Froling's role in conference play

[bilsu]

Sacars role as a 25 MPG player and starter are pretty much locked in. By far the best defender on this team.

I agree with this. Froling starting would mean Rowsey or Howard not starting. I am would bet on Rowsey coming off the bench. The reason to start Froling would be to go big, so it would not make sense to start 2 sub 6' guards with him.
I like the connection between Froling and John. Some of his passes were off and I have been thinking about that. I am assuming that the entire first semester that Froling mostly practice with the second team or scout team. No reason to put him in the lineup with the first team, since he could not play in a game. That means he was generally teamed with John and developed a connection with him. Some of his passes may have been simply off, because he was not as familiar with how the first team players were going to act on the floor. Basically, thinking they might break one way when they decided to do something else. One of his assists was when he stole the pass intended for Hauser and then flip it back to Hauser for the 3. Had he been more use to playing with the first team he may of known the pass was for Hauser in the first place.
Froling strikes me as very agile for his size, but I would not call him quick. He hit his first three and them miss 3 or 4 more. I expect in some games the majority of those threes will fall. He has good size and seems to know where to be on the floor to grab rebounds. I am not sure if he could outfight Delgado for a rebound, but he will have a size advantage on Delgado. I believe his passing will become much more accurate as he adapts to game conditions and playing with the first team.

[fjm]

I agree with this. Froling starting would mean Rowsey or Howard not starting. I am would bet on Rowsey coming off the bench. The reason to start Froling would be to go big, so it would not make sense to start 2 sub 6' guards with him.
I like the connection between Froling and John. Some of his passes were off and I have been thinking about that. I am assuming that the entire first semester that Froling mostly practice with the second team or scout team. No reason to put him in the lineup with the first team, since he could not play in a game. That means he was generally teamed with John and developed a connection with him. Some of his passes may have been simply off, because he was not as familiar with how the first team players were going to act on the floor. Basically, thinking they might break one way when they decided to do something else. One of his assists was when he stole the pass intended for Hauser and then flip it back to Hauser for the 3. Had he been more use to playing with the first team he may of known the pass was for Hauser in the first place.
Froling strikes me as very agile for his size, but I would not call him quick. He hit his first three and them miss 3 or 4 more. I expect in some games the majority of those threes will fall. He has good size and seems to know where to be on the floor to grab rebounds. I am not sure if he could outfight Delgado for a rebound, but he will have a size advantage on Delgado. I believe his passing will become much more accurate as he adapts to game conditions and playing with the first team.

Those are good points my man.

[Stretchdeltsig]

I love the depth and options that Harry gives us.  We will surprise a lot of teams and Scoopers this season.

[brewcity77]

Wow, Harry has been on quite the roller-coaster this past week. Went from savior to non-factor to savior again.

I'm curious to see more of what he has to deliver, but let's not forget the team he mostly feasted on was American, probably the second worst team on the schedule. NIU is decidedly worse than any team we will play from now until November and he couldn't get in that game. I hope he'll help, but anyone penciling him in to start is definitely jumping the gun.

[GoldenZebra]

We will find out in a couple days...

[MU82]

Those are good points my man.

So, a starting frontcourt of Heldt, Froling and Sam? Not sure I love that. I guess we'll see.

[tower912]

How about Theo, Harry, and Sam and rotate Matt in for stability after Theo gets a couple of fouls?

I expect the starting lineup to remain the same.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Sacars role as a 25 MPG player and starter are pretty much locked in. By far the best defender on this team.

I'mma let you finish but.....Elliott's the best defender on this team.

Recently ran the defensive numbers on synergy and was surprised by the results. Anim....33rd percentile in the country for dPPP. Elliott....85th percentile. John....8th percentile 

[MU82]

To me, it makes much more sense to start Cain or Elliott, along with Markus, Sam, Sacar and whichever center is chosen, and bring Rowsey off the bench, than it does to start both midgets with an all-big front line. The latter is pretty unathletic.

But all of this talk of starting lineup really doesn't matter much.

Barring foul trouble, Sam, Markus and Rowsey each will play well over 30 minutes most games, probably 35+ in many. It looks like Sacar, arguably our best defender, will be in the high-20s. The centers will get rotated depending upon matchups and how each is doing, both production-wise and foul-wise; and Cain and Elliott will get plenty of playing time as situations dictate.

This season's 9-man roster actually is pretty easy to manage. Next season, if everybody comes back, it will challenge Wojo's ability to apportion playing time and deal with egos - more than anything he's had before. And that's a good thing because it means we have a lot of talent.

[BM1090]

I'mma let you finish but.....Elliott's the best defender on this team.

Recently ran the defensive numbers on synergy and was surprised by the results. Anim....33rd percentile in the country for dPPP. Elliott....85th percentile. John....8th percentile 

Anim may be far lower because he's always guarding the opponent's best player.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

I'mma let you finish but.....Elliott's the best defender on this team.

Recently ran the defensive numbers on synergy and was surprised by the results. Anim....33rd percentile in the country for dPPP. Elliott....85th percentile. John....8th percentile 

Fair.  Greggy is pretty good out there. IIRC, he leads the team in steals by a wide margin and is 2nd in blocks. Impressive for the amount of time he's actually been on the court. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Anim may be far lower because he's always guarding the opponent's best player.

That certainly is a factor, but I don't see it accounting for the huge difference between GE and Anim.

[skianth16]

So now we've seen some more of Harry, and we've seen ups and downs from the freshmen and Sacar in conference play. I'm more convinced now than I was before that the addition of Harry isn't going to change this team very much. I know there are still some people that see potential due to his size and "shooting ability" but he's just not turning out to be the player he was touted to be just yet.

I think having Harry in practice will continue to make Theo better, and that will ultimately be his biggest contribution to this team.

[skianth16]

Oops, hit post to soon.

To continue, I think Harry's role is going to be 10-12 minutes a game, grab a few boards, try to not make any dumb fouls, and kick the ball outside whenever he can. The Harry/Theo lineup is interesting, but until they can both consistently contribute without getting into trouble (fouls or TOs), I'm nervous keeping them both on the floor for very long.

[D'Lo Brown]

Oops, hit post to soon.

To continue, I think Harry's role is going to be 10-12 minutes a game, grab a few boards, try to not make any dumb fouls, and kick the ball outside whenever he can. The Harry/Theo lineup is interesting, but until they can both consistently contribute without getting into trouble (fouls or TOs), I'm nervous keeping them both on the floor for very long.

Agreed.

Harry's defense is well below Heldt's. Teams have, and especially Providence did, exploited him being totally out of place/mesmerized when he is in the game.

Harry may be a more intriguing offensive option, I suppose, but he's shooting 14% from 3 (SS) and made some dumb plays. He looks like a potential turnover machine at this point if he were in a position to get more useage (eye test, so could be wrong long term).

IMO, I'd much much rather take Matt's consistent play where he doesn't play outside himself. It leaves the offense open for the three elite scorers Marquette already has. A missed low percentage shot or dumb play from a benchwarmer is one less shot for Markus et al.

I actually would prefer that Theo remain the next man up behind Heldt. He has his own imperfections obviously but I think he's still a net positive when he's on the floor... Brings a completely different element.

Harry has clearly got some upside and I have (we all have) high hopes... But IMO right now, he's deserving of about 10 minutes, mostly when Heldt needs a breather or Theo is racking up fouls.

[Spaniel with a Short Tail]

I think Jay Bilas going a little overboard on how Harry's addition to the roster would bump us to another level was not helpful. We should all temper our expectations for the young man.

[DCHoopster]

Very hard for kids to play with a team half way thru the season.  Froling looks somewhat lost out there at times.  Had an open look a few times but did not take it.
That is why it is so important to play early in the season when there are a few cupcakes on the schedule.  He will be much improved next year.  At least I am hoping for
that.  Matt might be at his peak, but Theo justs needs to play more.  Theo needs a couple of years to really understand what he can and can not do. 

[jsglow]

The fact that he brings an extra 5 fouls isn't insignificant.  Couple that with Theo's improving court awareness and now the Center position can defend the rim.  I LOVED that hard foul Theo put on that guy in the second half.  That's when to take one.

[D'Lo Brown]

The fact that he brings an extra 5 fouls isn't insignificant.  Couple that with Theo's improving court awareness and now the Center position can defend the rim.  I LOVED that hard foul Theo put on that guy in the second half.  That's when to take one.

+1 on all points.

Been a while since we've actually been able to have a post player commit a good foul! All the last few years, just wasn't possible with the lack of depth.

[frozena pizza]

To me it seems like both Theo and Harry are adjusting to the size and speed of this level.  They both show some nice skill but also make dumb mistakes.  Going to take a while for them to get comfortable out there.

[skianth16]

+1 on all points.

Been a while since we've actually been able to have a post player commit a good foul! All the last few years, just wasn't possible with the lack of depth.

A clean but hard foul is a great tool to use, and I'd love to see more of it from our bigs. I think "using" fouls is overlooked too often in favor of trying not to lose them.

[DCHoopster]

A clean but hard foul is a great tool to use, and I'd love to see more of it from our bigs. I think "using" fouls is overlooked too often in favor of trying not to lose them.

Those are great fouls compared to the stupid fouls the MU centers get trying to guard on the perimeter!

[tower912]

15 games to go.   Let's revisit this thread in 3-4 weeks.    I think he will progress.   

[Loose Cannon]

15 games to go.   Let's revisit this thread in 3-4 weeks.    I think he will progress.

Plus Tax, give 'um some more time.

[zcg2013]

I still have hope in Harry but I think his confidence is a bit shook. Playing halfway through the season is tough, but also playing limited minutes makes it more difficult to gain confidence.

It seemed that he passed up a few shots yesterday and both Howard and Rowsey did not pass to him when he was open on the pick and pop. However, it still is early for him to flow with this team. We shall see what unfolds for this year.

However, I do like the idea of 3 completely different big men option. Heldt will always be that guy who gives 1000% effort even if he has a limited skill set. Theo is the enforcer, but he can't be afraid to go up strong after getting blocked (he seemed somewhat rattled yesterday after that first block). Finally, Harry definitely has the best court vision and offensive potential. Let's see how the rotation plays out the next few games.