Rothstein's prediction....

[shock]

If they do read their press clippings, they do it to stay motivated

[Rlh04d]

Don't we all know by now that who starts in Gregg Marshall's system is irrelevant?

I wouldn't say irrelevant. The only one of the five starters for the majority of last year who wasn't in the top five in minutes was Orukpe. And Orukpe was mainly in there for the jump ball at the start, I thought.

So the five guys who start will likely get the most minutes in Marshall's system. But it'll only be a few more minutes a game than the "bench" players.

[choida]

Ron Baker can be are 6th man...what difference does it make where you start...its how you finish...

[shockmonster]

I wouldn't say irrelevant. The only one of the five starters for the majority of last year who wasn't in the top five in minutes was Orukpe. And Orukpe was mainly in there for the jump ball at the start, I thought.

So the five guys who start will likely get the most minutes in Marshall's system. But it'll only be a few more minutes a game than the "bench" players.

Who starts at the end of the year means a whole lot more than the beginning of the year.

[Shox21]

If I remember right, Early did pretty damn fine coming in off the bench. Whether it's Ron or Evan, who cares? I certainly hope neither of them do as they both bring lots to the game. Early showed you can be just as successful coming off the bench as starting.

[1979Shocker]

I'd like to have Baker starting, but if he's not, that just means we're just that much better. Coach Marshall is going to start who he feels is the best at each position (Early notwithstanding).So if someone else starts in Baker's position, then we have a really good team.

[tropicalshox]

I don't see anybody beating out Fred, Cle and maybe Coleby for starting positions. After that, who knows.

[Rlh04d]

If I remember right, Early did pretty damn fine coming in off the bench. Whether it's Ron or Evan, who cares? I certainly hope neither of them do as they both bring lots to the game. Early showed you can be just as successful coming off the bench as starting.

The Early/Orukpe situation was an anomaly, though. Orukpe started despite no one thinking he was the better overall player. He wasn't a true starter -- he was a bench player who started to get the jump ball.

[choida]

Evan Wessel is going to have a big chip on his shoulder, and probably wants to prove to shockernation what he would have brought to the table last year, im so happy that our team is very much intact with its core players, just excited to see Marshall back in action.//

[Aargh]

Baker has a really rare skill set. He can play the 1, 2, or 3 on both ends of the court. If Wessel can beat Ron out for a starting spot, then the Shox have the ability to put up W/L numbers in the regular season like Gonzaga did this year.

Cotton seems to always be the guy left out of a lot of lineup discussions, but how do you defend this lineup: Coleby, Early, Wessel, Baker, VanVleet? Give Early a summer to work on his dribble-drive penetration and that's 4 guys who can light you up from 3 or drive to the hoop if you cover them too tight. Then in another rotation (or swapping minutes), you've got Green, Wiggins, and Cotton. That's a lot of ways to break down and tire out a defense.

You don't see many 4-star Fr playing at the level Ron played with the level of competition he was playing against. Wessel and Baker are both skilled, hard-nosed, hard workers with great BBIQ. Practices are going to be tougher than most of the teams on the schedule.

VanVleet, Baker, and Wessel are primed to set the Shox up for many years to come. They're the Sophs from F4 team. The new guys coming in are going to be challenged. Do you want it? Here's how we got it. Do you want it that bad? Are you satisfied with what's happened or do you want to go the the NC game? That attitude spread across 3 years of incoming recruits is how a consistently winning team is built.

[Shox21]

Practices being "tougher than most of the teams on the schedule" is fine and dandy, but remember that toughness is what got us into trouble with injuries in the first place. Practice was so rough that we wound up with three starters going down. Granted, in the long run it worked out, but honestly I really don't want to try the fates with that strategy again.

[DPruett2333]

There's a 0% chance that Fred, Cleanthony, Ron, and Tekele don't start; and the starting center will more than likely be Kadeem.

There's your starting five for next season! Book it!

[wufan]

There's a 0% chance that Fred, Cleanthony, Ron, and Tekele don't start; and the starting center will more than likely be Kadeem.

There's your starting five for next season! Book it!

That is a reasonable guess. The 0% is WAY off. Evan could start over Ron or Tekele (or not…). Nick could start (but I'm doubtful). One of the four could get injured.

[shockmonster]

Practices being "tougher than most of the teams on the schedule" is fine and dandy, but remember that toughness is what got us into trouble with injuries in the first place. Practice was so rough that we wound up with three starters going down. Granted, in the long run it worked out, but honestly I really don't want to try the fates with that strategy again.

Soft may work better.

[moshock]

It wouldn't suprise me one bit to see Baker start at the point. This is no kind of slam to FVV - we just have a lot of studs.