ESPN: Harrison To Begin Season On The Bench
- Thread starter jerseyshorejohnny
- Start date
You're ridiculous. Can you give it a rest? Were you at the practices? Do you know what happened? Holy sh*t. You've made your point, now it's time to stop obsessing over it. Coach is sending a message to a kid in November so the kid and his 'mates all understand that no one player is bigger than the team.
Tell me why it makes sense to NOT start Obekpa in a normal non-argumentative way. I really want to hear it. I understand both D'Lo and Obekpa will probably get starter minutes anyway, but why make it easy for Detroit early? I'd want my top dogs in there from the 1st second to go wear them down and try to build up an early lead. This game might come down to 2 possessions do we really want to risk that?
I expected Obekpa to get 10-15 mpg. Why? He's a FRESHMAN. Freshman bigs usually take time to be productive. Jones is 2-3 years older and has a prep year under his belt playing against JUCO level comp. Jones is the more polished of the two and I expected him to get the nod over Obekpa with Sanchez out. Frankly I would have been very surprised to see Obekpa start. At this point, I would think coach would run with Garrett and Sampson up front over starting Obekpa. That's not to say, of course, that Obekpa won't be a big player for us this year--while his overall skills may not be up to par, he may be one of the best shotblockers in the nation from go.
I'm not sure why you think Obekpa is a no-brainer. He's young and extremely raw.
I think Detroit might have something to do with it as well. They start a relatively small but athletic frontcourt; 6'6, 6'6, 6'9. We match up easily with that with Garrett, Jones, Sampson.
But, they bring a 6'10 kid off the bench for 10+ minutes.
WIth that said, my initial reaction is the same as Joe's.. Obekpa should start. But, like Marillac said, we're not at practice every day, and it's not such an obvious call. There are other factors, Garrett, Jones, Sampson bring more offense than if CO was in there.
And, like I said, it's not like those 3 will be undersized compared to Detroit's starters.
But, they bring a 6'10 kid off the bench for 10+ minutes.
WIth that said, my initial reaction is the same as Joe's.. Obekpa should start. But, like Marillac said, we're not at practice every day, and it's not such an obvious call. There are other factors, Garrett, Jones, Sampson bring more offense than if CO was in there.
And, like I said, it's not like those 3 will be undersized compared to Detroit's starters.
Northernmost
Member
Long time since I posted. Looking forward to watching this team. Have been a fan for many years (pre-Mullin). The last 12 years have been particularly painful... Have finally developed lower expectations and would rather be surprised by good results. That being said, when all the pieces are put together for this year (assuming no probs w/ NCAA held players) this will be the most talented, athletic team on the floor in a long time. I'm cautiously optomistic for the year. Good luck Johnnies... let's go REDMEN!
The Gumbinator
Member
We are suiting up 7 scholarship players. 7. At this point, just like last year it does not matter who starts they will all play "starter" minutes. In his first season Lavin showed the ability to make apt in-game adjustments and I have no worry that if he needs to play Obekpa more he will.
The Gumbinator
Member
I agree. It was a nice idea if the situation allowed for it, but right now it's not going that way. We need more than 7 players for the upcoming tournament. I think Moose is likely right in that if they are not cleared to play by the weekend Lavin will use Gift.
Moose
Well-known member
Injuries always happen? Who got hurt last year? Again most teams only run out 9 guys at most 10. We might not need Gift today. Why put him out there when you can buy a few extra days to see. If Sanchez can play I support Gift redshirting and understand based on where we stand in 2013 recruiting and who leaves and stays.
Moose
Well-known member
You can't just say injuries happen as an excuse. If we had Sanchez and him and Jakarr picked up and left after the year in addition to Gift. Then 3 frontcourt players are gone. Right now only 13 player we are after is Lawrence for 13. And he likes to play outside in the 3/4 role as opposed to 4/5, So stashing Gift if Orlando is eligible makes sense to preserve a frontcourt option for another year. Can only pull rabbit out of hat so many times. We got a lot of people last spring. Can't keep hoping for that considering upwards of 80% of top ranked players verbal and sign early.
Only argument someone can make is if they just want Gift gone. Because he falls behind the other 4 relevant frontcourt options we have this year. If you just want his ship gone thats your prerogative. But in many cases a 5th year Sr would be a better option than yet another new guy. We can't keep the revolving door going. Were not Kentucky.