Quote Originally Posted by Political Hack View Post
I'll agree that none of these guys should be a one and done, including Malik. However I do think they are elite SEC players.

Also, as I stated earlier, I don't think you can worry about offensive production from your post enough to take an elite (yes, absolutely elite) shot blocker off the floor. Especially with the new rules. Ado doesn't have to score more than 4 points per game. Just put him under the rim and let him block shots. If he can pass at all, rebound a little, and get some trash points on offense it'll be more than enough. And while agree that Howland likes to space the floor in a half court set, he'd prefer to push the ball before having to go into a half court set. That starts with great defense, rebounding, and a solid outlet. Ado provides all of that.

Also, just to clarify, I don't think IJ will be 3rd string. I'm just saying that's likely the three who would compete for starter level minutes. Peters is too good to sit. He'll find his minutes.

With all the new faces, of course we will struggle at times. But that doesn't mean that they won't be clicking and experienced come time for the NCAA tournament. I don't see how we're not easily a top 3/4 SEC team next year, with an excellent chance to shock some people in the SEC tournament.
I gotcha & I agree with a lot of what you're saying. I just think Herard & Holman overall games give them the nod over Ado. Ado definitely has a role to play on this team but I don't think he's ready to play 25-30min as a starter. I'd rather ease him in with 10-15min off the bench his freshman year. The biggest adjustment this team will have to make is fitting all these big time HS players into role players at the college level. You're right we do have a lot of depth so we shouldn't be depending on 1 or 2 guys to shoulder the load. If we're going to push the tempo push it all the way & have 10,11 guys playing 10+ minutes so no one ever gets fatigued & we keep the pressure on all game.

The biggest advantage for next year's team will be that summer trip to Italy. It will give these young guys a lot of extra practice & game time to mesh together. Also they will have to get closer as a team being out of the country with just themselves for a couple of weeks.