bobinator said:

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I think this is a more complicated question than it would typically be because of how we were forced to play last year.

We were so bad at shooting last year that a lot of times our best bet was to just take the first decent look, especially if the defense wasn't set yet, because it increased our likelihood of getting the offensive rebound and it was unlikely we were going to eventually get a better look anyway.

If Payne is a true low post scoring threat like we all hope he is, then I think you could see us be a little more deliberate in offensive sets this year, especially if someone other than Taylor proves they can hit open threes at a decent clip. If you have those threats, then it makes sense to work the ball and try to find angles. Last year our offense basically became Wade, Boots and Manny just charging at the basket and hoping for the best depending on which matchup we liked best.

But the real key to the tempo is going to be our defense. We were mid-pack at forcing live ball turnovers which is what really juices the tempo.

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bobinator said:

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Trying to find a good way to word this because I don't think Phelps is better than Boots in the true sense of the word, but I think Phelps and Taylor are going to be a better fit together as a combo than Boots and Taylor were at times last year.

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bobinator said:

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He was more of a scorer at SMU and didn't have Caruso's assist rate, but I imagine we'd like him to play that table setter role here more. Hard to say for sure what he's going to look like here because the role is different and our overall talent is so much better than his last team. He does like to attack the basket though. I actually think he looks a lot like a more polished but less athletic Manny in the clips I've seen. Except he can't shoot.

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leftlane4passing said:

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Buzz looks like a new hire at the start of literally every year. I hope that UCF loss was a fluke but history tells us otherwise.

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