Jderf
04-17-2010, 05:24 PM
I’ve seen a lot of talk about how great our team will be next year and how we are favored heavily by a lot of analysts and polls. I’d just like to emphasize that a lot of this enthusiasm may be premature. We definitely have the potential to be one of the best teams in recent memory, and we could even turn into absolute monsters. However, there are still tons of questions that will need to be addressed between then and now, and a lot of it is by no means clear-cut. Here are, to me, the biggest question marks going into the offseason (ranked in order of subjective importance):
1) Kyle. Will he go or stay? Obviously, this is the biggest question and has been dealt with in much more depth than needs to be repeated here. Otherwise, he’s essentially a known quantity. If he comes back, we know exactly what we’ll be getting and it will be huge.
2) Mason and Miles. Will they be able to replace our production down low from our seniors? Obviously, there are still tons of questions surrounding the play of the Plumlees. Will they finally find their roles within the defense? Will they learn to defend one-on-one in proper position and without fouling aggressively? Will they become consistent offensive performers? Will they add more strength over the off-season? Will they develop other skills to help expand their game (like Mile’s nascent jump-shot)?
Obviously replacing what Lance and Zoubs did for us late in the season is going to be difficult and, other than Kyle, this will be the biggest question mark moving forward. However, at the same time, it is not that unbelievable to imagine these two really stepping up, finding their form, and giving us even more next season than LT and Zoub did this year. Only time will tell.
3) Kyrie Irving. Is he as good as advertised? Will he manage the floor as well as Jon did last year? Will he be even better at distributing the ball not only along the perimeter, but also inside to our bigs (perhaps helping with question 2)? Will he also be a source of instant offense, giving us a second player (in addition to Nolan) who we can just give the ball and say, “Go?”
I would have put this at 2, however with our very formidable backcourt I feel that the more pressing questions concern our frontline. It seems unlikely at this point (from his reputation and also from watching him several times now) that Kyrie could be a complete flop. The only question is whether or not he will step right in and be absolutely stellar or just solid. Either way, it’s going to be great having him on the team.
4) Seth and Andre. Who is going to find their place as our third guard? How many minutes will these guys be able to find? Will they each play significant minutes? Or will one of them play the other out of the rotation? Or will we play a lot of three-guard lineups (see: question 1), giving plenty of playing time for all our guards? Will Andre bulk up? Will he commit himself to improving his defense? How will we use Seth? Will he see time at the point, or stay at the more natural two-spot?
Andre has his freshman year experience, with its well-documented ups and downs. Seth had his stellar freshman year at Liberty, and also has technically been with the team longer than Andre (since Dre missed the summer). It remains to be seen what these kids can contribute to the team and whether they can contribute consistently, although hopes are high for both.
5) Ryan. How significant will Ryan’s role be? Will he become an offense-oriented 4? Will he add mass to his thin frame? Will he develop into a strong defender and continue to show his knack for occasionally blocking shots? Will he find an inside game? Obviously, Kelly has the potential to turn into a real presence. Will he? And, if he does, what kind of presence will it be? Will he turn into a finesse four-man? Or will he add muscle and become a banger down low? Who knows what he can do with a summer to work with the team and our trainers?
6) Hairston, Thornton, and Felix. So far, they have been pegged mostly as role-players. Will any of them surprise us? Will Felix be as good at defense as many suspect? Will Felix shock us with any offensive flair? Will Josh find meaningful time in the frontcourt? (I think most of us would say “yes” to that last one, hopefully.) Will Thornton find a way to squeeze into the already thick backcourt rotation? Any substantial, consistent input from these three is likely to be seen as a bonus to what should already be a solid team.
7) Nolan. No questions here. We know we’ve got at least one dedicated, all-ACC guard.
8) Coach K. Will he go to the Nets? (Just kidding.)
So as we can see, almost every player has questions surrounding him. (Obviously, we can’t account for the possibility that one of our players regresses, but I’m operating on the optimistic assumption that that doesn’t happen.) I have no doubt that K will find a way to fit all these pieces together in the best way possible, but how well those pieces end up working together will not be decided for a long time. Guess that’s why they play the games. Any thoughts?
1) Kyle. Will he go or stay? Obviously, this is the biggest question and has been dealt with in much more depth than needs to be repeated here. Otherwise, he’s essentially a known quantity. If he comes back, we know exactly what we’ll be getting and it will be huge.
2) Mason and Miles. Will they be able to replace our production down low from our seniors? Obviously, there are still tons of questions surrounding the play of the Plumlees. Will they finally find their roles within the defense? Will they learn to defend one-on-one in proper position and without fouling aggressively? Will they become consistent offensive performers? Will they add more strength over the off-season? Will they develop other skills to help expand their game (like Mile’s nascent jump-shot)?
Obviously replacing what Lance and Zoubs did for us late in the season is going to be difficult and, other than Kyle, this will be the biggest question mark moving forward. However, at the same time, it is not that unbelievable to imagine these two really stepping up, finding their form, and giving us even more next season than LT and Zoub did this year. Only time will tell.
3) Kyrie Irving. Is he as good as advertised? Will he manage the floor as well as Jon did last year? Will he be even better at distributing the ball not only along the perimeter, but also inside to our bigs (perhaps helping with question 2)? Will he also be a source of instant offense, giving us a second player (in addition to Nolan) who we can just give the ball and say, “Go?”
I would have put this at 2, however with our very formidable backcourt I feel that the more pressing questions concern our frontline. It seems unlikely at this point (from his reputation and also from watching him several times now) that Kyrie could be a complete flop. The only question is whether or not he will step right in and be absolutely stellar or just solid. Either way, it’s going to be great having him on the team.
4) Seth and Andre. Who is going to find their place as our third guard? How many minutes will these guys be able to find? Will they each play significant minutes? Or will one of them play the other out of the rotation? Or will we play a lot of three-guard lineups (see: question 1), giving plenty of playing time for all our guards? Will Andre bulk up? Will he commit himself to improving his defense? How will we use Seth? Will he see time at the point, or stay at the more natural two-spot?
Andre has his freshman year experience, with its well-documented ups and downs. Seth had his stellar freshman year at Liberty, and also has technically been with the team longer than Andre (since Dre missed the summer). It remains to be seen what these kids can contribute to the team and whether they can contribute consistently, although hopes are high for both.
5) Ryan. How significant will Ryan’s role be? Will he become an offense-oriented 4? Will he add mass to his thin frame? Will he develop into a strong defender and continue to show his knack for occasionally blocking shots? Will he find an inside game? Obviously, Kelly has the potential to turn into a real presence. Will he? And, if he does, what kind of presence will it be? Will he turn into a finesse four-man? Or will he add muscle and become a banger down low? Who knows what he can do with a summer to work with the team and our trainers?
6) Hairston, Thornton, and Felix. So far, they have been pegged mostly as role-players. Will any of them surprise us? Will Felix be as good at defense as many suspect? Will Felix shock us with any offensive flair? Will Josh find meaningful time in the frontcourt? (I think most of us would say “yes” to that last one, hopefully.) Will Thornton find a way to squeeze into the already thick backcourt rotation? Any substantial, consistent input from these three is likely to be seen as a bonus to what should already be a solid team.
7) Nolan. No questions here. We know we’ve got at least one dedicated, all-ACC guard.
8) Coach K. Will he go to the Nets? (Just kidding.)
So as we can see, almost every player has questions surrounding him. (Obviously, we can’t account for the possibility that one of our players regresses, but I’m operating on the optimistic assumption that that doesn’t happen.) I have no doubt that K will find a way to fit all these pieces together in the best way possible, but how well those pieces end up working together will not be decided for a long time. Guess that’s why they play the games. Any thoughts?