13/14 Commitment Summary

[Dave Stalwart]

The smart money is on FVV, Baker and Cotton getting most of the minutes.

However, I have a funny feeling deep inside that Nick is gonna surprise some people.

Unless he just doesn't have it in his blood, which is hard for me to believe, I wouldn't mind making a small wager that he comes out hot. A senior year puts your back against the wall and work ethic and drive are usually at their peak. I will admit that I don't expect much from him or Chadrack, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Team Canada really comes ready to play

[im4wsu]

In case the OP just wanted an idea of the new players of our roster, here is what I've gathered:


Redshirt Freshman:
SF/PF, Derail Green (6'7, 200): 3PT shooter. Redshirted last year for defensive reasons, but supposedly the best shooter on the team. I'd expect him to play a Wiggins-esque role of instant offense at either the SF or PF positions as the situation demands. Defense is still a question mark.

Is this statement based onsomething the coaches said regarding Derail, or just supposition? I don'tknow whether he plays defense or not, haven't seen much of him in a structured setting. I do know that he needed to gain some weight if he is to be very effective bangingaround inthe MVC. He drew so many charging fouls in high schoolIexpected him to play good "team"defense, if not on ball defense,and to be a very smart player on defense as well.

I'm not at all saying he'll earn prminent minutes this season,or that he won't. Just really want to understand what this comment is based on, supposition or soemthing heard, or publicized (that I missed).

[Snapshot9]

I think Wessel starts at SF most of the time, because coach likes good defense to start a game, and Wessel is good defensively and a hustler. Early may start at SF in some of the really tough games though. We sure look like we have some talented players on the team,and it looks to be another exciting year.

[jdshock]

I think Wessel starts at SF most of the time, because coach likes good defense to start a game, and Wessel is good defensively and a hustler. Early may start at SF in some of the really tough games though. We sure look like we have some talented players on the team,and it looks to be another exciting year.

Do you think Cotton or Baker starts the game on the bench?

[pinstripers]

Wessel started last year.

[Steeleshocker]

Wessel started last year.

And part of that could have been because Cotton was gimpy to begin the year.

[ShockerKhan]

[QUOTE=im4wsu;413268]Is this statement based onsomething the coaches said regarding Derail, or just supposition? I don'tknow whether he plays defense or not, haven't seen much of him in a structured setting. I do know that he needed to gain some weight if he is to be very effective bangingaround inthe MVC. He drew so many charging fouls in high schoolIexpected him to play good "team"defense, if not on ball defense,and to be a very smart player on defense as well.

HCGM has mentioned on several shows that Derail if not the best shooter on the team is a close second.

[wufan]

Is this statement based onsomething the coaches said regarding Derail, or just supposition? I don'tknow whether he plays defense or not, haven't seen much of him in a structured setting. I do know that he needed to gain some weight if he is to be very effective bangingaround inthe MVC. He drew so many charging fouls in high schoolIexpected him to play good "team"defense, if not on ball defense,and to be a very smart player on defense as well.

I'm not at all saying he'll earn prminent minutes this season,or that he won't. Just really want to understand what this comment is based on, supposition or soemthing heard, or publicized (that I missed).

It was said that his lateral quickness was suspect against MVC SFs and his slight build was a disadvantage against all forwards.

[wufan]

Do you think Cotton or Baker starts the game on the bench?

I think Wessel is first wing off the bench.

[Dave Stalwart]

I'll put it this way.

If anyone beats out Coleby, Early, Cotton, Baker and FVV...you might as well start making vacation plans for next March.

Heck, you might as well start planning for March regardless.

[jdshock]

I'll put it this way.

If anyone beats out Coleby, Early, Cotton, Baker and FVV...you might as well start making vacation plans for next March.

Heck, you might as well start planning for March regardless.

This is how I feel. I get that people say Wessel started last year. My initial thought is that a big part of that was Cotton's injury. But even if that isn't true, and Wessel really was the best 3 we had, I don't think you can underestimate starting on a Final Four team for a season. Early, Cotton, and Baker all started on a team that made it to Atlanta. FVV was basically our sixth man on that team. I think it's so unlikely that if one of them DOES come off the bench, make April travel plans. To me, those guys are starting.

[wufan]

Wessel and Carter are my sure fire first off the bench players. After the top 7, I'm not sure if Wiggins, Green, Lufile or Morris will see significant minutes or not.

[CBB_Fan]

Is this statement based onsomething the coaches said regarding Derail, or just supposition? I don'tknow whether he plays defense or not, haven't seen much of him in a structured setting. I do know that he needed to gain some weight if he is to be very effective bangingaround inthe MVC. He drew so many charging fouls in high schoolIexpected him to play good "team"defense, if not on ball defense,and to be a very smart player on defense as well.

I'm not at all saying he'll earn prminent minutes this season,or that he won't. Just really want to understand what this comment is based on, supposition or soemthing heard, or publicized (that I missed).

That comment wasn't meant to say that Green has major defensive lapses in judgement ala Wiggins and Early, but to say that he simply didn't have enough meat on his bones to guard players at SF or PF last year, similar to Rian Holland this year. I haven't seen Marshall actually call him out on defense, but Green mentioned that he needed to work on his strength in this article. With his offensive ability, I think he would have played last year if Marshall thought he was physically strong enough.

[Aargh]

My starting rotation is bit different than most opinions so far. Let's put this summer-time speculation in perspective. Most of the posters here a year ago had Wessel ane Baker as the last two guys off the bench.

I'm going to put the starters as FVV, Baker, Wessel, Early, and Coleby. I've got Cotton first off the bench. I've also got Cotton playing almost exclusively in the back court, not the wing.

SF is the situational position. Against 3-guard or 4-guard teams, Cotton gets minutes at SF. Against NCAA-type or BCS-type teams, Early gets minutes there, because those teams tend to go tall all across the front court.

The progress off Wiggins, Carter, and Morris could affect the lineup all the way to SG, depending on the lineup we're facing.

The lineup I want to see in April has Coleby, Carter, Early, Baker, and VanVleet tipping it off. With Cotton, Wessel, Bowles, Morris, and Wiggins ready to come in to keep plenty of fresh legs all the way in the tourney.

The Fr can be brought along slowly. Give them enough minutes to get them some game time and get their game legs under them, but I doubt they'll be needed in pressure situations like FVV and Baker saw in the tourney. Morris could be the exception to that. I get a feeling he's going to be really hard to keep off the court by the end of the season. Green gets another year of development, but this one counts against his eligibility. Green might end up being a "tweener" - not quite a PF and not quite a SF.

[Rlh04d]

My starting rotation is bit different than most opinions so far. Let's put this summer-time speculation in perspective. Most of the posters here a year ago had Wessel ane Baker as the last two guys off the bench.

Fair point. But we also lost almost our entire starting lineup last season. We lost five of our seven leading minutes guys. That was a lot of open starting positions.

Not really the case this year, where we return five of the top eight leading minutes players. Of the five guys starting at the end of last season (Armstead, Baker, Cotton, Early, Hall), we return three of them, and Wessel clearly won't play at either of the two spots that opened up -- those are locked in for FVV and Coleby.

I certainly wouldn't say Wessel won't start ... but he'd have to take the spot from a starter on a Final Four team. I'd be very surprised if Cotton isn't starting. He's the most experienced player on the team in Marshall's system and possibly the poster-child for how he wants the team to play.