Dustin Thomas has left the program

[buff94]

If I was Tad then I would say it was about position & PT too. That's the PC thing to say.

There seems to be an ongoing divide in that locker room & I think it's more likely that DT was tired of it.

Not to say DT was invaluable. Only Scott, Gordon, & Dom are invaluable. This just isn't a good sign bc there's some strong personalities on this team & DT didn't seem like the problem.

Strong personalities on the team is not necessarily a bad thing - but which ones do you think are the problem?

 

[BuffG]

Strong personalities on the team is not necessarily a bad thing - but which ones do you think are the problem?

Right. That was a nice way of saying divisive personalities. Ski & XJ seemed to be the most divisive. But who knows? I just don't think this is really about position or PT and I don't think the rift in the locker room is being solved by DT leaving.

 

[WizzersGhost]

DT is a loss. No question about it. If he got his foul rate under control he would dominate.

A real stretch at best.

He didn't appear strong enough to do that. Always a bit of the "dough-boy" about him; he just wasn't very cut, couldn't shoot his reputation and didn't learn from mistakes.

 

[Buffnik]

One place where 'Tini is right is that the potential is there for DT to be a dominant offensive player. The toolbox is extremely impressive. So many moves. So many different spots on the court he can receive the ball and be dangerous. Plus great vision with a willingness to pass the ball.

I think for it to work with him, though, it needs to be a situation where he's the man and the offense runs through him as a "point forward".

 

[absinthe]

Dont talk percentages on this site. Shooting percentage especially. I'm waiting for some Ken Pom trash that will say he's the second coming of Georges Niang. In all seriousness, I think losing DT is a big loss, but as long as XJ is here, he wasn't going to start. Good luck to DT moving forward.

Ok Barkley.

Apologies for welcoming you to the board with numbers.

DT made strides this year per KenPom, he:
- Was more efficient with the ball (97.2 otrg vs 81)
- Shot the ball Better 51.8% vs 46.6 TS%
- Improved his assist rate 11.1 va 7.4
- Decreased his turnover rate: 22.8 vs 29.9
- Blocked more shots
- Stole the ball more
- committed (microscopically) fewer fouls
- Shoot a better FT%
- Shoot better from 3
There are your dreaded advanced metrics.

An interesting thing that comes out of these though is one of the players his season was almost identically comparable to is.... Fletcher who shot the ball a little better than DT, rebounded a little worse, turned the ball over a little more and committed about half the fouls. Numbers at least in this case would indicate Fletch can take DT's minutes and we'll be ok.

 

[Darth Snow]

Ok Barkley.

Apologies for welcoming you to the board with numbers.

DT made strides this year per KenPom, he:
- Was more efficient with the ball (97.2 otrg vs 81)
- Shot the ball Better 51.8% vs 46.6 TS%
- Improved his assist rate 11.1 va 7.4
- Decreased his turnover rate: 22.8 vs 29.9
- Blocked more shots
- Stole the ball more
- committed (microscopically) fewer fouls
- Shoot a better FT%
- Shoot better from 3
There are your dreaded advanced metrics.

An interesting thing that comes out of these though is one of the players his season was almost identically comparable to is.... Fletcher who shot the ball a little better than DT, rebounded a little worse, turned the ball over a little more and committed about half the fouls. Numbers at least in this case would indicate Fletch can take DT's minutes and we'll be ok.

Fletch won't really take DT's minutes though since DT was usually at the 4 and Fletch was always outside. I think.

 

[absinthe]

Fletch won't really take DT's minutes though since DT was usually at the 4 and Fletch was always outside. I think.

Looking at those break downs now. Thought is was fascinating that statistically they were so comparable, probably should have made that more clear in my post.


Edit: so over the last 5 games DT split time at the 3 & 4 almost perfectly, Fletch played almost exclusively at the 3. Based on last 5 which is the only clean data i have DT's minutes are only about 10 per game 4.8 at the 3 and 5.2 at the 4, so his contribution at the 3 could very easily be picked up by Fletch who would only see his PT increase from 36% of minutes to 49%, offensive contribution would be slightly more in this scenario but we'd give up a little rebounding and commit ~1 foul per game.


At the 4 it is more interesting where your splits are:

Wes 41% of minutes
XJ 34%
DT 13%

I assume you roll those minutes to Wes/XJ if they both stay, have Wes stop covering for Scott at the 5 and increase Miller's minutes there. If XJ leaves though that is a big chunk of minutes, in our last 5 even off the bench he played:

18% of the minutes available at the 3
34% of the available minutes at the 4

 

[FLounder]

I just have a feeling that we do extremely well next regular season, then as a highly seeeded team heading into the tourney, Xj gets selfish and we get slaughter in the later rounds.

 

[Daaah]

I just have a feeling that we do extremely well next regular season, then as a highly seeeded team heading into the tourney, Xj gets selfish and we get slaughter in the later rounds.

I thought slaughter had used up his eligibility.

 

[Darth Snow]

Looking at those break downs now. Thought is was fascinating that statistically they were so comparable, probably should have made that more clear in my post.


Edit: so over the last 5 games DT split time at the 3 & 4 almost perfectly, Fletch played almost exclusively at the 3. Based on last 5 which is the only clean data i have DT's minutes are only about 10 per game 4.8 at the 3 and 5.2 at the 4, so his contribution at the 3 could very easily be picked up by Fletch who would only see his PT increase from 36% of minutes to 49%, offensive contribution would be slightly more in this scenario but we'd give up a little rebounding and commit ~1 foul per game.


At the 4 it is more interesting where your splits are:

Wes 41% of minutes
XJ 34%
DT 13%

I assume you roll those minutes to Wes/XJ if they both stay, have Wes stop covering for Scott at the 5 and increase Miller's minutes there. If XJ leaves though that is a big chunk of minutes, in our last 5 even off the bench he played:

18% of the minutes available at the 3
34% of the available minutes at the 4

Repped. Great stuff. So we are fine at the three. However, I am worried about what this does at the 5. Means that we need Tory to step up and take minutes big time. And that if Wes or Tory get in foul trouble (or, say, XJ leaves) that our depth is **** unless the new PF is ready.

 

[tante]

Am I crazy in thinking that DT would do really well in a offense like Oregon's? Just something that spreads the floor.

 

[COhoops]

Still would not surprise me if there is one more departure and a graduate/transfer body is brought in. Obviously there is a need for depth in the post and at guard both in the short term and long term, but I'm sure the staff is hoping to get more competitive ASAP.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Providence guard can do. He could have as big a role as he could handle next year.

 

[azbuff]

A real stretch at best.

He didn't appear strong enough to do that. Always a bit of the "dough-boy" about him; he just wasn't very cut, couldn't shoot his reputation and didn't learn from mistakes.

I don't think Thomas was on path to be a dominant player in the Pac-12, but "dough-boy"? C'mon man.

 

[Bullwinkle]

CU is going through some massive changes. Is DJ the first? Bookers decision to not play in the CBI looks bad to me. You finish what you started no matter the path. At the end of the day he bailed on the team!

 

[Ruckus]

Sad to see him go, I was a fan. Hopefully he finds a good spot for himself in the future. If we ever say next season that we miss him, then we are in big trouble. I think he would have been a good contributor, but I think others can fill his minutes fine. Definitely need more improvements from our current team in the offseason though.

 

[buffsyko]

Good luck DT. Not the player i thought was leaving.

 

[whatthebuff]

I really liked DT's game, but I always thought it was weird how he was almost completely devoid of emotion. For such an emotional game, it just seemed like his expression never changed.

 

[buffaholic]

Repped. Great stuff. So we are fine at the three. However, I am worried about what this does at the 5. Means that we need Tory to step up and take minutes big time. And that if Wes or Tory get in foul trouble (or, say, XJ leaves) that our depth is **** unless the new PF is ready.

Tad was seriously pumping the PF to some boosters in Las Vegas, and also stating that Tory needed minutes. So I'd say all scenarios are covered.

We could use a grad transfer guard.

 

[rolandftw]

Definitely disappointing, but figured there would be some attrition. I do think he is going to be a very solid player by his senior year.

 

[wyobuff]

Tad was seriously pumping the PF to some boosters in Las Vegas, and also stating that Tory needed minutes. So I'd say all scenarios are covered.

We could use a grad transfer guard.

Cant akyazili play next year?

 

[buffaholic]

Cant akyazili play next year?

Yeah, but our guard play needs a boost and I'm not sure we get it by trading Booker for Fortune and adding a guy with no college experience.

 

[CVilleBuff]

Next season is a complete mystery for every Buff fan at this point and it's going to remain a difficult prediction even once the departures are all completed. Guzonjic is about as much of an unknown as there can be in this era of recruiting (I don't mean that negatively, I mean we largely just do not know for better or worse). We have somewhat of an idea of what we're getting in Akyazili. We know Fortune's game, but how much of a leap will he make over the guy who averaged 8.4ppg his final season at Providence but closed the final third of the season quite strongly? (He got a **** ton of minutes at Providence too, btw). On paper alone, next season needs to be a good one for Tad, with Josh as a senior, Fortune joining the mix and Dom hopefully progressing a good deal (who the **** knows with XJ). Flipside is we might be left cleaning up the toxicity from this past season and leaving ourselves stalled out on momentum and facing a highly uncertain future.

This CBI is going to be an interesting early appetizer.

 

[cu3x]

After the last game, Tad said he was going to meet and have a serious talk with each player - including forecast playing time.

So, is that what prompted DT to leave, or was it an independent decision? Did he get a little push?

Best wishes to DT.

 

[WizzersGhost]

I really liked DT's game, but I always thought it was weird how he was almost completely devoid of emotion. For such an emotional game, it just seemed like his expression never changed.

1+ Kid never smiled even when he made a play. And I'll ask again: what was his deal on quick fouls that stole PT from him? Uncontrollable inner turmoil?

Best for him to further develop his game elsewhere.

 

[absinthe]

This CBI is going to be an interesting early appetizer.

yes it is

 

[Quattro]

1+ Kid never smiled even when he made a play. And I'll ask again: what was his deal on quick fouls that stole PT from him? Uncontrollable inner turmoil?

Best for him to further develop his game elsewhere.

He may not have smiled, but DT being emotionless inside is false. Scott and him got in a fight last year, don't recall what about but it was about a on-court play. DT was the only other player on the team who had the bulldog mentality that Ski had.

 

[Goose]

He may not have smiled, but DT being emotionless inside is false. Scott and him got in a fight last year, don't recall what about but it was about a on-court play.

Dunking during pre-game warmups.

 

[tante]

did Scott not being able to leave play any part in his decision?

 

[Quattro]

Dunking during pre-game warmups.

Tried to rep you, but need to spread some rep

 

[stretch]

I thought slaughter had used up his eligibility.

I had to look him up to see whats going on with Preston these days, as he is my favorite bench player ever (Ben Mills coming in second). He's a local math teacher either teaching at Arvada High School or Red Rocks Community College.

If you are itching for a little Preston Slaughter action, please enjoy:
Preston Slaughter