From watching his HS game on TV last month, Ola-Joseph is not a 3, but the same type of role player that Ogele is now. He needs to lose some weight and get a better handle and shot to play any meaningful minutes next year. He is a project.
Are you saying you think he is more of a 4? I'm not sure I think he will play much at the 4 with Battle/Ihnen/Fox but could be wrong. I know there is position versatility but if he's 6'6 200 that might be a tough task to guard B1G 4/5s. I thought he was more of a slasher but admittedly haven't watched JOJ play.
Battle at the 3 position.
Yeah idk how I forgot him. Could get spot minutes at the 4 too if we go small, but is best suited at the 3.
I think you might be underselling Carrington and Payne. Payne will probably start ahead of Fox, who would be much better off the bench. He is limited offensively as a shooter - an athlete who will be able to guard, rebound, etc. - nice to bring off the bench. Someone else may come in but right now Payne, Ihnen, Battle a nice trio because both Ihnen and Battle will stretch the floor and go to basket - Ihnen will look much better with new staff.
I like the numbers just for reference but I do agree they don’t matter. It’s all about matchups.
I think there is a lot of versatility with the forward group. You'll see Battle get time at 3 and 4, Ihnen primarily will play the 4, Fox will get a lot of time at the 5 but probably some time at the 4 as well, Thompson will play the 4 and as long as he keeps putting on good weight should get 5 time as well.
I think since we'll have some legit 4s next year, Battle will still be at the 3, with Henley, Carrington, Ola Joseph and any transfers that come competing at the 2 spot, unless they try Carrington at point.
Agreed about Payne. He's going to surprise people. As young as he is and as new to the game, he is only going to get much better, and he's already better right now than Curry (God bless him).
I think you are correct, but would bet Payne will start unless we get a transfer big. Not sure Ihnen will be able to bang with a lot of B1G bigs, but could be wrong.
I hear what you are saying, but when talking rosters you have to slot them in somewhere. Ihnen/Battle/Fox have versatility, although we will see some combo of them at the 3/4/ and maybe 5 depending on the team we are playing.
I only watched Carrington play once in person, but when he put his mind to it, he played some lock down defense.
Hard to say that until we Payne on the court against other collegiate players. Curry is wily and his experience counts for something.
I would agree that until we see Payne play against talented collegiate bigs it's hard to say, but having seen him play live a number of times now (and watching Curry live as well), he has a combination of skills that's pretty rare for a kid his age. I watched him live last night go for 38 vs Mounds View. Really impressive, and as a 17 year old who is fairly new to the game, his upside is huge. I agree Curry plays pretty good defense and has had his moments, but after all he's been through he just doesn't have the lift or inside scoring ability that the Gophers could really use. I think Payne is going to be a pleasant surprise for a lot of people.
You've got that right. There is an extreme need for more quickness and athleticism at the guard position for next year. As I used to say when asked about some of the poor teams I coached in youth basketball, "Well, we're small...but..we're slow.
I think the thing about Payne is that he has a good all-around game. He'll struggle to score for a while like most freshmen, but what's impressive is that he has great hands and feet, he can pass it, handle the ball a bit, rebound, defend, and he seems like a good teammate. Talent is talent, no matter who he's playing against.
Yeah, I think a polished offensive game will take some time, but like you pointed out, his feet, hands and athleticism will make help us a lot of offense right away.
agreed
I think you're probably right here but I really hope most of Battle's minutes come at the 4.
Isaiah is not a 5.
see and i think people are underselling Henley way too much as well....as long as we can keep him commited and get him signed....he has as good as chance as Carrington as getting lots of early run on the wing as well
Will have to be for us. Who you thinkin? Payne?