Wake vs Miami 6 pm ESPNU

[Canedude08]

Wong is 10x the player Angel was and McGusty is on McClellan level (edit McGusty is putting up better numbers so far this year and I don’t see that stopping). Adding Moore and Joseph and Miller on the wing… I totally disagree. This team has a much better backcourt than 2015.

This team would get blown out by 2012 today… but I believe Wong will prove to be a markedly better player than Larkin and this backcourt has a chance to be better than that one. That team had meat that this team just doesn’t… but this team could get hot at the right time and he just as exciting.

Wong is a great scorer, and he's more consistent than Angel. That said, McGusty isn't the player McClellan was. McClellan could defend, he could score and he was a leader. McGusty is a guy that most likely won't sniff an NBA roster. I like Cam, I'm happy he's on the roster, but I'm not going to be a prisoner of the moment.

Larkin was elite, don't let the fog of history fool you. Dude was DOMINANT as a collegiate PG, there's a reason why he had a ton of hardware after that season. Wong can't control a game like that, but due to his size, has more of a future(Larkin has chosen to stay overseas, I think that he was soured on the NBA when he played for the Nets and was screwed over).

The key word in your analysis is "Getting Hot". What made the 2012 team elite, and by far the best team L has had in his Miami tenure was that they could beat you **** near any which way. They could lock you up defensively, they could bomb away from deep, they could bang inside, and they could run you out of the gym. I think a lot of us forget how dominant that team was, because of the way the season ended, and how a random case of the Flu torpedoed that year.

 

[AmherstCane]

Wong is a great scorer, and he's more consistent than Angel. That said, McGusty isn't the player McClellan was. McClellan could defend, he could score and he was a leader. McGusty is a guy that most likely won't sniff an NBA roster. I like Cam, I'm happy he's on the roster, but I'm not going to be a prisoner of the moment.

Larkin was elite, don't let the fog of history fool you. Dude was DOMINANT as a collegiate PG, there's a reason why he had a ton of hardware after that season. Wong can't control a game like that, but due to his size, has more of a future(Larkin has chosen to stay overseas, I think that he was soured on the NBA when he played for the Nets and was screwed over).

The key word in your analysis is "Getting Hot". What made the 2012 team elite, and by far the best team L has had in his Miami tenure was that they could beat you **** near any which way. They could lock you up defensively, they could bomb away from deep, they could bang inside, and they could run you out of the gym. I think a lot of us forget how dominant that team was, because of the way the season ended, and how a random case of the Flu torpedoed that year.

I’d take Wong/McGusty over Angel/McClellan 7 days a week even giving you that McClellan may be a better player (but McGusty is putting up better stats across the board so far this year).

Larkin was elite… Wong has a chance to be better this year.

I’m not saying we’re gonna win the ACC (we’re not, 2012 would have)… I’m saying there is not a hard ceiling on this team if they get hot and Gak and Walker develop over the course of the season.

The team has versatility:
Moore/Wong/McGusty/Miller/Sam
all the way to
Wong (6’3)/McGusty (6’5)/Walker (6’9)/Sam (6’11)/Gak (6’11)

I wouldn’t expect to see the latter line up… but I think you’ll see all those guys (maybe w the exception of Walker) start over the course of the year.

Gak was hugely encouraging today and could make a big difference for this team

 

[Miami04]

For those really close to the UM bball situation, do you think miami's current team can be close to what we were in 2015-2016 when we went to sweet 16?

Imagine if miami still had Matt cross? We would be even better. **** shame.

I don’t think this is an NCAA team. They are flying high right now for sure and I am loving it. But there are so many holes I just can’t see us keeping it up.

I hope to be proved wrong.

And if we beat Syracuse and get to 4-0 we would only need to finish 6-10 for a .500 conf record and that may be enough. The ACC is only getting 5 teams this year so we need to be in that top 5. The silver lining is literally everyone but Duke is average.

 

[Miami04]

If Gak stays healthy and settles in and everybody else stays healthy this team can be the best team L has had at Miami. It’s all about matchups and this team is a tough matchup if they’re hot.

Guard play makes Coach L’s teams go. I think this may turn out to be best backcourt we have had at the U.

And I think between Sam, Walker, and Gak the front court can be serviceable. Coach L has shown the ability to develop players over the course of a season.

Those are some lofty expectations and big ifs. 2012-13 team would beat this team worse than Bama beat us in football or basketball.

 

[AmherstCane]

I don’t think this is an NCAA team. They are flying high right now for sure and I am loving it. But there are so many holes I just can’t see us keeping it up.

I hope to be proved wrong.

And if we beat Syracuse and get to 4-0 we would only need to finish 6-10 for a .500 conf record and that may be enough. The ACC is only getting 5 teams this year so we need to be in that top 5. The silver lining is literally everyone but Duke is average.

What are the holes? We don’t have a space eater or a true center. That’s really it. I think the deficiency at center is surmountable. The lack of a space eater is the real weakness/problem that will always leave us vulnerable on the boards. But that’s the only indelible weakness of this team.

 

[Miami04]

What are the holes? We don’t have a space eater or a true center. That’s really it. I think the deficiency at center is surmountable. The lack of a space eater is the real weakness/problem that will always leave us vulnerable on the boards. But that’s the only indelible weakness of this team.

Our defense has been awful at times this year and is going to cost us and already has.
We won’t / can’t defend the 3
You can’t go through a season giving up as many second chance points as we do and Be a great team.
Sam will go games without even taking a shot. You can’t have that from your starting PF or whatever position he is.
We make horrible mental decisions down the stretch of games. We have for years.

Look, I am loving this run and hope to be proved wrong but I think this streak has some luck involved in it that usually doesn’t last an entire season. Again, I hope I’m wrong.

 

[AmherstCane]

Our defense has been awful at times this year and is going to cost us and already has.
We won’t / can’t defend the 3
You can’t go through a season giving up as many second chance points as we do and Be a great team.
Sam will go games without even taking a shot. You can’t have that from your starting PF or whatever position he is.
We make horrible mental decisions down the stretch of games. We have for years.

Look, I am loving this run and hope to be proved wrong but I think this streak has some luck involved in it that usually doesn’t last an entire season. Again, I hope I’m wrong.

2012 lost to FGCU.

We aren’t a great team right now by any stretch. But the team has a chance to be special.

I’m not worried about perimeter D… that can be fixed. Interior D is another story… a bigger problem and it comes with the lack of a true center.

They only credited Gak with one block but I thought I saw two. Walker also had a nice block.

The upside for the season depends on Gak and Walker’s development over the year. Walker had 8/5 and Gak had 5/4. That’s encouraging… because they’re the matchup versatility that can keep us competitive in the interior (plus Sam, of course).

 

[Cane since 1060]

Agree. If we had Nysier Brooks this year (or had replaced him), I'd think this definitely could be a NCAA team.

I just think without any inside presence it'll cost us games. I'm glad they've gotten off to this start though. Wong and McGusty are a great scoring duo

We have never ever had a inside presence and I’m 66 years old. And coach L has kept that tradition alive and well.

 

[Cane since 1060]

I know I am stating the obvious but we will find out much more about this team when they play their ACC road schedule. I am one of the very few Florida Panthers hockey fans and our home record tops the NHL but we are not great on the road. And the 4 best hockey teams are all in our division so there must be road success. Yes ya want to win your home games but the really good teams do both.

 

[SanAmaro2005]

2012 lost to FGCU.

We aren’t a great team right now by any stretch. But the team has a chance to be special.

I’m not worried about perimeter D… that can be fixed. Interior D is another story… a bigger problem and it comes with the lack of a true center.

They only credited Gak with one block but I thought I saw two. Walker also had a nice block.

The upside for the season depends on Gak and Walker’s development over the year. Walker had 8/5 and Gak had 5/4. That’s encouraging… because they’re the matchup versatility that can keep us competitive in the interior (plus Sam, of course).

KenPom has us rated in the 90s. We're below 200th in all of the following: opponent points per game, opponent shooting percentage, opponent offensive board, and rebounding percentage. It's fun watching this team bc we can score and we've been finding ways to win competitive games. But those deficiencies are killer and I don't think it's totally fixable with this year's roster. That 2012 team would steamroll these guys. I'm hopeful we can compete for a tournament spot by winning enough games against a pretty mediocre ACC this year. Like you, I am still hopeful that Walker can develop and help us with some of those rebounding numbers in particular. I don't read as much into Gak's performance yesterday as you though. I have a hard time seeing him develop into a real contributor. But if we get a responsible and focused version of Walker to go along with a healthy Sam, that could be enough for us to win a bunch of games.

 

[Cane since 1060]

KenPom has us rated in the 90s. We're below 200th in all of the following: opponent points per game, opponent shooting percentage, opponent offensive board, and rebounding percentage. It's fun watching this team bc we can score and we've been finding ways to win competitive games. But those deficiencies are killer and I don't think it's totally fixable with this year's roster. That 2012 team would steamroll these guys. I'm hopeful we can compete for a tournament spot by winning enough games against a pretty mediocre ACC this year. Like you, I am still hopeful that Walker can develop and help us with some of those rebounding numbers in particular. I don't read as much into Gak's performance yesterday as you though. I have a hard time seeing him develop into a real contributor. But if we get a responsible and focused version of Walker to go along with a healthy Sam, that could be enough for us to win a bunch of games.

Completely agree Gak is just a non entity. I think having Sam back will be a big help critical to get him back now though ahead of tougher ACC schedule. If we stay healthy I like this team they have a certain confidence I guess that comes with talent and experience.

 

[ALLoverCANE]

I’d take Wong/McGusty over Angel/McClellan 7 days a week even giving you that McClellan may be a better player (but McGusty is putting up better stats across the board so far this year).

Larkin was elite… Wong has a chance to be better this year.

I’m not saying we’re gonna win the ACC (we’re not, 2012 would have)… I’m saying there is not a hard ceiling on this team if they get hot and Gak and Walker develop over the course of the season.

The team has versatility:
Moore/Wong/McGusty/Miller/Sam
all the way to
Wong (6’3)/McGusty (6’5)/Walker (6’9)/Sam (6’11)/Gak (6’11)

I wouldn’t expect to see the latter line up… but I think you’ll see all those guys (maybe w the exception of Walker) start over the course of the year.

Gak was hugely encouraging today and could make a big difference for this team

Don't overreact to Gak's performance yesterday. Bad players have good games sometimes, especially at home.

 

[Cane since 1060]

You want to learn a little more about this teams motivation watch Charlie Moores press conference after the game. I like this kid I like this teams attitude. Tell them they have won 7 in a row or that they have scored 2 games of 90 pts and it’s just on to the next one.

 

[Cane since 1060]

What are the holes? We don’t have a space eater or a true center. That’s really it. I think the deficiency at center is surmountable. The lack of a space eater is the real weakness/problem that will always leave us vulnerable on the boards. But that’s the only indelible weakness of this team.

Anybody have an idea on when Sam gets back ?

 

[AmherstCane]

Don't overreact to Gak's performance yesterday. Bad players have good games sometimes, especially at home.

I don’t think it’s right to call Gak a bad player. He was a project when we took him and he has never been healthy enough to play consistent minutes over the last couple years.

He is athletic and has good enough hands to be a solid rotational player.

Remember what everyone said about Tonye before it came together for him?

 

[AmherstCane]

Anybody have an idea on when Sam gets back ?

When he tests negative, I believe.

 

[Cane since 1060]

When he tests negative, I believe.

Understand but he’s been out now for a few weeks.

 

[AmherstCane]

Understand but he’s been out now for a few weeks.

Nah, just the last week (2 games). Hopefully he’s back for Wednesday but sometimes even a mild case can linger for 10 days.

 

[ALLoverCANE]

I don’t think it’s right to call Gak a bad player. He was a project when we took him and he has never been healthy enough to play consistent minutes over the last couple years.

He is athletic and has good enough hands to be a solid rotational player.

Remember what everyone said about Tonye before it came together for him?

He's not good. Being a "project" by definition means you're not good. He's done nothing in his time here to prove he's moved beyond being a project. I'm not insulting the kid, I'm sure he's a hard worker. But he just hasn't been a good player, and it seems silly to expect him to become one now. If he gives us what he gave us yesterday 5 or 6 more times this season (which, btw, was very modest production), I'd be thrilled.

Jekiri's stats as a freshman are better than Gak's stats as a 23 year old junior lol. Gak has 12 rebounds this season. Not in a game - in the entire season.

 

[AmherstCane]

He's not good. Being a "project" by definition means you're not good. He's done nothing in his time here to prove he's moved beyond being a project. I'm not insulting the kid, I'm sure he's a hard worker. But he just hasn't been a good player, and it seems silly to expect him to become one now. If he gives us what he gave us yesterday 5 or 6 more times this season (which, btw, was very modest production), I'd be thrilled.

Jekiri's stats as a freshman are better than Gak's stats as a 23 year old junior lol. Gak has 12 rebounds this season. Not in a game - in the entire season.

Below is Tonye’s college production. I remember when people wrote him off as a freshman. Don’t try to revisionist that history. Gak had 5/4 last night and he might as well be a sophomore considering his injuries. He moved well and has decent hands. I’m not saying he’s good. I’m saying it’s not fair to say he’s expected to be bad without a real prospect of improvement.