Bear Down Wildcats

Damn, Iverson Molinar scored 25 points in a win over the Oakland Soldiers in the Peach Jam semis. Coming out party indeed.

Molinar shot a blistering 63.3 percent from the floor, almost never taking an ill-advised shot over an eight-game span. Molinar - named after NBA superstar Allen Iverson - was lights out from the perimeter, drilling 47.4 percent of his three-pointers behind a beautifully-crafted jumpshot.

Molinar has less than 350 twitter followers and one of them is Terry Armstrong, for whatever that's worth. [insert "eyes" emoji]

YoDeFoe wrote:Damn, Iverson Molinar scored 25 points in a win over the Oakland Soldiers in the Peach Jam semis. Coming out party indeed.

Molinar shot a blistering 63.3 percent from the floor, almost never taking an ill-advised shot over an eight-game span. Molinar - named after NBA superstar Allen Iverson - was lights out from the perimeter, drilling 47.4 percent of his three-pointers behind a beautifully-crafted jumpshot.

Molinar has less than 350 twitter followers and one of them is Terry Armstrong, for whatever that's worth. [insert "eyes" emoji]

Gainey and Phelps both follow him too "eyes" emoji indeed.

Choo calls it again

Momentum keeps building!

Damn, what a wingspan! Keep proving the doubters wrong Sean

The future is bright ladies and gentlemen.

Christian Koloko commits to Arizona
ByJason Scheer 83 minutes ago

https://247sports.com/college/arizona/A ... 122390864/" target="_blank

Long wingspan, soft hands, fluidity running the floor and good timing above the rim. Projects as a rim protector, rebounder, and lob finisher.

Dare I say... Clint Capela-esque. #RocketsOffense

I thought Miller stopped recruiting.

Main Event wrote:

Welcome aboard.

Koloko is another developmental guy, but that is fine. Having guys who take a year or two to develop their bodies and skill is a facet of our recruiting that I don't mind adding. A guy with a massive wingspan like that has the ability to be a huge asset when he puts some muscle on and gets used to Arizona level competition.

Matching against Jeter as a freshman should help him develop like that.

For me it's all about ceiling and his is high as a rim protector and rebounder. Any thing he does on offense is a sweet bonus (he does have a nice hook shot). The scoring is going to come from the perimeter predominantly at the new Arizona.

That wingspan and reach tho...

On offense: also hoping that he effectively blocks out the opposing big to clear lanes of attack for our guards and wings, and that he uses that reach to clean up any misses around the rim. Like Zeus with better timing.

ChooChooCat wrote:For me it's all about ceiling and his is high as a rim protector and rebounder. Any thing he does on offense is a sweet bonus (he does have a nice hook shot). The scoring is going to come from the perimeter predominantly at the new Arizona.

That wingspan and reach tho...

To me I love a guy like Christian much more then a guy like Dusan especially for a big man. Dusan was limited athletically. Guy worked his tail off but did not start from a great base of athleticism. I think if you take a tweener or lower ranked player, make sure they have strong athletic ability. Christian needs to head straight to Los Betos when he gets into town and eat about 18 California Burrito's before he goes to bed each night. But from his videos it looks like he can move and run and obviously has a massive wing span which will help. He has things you can not coach which is height and appears to be able to move.

Maybe he never puts on weight but at least the potential is there with his athletic ability.

I think the desire for bulk in the post is overblown in the college game. We've had big bodied players catch all kinds of offensive foul calls for using their heft in the paint, and then you see the success of a guy like Chris Boucher in just being super long naturally and active with his feet, while weighing less than 200lbs.

Gimme the wingspan and the nose for timing, we can work out the rest.

YoDeFoe wrote:I think the desire for bulk in the post is overblown in the college game. We've had big bodied players catch all kinds of offensive foul calls for using their heft in the paint, and then you see the success of a guy like Chris Boucher in just being super long naturally and active with his feet, while weighing less than 200lbs.

Gimme the wingspan and the nose for timing, we can work out the rest.

Agreed but I also think he can add some bulk without losing a ton of athletic ability. He’s got a better body type and broader shoulders than Boucher. Rounds will do work for him. Ultimately his ceiling may come down to his jumper- if he can become a Boucher-level or better shooter, he has NBA potential.

Jaden McDaniels is down to 5 and we're not one of the schools. Even if we were in his 5 he wasn't coming here anyways.

ChooChooCat wrote:Jaden McDaniels is down to 5 and we're not one of the schools. Even if we were in his 5 he wasn't coming here anyways.

Seems like we may be focusing in on Josh Green, Terry Armstrong, Boogie Ellis, maybe CJ Walker/Drew Timme. Guessing we get one of Josh Green/Terry Armstrong, then hopefully one of CJ Walker/Timme, although I'm not sure where we stand with them. Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

goslingswagg wrote:Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

It's serious.

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

It's serious.

Very interesting. Looks like an interesting player in his highlight reel. Not sure how to feel about him though...Choo you have any thoughts?

goslingswagg wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

It's serious.

Very interesting. Looks like an interesting player in his highlight reel. Not sure how to feel about him though...Choo you have any thoughts?

For what the staff is looking for out of their 4 men from this point forward (spreads the floor and athletic enough to defend a college 4 man) he's a perfect fit. The guy is very likely going to be the JUCO POY.

goslingswagg wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

It's serious.

Very interesting. Looks like an interesting player in his highlight reel. Not sure how to feel about him though...Choo you have any thoughts?

I probably watched the same highlight reel. Seems like part of a commitment to smaller, quicker 4's. He would be a decent complement to Lee as an upperclassman. Seems bouncy and like he has a nice stroke.

Good to hear Choo, thanks. If he is a JUCO POY quality of player, then yes I think definitely makes sense to go after him.

Spiff - agree with the bounciness and stroke, seems to be a good modern fit as a PF. Not sure if I've said this before, but I see Lee as being a modern C, and I agree with them being a fit together.

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

It's serious.

Very interesting. Looks like an interesting player in his highlight reel. Not sure how to feel about him though...Choo you have any thoughts?

I probably watched the same highlight reel. Seems like part of a commitment to smaller, quicker 4's. He would be a decent complement to Lee as an upperclassman. Seems bouncy and like he has a nice stroke.

The question is where do you play Lee if you have Khalid Thomas and Stone Gettings?

Lee may be a transfer candidate if he doesn't improve substantially this year imo. Gettings and Jeter would definitely be ahead of him in the rotation next year, and then maybe Akot as a PF or Khalid/Timme/CJ Walker/Grad Transfer X would potentially be ahead of him as well. Not sure there's serious minutes for him without big time improvement.

ChooChooCat wrote:

Spaceman Spiff wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Also not sure how serious our interest in Khalid Thomas is.

It's serious.

Very interesting. Looks like an interesting player in his highlight reel. Not sure how to feel about him though...Choo you have any thoughts?

I probably watched the same highlight reel. Seems like part of a commitment to smaller, quicker 4's. He would be a decent complement to Lee as an upperclassman. Seems bouncy and like he has a nice stroke.

The question is where do you play Lee if you have Khalid Thomas and Stone Gettings?

I'd go with a 4/5 rotation of Jeter, Lee, Thomas and Gettings. I think you can play two smaller guys together, like Thomas and Lee, in the college game. Thomas and Gettings seem to be competent enough shooters to enable 4 out. Maybe you have to adjust a bit if you play Jeter and Lee together, but that's a decent, flexible inside rotation. You lack a little rim protection without Jeter in, but that comes with the smaller lineups.

Miller meeting with Terry Armstrong today...ready for another commitment baby!

Miller could sell ketchup popsicles to a woman in white gloves

Miller could sell ice to Eskimos

Ultimate closer

What’s hilarious is that people think our program is in demise...I think we are entering a 1988-2001 period of elite play with multiple final fours and more

Miller changing to a modern style while continuing to recruit at a high level knowing the U of A is backing him so strongly is a deadly combination

And Lebron is on the Lakers...god life is good

It's really funny watching all the schools implicated in the FBI scandal recruit pretty damn well.

Oklahoma State currently has 2 4* commits in their class and they only landed 1 4* player in the previous 3 years combined.
Miami just landed a 4* commit today and are very much in it for a few others
USC has the #1 recruiting class in the country for whatever stupid reason
Arizona has a 5* commit already and will land numerous high end guys
Louisville has 4 4* commits already
Auburn has 2 4* commits

This whole thing was all a colossal waste of time.

Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

YoDeFoe wrote:Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

Agreed. I'd be happy with either.

goslingswagg wrote:

YoDeFoe wrote:Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

Agreed. I'd be happy with either.

How about both?

Both would be good!

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:

YoDeFoe wrote:Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

Agreed. I'd be happy with either.

How about both?

Be still my heart...

ChooChooCat wrote:It's really funny watching all the schools implicated in the FBI scandal recruit pretty damn well.

Oklahoma State currently has 2 4* commits in their class and they only landed 1 4* player in the previous 3 years combined.
Miami just landed a 4* commit today and are very much in it for a few others
USC has the #1 recruiting class in the country for whatever stupid reason
Arizona has a 5* commit already and will land numerous high end guys
Louisville has 4 4* commits already
Auburn has 2 4* commits

This whole thing was all a colossal waste of time.

Such a giant joke. The more schools that were implemented, the more it felt like it would be a joke because no way NCAA was going to take down everyone because the more they dig the more everyone is in on it.

goslingswagg wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:

YoDeFoe wrote:Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

Agreed. I'd be happy with either.

How about both?

Be still my heart...

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:

YoDeFoe wrote:Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

Agreed. I'd be happy with either.

How about both?

Would never had expected that!... but can you imagine this group of wing/front court.

2/3 Brandon Randolph 6'6"180 Jr
2/3 Devonair Doutrive 6'5" 175 So

3 Terry Armstrong 6'6 185 Fr
3/2 Josh Green 6'6" 175 Fr
3/4 Omar Thielmans 6'7" 200 So
3/4 Emmanuel Akot 6'7" 190 Jr

4 Ira Lee 6'7" 235 jr

Hard to see all of them on the same roster, but that's a whole lot of 6'5 - 6'8" long athletes. If Lee and Akot could prove to defend and rebound out of the 4? Lots and lots of fun.

Zeke Nnaji down to 5...would love to add him as our other big this class.

goslingswagg wrote:Zeke Nnaji down to 5...would love to add him as our other big this class.

Would be a great fit at the 4 with Stone Gettings.

baycat93 wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:

YoDeFoe wrote:Would love to get Armstrong. Kid is a killer, a walking bucket. Not the passer that Green is but still a heck of a swingman.

Agreed. I'd be happy with either.

How about both?

Would never had expected that!... but can you imagine this group of wing/front court.

2/3 Brandon Randolph 6'6"180 Jr
2/3 Devonair Doutrive 6'5" 175 So

3 Terry Armstrong 6'6 185 Fr
3/2 Josh Green 6'6" 175 Fr
3/4 Omar Thielmans 6'7" 200 So
3/4 Emmanuel Akot 6'7" 190 Jr

4 Ira Lee 6'7" 235 jr

Hard to see all of them on the same roster, but that's a whole lot of 6'5 - 6'8" long athletes. If Lee and Akot could prove to defend and rebound out of the 4? Lots and lots of fun.

Magic Johnson has talked about constructing his new Lakers roster that way: just a ton of 6'5" - 6'9" guys who can switch and play largely positionless. Also helpful for depth in case of injury, suspension, off season departures, etc.

I'm a believer that you can't have enough ~6'7" guys with plus wingspans who can dribble and shoot. That and enough playmakers / ballhandlers who can initiate the offense. If anyone saw the Lakers preseason game last night, their offense looked incredible with Rondo and LeBron, less so with only Rondo, and largely disjointed without either guy. The Rockets, I'll again note, pursued a similar team construction last season and got the best record in basketball from it (until they went down a ball handler and the whole thing fell apart).

Gimme a Capela/McGee down low, a couple elite ball handlers outside, and a bunch of swingmen in between please.

I know you say we are gonna run a similar offense to the Rockets but there is no chance imo. The Rockets ran more iso plays than any team in the NBA. D'Antoni kinda lets them do as they please, with a couple of called plays here and there. A more realistic ideal would be an offense like the Jazz. Spread PnR just over and over (I think they ran more PnR than any team in the NBA this year) with players who make the extra pass and can make reads off help defenses. But at the same time it is highly influenced/maintained by the coach and more plays are called but still flows (well until the Rockets in the playoffs just switched everything). Kinda like all the good international teams. I don't think it is realistic to expect Sean to hand the reigns over.

On defense I wouldn't expect a lot of switching from the center. The Rockets will switch everything, all the time. We will still probably hard hedge PnRs with the center. But hopefully we switch everything 2-4 (SG to PF). And we can switch everything late in the shot clock (including the center), hopefully.

So I wouldn't expect a huge difference in play style from the past, but hopefully we incrementally get there over the years and add a little here and there, including this year.

I am less in love with a Rockets style offense because so much of it is premised on Harden and CP3 being extraordinary in iso and p&r situations. The Rockets run very few plays because so much is simply getting Harden and Paul into situations and letting them make things happen.

It's hard to scheme that way. You have to have the talent first, then fall into that scheme. P&R is also much harder due to the congested spacing at the college level.

There are a lot of other systems that lend themselves to an emphasis on guard play (Miller is friends with Calipari and could bring in Kentucky's system for one). Personally, I lean towards a simple system that is adjusted to fit each team's composition.

I'll nitpick / hedge in saying the Rockets run several styles, depending upon their match-up and the availability of their roster. Only one of those styles is a "switch everything" defensive scheme (with PJ Tucker at center). I don't see us playing much of that, though for a spell I'd welcome an Ira Lee at center line-up that could be similar. And yes Spiff, the most devastating is the CP3/Harden led ISO attack. I'm not sure we have the skill, spacing, or shooters to make it work, either.

I equally love how simple and effective the PnR can be, but I lost a lot of love for it as an NCAA tool the last two seasons. Just too easy to shut down the paint, not enough room to gain the space to make a play.

Again the big difference in playstyle is hopefully that we have at least two ball handlers on the floor at all times. Akot and Barcello are possible third ball handlers. That's a change I'm sure we'll see Miller pursue as it is central to his recruiting pitch.

YoDeFoe wrote:I'll nitpick / hedge in saying the Rockets run several styles, depending upon their match-up and the availability of their roster. Only one of those styles is a "switch everything" defensive scheme (with PJ Tucker at center). I don't see us playing much of that, though for a spell I'd welcome an Ira Lee at center line-up that could be similar. And yes Spiff, the most devastating is the CP3/Harden led ISO attack. I'm not sure we have the skill, spacing, or shooters to make it work, either.

I equally love how simple and effective the PnR can be, but I lost a lot of love for it as an NCAA tool the last two seasons. Just too easy to shut down the paint, not enough room to gain the space to make a play.

Again the big difference in playstyle is hopefully that we have at least two ball handlers on the floor at all times. Akot and Barcello are possible third ball handlers. That's a change I'm sure we'll see Miller pursue as it is central to his recruiting pitch.

Fair enough. Please don't take my post disrespectfully. You bring a lot of knowledge and good posts.

Any offense predicated on spacing (like the Rockets) will be good for a perimeter, creator oriented team. More than anything, I hope Miller gets outside the use of motion in trying to create opportunities and starts spacing to let players create that. Dribble drive motion, Rockets sets, the common aspect is they're predicated on spreading the floor to allow penetrators to attack and set up shooters.

We lacked a bit of that because PJC was not built to attack. Guys like Williams, Mannion, Randolph...those guys are attackers. As long as we predicate things on spacing and attacking those spaces, I'm into it. It's harder on the college level, but not impossible.

The best offense is predicated on having a lot of talent and giving that talent room to make plays.

No you're fine, Spiff. I'm a bit out on a limb with my "everything is going to change for the better!" cheerleading. I'll always caveat that I'm stupidly optimistic about our program. We're not actually going to be the Rockets offense - but like you I'm excited about the ability to have guards who can attack and get penetration, and who can create gaps that allow for our shooters/athletes to play in space.

Khalid Thomas to Texas Tech

Damn...gotta hope we land one of our big time targets at PF now. Either that or likely another grad transfer I’d think?

goslingswagg wrote:Damn...gotta hope we land one of our big time targets at PF now. Either that or likely another grad transfer I’d think?

We already have a transfer who for all intents and purposes is a grad transfer 4.

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Damn...gotta hope we land one of our big time targets at PF now. Either that or likely another grad transfer I’d think?

We already have a transfer who for all intents and purposes is a grad transfer 4.

Right but do you think we would go into 2019 with just Jeter, Gettings, and Lee as “bigs”? I would think Miller would not be comfortable going into the year with just those three, and that’s assuming no turnover b/n Jeter and Lee. I would be fine with just those three tbh particularly if Akot stays and can play a lot of time at the 4 as well. But the Miller I know probably wouldn’t be?

goslingswagg wrote:

ChooChooCat wrote:

goslingswagg wrote:Damn...gotta hope we land one of our big time targets at PF now. Either that or likely another grad transfer I’d think?

We already have a transfer who for all intents and purposes is a grad transfer 4.

Right but do you think we would go into 2019 with just Jeter, Gettings, and Lee as “bigs”? I would think Miller would not be comfortable going into the year with just those three, and that’s assuming no turnover b/n Jeter and Lee. I would be fine with just those three tbh particularly if Akot stays and can play a lot of time at the 4 as well. But the Miller I know probably wouldn’t be?

Koloko will handle spot minutes at the 5 and I assume we'll have an athlete that can play minutes at the 4. It's ridiculously hard to land a grad transfer at a position where he likely wont be starting.