Random friday question: what are you watching for early in the season that's going to cause you to change your projection for this team this season one way or the other?
(Note: post any team basic or commonly used advanced team stats (TO%, Reb% etc.) and face a public shaming)
For me whether I go into 2027 thinking we have potential to really do some damage or we're just an in-the-tournament-but-nothing-special team comes down to two things:
1) Vinson's defensive rebound percentage (and minutes): I see two paths to us being real players in the SEC and the most straightforward is that Jamie Vinson is actually good now.
But, if he's not...
2) Shelley + Mgbako's defensive rebounding percentage: The second path is that we play without a traditional five and just go at warp speed all the time, but can we rebound against good teams if we do that? Shelley and Mgbako are both 6-9 which is plenty tall enough to be a good rebounder (same height as Robert Williams). Can they (along with Clemence and Phillips) hold their own on the block defensively and rebound at a reasonably high level? If so, I REALLY like this roster because that gives you all kinds of lineup flexibility.
Shelley was Loyola-Marymount's best rebounder last season, but how will he do against better competition? We don't need him to absolutely dominate the glass, but he has to be a factor if we're going to play him at the 4/5.
(Note: post any team basic or commonly used advanced team stats (TO%, Reb% etc.) and face a public shaming)
For me whether I go into 2027 thinking we have potential to really do some damage or we're just an in-the-tournament-but-nothing-special team comes down to two things:
1) Vinson's defensive rebound percentage (and minutes): I see two paths to us being real players in the SEC and the most straightforward is that Jamie Vinson is actually good now.
But, if he's not...
2) Shelley + Mgbako's defensive rebounding percentage: The second path is that we play without a traditional five and just go at warp speed all the time, but can we rebound against good teams if we do that? Shelley and Mgbako are both 6-9 which is plenty tall enough to be a good rebounder (same height as Robert Williams). Can they (along with Clemence and Phillips) hold their own on the block defensively and rebound at a reasonably high level? If so, I REALLY like this roster because that gives you all kinds of lineup flexibility.
Shelley was Loyola-Marymount's best rebounder last season, but how will he do against better competition? We don't need him to absolutely dominate the glass, but he has to be a factor if we're going to play him at the 4/5.
