-Ayo has improved his 3-point shooting over last season. He is clearly the focal point of the offense, but could further benefit from creating shots for others instead of forcing highly contested 2-point looks. He's electric in transition but he has tendencies that can be exploited in the halfcourt.
-Kofi picked up where he left off last year but has not shown dramatic improvement. He is getting more high-percentage looks at the rim from offensive rebounds and guards creating opportunities for him but has not emerged as a post-up threat. Defensively he protects the rim by being huge but still can be a bit slow to react.
-Curbelo is raw but is a tremendous talent. Some of the stuff like stepping on the sideline will get fixed. It's mostly a matter of learning his teammates and what works in game situations at this level. He is electric and can finish at the rim and hit open 3's better than I expected. Defense will be a work in progress.
-Adam Miller is a pure scorer but with him I think it's a matter of figuring out how to use his body and play through contact with college athletes. It seems like he always gets the first shot of the game. He can score at all three levels but again needs a little more seasoning to understand shot selection.
-Da'Monte will hit the wide open 3 this year. The next step to keep defenses honest is to attack the rim a bit more against opposing PFs. He has to make the mismatch work both ways or else teams will continue to go big against us. It doesn't have to be pretty but he's strong enough to at least get to the free throw line. Needs to be in attack mode a bit more. His rebounding is amazing and he makes a lot of hustle plays.
-Frazier seems to have gotten his 3-point stroke back, but I don't think he quite understands how to be effective on offense yet with this group. I think it's ok if he pulls the trigger more early in the shot clock when he has an opening. If he's dribbling for more than 5 seconds in any possession, something has gone wrong. Trent doesn't need to defer to Ayo taking 15+ shots/game and he can be a little selfish if he's feeling it, as I think he can still be a one-man scoring run if he starts playing with a quicker trigger.
-Grandison is like a rich man's Kipper Nichols. He's sort of in that same role and he provides valuable minutes. I don't think he necessarily brings a lot to the table but he's fine. It's nice to have another piece at the 3/4 spot since we don't have a star player there. Quality depth on a good team.
-Giorgi is much more comfortable in this role. He's back to doing Giorgi things (in a good way) and I like that he's not trying to do too much so his turnover rate has decreased. You can tell he doesn't have Kofi's stature but he has enough moxie to be a problem for the other team for 16-20 mpg. I like having an option to throw him in for a few minutes at the PF spot just to give a bigger look when needed.
-Coleman Hawkins has a lot more grit than I expected for a fairly thin freshman big. Someone called him a young Brian Cook and don't think that's an awful comparison. I keep expecting him not to belong on the court but he holds his own. I like him as the 3rd center with his shot-blocking skills and also I can see him taking more PF minutes as the season progresses. He's a very intriguing player.
-Lieb is about 20-30 lbs away from being a player. (I wish I could lend him 20 lbs right now.) Hamlin is probably replacement level in the Big Ten but Lieb has real potential. After the UT Martin game I'd probably put Lieb in unofficial redshirt status with the extra lifting and the 6,000 calories/day diet. Since you have Hamlin as the emergency big there really is no scenario where you will need Lieb (outside of a COVID outbreak.)
-We could still use Hutcherson and BBV as we are a little low on depth in both of their spots.
-I like this roster and it may be the most complete roster we've had in a long time. We're a little undersized at the 4-spot but I actually think DMW works better there and we can make it work. I don't see the kind of schematic overhaul like we had going on last year but our best talent is still more underclassmen than upperclassmen so there is more room for growth than some of the highly experienced teams that are currently in the Top 10.
-There is more to this team than Ayo and Kofi and we will be in the NCAA Tournament next season even if they both leave. I don't think we're a Top 5 team this year but we are Top 16 with Final Four potential. We can match up with anyone but we'll be underdogs sometimes.
-Kofi picked up where he left off last year but has not shown dramatic improvement. He is getting more high-percentage looks at the rim from offensive rebounds and guards creating opportunities for him but has not emerged as a post-up threat. Defensively he protects the rim by being huge but still can be a bit slow to react.
-Curbelo is raw but is a tremendous talent. Some of the stuff like stepping on the sideline will get fixed. It's mostly a matter of learning his teammates and what works in game situations at this level. He is electric and can finish at the rim and hit open 3's better than I expected. Defense will be a work in progress.
-Adam Miller is a pure scorer but with him I think it's a matter of figuring out how to use his body and play through contact with college athletes. It seems like he always gets the first shot of the game. He can score at all three levels but again needs a little more seasoning to understand shot selection.
-Da'Monte will hit the wide open 3 this year. The next step to keep defenses honest is to attack the rim a bit more against opposing PFs. He has to make the mismatch work both ways or else teams will continue to go big against us. It doesn't have to be pretty but he's strong enough to at least get to the free throw line. Needs to be in attack mode a bit more. His rebounding is amazing and he makes a lot of hustle plays.
-Frazier seems to have gotten his 3-point stroke back, but I don't think he quite understands how to be effective on offense yet with this group. I think it's ok if he pulls the trigger more early in the shot clock when he has an opening. If he's dribbling for more than 5 seconds in any possession, something has gone wrong. Trent doesn't need to defer to Ayo taking 15+ shots/game and he can be a little selfish if he's feeling it, as I think he can still be a one-man scoring run if he starts playing with a quicker trigger.
-Grandison is like a rich man's Kipper Nichols. He's sort of in that same role and he provides valuable minutes. I don't think he necessarily brings a lot to the table but he's fine. It's nice to have another piece at the 3/4 spot since we don't have a star player there. Quality depth on a good team.
-Giorgi is much more comfortable in this role. He's back to doing Giorgi things (in a good way) and I like that he's not trying to do too much so his turnover rate has decreased. You can tell he doesn't have Kofi's stature but he has enough moxie to be a problem for the other team for 16-20 mpg. I like having an option to throw him in for a few minutes at the PF spot just to give a bigger look when needed.
-Coleman Hawkins has a lot more grit than I expected for a fairly thin freshman big. Someone called him a young Brian Cook and don't think that's an awful comparison. I keep expecting him not to belong on the court but he holds his own. I like him as the 3rd center with his shot-blocking skills and also I can see him taking more PF minutes as the season progresses. He's a very intriguing player.
-Lieb is about 20-30 lbs away from being a player. (I wish I could lend him 20 lbs right now.) Hamlin is probably replacement level in the Big Ten but Lieb has real potential. After the UT Martin game I'd probably put Lieb in unofficial redshirt status with the extra lifting and the 6,000 calories/day diet. Since you have Hamlin as the emergency big there really is no scenario where you will need Lieb (outside of a COVID outbreak.)
-We could still use Hutcherson and BBV as we are a little low on depth in both of their spots.
-I like this roster and it may be the most complete roster we've had in a long time. We're a little undersized at the 4-spot but I actually think DMW works better there and we can make it work. I don't see the kind of schematic overhaul like we had going on last year but our best talent is still more underclassmen than upperclassmen so there is more room for growth than some of the highly experienced teams that are currently in the Top 10.
-There is more to this team than Ayo and Kofi and we will be in the NCAA Tournament next season even if they both leave. I don't think we're a Top 5 team this year but we are Top 16 with Final Four potential. We can match up with anyone but we'll be underdogs sometimes.
