Here we are a week from starting conference play, and other than TWO FRESHMEN there's no consensus on who should be starting on this team. There have been so many threads that have discussed this, I figured I'd start one to consolidate the chat.
Jeremy's the real deal and Z's the heart of the team. Those two are givens. (Sorry, Malik, whatever ails you is affecting your performance and you're just not earning minutes.)
Skylar or Angelo? Or Neither? - I suppose if we had enough firepower and a wide-bodied 6'6" rebounder we could sit both of these guys. Neither offers much on O, nor are they great rebounders. Poor hands. Too many bounces in the lane to get a shot. But we DON'T have the firepower nor the rebounder, so I believe you go with the one great strength either possesses, and that's Skylar's intimation around the rim on defense. Start him.
Winston or Dakarai? Winston has an NBA body and doesn't get bounced out of the lane. Dakarai is a tremendous defender with an improved offensive game. Winston can hit the three and when his mental approach is right, he's our one player capable of carrying us for stretches. He's an extremely prideful player and by NOT starting him, I believe the coaching staff has negatively affected his capacity to impact a game. To Winston's credit, he's dealt with the demotion as a team player, but he's not the same guy coming off the bench. Dakarai is an energy guy whose impact is on the defensive end. But while his long arms disrupt the opponent's offensive flow, he's not a great rebounder, and he doesn't create a ton of steals leading to easy transition buckets. I just don't think we have an option but to start Winston and hope the Good Winston is on the court that night. If the early mental mistakes pile up, Dakarai gets more minutes that game.
Trey has probably shown enough to remain a starter, though sliding Dakarai or Winston to the 2 and starting both over Trey is intriguing. Ben Perez has been our most consistent outside shooter, but his body isn't ready for starter minutes.
Malik is a wreck right now. When he was yanked against GCU for not blocking out a guy 3" shorter on a free throw, his body language going back to the bench spoke volumes. That's a kid who is not enjoying himself. My personal opinion is he read his own press clippings last April, and decided to didn't need to work on his game or his body over the Summer. He's paying a heavy price in minutes and performance. If he doesn't pull himself together, he's a transfer waiting to happen.
This team needs to find some magic somewhere. As Walt said in another thread, it's hard to watch right now.
Jeremy's the real deal and Z's the heart of the team. Those two are givens. (Sorry, Malik, whatever ails you is affecting your performance and you're just not earning minutes.)
Skylar or Angelo? Or Neither? - I suppose if we had enough firepower and a wide-bodied 6'6" rebounder we could sit both of these guys. Neither offers much on O, nor are they great rebounders. Poor hands. Too many bounces in the lane to get a shot. But we DON'T have the firepower nor the rebounder, so I believe you go with the one great strength either possesses, and that's Skylar's intimation around the rim on defense. Start him.
Winston or Dakarai? Winston has an NBA body and doesn't get bounced out of the lane. Dakarai is a tremendous defender with an improved offensive game. Winston can hit the three and when his mental approach is right, he's our one player capable of carrying us for stretches. He's an extremely prideful player and by NOT starting him, I believe the coaching staff has negatively affected his capacity to impact a game. To Winston's credit, he's dealt with the demotion as a team player, but he's not the same guy coming off the bench. Dakarai is an energy guy whose impact is on the defensive end. But while his long arms disrupt the opponent's offensive flow, he's not a great rebounder, and he doesn't create a ton of steals leading to easy transition buckets. I just don't think we have an option but to start Winston and hope the Good Winston is on the court that night. If the early mental mistakes pile up, Dakarai gets more minutes that game.
Trey has probably shown enough to remain a starter, though sliding Dakarai or Winston to the 2 and starting both over Trey is intriguing. Ben Perez has been our most consistent outside shooter, but his body isn't ready for starter minutes.
Malik is a wreck right now. When he was yanked against GCU for not blocking out a guy 3" shorter on a free throw, his body language going back to the bench spoke volumes. That's a kid who is not enjoying himself. My personal opinion is he read his own press clippings last April, and decided to didn't need to work on his game or his body over the Summer. He's paying a heavy price in minutes and performance. If he doesn't pull himself together, he's a transfer waiting to happen.
This team needs to find some magic somewhere. As Walt said in another thread, it's hard to watch right now.
