[Tothehoopyall1]

Suggested new starting line up (trial run and to wake some guys up a little).

Darius
Brody
Venzant
Cleveland
Shiloh

First off the bench: Rode and Warfield

I think Cleveland is earning some time IMO- He has played well when he's in the game. We need the physicality and hustle he brings to the game. Brody can bring the ball up if needed. Darius and Brody playing off each other seems like something worth experimenting with. Brody handles the ball well and oh yea (he can also score the ball).

[Cider Jim]

Any lineup without Porter is crazy talk!

[Tothehoopyall1]

Nah. I’m not saying he’s a bad player but he’s getting a lot of minutes with minimal production. Not sure how we can keep that up. Yes, I know he’s averaging 4 assists a game.

[stokesjokes]

Hard to justify starting two 5’9” dudes when your D relies on length.

[Liberty_2023]

I like Porter and think he’s gonna grow a ton by the end of the year but he doesn’t look to score right now.

[prototype]

Porter not running Point is a mistake... Yes - 2 5'9 guards are not normal, but McGhee isn't normal and Porter leads the team with steals - so there's that.

I would rather see Preston then Shiloh, but not trilled with either.

I think the rotation has been fine this year so far.

[stokesjokes]

Shiloh has had stretches where he looks like our 2nd best player over the last couple of years. He's a better defender than Preston and has more offensive tools. He's just too small for the 5 and FT shooting is rough.

I say if we need Porter at PG, we've got to supplement the D, something like:

Porter
McGhee
Venzant
Warfield
Preston/Robinson depending on how big the other team's 5 is.

If Porter can be the PG we think he can be, guys like Venzant and Warfield will benefit greatly on offense and they are already terrific defenders.

If Porter isn't running the offense, I'd rather have Rode do it. He needs a defined role, I think he'd do better with that. That would look like:

McGhee
Peebles
Venzant
Rode
Robinson

[Tothehoopyall1]

If we are are smart we start Peebles moving forward. He won't have a game like he did Friday night every night but he's proven to be a consistent scorer and he's not a bad defender either. I think we are hurting ourselves by not getting him going as quick as we can... meaning he needs to be starting.

[paradox]

You guys might be barking up the wrong tree.

If you're talking about scoring. The main thing personnel-wise is how many shots you're allowed to take and if you have a green light late in the game. Peebles has been second in shots all season. That's been established since the Regent game. But moving forward, teams will defend him differently. So, this will be telling. And the opportunity for him to step up is certainly there.

[JK37]

I don’t care who starts, only who finishes.

[Tothehoopyall1]

I care about winning, which may mean a change in who starts and finishes.

[Hoops]

Based on current team, production and stats there are only 3 players that standout as starters JV, DM and BP everyone else is LM or D2 players at best. This team will finish middle of the pack in the conference. It will be a repeat of last year but worse. Darius should have went pro last year! If McKay can’t stand on the pack line then he is mediocre coach at best. They will get better but it will end up being hero ball in tight games.

[Purple Haize]

You guys might be barking up the wrong tree.

If you're talking about scoring. The main thing personnel-wise is how many shots you're allowed to take and if you have a green light late in the game. Peebles has been second in shots all season. That's been established since the Regent game. But moving forward, teams will defend him differently. So, this will be telling. And the opportunity for him to step up is certainly there.

In my world there is always room on the floor for a spot up knock down shooter. LU only has one of those. They have the athletes and the offensive scheme to make it work. BUT putting him out there with Brody hurts because you don’t really need to help off of Brody like you do others.
LU has a lot of pieces but only one difference maker. However, RMK can develop players in his system as witnessed over the years. Hopefully One of the wings (warfield VanZant) can make a bigger step than they already have. The bigs are just what they are at this point Hopefully Cleveland developes

[stokesjokes]

Where do you project Cleveland? Seems like he wants to be a slasher a la Warfield/Venzant but he’s a bit meatier.

[Purple Haize]

Where do you project Cleveland? Seems like he wants to be a slasher a la Warfield/Venzant but he’s a bit meatier.

If Cleveland wants to be a slasher he might want to consider transferring to Regent

[stokesjokes]

That’s all I’ve seen him do so far, how do you hope he develops?

[paradox]

It's really too early to put any kind of label on this guy.

[Kricket]

It's really too early to put any kind of label on this guy.

This

[Purple Haize]

That’s all I’ve seen him do so far, how do you hope he develops?

Exactly I’m not sure he’s going to be able to slash and create his own shot. Out of the offense he can certainly take a dribble or two taking it to the basket. But he needs to develop the step out jump shot. LU doesn’t have someone who can do that. Defensively I liked what I’ve seen so far, and that’s your first step in RMKs program. But if he wants more minutes he needs to bring something extra to the table

[Racenut]

In my humble opinion, there is a reason that we are unable to win games when Darius has a sub-superhuman night. We are getting absolutly nothing offensively out of the 4 and 5 positions.
If Shiloh doesn't hit that 3 in the last minute on Friday, he and Kyle have 2 points each for the game. At any given time we have 3 to 4 guys on the floor that have not shown the ability to score.
A simple solution would be to rotate Preston and Cleveland in the post (at least they have shown some proclivity to attack the basket), rotate Shiloh and Rode at the 4 (as defensive stoppers) and have Porter, McGhee and Peebles in the backcourt subbed by Venzant.
That's an 8-man rotation that could start to develop some offensive chemistry.
No question defense is the prioroty in our coaches philosophy, but when teams know that they only have to guard one or two of our players, that pushes out the defense and puts even more pressure on our perimeter.
I love all the guys on our team and the attitude they come to play with amd there is no Head Coach than I would rather have ours, but when the competition gets tougher this year and especially next year, we are going to have to respond defensively AND offensively.

[ballcoach15]

In my humble opinion, there is a reason that we are unable to win games when Darius has a sub-superhuman night. We are getting absolutly nothing offensively out of the 4 and 5 positions.
If Shiloh doesn't hit that 3 in the last minute on Friday, he and Kyle have 2 points each for the game. At any given time we have 3 to 4 guys on the floor that have not shown the ability to score.
A simple solution would be to rotate Preston and Cleveland in the post (at least they have shown some proclivity to attack the basket), rotate Shiloh and Rode at the 4 (as defensive stoppers) and have Porter, McGhee and Peebles in the backcourt subbed by Venzant.
That's an 8-man rotation that could start to develop some offensive chemistry.
No question defense is the prioroty in our coaches philosophy, but when teams know that they only have to guard one or two of our players, that pushes out the defense and puts even more pressure on our perimeter.
I love all the guys on our team and the attitude they come to play with amd there is no Head Coach than I would rather have ours, but when the competition gets tougher this year and especially next year, we are going to have to respond defensively AND offensively.

"BEST BASKETBALL POST THIS SEASON"............as of now.