Who starts?

[bucsrule8872]

Now that the roster is set, the big debate is going to be who starts?

I feel like there are four locks to start:

G Diallo
G Wilkins
F Momcilovic
C Moreno

So who is the fifth starter?

I have heard/seen a lot of talking heads putting N’Diaye in the fifth starting spot. I wouldn’t be surprised by that happening, but I just don’t trust international guys.

I think Goodman is expecting Kam and Mom to start together. He has talked about how having Kam and Mom together on the wings with Diallo and Wilkins driving and kicking to them would be a deadly combination. Problem with that is rebounding. Neither Kam nor Mom can rebound.

Word is McBride was brought in to start at PF. He is another good spot up shooter. He would likely be better on the boards as well.

Hawthorne might have the most upside of any of the players on the roster not named Moreno. Could he end up the fifth starter? Highly unlikely, given the talent in front of him. Still intriguing.

I am leaning toward Kam as the fifth starter because he has SEC experience and can defend multiple positions.

But McBride is my second choice. He is stronger, but he doesn’t have that big game/SEC experience that Kam has.

And like I keep saying, I just don’t trust international guys, so I have a hard time seeing N’Diaye being much of an improvement over Jelavic. He’s another European finesse type player who wants to jack up 3-pointers like a guard without the shooting ability of a guard (he’s a 30% from 3 shooter).

I think with the game on the line, it’s going to be Williams or McBride with the four “locks.” I think both will get a lot of minutes, regardless of which one starts or if N’Diaye starts.

Thoughts?

[UKHoops01]

I think Pope likes Kam Williams and he will probably get first shot, especially since he's returning and knows the system. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing McBride or N'djaye get an opportunity, depending on how they're playing.

I saw a video today that suggested Williams starting at the 2, with either Diallo or Wilkins starting at the point. I wouldn't totally be opposed to that, as long as either Diallo or Wilkins could be convinced to come off the bench and see starter's minutes as a combo guard playing both guard spots. If that was the case, I think Diallo would likely start and Wilkins could be the 6th man seeing time at both the point and 2 guard positions. I don't expect that to happen, but if everyone was OK with it and that's what they wanted to try I'd be fine with it.

[bucsrule8872]

I think Pope likes Kam Williams and he will probably get first shot, especially since he's returning and knows the system. That said, I wouldn't mind seeing McBride or N'djaye get an opportunity, depending on how they're playing.

I saw a video today that suggested Williams starting at the 2, with either Diallo or Wilkins starting at the point. I wouldn't totally be opposed to that, as long as either Diallo or Wilkins could be convinced to come off the bench and see starter's minutes as a combo guard playing both guard spots. If that was the case, I think Diallo would likely start and Wilkins could be the 6th man seeing time at both the point and 2 guard positions. I don't expect that to happen, but if everyone was OK with it and that's what they wanted to try I'd be fine with it.

Agreed.

My only concern with Kam at the 2 is ballhandling. He does not have a great handle. All the ballhandling would fall on the PG in that scenario. Size and shooting would be very good, though.

I think we will see that happen some, just to get everyone minutes. Pope will want to go 10 deep and if that is the case, he’ll most likely have to give Kam some time at the 2 to free up minutes for N’Diaye and McBride at the 4.

That’s the problem we will run into with starting Kam and Momcilovic together. If Momcilivic is getting around 30 minutes at the 3 and Kam is getting around 25 minutes at the 4 or vice versa, then that only leaves 15 minutes for the other 3 forwards (McBride, N’Diaye, and Hawthorne). That’s not enough minutes. So Pope will almost have to play Kam at the 2 to free up minutes at forward.

Kam’s dad even said when asked about Kam and Stokes playing together and he said Kam would play the 2/3 with Stokes as the 3/4. I think the same thing applies with Momcilovic.

Diallo and Wilkins will likley get around 30 minutes a piece at the guard spots. That is 60 of the 80 minutes. Give Morton 10 or so minutes and that leaves Kam 10 or so minutes.

And once we get into the SEC, I could see Hawthorne being pushed out of the rotation all together, unless he is just too good to keep off the floor. If Hawthorne is good enough and demands minutes, then Kam is going to have to play some 2. That probably forces N’Diaye out of the rotation. If both Hawthorne and N’Diaye play well we will have one heck of a logjam at forward. That’s a good problem to have, but still a problem.

Ultimately, someone is going to get pushed out of the rotation or at the very least see their minutes diminish as the season progresses. Just no way around it. You have to give Momcilovic big minutes. That leaves few minutes for the rest.

Maybe Morton sits? Start Diallo and Wilkins at the 1 and 2, bring in Kam at the 2 and move Wilkins to the 1 when Diallo is out.

Lots of possibilities.

It’s going to be interesting to see how these puzzle pieces fit together.

[WeWant9]

Williams probably gets the opportunity to start, but I wouldn't be surprised if McBride slides into that spot as we get close to league play. I could see Williams as a swiss army knife type of 6th man.

[ganner918]

I'm not high on N'Diaye. Similar numbers as Jelavic had in Europe, and N'Diaye took >50% of his shots from three while only hitting 30%. Better rebounder than the other options, though. My money is on McBride to start, more of a true PF. I worry about rebounding and interior scoring with Kam and Momcilovic at forward.

[Pobilly]

Moreno
McBride
Mil-Mo
Wilkins
Diallo

Kam Braden Morton N'Diaye and Kepnang will be the guys off the bench probably Kam 6, Morton 7, Kepnang, N'Diaye and Braden.

I think it will depend on fouls, how hard we play. If we play 94 feet of Pitino ball then we will see all of these 10 probably 15 plus minutes a game. Not wholesale line substitutions. See 2 come in like a guard / center or wing forward kind of changes.

[Pete Hogwallop]

Moreno
McBride
Mil-Mo
Wilkins
Diallo

Kam Braden Morton N'Diaye and Kepnang will be the guys off the bench probably Kam 6, Morton 7, Kepnang, N'Diaye and Braden.

I think it will depend on fouls, how hard we play. If we play 94 feet of Pitino ball then we will see all of these 10 probably 15 plus minutes a game. Not wholesale line substitutions. See 2 come in like a guard / center or wing forward kind of changes.

It sure seems like we have tons of options at most positions. Of course, I kind of thought that was the case last year during the summer too. Shows what I know.

[EKYCat]

It sure seems like we have tons of options at most positions. Of course, I kind of thought that was the case last year during the summer too. Shows what I know.

Ehhh, we shoulda. Had guys hurt (although one I'm not 100% sure was really hurt based on NBA workouts if you catch my drift!) and that derailed a lot of what could or should have been. This roster looks more like one fit to the system Pope wants to employ. Maybe it'll work out!

[bucsrule8872]

It sure seems like we have tons of options at most positions. Of course, I kind of thought that was the case last year during the summer too. Shows what I know.

I felt the same way last season, but that was when everyone was saying JQ would be back healthy and before Lowe got broke.

If we can stay healthy, this team looks to be built a little better. More playmakers. More shooters.

Last year’s team would have been much better with a healthy JQ and Lowe. Hands down, without question. I think it could have been a true contender. We had those two for like one half of one game together against St. John’s and they cooked even with Lowe being one handed because of his shoulder.

As long as this team stays healthy, I think we have a good shot at being a top 4 team in the league, and making it to the second weekend, and maybe more. I feel like the pieces are in place offensively. I don’t know if we can defend, but that’s okay, we can’t have it all, I would rather score close to a hundred every night and see if the other teams can keep up than play good defense but struggle to put the ball in the basket.

But maybe that is just me. Some of y’all might prefer grind it out rock fights.

[WeWant9]

With our length and overall college experience, I feel a good zone could be useful to get some defensive stops. Year 1, Pope used the 1-3-1 to some positive results, I was in Seattle when he threw it out there and that helped to erase the 18 pt deficit to the zags.

[UKHoops01]

A

Diallo
Wilkins
Williams
Momcilovic
Moreno

B
Diallo
Wilkins
Momcilovic
McBride
Moreno

C

Diallo
Wilkins
Momcilovic
N'Djaye
Moreno

D

Diallo
Williams
Momcilovic
McBride
Moreno

E

Diallo
Williams
Momcilovic
N'Djaye
Moreno

Those are the most obvious options to me.

I think it's a given that Diallo, Momcilovic and Moreno will start. Very high probability that Wilkins will as well. As bucsrule said, it comes down to the final spot, and I think most of us lean towards Williams....which initially, I'd be fine with. We'll have to see if Momcilovic is able to handle the 4 spot, or if he's better suited for the 3. And if both Williams and Momcilovic are absolutely killing it and tearing it up to the point where they both have to start and see the lion's share of minutes (but rebounding is suffering) then maybe Williams could move to the 2, McBride or N'Djaye could start at the 4, and Wilkins could see starter's minutes as the primary combo guard off the bench.

It's nice to banter this around a bit, because we've got 5 months before the season even starts.....but knowing Pope he'll probably run with some version that none of us thinks is the best version, so while fun, it's kind of a fool's errand.

[bucsrule8872]

A good zone defense could go along way with this team. We have some really good length that we could throw out there and that would cover up for some of our guys defensive deficiencies. A basic 2/3 with Diallo and Wilkins both 6’4-6’5-ish would be good with Kam/Moreno/Mom across the back line. That’s 6’8/7’0/6’8.

Heck we could play a five out lineup from time to time and play a 2/3 and get Potter out there as a stretch 5. Put Morton and Kam up top, with Mom/Potter/McBride in the back.

G Morton- 39% from 3 last year.
G K. Williams- 39% from 3 career.
F Momcilovic- 49% from 3 last year.
F McBride- 40% from 3 last year.
C Potter- 40% from 3 career.

That would maximize our shooting. Might be nice to throw it out there for a few minutes a game.

[Pobilly]

With our length and overall college experience, I feel a good zone could be useful to get some defensive stops. Year 1, Pope used the 1-3-1 to some positive results, I was in Seattle when he threw it out there and that helped to erase the 18 pt deficit to the zags.

Yes, Agree this is a team to do a 1-3-1 morph into a 3-2 and man to confuse teams. It will also help with any player not able to guard man but can be taught to guard an area. This might hurt in rebounding, it takes very trained players to rebound out of zone defenses. But can be done.

[bucsrule8872]

Maybe we platoon:

G Diallo
G K. Williams
F Momcilovic
F McBride
C Moreno

G Wilkins
G Morton
F B. Hawthorne
F N’Diaye
C Kepnang

Just kidding.

Momcilovic is playing 30+ minutes a game, most likely. Moreno, Diallo, and Wilkins close to 30. Kam probably between 25-30. McBride probably gets over 20 a game. The rest fight for the leftovers.