Starting Lineup Next Season
- Thread starter Ray Morgan
- Start date
Going out on a limb here. Starting line up next season:
PG - Lovett
SG-Alkins
SF- Ahmed
PF-Yakwe
C - Sima
Bench: PG- Ellison, Mussini, SG-Ponds, Ellison, SF-Freudenberg, Ellison, PF-Freudenberg, Owens, Alibegivic, CJ, C- Owens, Alibegovic
PG - Lovett
SG-Alkins
SF- Ahmed
PF-Yakwe
C - Sima
Bench: PG- Ellison, Mussini, SG-Ponds, Ellison, SF-Freudenberg, Ellison, PF-Freudenberg, Owens, Alibegivic, CJ, C- Owens, Alibegovic
we are sju
Active member
Sima
Ahmed
Ponds
Lovett
I don't care
Ahmed
Ponds
Lovett
I don't care
I think it all depends how the Der Deutsche kid shows up (and if we get him). Is he going to be insanely skinny like Mussini? Or will he put a touch of weight and be a slender, but effective player? Either way Yawke and Der Deutsche both get a ton of playing time. If Der Deutsche puts on a little weight, I would bet he starts. I bet Mullin likes shooters rather than leaping/blocking shots.
North, no brainer as of what you would do or what you think Mullin will do? I think its so hard to call it with the 3 guards we have, lets face it, all three of them have legitimate reasons to start. Mussini playing well as the lone guard on a struggling team. LoVett, coming here in the first place, seemingly sticking with it, and filling our biggest need in pg. And of course, Shamorie, the first Blue Chip NYC recruit for Mullin to grab, he also happens to be from the same Borough and shoots with the same hand as CM. With all that said I'm not sure how Mullin is going to decide which one to bring off the bench and I'd be surprised if he knows yet either.
No brainer as to what I would do if I was coach on day 1.
There is really only 1 question and that is does he start Mussini or Ponds at the 2? I see it being Mussini as Ponds right now is the only proper back up at the 1 and he can also play the 2. Provided Lovett and Mussini do not get injured Ponds will have a lot of pt at those two positions and all three players should be happy with that arrangement. I don't see there being any discussion about Sima, Yakwe and Ahmed up front.
Ray Morgan
Well-known member
One thing to consider is that the starting lineup on day one may not resemble the starting team on day 2, let alone the final game of the season. Looie had some strange starting lineups early in the season. I do not think Mullin will go as far as Looie, but he may let 1 or 2 freshman watch a little before starting them.
Does the team really need to start two European 3 point specialists? If they do and all 6'8" 187 pounds of the new freshman PF is floating around the three point line, who's going to rebound all of the other three point specialist's misses? I know the last coach thought rebounding was over rated but I'm not convinced.
Yawke should still be in high school. He's a freak. Buy low, he's absolutely going to be a stud.
tom in salem
Well-known member
Plus Yakwe didn't start this season until the injury to Yankuba.
He couldn't beat out Christian Jones.
Can't believe staff has put so much effort into Freudenberg to be a backup.
Respectfully,
No doubt Yawke is a crazy athlete. I'm really excited we got him. He's good for one or two freak blocks a game + a lot more hustle. He is disruptive - which is huge. I understand your point on rebounding. I just think he's too far away offensively from being a starter. If he were just a little smoother offensively, I'd be right in your camp. For sure, he'll get big minutes next year.
(As a side note, if he doesn't develop quickly into a basketball player, he should throw on 50 lbs, and become a tight-end. He's got Jimmy Graham all pro NFL tight-end written all over him. At 6'7'' that kid is the fastest person on the court, whenever he wants. He's a sick athlete)
Here's what I'm saying for starters:
Lovett - for dribble-drive penetration, with hopefully reasonable turnovers and some distribution for assists. I doubt he can shoot at all from deep.
Ponds / Mussini - not sure who starts - I assume Ponds: for outside shooting and creative scoring. Mussini is probably the better outside shooter. But Ponds ability to drive to the basket, and being a better athlete for defense, wins out.
Ahmed - for slashing to the rim and rebounding. I'm not buying he's a great outside shooter yet. It's alarming he was missing a bunch of free throws in his current games. That means he doesn't have a consistent shot. He's reportedly a good rebounder for his height.
Der Deutsche - we need him for outside shooting to spread the court. If he's really 6'9 in socks and athletic, he'll be able to rebound some.
Sima - rebounding / protecting the rim, some post offense.
Assume Mussini is first off bench because of his shooting touch.
Yawke - comes in for hustle, instant energy and defensive boost.
Owens - spells Sima and to help against taller opposing teams when necessary.
Ellison/Alib - Growing into their bodies - will contribute more down the road. Ellison is a possible red-shirt option next year.
Assuming LoVett & Ponds are not completely turnover prone (a big assumption), that's a pretty good team.
Ray Morgan
Well-known member
Not sure why you think Mussini is a better shooter than Ponds, and why you think Lovett doesn't have an outside shot.. Ponds is supposed to be an excellent shooter. Ponds is also far more athletic and quicker than Mussini, and will therefore get better looks. Lovett seems to have good form on his jumper, so I am hoping he can keep the defense honest.
Yawke didn't start because he was a freshman and Mullin learned what he knows about college basketball from someone who got into the HOF by not playing freshmen until they were juniors. If you think he couldn't beat out C Jones for a starting spot based on talent, you're blind.
we are sju
Active member
Since You are going to get your offense out of the two guards and Ahmed to have a guy at the 4 to do the dirty work I would start Yakwe but I really have no complaints as long as he is starting Ponds and Lovett. I will have my first real issue with Mullin if Mussini starts over Ponds.
BTW if Louie were coaching the senior Jones would start next year
While it has been pretty much documented and mentioned that Coach Carnesecca did not play freshman let alone start them, here are a few who did actually start as Freshman:
Chris Mullin
Willie Glass (first half of his freshman year before a line-up shuffle that allowed the next name to start)
Mark Jackson (second half of his freshman year, see above)
Malik Sealy
Rob Werdann
Jason Buchanan
we are sju
Active member
Three of the best guys that ever played for the school and a McDonald's all American.
Buchanon started because Porter and Harvey were both academically ineligible
There were some others as well but Louie's rep was well founded
Respectfully, you make some salient points and I'm disinclined to spend a great deal of time arguing about the relative merits of some guy I've never seen play who may well end up going to Vanderbilt. That said, maybe RF is the second coming of Dirk Nowitski, although if he is I'd wonder why he'd come to SJ. On the other hand maybe he's the second coming of Marco Bourgault, there's ample precedent for that. In any event I find it hard to believe that people who have watched CBB for any length of time look at a roster and say golly I wish we had more skinny European freshmen on this team. That Sabonis kid from Gonzaga is the best Euro player I've seen in a while - he's 6'11" 240 pounds, with a basketball pedigree and averaged as a freshman slightly higher (10/7) than Yawke (6/6) has, the latter in a better league on a worse team while he should still be in high school. I am fully on board the Yawke train - he has so much upside I can't believe he didn't go to Syracuse. He needs to develop a 15 foot jump shot and work on his free throws and maybe tighten up his handle. After which he will be virtually unstoppable. Maybe the German kid is better. But I'd have to see that with my own eyes: I am at this point so much the cynic that I distrust my own skepticism, I'm certainly not going to believe scouting reports from people who compared Tomas Jasilionustein to Detlef Schrempf just because both their grandfathers were in the Gestapo. As for spreading the floor, having a point guard who can penetrate and create his own shot is going to change everything.
beast of the east
Active member
I believe Wayne McKoy and David Russell also started as freshman, and possibly George Johnson among others.
Up until 1972 freshmen were ineligible to play varsity, which could explain some of Looie's reticence back then. Interestingly, some conferences have been discussing a return to freshmen ineligibility. It would help one and done's to get 2 years of education if they are going to leave anyway.