Re: The 2021-2022 Season Thread
Posted: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:09 pm
I was looking at Bal as a possible redshirt candidate. I know it was just a scrimmage, but he looks ready to go now. He also looked like the best point guard on the floor.
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Will also be on in 40 minutes from now, today on Pac-12 AZ Channel at 2:30 Pacific time.Catintheheat wrote: ↑Sun Oct 03, 2021 8:44 pm The game I sing going to be replayed at noon on Monday on PAC-12 Arizona.
Koloko? perimeter defender likely one of Kriisa/Larsson would be my guess? Team has enough guys that should be solid enough defensively (3 already listed + Terry & Aiken, potentially Kier).
So I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:42 pm Aiken looked like he gets after it on defense, but also looked lost on the glass. Koloko looked like he owned the paint and Kerr looked like he did last year, not a shut down guy but gives good effort and takes a ton of charges (I think he took 3 in a 20 minute game). I can tell you who is not our best defender, Azoulas. He was struggling on defense against the walkons.
Kier and Ballo are the only guys in the rotation I did not think looked like they belong in the rotation, but Kier may be our backup PG (please someone make that not so) and Ballo will need to play when Koloko undoubtedly gets in foul trouble.
That is nothing new, we essentially have only 9 scholarship players expected to contribute. Tiny Tubelis is essentially a walk on with a scholarship, Bal and Nowell could play some but we may be in trouble if they are playing real minutes, and then we have an open spot. We can not really afford injuries this year if we hope to make some noise.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pmSo I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:42 pm Aiken looked like he gets after it on defense, but also looked lost on the glass. Koloko looked like he owned the paint and Kerr looked like he did last year, not a shut down guy but gives good effort and takes a ton of charges (I think he took 3 in a 20 minute game). I can tell you who is not our best defender, Azoulas. He was struggling on defense against the walkons.
Kier and Ballo are the only guys in the rotation I did not think looked like they belong in the rotation, but Kier may be our backup PG (please someone make that not so) and Ballo will need to play when Koloko undoubtedly gets in foul trouble.
Well yeah. We have an obvious 8 man rotation and anything beyond those 8 guys is a bit of a reach.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pmSo I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:42 pm Aiken looked like he gets after it on defense, but also looked lost on the glass. Koloko looked like he owned the paint and Kerr looked like he did last year, not a shut down guy but gives good effort and takes a ton of charges (I think he took 3 in a 20 minute game). I can tell you who is not our best defender, Azoulas. He was struggling on defense against the walkons.
Kier and Ballo are the only guys in the rotation I did not think looked like they belong in the rotation, but Kier may be our backup PG (please someone make that not so) and Ballo will need to play when Koloko undoubtedly gets in foul trouble.
We've got ten guys, plus Bal. Eight we like plus two extra, normal rotation. I wouldn't say we're lacking in depth, though obviously a loss of Kerr would be pretty detrimental since I only trust him at PG.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:33 pmThat is nothing new, we essentially have only 9 scholarship players expected to contribute. Tiny Tubelis is essentially a walk on with a scholarship, Bal and Nowell could play some but we may be in trouble if they are playing real minutes, and then we have an open spot. We can not really afford injuries this year if we hope to make some noise.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pm So I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.
I've been saying it
Sounds like this is where losing Akinjo really hurts us. Depth of true ball-handlers.YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:45 amWe've got ten guys, plus Bal. Eight we like plus two extra, normal rotation. I wouldn't say we're lacking in depth, though obviously a loss of Kerr would be pretty detrimental since I only trust him at PG.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:33 pmThat is nothing new, we essentially have only 9 scholarship players expected to contribute. Tiny Tubelis is essentially a walk on with a scholarship, Bal and Nowell could play some but we may be in trouble if they are playing real minutes, and then we have an open spot. We can not really afford injuries this year if we hope to make some noise.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pm So I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.
Kier shouldn't play back-up PG, imo. I don't trust him to do more than shoot, give effort on D, and make a few passes within the offense. He's a sixth year player - he is who he is at this point, and it aint a PG. Personally I'd prefer to see Terry in that role - I continue to think that he'll settle into the game better with the ball in his hands more (though not sticking in his hands, for sake of clarity).
I don't know that Akinjo would have fit Lloyd's offense so a split was probably for the best, but this is certainly where losing out on TyTy hurts. Nevertheless, the "point guard" responsibilities under Lloyd will be more shared than we're used to under Miller - so that spreads out the risk some.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:10 amSounds like this is where losing Akinjo really hurts us. Depth of true ball-handlers.YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 10:45 amWe've got ten guys, plus Bal. Eight we like plus two extra, normal rotation. I wouldn't say we're lacking in depth, though obviously a loss of Kerr would be pretty detrimental since I only trust him at PG.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:33 pmThat is nothing new, we essentially have only 9 scholarship players expected to contribute. Tiny Tubelis is essentially a walk on with a scholarship, Bal and Nowell could play some but we may be in trouble if they are playing real minutes, and then we have an open spot. We can not really afford injuries this year if we hope to make some noise.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pm So I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.
Kier shouldn't play back-up PG, imo. I don't trust him to do more than shoot, give effort on D, and make a few passes within the offense. He's a sixth year player - he is who he is at this point, and it aint a PG. Personally I'd prefer to see Terry in that role - I continue to think that he'll settle into the game better with the ball in his hands more (though not sticking in his hands, for sake of clarity).
“So I’m hearing” makes me envision you getting a manila envelope with the crop report in it from a guy in a trench coat in a dark parking garage, while it’s far more likely you just looked at our roster and came to the same conclusion the rest of us have which is that outside the top 8 players we have projects and never-will-be’s.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pmSo I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:42 pm Aiken looked like he gets after it on defense, but also looked lost on the glass. Koloko looked like he owned the paint and Kerr looked like he did last year, not a shut down guy but gives good effort and takes a ton of charges (I think he took 3 in a 20 minute game). I can tell you who is not our best defender, Azoulas. He was struggling on defense against the walkons.
Kier and Ballo are the only guys in the rotation I did not think looked like they belong in the rotation, but Kier may be our backup PG (please someone make that not so) and Ballo will need to play when Koloko undoubtedly gets in foul trouble.
Thanks Choo. I'm with you although when I saw Ballo with his 7' 260 pound frame I said he might be raw but could be useful to bang some opponents around. That's quite a big dude.ChooChooCat wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 12:17 pm Kriisa
Mathurin
Terry
Larsson
Aiken
Tubelis
Koloko
Kier
Ballo
Bal
Nowell
The starters and rotation guys come from among the first group. The others are injury/foul trouble protection.
I just read through the thread, dude. I'll try to strike "So I'm hearing" from my lexicon to avoid further confusion.Chicat wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:46 am“So I’m hearing” makes me envision you getting a manila envelope with the crop report in it from a guy in a trench coat in a dark parking garage, while it’s far more likely you just looked at our roster and came to the same conclusion the rest of us have which is that outside the top 8 players we have projects and never-will-be’s.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pmSo I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:42 pm Aiken looked like he gets after it on defense, but also looked lost on the glass. Koloko looked like he owned the paint and Kerr looked like he did last year, not a shut down guy but gives good effort and takes a ton of charges (I think he took 3 in a 20 minute game). I can tell you who is not our best defender, Azoulas. He was struggling on defense against the walkons.
Kier and Ballo are the only guys in the rotation I did not think looked like they belong in the rotation, but Kier may be our backup PG (please someone make that not so) and Ballo will need to play when Koloko undoubtedly gets in foul trouble.
I just think you should give yourself credit. You know where this team is strong and where it has weak spots.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 3:32 pmI just read through the thread, dude. I'll try to strike "So I'm hearing" from my lexicon to avoid further confusion.Chicat wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:46 am“So I’m hearing” makes me envision you getting a manila envelope with the crop report in it from a guy in a trench coat in a dark parking garage, while it’s far more likely you just looked at our roster and came to the same conclusion the rest of us have which is that outside the top 8 players we have projects and never-will-be’s.Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 6:11 pmSo I'm hearing we may have depth issues, particularly if (god forbid) there's an injury.gronk4heisman wrote: ↑Mon Oct 04, 2021 3:42 pm Aiken looked like he gets after it on defense, but also looked lost on the glass. Koloko looked like he owned the paint and Kerr looked like he did last year, not a shut down guy but gives good effort and takes a ton of charges (I think he took 3 in a 20 minute game). I can tell you who is not our best defender, Azoulas. He was struggling on defense against the walkons.
Kier and Ballo are the only guys in the rotation I did not think looked like they belong in the rotation, but Kier may be our backup PG (please someone make that not so) and Ballo will need to play when Koloko undoubtedly gets in foul trouble.
the first day in the decline and eventual fall of Sean Miller at Arizona......U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:11 pm I really want to beat Wichita st.
After the 6-11 upset I really want to get them.
Not me.... kinda hoping for a loss
Wasn't that also the sweaty shirt game? Where he had sweat through his shirt by the under 12? He had lost a bunch of weight that year, I figured he was on some crazy shiz nits from GNC or something.97cats wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:56 amthe first day in the decline and eventual fall of Sean Miller at Arizona......U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:11 pm I really want to beat Wichita st.
After the 6-11 upset I really want to get them.
The Shockers were underseeded!!97cats wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:56 amthe first day in the decline and eventual fall of Sean Miller at Arizona......U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:11 pm I really want to beat Wichita st.
After the 6-11 upset I really want to get them.
That was my thought also.U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 5:39 pmWasn't that also the sweaty shirt game? Where he had sweat through his shirt by the under 12? He had lost a bunch of weight that year, I figured he was on some crazy shiz nits from GNC or something.97cats wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:56 amthe first day in the decline and eventual fall of Sean Miller at Arizona......U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:11 pm I really want to beat Wichita st.
After the 6-11 upset I really want to get them.
Right. IIRC…they were 12th in KenPom going into the tourney and ended up as an 11 seed?YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:57 pmThe Shockers were underseeded!!97cats wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:56 amthe first day in the decline and eventual fall of Sean Miller at Arizona......U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:11 pm I really want to beat Wichita st.
After the 6-11 upset I really want to get them.
Yep. KenPom had them ranked between 1 seed Oregon and 2 seed Xavier. Same year Gonzaga got an 11 seed and smoked 3 seed Utah. Fuck the committee, honestly.IndianaZonaFan wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:21 amRight. IIRC…they were 12th in KenPom going into the tourney and ended up as an 11 seed?YoDeFoe wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 8:57 pmThe Shockers were underseeded!!97cats wrote: ↑Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:56 amthe first day in the decline and eventual fall of Sean Miller at Arizona......U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 6:11 pm I really want to beat Wichita st.
After the 6-11 upset I really want to get them.
Notably this ranking was prior to Aiken's recommitment. I reached out about how that would have impacted the ranking and they said they'd bump us to roughly 30th (one of the three guys went as high as 25th, one as low as 35th).U.P. Zona Fan wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 4:03 pm The Three Man Weave has us at 34 in their top 40, and I think that is fair.
https://www.three-man-weave.com/3mw/pac-12-2022-preview
They have a great podcast, they just did the big east preview so hopefully the pac 12 preview is soon.