We have almost 3 weeks until conference games begin (in Lubbock on January 4th). Prior to that, we only have 2 games. One against a solid Minnesota team (in Tulsa) and one against a bad SE Louisiana team in GIA. That gives the coaches an extended practice time period to really work with this team and try to prepare them for the Big 12 gauntlet.
Let's discuss what we have learned (or think we have learned) through the first 10 games of the season... in regards to expected rotation early in conference play.
The most obvious thing is that almost all of the freshmen are not ready for prime-time. We were all overly excited about them, early in the season, against lower level competition. It seems that what we were optimistic about was actually fool's gold. In hindsight, that should have been more predictable. True freshmen, who are not ranked in the top 100, rarely come in ready to make an immediate impact. They need to get stronger. They need to catch up to the transition from HS/AAU ball to college ball. They need to develop chemistry with teammates and learn how to be a role player rather than the star of the team. They need to learn the system of their new coach, on both ends of the floor, and be able to execute it consistently. The one guy that was physically ready to play right away (Watson), had his season derailed, and could very well end up redshirting.
The other thing that has become obvious is how important Ice is to this team's success. He makes a huge difference on both ends of the floor. Fortunately, he should be back soon and will, hopefully, not have lingering effects of his illness, that will reduce his effectiveness.
Ice, Dz, Lindy, Cam and Yor are locked in as starters. There is no reason to expect that to change, nor should it (based on what we have seen so far). That's a very good group of 5 starters. All have their roles and complement each other well. Some of them are not perfect, but you can have a lot of Big 12 success with those guys starting...as long as you have quality depth coming off the bench.
Harris is the one freshman who has proven that he belongs in the rotation and can provide quality play off the bench. He plays strong M2M defense, and doesn't turn the ball over on offense. Occasionally, he will score some points. He's not the ideal 6th man (you want a guy who can really score), but he is a quality rotation piece who can buy rest minutes for the starters without causing everything to fall apart.
After that, it gets a bit dicey.
Admittedly, this is arguably a knee jerk reaction, but Ice's backup should be Dee Mitchell. He showed, yesterday, that he can handle that role, and he shot the ball well last season. He is the perfect option to spell Ice for 10 mpg (maybe more as he recovers from Mono). In a zone, he is solid defensively (not sure about his M2M). He can handle the ball without dumb turnovers. He can get some points. Just a solid option, who won't kill us when he is on the floor.
The other solid bench option is Laurent. He's not going to wow anyone, but he has shown that he can give solid play for stretches. We have seen him shoot the 3, rebound, score in the paint, and play decent defense. He's not good enough to take minutes away from a starter, but he is another guy who can give you minutes without causing things to fall apart.
MB needs to have someone to backup Anei, so he can rest and stay out of foul trouble. This is the biggest hole in the roster right now. Kalib Boone has shown flashes, but has only been getting limited minutes in the last few games. Word is that the limited minutes are due to off the court/practice issues, but it is not like he has looked good enough in recent games to clearly deserve more minutes. That leaves us with Hidde as Yor's primary backup. He's clearly not ready for this role, but (IMO) he is going to be a stud at some point in the future. He knows where to be and when to be there. He plays smart basketball. His jump shot looks pretty, despite it not actually going through the net most of the time. His biggest issue is physical strength. He's not even 19 years old yet, so you know that he will be a lot stronger after an off season of work. Maybe, he will make some progress in the next 3 weeks. We can hope.
Anderson is a great M2M defender, but makes a lot of mistakes on the offensive end, be it taking bad shots or poor decisions resulting in turnovers. He will get better, but I'm not sure it will be this season. He just needs more time.
Keylan is in a similar boat. He looked really good early in the season, but hasn't shown up in a long time. His biggest issue is physical strength. From what I am seeing, he doesn't do enough on offense or defense to warrant more minutes. Like AA, he just needs more time, and will be a quality rotation piece (and maybe even a starter) eventually.
TLDR: Currently, I think our best rotation is as follows.
Starters: Ice, Dz, Lindy, Cam, Yor
Backup PG: Mitchell
Backup 2G: Harris
Backup FW: Laurent
Backup Big: Hidde (with Kalib not far behind)
Deep bench: AA, Keylan
Wildcard: Watson
P.S. I wonder if Mitchell has been put on scholarship since we currently have an extra?
Let's discuss what we have learned (or think we have learned) through the first 10 games of the season... in regards to expected rotation early in conference play.
The most obvious thing is that almost all of the freshmen are not ready for prime-time. We were all overly excited about them, early in the season, against lower level competition. It seems that what we were optimistic about was actually fool's gold. In hindsight, that should have been more predictable. True freshmen, who are not ranked in the top 100, rarely come in ready to make an immediate impact. They need to get stronger. They need to catch up to the transition from HS/AAU ball to college ball. They need to develop chemistry with teammates and learn how to be a role player rather than the star of the team. They need to learn the system of their new coach, on both ends of the floor, and be able to execute it consistently. The one guy that was physically ready to play right away (Watson), had his season derailed, and could very well end up redshirting.
The other thing that has become obvious is how important Ice is to this team's success. He makes a huge difference on both ends of the floor. Fortunately, he should be back soon and will, hopefully, not have lingering effects of his illness, that will reduce his effectiveness.
Ice, Dz, Lindy, Cam and Yor are locked in as starters. There is no reason to expect that to change, nor should it (based on what we have seen so far). That's a very good group of 5 starters. All have their roles and complement each other well. Some of them are not perfect, but you can have a lot of Big 12 success with those guys starting...as long as you have quality depth coming off the bench.
Harris is the one freshman who has proven that he belongs in the rotation and can provide quality play off the bench. He plays strong M2M defense, and doesn't turn the ball over on offense. Occasionally, he will score some points. He's not the ideal 6th man (you want a guy who can really score), but he is a quality rotation piece who can buy rest minutes for the starters without causing everything to fall apart.
After that, it gets a bit dicey.
Admittedly, this is arguably a knee jerk reaction, but Ice's backup should be Dee Mitchell. He showed, yesterday, that he can handle that role, and he shot the ball well last season. He is the perfect option to spell Ice for 10 mpg (maybe more as he recovers from Mono). In a zone, he is solid defensively (not sure about his M2M). He can handle the ball without dumb turnovers. He can get some points. Just a solid option, who won't kill us when he is on the floor.
The other solid bench option is Laurent. He's not going to wow anyone, but he has shown that he can give solid play for stretches. We have seen him shoot the 3, rebound, score in the paint, and play decent defense. He's not good enough to take minutes away from a starter, but he is another guy who can give you minutes without causing things to fall apart.
MB needs to have someone to backup Anei, so he can rest and stay out of foul trouble. This is the biggest hole in the roster right now. Kalib Boone has shown flashes, but has only been getting limited minutes in the last few games. Word is that the limited minutes are due to off the court/practice issues, but it is not like he has looked good enough in recent games to clearly deserve more minutes. That leaves us with Hidde as Yor's primary backup. He's clearly not ready for this role, but (IMO) he is going to be a stud at some point in the future. He knows where to be and when to be there. He plays smart basketball. His jump shot looks pretty, despite it not actually going through the net most of the time. His biggest issue is physical strength. He's not even 19 years old yet, so you know that he will be a lot stronger after an off season of work. Maybe, he will make some progress in the next 3 weeks. We can hope.
Anderson is a great M2M defender, but makes a lot of mistakes on the offensive end, be it taking bad shots or poor decisions resulting in turnovers. He will get better, but I'm not sure it will be this season. He just needs more time.
Keylan is in a similar boat. He looked really good early in the season, but hasn't shown up in a long time. His biggest issue is physical strength. From what I am seeing, he doesn't do enough on offense or defense to warrant more minutes. Like AA, he just needs more time, and will be a quality rotation piece (and maybe even a starter) eventually.
TLDR: Currently, I think our best rotation is as follows.
Starters: Ice, Dz, Lindy, Cam, Yor
Backup PG: Mitchell
Backup 2G: Harris
Backup FW: Laurent
Backup Big: Hidde (with Kalib not far behind)
Deep bench: AA, Keylan
Wildcard: Watson
P.S. I wonder if Mitchell has been put on scholarship since we currently have an extra?
