A Sea Of Red

What former player would you have loved to see in the Ritchie 2.0 system? Why?

Larry Blair. He was given way too much freedom and I can't imagine the heights he could've reached with this kind of structure.

Did Larry play defense?

Seth Curry. I would love to see what this team could do in the tournament with him. This team could make you pay if you tried to double / triple team him.

Julius Nwosu

If he were fully integrated with this offensive and defensive system and playing on the current team, I think we are a team that wins multiple games in the NCAAs.

If you buy into that philosophy like I do, we are ONLY ONE player away.

I don’t blindly drink the koolaid. I’m a calculated koolaid guy. I’m all in on RMK. I would not have posted this without the NCAA validation, but I’ve been fully in his camp for awhile.

Were the 18-22 year old versions of Seth or Larry unselfish enough to commit to defense or play offense within an actual system?

You didn't ask if it actually would've happened. You asked who I would've liked to see play in this system and hands down it is Larry.

To answer your question, no they wouldn't of been unselfish enough but it sure would've been great for them. Especially Larry.

Jonathan Carone wrote:Were the 18-22 year old versions of Seth or Larry unselfish enough to commit to defense or play offense within an actual system?

Did Coach K have a system and did they play defense?

LUDad wrote:

Jonathan Carone wrote:Were the 18-22 year old versions of Seth or Larry unselfish enough to commit to defense or play offense within an actual system?

Did Coach K have a system and did they play defense?

That’s why I included the age range. Seth as a 20 year old was a different player than the 17/18 year old version we had. He grew up a ton at Duke. I don’t know that he goes through that same maturation process had he stayed here.

thepostman wrote:You didn't ask if it actually would've happened. You asked who I would've liked to see play in this system and hands down it is Larry.

To answer your question, no they wouldn't of been unselfish enough but it sure would've been great for them. Especially Larry.

I buy that. When I thought through the question I included if they’d fit in my thought process.

I was introduced to Liberty in 06 so unfortunately my pool of players is fairly limited. That said, here’s how I’d rank it:

1) Anthony Smith - his athleticism with his three point shot could’ve been incredible in this system.

2) Jesse Sanders - he had a great combination of driving ability (think of the floaters Georgie hit yesterday) with defensive rebounding and steals. The pack would’ve fit him well.

3) Alex McLean - His length and athleticism would be fun to watch given what we do now.

4) JVP - this one intrigues me a lot. I think he could’ve had a very different career with this system.

Carl Williams is a guy that Mel brought in from WVU. That kid was probably the most athletic guard Ive seen at LU. He was also an outstanding young man who would have bought hook line and sinker into RMK system. He was a defensive demon. The basketball version of a lock down corner

Tim "King Cranium" Scarborough ... would have solidified his status as a true legend

PAmedic wrote:Tim "King Cranium" Scarborough ... would have solidified his status as a true legend

Two words
Defensive Liability I

Good call on Jesse, SJ. That was my first thought before seeing the thread work down. He was a two-way warrior.

Juice would have been able to not only play D like a beast but coul have utilized his kick outs even more than he did back in the day.

I would love to see Peter Aluma fully involved and bought into RMK's system. He was a very good defensive and offensive player, the best to ever play at LU in my opinion.
Unfortunately, he was such a big fish in a little pond that he was allowed to do pretty much as he pleased. The coaches were not able to motivate or challenge him effectively. No telling how good he would have been, coached with Hugh Freeze type intensity.
His freshman season was arguably his best. Loved the guy. He spent a lot of time eating dinners at my home. Couldn't fill him up.

I was thinking Carl Williams, too, PH. Maybe the most talented guard ever at LU. Just under-utilized in Mel’s system(s).

Purple Haize wrote:Carl Williams is a guy that Mel brought in from WVU. That kid was probably the most athletic guard Ive seen at LU. He was also an outstanding young man who would have bought hook line and sinker into RMK system. He was a defensive demon. The basketball version of a lock down corner

He wouldn't have led the nation in steals, which he did in Hanky's pressing defense, (only LU player ever to do that in a major statistical category) but he would have been AWESOME.

oldflame wrote:

Purple Haize wrote:Carl Williams is a guy that Mel brought in from WVU. That kid was probably the most athletic guard Ive seen at LU. He was also an outstanding young man who would have bought hook line and sinker into RMK system. He was a defensive demon. The basketball version of a lock down corner

He wouldn't have led the nation in steals, which he did in Hanky's pressing defense, (only LU player ever to do that in a major statistical category) but he would have been AWESOME.

I agree about the steals. But he would have been such a complete player in this system. He would completely disrupt every other teams primary ball handler which would have caused all sorts of issues getting into their offense. He actually could create his shots one on one which is something this team doesn’t really have. He would have been special

Anthony Smith - He was really good.
T.J. Bannister - We only had him for what, one season? He was quick and was a talented piece on a team that underachieved.
Dwight Brewington - Same reason.
Jeremy Monceaux - We never saw much of him, but I think the consensus was that he was talented but never lived up to potential due to injuries. Didn't he wind up transferring to Alabama?
Sommy Ogukwe - Good shot blocker and presence down low, but very raw.
Tomasz Gielo - Athletic, had a good shot, could play with anyone on the court.

Russell Monroe would get my vote. We beat ECU in the vines my freshman year and Russell gets a lot of credit for that win as we went down early by I think double digits and Russell came off the bench and threw down a thundrous dunk that was the jolt the team needed as well as the crowd. He went on to score the teams next 3 buckets after that dunk I believe and we went on to win that game. Russell, in my opinion was not used like he should've been in Denton's system. He was strong, great work ethic, played good defense and had a soft touch around the basket. Think of a bigger, stronger version of Scottie just without the 3 point ability.