Big Man On Campus Targets
- Thread starter mjmaherjr
- Start date
passitback
Well-known member
I agree that i rather have vince or bundalo obviously. But i dont think it's as major of a step back for the team from last year when you think about it. Were really just looking at numbers and rankings and its not pretty obviously but we really have no clue how he is defensively. I know DPOY at a NAIA really means nothing but he could be a high major player defensively and low major offensively and thats what rick is bringing him in for to spell zuby when we need a long 7 footer on defense at times. And prey will be on the floor more often as a more dynamic offensive/defensive big. So i get the name isnt flashy but i dont think he would brought in if he wasnt capable as a defender in this system when needed going into basically his senior year now if that makes sense. Its not like we were running any offense through vince when he was on the floor. I think he is seen as a vince defensive replacement and prey clearly has potential to out produce vince/prey offensively from last year. Also we would of been dead too last year if zuby went down anyway so i think its kind of the same boat. I feel like were underrating a big aspect of the game bc his numbers and rankings arent up to our current par. Also as a one time tenn commit he obviously has something seen in his game that could be helpful. I dont see this as a maker replacement i think he surprises defensively during foul trouble times/matchups/injuries etc. could be wrong.Sheesh......I don't think Tamba gets on the floor at all in conference play. We seemed to have taken a step back with our back-up center position.
It's all good, as long as Zuby is healthy.
View attachment 4974
5 months from now we’re all gonna be hoping Rick can find Prey MORE minutes
FriendofJohnnie
Active member
Prey was great last year, very underrated. There were multiple games where we were in a funk and he came in and things started to turn around. He will take another step up this year so I am glad he is returning. I wish Vince did not transfer in conference but he was average at best with limited ceiling.
i think if Prey is our back-up center... we have taken a giant leap forward in that regard
Chriscin33
Well-known member
IMO, instead of deliberating about the back up center’s minutes (assuming Zuby stays healthy), I am thinking about our PGs and the fact that we had 2 primary ones last year (Richmond and Smith) and a half one (Sim) and this year we have only Darling and according to Coach, Ian. That’s why I think Lewis would have been a good get for us if we could have made the $$$ work. If Darling gets hurt, we have no natural PG on the roster.
When Rick employs the Zuby, Mitchell, Prey front line good luck scoring inside or getting a rebound.
6'10 230 and guarding wings the full length of the floor at the end. Crazy. He abused what Mas called the best athlete in the country for a baseline dunk in the Arkansas game. I think he'd be fully capable of starting for a top 25 team if we didn't have Hopkins or Zuby.
If we replace Vince's minutes with the soph version of Prey, I'm not sure there will be a bigger improvement at any backup position in the country.
I'm very happy to roll out Mitchell-Hopkins-Prey 10 minutes a game to get the Zubster some rest.
Prey is ahead of where Zuby was in Zuby's freshman year at KU. I fully expect Prey to be Zuby during his soph year, if not slightly better in some areas. Sky is the limit with him. There's a reason he had NBA buzz when we got him. A longer term prospect, but he's got traits.
For the most part we should be fine from a frontcourt perspective. However like I said yesterday, there will be teams from the big boy conferences who are going to routinely roll out a few 6'11 - 7'1 guys in their rotations who are long and athletic. I'm confident our guys can compete admirably against these bigger front lines. With all the depth we have, and an extremely talented backcourt, we should be able to at least neutralize any size disadvantage in most cases.
He also got noticeably bigger from his Portugal videos. Hopefully that continues. The staff would probably like to see him around 240 lbs. I think the drive will be there all year for him on the perimeter. My guess is that is something we see multiple times per game in 25-26...along with some shot-blocking on defense.
His offense skillset improvement over the summer will be a big plus!
Demo, was literally about to respond to Marillac with that.
A full summer of Rick this year should be a big difference: both for conditioning and offense.
Bigs
Depth
Zuby (Jr.) - 6'9 - 240
Iwuchukwu (Jr.) 7'1 - 250
Prey (Fr.) - 6'10 - 230
Maker (Fr.) - 7'2 - 220
vs.
Depth
Zuby (Sr.) - 6'9 - 240
Mitchell (Sr.) - 6'8 - 210
Prey (So.) - 6'10 - 230
Tamba (Sr.) - 6'11 - 230
Then if you got a strong healthy Hopkins averaging 9 boards. Very similar if not better production then different but athletic Luis in terms of team. Very debatable front lines could argue this year better. Barring injury for both years
Depth
Zuby (Jr.) - 6'9 - 240
Iwuchukwu (Jr.) 7'1 - 250
Prey (Fr.) - 6'10 - 230
Maker (Fr.) - 7'2 - 220
vs.
Depth
Zuby (Sr.) - 6'9 - 240
Mitchell (Sr.) - 6'8 - 210
Prey (So.) - 6'10 - 230
Tamba (Sr.) - 6'11 - 230
Then if you got a strong healthy Hopkins averaging 9 boards. Very similar if not better production then different but athletic Luis in terms of team. Very debatable front lines could argue this year better. Barring injury for both years
Don't think we will see Mitchell play any 5. If it came to that, Hopkins would probably be better suited with his strength and longer arms. I don' think many guys are backing Hopkins down. I like the idea of both of them on the court with Prey at the 5 when Zuby rests.
The big advantage of having Prey as our backup center is that, like Zuby, he can switch 1-5. He has excellent feet and basketball intelligence. CRP likes playing that way.
Vince would switch onto Ashworth, for example, leaving Deivon on Kalkbrenner. Plus, Vince did not “see the ball “. He would search for his man with his back to the ball.
Prey will be excellent. It’s a big blessing in disguise.