'16 VA SG Greg Williams

[bressler3south]

Andre Drummond wasn't a diamond in the rough.
He was a potential lottery pick if they didn't have the 1-and-done rule.

He also reclassified well into very, very late-August to sign with UConn. Lots of talk about Calhounesque-wrongdoing on that one. Was going to cost 6-10 sub center Michael Bradley his scholarship...
He was done in one, ninth pick overall by the Pistons.
Not a diamond in the rough, a really productive player, but still needs some offensive polish.

[bigappleram]

Yes 4 of the best programs in the country had true back to the basket bigs and 326 others didn't. I have lofty goals but let's be realistic, most every other team had either a true Center that was mostly a defensive weapon (ie Desrosiers at PC) or played with PFs as their center. I want us to compete with the best but it's a process, putting Duke and Kentucky in any conversation with our program is a disservice to the work being done by our staff.

[rodfromcranston]

So, there are only FOUR centers in the entire USA????
Seriously? Even Brown had a center!
Wow!

[bigappleram]

rod we can go back and forth here - who was the center for Wichita state, Kansas or Dayton? There are more teams winning without a true center than with one. Of note, we have a Center, unfortunately he is a PF but he also happens to likely be the DPOY in preseason.

[bressler3south]

Andre Drummond wasn't a diamond in the rough.
He was a potential lottery pick if they didn't have the 1-and-done rule.

He also reclassified well into very, very late-August to sign with UConn. Lots of talk about Calhounesque-wrongdoing on that one. Was going to cost 6-10 sub center Michael Bradley his scholarship...
He was done in one, ninth pick overall by the Pistons.
Not a diamond in the rough, a really productive player, but still needs some offensive polish.

Well, this a funny coincidence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas ... -prom-date

Ask and ye shall receive…..

Okay, just keep up the "big men requests"!!!

[Ramulous]

I'm sure she would have stayed home dateless had Drummond not escorted her....

[bressler3south]

I'm sure she would have stayed home dateless had Drummond not escorted her....

Where's our Man of International Intrigue?????

[Running Ram]

BAR are you conceding to the fact that we will likely have a small PF as our #1 C this coming season? it strikes me you are making an argument for the need to recruit more bigs.

[sf2010]

RR - we will most certainly have a player-who-would-traditionally-be-a-PF playing the 5 spot for us this upcoming season. Hassan was extremely successful in that role last year. He will likely be all that and more this season. Nobody is saying we don't need to recruit more bigs, or that they are glad that none of our major frontcourt targets signed with us this recruiting cycle.

Some of us believe that this is a disaster and blame the coaching staff because how could they be so stupid and not think we needed frontcourt help and not be able to tell their ass from their elbow like the rest of us. Others of us think that there are many different ways to construct a winning roster, and that while not ideal, we still have more talent on this roster than we have had at any time in at least the past 6 seasons (possibly back to the Harrick era), and have enough talent to set high goals and expectations for this season.

[rodfromcranston]

The problem with your argument is simple.
Our one indispensable player is the one in the middle.
He also became foul prone late in the season.
Probably fatigue, and injuries didn't help.
We saw what happened when Martin was forced to sit for
any length of time.
The results weren't pretty. We still had Biruta to move to center.
Neither Watson or Berry are as talented as Biruta.
Bottom line, yes they've strengthened the rest of the team.
However, Martin staying on the floor is key to any winning formula.

[TruePoint]

Neither Watson or Berry are as talented as Biruta.

I don't agree with this. They are differently talented and Gil is probably a more skilled basketball player all around, but as far as being an interior presence I think Earl can be at least as talented as Gil - if not more. I think your opinion of Earl is based too much on what he looked like during a stretch of the season in which he was playing injured.

[sf2010]

However, Martin staying on the floor is key to any winning formula.

I will certainly agree with that. But I don't think that whether or not Hassan has a taller teammate on the floor with him has anything to do with his foul trouble, fatigue, or chances of becoming injured. He would still go 110% every time, fight for every rebound, and try to block every shot. Whether he plays the "4" or the "5" (I hate even using the anachronistic positional indicators) matters little when determining how much he is able to stay on the court.

No doubt, we will be less good when he is on the bench. Combinations of Watson, Berry, a hopefully semi-useful Iffy, Iverson, Butts, and Akele will have to cover the other frontcourt minutes when Hassan can't be out there to dominate. Losing Gilvydas hurts, for sure, but overall we have added more talent to our roster than we have lost, regardless of position.

[bigappleram]

I would agree with Rod from an offensive standpoint, but I would expect Earl and/or Berry to provide at least what Gil brought from a defensive and rebounding standpoint. Not to diminish Gil's production but 8ppg and 5rpg is not all that difficult to replace. RR, I dont consider Hassan a small PF from an A10 standpoint, he's 6'7 and long and plays closer to 6'9 than he does 6'5. Again is this ideal, of course not. I would love a 6'10 athletic C to add a menacing factor at the rim to compliment Hassan, but that wasn't in the cards.

[rodfromcranston]

Biruta had moves and offensive skills.
He was 10-7 in his junior season and fell off to 8-4.6,
playing only 20.8 minutes a game.
Even last years numbers would seem a stretch for Watson to achieve.
Watson had trouble converting wide open layups.
Both guys had problems on defense.
Agree that Watson should equal or better Biruta's rebounding an certainly
exceed his defense, which was poor at times.
Maybe ARD working with Earl on post moves, could help his game.
I liked him very much, until his February fade. He did have an
injured shoulder, so that couldn't have helped.

[bigappleram]

Earl seems very raw on offensive end, and agree Gil had polished moves in the paint that even with ARDs work I do not expect Earl to match. But I dont anticipate us needing a ton of scoring from the 5 position, I am most concerned about Defense and the scenario of Hassan in foul trouble. I think we will have plenty of scoring, from a much more dynamic arsenal (adding outside shooting with Four, a 6'9 athletic slasher in Iverson, improvements from Jared and Jarvis) so I dont think we need much more than offensive rebounding and put backs from our 5 and good defense.

[TruePoint]

Agree. Biruta was much more skilled than is reasonable to expect from Watson, but I think whatever offense you get from Watson is mostly gravy. A valuable contribution from him will be to eat up space in the middle on defense, rebound and be respectable guarding his man in the post. Be a brute, basically. I think that is a need for this team, and he is more equipped to do that than Biruta was.

[rodfromcranston]

All good points.
What you ideally want, is at least a threat of inside
scoring, to keep the defense from expanding outward,
to guard only the perimeter.

[ramfan85]

Andre Drummond wasn't a diamond in the rough.
He was a potential lottery pick if they didn't have the 1-and-done rule.

He also reclassified well into very, very late-August to sign with UConn. Lots of talk about Calhounesque-wrongdoing on that one. Was going to cost 6-10 sub center Michael Bradley his scholarship...
He was done in one, ninth pick overall by the Pistons.
Not a diamond in the rough, a really productive player, but still needs some offensive polish.

Well, this a funny coincidence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-bas ... -prom-date

Ask and ye shall receive…..

Okay, just keep up the "big men requests"!!!

Looks like she's going to the prom with "Billy Jack."

[Running Ram]

sf, nobody here thinks there is a disaster waiting to happen, speaking for myself only now, I would just like to see Martin not at the 5 because I think he is more effective guarding a 4 and giving help to the 5. BAR, I guess I wouldn't call Martin an undersized 4 in the A10, but he's no doubt an undersized 5 and like it or not the 5 is not his native position nor should it be for his own continued success (looking towards his professional development).

[BFC]

Rivals: 3 Star, #111 in 2015 - http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... ams-152313
Scout: 3 Star - http://www.scout.com/player/7533984n-gr ... iams?s=444
ESPN: 4 Star, 80 Grade, #21 PG - http://espn.go.com/college-sports/baske ... g-williams
Future150: 3 Star, 87 Grade - https://future150.com/hs/basketball-pro ... ms-pg-2016
247 Sports: 3 Star, 88 Grade, #164 in 2016, #32 SG - http://247sports.com/Player/Greg-Williams-30824