‘19 LA SG - Gregory Hammond (URI ---> UMass-Lowell)

[Rhody83]

Reef - Did you really mean he missed 21 free throws. So if he is an under 50% Free throw shooter, he can't possibly play much.

With this looming, who is the 4th guard now?

Anyone know how to find his season FT percentage?

The team missed 21 FTs. Just look at the box score

[Rhody83]

This kid is tall

[Rhody83]

Greg getting in some playing while home.

[rhodyblue12]

He looks much stronger already. This is a stud in the making.

[rhodyruckus]

The video above reminds me a little of Will Daniels. If he even gets to 75% of Will's career, sign me up!

[reef]

This kid could be a big time scorer for us in a couple of years

[NOLA504]

[DC_Rams]

Greg, is that you?

[reef]

You think Greg leads the frosh in minutes per game this year ??

[Rhody83]

You think Greg leads the frosh in minutes per game this year ??

Seems hard to predict because so much of it depends on the 8 players in front of them. Do any of the top 8 struggle? Does anyone get hurt? I don’t see any of the 3 Frosh in the regular rotation to start the season.

[Rhody83]

[phipsiGD'11]

Now that's a good looking practice video. Hopefully he plays with the same intensity during games this season. 9 man rotation would be nice come A10 tourney.

[PeterRamTime]

There's actually 9 players in front of him

[phipsiGD'11]

There's actually 9 players in front of him

Dowtin
Cyril
Fatts
Martin
Harris

Tate
Sheppard
Walker

Who am I missing?
I'm not counting Devale Johnson yet because I think he is the biggest question mark out of our 3 transfers (would love to seem him get some good minutes with the length of his arms though).

[rambone 78]

If he's good he'll get minutes...especially by his sophomore year, when we will need more guard depth.

[Billyboy78]

Who knows where these frosh are on the depth chart. It's possible that one of them might be better than Tate or Martin. I haven't seen any of them play, so I have no idea.

[Rhody83]

Who knows where these frosh are on the depth chart. It's possible that one of them might be better than Tate or Martin. I haven't seen any of them play, so I have no idea.

After the struggles last year, Coach Cox doesn’t want to rely on Freshmen. It is a major adjustment from high school to D1 for most players.

They will not play before Martin or Tate. The only exception to that is if Martin hasn’t fully recovered from his knee surgery.

There is a reason that Cox picked up Walker last year and Sheppard this year. They aren’t Freshmen. The best thing about Freshmen is they become Sophomores

Cox has built depth. When you have a roster 12 deep the Freshmen are likely to have a development year without being in the rotation.

[PeterRamTime]

There's actually 9 players in front of him

Dowtin
Cyril
Fatts
Martin
Harris

Tate
Sheppard
Walker

Who am I missing?
I'm not counting Devale Johnson yet because I think he is the biggest question mark out of our 3 transfers (would love to seem him get some good minutes with the length of his arms though).

I'm counting Devale.

Does play a different position though.

Guy looks really good on paper and the videos.

The shot blocking, rebounding and three point shooting stats are tremendous.

[TruePoint]

I think you can give Jeff, Cyril and Fatts their minutes in permanent ink at this point. But the whole rest of the rotation should be TBD. It’s OK to assume you know who will be in it, more or less, but the minutes distribution should be earned in the fall, and I don’t think you can have absolute certainty about who the 8th and 9th guys will be and who will be outside of that regular group. It’s obvious who the favorites are, but aside from a couple guys everyone else has to earn it - as they should. If Greg or Mekhi or Jacob come in and are clearly one of the best 8 guys, they’re going to play. We can guess that they might not be one of the best eight guys in October based on what else is on the roster and what we’ve seen from freshmen before, but the opportunity will be there for them.

[Rhody83]

I think you can give Jeff, Cyril and Fatts their minutes in permanent ink at this point. But the whole rest of the rotation should be TBD. It’s OK to assume you know who will be in it, more or less, but the minutes distribution should be earned in the fall, and I don’t think you can have absolute certainty about who the 8th and 9th guys will be and who will be outside of that regular group. It’s obvious who the favorites are, but aside from a couple guys everyone else has to earn it - as they should. If Greg or Mekhi or Jacob come in and are clearly one of the best 8 guys, they’re going to play. We can guess that they might not be one of the best eight guys in October based on what else is on the roster and what we’ve seen from freshmen before, but the opportunity will be there for them.

I will wager anything you want that none the three Freshmen are not part of the regular rotation to start the season. There aren’t enough opportunities for them to pass players who have significant game experience.

You can also “ink” a player who started 33 (Harris) and a player who started the last 19 games of the season (Martin). Martin averaged 27 mins/game last year and you don’t think it’s a guarantee he is part of this year’s regular rotation. The only exception is if Martin isn’t ready because of his knee surgery.

Cox felt exposed last year having to rely on Freshmen so much. He has stated that he isn’t going to let that happen again. He also weights loyalty high. He is going to play Harris, Martin and Tate in the regular rotation. Tate averaged the 7th most minutes last year just 1 min/game behind Thompson.

[TruePoint]

I think you can give Jeff, Cyril and Fatts their minutes in permanent ink at this point. But the whole rest of the rotation should be TBD. It’s OK to assume you know who will be in it, more or less, but the minutes distribution should be earned in the fall, and I don’t think you can have absolute certainty about who the 8th and 9th guys will be and who will be outside of that regular group. It’s obvious who the favorites are, but aside from a couple guys everyone else has to earn it - as they should. If Greg or Mekhi or Jacob come in and are clearly one of the best 8 guys, they’re going to play. We can guess that they might not be one of the best eight guys in October based on what else is on the roster and what we’ve seen from freshmen before, but the opportunity will be there for them.

I will wager anything you want that none the three Freshmen are not part of the regular rotation to start the season. There aren’t enough opportunities for them to pass players who have significant game experience.

You can also “ink” a player who started 33 (Harris) and a player who started the last 19 games of the season (Martin). Martin averaged 27 mins/game last year and you don’t think it’s a guarantee he is part of this year’s regular rotation. The only exception is if Martin isn’t ready because of his knee surgery.

Cox felt exposed last year having to rely on Freshmen so much. He has stated that he isn’t going to let that happen again. He also weights loyalty high. He is going to play Harris, Martin and Tate in the regular rotation. Tate averaged the 7th most minutes last year just 1 min/game behind Thompson.

I don’t feel like your reply indicates that you even read my post, and I have no idea what I said in my post that makes you think I would wager that a freshman will break camp in the rotation, or that Harris and Martin won’t be in the rotation.

I said that guys will have an opportunity to earn minutes. That’s not a prediction about whether they will or not. It is overwhelmingly likely that we all know the first 8 players to see the floor against Long Island. But that doesn’t mean other guys won’t have a chance to earn minutes. It’s a long season. Of course Cox felt exposed by having to rely on freshmen last year. This year he does not have to rely on them - that is a good thing, but it doesn’t mean that one or more of them can’t play themselves into the rotation. Having to rely on freshmen is much different than allowing freshmen to compete for minutes. If he has already decided on who his 8 guys will be for the whole season, then he is not a good coach. Fortunately, I don’t think he’s an idiot so I’m not worried about that. Guys will have a chance to earn minutes.

As far as Harris and Martin, if you think you can “ink” in the minutes for them, go ahead enlighten us. Of course they will be in the rotation and it is almost certain they will start. But I think beyond the guys I mentioned, the minutes distribution will have to sort itself out based on performance. Either one could start and play 28 minutes or 25 minutes or 21 minutes. It will depend a lot on the strides they’ve made and where other guys are at in terms of their development.

[rhodyblue12]

If you can shoot and you can defend, you will play. Simple as that.

[theblueram]

May the best players start and play lots of minutes. NCAAT or BUST!!!!!!

[Rhody83]

TP, the discussion was ongoing about the rotation. I guess you changed it to “permanent ink” minutes per game.
What is your permanent minutes per game for Jeff, Fatts & Cyril?

I felt your post had a message more like - other than Jeff, Fatts & Cyril the lineup is wide open. Excluding Martin who averaged 27 mpg and played better at the end seems like a oversight.

Jeff broke into an experienced line up (which this year’s is) as a Freshmen half way thru the season and saw significant minutes when Jarvis got hurt. I think it would take something like that for a Freshman to get an opportunity for regular rotation minutes this year.

[rhodylaw]

Hopefully we have he depth for Fatts and Jeff to be closer to 30 mins a game most nights - that only happens thoug if Shepherd and/or Hammond are ready to go.

[NOLA504]

https://bustingbrackets.com/2019/08/19/ ... g-class/4/

[Rhody83]

https://bustingbrackets.com/2019/08/19/ ... g-class/4/

I like Hammond a lot.
This article is written by an SLU fan. Take it for what it is worth.

[SmartyBarrett]

https://bustingbrackets.com/2019/08/19/ ... g-class/4/

I like Hammond a lot.
This article is written by an SLU fan. Take it for what it is worth.

Stu is a UMass fan.

[Rhody83]

https://bustingbrackets.com/2019/08/19/ ... g-class/4/

I like Hammond a lot.
This article is written by an SLU fan. Take it for what it is worth.

Stu is a UMass fan.

Even worse . At least he masked it to get the lead on Tre Mitchell out. Fansided is a fan blog. Some stories are ok and others are horrible. I am guessing Stu has never seen Greg Hammond play.

[NOLA504]

[Rhody Guy]

shouldn't this be stickied?

[SandorClegane]

Practice started... no longer recruits.

[CamsRams]

[PeterRamTime]

Whaaaaaaat?

[rambone 78]

The kid wants to play I guess.....he hasn't seen any minutes for a while, even at the end of the PC game when Cox put in a walk on.

You would think he would at least wait until this season was over.

With Wood and Leggett coming in next year, maybe he figures he isn't going to play much even then.

Now we have even less guard depth, and another opening. With Tate suspended, we're down to 8 players basically.

[Rhody83]

[rambone 78]

Was Hammond in the doghouse?

Hell now they don't even have 10 guys to practice against each other.

[Rhody83]

Was Hammond in the doghouse?

Hell now they don't even have 10 guys to practice against each other.

Sheppard and DJ practice plus the two walkons.

[rambone 78]

True....and doesn't Dadika have a scholly so he's not a walk on anymore?

[Billyboy78]

I'm guessing whatever our connection was in the Louisiana area is done. Three recruits, three transfers (although one was a graduate), or two and a drop out (I still have no idea what happened to Layssard).

[rambone 78]

Besides not playing, Hammond might have left for other reasons....homesick, didn't like the school or courses of study, etc.

[Rhody83]

True....and doesn't Dadika have a scholly so he's not a walk on anymore?

Dadika does not have a scholarship. He is one of the walk ons.

[TruePoint]

...the weather

[Rhody83]

I'm guessing whatever our connection was in the Louisiana area is done. Three recruits, three transfers (although one was a graduate), or two and a drop out (I still have no idea what happened to Layssard).

Layssard had an issue at URI for a second time and was no longer on the team.

[rambone 78]

Dan had his share of issues with players when he was trying to build the program.

Happens to most coaches.

Players today want to play, and if they don't, they leave. Look at the number of transfers.

Sort of like my 3 ex wives...they didn't get to play, so they left.

[Brian]

I'm guessing whatever our connection was in the Louisiana area is done. Three recruits, three transfers (although one was a graduate), or two and a drop out (I still have no idea what happened to Layssard).

Layssard had an issue at URI for a second time and was no longer on the team.

Is Layssard playing anywhere? Didn't realize he had issues here.

[Rhody15]

Besides not playing, Hammond might have left for other reasons....homesick, didn't like the school or courses of study, etc.

I mean, I highly highly doubt “course of studies” was a reason he transferred.

[DeanDome88]

We are running out of options for backcourt depth. I'm starting to wonder.

[rambone 78]

We'll be OK if everybody can stay healthy....a big if.

I mean Fatts is the key to everything. And Jeff also, since there's no backup other than Martin at the 2.

They are each going to be playing 35+ minutes a game the rest of the season.

That will be tough come conference tourney time. If we don't finish top 4 regular season and have to play on Thursday....well we saw what happened last season.

[Tom98]

I think this is a very bad loss. I think this kid had a lot of potential. 6”7 guard who is very fundamentally sound aren’t that easy to come by. I thought he should have been getting more minutes regardless if he was ready or not. I’d feel better about this if it somehow wasn’t basketball related.