I am hoping that the interest in not using all 13 spots was limited to not wanting to recruit even more transfers from the portal as one and dones. I seem to recall that he also talked about balancing classes so hope that this played some part in his decision last year.
From that list it's Iowa State and Marquette that sre the biggest competition, Iowa State more then Marquette right now. With Iowa State, they have Lipsey, and King so if he really wants to be the lead PG, not that those guys should scare him off, it's more likely to happen here, if anything Ben's been setting his roster's up from day one by taking GT's for that to happen. Things are always fluid in that world especially with another summer of AAU, but sounds like were sitting pretty with Chatman.
I think that has a lot less to do with Garcia/Walton and more to do with the level of talent that UNC brings in every single year. Garcia and Walton are great players but when you constantly have other 4-5 star athletes coming in you run the risk of dropping down the depth chart.
I would take Walton in a heart beat but he was also pretty bad at UNC last year. He was pretty darn good as a FR. His problem is that he doesn't do anything really well except shoot and he wasn't shooting well last year. Don't get wrong, I'd take him but he wasn't playing very good basketball at UNC.
He'd be a luxury 6th man. Having a guy that can come out and drain a few three...instant offense, is a good thing.
The excuse maker surfaces.Oh it will be seen as an excuse, you can bank on that from a particular poster that I put on ignore and have not regretted doing so one bit.
I take him off ignore from time to time to see if I am missing anything interesting and everytime it just confirms I made the right call in taking advantage of the ignore feature.
I think those are all fair points, I believe Dawson left because of some family illnesses. He just lost his Grandma and I think he came home because his father was in the hospital, I think that's pretty understandable and he could get a waiver to play if he stays home.
Adding weight and strength will not be a problem for TT if he is willing to do the work. He can be expected to play next year with a big man body. But rebounding and tough post defense is as much mental attitude as superior size. He has viewed himself as a wing and three point shooter, not a tough post player.
Agreed -
TT's mentality was quite good when he played 40 against Rutgers.
Yep, this is a huge off season for Thompson. Hopefully he does the things the coaches want him to do and puts himself in a position to be a factor for this team next year and beyond. Will be interesting to see how he looks and how he plays when next season rolls around.
There is a need to balance classes. That is a smart strategy. We saw that warm bodies do not translate into basketball players and a viable bench.
I'm not too worried about it, sounds like Treyton showed up at 195 and put on 20 lbs last off season and before that he was 170 when he went off to Prep school. I always hang out for a little bit after games and I've seen him come up right after a game multiple times and put up shots, so if anything one thing I'm not going to worry about with Treyton is work ethic, if it doesn't work out it certainly won't be for lack of trying
Garcia's dad was on his death bed. It was ok he left.
Dad's apparently out of the hospital and on the road to recovery so I do give him a pass this year. UNC was better once they settled their rotation no doubt. It just goes to show how important fit is.
For the most part, our guys lacked typical BIG bodies, quickness and vertical. Murphy and dad Coffey were great example of players who was great on the boards despite lack of height. They had great hands, "twitch" and explosiveness.
I agree that he should probably not play the post. However, I was impressed with his willingness and ability to defend the post given his lack of mass.
He would obviously be better at defending the post when he has more lbs, but I actually liked him much better in the post than when he was defending 4s. He needs to add bulk to take up more space, but he is pretty active for a 7 footer and I think he's a 5 and all of his minutes should come at the 5.
Maybe TT will never be a great rebounder. He will lack explosiveness and the quick lift no matter how strong he gets. But with a big body and 6'11 height he could be a decent rebounder if he becomes dogged and tenacious. That is mental.
I agree his only real future is at 5. He could actually be a great post player because he takes the opposing big man away from the basket. That we already know. The question is can he toughen up mentally enough to play defense against the other team's big man.