high of 44% his sophmore year in 2015-2016 when we went small ball
3) Omar Thomas, St. Amant and Jeremy Williams both averaged right under or at 40%
Click to expand...
Chris Craig. He was deadly from three and certainly belongs in your top three.

It's truly tragic and a shame how he went bonkers.
 
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FeralFelidae said:
Chris Craig. He was deadly from three and certainly belongs in your top three.

It's truly tragic and a shame how he went bonkers.
Click to expand...
I would find a spot up there for Mark Ingles as well. Shot around 44% from three point range in his two years at UTEP in the mid 90s. Outstanding shooter.
 
miner1liner said:
OK. Unless some new options are added to the mix; here's my starting five:
Efe
Williams
Tarke
Stroud
Lathon
Click to expand...
Looks like a pretty strong lineup! Not sold on Efe though, if we are going to win big. Despite his rebounding prowess, he is just not the rim protector we need. I hope he continues to get better, but I see Eze (I think he redshirts), Verhoeven or even Vila taking some more of his minutes. I wouldn't even be suprised if Terry brings in a 1 yr graduate transfer to play next to Williams.
 
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I'm not sure I see Stroud jumping ahead of Boum or Hawkins right out of the box. Both Boum and Hawkins have D1 experience, and that can't be overlooked. Playing in games is a lot different than practice. Also, I agree with axing on Efe. After watching a couple of games online of Vila, I was not impressed, but Terry isn't bringing him in to not play him some. My hope is that Verhoeven has worked on his offensive game, as well as gaining strength. Adding a mobile shot blocker next to Williams may be the way Terry goes.
 
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axingfools1 said:
Looks like a pretty strong lineup! Not sold on Efe though, if we are going to win big. Despite his rebounding prowess, he is just not the rim protector we need. I hope he continues to get better, but I see Eze (I think he redshirts), Verhoeven or even Vila taking some more of his minutes. I wouldn't even be suprised if Terry brings in a 1 yr graduate transfer to play next to Williams.
Click to expand...
Know what you mean about Efe. I have the same thoughts. If anyone is brought in I think it's at the point or a 3 point shooters or both. The back court needs to be reliable from the FT line also. Right now it seems to be Lathon who is not.
 
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The lineup I would like to see is

Verhoeven
Williams
Tarke
Boum
Lathon

6th man Efe
Hawkins
Stroud
Archie
Vila

That's 10 deep. Which means that EZE and the freshman redshirt. I don't think we'll get a lot from Stroud his freshman year, but I do think he'll be a very nice surprise for us. Efe would make a great 6th man with what we've seen from him and continues to improve his defense. Williams takes over his role inside while verhoeven is our defensive plug.
 
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nattybry said:
I guess I need to watch Stroud more. I'm not expecting much from him next year, so maybe he's better than I think.
Click to expand...

I think people have been "wow'd" by his athletic ability. Otherwise, there's nothing about him that stands out. Wouldn't be surprised if he mostly rode the bench, honestly
 
miner1liner said:
I know this has been touched on before, but I'm befuddled about our potential starting five. I think it depends on what kind of offense CRT wants to run. Lots of options. Inside game seems solid to me with Efe, Williams, Eze, Tarke, Tydus, Archie, Vila. It's the guard situation that concerns me. There's definitely talent in newcomers Stroud, Boum, Zarzuela plus the returnees, but to really succeed I feel there must be a legit point guard and legit 3 point shooters. Didn't have these this season and our best 3 pt guy (Gilyard) is gone. Even with him we shot a miserable 32%. So.... anyone got it figured out?
Click to expand...
C'mon liner! Get with the trend right now. Can't talk UTEP mens basketball. We have to focus and cheer cheer the Tech'sters from our great brother in arms, Lubbock.
 
MINER.JAY said:
The lineup I would like to see is

Verhoeven
Williams
Tarke
Boum
Lathon

6th man Efe
Hawkins
Stroud
Archie
Vila

That's 10 deep. Which means that EZE and the freshman redshirt. I don't think we'll get a lot from Stroud his freshman year, but I do think he'll be a very nice surprise for us. Efe would make a great 6th man with what we've seen from him and continues to improve his defense. Williams takes over his role inside while verhoeven is our defensive plug.
Click to expand...

Ditto on both the line up and your talking points.

The one POSSIBLE exception might be inserting Archie into the starting line up. I’m hearing he’s a baller and it just wasn’t a good fit for him at TCU. Either way, we appear to have some depth.
 
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The reason people, myself included, think that Efe will not start is because of his limited ability to play defense. He is not good, maybe even bad, at defending the pick and roll.
 
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FanatiCoog said:
Ditto on both the line up and your talking points.

The one POSSIBLE exception might be inserting Archie into the starting line up. I’m hearing he’s a baller and it just wasn’t a good fit for him at TCU. Either way, we appear to have some depth.
Click to expand...
Totally agree on Archie.
 
Available transfers:

Jaylon Fisher Jr guard TCU..excellent shooter (Not sure if he is immediate)

Shakur Juiston Jr PF UNLV..walking double double
 
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