Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1878
Reg: 11-29-04
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08-21-19 05:31 PM - Post#287137
Major questions for this year's basketball campaign:
- Will Betley be healthy for his senior year?
- Is Wang healthy?
- Will any of the interesting Freshman class be ready to play major minutes this season? (Charles, Dingle, Lorca-Lloyd, Monroe, Martz)
- Will any other returning players step up? (Jerome, Imegwu, Scott, Mijakowski, Simmons, Ryan, and Jackson)?
Likely starting 5: Betley, Wang, Brodeur, Goodman, and Washington. Not a bad start. Rothschild, Woods, Silpe, and Donahue will be missed, but it seems like this year's team could be an improvement just by getting Betley back. We will be more meaningfully improved if Scott or Simmons come back ready to play.
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palestra38
Professor
Posts: 32685
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Major Questions for 2019-2020 08-21-19 05:39 PM - Post#287139
In response to Penndemonium
Betley and Wang, if healthy would make our starting five more dangerous than any Ivy team other than Harvard, which has not demonstrated those guys can play together.
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Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1878
Reg: 11-29-04
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Re: Major Questions for 2019-2020 08-21-19 05:54 PM - Post#287140
In response to palestra38
Yes - we were lacking for shooters with Wang, Washington, and Betley injuries. If we can keep at least 2 of them very healthy (and ideally all 3), that would complement Brodeur and make us much more dangerous this year.
It seems like any of our Freshmen could be possible contributors this year too, although who it will be is hard to predict.
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Jeff2sf
Postdoc
Posts: 4466
Reg: 11-22-04
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08-21-19 07:22 PM - Post#287142
In response to Penndemonium
Given Donahue's quotes, I'd be shocked if Dingle wasn't playing in the rotation.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3580
Reg: 02-15-15
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08-21-19 09:37 PM - Post#287144
In response to Jeff2sf
I agree on Dingle. This team needs to replace major guard minutes. There has to at least one crush contributor. No reason to think Betley won’t be back to his old for. Wang concerns me. I don’t know if he is tough enough or healthy enough. Jarrod will take Maxs role capably with more scoring. My biggest concern is at guard. We need one new face to come through to complement Dev, Ryan and Bryce. Dingle is the most likely.
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Streamers
Professor
Posts: 8141
Loc: NW Philadelphia
Reg: 11-21-04
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08-21-19 10:32 PM - Post#287147
In response to PennFan10
We saw flashes of strong play from Simmons. I agree he can plug in where Max was. Scott will likely get every chance to earn minutes if he plays stronger D. He has some skills that are unique among the upperclassmen. If Dingle proves he can man the point by January, that would be huge.
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Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1878
Reg: 11-29-04
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08-22-19 07:00 PM - Post#287171
In response to Streamers
I re-watched the on-line videos of the Freshmen. They all look pretty good. I guess I have to consider Dingle the favorite to break out since Donahue and nychoops both spoke so highly of him. That said, Jonah Charles also looked very very good. From the videos, he looked similar to Dingle in style and as good.
Lorca Lloyd really filled out since his 2017 videos, and I'd imagine he's even stronger after this summer. I wasn't so sure about him from his 2017-18 videos, but he could be a beast if he continues his apparent trajectory of growth/improvement. He fills a definite need, so he should see the court as a Freshman and definitely as a sophomore.
Monroe looks like an athlete beyond what we are used to. He is still rising when he dunks. My concern is that a lot of great athletes don't build out the skill sets to stand out in college. He's got the athleticism, so he just needs to be good enough with his handles or the shot (and defense) to succeed at the next level.
Martz is a tweener. A bit short and skinny as a forward, a bit slow to be a guard. Some tweeners find a way to build their niche, whereas some struggle. If he can shoot off of screens as well as he showed on the videos and defend college players, then I am optimistic for him.
I like this class quite a bit.
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91Quake
PhD Student
Posts: 1124
Reg: 11-22-04
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08-22-19 07:19 PM - Post#287172
In response to Penndemonium
Lucas Monroe acted as his team's PG for all intents last year. Pretty good handle for a guy with his size but we may not want him at the point. Also was taking a pretty good amount of outside shots from what I saw. Not sure exactly how he will fit in with what Donahue wants to do.
Martz is not really a tweener in my book. He is really a 3 who may also play as a 4 in our system. He has very good shooting form from what I have seen online and hit at a pretty good clip.
I think the injuries will largely dictate who gets opportunities early. Jelani being out means Dingle gets a shot. If Wang is not healthy or Betley is not 100%, I would think Martz or Jonah Charles get a shot.
That said, I think Bryce Washington could be a beast. If he adds some muscle that along with experience will help him a huge amount going to the hoop and on defense. We know he can shoot so if he rounds out his game look out.
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weinhauers_ghost
Postdoc
Posts: 2125
Age: 64
Loc: New York City
Reg: 12-14-09
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08-22-19 08:15 PM - Post#287173
In response to 91Quake
I've said it before, but the guy I want to see make a leap is Jarrod Simmons. I liked his defense down the stretch last year, and if he can make the sort of improvement Aririguzoh made last season for Priinceton (or even close), he will be a valuable member of the rotation.
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Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1878
Reg: 11-29-04
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08-22-19 11:59 PM - Post#287174
In response to weinhauers_ghost
I've said it before, but the guy I want to see make a leap is Jarrod Simmons. I liked his defense down the stretch last year, and if he can make the sort of improvement Aririguzoh made last season for Priinceton (or even close), he will be a valuable member of the rotation.
I like his athletic and skill package, but I'm not sure if he's engaged enough. He doesn't seem to be looking for an edge, position, and leverage at all times, and he doesn't keep moving. That is what will make him a more disruptive player on both offense and defense. He may be our best option for a big man off the bench regardless, but I don't know if Donahue will trust him enough to eventually to become an anchor player if he negates some of his strengths with a minus on consistency and intangibles.
Lorca-Lloyd's more recent video looked pretty good. Simmons is probably a lot stronger right now, but I can imagine Lorca-Lloyd overtaking him in a year unless Simmons takes that next step.
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Streamers
Professor
Posts: 8141
Loc: NW Philadelphia
Reg: 11-21-04
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Major Questions for 2019-2020 08-23-19 11:32 AM - Post#287175
In response to Penndemonium
Lorca-Lloyd's biggest contribution this year (not after that) may be lighting a fire under Simmons. I still think Jarrod has it in him to be a factor.
Martz can flat out shoot it. If Caleb Wood can be a highly useful 6th man in the Ivies, Martz can too.
I have not seen the other frosh but I like what I am hearing and reading.
As always, we will see (just not at home) quite a few experimental combinations in out of conference play until SD sorts out what he has and likes, but he has a lot of depth and versatility to work with.
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