Senior guard wants to make amends for bad tourney loss

[Yung Buffalo]

I'm thinking that talent wins out with our main rotation and we see a lot more of Dom and Fletch being go-to guys this year than the vast majority of fans are currently projecting.

I expect Dom to have a freshman season and usage similar to what we saw from Spencer as a freshman. Situational usage as the primary ball handler, but not putting all of that on his shoulders from day one. Like Dre as a freshman, he might not be a starter but will be a finisher.

Tad needs to find a shooter to spread the court for Josh. He might go smaller than we expect in order to make that happen. Our most effective lineup might very well be:

Scott
XJ
Fletch
Dom
Ski

I said the same thing a couple of months ago about Fletch and got shot down saying there was no way Fletch would start over Gordon.

IMO Fletch is the best fit we have at the 3, and I expect him to take a big step offensively this year. We all know what he can do defensively.



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[tante]

I said the same thing a couple of months ago about Fletch and got shot down saying there was no way Fletch would start over Gordon.

IMO Fletch is the best fit we have at the 3, and I expect him to take a big step offensively this year. We all know what he can do defensively.



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Where does that leave XJ? Are seeing him as a stretch 4?

 

[Yung Buffalo]

Yes. I think XJ plays better in this position as well.


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[PuebloBuff]

Yung, I won't argue that XJ is a better 4 than 3 (though I hold out hope he'll make strides as a 3) but I think Boyle was really tied to the rebounding advantage he believed Gordon gave us playing the 4. We'll see if that holds true this year.

Yes. I think XJ plays better in this position as well.

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[Buffnik]

Gordon can be pretty nasty out there for us. Good rebounder, athletic shot blocker, can post guys up, can knock down an open mid-range shot, can run the court, and can guard multiple positions.

Hard to see a guy like that not getting major minutes. My lineup earlier was based on what I think is going to be the most difficult cover a lot of nights. It's not our best defensive lineup and not our best rebounding lineup. Considering what Tad emphasizes and how the Buffs win, I don't think it will be a starting lineup... just a really good group to be on the court together.

 

[absinthe]

That's a one use per month thing according to my physician. Already used it on the CSU game.

this is why i dont go to doctors

 

[absinthe]

The question is whether any practices will be announced as "open". In past years, other than scrimmages Tad has pretty much had an open door policy. Some of us stopped by to watch the team one day and not only did they let us in, staff assistants went to find extra chairs for us and then Tad came over to talk to us and thank us for our support after practice. Best thing to do is probably send a Direct Message tweet to RK, Adam or Will ahead of a practice you were thinking about going to in order to find out whether it's open.

Boyle's request on this is actually to call the basketball operations office the day before and ask, they'll give you the yes/no and also likely give the staff a heads up as to who is coming.

 

[Yung Buffalo]

Yung, I won't argue that XJ is a better 4 than 3 (though I hold out hope he'll make strides as a 3) but I think Boyle was really tied to the rebounding advantage he believed Gordon gave us playing the 4. We'll see if that holds true this year.

Gordon can be pretty nasty out there for us. Good rebounder, athletic shot blocker, can post guys up, can knock down an open mid-range shot, can run the court, and can guard multiple positions.

Hard to see a guy like that not getting major minutes. My lineup earlier was based on what I think is going to be the most difficult cover a lot of nights. It's not our best defensive lineup and not our best rebounding lineup. Considering what Tad emphasizes and how the Buffs win, I don't think it will be a starting lineup... just a really good group to be on the court together.

Agreed with both. Boyle has his priorities and I trust his decisions.

But IMO our most balanced starting lineup is what Nik suggested. I'll add that I would still give Gordon major minutes.


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[sackman]

Tad needs to find a shooter to spread the court for Josh. He might go smaller than we expect in order to make that happen. Our most effective lineup might very well be:

Scott
XJ
Fletch
Dom
Ski

I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one. I don't see how taking Wes Gordon out of the lineup helps Scott. I think if we want a shooter to loosen up the defense, we need to get it from the 1-3 spots. Besides, XJ is a guard in Tad's system. Everybody knows this.

 

[Buffnik]

I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one. I don't see how taking Wes Gordon out of the lineup helps Scott. I think if we want a shooter to loosen up the defense, we need to get it from the 1-3 spots. Besides, XJ is a guard in Tad's system. Everybody knows this.

A lineup like that creates space for Scott on offense. Defensively, it allows you to go for turnovers with Scott protecting the rim. It's not a bad rebounding lineup. And that group can run. It's not a starting lineup. It's not a 20 minute lineup. But on effectiveness, that's a lineup I believe can turn momentum and go on a run during a game -- maybe better than any other 5.

 

[sackman]

A lineup like that creates space for Scott on offense. Defensively, it allows you to go for turnovers with Scott protecting the rim. It's not a bad rebounding lineup. And that group can run. It's not a starting lineup. It's not a 20 minute lineup. But on effectiveness, that's a lineup I believe can turn momentum and go on a run during a game -- maybe better than any other 5.

I suppose for a change of pace where we need an offensive boost, I can see a lineup like that being effective. All of those guys have some offensive skills.