Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Big feature article (Athletic, $) on Ayo: https://theathletic.com/1097201/201...me-back-why-being-comfortable-is-a-bad-thing/
MSU is likely preseason #1 and probably going to win the BIG 10We WILL be dancing and we WILL be better than MSU. We will be top 4 in the Big10(14).
MSU is likely preseason #1 and probably going to win the BIG 10
I know all of the players you are referring too. We had season ticketsxstarting in 1972.. To compare Sambas skill level to those guys just is silly. Meents used to handle the ball in high school. Samba us big, agile, and can run but was a long way skill wise from playing meaningful minutes. That's is likely why he left and also why his offers mentioned so far are what they are. Teams and coaches know who he is dont youbthink? A D3 shooter we are after has great options. I wish Samba the best. However why after a year on a B10 squad doesnt he have top tier D1 offers. That says a alot imo. The D3 kid has some Notre Dame, us, Crieghton and others. Because he has skills. I wish him the best but I see more skill from BK and others. I think in a few years he could develop that. Other power 5 coaches it diesnt appear are after Samba and it is due to his lack skills imo not his size or agility.
You still aren't answering his question though. What is wrong with wanting an agile backup 7ft. center that can give the team 10 min. a game? The team is going to miss that this year with Samba gone.
I said I see more skill in other players this year just like last year. I dont think Samba would have been ready to play meaningful minutes for a few years. I think that does answer it. Samba imo was never going to see 10 minutes a game this year in a close game.. He isnt skilled enough. We have better options. I think if he was gonna play that many minutes he would still be here. He is not ready to play meaningful minutes in the B10. If he was he would have better offers dont you think?You still aren't answering his question though. What is wrong with wanting an agile backup 7ft. center that can give the team 10 min. a game? The team is going to miss that this year with Samba gone.
I do like the fact that we notched a win last season vs. the top 3 projected teams in this article: Michigan State, Maryland, Ohio StateSports Illustrated article:
Big Ten Offseason Report: Power Rankings and Burning Questions for 2019-20
I do like the fact that we notched a win last season vs. the top 3 projected teams in this article: Michigan State, Maryland, Ohio State
I took notice of Ohio State's win over Iowa State in the tournament last year. Good for them, but man, I just can't see them being top 3 in conference. Wesson is a good player and we know EJ will be good enough to contribute right away, but I'm not buying it. They weren't that great last year and probably didn't deserve to make it into the tourney in the first place. I also really think we can take Maryland.
At this point we won't know if Samba was ready or not. But there was clearly an opportunity to step up, improve and play 10+ minutes/game. We struggled a lot last year at the 4 against teams like Iowa with a Cook at the 4 & the mostly likely solution seemed to be Samba allowing us to play bigger & giving GB some time at the 4. With Kouma coming late, he seems like even more of a long shot to have displaced Kane, so far pulling guys straight from Europe is only a sample size of Matic, but seems optimistic that Verdonk would have been ahead of Kane either. So now, I suspect we play more small ball, with Kipper/Jones/Williams playing the 4 & honestly maybe Kipper fits the bill of a stretch 4, but not sure Jones/Williams are even legit stretch 4's at this point.. We may have ended up there anyway, but it sure was nice dreaming that we could potentially match up with a traditional 4.I said I see more skill in other players this year just like last year. I dont think Samba would have been ready to play meaningful minutes for a few years. I think that does answer it. Samba imo was never going to see 10 minutes a game this year in a close game.. He isnt skilled enough. We have better options. I think if he was gonna play that many minutes he would still be here. He is not ready to play meaningful minutes in the B10. If he was he would have better offers dont you think?
I don't think many people are arguing that it's better to have an empty roster spot than it is to have Samba on the bench. There might be a couple posters who are predicting a more capable replacement that has yet to be announced, or join the team. Beyond those posters, I think everyone would prefer to have Samba on the bench.
I just don't think his absence is going to change the outcome of the season, or the tenure of the staff.
Last year we had 4 players 6'8" and taller: Giorgi, Samba, Adonis, Higgs. Outside of GB the other three players accounted for 13.5 minutes, 4 points, and 2 boards.
This year we have 3 players 6'8" and taller: Giorgi, Kofi, and Kouma. I expect the Kofi/Kouma combo to produce more than 13.5 mpg / 4 ppg / 2 rpg.
Sure it would be great to have Samba on the roster as backup, but him leaving isn't going to change the season, IMO.
As a whole the team is losing 40.5 minutes per game from departing players. Let's say Kofi averages 25 mpg (GB averaged 26 last year). That leaves 15 minutes per game.
Last year Alan Griffin averaged 8, Tevian averaged 9. If they don't get more minutes this year, then they'll be gone the following year. At minimum lets say they each get 5 additional minutes.
Then you have the final 5 minutes total to BBV and Kouma who Samba would've been fighting with for tick.
I have no information on Samba's development but certainly don't base any analysis on last year's limited minutes. If other posters have seen practices or talked to coaches to have a basis for their assessment of this year's minutes then fine but it seems we are all making blind judgements.I don't think many people are arguing that it's better to have an empty roster spot than it is to have Samba on the bench. There might be a couple posters who are predicting a more capable replacement that has yet to be announced, or join the team. Beyond those posters, I think everyone would prefer to have Samba on the bench.
I just don't think his absence is going to change the outcome of the season, or the tenure of the staff.
Last year we had 4 players 6'8" and taller: Giorgi, Samba, Adonis, Higgs. Outside of GB the other three players accounted for 13.5 minutes, 4 points, and 2 boards.
This year we have 3 players 6'8" and taller: Giorgi, Kofi, and Kouma. I expect the Kofi/Kouma combo to produce more than 13.5 mpg / 4 ppg / 2 rpg.
Sure it would be great to have Samba on the roster as backup, but him leaving isn't going to change the season, IMO.
As a whole the team is losing 40.5 minutes per game from departing players. Let's say Kofi averages 25 mpg (GB averaged 26 last year). That leaves 15 minutes per game.
Last year Alan Griffin averaged 8, Tevian averaged 9. If they don't get more minutes this year, then they'll be gone the following year. At minimum lets say they each get 5 additional minutes.
Then you have the final 5 minutes total to BBV and Kouma who Samba would've been fighting with for tick.
I have no information on Samba's development but certainly don't base any analysis on last year's limited minutes. If other posters have seen practices or talked to coaches to have a basis for their assessment of this year's minutes then fine but it seems we are all making blind judgements.
Last year we had 4 players 6'8" and taller: Giorgi, Samba, Adonis, Higgs. Outside of GB the other three players accounted for 13.5 minutes, 4 points, and 2 boards.
This year we have 3 players 6'8" and taller: Giorgi, Kofi, and Kouma. I expect the Kofi/Kouma combo to produce more than 13.5 mpg / 4 ppg / 2 rpg.
Sure it would be great to have Samba on the roster as backup, but him leaving isn't going to change the season, IMO.
As a whole the team is losing 40.5 minutes per game from departing players. Let's say Kofi averages 25 mpg (GB averaged 26 last year). That leaves 15 minutes per game.
Last year Alan Griffin averaged 8, Tevian averaged 9. If they don't get more minutes this year, then they'll be gone the following year. At minimum lets say they each get 5 additional minutes.
Then you have the final 5 minutes total to BBV and Kouma who Samba would've been fighting with for tick.
Totally agree with bbbbbbbbbv this. Bottom line is I didntvfeel Sambas ability to play at a B10 level would win us anymore games this year. We have other better options imo.@Greensboro, I agree with just about your whole post, but my opinion of how the rotations will work is the same as @alaskaillini.
I think, based on what I’ve observed, that BU will alter the lineup to get the best players on the floor. I think it’s reasonable to assume that Samba was 9 or 10 off the bench based on last year’s results.
I don’t see him as the 3rd big off the bench. I see him as the 9th or 10th player off the bench. For him to get more time he would need to improve enough to leap the other players, which I have seen or read zero evidence of that. I’ve read he has improved, but all relative to last year, and apparently everyone has improved according to the writers. Jo
Clearly, the team has a lot riding on the success of Kofi and GB, and I guarantee that teams will be trying to get them in foul trouble. Imo, that’s probably where Samba looked to help most is late game or half defensive substitution while Kofi and GB are in foul trouble. That’s only a few minutes a game though.
Kofi will be a huge improvement over ADLR and another year of experience for the core players will certainly make us better than last year. However, that is a pretty low bar. Unless we see a much better Kipper ( closer to a Leron) we are still going to get hurt by teams with a big 4 like Michigan. Kofi and Giorgi playing together is great but needs to be 20 mins a game not 5-10.I think Kip and Tev will be able to play the 4. If we need DW or AG to step in at the four then we do have a problem. Without Kane, I will be really surprised if Giorgi gets more than 10 minutes at the 4. Will probably be closer to 5, but that will be awesome anyway. It wasn't just the 4 that was a problem last year. We are not going to have to play too small Kip or too injured ADLR at the 5 like last year which will be a big improvement. Going big with Ayo, Trent and/or Dre at the 1-2, and Kip or TJ, Giorgi, and Kofi at the 3, 4, 5 will provide a look that we could not come close to putting on the floor last year. In fact, I think that would be a good starting lineup and as soon as one of Kofi or Giorgi gets a foul, you pull him and the other plays the 5 and they alternate thereafter, with Giorgi maybe getting a little time at the 4 late in the game if fouls allow. AG and DW take over at the 3 once Kip and Tev move to the 4. That may not be a win-the-B1G rotation but it is far better than last year top to bottom, especially considering the added experience going into the season for Ayo, Giorgi, AG and Tev.
I missed all the weekend sports shows. Any news on Kouma or the injury to B-V?
@Greensboro, I agree with just about your whole post, but my opinion of how the rotations will work is the same as @alaskaillini.
I think, based on what I’ve observed, that BU will alter the lineup to get the best players on the floor. I think it’s reasonable to assume that Samba was 9 or 10 off the bench based on last year’s results.
I don’t see him as the 3rd big off the bench. I see him as the 9th or 10th player off the bench. For him to get more time he would need to improve enough to leap the other players, which I have seen or read zero evidence of that. I’ve read he has improved, but all relative to last year, and apparently everyone has improved according to the writers.
Clearly, the team has a lot riding on the success of Kofi and GB, and I guarantee that teams will be trying to get them in foul trouble. Imo, that’s probably where Samba looked to help most is late game or half defensive substitution while Kofi and GB are in foul trouble. That’s only a few minutes a game though.
I do like the fact that we notched a win last season vs. the top 3 projected teams in this article: Michigan State, Maryland, Ohio State
I took notice of Ohio State's win over Iowa State in the tournament last year. Good for them, but man, I just can't see them being top 3 in conference. Wesson is a good player and we know EJ will be good enough to contribute right away, but I'm not buying it. They weren't that great last year and probably didn't deserve to make it into the tourney in the first place. I also really think we can take Maryland.
Except for ours. /sReplacing a senior PG with a freshman, like aOSU is doing, doesn't generally go that well.