Boo Harvey post=431874 said:
Amaseinyourface post=431863 said:
Ghostzapper, tried to quote you but couldnt for whatever reason.
The things I like right away about the three newcomers:
- Soriano regardless of his actually ability at BE level (maybe it’s great) fills a need we needed to fill. And that was the case whether or not anyone left.
- Smiths greatest known quality is his shooting. I have my doubts he would be an upgrade over Greg (he might be & hopefully they play together)) but I think he’s a better fit than Dunn. I think our best bet at success is pairing Posh with quality shooters.
- Wheeler seems like a system fit. Compared to Earlington his length and athleticism seem better built for CMAs tempo and full court D. They both are perimeter forwards and up until now Earlington has been the better player on the offensive end. I would expect Wheeler to make his biggest impact on the defensive side.
I’m hopeful Steph Smith will turn out to be an upgrade over Dunn as many on here predict. I just think a number of you fail to appreciate Dunn’s significant value to the team (e.g., leadership, ball handling, toughness, defense, ability to create his own shot).
I would argue that Dunn was one of our three most valuable players last year (Posh and Champ being the other two). It’s no coincidence we struggled when he was concussed and began to surge when he was inserted into the starting lineup following G-Will’s injury. Notably, the team had two impressive wins to close out the season despite Posh being injured.
I certainly didn’t mean to imply that Smith is definitively a better player than Dunn. A case could be made either way. I do however think Dunn and Posh were a little too redundant, but obviously they played well this year and that could be debated. Dunn offers a lot more quickness, the ability to get in the lane, and has proven to be a much much better distributor than Smith. But the shooting is evident, and that’s why I lean towards Smith. If we don’t get Williams back (or an equal replacement) I think saying Dunn + Williams > Smith makes sense.
Great point. Loved Dunn. Problem is he was only a penetrator as a guard and teams knew they didn’t need to guard him much at the arc. Posh started the season the same way but developed his shot over time. Teams all knew they could sag off both guards at the arc and pack it in just to prevent dribble penetration as we also had no bigs besides Moore that could do much in the paint. Adding guards that can should should add another dimension.
