Starting 5 and Bench 2011-2012

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SycamoreStateofMind

SycamoreStateofMind

The Odum Level
Supporter
I know we've made some projections, but I am interested in hearing what you all think. Who is the starting 5 and then give me a feel for what you think the rotation will be. We know Lansing plays a lot of guys, so give me your lineup. What you would do if you were the coach and why? That's kind of a loaded question but the reason I ask it this way is because at the start of last season it seemed pretty clear to me personally that Odum should start. That wasn't the case for coach Lansing until about a month into the season. So what do you think?

PG. Jake Odum
SG. D. Lathan
SF. Carl Richard
PF. Kitch (See Battle to watch)
C. Walker

Bench:
JP - enters in for Kitch, JP goes to the 2 everyone moves down 1 position.
Steve - probably going to give Odum a quick break or Lathan
KD - probably to give Carl a blow


Battle to watch:
Gant - probably at this point go with Gant and Kitch on the floor. Give Walker a rest and keep him out of foul trouble.
RJ - based on purely fitness level and quickness I wouldn't be surprised of RJ feel out of favor with Lansing.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. You could throw Kitch into this battle very easily. Right now I think Kitch get's the nod - he provides us with a little more meat inside than either RJ or Gant can provide. With that said, Gant is going to play this season. I'd be shocked if he redshirts him. These guys might not be your every day post up and make post move big men. But they will get garbage points and that's really all you need out of these guys on this team. Will be very interesting to see how Lansing see's this battle. My depth chart right now looks like this: Kitch, Gant and RJ.

As is, this lineup is 10 deep and once again depth will not be a problem. I will go ahead and go on the record saying that BB and Brown will redshirt. The only reason BB won't redshirt is because he doesn't want to redshirt - I'd guess that Lansing will give them both the option. I also think at some point this season one of the Eitel brothers will get a pretty good look. They know the game as well as anyone on this team, including Odum - they don't have his size/length and speed or they'd be playing big minutes.
 
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Odum
Printy
Lathan
Richard
Walker

I think Kitchell is a C.
I think Gant will get minutes at 4 or 5.
KD will get minutes at 3-4.
McWhorter wll get a lot of minutes at 1-2.
RJ is a question for me compared to Gant, KD and Kitchell. He is a shooter and has gotten stronger so we'll have to see.

I agree that BB and Brown will be encouraged to redshirt.
 
Odum
Printy
Richard
Gant
Walker


Bench
Lathan -(6th man could come in and play the 2 or 3 and gives us a guy in the second unit who can get his own shot and score in bunches)
Kitchell -( I like him off the bench because he is the only one I think who could spell walker at C effectively.)
Steve- (only backup for Odum so this one is pretty easy to explain. There will be times when we need him and JO on the floor against pressure but in most games he will prob. serve as JO's backup. A pretty darn good one too IMO.)
KD- (sounds as if he has improved and with him being able to play either the 3 or 4 he will find some minutes if he has truly improved)
RJ ( I think he finds some minutes in each game but how many will probably depend on the matchup. If he is not killing us on the defensive end then he will play because he is a nice offensive option off the bench. )

The reason I put Printy over Lathan is not based on talent just more of what the first unit needed. Printy brings shooting and steady ballhandling to the first unit while Lathan would bring explosiveness and scoring ability to the second unit, both of which are much needed in their respective unit. I think JO needs one or two great shooters on the floor because that makes his drives that much more effective if they cant slack off the wings guys. JMO and if Carl is playing the four then all of this probably changes lol
 
Yeah I don't really have a problem with JP starting for the reason that you gave. I think its possible. I really like our top 6 and after that I think it's wide open on who plays and how they play. Odum, Richard, Walker, JP, Lathan, Steve - honestly after these guys we have a bunch of unknowns, who steps in and plays well? Kitch, Gant, KD, RJ, Eitles all have something to prove to me. Clearly looking at it, their are minutes to be had. Bust your ass and you might find yourself in the starting line-up. I've got no issues with your lineup, don't think it will play out that way though. If JP is in the starting 5 here is the only way that happens IMO:

Odum
JP
Lathan
Richard
Walker
 
I like some of your ideas, 07. But I think we need to get Steve on the floor more. He had one of our highest FG% last year (.477) (higher than Printy), had a great TO/A ratio and a lot of steals. If he improves just some, he will be one of our most valuable players. I would certainly assume at this point that he could be better than DL or JP in overall value on both sides of the ball.
the only reason I didn't have him in the starting lineup is I would go with a senior first and he can backup both guard positions.

Not sure if we want DL handling the ball much. He may be a different player this year, though.
 
SycamoreStateofMind said:
The only reason BB won't redshirt is because he doesn't want to redshirt - I'd guess that Lansing will give them both the option.
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Right. He may be anxious to play but it would be to his benefit, with JP, CR, and DL being seniors, for him to come in next year and have 4 yrs of wide-open PT available; and he would be a year ahead of the Smiths and Bell.
 

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sycamorebacker said:
Right. He may be anxious to play but it would be to his benefit, with JP, CR, and DL being seniors, for him to come in next year and have 4 yrs of wide-open PT available; and he would be a year ahead of the Smiths and Bell.
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Strange that DK is only mentioned slightly twice in the above projections. ??
 
bluebill said:
Strange that DK is only mentioned slightly twice in the above projections. ??
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Not sure whether DK will be on the music podium or not this year. I saw him up there a time or two last year, but it seems like there is a new conductor running the pep band now.. DK's minutes may be really reduced this year.
 
Maybe this is an old-fashioned line of thinking, but for the opening tip-off I'd think we want our tallest guy on the court for that, a la Kitchell.

As far as BB and DB red-shirting, I would think that's the best option for them...though the past two seasons our team was struck by multiple injuries and we were short-staffed as a result.

2009-2010 injuries especially hit us hard. And last year when Steve didn't red-shirt I remember being very surprised, but it ended up he was invaluable coming in to start some games with Kelly, Lathan, and Printy all losing playing time to injuries.
 

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Eleven said:
Not sure whether DK will be on the music podium or not this year. I saw him up there a time or two last year, but it seems like there is a new conductor running the pep band now.. DK's minutes may be really reduced this year.
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HAHAHAHAHAHA...I may be the only one who noticed what you did there but I saw it, nicely done.
 
Quabachi said:
Maybe this is an old-fashioned line of thinking, but for the opening tip-off I'd think we want our tallest guy on the court for that, a la Kitchell.

As far as BB and DB red-shirting, I would think that's the best option for them...though the past two seasons our team was struck by multiple injuries and we were short-staffed as a result.

2009-2010 injuries especially hit us hard. And last year when Steve didn't red-shirt I remember being very surprised, but it ended up he was invaluable coming in to start some games with Kelly, Lathan, and Printy all losing playing time to injuries.
Click to expand...


People talk about us losing Richard, JP and Walker next season - all 3 big losses, no doubt. But when you consider the guys you will have at 6'7 or taller all pretty young: Rhett Smith, BB, KSmith, Gant and Kitch. Really pretty solid group of guys if you ask me.
 
It all depends on how they look since we saw them last. A lot can happen from March to November. I hope Lathan is healthy. He can be an exciting player to watch. There are any number of combinations that would put a great 5 on the floor. One thing is certain: if Odum is on the floor, ISU will be fun to watch.
 
I honestly can't form a starting 5. It's a pretty good feeling when you think you may have 7-8 guys that are all viable starting candidates. Outside of Odum, Richard and Walker, I think you could actually tailor the other spots to your opponent and that's a damn powerful option for Coach Lansing to have.
 
Jason Svoboda said:
I honestly can't form a starting 5. It's a pretty good feeling when you think you may have 7-8 guys that are all viable starting candidates. Outside of Odum, Richard and Walker, I think you could actually tailor the other spots to your opponent and that's a damn powerful option for Coach Lansing to have.
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Agree--being able to go that deep without hurting the team gives us flexibility that is uncommon. We match our lineup to take advantage of the opponents weaknesses and make us more effective. I feel that these guys won't really care who starts; they know they will get their time on the floor. I'm more interested in who will be on the floor at the end of a close game than I am about who starts the game--give me the 5 who play best together against that given opponent for the team at crunch time.
 

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If Gant isn't going to start, or be one of the first players in off the bench, it would be wise to redshirt him.
 
SycamoreStateofMind said:
People talk about us losing Richard, JP and Walker next season - all 3 big losses, no doubt. But when you consider the guys you will have at 6'7 or taller all pretty young: Rhett Smith, BB, KSmith, Gant and Kitch. Really pretty solid group of guys if you ask me.
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I dont think Ksmith or BB are quite 6'7 but they are tall guards. Also Bell is over 6'7 I believe. We will have a lot of height and athleticism coming through the next few years thats for sure.
 
I believe the initial starting line-up will be a copy of the schedule poster just now being seen on here. Odum and the 4-seniors. It may change if any of them don't produce as expected but experience starts out of the gate. What is most important though is not who starts but who finishes.
 
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