[olldflame]

My first thought in looking ahead to next year is that this could very well be the best defensive team we have ever had. We are returning 3 ELITE defenders in Venzant, Robinson and Warfield, and don't be surprised if by this time next year we are mentioning DJ Moore in the same breath. If you don't believe a basketball layman like me, check out Ryan Kemrite's tweets following the game last night.

Of course somebody has to put the ball in the basket, and when we have players like Brody and Kyle on the floor, we give up some athleticism, but they both have high bb IQ, and can get the job done on D. While Joseph and Zay have made their biggest impact so far on defense, they both were prolific scorers in HS, and I think we can expect to see more production from them based just on the fact they will have the ball in their hands more with Darius gone. That goes double for Brody.

We will be adding at least 4 players to the active roster. Despite being 6'9", I think Bryson Spell will help fill the 3 point shooting void left by Keegan's departure. He also may be the best shot blocker we have had in quite a while. Cleveland and Southerland are both versatile, long 6'8" forwards. Porter is a true PG, who having reclassified, will be very Young. Might redshirt if DJ and Brody show they can handle the ball handling duties (with help from Kyle). Our schollies are all spoken for as things stand now, with the one Burrgraff is currently benefitting from going to one of the FR.

Does that mean we are done recruiting? Maybe not. Based on what has happened in the past I would not be at all surprised to see Jackson enter the portal, and although less likely, Abii joining him would not be a shock. If we have one or more transfer out, I really would expect to see Ritchie look to the transfer portal this time for replacements.

[LU Grad 11]

My first thought in looking ahead to next year is that this could very well be the best defensive team we have ever had. We are returning 3 ELITE defenders in Venzant, Robinson and Warfield, and don't be surprised if by this time next year we are mentioning DJ Moore in the same breath. If you don't believe a basketball layman like me, check out Ryan Kemrite's tweets following the game last night.

Of course somebody has to put the ball in the basket, and when we have players like Brody and Kyle on the floor, we give up some athleticism, but they both have high bb IQ, and can get the job done on D. While Joseph and Zay have made their biggest impact so far on defense, they both were prolific scorers in HS, and I think we can expect to see more production from them based just on the fact they will have the ball in their hands more with Darius gone. That goes double for Brody.

We will be adding at least 4 players to the active roster. Despite being 6'9", I think Bryson Spell will help fill the 3 point shooting void left by Keegan's departure. He also may be the best shot blocker we have had in quite a while. Cleveland and Southerland are both versatile, long 6'8" forwards. Porter is a true PG, who having reclassified, will be very Young. Might redshirt if DJ and Brody show they can handle the ball handling duties (with help from Kyle). Our schollies are all spoken for as things stand now, with the one Burrgraff is currently benefitting from going to one of the FR.

Does that mean we are done recruiting? Maybe not. Based on what has happened in the past I would not be at all surprised to see Jackson enter the portal, and although less likely, Abii joining him would not be a shock. If we have one or more transfer out, I really would expect to see Ritchie look to the transfer portal this time for replacements.

Good analysis, oldflame.

[stokesjokes]

Although this has never been Ritchie’s system, I think Venzant and Warfield would benefit tremendously from us trying to get out on the break every once in a while. At the very least, if they could develop as slashers, they could be real assets on offense. There were even a couple plays last night that we called for Warfield slashing to the hoop and he looked good doing it.

[stokesjokes]

Who do y’all see starting next year?

For me, it looks like 2-5 are pretty clear:

Robinson
Rode
Warfield
Venzant

Who plays the 1? Do we put Peebles in as a scorer and let Rode run the offense? Do we put Moore in as a traditional 1? Any other outside the box thoughts?

[JK37]

The only two Is pencil now re Rode and Robinson. So many fresh bodies on the way. And it’s a good thing.

[flameshaw]

Warfield has shown nothing on offense at this level. He only shot 30 something % from the FT line. He plays decent defense, but has along way to go. Preston brings nothing to the table. Peebles looks like he may contribute some to the offense, but he starts his shot from his waist.
I trust Ritchie 100% and hope the new talent we are bringing in are ready to play.

[Sly Fox]

Speaking of Abii, LU just dropped an offer on his 8th grade little sister:

[Cider Jim]

Peebles looks like he may contribute some to the offense, but he starts his shot from his waist.

In high school, we used to call that a "holster shot."

[stokesjokes]

Steph Curry has a similar release and he turned out ok. As long as he can get it off quickly he’ll be fine.

[olldflame]

A player I didn't mention earlier is this forum's favorite whipping boy, Blake Preston. You know, the guy who "can't make a 0 footer?". I spent some time looking at the final season stats, and guess who had the highest shooting % on the team? Yep, and by a pretty wide margin. Thinking back on the season, it seems that almost all of the close in shots he missed were on putbacks, and he had quite a few, because he led us in offensive rebounds despite playing less than 14 mpg. I think that's something fixable. He's rushing it too much. I could also add that unlike the guy starting, he made his DUNKS.

There are obviously reasons his minutes are limited, and I suspect they are mainly concerning Shiloh being a more versatile and better overall defender (except when facing a dominant big man). Not sure where Blake fits in next year, but IMHO he is way better than he is given credit for around here.

[Ill flame]

Is it really fair to compare fg% from a guy that attempted two 3 pointers all year out of 133 fg attempts. Everyone else on the team attempted a 3 on at least 30% of their shot attempts. Preston also had a 52% ft percentage. Not good.

[olldflame]

Is it really fair to compare fg% from a guy that attempted two 3 pointers all year out of 133 fg attempts. Everyone else on the team attempted a 3 on at least 30% of their shot attempts. Preston also had a 52% ft percentage. Not good.

He shot 60% from the field. That's good, no matter where the shots come from. Keep in mind, the closer you are to the basket, the more highly contested the shots are going to be. Yes, he is probably our worst FT shooter (Warfield has a lower %, but it's a small sample), and that is probably another reason for his lack of minutes.

[Cider Jim]

A player I didn't mention earlier is this forum's favorite whipping boy, Blake Preston. You know, the guy who "can't make a 0 footer?". I spent some time looking at the final season stats, and guess who had the highest shooting % on the team? Yep, and by a pretty wide margin...I could also add that unlike the guy starting, he made his DUNKS.

Another reason why Preston shoots a high percentage? He's our only big that doesn't shoot the 3-ball.

[stokesjokes]

I’ve seen enough blown layups to know that 60% is deceiving. Shooting 60% when you’re only taking shots that you should make 80% of is still bad. Until he can reliably hit a layup, he needs to either be going hard for a dunk or passing it out. At least if he’s going up strong he can draw a foul.

[olldflame]

Only 10 players who meet the criteria to be listed among ncaa leaders are shooting a better % than Blake. He did not take enough shots to qualify.

[flameshaw]

Only 10 players who meet the criteria to be listed among ncaa leaders are shooting a better % than Blake. He did not take enough shots to qualify.

There is probably a good reason for that. He missed a ton of layups or 3-4 footers with little to no pressure on him. He is not a shooter or offensive threat.
Sometimes figures lie and liars figure.
I hope he finds a place he can play regularly. Seems to be a good guy.

[paradox]

My first thought in looking ahead to next year is that this could very well be the best defensive team we have ever had. We are returning 3 ELITE defenders in Venzant, Robinson and Warfield...

Arguably it could be. And let's not forget that Porter projects as a potential top-end defender who can lock-down or go on-ball. So, this team will have plenty of D.

It will be interesting to see how RM will manage those minutes because we obviously need scoring. And deep range scoring in particular.

[olldflame]

Only 10 players who meet the criteria to be listed among ncaa leaders are shooting a better % than Blake. He did not take enough shots to qualify.

There is probably a good reason for that. He missed a ton of layups or 3-4 footers with little to no pressure on him. He is not a shooter or offensive threat.
Sometimes figures lie and liars figure.
I hope he finds a place he can play regularly. Seems to be a good guy.

He did not take enough shots to qualify because he played less than 14 minutes a game. There were reasons for that but they had nothing to do with his offensive efficiency, and certainly not his rebounding, where he led the team despite playing half the minutes of the starters.

[paradox]

The Peebles situation is interesting.

[olldflame]

The Peebles situation is interesting.

I would not be the least bit surprised if he leads us in scoring. His minutes, and even when in the game, his scoring opportunities, were limited this year because of Darius. I don't think he will ever be an elite man up defender, but he has already shown a knack for drawing a charge. Ritchie describes him as a "basketball savante." If DJ and/or Porter take charge at PG, he'll play mostly off the ball. If not, he'll probably split time between that and the point.

[paradox]

There's a lot to like. Highly skilled. Savvy with the ball in his hands. Very intuitive. But arrived here with some head scratching deficiencies that are antithetical to basic guard play. Where he spends his summer will be pivotal. Needs to be in a stronger development environment in order to iron some of this stuff out.

[olldflame]

There's a lot to like. Highly skilled. Savvy with the ball in his hands. Very intuitive. But arrived here with some head scratching deficiencies that are antithetical to basic guard play. Where he spends his summer will be pivotal. Needs to be in a stronger development environment in order to iron some of this stuff out.

?????
It's 2022 dude.
He will be spending his summer in Lynchburg, working out with the team and taking classes.

[LUOrange]

I don't understand the hate for Preston. Apparently, other than the ASUN tourney games, we must've watched different games. But Preston is our only down low-inside option and he's pretty good at it, especially in the ASUN. His defense and rebounding alone should've kept him on the court more. As of right now, it appears he'll be our only inside presence again next year. Abii could be another inside option, but he's really sloppy (of course PT could fix that). Spell is really skinny, but we'll see if he even plays down low. I don't know about our freshmen, but they're freshmen. And Robinson is too weak inside.

To me Preston's loss of minutes was inexplicable, Our 2 biggest issues this season was lack of a true PG and the abandonment of any inside game. A true PG would've made a huge difference, and I think we would've picked up a few more wins had Preston been playing regularly.

Richie McKay gets the benefit of the doubt because he's Richie McKay and he's running practice not me. But IMO, he made a lot of really questionable decisions this year. But he'll right the ship (not that we were way off course anyway) and we'll be fine. Oh, and those idiots on Twitter and Facebook suggesting he should be fired are idiots.

[paradox]

There's a lot to like. Highly skilled. Savvy with the ball in his hands. Very intuitive. But arrived here with some head scratching deficiencies that are antithetical to basic guard play. Where he spends his summer will be pivotal. Needs to be in a stronger development environment in order to iron some of this stuff out.

?????
It's 2022 dude.
He will be spending his summer in Lynchburg, working out with the team and taking classes.

They spent a great deal of their time preparing for PR last summer. He's gonna need all the time he can get this year. Probably gonna need a shooting pro as well. KA is really good and is a big help. But this situation is gonna take a lot of time and patience. And probably needs to be under the direction of a shooting pro. So, ship 'em out, or bring a guy in. Either way he needs that.

[Racenut]

I don't understand the hate for Preston. Apparently, other than the ASUN tourney games, we must've watched different games. But Preston is our only down low-inside option and he's pretty good at it, especially in the ASUN. His defense and rebounding alone should've kept him on the court more. As of right now, it appears he'll be our only inside presence again next year. Abii could be another inside option, but he's really sloppy (of course PT could fix that. Spell is really skinny, but we'll see if he plays down low. I don't know about our freshmen, but they're freshmen. And Robinson is too weak inside.

To me Preston's loss of minutes was inexplicable, Our 2 biggest issues this season was lack of a true PG and the abandonment of any inside game. A true PG would've made a huge difference, and I think we would've picked up a few more wins had Preston been playing regularly.

Richie McKay gets the benefit of the doubt because he's Richie McKay and he's running practice. But IMO, he made a lot of really questionable decisions this year. But he'll right the ship (not that we were way off course anyway) and we'll be fine. Of and those idiots on Twitter and Facebook suggesting he should be fired are idiots.

I am not in practice every day and I certainly respect the judgement of Coach McKay in regards to coaching philosophy, but I have always been of the opinion that a strong inside game was needed to open up opportunities for open outside shots. It was obvious late in the season that teams planted 4 defenders beyond the three point line and dared us to go inside and we did not. Preston played well before being out with Covid and I anxiously awaited his return to full strength before tournament time, but his lack of playing time down the stretch was perplexing. Even when he or Abii were in the game, they spent more time at the top of the key than they spent close to the basket. Not sure if this was by design or they just couldn't follow directions, but the result was very few open 3's because teams did not respect our inside threat.
High post screens are good to draw a shot blocker away from the rim or open an occasional back door cut, but rebounding suffers if you go to that well too often.
I did enjoy watching Venzant, Peebles and Warfield play, but only Brody was an occasional offensive threat and it was obvious that they needed another year in the weight room to physically mature and develop. I would love to have seen Abii and Preston on the floor at the same time just to see what happened.
From what I have seen of next year's recruits, there is talent but not much size and athleticism. We are going to have to develop the big men we have, recruit a few more, and put some faith in them if we are going to be competitive next year and in C-USA.