No And If(fy)s or Butts

[MrRamsDen76]

With Leroy Butts not enrolling and Iffy buried deep on the bench we are very thin on big bodies. Are there any rumors of Labor Day Specials among late graduating JUCO's, Euros, or others that were off the radar when we still thought Butts was going to be here?

[hrstrat57]

Just read a good article in I believe it was the Independent of Iffy doing charity work in Nigeria.....

Sure makes it easy to cheer for him.

[hrstrat57]

Update here is a linky....mods clean up post if necessary not clear on linky protocols this forum....

(or perhaps a sep thread is more appropriate as this feel good story is a bit of a thread poach....

http://www.independentri.com/independen ... dff16.html

[rodfromcranston]

Iffy is a really nice guy, and very bright.
There are positives there that go far beyond basketball.

[hrstrat57]

I hope Iffy is worthy of a few touches this season......if not he had one bright shining moment vs. UMaine.....

I was there and it was pretty electric. I believe I posted a few pics from that game, maybe including an Iffy dunk. I'll have to check the memory bank.

[hrstrat57]

Yep I did get some Iffy in game action, his first game was his best

http://keaneyblue.com/viewtopic.php?f=6 ... &start=150

[UCH21377]

Read that article the other day; seems like a great kid. Wether he plays or not he deserves our admiration for what he is doing over there.

[Blue Man]

Love Iffy as a guy. Hopefully he's developed more this year as a player, and cut down on his fouling. We'd be in a great situation if he's elevated his game to earn playing time over Earl or Andre.

Speaking of...as far as bodies go - I feel like everyone forgets about Andre Berry. As it is we're going to run a 3-4 guard set most of the time. Maybe you'll see times where Kuran will bump to the 3, Hass the 4 and you'd bring in Earl or Berry. Akele is by all accounts, the same type of player as Butts, except better in all aspects.

We are finally a deep enough team where losing a guy like Butts isn't going to impact us.

Point - Jarvis, Four
Guards - Jared, EC Christion
Wing - Iverson Akele
Forwards - Hassan Watson, Berry

That's 10 players right there. Most teams usually run a rotation of 8-9. Unless you're like Kentucky last year. So we have 10 guys that are all going to be contributors. I wouldn't have put Butts to get time in front of anyone listed on there. Get a chance to grab another guy next year or this year.

[SGreenwell]

Blue Man, while I think Biruta frustrated some fans because his performances could be up-and-down, I do think he was an average to above-average frontcourt player for the A-10. So, unless Watson has made a major improvement in his game, I definitely think it's a big downgrade from Biruta to Watson. Improvements from Martin, Mathews, Terrell and Garrett, and more depth elsewhere on the roster, probably means it's a better team even with the loss of Biruta and (now) Butts though.

[rambone 78]

If Hassan stays healthy this is a better team than last year. By how much is the question.

The lack of frontcourt depth is the big concern, imo.

[Seawrightspostgame]

Everyone should be markedly better from the year of maturing. The familiarity. The fact that they have more help on the court will help.

I think Gil's absence or another big next to Hassan will be a huge deal. Gil was tough. Whatever he did.. He competed hard and was strong. I'm not so sure Hassan can thrive as the sole front court guy the way you guys call for. It's hard to out rebound a legit 4 & 5 with a 6"7 forward. No matter how phenomenal he is.

Other guy doesn't have to be prolific or even a leader. The other guy just has to take some of the physical toll off of Hassan Martin.

[bressler3south]

Why all the concern about the lack of talented front-court players? It's a guard's world…..

[ace]

Love Iffy as a guy. Hopefully he's developed more this year as a player, and cut down on his fouling. We'd be in a great situation if he's elevated his game to earn playing time over Earl or Andre.

Speaking of...as far as bodies go - I feel like everyone forgets about Andre Berry. As it is we're going to run a 3-4 guard set most of the time. Maybe you'll see times where Kuran will bump to the 3, Hass the 4 and you'd bring in Earl or Berry. Akele is by all accounts, the same type of player as Butts, except better in all aspects.

We are finally a deep enough team where losing a guy like Butts isn't going to impact us.

Point - Jarvis, Four
Guards - Jared, EC Christion
Wing - Iverson Akele
Forwards - Hassan Watson, Berry

That's 10 players right there. Most teams usually run a rotation of 8-9. Unless you're like Kentucky last year. So we have 10 guys that are all going to be contributors. I wouldn't have put Butts to get time in front of anyone listed on there. Get a chance to grab another guy next year or this year.

And to add to that, here are the numbers- they lose about 21 frontcourt minutes per game and 52 guard/wing minutes per game and return about 125 minutes per game. To replace those 73 or so minutes (probably less if you expect a few more minutes from maybe Garrett, Terrell, or Watson), they brought in Thompson, Iverson, McGlynn, Berry, and Akele. This should be a fun season.

[rodfromcranston]

Only to some, Bress.
Six of the top seven NBA picks were bigs.
I also fully agree with SWC's post.
I love Hassan Martin, but I've seen him get overpowered
by thicker guys 6'8 or better.
Luckily, we play in the A-10, where size is not much of a factor.
When you get to the NCAAs, then it's often a different story.

[Dre3000]

Everyone should be markedly better from the year of maturing. The familiarity. The fact that they have more help on the court will help.

I think Gil's absence or another big next to Hassan will be a huge deal. Gil was tough. Whatever he did.. He competed hard and was strong. I'm not so sure Hassan can thrive as the sole front court guy the way you guys call for. It's hard to out rebound a legit 4 & 5 with a 6"7 forward. No matter how phenomenal he is.

Other guy doesn't have to be prolific or even a leader. The other guy just has to take some of the physical toll off of Hassan Martin.

I wish we had an analytics guy that could break down Hassan's production when TJ came in and played the four. I know my mind is probably exaggerating it, but seemed like he played at the four almost as much as he did the guard spots. A quick search shows Hass playing GREAT (16 pts, 16 reb, 2 blocks) last year against Richmond where Gil played just 8 minutes.

For this reason I'm sure Hassan will have plenty of success regardless of who is next to him as a big. Also I'm still holding to the belief that Kuran will be just fine taking some of the physical toll off of Hassan. Afterall Iverson is just an inch shorter, but heavier than he who shall not be mentioned. We'll just have to wait and see what his motor will be like.

[UCH21377]

At 6'9, I'd like to think that Iverson can help inside.

[Iggy1979]

I'd love to see Iffy step up. Can he be bad as he has looked? All the team needs is someone who can play defense (with whacking everyone who comes near him) and grab some rebounds.