Guards next year...

[NCMUFan]

Buycks, DJO and JC will get many minutes next year, if not start.  They are the only guards with experience and we know Buzz weights experience extremely high.  In addition, they will be leaders and individuals to show the new players the "Warrior" mindset.

[Skatastrophy]

We haven't seen Buzz successfully develop a true freshman yet.  I realize it's only been 2 years and that there have been injuries to contend with, but I'm definitely not expecting any Freshman to start at the 1 and 2 over DJO, Buycks and Cadougan until conference season starts.  At that point I think Blue might get some starts...

A better question:  Will EWill be able to contribute more than 2 minutes a game next year?

[NCMUFan]

I am still high on Erik Williams.  He is bulking up, playing more alert defense and showing an occasional offensive move.  Give him time, Buzz is training and cultivating the players.  Erik has an extremely high ceiling.  Just needs a good foundation that Buzz is establishing.

[downtown85]

I am still high on Erik Williams.  He is bulking up, playing more alert defense and showing an occasional offensive move.  Give him time, Buzz is training and cultivating the players.  Erik has an extremely high ceiling.  Just needs a good foundation that Buzz is establishing.

+1.  I have heard Buzz say on numerous occasions that he is pretty talented offensively.  If he gets more minutes, he will get into a rhythm offensively.  I also agree he is getting better on D.  Next year he should contribute and may end up ahead of Crowder in the rotation. 

[NavinRJohnson]

Boy, we're gonna be good next year. I agree with those that say Buycks will play a lot and score a lot. I also believe DJO will likely be the leading scorer, probably followed by Blue. Butler will be a huge performer, but I don't see him scoring a ton of points.

With the number of guys we will have, if next years teams can move the ball as effectively as this years team does, we should be able to outscore anyone. The question will be there ability/desire to stop them and rebound.

[dwaderoy2004]

If erik williams can add about 10 more pounds to his frame, he can be an effective PF in the big east, in the mold of a dante cunningham.  Hopefully his development follows cunningham's as well.

[jficke13]

I'm not so sure that jumping on Reinko's statement for being high on Buycks is totally called for (mainly jumping on the statement, not the person). From what I've seen of Buycks he's got a lot of upside and has shown a knack for scoring and is an insane rebounder for his size/position. His main drawback is the same as DJO's. Occasionally they come down with Freshman Jerel Syndrome. Too much faith in their talent/athleticism and they dribble into trouble they can't get out of in BE play like they could in HS/JC. Look for both Buycks and DJO to grow up between now and next year, curtail that carelessness, and be major contributors.

[tower912]

The best part about our guards for next year is size.    Mo and Cubi have truly played to their ceilings and beyond this year, no doubt about it.   But having our smallest guards be 6'0/6'1 (with the small one having DJames-like hops), with a pair of 6'4 guards to go with DJO and DB will be wonderful.     The question marks are how quickly the frosh pick up Buzz's system.    Can they move the ball without turning it over and can they defend?   Along those lines, I predict that Ewill will have numbers similar to or slightly better than J-f-B's sophomore numbers.  Crowder and Otule get the rest of the minutes up front. 

[GGGG]

Here's how I think it will play out:

Pen them in as starters:  Butler, DJO, Junior

Potential starters depending on size, match-ups, etc.:  Buycks, Otule, Fulce, Crowder

Won't start, but will get minutes:  Blue, Williams

Won't get many minutes next year:  Jones, Newbill, Smith, Mbao

[lab_warrior]

Buzz has shown that he likes experienced players on the floor.  I do think that of the newcomers, Blue will play a lot and score, but not as much as the Butler/DJO/Buycks combo.  And c'mon, is it so ludicrous to think that teams won't game plan for stopping DJO and Butler?  That means Buycks/Cadougan/Blue/Crowder are going to get good scoring opportunities, and with Buycks having a year experience in the system, he's more likely to get his points.
Also, disagree about Jones or Newbill not playing that much.  I think they'll see some decent minutes.  It's going to be real refreshing to see some depth. 
Oh, and am I hallucinating, or do we have 2 guys 6'10" or taller (and eligibility-wise sophomores) listed in that previous post?!  Too bad Buzz doesn't recruit bigs.

[LON]

Put me squarely in the camp that Buycks proves a lot of people wrong next year.  I think he's going to be really good.  I just don't see the younger guys taking the time away from him, and he'll clean up what keeps him from getting minutes.

Or maybe I am just rooting extra hard for him since he's a hometown kid.

Agree with the poster regarding the Freshman Jerel carelessness, or as I call it, a case of the McNeal's.

EDIT: grammar

[GGGG]

Buzz has shown that he likes experienced players on the floor.  I do think that of the newcomers, Blue will play a lot and score, but not as much as the Butler/DJO/Buycks combo.  And c'mon, is it so ludicrous to think that teams won't game plan for stopping DJO and Butler?  That means Buycks/Cadougan/Blue/Crowder are going to get good scoring opportunities, and with Buycks having a year experience in the system, he's more likely to get his points.
Also, disagree about Jones or Newbill not playing that much.  I think they'll see some decent minutes.  It's going to be real refreshing to see some depth. 
Oh, and am I hallucinating, or do we have 2 guys 6'10" or taller (and eligibility-wise sophomores) listed in that previous post?!  Too bad Buzz doesn't recruit bigs.

I just don't think freshman get a lot of minutes in Big East play.  And Buzz doesn't really like to use a deep bench.  A lot of people a year ago were saying how much Williams was going to play.  That didn't happen.  I just see that with most of next year's freshmen too.

[Badgerhater]

Buzz will have the highest number of high-major players he will have ever had so that will bring some changes to his substitution and minutes philosophy.

However, I do believe his last radio show with Homer is insightful on next year and that philosophy.  Buzz was speaking about Fulce and Junior subbing in the Cincy game.   Fulce got minutes and stayed in the game not because of his 13 points, but because he played to the scouting report and within the plan Buzz had set for the game.   Junior, this season, will ultimately be to the point where he can give a couple of minutes of rest to Acker before a media timeout.

Buzz's overarching point on subs and minutes appears to be that he would love to rest folks who now get 37 minutes a game, but the subs need to be able to perform at a level that doesn't hurt the team.  For example, if Jamail Jones can play a solid 10-15 minutes a game, then that makes it easier for Butler to play 30 instead of 37.  Matchups will also dictate minutes.

I also imagine some crazy lineups that can cause other teams fits.   Can you imagine a lineup of Smith, Newbill, DJO, Vander and Butler running circles around other teams with slow bigs and guards who can't protect the ball -- even if only for 10 minutes of the game?

[GGGG]

I also imagine some crazy lineups that can cause other teams fits.   Can you imagine a lineup of Smith, Newbill, DJO, Vander and Butler running circles around other teams with slow bigs and guards who can't protect the ball -- even if only for 10 minutes of the game?

No.  I see no scenario where we will have three freshmen guards on the floor at the same time.

[LAZER]

Not hearing much about Jamail Jones role on next years team in this thread.  I love how a #53(ESPN) recruit in the country is flying somewhat under the radar.  A good sign of a lot of talent on a deep team.  Can't wait to watch him play and interested in seeing his perimeter shot.

[lab_warrior]

I think part of my point about Newbill, Smith, and Jones playing more than people might predict is that they're better players than Buzz has been able to use off the bench than in the last couple years.

[Ready2Fly]

I think you can basically throw the 2G, SF, PF labels out the window with Buzz' offense.  Those players are just wings, and all basically have the same responsibility.  They all need to have the ability to put the ball on the floor, pass well, and shoot it from deep (or at least mid range).  In that vein, you can put the following players into the "wing" category:

DJO, Butler, Buycks, Blue, Williams, Fulce, Jones, Crowder, and Newbill.

There are 120 minutes available for nine players at the wing spot.

The only thing I can really be sure of is that Butler and DJO will get their 25-30.  That leaves 60-70 up for grabs between Blue, Buycks, Williams, Fulce, Jones, Crowder, and Newbill.  If I was a betting man, I would say that Blue, Buycks, Williams, Fulce, and Crowder have the best shot at taking those minutes, however they are distributed.  Jones will probably take a year to adjust, like Williams this season.  Newbill will be the same.

I also think Vander will see a few MPG at point.  Fulce and/or Williams will see time at the Hayward 5 next year, because I highly doubt Otule and Mbao will improve enough this offseason to warrant 40 MPG between the two at C next year.  I hope I'm wrong, though!


Also, after seeing the strides Butler, Acker, and Cubillan have made from the first game of '08-'09 to right now, I will never EVER write anyone off under Buzz again, even if they barely sniff the court for long stretches.

[Badgerhater]

No.  I see no scenario where we will have three freshmen guards on the floor at the same time.

They will if they can play at that level.  Insert Buycks for one of them also has the same effect....or insert Williams (if improved) for a Newbill.    Either way, some potentially very fun to watch lineups that for short periods.