Chadrack Lufile: Man or Boy?

[150946shox]

I was at the Tulsa game and was thrilled with the difference EO made. No, he didn't get the stats to show it, but it was scary when all the bigs went out with fouls and he did come in and do a great job to help get through the tough stretch. His presence made a big difference that night regardless of what you can find in a box score.

[Dan]

That pretty much answers some of the questions some posters have had about the lineup.

Orukpe, Hall, Early, Williams, and Armstead. Early and Armsted still need to earn it, but those are pretty safe bets.

I can see that lineup, but there's not a lot of offense coming out of that group.

[pinstripers]

Probably enough.

[jcdshocker]

I don't see Orupke and Hall starting together due to the lack of offense. You can make a case for either or, but probably not both. Hall seems very comfortable coming off the bench, but he definitely could start.

[shoxtop]

I think people will be pleasantly surprised with Hall's offensive production this year. He showed it early last year, but whether based on his own decision or the direction of the coaching staff seemed to be moved down the list of scoring options. Time will tell whether it was his inability or not, but I personally don't believe that to be the case.

[SubGod22]

Hall has been working all offseason on improving his face up game. He doesn't have to be able to hit from 20. 10 to 15 is enough. And that lineup has enough offense to keep people honest. Hall and Ehimen have to be given respect inside. Williams has good range and hits at a decent enough percentage that you have to guard him. Plus he handles the ball well and can create off the dribble. Early is more of a slasher but offense isn't a problem for him. I suspect he'll hit well enough from outside that you have to guard him as well. Armstead can create off the bounce as well and will first look to create for others. I'm not sure about his outside shot as I've heard anywhere from he's pretty good to he sucks. But priority one is creating for others. Kicking it out to DWill or finding a gap for Ehimen to throw down a thunder dunk. Doesn't matter.

And you don't have to have an explosive offensive unit in if you're keeping the other team from scoring with superior D. And this unit would give you superior D and good enough O.

[shockmonster]

You may be right that this is the lineup that Coach begins the year with. After all, it is a talented group and a group of upperclassmen that Marshall would begin with. Additionally, it may be the lineup that he sticks with the entire year. The athleticism alone will points toward good defense, strong rebounding, and strong transition offensive skills. However, it's fair to state that there are some questions that need to be answered on the court regarding the half court offense for this group.

[Dave Stalwart]

There is a small part of me that still holds out hope to see EO get a doghouse quadruple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and 10 turnovers :) hopefully it could still be a win. Hehe

I probably don't actually want that...just laughing to myself about the past. Plus he has generally fixed the traveling and stripped rebound problem and all that seems to be left is the possible stone hands. He probably isn't going to let my scenario come true.

[SubGod22]

You may be right that this is the lineup that Coach begins the year with. After all, it is a talented group and a group of upperclassmen that Marshall would begin with. Additionally, it may be the lineup that he sticks with the entire year. The athleticism alone will points toward good defense, strong rebounding, and strong transition offensive skills. However, it's fair to state that there are some questions that need to be answered on the court regarding the half court offense for this group.

Offensively you have 2 or 3 guys that are respectable from outside. Keeping the D honest. You have 2 guys inside that must be respected on/near the block. You have 3 guys that can handle the ball and get inside the D and create chaos that way. Again, it's not the best offensive lineup we'd have, but it's more than capable of doing what's necessary while they kill it on D.

If you're looking for the most productive offense, you'd probably lineup

PG - DWill
SG - Wiggins
SF - Early
PF - White
C - Lufile/Hall

That's still potentially 3 of the same players as above. But you appear to be giving up some D as well with Wiggins and White

[1979Shocker]

There is a small part of me that still holds out hope to see EO get a doghouse quadruple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks and 10 turnovers :) hopefully it could still be a win. Hehe

If he was playing in the NBA Summer League, maybe he could get a quintuple double. They give you 10 fouls.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I can see that lineup, but there's not a lot of offense coming out of that group.

That's OK. We won't need a lot of offense from that lineup if the other team can't score.

[SHOXAAC]

What I like about the prospective lineup combinations is the flexibility.

PG=Armstead as a coach on the floor type that will run the team like the coaching staff wants...playmaker, get to the basket and defend. FVV is potentially the best playmaker with uncanny ball skills, excellent shooter, but defense will improve over time. Cotton will be serviceable with another year of maturity, his body type will reek havoc on other physically weaker PG's. Williams can certainly handle the job with his experience and skill set. Mitchell will play here if needed.

SG=Williams as a senior and 4-year player in HCGM's system will be a solid contributor with reasonable shooting, ball handling and defense. Wiggins appears to be a Toure type of player with a deeper shooting range. Baker has a chance to become that sharp shooter off the bench...hopefully his defense will not curb his potential. Cotton will also be a player that warrents time with his strong body and solid skill set. Mitchell will also contribute here when others are ineffective.

SF=Early seems to dominate the conversation here, although I still believe he will spend considerable time at PF...at 6-8 with his skill set he will be hard to defend at the 3. I like Wiggins here at times...his slashing nature and long ball threat will drive other 3's crazy...defending will be key. Wessel is improving and could surprise here (does anybody remember Graham Hatch). Green could be a dominate player at this position in time, but not now.

PF=Hall is a beast and will play some here, but his position is at the 5. White appears to be making progress to play here...shooting range makes him hard to guard, while developing a reasonable inside game...can rebound. Count on Early to log minutes here...a 6-8 player with 3-point range, can rebound and handle the ball well in the open floor.

C=Hall is the guy...can rebound, defend and will,surprise some with his low post game this year. EO is an exciting player with the ability to control the paint for short stints of a game. Limited offensive game will hurt his minutes and he has to be selective on blocking shots as he sometimes tries to block everything which gets him out of position at times. Lufile appears to maybe warrent more time than EO...has a decent offensive game, can rebound and defend.

[mumdaddy316]

So if teddy is able to come then were is he placed?

[Dave Stalwart]

I like that you brought some love for lufile back into it shoxmvc. We all temporarily steered his thread off of him and he needed some justice :) your post reminds me about how deep the rabbit hole goes. I get fired up about depth. Depth wins close games and depth wins postseason games.

[WstateU]

Call me crazy, but I think Armstead has already earned it.