Re: talking basketball

[bearheel]

I'll step up to the plate (sorry, free throw line) on playing time at least:

20 minutes for Downey instead of 10, with that time mostly coming from Tilford.  I'm guessing Downey is ready for the big time but Tilford isn't.  (I don't think the distinction between point guard and 2 guard will be a big one this year and expect whoever gets it will be pushing it down court.  I'd expect White, Moore, Kirkland or Downey to be getting us into our half court offense, depending on who's in the game and what the defense is giving us.)

8 minutes for Herrera (I'm an optimist), with that time coming from Coleman.  Except when fouls (or free throw percentages) cause a problem or against the weaker teams on our schedule, I'd expect Coach Kennedy would want to have two of the following (Hicks, McGowan, Herrera and Allen) in the line-up together.  Coleman may be skilled, but muscle and height in at least two players will be crucial in the Big East.

My sense is that this will be a breakout year for Kirkland - he'll think less and play more instinctively without Huggins' pressure on him, but he'll still have those defensive skills Huggins demanded.

Despite the negativities and the uncertainties, I think this year we'll surprise the forecasters who have said 7th-9th in the Big East:  the motivation to do well to honor Huggins and the motivation to do well in order to get a job (the seniors + the coaches) or a transfer opportunity (the non-seniors, if the new coach doesn't look appealing) will be powerful factors.  That said, this would not have been an easy year for UC, even with everybody back and all our recruits in place, so expecting better than 4-6 in the Big East would have been unrealistic...

-------------- Original message -------------- 

> It's odd - people say they want to talk about the team, basketball, the 
> season, etc - but when I posted about this years rotations - no one 
> responded . . . 
>
> Since I have to say it - the post was pretty good - so I'm going to repost 
> some of the info: 
>
> The upcoming season 3 big questions and one lingering one - 
> BIG 
> 1) Who will handle the point? 
> 2) Who will get the 40 minutes at the 5 position? 
> 3) How will a first year head coach do? 
> Lingering 
> 1) Will Kirkland play to his potential? 
>
> The Bearcats do not nearly look as good as they did last May - since then 
> we've lost Vincent Banks, Roy Bright, Tyree Evans, Ivan Johnson and coach 
> Huggins! 
>
> This years projected rotation - 
> Point - White 15, Moore 10, Downey 10, Jihad 5 
> 2 guard - Jihad 23, Kirkland 5, Tilford 12 
> 3 forward - White 17, Kirkland 17, Coleman 6 
> 4 forward - Hicks 20, Kirkland 10 Coleman 10 
> 5 forward - McGowan 20, Hicks 12, Allen 8 (Herrera if he gets cleared will 
> get at lease these 8 minutes) 
>
> Hicks 32 
> White 32 
> Kirkland 32 
> Muhammed 28 
> McGowan 20 
> Coleman 16 
> Tilford 10 
> Moore 10 
> Downey 10 
> Allen 8 
>
> To be honest, I can't figure out the front line - the above scenario assumes 
> Kirkland will be willing to play in the four spot - a huge assumption and it 
> still remains to be seen if Kirkland can come prepared to play every night. 
> The other alternatives are to get more minutes out of McGowan and Allen or 
> Herrera if he gets cleared to play. 
>
> For what it is worth - here's my last year's prediction and (actual): 
>
> Maxiell 33 (31) 
> Hicks 32 (31) 
> White 30 (29) 
> Kirkland 30 (25) 
> Moore 25 (15) 
> Williams 20 (22) 
> Muhammad 15 (26) 
> Banks 5 (0) 
> Bright 5 (14) 
> Souleyman 5 (1) 
> Lucas (12) 
> Patswald (3) 
> Meeker (2) 
> Murray (2) 
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -- 
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