What player becoming a star would help most

M

Marillac

Active member
If one guy could blow up to 1st team all-conference caliber, who would have the biggest impact on the team's success and why?

I guess Harrison is out, because he is already playing at or near that level. Jordan would seem like the most likely to make that kind of leap due to his high ranking, ability, and the improvement he showed the second half of last season. Obekpa is also a candidate as a top 75 recruit entering his junior season after showing a lot of growth in his game the second half of last year. He'll have a year working with Whitesell under his belt as well.

Perhaps Dom given his top 40 RSCI ranking and physical attributes combined with our lack of production from the three position.

The newbie Keith Thomas as a junkyard dog? He and Rodman have so much in common it is almost eerie...same height/weight, both played a year of Juco (17.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game for Rodman compared to 15.3 and 15.7 for Thomas), both transferred to their second college at the age of 23.Both worked odd jobs and gave up on basketball before coming back. Who knows?

Felix Balamou? All the physical tools you can ask for, a defensive star in waiting, and could possibly give us the three we desperately need. But will Lavin give him the chance?

Personally, I think both Jordan and CO are primed for breakout seasons. Both had some issues off court, though. CO had a three-week stretch where he looked like a stud late in the season. His blocks were down, but that was more due to better positioning on the defensive end. He became our best rebounder on both sides, and he was really our only effective screener (still moves too much, though). We'll really need some points down low and the minutes are there for him.

For Jordan to reach that level, that will mean that he is getting the minutes and that his jumper has really improved. Both of those things would be huge for us as a team. If he can't be a deep shooting threat, we are going to get crushed by the zone and it will make it much tougher for him to penetrate. He just has something to his game that is special.
 
Dom. Because if he got to that level that would mean he would have had to spent this summer working on his offensive game and if he became a viable scoring option ( and Marillac approved rebounder ) then that takes a lot of pressure off the backcourt who we all expect to score anyway and also makes things easier for CO and Thomas
 
I still think Jordan becoming a star at PG would help the most. He would be making the team around him better. Make it easier for the CO and Dom's of the world to score.
 
Jordan and /or Dom. We need to score more efficiently and move the ball better. Those are the guys with the best chance of being difference makers on the offensive end.

I've seen nothing that makes me think Jones or Felix are anything more than average role players. I truly don't know what Marillac and mase see there. But it would be fantastic if one of them could break through.
 
Jordan and /or Dom. We need to score more efficiently and move the ball better. Those are the guys with the best chance of being difference makers on the offensive end.

I've seen nothing that makes me think Jones or Felix are anything more than average role players. I truly don't know what Marillac and mase see there. But it would be fantastic if one of them could break through.
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If Dlo, Rysheed, and CO improve even marginally, than I think the best thing for us would be to have one of our PFs become a stud. Everyone knows im higher on Jones than most but I am really excited to see this kid play and would love to have him get 20mpg. I can really see him giving us double digit scoring in a bunch of games this year. People with his size and his athleticism are hard to find. What he needs is game time to develop. Im also excited to see Thomas, he seems like the type of player we've been asking for for a while. I think a realistic expectation for him would be similar to Burrell's senior year with maybe a little uptick in rbg.

I could see these two players giving us 16 pts and 12 boards combined.
 
Jordan and /or Dom. We need to score more efficiently and move the ball better. Those are the guys with the best chance of being difference makers on the offensive end.

I've seen nothing that makes me think Jones or Felix are anything more than average role players. I truly don't know what Marillac and mase see there. But it would be fantastic if one of them could break through.
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Hahaha. I am not nearly as high on Jones as Mase is. I think he certainly has skill and could be an offensive weapon as a stretch four, but he seems to see himself as a two or three which isn't happening. Ever. In most sports, I look to see if a kid has a nose for the ball. Jones doesn't...Balamou does. I also look for fluid and efficient movements which Balamou has...Jones isn't so bad there either. Jones is explosive off the ground, but he's not quick at all. Balamou has both quickness and explosion. He moves like he's 6'1 or 6'2 and keeps his hips down, but he plays like he's 6'6+ around the basket. Jones plays too high and is slow to react. If I was an NBA scout I would keep tabs on Balamou and file him under the "if this kid ever gets it together skill wise" tab. If I was an NFL scout, I'd give him a workout as well.

I really don't see Lavin giving Balamou enough of a look due to his love affair with Dom. I think if Lavin committed to giving Balamou 20+ MPG from the first game last season, we would have danced. Just one man's opinion.
 
Jordan and /or Dom. We need to score more efficiently and move the ball better. Those are the guys with the best chance of being difference makers on the offensive end.

I've seen nothing that makes me think Jones or Felix are anything more than average role players. I truly don't know what Marillac and mase see there. But it would be fantastic if one of them could break through.
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Hahaha. I am not nearly as high on Jones as Mase is. I think he certainly has skill and could be an offensive weapon as a stretch four, but he seems to see himself as a two or three which isn't happening. Ever. In most sports, I look to see if a kid has a nose for the ball. Jones doesn't...Balamou does. I also look for fluid and efficient movements which Balamou has...Jones isn't so bad there either. Jones is explosive off the ground, but he's not quick at all. Balamou has both quickness and explosion. He moves like he's 6'1 or 6'2 and keeps his hips down, but he plays like he's 6'6+ around the basket. Jones plays too high and is slow to react. If I was an NBA scout I would keep tabs on Balamou and file him under the "if this kid ever gets it together skill wise" tab. If I was an NFL scout, I'd give him a workout as well.

I really don't see Lavin giving Balamou enough of a look due to his love affair with Dom. I think if Lavin committed to giving Balamou 20+ MPG from the first game last season, we would have danced. Just one man's opinion.
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If I had to pick one guy, I would say Jordan because teams with stud point guards generally make the NCAA's and do well
While Lavin may in love with Dom, I think he is secretly married to Greene
Jordan, D'Lo and Branch should all play much more in a 3 guard lineup than Greene IMO
But he keeps trucking Greene out there more than he should
 
The two guys that I think have the most potential for improvement are Dom and Jamal. As far as who could be the next All-big East first teamer.......clearly, Jordan.

I am intrigued by Jones, in the sense that I think he could turn out to be a quality bench player. He has three years remaining, so perhaps he pay even bigger dividends as a senior.

Regarding Balamou, we have seen such a small sample and much of it in non-conference play versus weaker opponents. He has taken just one 3-pt shot in his college career. He has taken a total of 66 shots from the field, shooting 38%. Yeah, he's been aggressive and looks athletic, but I'll wait to see more before I consider him anymore than a role player.

For me, I am most curious to see how effective Keith Thomas can be. I am more hopeful when I envision him as a force in the paint. Only time will tell.........
 
CO if he became a star it would be because he developed a solid offensive game(FT's included), and learned how to control his fouling. And if that happened he just might be the best big man in the NCAA.
 
I think that Dom becoming a star would help the most. We are solid at the 1, 2, 4 and 5 spots with Rysheed, D-Lo, Thomas and CO. If Dom can improve his game and become a star quality 3 at the college level that would do the most for us.
 
FWIW - John Rothstein lists Dom as his prediction for our breakout player next season. Would be huge if he's right because we are solid everywhere else.

It's still Jordan for me though due to the importance of the point guard position. We can always play 3 guards if Dom does not perform but we really can not afford for Jordan to not be significantly better than last year and our top playmaker.

Dom would be huge for our up tempo pressing game if we decide to play that way.
 
I'd like to say Pointer, but I just don't think it's realistic for him to become a star at this point, it would be too big a leap. So I say Obekpa. When we went on our winning streak last season, a major reason was that Obekpa stepped us his offensive game significantly. And if Jordan for some reason regresses, we're toast. I don't see that happening, though.
 
Jordan for a number of reasons. First it opens the door for Briscoe and we can start to filter top tier guys in and out. Second I'm from the school of thought that you only go as far as your point guard takes you. Isn't always the case but it helps when your best player handles the ball and makes others around him better
 
CO if he became a star it would be because he developed a solid offensive game(FT's included), and learned how to control his fouling. And if that happened he just might be the best big man in the NCAA.
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If CO could even develop a Justin Burrell kind of offensive game it would be such a huge.
 
CO if he became a star it would be because he developed a solid offensive game(FT's included), and learned how to control his fouling. And if that happened he just might be the best big man in the NCAA.
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Wow!
 
CO if he became a star it would be because he developed a solid offensive game(FT's included), and learned how to control his fouling. And if that happened he just might be the best big man in the NCAA.
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Wow!
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Nobody puts Redmen07 in the corner. Dream big! Jacob deGrom is shaping up to be an ace...anything is posisble in this brave new world.
 
The one man we need to step up big time is not a player, it's a coach. The head coach. I'm not a guy that puts too much stock in a coach in the savior role. It's about the players. However, I have to say I have seen more turmoil in Coach Lavin's short time here than in Looie's entire career. Non qualifying freshman, transfers, fights, guys sulking and either quitting or being tossed from the team. Lack of a an identity for the team. Selfishness. Non efforts, especially in the NIT last season. Multiple lineups. Unexplained starters. Inexplicable substitutions. Red shirts being put in, perhaps losing a season. Practice issues. The lack of player development, with a few that may have regressed.

Coach Lavin needs this team to play like a team. He needs to find a starting 5 and make sane substitutions. He needs the players to respect him enough to give it their all for him and the team, and not just for a NBA pipe dream. If any of the players step up, I expect it to be Jordan for the obvious reasons: going from freshman to soph and hopefully having a year with less personal difficulties.
 
I think I just passed by Christian Jones and AMaseinYourFace sharing frozen yogurt. It could have eailky been Michael Sam and Veto, though.
 
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