Next years Center

[Zog from Margo]

Tre playing significant minutes next year will tell me our incoming freshmen guards are overrated.

Longing for the days of Traci Carter?

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Do you think Tre's ceiling is a Steve Mitchell type career? Which I would be fine with.

Tre is not nearly as good as Stevie was as a sophomore. If Sean was healthy, Tre would probably play about as much as Caedin.

Sometimes coaches just flat out miss on an evaluation.  That's what I think happened here.

[The Sultan]

Tre is not nearly as good as Stevie was as a sophomore. If Sean was healthy, Tre would probably play about as much as Caedin.

Sometimes coaches just flat out miss on an evaluation.  That's what I think happened here.

Yet he somehow is the first sub off the bench nearly every game.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Yet he somehow is the first sub off the bench nearly every game.

Minutes played is a better indicator than first off the bench.

Here are the total bench minutes from the recent UConn, St. John's, and Creighton stretch:

Parham 67
Lowery 56
Owens 24
Norman 16
Hamilton 9

Those are all NCAA tournament caliber teams.  To me, it's easy to see Shaka going to a 7 man rotation in the tournament. The starters, Parham, and Lowery are it. Spot minutes for Owens, Norman, and Hamilton.

[JakeBarnes]

We do this every year with the freshmen. You'd think we'd learn at some point.

But its not hard to see why a junior, with two years experience under his belt, would be ahead of three freshmen who aren't one and done types. But I guess we had people suggesting *this off-season* that Stevie might lose his starting spot, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Stevie will definitely lose his starting spot next year though.

[Newsdreams]

Tre playing significant minutes next year will tell me our incoming freshmen guards are overrated.

LOL

[tower912]

Stevie will definitely lose his starting spot next year though.

Brilliant.  Absolutely love it.

BCHoopster doesn't see an alpha scorer next season.  I see 4 who potentially can do it.  Ross, Owens, Parham, Gold.

[wombataholic]

BCHoopster doesn't see an alpha scorer next season.  I see 4 who potentially can do it.  Ross, Owens, Parham, Gold.

I'd guess Parham, followed by some combination of Owens or Lowery.

[BCHoopster]

Brilliant.  Absolutely love it.

BCHoopster doesn't see an alpha scorer next season.  I see 4 who potentially can do it.  Ross, Owens, Parham, Gold.

Gold, dreaming, Owens has a hard time creating his own shot, agree Ross might score around 18 next year, Parham maybe 12-14.  Talking about Owens, is Shaka hurting him or helping him.  Looked very impressive in the scrimmage, since then not much

[MUfan12]

Gold, dreaming, Owens has a hard time creating his own shot, agree Ross might score around 18 next year, Parham maybe 12-14.  Talking about Owens, is Shaka hurting him or helping him.  Looked very impressive in the scrimmage, since then not much

That toe injury really set Owens back, unfortunately.

Chase seems the most obvious pick, but he'll need to stop picking up dumb fouls and finish more consistently at the rim.

[GoldenEagles03]

I'd guess Parham, followed by some combination of Owens or Lowery.

Chase?

[tower912]

That toe injury really set Owens back, unfortunately.

Chase seems the most obvious pick, but he'll need to stop picking up dumb fouls and finish more consistently at the rim.

So did missing a month with the groin.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

If the game slows down a bit more for Owens, and it should, he's going to be a beast. 

[BM1090]

Brilliant.  Absolutely love it.

BCHoopster doesn't see an alpha scorer next season.  I see 4 who potentially can do it.  Ross, Owens, Parham, Gold.

Ben has the skill. I'm starting to think he may never get his confidence right while he's at MU though. Seeing improvements but he needs to take a big step next year in that regard. If he does, he's going to be really fun to watch.

[tower912]

If the game slows down a bit more for Owens, and it should, he's going to be a beast. 

There have been enough glimpses to show that an offseason of growth and a few more pounds of muscle will lead to him being a problem for other teams. 
I thought he would be 6th man, Swiss army knife, by the end of the season.  Preseason injuries derailed that.  Alas.

[JakeBarnes]

Brilliant.  Absolutely love it.

BCHoopster doesn't see an alpha scorer next season.  I see 4 who potentially can do it.  Ross, Owens, Parham, Gold.

I am bullish on Lowery for a strong scoring role too. Maybe not alpha--still think that Chase is that. The teams aren't really built for that anyways--going to be a lot more balanced scoring going forward.

[tower912]

I see Lowery in a 3 and D role as a junior, similar to Chase as a sophomore.

[willie warrior]

Brilliant.  Absolutely love it.

BCHoopster doesn't see an alpha scorer next season.  I see 4 who potentially can do it.  Ross, Owens, Parham, Gold.

Well Tower, you just went off the rails with the prediction of Gold potentially being an alpha scorer.

[tower912]

Phew

[The Sultan]

Phew

You did that on purpose.

[The Sultan]

Gold, dreaming, Owens has a hard time creating his own shot, agree Ross might score around 18 next year, Parham maybe 12-14.  Talking about Owens, is Shaka hurting him or helping him.  Looked very impressive in the scrimmage, since then not much

"...is Shaka hurting him..." Cmon...what are we doing here.

He's been injured. And scrimmages aren't games.

[tower912]

You did that on purpose.

Sometimes, I just do stuff to make myself laugh.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Without an alpha scorer, next year's team will struggle to score 50.

[tower912]

Without an alpha scorer, next year's team will struggle to score 50.

Nice throwback.

[MU82]

Talking about Owens, is Shaka hurting him or helping him.  Looked very impressive in the scrimmage, since then not much

Please share with us what I'm sure were totally accurate (and optimistic) predictions of the players Kolek and Oso would become after one year in Shaka's program. Thanks!

I mean, if Shaka and his assistants have proven one thing over and over, it's that players never, ever improve under their watch. Kolek, Oso, Kam, Stevie, Ross, Joplin, OMax, Lowery - not a single one of them got better after Year 1.