Projected Starters for Season Opener

[A.-Siegfried]

Siegfried, do you really only see Royal getting 12 minutes a game? I ask not because I think he warrants more time but because Hewitt was raving about him at Brion's after the open practice this summer. Maybe I read too much into it, but I inferred he'd be starting and getting a ton of minutes.

Hewitt has raved about a lot of guys. I havent seen enough of Royal to make me say "yeah, play him 25 minutes a game". And also, I have Jenkins playing the 4, which is Royal's position. Move Jenkins to the 3, as apparently Hewitt wants to do, and then Royal and Marko both get a lot more minutes (and VG less).

If none of the post players redshirt, then it's 80 minutes a game for Copes/Royal/Porter/Thompson/Marko. 16 minutes each if divided up equally. And that's if Jenkins plays all his time at the 3. If he plays some 4, it's even less minutes. To me, it makes sense to redshirt one of them. And if you want to project out a few years, I'd rather have the extra year of Thompson/Porter together at the 5--leaving the 4 to Royal/Marko/Jenkins.

In 2015-16 we'd have a Senior in Royal/Marko. RJuniors with Thompson/Jenkins. SO in Porter. I'd rather have Thompson having really 2 full years of being able to play the 5, then basically a back up year to Copes (sharing with Porter). Thompson/Porter together at the 5 for two years gives you time to find your next round of post players beginning in 16-17.

Sometimes you have to think down the road a bit....I don't think I'm right in this happening, but it's what I'd do.

 

[Dawgs99]

Doesn't make any sense to red shirt Thompson...who recruits a JUCO then sits him out a year? Generally you use those kids to fill specific holes on the roster. Also from what I've seen Thompson can/will help us this year with defense and on the back boards.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Doesn't make any sense to red shirt Thompson...who recruits a JUCO then sits him out a year? Generally you use those kids to fill specific holes on the roster. Also from what I've seen Thompson can/will help us this year with defense and on the back boards.

I didn't say it would happen. I said it is what I'd do. big difference

 

[GSII]

I'd call our coach's logic into question if he is claiming we are going to defend and rebound really well then red shirt the guy that will help in doing that. Actually, mason fans would probably do worse than just question a move like that. This includes Porter as well.

 

[gmujim92]

I can see the logic of playing Porter and redshirting Thompson, if we're willing to accept that we're going to be mediocre at best this season as we build the foundation of a team capable of competing at the top of the A-10.

If Thompson really is a raw but promising prospect, as he appears to be, why waste one of his two years of eligibility on a season that is going absolutely nowhere? The kid is super athletic for 6-11 and could conceivably become a monster given time to polish the rough edges off his game.

Let Porter back up Copes this season. If he can't handle the assignment, give it to Marko. At this point, what's the difference?

As long as Edwards is willing to take the long view of our situation, I'm with Siegfried. I would like to see what we could do with 2 years of Jenkins, Thompson and Moore, and 3 years of Porter, Mayimba, Lockett and Jackson.

Those guys are our future, no doubt about it.

 

[Walter]

Maybe we should give everyone a redshirt and play only walk-ons. That way we don't lose a year for anyone during this lost year.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Maybe we should give everyone a redshirt and play only walk-ons. That way we don't lose a year for anyone during this lost year.

Or we could have a real discussion about a monster log jam at the post position and what to do about it.

Either way is cool by me.

 

[Pablo]

Does this appear to be a tweet from a player who plans to redshirt?

Follow
shevon thompson‏@shevon_thompson
I have to be better than what I was yesterday!!!next level

#gmubb

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Does this appear to be a tweet from a player who plans to redshirt?

Follow
shevon thompson‏@shevon_thompson
I have to be better than what I was yesterday!!!next level

#gmubb

Again, I don't think it WILL happen, but it is what I would do.

But would you expect him to tweet "No worries about getting better...I'm sitting out this year anyway, so just going to coast"? Come on....

 

[Pablo]

Again, I don't think it WILL happen, but it is what I would do.

But would you expect him to tweet "No worries about getting better...I'm sitting out this year anyway, so just going to coast"? Come on....

Perhaps he read your earlier post about him, and understands the urgency to be ready to be the starter for the season opener:

"I'll go out on a limb and say Jenkins and Thompson start game 1 next season."

A.-Siegfried, May 1, 2014

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Perhaps he read your earlier post about him, and understands the urgency to be ready to be the starter for the season opener:

"I'll go out on a limb and say Jenkins and Thompson start game 1 next season."

A.-Siegfried, May 1, 2014

At the time that's what I believed. Circumstances change. Am I to be so rigid as to not be able to adjust my opinions? That's a horrible world to live in....

 

[gmutom]

Throwing this out there for discussion purposes with the caveat that I have only seen Thompson play once in person: Other than experience and the ability to foul, what does Copes give us right now that Thompson can't?

 

[Dawgs99]

IMO, if you red shirt anyone its gotta be Porter. Porter may end up being the steal of Mason recruiting for several years, crazy high ceiling for this kid. To Toms point Thompson may end up being more affective this year then Copes anyway simply due to the added length. Nobody is expecting either one of those 2 to score the ball at a high level so who can defend/rebound/ and most importantly stay on the floor.I guess too many bigs could be a good problem to have?

 

[JamesMason]

Throwing this out there for discussion purposes with the caveat that I have only seen Thompson play once in person: Other than experience and the ability to foul, what does Copes give us right now that Thompson can't?

a nephew of a coach who is a senior?

 

[gmu05]

To Toms point Thompson may end up being more affective this year then Copes anyway simply due to the added length.

This is a ridiculous statement. I'm not a big Copes fan but Thompson is a near 7-footer who was recruited by almost no one, so I tend to believe those "very raw" comments about him. Also didn't he only start playing basketball like 3 years ago? Let's watch how this savior of the Hewitt era plays in live games first.

 

[gmutom]

Let's watch how this savior of the Hewitt era plays in live games first.

Savior? Who called him a savior? He's far from it. I just think if he played the same 20 minutes a game that Copes averaged last year, he'd be able to match the 4 points and 5 rebounds a game with his height and size. This has nothing to do with hyping up Thompson and everything to do with how disappointing Copes has been.

That said, it does look Copes has slimmed down and appears to be in better shape. Hopefully, having Thompson around will drive him to play better both in practice and in games. I don't give a crap which one starts as long as he produces.

 

[liem.le.3388]

One of our problems I think last season was our lack of length in the middle, we'll need Thompson and Porter

 

[gmu05]

I just think if he played the same 20 minutes a game that Copes averaged last year, he'd be able to match the 4 points and 5 rebounds a game with his height and size.

In that case Trey Porter is definitely going to put up better numbers than Jenkins. I mean, he's much taller, right?

This reminds me of an old Sam Harris thread on the caazone...

 

[gmutom]

In that case Trey Porter is definitely going to put up better numbers than Jenkins. I mean, he's much taller, right?

This reminds me of an old Sam Harris thread on the caazone...

Come on, man, are you really comparing Copes to Jenkins in terms of their importance to the team? None of the incoming big men can replace what Jenkins brings to the table. Copes is an entirely different story, because he's never put up big numbers despite ample opportunity to do so.

I did get a good laugh at your T-Mac reference to Sam Harris, though. That was a fun thread. Harris was a bust from the beginning and sucked despite being tall. I don't see Thompson ever being great, but he can run the floor well for his size and score some garbage buckets on rebounds and the break. I'll go out on a limb here and predict that he'll be able to score 4 points if ever given 20 minutes of playing time.

 

[Dawgs99]

This is a ridiculous statement. I'm not a big Copes fan but Thompson is a near 7-footer who was recruited by almost no one, so I tend to believe those "very raw" comments about him. Also didn't he only start playing basketball like 3 years ago? Let's watch how this savior of the Hewitt era plays in live games first.

Wow....Savior? As pointed out, Copes hasn't lit the world on fire here so its not like that bar is set real high. Hell Copes is going into year 4 of D1 ball and IMO could easily be called "raw" still. Thompson will play a role this year.