maybe I should add this

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/115450/looking-ahead-time-to-stress-test-texas-ams-success

Pretty good job of distilling everything this board has said over the last few months to a few hundred words.

Feed Davis+
Hogg and Gilder step into bigger roles+
Freshman contribute=
Success

Kind of surprised the article doesn't even mention Trocha though, scored in double figures in two postseason games.

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Kind of surprised the article doesn't even mention Trocha though, scored in double figures in two postseason games.

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Didn't mention Trocha, Hampton, or Vila. Other potential X-Factors next year. Particularly Trocha who is a probable starter as may be Hampton.

*edit: The post this post was referring to is apparently gone so it makes no sense*

I can understand the oversight on Vila. Hell, this piece may have been written before Vila announced he was coming. The Trocha omission is the egregious mistake here....because the presence of Davis will help Trocha, and vice-versa. He goes into great detail whether Davis can carry the team in the paint when in actuality I think the duo of Davis and Trocha in the paint will be salty.

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I can understand the oversight on Vila. Hell, this piece may have been written before Vila announced he was coming. The Trocha omission is the egregious mistake here....because the presence of Davis will help Trocha, and vice-versa. He goes into great detail whether Davis can carry the team in the paint when in actuality I think the duo of Davis and Trocha in the paint will be salty.

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If you only watched A&M the last half of the season, you didn't see the offensive Trocha that played the first half of the year, so yea, he appears to be a spare to someone who started watching during post season. I'm afraid there is still a question about his offense, or at least that 3 point shooting % that disappeared late. Everything else, yea, he has come so far and hopefully will build on it.

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If you only watched A&M the last half of the season, you didn't see the offensive Trocha that played the first half of the year, so yea, he appears to be a spare to someone who started watching during post season. I'm afraid there is still a question about his offense, or at least that 3 point shooting % that disappeared late. Everything else, yea, he has come so far and hopefully will build on it.

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Trocha scored in double figures in two postseason games, and started doing a lot more inside the 3-point line later in the year. He also took a lot of valuable charges. He has excellent footwork for a big guy.

Trocha was the reason we beat that high ranked Gonzaga team if I remember correctly, he went off from 3 that game, to EVERYONE's surprise, that landed him square on the map for the rest of the season I feel.

Trocha and Davis need to spend all summer shooting from the free throw line (and actual free throws themselves.) If Davis and him can get somewhat consistent with a 10-15 feet jumper it would open up the paint for both of them especially against zones. They both already pass well for big guys and there aren't too many teams with two guys that can play in the paint so if they could get a little high-low going, and Trocha can already do this a little bit because he can hit threes, then they become a real problem trying to defend.

Trocha is a pretty unique player for us IMO. Is there a former Aggie player that we'd compare him to? 6'10" (probably about 230 lbs at this point) with about a 7'3" wingspan, runs the floor pretty well and has a good three point shooting touch (40+ 3P% potential).

IMO, I think Trocha will get a shot in the NBA. He has good measurables, is mobile, and can shoot.

In terms of next season, he is also 22 years old now (basically equivalent to a college senior), has added the necessary strength and weight at this point, and definitely seemed to grow a ton in confidence next season. Won't be surprising to me at all if he is like an All SEC Second Team sort of guy next year. And then ends up getting getting drafted by an NBA team once he moves on from Aggieland.

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They both already pass well for big guys and there aren't too many teams with two guys that can play in the paint so if they could get a little high-low going, and Trocha can already do this a little bit because he can hit threes, then they become a real problem trying to defend.

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I think this right here is precisely why Tonny and Tyler were effective together last year. Tonny was a threat to shoot the three so when he got the ball at the top of the key his guy couldn't sag on Tyler. If the post fronted Tyler then Tonny is fantastic at throwing a lob entry pass. If he doesn't front Tyler... well that is an automatic bucket.

Until OU finally realized that our guards were either low percentage shooters or had a slow release and that they should vary the double team and bring it from different angles from a guard and next thing you know Tyler was completely confused and we were down 20. But hopefully Admon, DJ and Hampton will be guys that you can't leave alone on the perimeter next year.

So I feel very confident that we will have very high offensive efficiency ratings against man defense. The question is against a zone. Jalen was very good at finding soft spots and slicing through a zone. That really isn't Tonny's game. Really I think DJ will be the key here. He needs to shoot at a high percentage from the outside but he is also a guy that should be effective finding soft spots for one dribble jump stop type moves to score against a zone. Robert Williams also seems like a guy that will be perfect for back side alley oops against a zone.

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Trocha is a pretty unique player for us IMO. Is there a former Aggie player that we'd compare him to? 6'10" (probably about 230 lbs at this point) with about a 7'3" wingspan, runs the floor pretty well and has a good three point shooting touch (40+ 3P% potential).

IMO, I think Trocha will get a shot in the NBA. He has good measurables, is mobile, and can shoot.

In terms of next season, he is also 22 years old now (basically equivalent to a college senior), has added the necessary strength and weight at this point, and definitely seemed to grow a ton in confidence next season. Won't be surprising to me at all if he is like an All SEC Second Team sort of guy next year. And then ends up getting getting drafted by an NBA team once he moves on from Aggieland.

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The thing that can potentially make Tonny special is his passing. He sees the floor and passes as well as any big man I have seen at the college level in a while.

trocha = kaminsky

Speaking of ESPN, Kevin Pelton thinks Caruso will be picked in the second round of the NBA draft:

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Detroit Pistons

No. 18: Henry Ellenson, PF, Marquette
No. 49: Alex Caruso, PG, Texas A&M

Coach Stan Van Gundy loves his stretch 4s, and though the Pistons added one at the trade deadline in Tobias Harris, they could use another, which would allow them to take advantage of Harris' ability to play small forward at times. Despite concerns about his lateral quickness and disappointing shooting at Marquette, Ellenson would be a solid pick outside the lottery.

Caruso is one of my favorite sleepers. He has enough size to defend either guard spot and is a capable playmaker who makes good decisions. Consider Caruso this year's T.J. McConnell.

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http://espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/16390580/kevin-pelton-grade-nba-mock-draft-best-picks-los-angeles-lakers-boston-celtics-more

I know mock drafts aren't worth much, but this is the first I've seen with Caruso being selected.

I agree, however, I don't want Davis falling in love with that shot and settling, I want my post doing what he does best, backing guys down and demoralizing them with soft hooks and maybe even developing a nice little fall away jumper. He should develop it for sure and make defenses respect it, just not settle for it. Although, Davis really seems to love going to work in the post, so I doubt that would be the case.

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Trocha is a pretty unique player for us IMO. Is there a former Aggie player that we'd compare him to? 6'10" (probably about 230 lbs at this point) with about a 7'3" wingspan, runs the floor pretty well and has a good three point shooting touch (40+ 3P% potential).

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Antanas could step out and hit threes but didn't shoot them anywhere close to the rate that Trocha does.

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I agree, however, I don't want Davis falling in love with that shot and settling, I want my post doing what he does best, backing guys down and demoralizing them with soft hooks and maybe even developing a nice little fall away jumper. He should develop it for sure and make defenses respect it, just not settle for it. Although, Davis really seems to love going to work in the post, so I doubt that would be the case.

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Davis actually pulled out a nice little step back fall away jumper late in the year but was (wrongly) called for traveling and he never tried it again.

I remember that exact play, it looked extremely smooth as well! Wondered why he doesn't pull it out more often.

I mentioned this in that other post but it really is key, Trocha has to get better at free throws and shooting inside the arc for the high-low to really work. He was only a 51% 2 point shooter and he was 50% at the free throw line. That's pretty bad.

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I mentioned this in that other post but it really is key, Trocha has to get better at free throws and shooting inside the arc for the high-low to really work. He was only a 51% 2 point shooter and he was 50% at the free throw line. That's pretty bad.

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Hopefully his no-jumpers and 8 inch jump shots improve.

Mikesyracuse 1