Starting 5 in 2009

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KoolAid said:
PG - Nolen
SG - Williams
SF - Carter
PF - DJ
C - Mbakwe

I heard they are just going to full court press the entire game. Experts are guessing 12 back court violations caused per game for this starting 5.
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I don't see this happening (especially with Williams as an unproven, raw freshman), but who knows? I trust Tubby no matter who he throws out there.
 

I love it! What a great problem to have. This brings up the question will there be enough minutes for everyone? Will some of the guys pout and be a distraction. It seems unlikely Tubby will let this happen. I still think the team needs someone who can score off the dribble. Westbrook could do that at times last year. Yet, at other times he was no where to be found. Can White be the guy to score when they pass it around the outside for most of the shot clock and get nothing from the pattern offense?
 

Dr.Gopher said:
I love it! What a great problem to have. This brings up the question will there be enough minutes for everyone? Will some of the guys pout and be a distraction. It seems unlikely Tubby will let this happen. I still think the team needs someone who can score off the dribble. Westbrook could do that at times last year. Yet, at other times he was no where to be found. Can White be the guy to score when they pass it around the outside for most of the shot clock and get nothing from the pattern offense?
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I think Minnesota needs shooters as much as they do slashers.
Yes, I think White can be that guy to create his own shot in the half-court. If we're lucky, he'll be able to jump into that role right away. He's quick, strong and has decent range, but who knows with freshman. I also think Westbrook will have more chances to drive to the tin than he did last season simply because the returning players will be more polished and the incoming freshman are so talented.
 

Either Samson or Iverson must be included in the starting mix.
 

Weisbrod said:
Great point, isn't it fun.

Here we go, endless possibilities:
SMALL, TALENTED
Nolen, Westbrook, White, Johnson, Mbakwe
BALANCED, TALENTED
Nolen, Westbrook, White, Mbakwe, Sampson
THREE GUARD
Nolen, Joseph, Westbrook, Mbakwe, Iverson
GOING BIG
Nolen, Hoffarber, White, Sampson, Iverson
SHOOTERS
Cobbs, Joseph, Hoffarber, Johnson, Sampson
YOUNG, TALENTED
Cobbs, Joseph, White, Iverson, Sampson
ATHLETIC
Nolen, Williams, White, Johnson, Carter
DEFENSIVE
Nolen, Williams, Mbakwe, Johnson, Iverson
OFFENSIVE
Cobbs, Westbrook, White, Johnson, Sampson

We could do this all night...
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Don't forget about Bryant Allen. I could see him contributing also after football is over.:cool:
 


To start the season.
Nolen
Westbrook
Iversen
Sampson
Johnson
Tubby will start by playing the veterans.
 

No one is talking about Justin Cobbs who I think will be very important next year. Hopefully he is good enough to be Nolens main back-up and maybe good enough to take some playing time from Nolen. This would improve the pg position and more importantly free up Joseph to play sg(his natural pos) where he could excel.
 

Although I am not a proponent of small ball in the BT, the possibility of fielding a very competent small line-up of 3G's and 2F's - thanks to Royce White - for the 2010-11, if not earlier, excites me. That flexibilty, in addition to a conventional starting line-up, would pose a major challenge for the other BT coaches to deal with.

BTW, is it only me wishing for Devoe to develop further into a legit PG who can also take up the combo duty at 2? I still think he will be the key piece at PG if we are to catapult into a championship season. He should be a good PG into his junior season.
 

I think Rodney from Cooper is a lot better than people think and he will get some minutes. His jumping ability is 2nd to none.
 



station19 said:
No one is talking about Justin Cobbs who I think will be very important next year. Hopefully he is good enough to be Nolens main back-up and maybe good enough to take some playing time from Nolen. This would improve the pg position and more importantly free up Joseph to play sg(his natural pos) where he could excel.
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Cobbs and Allen (if he plays basketball as a frosh) will be major upgrades at back-up PG spot.
 

book said:
I think Rodney from Cooper is a lot better than people think and he will get some minutes. His jumping ability is 2nd to none.
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Every recruiting service (except Rivals) has Rodney in the Top 50 or better range. He'll play as a frosh, no doubt.
 

Paul Carter did ok for his first year

<That was tied with RSIII for second on the team behind Paul Carter who grabbed 4.5 in only 16 mns per (for all the Paul Carter haters out there).>

Not sure if there are many Carter haters but he showed me potential to be a major contributer. Considering he didn't get much chance to play before the B10 season started and this was his first year I see the glass half full--when he played, he showed flashes of being an impact player amidst streaky performances. If he can put it all together he has a ton of athleticsm that makes it hard to keep him out of a small lineup.
 

kindofgreen said:
<That was tied with RSIII for second on the team behind Paul Carter who grabbed 4.5 in only 16 mns per (for all the Paul Carter haters out there).>

Not sure if there are many Carter haters but he showed me potential to be a major contributer. Considering he didn't get much chance to play before the B10 season started and this was his first year I see the glass half full--when he played, he showed flashes of being an impact player amidst streaky performances. If he can put it all together he has a ton of athleticsm that makes it hard to keep him out of a small lineup.
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I agree about Carter's potential, but he'll fall in the depth chart when White shows up. But I think he'll remain a regular simply because he brings something to the floor that's a little different than the rest of the forwards. He was one of the best rebounders on the team and was a tough match-up for smaller forwards last year.
 



While we can start the current best talent of Nolen, Westbrook, Johnson, Iverson and Sampson, we'll see the following at the start of Big Ten games;

Nolen for stability,
Westbrook for scoring,
White for the future if he listens in practice
Mbakwe for now if he learns the program
Sampson because he is size and future

Watch for Bostick and Joseph to be big off the bench and could be starting by Big Ten and NCAA Tourney. Great bench and great potential if team chemistry is positive.
 

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