Offseason Thread: 2015 Edition

[xazshox]

Wessel

like someone said above, Wessel's workout routine this summer under KR has been to get his weight down to 211, so he will be quicker & better able to play the 3 spot which is where he played 2 yrs ago.

[Aargh]

With Wessel moving to the perimeter, I'm putting Grady at the 5 and Morris at PF.

Then my guess would have Brown backing Wessel, Kelly backing Morris, Wamukota backing Grady, Frankamp backing Baker, and Baker backing VanVleet. That, in effect, puts Frankamp on the court any time Baker or VanVleet needs a break.

And some out here think I'm a hater. I will fess up to not being fond of having 2 guards on the court in the 6' range at the same time.

Bring the Frosh along and try to get them some minutes here and there (and everywhere - in MVC play), so they are ready for some minutes in March.

[shockmonster]

Grady at 6'8 and 230 at the 5 and Morris at 6'7 and 265 at the 4? I would not think that is the way they will go.

Are you going that way because you don't think that Grady can play defense on a 4? Even if Morris is really fit, I don't see him playing M/M defense on a quick 4.

[wufan]

Yeah, if Morris and Grady are on the court at the same time then Morris is the 5 and Grady is the 4.

[Aargh]

Grady is a proven 15/7 guy at 5. Morris has played at the 4 before he got to WSU and has some range on his shot.

I think it would be easier to get Shaq to play at PF, which he has done before, than it would be to get Grady to change positions after 3 D1 years.

I've been wrong before and make no claims to being all-seeing. I just don't see anyone on the roster keeping either Grady or Morris off the floor.

[another shocker]

4/5 whatever. who is the shot-blocker? can wamukota stay on the floor?

[AZ Shocker]

It was very nice to see Wamukota come on in March and play pretty well. Can't remember if it was against Indiana or someone else??? I wonder how much of "that" he can bring this year? What a nice bonus he would be at the 5 should he warrant more playing time this upcoming season.

[ShockdaWorld]

I hope that we can have someone taller than 6'8 on the floor on a regular basis to protect the paint. I know we've proven that we can win with less than ideal height, but I'd really like to see Bush or Nurger become somewhat dominant, at least in regards to being a rim protector.

[wufan]

Grady is a proven 15/7 guy at 5. Morris has played at the 4 before he got to WSU and has some range on his shot.

I think it would be easier to get Shaq to play at PF, which he has done before, than it would be to get Grady to change positions after 3 D1 years.

I've been wrong before and make no claims to being all-seeing. I just don't see anyone on the roster keeping either Grady or Morris off the floor.

When did Morris ever play the 4?

[ShockTalk]

Grady is a proven 15/7 guy at 5. Morris has played at the 4 before he got to WSU and has some range on his shot.

I think it would be easier to get Shaq to play at PF, which he has done before, than it would be to get Grady to change positions after 3 D1 years.

I've been wrong before and make no claims to being all-seeing. I just don't see anyone on the roster keeping either Grady or Morris off the floor.

When did Morris ever play the 4?

I believe all the recruiting services had Shaq as a PF. He played HS ball as a PF who, most of the time, happened to be the biggest kid on the court and may had to defend the post. He was not a typical "back to basket" player. I think he's much more a natural 4 than a 5.

That said, I think Grady is more of a 4 than a 5. The difference may be, he has played the 5 most of his 3 D-I years.

The lines have gotten very blurred as to a player's true position. Durley was a 4 who became a 5. Same with Hall. Murray played the 1, 2, and 3. Our regular PG Armstead many times would move to the 2 when Fred came in. Brown has experience, at different levels, at the 1, 2, 3, and 4. Baker became the backup point due to our other PG situations. Did you really believe that Wessel would become a 4? How about having Cle move to the 4, that led to a 6'2" Cotton to play the 3.

It's the coaching staff's job to put the best combination of players on the court, in positions to give the team the best opportunity to win. That may conflict with players at positions they are physically best suited for or played in high school. A player's position flexibility has become important as to his playing time.

[Aargh]

The player positions I've speculated are on the offensive end. There's no rule that if Shaq is playing PF that he has to guard the other team's PF.

[shockmonster]

I believe all the recruiting services had Shaq as a PF. He played HS ball as a PF who, most of the time, happened to be the biggest kid on the court and may had to defend the post. He was not a typical "back to basket" player. I think he's much more a natural 4 than a 5.

That said, I think Grady is more of a 4 than a 5. The difference may be, he has played the 5 most of his 3 D-I years.

The lines have gotten very blurred as to a player's true position. Durley was a 4 who became a 5. Same with Hall. Murray played the 1, 2, and 3. Our regular PG Armstead many times would move to the 2 when Fred came in. Brown has experience, at different levels, at the 1, 2, 3, and 4. Baker became the backup point due to our other PG situations. Did you really believe that Wessel would become a 4? How about having Cle move to the 4, that led to a 6'2" Cotton to play the 3.

It's the coaching staff's job to put the best combination of players on the court, in positions to give the team the best opportunity to win. That may conflict with players at positions they are physically best suited for or played in high school. A player's position flexibility has become important as to his playing time.

I agree that the coaching staff decides the best combination on the court and they will in this case too. I don't know very much about Grady. However, I don't remember Shaq ever playing defense on a player who wasn't the opposing teams main low post option. He played defense against the 7 footer from Utah, etc. In addition, he got into foul trouble easily even though he was using his bulk to play against these taller players. In my opinion, his foul troubles may be increase against perimeter oriented forwards who play facing the basket and then can drive too.

[wufan]

I believe all the recruiting services had Shaq as a PF. He played HS ball as a PF who, most of the time, happened to be the biggest kid on the court and may had to defend the post. He was not a typical "back to basket" player. I think he's much more a natural 4 than a 5.

That said, I think Grady is more of a 4 than a 5. The difference may be, he has played the 5 most of his 3 D-I years.

The lines have gotten very blurred as to a player's true position. Durley was a 4 who became a 5. Same with Hall. Murray played the 1, 2, and 3. Our regular PG Armstead many times would move to the 2 when Fred came in. Brown has experience, at different levels, at the 1, 2, 3, and 4. Baker became the backup point due to our other PG situations. Did you really believe that Wessel would become a 4? How about having Cle move to the 4, that led to a 6'2" Cotton to play the 3.

It's the coaching staff's job to put the best combination of players on the court, in positions to give the team the best opportunity to win. That may conflict with players at positions they are physically best suited for or played in high school. A player's position flexibility has become important as to his playing time.

Looks like a high school 5 to me.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-0w9VnDN7jM

[Kel Varnsen]

Haven't dug deep into the last few posts, so forgive me if I'm re-stating something, but there are very few guys in college basketball who can play a "traditional 5". There are quite a few who can play a "traditional 4". But regardless, positionless basketball is very much alive and well. Look at the Warriors, who played Iguodala and Green in the 4-5 spot often times. LeBron James plays positions 1-5. That's also why the 2013 Shockers, whose tallest player who played meaningful minutes was Cleanthony Early at 6'8", could've been playing for the national title. /starts sobbing uncontrollably

Speed, quickness, strength, and ability will play a huge role for most players before height will.*

Ultimately, in conference play, it's not a huge deal for us. Our post players are good enough to defend taller players such as Mock, Carmichael, and Echinique (Tuttle was more of a problem because he could score with his back to the basket better, at least IMHO). Even recently in the NCAA tournament, the only player I can think of that we've run up against like this has been Olynyk.

*That said, I wouldn't want Tekele Cotton matched up against a 6'9" player who's most often down on the low block, or other similar combinations. There's some point where it overcomes the factors I just mentioned.

[wufan]

Early was the tallest star on that team and he didn't play the 5. I would say Lufile played meaningful minutes.