[quote="Boo Harvey" post=282031][quote="Chicago Days" post=282030][quote="sjc88" post=282026]NCJohnnie, Exactly what I was thinking. Maybe Keita picks up some of the shot blocking. Guys who watched our games last season know that some bad D was covered by some shot blocking. Just need to change some of the approach based on current player skills.[/quote]
Shot blocking is a fan's pizzazz, but over-rated. As are steals. How many blocks did we achieve or steals did we execute last season that turned into points for us?
Answer: Dunno? But my gut says, not many for us. I saw so many steals turned into T/Os at the other end either by blocks or steals by the enemy, or misses by us.
Tariq was a nice but very limited player for us. Keita, imo, neutralizes Tariq and replaces him with more rebounds and 'some' blocks and about the same P/G.
Are we deficient in 'big' depth and rebounding muscle?
Yes.
I hear the plaints for a 'big'.
But what is the cost...'now'?
What's the value of those 'bigs' still available?
And how does that value compare to the value of guards potentially available to us?
To me--that is the crux of it.
For example, Femi or Kisunas or Walker or T. Porter might be worth 2 - 3 games / year in 2018-19 versus what a Dachon Burke would produce over the 2020-22 seasons.
Okay. Production 'now', for production down the road...and dancing long in the NCAAs?
Done.
But a 'blue dot special'... 'now' versus a DB??
That, my fellow fanatics is a very very different question.[/quote]
There is no question in my mind that we need a serviceable big this year. Figueroa appears to be a very nice pickup but we still suffer from the same lack of depth and interior play that we did last year. And, as many have pointed out, Keita is a big question mark. Even if he turns out to be solid, he will likely be succeptible to foul trouble and we preserntly have no legitimate backup.
Burke may be terrific, but having three sitout transfers and three freshman who are projected to be limited impact players — at least initially — puts us at an enormous disadvantage. Further, we presently have a plethora of guards slated for next year so getting Burke does not fill an overwhelming need, particularly in light of the fact that he would have to sit out a year. Should the need arise next year, I trust the staff’s ability to be able to add a guard of Burke’s quality.
Bottom line is we need to be successful this year. If not, future recruiting will invariably continue to dry up. If we do achieve success this year, adding players the caliber of Burke who are immediately eligible should provr less elusive.
All this is to say that if a scholarship opens up, we should continue to make a play for a serviceable immediately eligible big. The ideal big doesn’t need to be as skilled as Femi. At this point, give me a 6’8 banger who is a solid interior defender and can give us 15-20 minutes a game, 5-6 points, and four rebounds and I’d be thrilled. I think it’s worth passing up on Burke if we can get that kind of production.[/quote]
You make great points, Boo. I hear you. I'd like a 'solid' big too.
But, it's humorous how our 'label/modifier' for that 'Grad Big' has drifted, from a 'quality' BEC-ready big, to a 'solid' big, to a 'serviceable' big.
I may draw the line on 'serviceable', given my view that LJ will dramatically revitalize the offense, dishing out assists, snaring rebounds, be deadly from 3-pt land, tough on D, and that Keita gets us more rebounds than Owens, and our 'bench' of Roberts/Earlington is a tad better than Ali/Yakwe.
I hear you; guys really do.
I just think DB would be a better asset than any 'serviceable' big we could get to join the team.
I could be wrong.
Hope that I am.
Let's go Johnnies.
